Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process.
Neutralizing Agent: Magnesium Oxide
Treatment Date:
bAUG 1997
BBKKEEPER
PRESERVATION TECHNOLOGiES. INC,
1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive
CranbefryTwp.. PA 16066
(412)779-2111
^
U>C^i^t>tX^
^c
HISTORY OF SCRANTON
AND ITS PEOPLE
BY
Col. FREDERICK L. HITCHCOCK
Attorney at Law; late Colonel U. S. V., War 18G1-186S
I L 1. r S T K A T K U
VOLUME II
LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY
NEW YORK CITY
1914
Copyright, 1914
Lewis Historical Publishing Company
m^
COLONEL HENRY MARTYN BOIES
We have had occasion to speak of the good fortune our city had in the re-
markable characters of its pioneers and founders. Remarkable in their ster-
ling integrity, their indomitable pluck, energy and resourcefulness, that bided
no defeat, stopped at no obstacle, and finally wrought success out of well
nigh impossible conditions. If she was so fortunate in her pioneers, she was
also fortunate in a generation of young men who followed closely upon their
footsteps. The pioneers are always selected blood. This second invasion was
no less so. They came from all quarters, attracted thither by conditions which
promised success to such as had the courage to wrestle and win it. These are
the men who build the world.
Henry Martyn Boies was one of these men. Few men had a fairer start
in life than he, and none ever made better use of his opportunities. First
he had the remarkable advantage of a splendid ancestry. His early paternal
ancestors were Huguenots, who came to this country in the early part of the
seventeenth century, and settled in New England. On his maternal side he
inherited the sturdy Puritan blood of New England. On both sides his an-
cestors were earnest God-fearing people. In the family is preserved a re-
markably written document made the i8th of April, 1738, by his paternal an-
cestor, David Boies, entitled "David Boies covenant with God," in which he
recites his wretched and lost condition as a sinner ; God's ofier of salvation
through Jesus Christ and his solemn acceptance of that offer and his dedication
to Him. The document is singularly quaint in its language, and remarkable in
being carefully drawn up, as though between earthly persons, yet it attests to
the sturdy piety of its author and his strength of character. His father was
Joseph Nulton Boies, who was born in Blandford, Hampden county, Massa-
chusetts, April 20, iSog. His mother was Electa Caroline (Laflin) Boies, who
was born in Southwick in the same county, Massachusetts. April 3. 181 1. A
friend writes of his father as being "a man thoughtful, judicious, just, gener-
ous, public-spirited, patriotic, conscientious — a man of positive convictions,
who did not hesitate to express and maintain them. Through him came those
forceful traits which distinguished the latter in his mature manhood ; and also
that philanthropic quality which made him a beloved hero among men." The
same friend writes: "His mother was one of the rarest of women, in person
slender, delicate, fragile, beautiful of face, and with wonderful, luminous
eyes. There never was a finer human expression of tenderness, gentleness
and spirituality than that manifested in the life of this good woman. She was
a glorious mother, and to her influence in shaping to high ideals the career of
her son, the world is indebted as to no other." With such an ancestry, it
would seem as though we had every desirable element centered for the mak-
ing of a man ! We shall not be disappointed in its product.
Henry Martyn Boies was born in Lee, Berkshire county, Massachusetts,
Auo-ust 18, 1837, the first son of these notable parents. He was named for
Henry Martyn, the heroic missionary to India, whose biography had just then
been published". He entered Yale College in 1855, and graduated in 1859.
Whether he graduated with honors, or, like General Grant, who said he would
have stood near the top if they had turned the list upside down, chronicles do
not show, but he had the more coveted class honor, the "wooden spoon" con-
ferred unanimously upon him, as the best loved man in the class.
2 CITY OF SCRANTON
In 1865 Mr. Boies came to Scranton as a resident member of the powder
firm of Laflin, Boies & Tarck, of Saugerties, New York, of which firm his
father was a member. Four years before, in 1861, he had married Emma
Brainerd, a sister of Thomas Brainerd, one of his college classmates, and the
daughter of Rev. Thomas Brainerd, D. D., long an honored Presbyterian
minister of Philadelphia. She bore him three children, one girl Mary, and
two boys, Carrington and Henry Whiting. On coming to Scranton the family
first lived on Spruce street, below Penn avenue. Later he built a house on
Jeflferson avenue, near where the Emanuel Baptist Church now stands. Here
his daughter, son Carrington, and his wife, greatly beloved, passed away.
Colonel Boies entered actively into the business of making powder. His
firm purchased from the Raynors a small plant at Archbald, and erected an-
other at Moosic. The business was immediately successful and was soon
greatly enlarged, and both concerns merged into The Moosic Powder Com-
pany, of which Mr. Boies became president and general manager. Its capital
at first was $150,000, which was soon made $300,000. Colonel Boies continued
at the head of this concern until it was taken over and became a part of the
great Du Pont de Nemours Company of Pennsylvania. During this time Col-
onel Boies had made a number of inventions, one to make safe the handling
of powder by the miners at their work. Familiarity with danger, it is said,
breeds carelessness. This was particularly true with miners. It was not an
infrequent thing, despite all admonitions, for men in the mines to open and
handle a keg of powder with a lighted miner's lamp on their caps, or a lighted
pipe in their mouth. The result was accidents, which often not only destroyed
life, but property as well. Colonel Boies invented the prepared cartridge to
meet this danger. This required first the making of a strong water-proof
paper that would shield the powder from dampness in the mines, then ma-
chinery for loading the cartridge, all of which increased the cost of manu-
facture, and accordingly reduced the profit in the powder, but were supplied
at the same price for the purpose of saving human life. The invention came
into extensive use all through the anthracite region. In 1872 he helped to
organize the Third National Bank and became one of its directors, which posi-
tion he held for ten years. In 1883 Colonel Boies was called to the presidency
of the Dickson Manufacturing Company, which position he held until 1887,
when he retired. During his connection with the Dickson Company, a large
part of the business of which was the manufacture of locomotives. Colonel
Boies' attention was called to the failure of the existing car wheel to do its
work satisfactorily, and invented and patented several designs, among them
what is known as the "steel-tired'' car wheel, which came into general use.
He erected a plant and operated it for some years in the successful manu-
facture of this wheel. It was finally merged in the great concern known as
the Railway Steel Spring Company ; this plant, as a branch of that concern,
is still in operation in our city. Colonel Boies' sudden death found him still a
member of the great powder firm of E. I. Du Pont de Nemours Company.
So much for the business activities of this remarkable man. As a matter of
fact, and in his own estimation, these were the least important of his activities.
With his Qiristian work and his civic activity, one wonders wheie he got time
for business.
In 187 1, at a gathering of invited friends at his house, was born the "Home
of the Friendless," Colonel Boies renting the first building and assuming the
cost thereof himself. In 1869-71 he was president of the Young Men's Chris-
tian Association. During this time, and until his death, he was an active spirit
on its board of directors. Under his administration Mr. William D. Moss-
man, the first regularly paid secretary, was employed. His term and that ot
CITY OF SCRANTON j
Edward B. Sturges, who followed him (1869-74) may fittingly be called the
fighting term of the association. Under the leadership of Colonel Boies, with
the legal work of Edward B. Sturges and Cyrus W. Hartley as attorneys,
both members of the board, Scranton, a "wide open town." was given a clean-
ing up such as it had never dreamed of. It was one of the notable events in
our history. The saloon with its cognate evils was rampant in violation of
all law, with municipal authorities and the public at large utterly indifferent.
In their efforts to reach young men, the association was confronted with these
evils, rampant, defiant and conspicuous on every hand. The fight was in-
evitable and gloriously it was won. One hundred and thirteen indictments
were obtained against sixty-three saloon men, and after a terrific legal battle,
in which all the forces of evil were met, the first conviction was obtained, and
the saloon keepers surrendered. They agreed to come into court in a body,
pay all costs upwards of $1200, and enter into an agreement binding each and
every one to close on the Lord's day, and obey all other laws, and to assist
in securing such obedience. A great day and a great triumph was this for
Colonel Boies and his two young lawyer captains, Sturges and Hartley, when
these sixty-three liquor men lined up before court and entered into that agree-
ment.
In 1874 Colonel Boies was a charter member in the organization of the
Second Presbyterian Church, and was elected a trustee, which office he held
until his death. He was elected a ruling elder, but declined the office. During
the riots of 1877, Colonel Boies and family were out of the city. On learning
of the existing troubles, he hurried home, reaching here in time to take an
active part in the organizing of the Scranton City Guard, of which he was made
commanding officer with the rank of major. The history of that organization
will be found elsewhere with that of the Thirteenth Regiment National Guard
of Pennsylvania, of which Colonel Boies was commandant for five years, from
1878 to 1883, and where he obtained his rank of colonel. In 1886, largely
through his exertions, his favorite Young Men's Christian Association was
handsomely housed in its own building on Wyoming avenue, where the Poli
Theatre now stands. This building was largely designed by Colonel Boies,
and was the most attractive Young Men's Christian Association building of
that period in the state. In co-operation with his former righthand helper,
Mr. Sturges, the Municipal League was formed, the objects of which were the
extirpation of gambling hells and brothels and the enforcement of the liquor
laws. To this work he gave freely of his time and means, and it was chiefly
through this organization that our city was for many years kept practically
clean of these evils .
Colonel Boies was one of the organizers and promoters of the splendid
Hahnemann Hospital, erected in 1898, and was a member of its advisory board.
as his wife was of its board of managers. He was active in the special work
of his own church denomination, and for several years was chairman of the
Presbyterian committee on work among foreign speaking people. To this mis-
sionary work he gave much time and study. His favorite achievement, the
Young Men's Christian Association building on Wyoming avenue, was totally
destroyed by fire in 1897. Colonel Boies' heart was bound up in this work for
young men, and to him this was almost as much a personal calamity as it was
to the association. To obtain that edifice with its then fine equipment had cost
a mighty effort. Now all was gone, and the association homeless. The board
of directors, however, met to consider the situation. Colonel Boies at once
drew up a subscription paper and down went his name for a handsome sum
toward a new and larger building. But they were now confronted with a
need of far greater accommodations than the old building afforded. A careful
4 CITY OF SCRANTON
estimate was made and it was found that such a building as was needed would
cost with its equipment upwards of $250,000, and it was unanimously agreed
that such an undertaking was too much for the young city of Scranton. One
night's thought on the subject was sufficient for Colonel Boies. He called
another conference at his office the next morning, and started the ball rolling
by doubling his own subscription. It was largely through his enthusiastic
work, influence and means, that the present superb and premier Young Men's
Christian Association building of this commonwealth adorns our city. It is
said that the great Cathedral of St. Peter's at Rome is made the monument of
its builder, by a little tablet in its wall, bearing this legend, "He built this."
A fine painting of Colonel Boies greets one as he enters the foyer of this
splendid building. Underneath it might well have been placed the legend,
"He built this."
Remarkable and diversified as were the achievements of Colonel Boies, m
business, in his civic, military and Christian activity, probably his most endur-
ing fame will rest upon his "literary work, which he finished near the close of
his career. This work is probably the least known of all his endeavors. He
was not a fluent speaker, nor a ready writer. Whenever he had an address to
make, he was careful to write it out and usually read it. It is therefore re^
markable that he should finally have attained a marked degree of success in the
field of literature. It was accomplished without the least ambition in that
direction, and it grew out of his intense interest in the themes upon which
he wrote, which came from a long period of study and service in the field
of which he wrote, and his desire to benefit humanity and society by his studies.
In 1887 his personal friend. Governor Beaver, appointed him a member of
the State Board of Public Charities. This board consists of eleven members,
and is charged with the duty of supervising and inspecting all the charitable
and penal or correctional institutions of the state. The position is one of large
responsibility, but which carries with it no emoluments or compensation. It
calls for men of sound judgment, broad intelligence, with a philanthropic and
sympathetic nature. How he got the time with all his other work to give to this
the conscientious attention it required, besides the time to study every phase
of the lives of the unfortunates and the vicious which came under his observa-
tion, is amazing. He served on tliis commission three successive terms, from
1887 to 1902. Out of this service and experience came two books. The first,
"Prisoners and Paupers" was published in 1893. The other entitled "The
Science of Penology" was published in 1901. The latter soon received rec-
ognition as a work of advanced thought upon that subject. A writer, review-
ing the work, says it speedily revolutionized prevailing ideas upon that subject
that up to that time the punishment of crime was treated from the standpoint
of retribution. A man convicted of a crime was sentenced to serve so many
years' imprisonment as an expiation of suffering for the offence. Having
served that time he was turned loose upon society, regardless of his character,
which as a rule was more hardened and desperate because of the rigors of his
imprisonment. Colonel Boies attacked this theory as radically wrong. He
contended that the only proper theory of treating criminals was the protection
of society, and the reform of the criminal. Hence he advocated the indeter-
minate sentence, and prison servitude under reforming influences : that the
criminal should, for the protection of society, be kept in prison until he was
proved fit to again have his freedom, and his prison life and treatment was all
to be conducted with that end in view. The work was adopted as a text book
by Yale University and other institutions of learning. This writer says " 'The
Science of Penologv-' has admiralily fulfilled the object for which it was written.
It is an accurate, succinct, methotlical summary of the science, a hand-book
CITY OF SCRANTON 5
adapted to popular use, an eminently practical work abounding in valuable
learning that ought to be broadly disseminated." Again this writer says, "Mr.
Boies is likely to exert an influence surpassing that of any of his contem-
poraries in moulding the thought and inspiring the energies of future genera-
tions with correct views regarding crime and the treatment of criminals. Thus
the 'Science of Penology' must be regarded as a really monumental work, and
while Mr. Boies in many ways served his day and generation, this book is the
crowning work of his life, and a useful public service, which justly claims for
its author a grateful and lasting memory."
Colonel Boies married as his second wife, Elizabeth L. Dickson, daughter
of Thomas Dickson, the president of the Delaware & Hudson Company, Feb-
ruary 17, 1870. Of this union there were six children as follows : Mar^
Dickson, died in infancy; Joseph Milton, born August 8, 1873, died April 27,
1898: a son, died in infancy; Ethel Marvine; David; Helen Elizabeth, married
J. J. Belden.
Colonel Boies passed away very suddenly, December 12, 1903. He literally
died in the service of his Master. Against the advice of his physician, he had
undertaken a journey to Washington with Governor Beaver, and other com-
mittee men, to invite President Roosevelt to come to this city and address the
Jubilee Convention of the Pennsylvania State Young Men's Christian Associa-
tion, which was soon to meet here. On his way home he was seized with
acute indigestion, reaching no farther than Wilkes-Barre, where he died of
heart failure. So, to the great sorrow of our city, country and state, passed
away one of the noblest, most patriotic, public-spirited, brilliant Christian men
it has been the good fortune and the honor of our city to number among its
citizens.
CHARLES S. WESTON
No history of the development of Scranton, as a financial and industrial
center, would be even approximately correct did it fail to chronicle the im-
portant part the Westons, father and son, have taken during the period mark-
ing its greatest advance and development. Both native Pennsylvanians, they
added commercial lustre to the district and have fairly won a name on Scran-
ton's roll of fame. While the father has gone to his eternal reward, the son
remains, a vital living force in the financial and business world, honored and
respected far beyond local limits and occupying the proud position as executive
head of Scranton's large and solid financial institution, The First National
Bank.
Edward W. Weston was born in Salem, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, De-
cember 5, 1823, died in Scranton after a long illness, October 28, 1891, son of
Elijah and Minerva (Torrey) Weston. Elijah Weston was an early settler of
Wayne county, while his father-in-law, Jason Torrey, was closely connected
with the early business enterprises of the county.
Edward W. Weston grew to manhood in Salem, attended the country school
and obtained a good education. He was his father's assistant on the farm, but
also taught school and obtained a knowledge of surveying. In 1844 he at-
tained his majority and at once left home, entering the office of his maternal
uncle, John Torrey. of Honesdale, there completing his surveying and engineer-
ing studies, becoming practical and expert in both branches. He remained with
his uncle, his valued assistant until 1859. when he received the important ap-
pointment of manager in charge of the lands and surveys of the Delaware and
Hudson Canal Company. He was stationed at Carbondale until 1861, when
he moved to Scranton, taking in charge the construction of breakers at the
6 CITY OF SCRANTON
new mines then being opened by the company, also directing the engineering
features of the newly located mines. In 1864, upon the appointment of Thoma^
Dickson, as general superintendent of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Com-
pany, Mr. Weston was appointed to the position of superintendent of all their
coal mining operations The period of prosperity then setting in for the com-
pany, caused by the great expansion of their coal trade and the acquisition of
valuable railroad properties, rendered it advisable to separate the company's
land department from the department of mines. This was done, and in April,
1874, Mr. Weston was appointed general agent of the real estate department,
which position gave him full authority over all real estate owned by the com-
pany. He efficiently filled the exacting duties of his position until February
I, 1889, when failing health compelled his retirement as the active head of
that department. The company, however, were unwilling to lose his valuable
services and still retained him, but in an advisory capacity. He gave freely ot
his best judgment and long experience on all matters affecting the real estate
investments of the company until his death, his service with the company ac-
tive and advisory covering a period of thirty-two years, 1859-91. Nor does
this by any means cover the full extent of his services in the development of
Scranton and the Lackawanna Valley. He had large private and corporate
interests, and aided and promoted many of the now well known stable, in-
dustrial and financial corporations. He was president of the First National
Bank, one of the soundest and most successful financial institutions in the
state; president of the Northern Coal and Iron Company: of the Weston Mill
Company ; of the Hudson River Ore and Iron Company ; vice-president and
director of the Dickson Manufacturing Company: director of the Moosic
Powder Company : of the Providence Gas and Water Companv, and closely
identified with many other manufacturing and mming enterprises both in and
outside Scranton. Nor was he merely a machine for the coining of money,
but public-spirited and humane, he sought to improve public conditions and
leave the world better for his having lived in it. His wealth, honestly and
fairly earned, was wisely used for the good of all : the welfare of his fellows
and the commercial progress of Scranton, being as dear to him as were his
private concerns. He possessed a character of sterling worth and exemplified
in his own life the uprightness and integrity that never deviates for private
gain.
Charles S. Weston, son of Edward W. Weston and his wife, Susan
(Moore) Weston, was born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, August 25, i860. In
the following year his parents moved to Scranton where his life since then ha.>
been spent. This period covers the principal years of Scranton's greatest
development and of his father's greatest activity, therefore there is little
wonder that his early ambition was fired to become like his father, a leading
factor in his city's progress. He attended Scranton's public schools until six-
teen years of age, then entered Granville Military Academy (New York). He
spent two years at that institution, winning signal honors. In 1878 he entered
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy, New York ; took a full engineering
course of four years, and was graduated a C. E., class of 1882. Now a gradu-
ate of one of the best technical schools of the country and a fully qualified
civil engineer, he entered the employ of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Com-
pany, giving that company his professional services until October, 1885,
when he was appointed assistant general agent of the company's real estate
department, his father then being its capable agent. When later the position
of general agent was left vacant, by the retirement of Edward W. Weston,
the son had so proved his value to the company that he was appointed to suc-
ceed his honored father, February i, 1889. This position, covering as it did
CITY OF SCRANTON 7
the supervision of all company real estate, including mines and canals, was
so ably filled by the younger man, that on the death of his father he was
elected to fill the position thereby left vacant, the presidency of the Northern
Coal and Iron Company, this company being owners of all the coal mines and
breakers operated by the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, south of Scran-
ton. They also owned a railroad running from Scranton to Wilkes-Barre and
were one of the most powerful of the coal owning companies of that day.
Now fairly launched on the sea of business prominence the progress of Mr.
Weston has been steady and continuous until the record of his activities seem
almost beyond belief. He holds the following official positions: President of
the First National Bank of Scranton ; president of the Cherry River Paper
Company, a corporation of West Virginia with offices in Scranton ; director of
the Lackawanna Trust and Safe Deposit Company ; Scranton Lace Curtain
Company ; Kanawha and West Virginia Railroad Company ; Cherry River
Boom and Lumber Company ; Hebard Cypress Company ; National Water
Works and Guarantee Company; the Wilson Lumber and Milling Company,
and has interests in many other enterprises of not lesser importance. His eleva-
tion to the presidency of the First National Bank in 1913 was not only a
compliment to the memory of its former president, Edward W. Weston, but
was deserved recognition of the services of Qiarles S. Weston as vice-presi-
dent of that bank and of his standing as a financier. While his early training
had not particularly fitted him for the position, his long years of intimate
connection with large undertakings had, while his high standing among men
of affairs, his wide acquaintance and proven executive ability, peculiarly fitted
him to become the head of so important an institution as the First National.
But there is another side to this man of large affairs. He served four years
in the Pennsylvania National Guard as second lieutenant of Company H, Thir-
teenth Regiment. He is a member of many associations, societies, clubs and
fraternities, thoroughly enjoys the social side of life and the company of his
professional brethren, friends and neighbors. He is interested not only in
the material prosperity of his city, but in her churches, hospitals and philan-
thropic institutions, serving them with purse and personal service. A Republi-
can in politics, he is strong in his support of good government, and while help-
ful in the service of his friends has never sought public office for himself.
Mr. Weston married, September 2, 1891, Grace Storrs, born in Buffalo,
New York, a graduate of Wells College. She is the daughter of the late W.
R. Storrs, general coal agent of the Delaware. Lackawanna & Western Rail-
road Company. The family home of the Westons is on Monroe avenue,
Scranton, where a gracious hospitality is dispensed.
JUDGE ALFRED HAND
To few men has it been given to occupy as commanding a position in the
affairs of his section, and the hearts of the people, as to Judge Hand, lawyer,
iurist and business man. A review of Judge Hand's career shows him, not
only as a brilliant lawyer, wise judge and excellent business man, but shows
him as the interested trustee of educational institutions, president of a school
devoted to the education of deaf mutes, active in Young Men's Christian Asso-
ciation work, in the prosperity and governinent of his church and an ardent
supporter of all that pertains to the public good. Now nearing his eightieth
year (1914) Judge Hand can look back over a most useful life and surely the
review can give him nothing but satisfaction.
(I) Paternally, Judge Hand descends from John Hand, of Stanstede, Eng-
land, who caine to America in 1644, and maternally from Robert Chapman of
8 CITY OF SCRANTON
Hull, England, who settled at the mouth of the Connecticut river in 1635.
John Hand, in 1648. settled at Easthampton, Long Island, going there from
Southampton, where he is listed as a "whaler." From him descends a long
line of ship builders and seafaring men, whose names are yet familiar on Long
Island. From Long Island, a branch of the family located at Athens. Greene
county, Judge Alfred Hand descending from this branch. The line of descent
from John Hand, the emigrant, is through Stephen (i), died 1693: Stephen
(2), born 1661, died 1740: John, baptized 1701, died 1755 ", John (2) ; John
(3), born 1754, in Athens, Greene county, New York, married, March 6,
1778, Mary Jones, and died May 30, 1809.
(II) Ezra Hand, son of John and Mary (Jones) Hand, was born August
9, 1799. in Albany county. New York, died in Honesdale. Pennsylvania, in
1875. In early manhood he settled in Honesdale, where the greater part of
his life was passed. He married, June 2, 1829, Catharine Chapman, born at
Durham, Greene county. New York, February 11, 1808, who survived him, at-
taining the great age of ninety-one years. She was a lineal descendant of
Robert Qiapman. who in 1635, came from Hull, England, landing at Boston,
but the following November was one of the company of twenty-one men, sent
out by Sir Richard Saltonstall to make settlement at or near the mouth of
the Connecticut river under the patent of Lords Say and Seal. Thus does
Judge Hand's title prove clear to colonial New England ancestry on both pa-
ternal and maternal lines.
(III) Alfred Hand, son of Ezra and Catharine (Chapman) Hand, was
born at Honesdale, Pennsylvania, March 26, 1835. Preparing in local schools,
he entered Yale College at the age of eighteen years, whence he was graduated,
class of 1857. Returning home he decided upon the profession of law. enter-
ing the offices of William & William H. Jessup, of Montrose, Peimsylvania.
He was admitted to the bar of Susquehanna county in November, 1859. and
to the Luzerne county bar. May 8, i860. He was for a short time a member
of the law firm of Jessup & Hand, but in i860 moved from Montrose to
Scranton, where he practiced alone for six years, then admitting to partner-
ship a former fellow law student, Isaac J. Post. This association continued
until 1879. when, by appointment of Governor Hoyt, Mr. Hand was elevated
to the bench, as judge of the Eleventh Judicial District, composed of the coun-
ties of Lackawanna and Luzerne. He had taken active part in the foundation
and early history of Lackawanna county, therefore, when the new judicial
district was erected, he was appointed its first judge of the Court of Common
Pleas. The following year. 1880. he was regularly elected for the full term
of ten years. However, he did not complete but eight years of his term, as
on July 31. 1888. he was appointed by Governor Beaver to a seat upon the
Supreme bench of Pennsylvania, to fill the unexpired term of Judge Trunkey,
deceased. He served with honor until the expiration of his term, January i,
1889, then retiring to the private practice of his profession, after ten year'i
upon the county bench and upon that of the Supreme Court of his state. He
won legal honors as a jurist, and was regarded in point of learning, legal acu-
men and soundness of judgment, as the peer of any of his Supreme Court
colleagues. As a private practitioner Judge Hand was very successful and
had a well earned reputation as the leading lawyer of the Lackawanna county
bar at the time of his retirement. He made a specially of corporation law and
was counsel for many of the important corporations of Scranton. His practice
was a large one and was held closely to him by virtue of his fully recognized
ability as an attorney and an advocate. While always a Republican, Judge
Hand never sought office, nor did he even accept any save judicial ones. But
large as was his practice, he yet had time for other business activities and
CITY OF SCRANTON 9
civic obligations. From 1872 until 1879, he was president of the Third National
Bank of Scranton and was instrumental in the organization of the First Na-
tional Rank. He held directorships in the People's Street Railway of Luzerne
county, the Jefferson Railroad Company, the Dickson Manufacturing Com-
pany, the Lackawanna Valley Coal Company, the Oxford Iron and Nail Com-
pany, the Davis Oil Company of New York, and was a member of the coal
firm, William Connell & Company. This proves Judge Hand's claim to the
title of a "busy" man, but gives no idea of the time devoted to the institutions
in which he was particularly interested as a humanitarian and good citizen.
He was trustee of Lafayette College, president of the Pennsylvania Oral
School for Deaf Mutes (the first school of its kind ever established in the
State); was president of the Scranton Free Library from its foundation;
president for many years and an active worker of the Lackawanna County
Bible Society, director of the Lackawanna Hospital, director and president
of the Scranton Young Men's Christian Association. In none of these bodies
was he a figurehead, but gave them his best effort, and all were successfully
conducted during Judge Hand's connection with them.
In his religious life, he has been very active, useful and earnest. In 1867
he was elected an elder of the First Presbyterian Church of Scranton, con-
tinuing as such for over forty years. He has represented the Lackawanna
Presbytery in six General Assemblies of the Presbyterian church, serving on
important committees and taking active part in the deliberations of the as-
sembly.
So all through his life Judge Hand has been active and useful in every
department of life, and to few men has it been given to see greater good follow
their labors. He holds a secure place in the hearts of his brethren of the bar,
his business associates, his brethren of the church and kindred organizations,
and in the hearts of his fellow citizens. He belongs to many bar associations,
societies and organizations of different kinds and now with his books, his
friends and his memories, passes the closing years of an honorable, useful life.
Judge Hand married (first) September 11, 1861. Phoebe A., daughter of
the distinguished jurist, William Jessup of Montrose, Pennsylvania, under
whom Judge Hand received his first legal instruction. She died April 25,
1872. He married (second) Helen E., daughter of Frederick Sanderson, of
Beloit, Wisconsin. His children are: i. Horace E., of Anaheim, California,
graduate of Yale, class of 1884. 2. William Jessup, graduate of Yale, Bachelor
of Arts, 1887; read law with his father and on the latter's retirement from
the bench became his law partner ; for twelve years was a director and for two
years president of the Young Men's Christian Association ; served as council-
man of Scranton and on the school board as a Republican. 3. Alfred, graduate
of Yale, 1888, and of the medical department of the University of Pennsyl-
vania, whence he was graduated M. D., establishing in practice in Philadel-
phia. 4. Harriet J. 5. Charlotte C. 6. Miles T., graduate of Williams Col-
lege and Cornell LIniversity. 7. Helen S., wife of Dr. John Lyman Peck. 8.
Ruth B.
BENJAMIN H. THROOP
While there are interesting traditions concerning the English ancestry of
William Throope, the Puritan, there is so much that is both true and interest-
ing in the lives of his descendants that the traditional may properly be omitted.
In the earliest settlement of Scranton, beginning with Slocum Hollow days,
two men who were destined to be of great service, seem to have been first
■drawn to the new settlement by the fact that they had married relatives. Dr.
lo CITY OF SCR ANTON
Throop married Harriet F. McKinney, Sanford Grant married Mary Mc-
Kinney, a sister of Harriet McKinney.
(I) Dr. Throop, the foimder of the Scranton Throops herein recorded was
a descendant of Wilham Throope, the Puritan who married in Barnstable,
Massachusetts, May 4, 1666, Mary, daughter of Ralph Chapman, who came in
the "Elizabeth" in 1635. William Throope later was one of the first settlers
of Bristol, Rhode Island, traveling there overland prior to 1683, with his
family in an oxcart. He was grand juryman at Barnstable 1680, surveyor of
highways at Bristol 1683, selectman 1689, grand juryman i6go, representative
1691, died December 4, 1704.
(II) Captain William (2) Throope, son of William Throope, the Puritan,
born about 1678-79, is the Captain William Throope of Lebanon, Connecticut,
who was elected representative 1730, justice of the peace 1736, moderator at
town meetings and captain of militia. He was land agent for the proprietors
at Lebanon and acted for the colony on numerous occasions in the settling of
boundary disputes, etc. He married at Bristol, March 20, 1698, Martha Colyn.
(III) Rev. Benjamin Throop, youngest son of Captain William Throope,
was born at Bristol, Rhode Island, June 9, 1712; was a graduate of Yale 1734,
studied theology and was pastor of the church he organized at Bozrah, Con-
necticut, from January 3, 1738, until his death. .September 16, 1785; chaplain
of the Crown Point Expedition in 1755 ; appointed to preach election sermon
May, 1753, which was printed by the order of the legislature. He married,
September 27, 1735, at Canterbury, Connecticut, Sybil, daughter of Colonel
John and Abigail (Fitch) Dyer, and granddaughter of Major James Fitch,
the patron of Yale, and his wife. Alice, daughter of Major William Bradford,
eldest son of Governor Bradford. Miss Caulkins, the historian, says of Rev.
Benjamin Throop : "He left behind him the reputation of a scholar and a gen-
tleman, seasoning all his speech with a divine relish, yet genial, social, always
diffusing good humor, always thirsting for information and ever ready to im-
part from his ample store to others." He died at Bozrah, September 14. 1785,
his wife August i, 1793. His funeral sermon by Rev. Andrew Leete, Yale,
was published. An item in his will reads "to my son Horace Throop my Gun
and the rest of the artillery," to other children he left, "books and great
Bible," "my silver tankard," "Sermons," "Negro boy Jack."
(IV) Colonel Benjamin Throop, fifth child of Rev. Benjamin Throop (the
final "e" was dropped in the preceding generation), was born ilarch 9, 1744,
died in New York State, June 16. 1822. He responded to the Lexington alarm
as lieutenant and his commission as colonel of the Fourth Regiment Connec-
ticut \'olunteers, signed by John Jay, secretary of the Board of War in Phila-
delphia, March 9, 1779. was owned by Dr. Benjamin H. Throop of Scranton.
Colonel Throop was brevetted for gallantry, and received a grant of land in
Ontario county. New York, as bounty and half pay for life, $240.00 a year
from April 20, 1 81 8, as pension. Dr. Throop, before mentioned, wrote of him
under date of October 20, 1896: "He was major of the Fourth Connecticut
Volunteers and with his regiment and three others, was ordered to New Jersey
and Pennsylvania — spent the winter at \'alley Forge and one at Morristown :
was at the battles of Trenton, New Brunswick and Germantown, and then
with Sullivan was ordered by Washington to drive the Six Nations of Indians
to their homes in Oneida count)', from winch they came down to the Wyom-
ing Valley, now Luzerne county. With General Sullivan he drove them home,
and after that landed at West Point on the Hudson and was in several battles
on that river. That ended his first enlistment. He re-enlisted and was in
various fights even to Montreal." He moved about 1800 to Red Hook. Dutchess
county, New York, and about 1816 to Chenango county. New York. He mar-
CITY OF SCRANTON ii
ried at Lebanon, Connecticut, April 4, 1766, Susannah, daughter of his father's
first cousin, Captain Dan and Susannah (Cary) Throope, and sister of Captain
Dan (2) Throope of the Revohition.
(V) Major Dan Throop, eldest son of Colonel Benjamin Throop, was
born April 27, 1768, died at Oxford, New York, May 18, 1824, and was buried
with military honors. He is buried with his wife in the cem.etery there, the
spot marked by a fine monument erected by his son. Dr. Benjamin H. Throop.
Major Dan Throop served in the Revolutionary War, first entering the army
when fifteen years of age, marching with his father's regiment as a fifer, and
was pensioner of the government in his old age. He married, November 12,
1788, Mary Gager, of Bozrah, Connecticut. In 1792 they sold land in Nor-
wich "inherited from our Honored Father and Mother late of Bozrah" and
moved to Oxford, New York. His eldest son. Captain Simon Gager Throop,
was a brilliant, popular lawyer of Oxford, captain of militia, member of as-
sembly and paymaster in New York, died in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, in 1880.
Mary (Gager) Throop died in 1842 aged seventy-three years.
(VI) Dr. Benjamin Henry Throop, sixth child and youngest son of Major
Dan and Mary (Gager) Throop, was born at Oxford, New York. November
9, 181 1, died at Scranton, Pennsylvania, June 26, 1897. The lad attended Ox-
ford Academy, where among his classmates was Horatio Seymour, later gov-
ernor of New York state, and Ward Hunt. Finishing his academical course he
began the study of medicine under Dr. Percy Packer, afterward entering Fair-
field Medical College, then the only medical college in the state. He was grad-
uated M. D. in 1832, being then twenty-one years of age. In February of the
same year he settled at Honesdale, Pennsylvania, then an insignificant village,
located at the head of the Delaware and Hudson Canal. He remained there until
1833, then located in Oswego, New York, and in 1836 in New York City. He
remained in New York City until 1840, and in the early fall of that year visited
old friends in Honesdale. While there he was called in consultation by a
physician of the Lackawanna Yalley and so favorably did the locality impress
him, that on October 8, 1840, he was established in Providence.
In 1842 he married, his wife being Harriet F. McKinney, a sister of the
wife of Sanford Grant, a member of the firm of Scranton & Grant, which
was the first business firm to locate in Slocum Hollow, and from whose early
eflforts grew the citv of Scranton. Through this relationship, the doctor be-
came acquainted with the possibilities of the location and in 1847 he was per-
suaded to settle at the "Hollow." He chose a home lot in the woods and
erected a house, the first ever erected in Scranton proper, except those built by
Scranton & Grant, as part of their iron making plant. He soon became known
throughout the Valley as a skillful physician, and had a large practice. In
1853 he was appointed postmaster, holding the office for two years. In 1835, Dr.
Throop having become convinced that coal was to be the great source of the
Valley's wealth and mining, its chief industry, began investing in land under-
laid with anthracite coal. He kept increasing his holdings until, when railroads
finally came and large coal companies began their operations, he found himself
a very wealthy man. He continued one of Scranton's active business men,
owned a great deal of real estate, including additions to the city in Hyde Park,
Providence, and on his own land laid out the town of Blakely, the village of
Priceburg, and founded the town of Throop. He purchased nearby farms,
divided them into lots, and sold them at reasonable prices, but at a handsome
profit. He supervised the completion of the Newton turnpike, mtroduced the
first public milk supply, the first drug store, the first livery stable, the first
railway package express company. He was instrumental in securing the first
post office and was postmaster 1853 to 1858. When later the county of Lack-
12 CITY OF SCRANTON
awanna was erected from Luzerne, it was Dr. Throop who worked the hardest
to bring about the separation, he having agitated the question of division for
years, spending a great deal of time in Harrisburg in the pursuit of friends for
the measure.
He was the first surgeon in old Luzerne county to respond to President
Lincoln's call, receiving unsolicited a commission as surgeon from his friend,
Governor Curtin. He kept his men in excellent health and was the first
surgeon in Pennsylvania to establish a field hospital. This was a necessity, as
the lo.ooo men there quartered, drawn from different states, and living under
unusual conditions, developed a great deal of sickness. Dr. Throop. as the
senior surgeon, was expected to provide s\iitable quarters for these men and
he did, by seizing an abandoned hotel and the city hall, filling them with cots,
which he furnished at his own expense, bedding being sent in from Scranton.
He had left home expecting to be away for a day or two, but it was only at
the end of four months of active service in the field that he was free to return
to his home. Soon afterward he was again ordered to the front, where he
served as surgeon of the One Hundred and Thirty-second Pennsylvania In-
fantry, being ordered to the relief of that regiment, after they had been badly
cut up at the battle of Antietam. There he establislied a field hospital in the
woods, and remained in charge six weeks. He then accompanied the army to
Harper's Ferry, remaining there until an attack of fever compelled his return
home. It was not until after the war ended that the good doctor gave up his
practice, but from that time until his death he devoted himself to his extensive
business interests and to the many plans he had formed for the betterment of
his fellow men. All through his life he continued his deep interest in the
church and it was largely through his influence and assistance that St. Luke's
(Episcopal) Parish was able to erect their beautiful church edifice. He aided
in organizing the first lodge of Independent Order of Odd Fellows in Scran-
ton, aiding also in the erection of their first hall, which was also used for
lectures and entertainments. He was one of the presidents of the Scranton
City Bank, president of the Scranton Illuminating, Heating and Power Com-
pany, and was relied on for generous support in the establishment of ever^
laudable enterprise.
Though long retired from practice, he never lost interest in the medical
profession. He was a warm friend of the young doctors and the Lackawanna
Medical Society was enriched by a gift of 200 volumes for their library. He
was appointed October 13, 1873, by Governor Hartranft. a trustee of the State
Hospital for Insane at Danville and was continued in that position by succeed-
ing governors, being reappointed as follows: In 1878 by Governor Hartranft;
1879, by Governor Hoyt ; 1882, 1883 and 1885, by Governor Pattison : 1888,
by Governor Beaver; 1891 and 1894, by Governor Pattison; 1895 and 1897, by
Governor Hastings. He founded Lackawanna Hospital and maintained it at
his own expense until in 1874 the state assumed iis control. During many ot
his long years of private practice, he was chief surgeon for the Delaware &
Hudson and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad companies. Po-
litically he was a Republican, but never sought or accepted public office. In
medical practice he was allopathic, yet independent and liberal in his views
of the merits of other schools. He was a great reader and deep thinker, wrote
a deal for the medical journals and for the newspapers. He collected and
arranged a great deal of historical data concerning Scranton's early history,
much of it having, since his death, been published. He was broad in his re-
ligious views and possessed an uprightness of character that won him the un-
varying respect of his associates. In the broadest and best sense, his was a
successful life. Very few of his contemporaries are now left on the scene of
CITY OF SCRANTON 13
of action, but these few speak in the highest praise of Dr. Benjamin Henry
Throop and his great service to Scranton as hamlet, borough and city.
He married, January 19, 1842, Harriet F. McKinney, born at ElHngton,
Connecticut, January 31, 1817, died May 20, i8g8. Children: i. Mary E.,
born March 4, 1844, married, June 20, 1866, Horace B. Phelps, born June 2'3,
1842. died November 21, 1881. Mrs. Phelps survives her husband, a resident
of Scranton. 2. Eugene Romayne, died young. 3. Benjamin Henry (2),
died young. 4. William Biglei, died young. 5. George Scranton, of whom
further.
(VH) George Scranton Throop, youngest son of Dr. Benjamin Henry
Throop, was born in Scranton, September 9, 1854, died ihere March 23. 1894.
He graduated from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, as an M. D. and
practiced medicine a few months but gave it up in a short time and went uuo
business with his father, who at this time was active in real estate and coal
projects, George S. Throop taking care of the actual supervision and outside
work for his father. George S. Throop was a Mason, Knight Templar, Odd Fel-
low, and was the first exalted ruler of the local branch of Elks ; was active in
forming the volunteer fire department and later the paid department. He
married Jennie Wall, of Tunkhannock, January 3, 1889; she died July 12,
1893, her two months" old baby died a few days later.
(Vni) Benjamin H. Throop, son of George Scranton and Jennie (Wall;
Throop, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, December 22, 1889. He ob-
tained a practical education by attendance at the Hills School, Pittston, Penn-
sylvania, and Harstrom School, Norwalk, Connecticut, graduating from the
latter institution in the class of 1911. His active career, so far, has been de-
voted to dairying and stock farming, in which he has been eminently successful,
conducting liis operations on a farm consisting of 350 acres of improved land
located in Elmhurst, Pennsylvania, of which he is the owner. For dairy pur-
poses he has in his possession about seventy cows, full blooded Guernsey stock,
which yield a large amount of milk and which he keeps in a thoroughly scien-
tific manner, paying particular attention to sanitary conditions. He also pays
special attention to the raising and training of German Shepherd dogs, which
he trains for police purposes, which have the reputation of being the best bred
and trained dogs in the world, having taken several prizes at the dog show
held in New York City, March, 1913. There is a great demand for these dogs
throughout the entire country. Dtiring his brief business experience Mr.
Throop has displayed ability of a high order, which, coupled with progressive
ideas, perseverance and persistency, will win for him a position among the
representative business men of his section of the state. He is a member of the
directorate of the Union National Bank, Scranton Trust Company, and Young
Men's Christian Association, in all of which he takes a keen interest and lead-
ing part. He is a Republican in politics.
Mr. Throop married, June 26, 191 1, Margaret E. Connell, daughter of Dr.
Alexander J. and Fannie (Norton) Connell, a sketch of whom appears else-
where in this work. Mr. Throop is a member of the Episcopal church, Mrs.
Throop of the Methodist church.
THEODORE G. WOLF
From the Palatine of Germany, prior 10 the Revolution, came an emigrant
who settled in Allen township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania. He was
a true Teuton, industrious and thrifty, with a well stored mind and a strong
desire to have his sons obtain all the benefits of education. To one of these
sons, George, Northampton county and the State of Pennsylvania owe much
14 OTY OF SCRANTON
of their educational prominence, for as clerk of court, lawyer, legislator and
chief executive of Pennsylvania, his influence was always given to the cause
of education in general and free public education in particular, he being in
truth the father of the public school system in Pennsylvania. In the next
generation a grandson of the German emigrant became one of the leading
journalists of Northeastern Pennsylvania, advocating in his papers, with all
his force, the cause not only of education, but that of good government and
righteousness in the body politic. In the third American generation a great-
grandson of the emigrant and grandson of Governor Wolf is found among
the leading men in the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, that first and
greatest of early corporations and one inseparably associated with the develop-
ment of Slocum Hollow to the great Scranton of half a century later. Although
Theodore G. Wolf has not been associated with the company since 1900, he
was for thirty-eight years a factor in their prosperity and only severed his con-
nections to assume greater responsibilities imposed upon him by the last will
and testament of another of the honored pioneers of Scranton, Dr. Benjamin
Throop. Probably no family in its first three generations has produced three
men whose lives were more completely lived in the service of their fellow men,
than those whose careers are herein traced, but each in a different field.
(II) George Wolf, seventh governor of Pennsylvania, was born in Allen
township, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, August 12, 1777, son of the
German emigrant. He was educated at a classical school in the county, pre-
sided over by Robert Andrews, A. M., a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin.
After finishing his classical course, including a good knowledge of Latin, Greek
and the sciences, he returned to the home farm, of which he took charge. He
also was principal of the Allen Township Academy, but the law was his goal.
He obtained a position in the prothonotary's office at Easton and at the same
time read law under the direction of Hon. John Ross. The young man early
espoused the principles of Thomas Jefferson, who, when he became president,
appointed Mr. Wolf postmaster of Easton. He was later appointed by Gov-
ernor Thomas McKean clerk of the Orphans' Court of Northampton, a posi-
tion he held until 1809. In 1814 he was elected a member of the Pennsylvania
house of assembly, ran for state senator the following year, but unsuccessfully.
In 1824 he was elected to Congress, was twice re-elected and was known as a
hard worker, a conscientious, upright member. In 1829 he was elected gov-
ernor of Pennsylvania. He had previously been admitted to the bar and had a
well established lucrative practice, which he abandoned to assume the high
office of governor. He came to the office at a time when the great schemes
of public improvement had caused the placing of an immense debt upon the
state and vast sums were needed to complete them, or lose the amount already
invested. State finances were in a deplorable condition, the revenues being
insufficient to meet even the interest on the debt already contracted. The outlook
was very gloomy, but Governor Wolf took the bold ground that the improve-
ments must go on, and in his first message to the legislature recommended in
strong language the vigorous prosecution of the public works and the adoption
of a system of taxation by which funds would be realized to pay interest on past
loans and such as it was still necessary to create. He received the approval of the
public and the great work of uniting the eastern waters of Pennsylvania with
the western and the rivers of central Pennsylvania with Lake Erie was vigor-
ously prosecuted.
But the greater fame of Governor Wolf rests upon his strong advocacy of
a system of popular education. James Buchanan said in a speech delivered at
West Chester, previous to Governor Wolf's election :
CITY OF SCRANTON 15
If ever the passion of envy could be excused a man ambitious of true glory, he might
almost be justified in envying the fame of that favored individual, whoever he may be,
whom Providence intends to make the instrument in establishing Common Schools
throughout this Commonwealth. His task will be arduous. He will have many diffi-
culties to encounter, and many prejudices to overcome; but his fame will exceed even that
of the great Clinton, in the same proportion that mind is superior to matter. Whilst the
one has erected a frail memorial, which like everything human must decay and perish,
the other will raise a monument which shall flourish in immortal vouth and endure whilst
the human soul shall continue to exist. Ages unborn and nations yet behind shall bless
his memory.
To George Wolf that honor was accorded and to him, in all time to come,
when the inquirer shall seek to know by whose voice and sturdy will the cause
of public education was championed and finally won. shall the praise be given.
Wliile former governors had noticed and favored the measure, nothing sub-
stantial had been accomplished. Governor Wolf made the adoption of a public
school system the special object of his ambition and the cherished purpose of
his administration. He not only advocated the measure in public and private
but put his own shoulder to the wheel and with iron will yielded to no temporiz-
ing, and ere he laid aside the office of governor had the honor and great pleasure
of signing a bill, making the first step towards the establishment of a free system
of public education in this state : the levying of a tax for a school fund, passed
by both branches of the legislature at the session of 1834. George Wolf was
the first chief executive of Pennsylvania to establish his office in the State
Capitol, previous executives having had their offices in their private residences.
He kept regular, punctual hours, cordially received all callers, and in the dis-
patch of the immediate business of his office kept no clerk.
He warmly supported President Jackson in his conflict with the South
Carolina nullifiers, but did not approve the president's action in refusing a
charter to the United States Bank and crushing out that institution. Twice
elected to the office of chief magistrate of the Keystone State, Governor Wolf
was defeated for a third term. In the following year he was appointed by
President Jackson to the responsible position of first comptroller of the treas-
ury of the United States. For two years he acceptably filled this high office,
then resigned to accept from the hands of President Van Buren the office of
collector of the port of Philadelphia. He died veiy suddenly, while yet in the
vigor of his manhood, March 11, 1840, aged sixty-three years. He held the
governor's office from December 15, 1829, until December 15, 1835. His chief
attributes were sterling integrity, sound judgment, strong common sense with
a firmness that spurned dictation. As a lawyer he was noted for attainments of
a solid rather than a brilliant character and was an unerring judge of human
nature, one of Pennsylvania's strongest executives and one of the many great
men of our state that we owe to our foreign-born sons.
(Ill) Edward L. Wolf, son of Governor George Wolf, was born in Fas-
ten, Pennsylvania, and after a life of great usefulness died at Scranton in 1881,
aged sixty-five years. He embraced the profession of journalism and from
early life until death he held important connection with the press of this
section of Pennsylvania. Among the more important journals with which he
was connected as editor and publisher may be named the Easton Sentinel, The
Backwoodsman at Honesdale and two papers in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
In 1872 he catne to Scranton, as political editor of the Republican, continuing
in that position until his death. He was a strong writer and his editorials were
noted for their great effect in molding the public opinion. He was a member
of Barger Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Stroudsburg, also belonged
to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows there.
He married Mary G. Throop, daughter of Simon Gager Throop, of Ox-
i6 CITY OF SCRANTON
ford. New York, a lawyer and a classmate of President Martin L. Van Buren.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Wolf were members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Seven of their eleven children grew to years of maturity : Theodore G., Han-
nah M., Edward L. (2), Frederick, George E., Mary, R. B. Duane.
(IV) Theodore G. Wolf, eldest son of Edward L. and Mary G. (Throop)
Wolf, was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, May 26, 1844. His early education
was obtained in the public schools of Honesdale and Stroudsburg. finishing
his studies at Scranton high school. He began business life as office boy with
the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company. January i, 1862, and for thirty-
eight years was continuously in the service of that great company, advancing
rapidly from promotion to promotion. The only break in his thirty-eight years
of continuous service was the forty days of military duty he performed in
1863. He did not long remain in an office position, but soon went into the
rolling mills, served a regular apprenticeship and about 1868 was made fore-
man of a department. In 1872 he was appointed superintendent and in 1888
general superintendent of the rolling mills. Mr. Wolf had gained the entire
respect of the officials of the company, and had justified their confidence in
him by administering the duties and responsibilities of his position wisely. He
was rnaster of his business in every detail and while the great Lackawanna
Coal and Iron Company has ever been well officered and managed, its interests
were never better cared for than by Mr. Wolf during his years of authority.
In 1896 he was named in the will of Dr. Benjamin H. Throop as one of the
executors of his vast estate. For four years he acted as executor in connection
with his duties as superintendent of the rolling mills, but in 1900 resigned the
latter office and has since devoted himself entirely to the Tliroop estate and
his private corporate concerns. He is a director of the Allentown Portland
Cement Company, the Pittston Slate Company, the Nordmont Chemical Com-
pany, the Luzerne Chemical Company and the Wyoming Chemical Company.
His connection with the First National Bank of Scranton is most interesting,
he being the only person now living who was connected with the bank in 1862.
His service was as acting teller for a time. Mr. Wolf's military service was
as a private in Company A, Forty-first Regiment Pennsylvania Militia, enlist-
ing June 30, 1863, and remaining in the service forty days. He is a member
of Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and a member of St.
Luke's Episcopal Church, which he has served as vestryman for twenty-one
years.
Mr. Wolf married Elizabeth E. Foulke, daughter of Charles M. and
Catherine Foulke. the latter named a prominent speaker of the Society of
Friends. Their only son, W. Scranton Wolf, born in 1872. is a resident of
Scranton.
JOHN T. DUNN
Inheriting the virile qualities of a Scotch-Irish ancestor, who fought in the
Revolution. John T. Dunn rightfully possesses the qualities that have made the
name of Dunn a noted one in the legal annals of Chemung county. New York.
and Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, his grandfather, Judge James Dunn,
having been a leading light of the former bar, while the firm of Dunn & Dunn
— Arthur and John T. Dunn — occupy a no less important position at the bar of
Lackawanna county.
(I) The Scotch-Irish ancestor. John Dunn, was a Revolutionary soldier
from Connecticut, who married and had a son, William.
(II) William Dunn, a son of John Dunn, also served in the Revolutionary
War from Connecticut, later settling in Elmira, New York, where he lived on
CITY OF SCRANTON 17
Water street, east of Sullivan, there being now no trace of his residence. He
first engaged in merchandising, and later was for several years a proprietor of
the "Black Horse" tavern in Elmira, at the corner of Lake and Water streets.
He lived for a time in F]ath. Steuben county. New York, where some of his
children were born. Later he settled in Chemung Valley, New York, where
he built the first grist inill in association with Judge Payne. He lived to be
ninety years of age. His widow married (second) John Davis, although very
much his senior. William Dunn was made a Mason in August, 1793. He had
several sons, all of whom became politically prominent. Charles W., the eld-
est, is said to have been the first white child born in Bath, but passed most of
his eighty-five years in Chemung county, a merchant and landlord, proprietor
for many years of the Franklin House at Horseheads, New York. Thoinas,
another son. was a merchant, and married a daughter of Dr. Elias Satterlee.
(HI) William (2) Dunn, son of William (i) Dunn, was an unusually
brilliant young man and one of the finest of public speakers. He was an ardent
Whig and a great admirer of Henry Gay, whom he greatly resembled in face
and figure. He was born in 1802: married in February. 1825, Murilla Hulburt,
of Cornwall, Connecticut, died December, 1856, the result of an injury from a
piece of falling cornice at a fire in Elinira, near the Lake street bridge. He
was collector of customs and one time held a department position in Wash-
ington.
(I\') Judge James Dunn, youngest son of William (2) Dunn, gave promise
from early manhood of becoming one of the notable men of the county. He
was educated in the public schools, and about 1822 began the study of law with
Aaron Konkle. He was admitted to the bar of Chemung county in 1825 and
was subsequently a member of the law firms of North & Dunn, Dunn & Hath-
away and Dunn & Patterson. He was the second elected "First Judge" of
Chemung county, serving from 1844 to 1846. In his prime he was looked upon
as possessing a strong legal mind, and was numbered with the ablest men of
his profession. He measured swords with many of the brightest lawyers of
his day and won many notable legal battles. In 1840 he was the candidate of
the Whig party for Congress, but the district being strongly Democratic, he
was defeated. For many years he was the acknowledged Whig leader in
Chemung county, having for his trusted friends such men as Seward, Weed,
Greeley, Charles Cook, John C. Clark and others. In 1848 Judge Dunn sup-
ported the candidacy of his old time antagonist, Martin Van Buren, for the
presidency, "bolting" his own party ticket in favo'- of the Free Soil Democrat,
In 1852 he supported General Scott and became an earnest and active Republi-
can, holding extremely radical views on the slavery question. During the
stormv reconstruction days, he acted with the Democratic party, although his
last vote was for President Hayes, He died May i, 1877.
The resolutions of respect from the Chemung county bar tell of the high
esteem in which he was held. Said Ariel S. Thurston, at a meeting of the bar
held May 3, 1877 : "At the time of his death Judge Dunn was with one ex-
ception the oldest member of the bar within the limits of the old county of
Tioga, He was too, I believe, the oldest native born citizen of the city of
Elmira residing within its limits. He was most genial and companionable in
his manner, somewhat sarcastic ; a man of broad humor and quick repartee ;
always enjoying a joke and with his friend, James Robinson, was often wont
to set the table in a roar. In the argument of a legal proposition, he was by
no means an antagonist to be trifled with."
Judge Dunn married, April 28, 1827, Eliza Thompson, of Goshen, Con-
necticut. Just three days prior to the death of Judge Dunn, they celebrated
their golden wedding. He was survived by his widow and sons, D. Thnmp-
i8 CITY OF SCRANTON
son, Henry and Isaac B., the two former then residents of the State of
Georgia. He also left two daughters, wives of Frank A. Atkinson, of Elmira,
and Thomas Root, of Philadelphia.
(V) Isaac B. Dunn, son of Judge James Dunn, was born in Elmira, New
York, in 1846. He was educated in the public schools. He entered the public
service of his country, was examiner of pensions and remained in government
position until his death. He was a member of the Presbyterian church and of
the Masonic order. He married Georgianna Frances, daughter of John
Tatham, of English ancestry, his family early settling in Virginia Three chil-
dren of Isaac B. Dunn grew to years of maturity: i. John T., of whom
further. 2. Eliza, married Dr. William Carver Williams, of Chicago. 3.
Arthur, born in Elmira, New York, March 7, 1873 ; graduate of Princeton
University, class of 1895 : read law with Judge Alfred Hand, was admitted to
the Lackawanna county bar in September, 1895, practiced alone until 1900,
when he admitted his brother, the firm becoming as now, Dimn & Dunn : he
is president of the Scranton Real Estate Company and of the Fidelity, Mort-
gage and Securities Company ; he married Augusta Pratt Fordliam and has
children : Arthur, John Fordham, Adelaide, Augusta, Walter Bruce.
(VI) John T. Dunn, eldest son of Isaac B. Dunn, was born in Elmira,
New York, July 10, 1869. He attended the public schools, prepared at an in-
stitution of learning in Marietta, Ohio, entered Princeton University, whence
he was graduated A. B. class of 1892. He prepared himself for the ministry,
.attending McCormick Theological Seminary one year, Gottmgen L'niversity,
Germany, one term, Princeton Theological Seminary two yeais and was there
graduated Bachelor of Divinity, class of 1896. He was regidarly ordained
a minister of the Presbyterian church and for two years was engaged m preach-
ing. His theological and philosophical study had led him into new lines of
thought, and in following these he was receding from the orthodox creed of
his church. Still, environment, family influence and personal friendships, as
well as the sentimental appeal religion ever makes to the senses, held him to
the ministry. But the new conception of truth drew with insistent strength,
until finally swept froin his moorings his integrity compelled him to abandon
the ministry and with it the long cherished views, tenets, hopes and aspirations
of a life tiine. By nature, talent, and preparation, Mr. Dunn was peculiarly
adapted to the ministry and to renounce it cost liim not only years of mental
struggle, but many valued friends and engendered a disappointment that only
time can alleviate. During these years of mental anguish, he was extremely
careful in his pulpit utterances not to violate any of the orthodox tenets of his
church, avoiding doubtful subjects in his sermons, strictly observing his ordina-
tion vows, and was faithful to his obligations until his decision was made and
the ties sundered that bound him to the orthodox faith. He paid the jjrice he
must always pay who desires intellectual and religious freedom of thought,
but with a conscience clear and with unsullied integrity, he has never regretted
the decision arrived at and carried out with courageous fidelity to the dictates
of his own conscience.
After passing this critical period of his life, Mr. Dunn began the study of
law, under the preceptorship of his brother, Arthur ; was admitted to the
Lackawanna county bar in starch, 1900, and at once became a member of the
now eminent law firm, Dunn & Dunn. Both members of the firm have been
admitted to all state and federal courts of the district. In their law practice
they have been quite successful and as attorneys built up a very large mortgage
business, having negotiated in Scranton and vicinity more than two million
dollars of mortgage loans without the loss of a dollar of principal or interest.
They became especially distinguished, however, as organizers and financiers.
^
, Jtf:^^^
CITY OF SCRANTON 19
In this capacity they have added several monuments of prosperity tc the city,
such as the People's National Bank and the Anthracite Trust Company, which
were directly organized by them ; also the Providence Bank. Among other
corporations organized by them were the Black Diamond Silk Company and
the Scranton Real Estate Company, both being successful Scranton concerns.
The .Scranton Real Estate Company occupies its own handsome office build-
ing at 316 Washington avenue and is at the present time directly under their
management and control, Arthur Dunn holding the position of president and
John T. Dunn holding the official position of vice-president and treasurer.
They have been organizers also of numerous other banks and corporations
doing business outside of the city of Scranton. But Mr. Dunn likes best
to be known as one interested in the public welfare. Comparatively few of the
public undertakings for the betterment of his city find him absent, not so much
in any prominent official capacity, but giving up much of his time and energy
to personal work and often public speech.
John T. Dunn took an active part in the successful endeavor of his brother,
Arthur Dunn, in reducing the Bi-Carmel council of Scranton, of sixty-two
members, to one of five members. He has been very active and faithful in
the effort made by the Scranton Surface Protective Association to protect the
surface of Scranton. He is a member of the board of trade and always found
present. While at Princeton Mr. Dunn was a member of Whig Hall, the
famous university debating club. He was also a member of the University
Glee Club. He is a member of the State and County Bar associations and of
the Green Ridge Club. Until recently he was a member of the Scranton Club
and the Country Club.
He married, December 19, 1906, Theodora Grace, daughter of Theodore
F. and Matilda E. (States) Brown, of Wyalusing, Pennsylvania. Children:
Theodore Brown and Henry Ernest. Mrs. Dunn is a member of the Elm
Park Methodist Episcopal Church, of which Mr. Dunn is an attendant and
supporter.
WILLIAM TALLMAN SMITH
The late William Tallman Smith, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was recognized
as one in whose personality were happily combined adherence to the loftiest
ideals of integrity and a geniality which endeared him to all who liad the honor
of his acquaintance. His versatility of talent won for him unique distinc-
tion. In the world of art, in the world of literature, in the world of business,
in the world of charitable deeds he was equally at home, honored, respected
and admired by all. He was a descendant of English ancestors, whose first
arrival in this country was in the year 1632.
Ruel and Judith N. (Haskell) Smith, parents of William T. Smith, were
natives of Massachusetts, from which state they migrated to Vermont, settling
in Middlebury where the father was in business as a merchant, removing from
there to Rhode Island, in 1840, where they spent the remainder of their days,
his death occurring in the year i860, and her death in the year 1865.
William T. Smith was born in Middlebury, Vermont, November 30, 1834,
and died suddenly in Florida, whither he had gone on a pleasure trip, March
25, 1898. When he was six years of age his parents removed to Woonsocket,
Rhode Island, and the private and common schools of that town furnished
him with the advantages of a good, practical education. Upon the completion
of his studies he became clerk in a general store conducted by his brother at
Woonsocket. He removed to Providence. Rhode Island, in 1857. and there
engaged in business for a period of three years, after which he took charge
20 CITY OF SCRANTON
of the quarries of the Harris Lime Rock Company in Rhode Island. He se-
cured a temporary release from these duties in the spring of 1862 in order to
offer his services to his country during the Civil War. He enlisted in the
Ninth Regiment Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry, for a three months' term
of service, and was actively engaged in the defence of Washington, which was
at that time threatened by the Confederate army. After his term of service
expired and his recovery from a severe illness, he returned to his duties at the
quarries, and his fidelity in the discharge of the same was recognized by elec-
tion to the legislature, where he ably served one term. Immediately after the
expiration of his term in the legislature, in 1865, he went to Texas with the
intention of making his home there if the country was to his liking, but ap-
parently he was not satisfied, as he returned at the end of a few months. Not
long afterward he was appointed secretary and treasurer of two silver mining
companies in Nevada, and in order to properly discharge the duties of these
responsible offices he spent three years in that state. Business matters then
kept him in St. Louis, Missouri, for one year.
In 1870 Mr. Smith became identified with the interests of Scranton. He
then became superintendent of the Mount Pleasant Coal Company at Scranton,
which was leased by a Boston company. He operated the mines of this comi-
pany until 1877, then leased them in perpetuity for himself, and operated them
during the remainder of his life, becoming one of the most extensive operators
in the Lackawanna Valley.
A condensed account of his other business operations and interests is as
follows: President of the Meredith Run Coal Company, and largely interested
in the Sterrick Creek Coal Company ; connected with the Scranton Forging
Company, the Lackawanna Lumber Company, the Scranton Packing Company,
the Lackawanna Mills, and some smaller corporations ; became a stockholder in
the Third National Bank at the time of its foundation in 1872, was elected a
director in 1883, and was in office at the time of his death ; was one of the
incorporators of the Lackawanna Trust and Safe Deposit Company in May,
1887, was its first president, and was in office at the time of his death. He
served as president of the board of trade, was elected president of the Scranton
board of health in 1886, and while in office instituted many much needed re-
forms in this field.
This varied scope of activity did not prevent him from being equally active
in other directions, notably those connected with charitable and religious mat-
ters. For many years he was a director in the Lackawanna Hospital, and so
liberal was his support of this institution and so beneficial his efforts in its be-
half, that upon his death the authorities issued a memorial volume in recogni-
tion of his services. The Hahnemann Hospital also had the benefit of his sup-
port, as did the Home for the Friendless. He served as treasurer of the As-
sociated Charities of Scranton for many years, and was one of the founders
of the Oral School for the Deaf, an institution which has been of inestimable
value. So generous, self-sacrificing and valuable had been his work in con-
nection with this institution, that after his death the board of directors pro-
nounced him as "necessary to the success of the work." The Scranton Public
Library was another public institution in which he was greatly interested,
serving as vice-president from the time of the organization of its board of
trustees until his death. He donated the fine portrait of the founder of the
library, Mr. Albright, for whom he had entertained a great admiration.
His religious affiliation was with St. Luke's Protestant Episcopal Church.
in which he had been a vestryman for many years. The rector and other offi-
cials of the church said of him : "His purse, his time, his labor, the best gifts
of his head and heart, have always been freely given for the upbuilding of
CITY OF SCRANTON 21
the church and the spreading of Christ's kingdom among men. He was a
helper to every good work. Such a record is indeed rare, and must, we hope
and beHeve, be a constant incentive to all who knew and loved him, to earnest
efforts to continue the work which he so faithfully and usefully carried on."
Art and literature found in him an ardent and generous patron, and it was a
delight to converse with him upon these subjects and gain an insight into his
rich store of information. Politically he gave his support to the Republican
party, but was never desirous of holding public office. Many were the ex-
pressions of sympathy and the tributes paid to his memory by private people
and the business corporations with which Mr. Smith had been associated. The
limits of this article will not permit individual mention of all, but what was
voiced in part by the Scranton Club expresses the feeling of all : "To speak of
our loss is but to echo what has been felt by so many organizations with pur-
poses widely divergent. Memories of his genial presence recall a personality
rich in the qualities which make for personal friendship, the flower of all in-
tercourse between man and man : and the Scranton Club will ever guard those
memories, not only as golden links to the receding years, but also as an in-
spiration toward the maintenance of the highest ideals of companionship."
Regarded as a citizen, he belonged to that public-spirited, useful and helpful
type of man whose ambitions and desires are centered and directed in those
channels through which flow the greatest and most permanent good to the
greatest number. He was well known to be a man of keen business instincts,
a thorough manager and financier, and as most of his business affairs were
of a public nature, bringing upon him the test of pure criticism, the high regard
in which he was uniformly held was an indication of his strict fidelity to duty,
his unswerving integrity and his honorable purpose. Feeling that he was blessed
in business, he did not selfishly hoard his wealth, but used it largely and wisely
for the good of the world, to relieve suffering and distress, to add to the beauty
and joy of living and to the happiness of his fellowmen. He was a manly man,
actuated in all he did by the highest principles and a broad humanitarian spirit,
and his memory is hallowed by the love and regard which he engendered in
the hearts of all who knew him.
Mr. Smith married (first) in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, in 1857, Annie
E., daughter of George W. C. Jenckes, of that city. They had two children
who died young. Mrs. Smith died in 1861. Mr. Smith married (second) in
1871. Abby H., daughter of Lorenzo Richmond, of Woodstock, Vermont.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith were in complete harmony in all their tastes, living
an ideal life, she proving a helpmate in the truest sense of the word. She is
a woman of the utmost culture and refinement, active and prominent in every
worthy cause, giving freely of her time and substance to those less fortunate
in this world's goods, and thus has won and retains the confidence and love
of all with whom she is brought in contact, both in private and public life. Her
gifts to the city of Scranton of the children's ward at the State Hospital in
1901 and the William Tallman Smith Manual Training School in 1905 were
the carrying out of the known wishes and intentions of her husband. They
are valuable additions to the charitable and educational work of the city, and
will serve as monuments to the memory of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, more lasting
and endurable than any other, by reason of the amount of good performed
in each, and will serve to perpetuate their name in the city of Scranton as
long as they continue to exist, their good continuing even longer. Men and
women of the type of Mr. and Mrs. Smith are a blessing to a community, and
their example should act as an incentive to others.
22 CITY OF SCRANTON
GEORGE LINEN DICKSON
Crowned with the snow of eighty-three winters, but with eyes bright with
the glow of his kindly spirit and brilliant mind, with step elastic, walks George
Linen Dickson, the oldest banker of the Lackawanna Valley, dearly beloved,
highly respected and a striking figure among Scranton's prominent citizens.
All but six of these eighty-three years have been spent in Pennsylvania, and
fifty-three of them in Scranton. He is well known in the railroad world of
the United States and Canada, as a manufacturer of railroad supplies and
equipment, while his long connection with the First National Bank which dates
from its organization, and as its vice-president since 1887, lias made him equally
well known in the financial world. As manager of the Dickson Manufacturing
Company, he made his first entrance into Scranton business life in i860, and .
from that time until the present there has never been a day that he has not been
a vital factor in the life of Scranton, and now at the age of eighty-three years,
so remarkable has been his life, and so conspicuous his work in the develop-
ment and progress of the city, that no tribute is too lofty, too heart-felt, too
generous for his friends to offer, nor is any mark of their respect and devotion
withheld.
George Linen Dickson was born in Lauder, Berwickshire, Scotland, August
3, 1830, son of James and Elizabeth Linen Dickson. James Dickson was born
in Scotland, son of Sergeant Thomas Dickson, a soldier of England. Ser-
geant Dickson served in the English army twenty-five years, participated in
fifty-two engagements, fought with his regiment, the Ninety-second High-
landers at Waterloo, repulsing the last French charge, having previously been
engaged with Wellington in the Peninsular campaign against Napoleon's mar-
shals in Spain. He was with the army at the death of Sir John Moore, killed
January 16, i8og, and was present at the funeral of that gallant officer, im-
mortalized by the English poet, Charles Wolfe, in the poem entitled "The
Burial of Sir John Moore."
James Dickson, son of Sergeant Thomas Dickson, was born in Scotland,
December 25, 1801, died in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in his seventy-ninth year.
He learned the machinist's trade in his native land, and worked there as a
journeyman until 1832, when he came to America, landing at Quebec, Canada,
after a voyage of seventy-seven days from Glasgow in the sailing vessel
Chieftan. He located in Toronto, province of Ontario, spending two years
there in charge of the machinery of a line of steamboats on Lake Ontario.
Qiolera there became epidemic and after he lost two of his children by that
dread disease he came to the L^nited States, reaching Rochester by boat, then
to Rondout, New York, by Erie canal, thence by Delaware and Hudson canal
to Honesdale, Pennsylvania, thence to Carbondale, to Dundaf. finally reaching
the farm owned by his brother-in-law, George Linen. He soon left that point,
returning on foot to New York, where he worked two years at his trade. He
then returned to the Lackawanna Valley for his family, intending to take them
back to New York with him, but on reaching Carbondale, Scotch friends there
residing persuaded him to remain there in charge of the machine shops of the
Delaware and Hudson Canal Company as master mechanic. He remained in
that position eighteen years, when he was retired on a pension in acknowledg-
ment of his valuable services. He then in association with his sons, Thomas,
John and George L., organized the firm, Dickson & Company, Joseph Ben-
jamin also having an interest. After two successful years the firm incorporated,
in 1861, as the Dickson Manufacturnig Company, with works in Wilk-es-Barre
and Scranton, doing locomotive and general machine work in the two plants.
The burden fell upon the sons, the father having practically retired, but giving
z
CITY OF SCRANTON 23
to the younger men the benefit of his experienced judgment. James Dickson
become a naturalized citizen of the United States. April 50. 1S44. and cast his
first vote for his favorite and greatly admired Henry Clay.
He married Elizabeth Linen, who like himself was born in Scotland, died
1866; both were communicants of the Presbyterian church, of which' he was
a deacon for many years. Five of their seven children, all born in Scotland,
grew to maturity, the only present survivor being George L. Dickson of Scran-
ton. Children: i. Thomas H., mine superintendent of the Delaware and Hud-
son Canal Company, 1859-1864; then became general supermtendent until
1868. when he was elected president of the company. He died at his summer
home in Morristown, New Jersey. 2. Isabella, married John R. Fordham.
3. Mary, married (first) Andrew Watt, (second) J. B. Von Bergen. 4. John
."Mexander, died in 1867, being at that time general manager of the Dickson
Manufacturing Company. 5. George Linen, of whom further. 6. and 7. Two
other children, James and Elizabeth, both died in Canada, while young.
George Linen Dickson was about two years of age when his parents came
to Canada and two years later was brought with them tc the Ignited States.
He was educated in the public schools in Carbondale. He was intended by his
pious parents for a minister of the Presbyterian church, but his brother,
Thomas, having established in a mercantile business in Carboiidale in 1845,
prevailed upon his parents to allow George L. to enter his employ as clerk. He
liad as a partner Joseph Benjamin, who also was anxious to have the boy with
them, so the parents consented, and on February 6, 1845, he began work, in-
tending his stay to be brief, but he continued with his brother until he attained
his majority and never returned to school. In 185 1 he bought Mr. Benjamin's
interest, the firm becoming G. L. Dickson & Company, his brothers, Thomas
and John, being the other partners. The firm also owned Benjamin's old
foundry, Thomas having charge of that, and George L. operating the store.
In 1856 they sold the store, and as the Dickson Company. George L. operated
the foundry at Carbondale, Thomas building and managing the Scranton plant.
The company had incorporated as the Dickson Manufacturing Company, and
on January 16, i860, George L. Dickson came to Scranton as manager of the
local plant, then beginning his twenty-two years' service with the company in
Scranton. In 1867 he became president of the company, continuing until 1882,
when he sold his interests and retired from the company. He then established
a private business in railroad supplies and equipment, representing several of
the best known manufactures of machinery and supplies in New York and
Scranton, becoming widely known in the trade in the United States and Canada.
He employed in his works and business during his manufacturing career, a
large number of men, and made many friends among them, and also was uni-
versally popular with the trade. He was known as an upright, capable busi-
ness man. wherever known at' all, a reputation established by honorable straight
forward dealing in every transaction, be it large or small. In 1863 he had
aided in the organization of the First National Bank of Scranton, and until
1887 served as a director. He also was one of the organizers of the Scranton
Steel Company, and was a promoter of other Scranton industries. In 1887,
he was elected vice-president of the First National Bank and began withdraw-
ing from his other enterprises, retaining only his official position with the
bank since that date. He has maintained his high record as a business man
and no less the able financier than the capable manufacturer. Much as he
has accomplished in his worthy business career, it is the man himself that most
attracts. He is sympathetic, kind and loyal, a firm friend and a good citizen.
Mr. Dickson has a distinguished Masonic career, being one of the oldest
Masons in the city, and holding a secure place in the hearts of his brethren. He
24 CITY OF SCRANTON
was made a Mason in Carbondale, and there became worshipful master of his
lodge. On coming to Scranton he demitted and joined Peter Vv'illiamson
Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons. He is also past high priest of Lacka-
wanna Chapter, Royal Arch Masons and past eminent commander of Coeur
De Lion Commandery, Knights Templar. He is a thirty-second degree Mason
of the Scottish Rite, belonging to the various bodies of that rite in Scranton.
He joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in Carbondale and is a
past noble grand. In religious faith he is an Episcopalian, having served as
vestryman since 1859.
Mr. Dickson married, September 16, 1856, Lydia M., daughter of John
M. Poore, of Carbondale. The only living child of this marriage is Walter
May, of Scranton. He married Amanda Manville and has a son, George N.,
now a student at Cornell University, class of 1918. Lydia M. Poore was born
in Palmyra, Wayne county. New York, a cousin of Ben Perley Poore, one
of the most lovable authors and humorists of a generation past and gone.
The Poore family is of English origin and was numbered among the early
colonists of New England, where land purchased from the Indians is yet owned
by descendants. Mrs. Dickson's paternal grandfather. Dr. Daniel Noyes Poore,
was a native of ;\Iassachusetts, a graduate of Harvard College, and a skillful,
well-known physician. Her father, Honorable John M. Poore, was born in
Essex, Massachusetts ; he aided in the construction of the Erie canal through
Chenango county as a contractor on that section, in company with his father-
in-law. Later he farmed for several years in the south and in 1846 located at
Carbondale, Pennsylvania, of which city he was at one time mayor. He was a
merchant in Carbondale but spent his latter years in Scranton, dying at the
home of his daughter, Mrs. George Linen Dickson, aged eighty years. Harriet
Townsend Poore, mother of Mrs. Dickson, was born near the Hudson river in
New York, daughter of E. M. Townsend, a soldier of the War of 1812 and
a pioneer settler of Carbondale, Pennsylvania, where he kept an inn in an old
log house, long ago vanished. He was at one time sergeant-at-arms of
the United States senate and was well acquainted with Henry Clay and other
famous statesmen of that period. He died in Baltimore, Maryland, aged
fifty-six years. He was a son of the Rev. Jesse Townsend, D. D., a graduate
of Yale and a noted divine of the Presbyterian church. A brother of Mrs.
Dickson, Townsend Poore, of Scranton, was long and prominently connected
with the Delaware and Hudson Railroad Company. A distinguished mem-
ber of the Townsend family was Martin L. Townsend, member of Congress
from New York.
COLONEL FREDERICK LYMAN HITCHCOCK
Colonel Frederick Lyman Hitchcock, lawyer, soldier, and author of the
present "History of Scranton," is a descendant of one of the old Puritan fami-
lies who founded the New Haven colony. His ancestors were in Wallingford,
Connecticut, as early as 1675, and in New Haven much earlier.
Peter Hitchcock, grandfather of Colonel Hitchcock, was a native of Clare-
mont. New Hampshire, and his son, Daniel Hitchcock, was born in Wallingford.
The mother of Frederick L. Hitchcock and wife of Daniel Hitchcock, was
Mary Peck, daughter of Ward Peck, a soldier in the Revolutionary army, who
served throughout the war. He was a nephew of him for whom he was named
— Major General Artemus Ward, the predecessor of General Washington in
command of the Continental army. Ward Peck was but fourteen years of
age when the war broke out ; his brothers had all entered the army and he had
tried to enlist, but had been rejected because he was under stature. He pro-
CITY OF SCRANTON 25
•cured a large pair of boots and stuffed them with cloth in order to raise him-
self sufficiently to reach up to the measuring rod, and was accepted, notwith-
standing his youth. He participated in nearly all the battles of the war. in-
cluding Trenton, where he marched barefooted, his boots being worn out.
The route of the American army, he said, could be traced by the blood from
the feet of such as he. He was at Valley Forge and Brandywine. and was one
of the four who bore the wounded Lafayette from the field. He was re-
membered by the latter, who on his visit to the I'nited States showed him
marked attention and expressed his gratitude.
Frederick Lyman Hitchcock was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, April
18, 1837, and was educated in the public schools there. When quite young he
located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and studied law with Samuel Sherrerd. of
that city, and E. L. Dana, of Wilkes-Barre. and was admitted to the bar of
Luzerne county, May 16, i860. He practiced his profession until interrupted
by the Civil War.
On August 22. 1862, he entered the army as adjutant of the One Hundred
and Thirty-second Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. This regiment par-
ticipated in the battles of South Mountain. Antietam and Fredericksburg in
1862, and Chancellorsville in 1863. At Fredericksburg he was twice wounded
and left on the field for dead. Lieutenant Colonel Charles Albright, in his
report of the battle, said : "The command was meager in officers : neither
the colonel nor major were present, and just as the regiment was moving off
to the bloody struggle. Adjutant F. L. Hitchcock, who had been absent on sick
leave, came to my aid and assisted me greatly. He conducted himself with
signal gallantry and bravery, and although wounded in two places continued
on duty. His example on and oflf the battle field is worthy of imitation."
Lieutenant Colonel V. M. Wilcox, commanding the One Hundred and Thirty-
second Pennsylvania Regiment, said in his report of the battle of Antietam.
September 17, 1862: "I cannot here too highly express my thanks and admira-
tion for the assistance rendered me by Major Charles Albright and Adjutant
F. L. Hitchcock. They never left the field for a moment, but by their cool-
ness and bravery assisted me greatly in inspiring the men with that courage
which it was necessary for men to possess under so severe a fire as that to
which they were subjected." On January 24. 1863. Adjutant Hitchcock was
promoted to major, and commanded the regiment at Chancellorsville. He was
mustered out with the regiment. May 24. 1863. In December following he
was examined by Major General Casey's examining board, and was awarded
a commission as lieutenant-colonel of colored troops, and entered upon his
duties at once, organizing the Twenty-fifth Regiment LInited States Colored
Troops, at Philadelphia. Early in 1864 he was commissioned colonel, and
served in the defenses at Fort Pickens and Pensacola, Florida, until December,
1865. During most of this time he served as inspector-general of the District
of West Florida, in addition to his duties as colonel. His regiment was pro-
ficient in both infantry and artillery drill and practice. After a careful in-
spection and exhaustive examination by General Marcy, inspector-general.
LTiiited States Army. Colonel Hitchcock was ofl^ered the opportunity of
remaining with the regiment as a part of the regular army of the LTnited States,
but declined.
His only brother. Edwin Sherman Hitchcock, enlisted in the Second Con-
necticut Volunteers in the first three months service, under Colonel Alfred H.
Terry, in May, 1861 : he was commissioned captain in the Seventh Connecticiit
Volunteers in the fall of the same year, under the same colonel, and was killed
under circumstances of great gallantry at the battle of Tames Island. June 16,
1862.
26 CITY OF SCRANTON
Colonel Frederick L. Hitchcock was elected the first clerk of the mayor's
court of the city of Scranton, in 1866, and in 1878 was appointed the first
prothonotary of Lackawanna county ; was secretary of the Scranton Board
of Trade in 1869-71-72-73, and was president during the years 1909-10, and
had the honor to represent the board in the National Board of Trade which
meets annually in Washington, D. C, for nearly twenty consecutive years, and
during this time was a member of its executive council. He has recently been
honored with a life membership.
In 1866 Colonel Hitchcock entered into partnership with W. C. Dickinson,
under the firm name of Dickinson & Hitchcock, in the crockery, china and
glassware business, on Lackawanna avenue. The next year he bought Mr.
Dickinson's interest and continued alone until 1868. when Ezra H. Ripple came
into the firm, with William Council as a silent partner, forming the firm of
F. L. Hitchcock & Company. Colonel Ripple and Mr. Council retired in 1872,
and Henry A. Coursen came in. making the firm Hitchcock & Coursen. In
1875 Colonel Hitchcock retired and resumed the practice of the law. In 1877,
during the riot period of July and August, he was appointed a member of the
citizens' advisory committee of the mayor, and was one of a group of veterans
of the Civil War who organized a citizens' corps for the maintenance of law
and order, thirty-eight of whom met and dispersed the mob in the great riot
of August I, Colonel Hitchcock being second in command of the body of
defenders that day. In 1878 he spent the winter in Harrisburg, working for
the passage of the law creating Lackawanna county, and contributed in no
small degree to its success. Fie was made secretary of the commission ap-
pointed under that law to survey, lay out and erect the new county. In 1879
he entered into partnership with J. .Atkins Robertson in the real estate business,
under the firm name of Robertson & Hitchcock. In 1882 this firm became the
agents of the Barber Asphalt Paving Company, and secured the laying of the
first modern street pavements in the city of Scranton. During the next five
years the firm paved more than five miles of the city streets with asphalt pave-
ments.
In 1877 Colonel Hitchcock's military knowledge and experience were called
into action again, to assist in organizing the Scranton City Guard — four com-
panies of the finest young men of the city. Colonel Hitchcock refused any
office, but on recjuest of Major H. M. Boies, and solely to help perfect the new
organization, he accepted the appointment of adjutant. The following year,.
on the formation of the Thirteenth Regiment, National Guard of Pennsylvania,
Colonel Hitchcock accepted, for the same reason, the lieutenant-colonelcy. The
experience of 1877 had demonstrated the necessity of a first class regiment at
this point, and he freely gave his time and military experience towards the
perfecting of the regiment. In 1883 Colonel Boies declining a re-election. Col-
onel Hitchcock accepted its leadership and served until 1888. During the
second year of his term as colonel, and each year thereafter he succeeded in
qualifying every man in the regiment as marksman in rifle practice — the first
regiment to reach that standard in the history of the National Guard. Declining-
a second term, he was presented by his fellow officers with a souvenir on which
was inscribed the following legend : "He led the regiment from the left to the-
right of the line, and stood with it at the liead of the National Guard of Penn-
sylvania."
Colonel Hitchcock was director of public safety for six weeks during the
administration of Mayor James Moir, during which he reorganized the city
fire department, placing it on a practically paid basis. He also compelled all
liquor dealers to obey the law. All drinking places were closed at 12 o'clock
p. m., and on Saturdays compelled to remain closed until 6 o'clock a. m. Mon-
CITY OF SCRANTON 27
day. His activities in this respect made him persona non grata to the Hquor
interests, and he was removed. On the incoming of the administration of
Mayor J. Benjamin Dimmick, in 1906, Colonel Hitchcock was appointed city
treasurer, which office he held for three years, until the close of that mayoralty
term. During this period he inaugurated the system of depositing the city
funds in the several banks of the city drawing interest on monthly balances.
Colonel Hitchcock was one of the three ruling elders elected and ordained
at the organization of the Second Presbyterian Church of Scrantoii, in 1874.
During his eldership he represented the Presbytery of Lackawanna as a lay
delegate in the general assembly of the Presbyterian Church of the United
States, which met in Cleveland. Ohio, in 1875. He was again a delegate to
the general assembly of 1898, and was a member of its judicial committee
which had before it the question of the trial of Professor McGiffert, of New
York, for heresy. It was Colonel Hitchcock's resolution that disposed of the
case by asking Professor McGiffert to resign from the Presbyterian church
on account of incompatible views. Colonel Hitchcock was superintendent of
the Sunday school of the Second Church for several years, continuing in that
office until his removal to Green Ridge, a suburb of Scranton, in 1881, when
he severed his membership with the Second Church and united with the Green
Ridge Presbyterian Church. He was superintendent of a flourishing mission
Sunday school for four years prior to his connection with the Second Church.
In 1883 he was elected superintendent of the Green Ridge Presbyterian Sun-
day school, and served as such for eight years, and in 1888 he was elected an
elder in the church, and is still serving in that office. He was president of
the Young Men's Christian Association of Scranton in 1875-76-77, and has
also served as treasurer. He is president of the Security Building and Loan
Association, and treasurer of the Barium Produce Company. He has been
prominent in the Masonic fraternity, being one of the oldest past masters of
ITnion Lodge, No. 291, F. and A. M., and he is also a director of the Penn-
sylvania Oral School for the Deaf.
Colonel Hitchcock married, January 24, 1865. Carohne Neal Kingsbury.
Her great-grandfather was Deacon Ebenezer Kingsbury, of Coventry, Con-
necticut. He was a member of the Connecticut general assembly thirty-eight
years, a military officer of rank, and a man of note in the community. Her
grandfather. Rev. Ebenezer Kingsbury, was a native of Coventry, Connecticut;
graduated from Yale College in 1783 and studied theology with Dr. Backus,
of Somers, Connecticut, and was pastor of the Congregational Church at
Jericho Centre, Vermont, when he visited Harford, Susquehanna county, Penn-
sylvania, and received a call to settle, February 21. 1810. He was installed in
.August following, and continued his pastoral labors there for seventeen years.
He traveled over a large part of the counties of Susquehanna, Bradford and
Wayne on horseback, finding his way by marked trees and bridle paths, preach-
ing in log cabins, barns and school houses, of which latter there were a very few
at "the time, and assisted at the formation of nearly all the churches in that region.
He died at Harford in 1842. The wife of Rev. Ebenezer Kingsbury was
Hannah Williston. a daughter of Rev. Noah Williston. who was born in 1733,
graduated from Yale College in 1757, ordained in West Haven, Connecticut,
in 1760, and was for fifty-two years" pastor of the West Haven Congregational
Church, and died there, aged eighty years. His wife was Hannah Payson, of
Pomfret, Connecticut. The eldest son of Rev. Noah Williston was Rev. Pay-
son Williston, who was for forty years pastor of the Congregational Church
at Easthampton, Massachusetts. Hon. Samuel Williston was founder of
Williston Seminary, at Easthampton, to which he gave $250,000. He was also
a son of Rev. Noah Williston. The father of Mrs. Frederick L. Hitchcock
28 CITY OF SCRANTON
was also named Ebenezer Kingsbury. He was iDorn in Vermont, June 13,
1804. At six years of age he came with his parents to Harford, Pennsylvania.
He studied law with William Jessup, at Montrose, and was admitted to the
bar, September 2, 1828. In 1830 he was appointed deputy attorney general for
Susquehanna county. He removed to Honesdale, Pennsylvania, in 1833, where
he resided until his death, in 1844. From 1833 to 1840 he was editor and
proprietor of the Wayne county Herald. From 1837 to 1840 he represented
Luzerne, Monroe, Pike and Wayne counties in the state senate, and in the
latter year he was speaker of the senate. He married, in 1829, Elizabeth Har-
low Fuller, a daughter of Edward Fuller, born in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
He was a descendant of Dr. Samuel Fuller, "the beloved physician," who came
over in the "Mayflower." His wife was Hannah West, a native of Norwich,
Connecticut. They had six children, of which Mrs. Hitchcock, the youngest,
and Edward Payson Kingsbury, late controller of the city of Scranton, and
present auditor of the Enterprise Powder Company, only survive. Mr. and Mrs.
Hitchcock have had a family of seven children : Edwin Sherman, Frederick
Kingsbury, Henry Payson, all now deceased : Lizzie Fuller, married George
B. Dimmi'ck ; John Partridge ; Mary Peck, married Robert S. Douglas, of New-
ark, New Jersey; Carrie Guilford Hitchcock.
WILLIAM W. SCRANTON
The Scrantons, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, are descended from John Scran-
ton, who with others, in all about twenty-five heads of families, came to
.■\nierica, landing at Boston in 1637, and founded the plantation of Guilford,
Connecticut, in 1639, being one of the three plantations constituting the colony
of New Haven, later the colony and State of Connecticut. They came from
England, from the town of Guilford, and the counties of Kent and Surrey,
descended from a people who had their rise in the reign of "bloody Queen
Mary," under whose persecuting reign their meetings for religious worship
without a liturgy were broken up and some of them burned at the stake.
(I) Seeking religious liberty, these early Puritans came to America, and
among them was John Scranton. He was then under thirty years of age, and
lived until August 27, 167 1, and died at the age of about sixty. He was a free
burgess, and was one of the company which in Robert Newman's barn in New
Haven on June 4, 1639, laid the foundation of civil and religious polity by
the adoption of an order of liberal government for what ultimately became
the State of Connecticut. He was a man of prominence in the colony, was
marshal of the colony, was repeatedly on committees of executive importance ;
was a member of the general court in 1669 and 1670. The inventory of his
estate is recorded in the Nev/ Haven Probate Record, October 27, 1671.
(II) Captain John Scranton Jr., eldest child of the emigrant. John Scran-
ton. and the first of the family name born in America, settled in East Guil-
ford, which thereafter became the family home, and died September 2, 1703,
age sixty-two. He was known as Captain John Scranton, was nominated in
1669 to be made a burgess, and at the next general court was privileged to
take the freeman's oath. He commanded the military forces of the settle-
ment, a position of great importance, subject as they were at that period to
attack bv the savages, as well as by the Dutch in New York. He was a success-
ful planter and died in 1703, aged sixty-two, leaving what was then a large
estate to his children.
(III) Captain John Scranton, eldest son of the preceding, born in 1676,
died March 31. 1758. He lived in East Guilford, and, like his father, com-
manded the military of the town ; was a man of considerable property, and
CITY OF SCRANTON 29
in his will made ample provision for the support of his negro man and his
Indian slave, allowing them to choose with which of his children they should
live.
(IV) Captain Ichabod Scranton. son of the preceding, born February 19,
1717, lived in East Guilford. Connecticut. A natural soldier, like his an-
cestors, he took part in both the old French wars of 1745 and 1755. fought at
the siege and capture of Louisburg under Sir William Pepperell, and served
in the campaigns around Lake George and Lake Champlain against Fort
William Henry, Ticonderoga and Crown Point. On returning from Ticon-
deroga after the conquest of Canada, he was seized with small-pox at Albany,
New York, and died November i, 1760, aged forty-three. He was a man nf
patriotism, enterprise and great personal courage, and his death was niourneil
as a public calamity.
(V) Theophilus Scranton, born December i, 1751, died February 16, 1827,
eldest son of Captain Ichabod Scranton, lived and died in East Guilford, no\^'
called Madison. Only twenty-four at the outbreak of the Revolution, he
was forced to remain at home as the sole support of his mother and sisters,
enabling his two younger brothers to enter the Continental army, one becoming
an officer in the cavalry and the other in the infantry.
(VI) Jonathan Scranton, born October 10, 1781, son of the preceding,
was well known as a contractor of wharves, break-waters, light houses and
other public works. He was a leading member of the church in Madison and
prominent in the affairs of the town. He died July ij. 1847. He was the
father of Joseph H. Scranton, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, of whom notice
will be found below : also of Erastus C. .Scranton, of New Haven,
president of the Second National Bank of New Haven, and at the time of
his death president of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad ;
also of Sereno H. Scranton, of Madison, Connecticut, president of the New
Haven, New London Railroad, and later of the Mobile & New Orleans Rail-
road.
(VII) Joseph Hand Scranton, son of Jonathan, while not the first of his
name in Scranton, was the first of his direct family to make that city his
residence. He was born in East Guilford (Madison), Connecticut, June 28,
1813, located in Scranton in 1847, '"'•d (^\tA in Baden Baden, Germany, June
6, 1872. He began his business career in a New Haven store, but while still
a young man moved south, locating in Augusta, Georgia, where he became
head of one of the largest mercantile houses of that city. While in Augusta
he made the first of his series of investments in the Lackawanna Valley of
Pennsylvania. His cousins, George W. and Selden T. Scranton, with others,
had begun the manufacture of iron on the banks of Roaring Brook, and,
needing financial assistance, applied to their cousin, Joseph H. Scranton. He
responded with a loan of $10,000, later invested still more heavily, and in
1847 purchased the interest of one of the partners. Mr. Grant. In that year,
after becoming an active partner in the business, he moved to Scranton and
thereafter made that city his home. The firm successfully solved the problem
of iron manufacture with anthracite coal as fuel, but labored under the great
difficulty of distance from a market, without railroad facilities. But this
problem was also solved by their efforts, and with the building of the Dela-
ware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, prosperity came. In 1853 members
of the firm organized the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, with Joseph
H. Scranton as manager until 1858. In that year he was elected president,
and continued its honored efficient head until his death in 1872. In 1863,
recognizing the need of better banking facilities, he with others organized
the First National Bank of Scranton, was its first president and continued
30 CITY OF SCRANTON
at its head until his death. Prominent as he was in these two great Scranton
institutions, they represent but a part of his business activities. He was the
first president of the Scranton Gas and Water Company, continuing until his
death ; a director of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Com-
pany; of the Mount Hope Mineral Railroad Company: the Sussex Railroad of
New Jersey ; the Franklin Iron Company ; the Scranton Trust Company and
Savings Bank; the Dickson Manufacturing Company; the Moosic Powder
Company; the Oxford Iron Company, and several western railroads, in which
he had largely invested. His standing in railroad circles caused his appoint-
ment by Congress as one of the first commissioners of the Union Pacific Rail-
road, an honor he fully deserved.
Under the strain of his many responsibilities, Mr. Scranton's health finally
gave way, and in January, 1872, with his wife and daughter, he journeyed
abroad, hoping in complete rest and freedom from the exactions of business
to regain his health, but in vain, his death occurring the following June while
at Baden, Germany. His remains were returned to his adopted city, and
there on July 13, 1872. he was laid at rest in Dimmore cemetery. He was
awarded signal honors by the community he had so valiantly striven to up-
build ; business was suspended and the flags of the city waved at half-mast on
the day of his funeral, and the press of the country printed fervent eulogies
of the man whose usefulness was recognized far beyond local confines. Rev.
Dr. Cattell, of Lafayette College, preached the memorial sermon before an
immense congregation of sincere mourners. He said in the course of his
sermon : "I know not of how many companies he was president or manager
or director, or of what great public interests he was the guiding spirit ; but
I do know he was a Christian man, and for many years was the superintendent
of the Sabbath school of his church (Presbyterian), and that he was a man
whose success in all things that men most desire and for which they strive
and toil, was conspicuous."
Perhaps the best expression of the public feeling entertained toward Mr.
Scranton is found in the resolutions adopted by the directors of the First Na-
tional Bank of Scranton :
Resolved; That having been associated with Mr. Scranton in the direction of the
affairs of this institntion from the date of its organization, we bear cheerful testimony
to his great executive ability, untiring energy, perfect integrity and unselfish devotion
to its interests and to his high-minded and gentlemanly bearing in all his official in-
tercourse whereby he contributed largely to the success of the institution, while en-
dearing himself to us by his amiable, generous disposition.
Joseph H. Scranton married (first) August i, 1837, Eliza Maria Wilcox,
of Madison, Connecticut. He married (second) July 3, 1843, Cornelia
Walker, daughter of Judge William P. and Lucy (Adam) Walker, of Lenox,
Massachusetts. He was survived by issue of both marriages.
(\'III) William Walker, eldest son of Joseph Hand Scranton and his
second wife, Cornelia Walker, was born in Scranton, .^pril 4, 1844, and is now
the only one of his name and generation living in the city that owes so much
to his family. He has ever resided in the city of his birth and has borne his
full share of the burden of the developinent of the great iron and steel in-
terests and public utilities of Scranton. He began his education in the public
schools, passing through the high school, then entering Phillip's Academy at
.\ndover, Massachusetts, where he finished his college preparation. He then
entered Yale University, whence he was graduated, class of 1865. While at
Yale he took deep interest in athletics, and in 1864 and 1865 was bow oar on
the famous Wilbur Bacon crew, which won from Harvard in those years.
His fraternities were Ka])])a Sigma Epsilon, Alpha Sigma, Delta Kappa Ep-
CITY OF SCRANTON 31
silon ; his society, the famous Scroll and Keys. It is interesting to record that
after leaving college, Mr. Scranton did not forsake his athletic training, but
continued so effectively that at the age of thirty-six years, in the presence of
witnesses, he lifted a dead weight of two thousand pounds.
Finishing his college career in 1865, Mr. Scranton at once began his long
and successful business career, in Scranton. After thoroughly mastering its
details by serving two years at the works of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal
Company, of which his father was president, he was appointed in 1867 superin-
tendent of the company's new mill, and in 1871 was appointed assistant to the
presidcTit and superintendent of all the company mills. In 1874 he journeyed
to Europe, making a special study of Bessemer steel manufacture as practiced
in English, French and German plants. On his return in the autumn he was
made general manager of the Lackawanna, Iron and Coal Company, and at
once began the utilization of his recently acquired knowledge by erecting a
Bessemer steel rail mill and works, doubling the capacity of the works and
improving its quality. The increased demands of the steel works, also re-
sulted in quadrupling the output of the company's mines and collieries. Dur-
ing his connection with the company he was obliged to act defensively in the
protection of the company's interests during labor troubles, and in 1871 led to
and from the mines daily a party of non-striking miners ; he leading an escort
of a body of miners from the mines homeward, was attacked by a mob,
and in self defense two of the rioters were killed. During the railroad riots
of 1877, when the works of the Lackawanna, Iron and Coal Company and
the shops of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company were
attacked by three thousand rioters, with an armed party he met the mob, who
were dispersed in a few minutes, but not before three of their leaders were
killed. The leaders of the striking element caused the arrest and trial of Mr.
Scranton and his party on the charge of manslaughter, but they were acquit-
ted, with the thanks of the court for their action in quelling the riot.
In 1880, Mr. Scranton resigned his position as manager of the Delaware
Iron and Coal Company, having decided to embark in the steel business in-
dependently. He began by again studying the conditions existing in the steel
mills of Europe, and from the conclusions reached formed his plans. On his
return to the United States he organized the Scranton Steel Company, with
works at Scranton, and there rolled the first one hundred and twenty foot rails
from the steel ingot, afterwards, cutting them into thirty foot lengths. He
continued president of the Scranton Steel Company until i8qi, when that
company was consolidated with the Lackawanna, Iron and Coal Company,
Mr. Scranton withdrawing from all connection with the business save as
investor. He then and since has devoted himself principally to the extension
and management of the Scranton Gas and Water Company, founded by his
father in 1854. This, with various subsidiary companies, supplies water and
gas in Scranton, and water to all points north of city in the Lackawanna Val-
ley to a distance of twenty-four miles. There are other important interests in
Scranton that have benefitted by the business ability and experience of Mr.
Scranton and there has been little in the way of charitable, religious, educa-
tional or philanthropic development, but what has had his support. He is a
strong level headed man of affairs, but the finer side of his nature responds to
every appeal or demand made upon it. While never a politician or oflfice
seeker, he has taken deep interest in city affairs and aided the cause of good
government in many ways. Now nearing his seventieth year, he is a man of
unusual strength, bodily and mentally, showing few signs of the active scenes
he has passed through, nor the many years of association with Scranton's great
industries.
32 CITY OF SCRANTON
Mr. Scranton married, in Saint Albans, Vermont, October 15, 1874, Kath-
erine M., daughter of Hon. Worthington C. Smith, Member of Congress from
Vermont. The only child of this marriage is Worthington Scranton, of whom,
further.
(IX) Worthington Scranton, only son of William W. and Katherine M.
(Smith) Scranton, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, August 29, 1876. His
early education was obtained in Kalin's private school, preparing for college at
Belmont School, (Massachusetts). He then entered Yale University, whence
he was graduated, class of 1898. He then entered Harvard Law School, re-
ceiving his degree of LL. B., class of 1901. Returning to Scranton he actively
engaged in business with the corporations in which his father was interested,
principally confining himself to the development of the Scranton Gas and
Water Company, of which he is vice-president. He is also a director of the
County Savings Bank and has other and varied interests. He is a member
of the Scranton and Country clubs of Scranton, the University and Yale clubs
of New York, and the Engineers' Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
His college fraternity is Psi Upsilon.
Worthington Scranton married, .\pril 11, 1907, Marion Margery, daugh-
ter of Major Everett Warren, of Scranton (see sketch in this work). Chil-
dren : Marion, Katherine, Sarah.
JOSEPH ANSLEY
Although thirteen years have elapsed since the death of Joseph Ansley, one
of the old guard of Scranton's business men, who was identified with many
of the infant, now mature, industries of the city, the memory of his uncom-
monly useful life still remains fresh in the minds of those whose privilege and
pleasure it was to know him. The beauty of his life and the sweetness of his
character, together with the breadth of human sympathy that characterized his
every action, gained for him a place in the hearts of his friends and acquaint-
ances that was ever held sacred, even after the summons of the last call had
taken him from their midst into the glories of the reward promised to those
whose lives and thoughts are pure and undefiled. He was spared many of
the soul scars that come from faithless and designing friends, departing this
life with a firm belief in all of God's creatures, born of a perfect love of their
Creator. Joseph Ansley was probably of Scotch descent, the family having
been planted in Pennsylvania by his grandfather, who came thither from Con-
necticut, locating at Paupac, Pike county.
Brinson Ansley, father of Joseph Ansley, lived there as a farmer, married
Elizabeth, daughter of Leonard Le Barr, and became the father of four chil-
dren : Leonard, Joseph, William, and Amelia.
Joseph Ansley, second son and child of Brinson and Elizabeth (Le Barr)
Ansley, was born in Paupac, Pike county, Pennsylvania. October 26, 1825.
He was there instructed in the public schools, early in life learning the trade of
carpenter with a workman named La Farge. After completing his apprentice-
ship, he remained in the vicinity for several years, then moved to Hawley,
where he began his successful career. Working for a time at this trade, he
soon began widening his operations, buying land and conducting an extensive
contracting business. In connection with this he also did a great deal of
undertaking work in the neighborhood. The scope of his enterprises extended,
he became a contracting builder, erecting many Itomes and business establish-
ments in the town, many upon land purchased earlier, his holdings including
the present site of the Hawley saw mills and other buildings. Among the
btiildings he erected were the First Baptist and Catholic churches and the first
CITY OF SCRANTON
a
grist mill in Hawley. Besides his other interests he was the proprietor of a
lumber mill and a planing mill. So successful was he that in 1866 he located
in Hyde Park where he established the lumber bu'^iness now owned by Wash-
burn. Williams & Company. Soon after his coming to Hyde Park, Mr.
Ansley formed a parinership with Nicholas Washburn and Samuel Heller.
In 1868 he bought out the interest of Mr. Heller and three years later that
of Mr. Washburn. It was during his partnership with Mr. Washburn that
the planing mill and sash and blind factory were established, but soon after
Mr. Ansley continued in the business alone, so that while the credit for the
installation of that department must be shared between them, it was Mr. Ansley
who raised these processes to the high degree of development they had at-
tained at his death. Until early in 1879, ^ building, known as Herman's shop
was used for factory purposes, when substantial stone and wooden shops were
completed and the business housed therein. Under Mr. Ansley 's skillful man-
agement, the number of operatives increased until the payroll included 100
persons. It is a splendid tribute to his ability as an organizer that the business
he founded so many years ago is not only still in existence, but conducting
operations upon a larger and more lucrative scale than ever before. In 1906,
the widow and heirs of Mr. Ansley incorporated the Ansley Lumber Manu-
facturing Company, which employs about fifty persons and supplies local trade.
While Mr. Ansley never allied himself with any religious denomination,
he conscientiously recognized and observed the obligations he felt to be his,
attending regularly the services of the Presbyterian church. In his political
action he was actuated entirely by the merits of the candidates and the com-
parative strength of the party platforms. He cast his first vote for a Democratic
candidate, in the next presidential campaign acting with the Whigs. The
slavery discussion at this time led him to change his political affiliations, and
at the organization of the Republican party, and the presentation of its first
presidential candidate, John C. Fremont, he voted for him, ever afterward sup-
porting that party.
Mr. Ansley married, September 9, 1850, at Wilsonville, Pennsylvania, Mary
C, now deceased, a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Shouse) Mason. Chil-
dren : I. Elizabeth, deceased. 2. Matilda, deceased. 3. Sarah, married Henry
T. Porter, deceased; children: Ethel, married Paul Johanning; Pearl, married
Alvin W. Decker, of Scranton ; Leila, married Walter S. Jones, of Buffalo,
New York. 4. John, deceased. 5. Lincoln (twin), a lumber dealer of Colorado.
6. Hamlin, twin of Lincoln, died aged twenty-one years, born during the
presidential campaign of i860, they were named in honor of the Republican
candidates for president and vice-president. 7. Joseph, a lumber dealer, mar-
ried Margaret Shififer ; children : Sarah, deceased ; Joseph and James. 8.
James, deceased. 9. Edward, engaged in the lumber business ; married Ma-
tilda Thompson, and had children : Ruth, deceased ; Mary, Allen and Edward.
10. Frank, deceased. 11. Anna.
In closing a recital of the life of Joseph Ansley, it would be indeed an un-
faithful portrayal if no mention were made of the close and sympathetic union
existing between him and his wife. Congenial in every respect, one supplying
the needs of the other, with an almost sacred affection between them, they were
mdeed happily mated. Lfnited in wedlock for better or worse, the passing
years had brought them greater opportunities for the enjoyment of life, but
the coming of riches could not strengthen their undying Jove, nor the luxury
of wealth add one iota to the joy of their happiness.
Mr. Ansley's death, occurring March 23, 1891, was deeply mourned
throughout the locality which had been the scene of his life and labors. Al-
though in later years removed from active business dealings he was still a
3
34 CITY OF SCRANTON
familiar figure in the city. Of fine, erect bearing, his flowing white beard and
kindly aspect lent to him a patriarchal dignity. His commanding appearance
was a faithful indication of the beautiful spirit within, now long gone to
its heavenly rest.
CAPTAIN W. A. MAY
Liberally educated for the profession of civil engineer, but called by the
evidence of his extraordinary ability in dealing with men and in conducting
business affairs from his chosen calling, W. A. May to-day stands as one of
the most notable figures in Scranton. The city is indebted to him for valiant
services rendered the industrial interests of Scranton during the years mark-
ing the crucial period in the history of manufacturing in that place. His
activity and interest in many of the most important commercial enterprises
of the locality has made him a prominent man of afifairs and placed him high
in the ranks of the men who "do things" in Scranton.
Lewis j\Iav. father of Captain W. A. May. came to the United States from
Germany, where he was born and in which country he received an evcep-
tionally wide education, preparing him for the Lvangelical ministry. He was
only twenty years of age when he arrived and spent most of his life in Penn-
sylvania, holding several charges. He married Louisa Haines, of an old
Philadelphia family, who lived on a farm where Frankford is now located.
Lewis May was an inspired and faithful minister of the Gospel, preaching
with all the ardor of heartfelt conviction and laboring earnestly in the serv-
ice of his Master, and his work was blessed with gracious results.
Captain W. A. May, son of Lewis and Louisa (Haines) May, was born
in Hollidaysburg, Blair county, Pennsylvania, December 3, 1850. He ob-
tained much of his early education by attendance at the public schools in the
various places to which his father's ministerial duties called the family. When
he was but fourteen years of age his father's death occurred, his mother going
to her heavenly rest three years later. All of his later education, remark-
ably comprehensive and thorough, was obtained through his own unaided
efforts. He prepared for college at Dickinson Seminary, being awarded the
degree of Bachelor of Arts. Although taking a seminar}' course, he was able
to devote a great portion of his time to the study of civil and mining engineer-
ing, and, his natural aptitude for this work placing him far in advance of the
ordinary college graduate, was offered a position as rod man on the force
but within a year he became chief of the engineering department of the
Hillside Coal and Iron Company. His reputation had preceded him in his
position and the masterly manner in which he directed the engineering corps
of the company, as well as his highly efficient personal work, gained him un-
usual distinction in his profession, although he was not yet twenty-three years
of age. Feeling the need and realizing the benefits of a more advanced edu-
cation, he severed his business connections and matriculated at Lafayette Col-
lege in order to make more ample preparation for his life work. He was
graduated from this institution C. E. in the class of 1876, afterward receiv-
ing the degree of Master of Arts from the same college. He then resumed
his studies as chief engineer of the Hillside Coal and Iron Company, from
which position he rose steadily until he reached a height which placed him
among the most influential men in industrial operations of to-day. Two years
after rejoining the Hillside Company, he added to his duties those of chief
engineer for the North Western Mining and Exchange Company, in Elk
county, Pennsylvania, and still later took charge of the engineering depart-
ments of the Meredith Run Coal Company and of the Gaines Coal and Coke
CITY OF SCRANTON 35
Company, in Tioga county. He satisfactorily discharged all of the obliga-
tions which these offices involved until 1883, when he accepted the superin-
tendency of the Hillside Coal and Iron Company. He served as such until
1 90 1, when he became general manager of the Pennsylvania Coal Company
and the New York, Susquehanna & Western Coal Company. From 1898 to
1901 he had been superintendent of the latter company, and is now in charge
of the combined interests, one of the largest in the Scranton coal region.
To understand the vast size of the operations controlled by these three cor-
porations and the stupendous burden daily borne by Captain May in adjust-
ing and conducting their multifarious affairs, it is only necessary to state that
they control 30,000 acres of coal land, with an annual output of 7.000,000 tons,
handling, in addition, one and a half million tons purchased under contract.
About 16,000 men are in the employ of these companies. He also became
general manager of the North Western Mining & Exchange Company and
the Blossburg Coal Company, January i, 1908. These companies employ
about 2000 men and produce one and three quarter million tons annually.
He became president of these five companies, February i, 1913, having been
made vice-president and general manager, December, 191 1.
Captain May also has been prominent in many of the movements that have
been of the greatest benefit and uplift to Scranton. his role in connection with
the city board of trade being most useful and important. From 1893 to 1897,
inclusive, he was president of that organization. It was in the first year of
his administration that the panic occurred, demoralizing all the trade condi-
tions and leaving many of the city's industrial establishments in a state of
half suspended activity. Through his brilliant efforts new capital was in-
troduced, business roused from its languorous somnolence, and fresh vigor
imparted to the mercantile and manufacturing life of the city. He also was
instrumental in raising the board to its present state of active efficiency and it
was under his direction that the plans for the magnificent new board building
were made. He was vice-president of the Board of Trade Building Com-
pany, also serving upon the leading board committees. He is a director of
the Third National Bank; trustee of Lafayette College since 1912 and of
Williamstown Dickinson Seminary for the past twenty years. In pursuance
of his constructive policy for Scranton, Captain May gave liberally of his time
and services for the forwarding of the erection of three of the edifices hous-
ing organizations which exercised a strong influence upon the life and thought
of the city, the Thirteenth Regiment Armory, the Young Men's Christian
Association, and the Elm Park Methodist Church building.
Captain May enlisted as a private in the Thirteenth Regiment Pennsyl-
vania National Guard, February, 1878, and was mustered out in November,
1888, as captain of Company D. He is the holder of a ten-year marksman-
ship medal which serves to keep fresh the memory of that period of service.
That he still recognizes allegiance to the old regiment is shown by the in-
terest he takes in and the support he gives its every enterprise. He belongs to
the Elm Park Methodist Episcopal Church and is a member of its board of
trustees. In the work of the Sunday school connected therewith he has ever
been prominent and is now its superintendent. His exertions in behalf of
the Young Men's Christian Association have been productive of a great deal
of good, and as a member of the board of trustees he has largely helped to
perfect the organization of that institution and to make it the power among the
adolescent youth of Scranton that such an association should be. He is a
Republican in politics, and belongs to the American Society of Civil Engi-
neers, the Scranton Engineers' Qub, the Scranton Club, the Westmoreland
36 CITY OF SCRANTON
Club of Wilkes-Barre, and the Machinery Qub of the city of New York.
His fraternal affiliation is with the Masonic Order.
Captain May married Emma Louise, daughter of B. L. Richards, of
Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Of this marriage has been born a daughter,
Maud Richards, now Mrs. James Whittaker Page.
The life of Captain May has been one of exceptional attainment and serv-
ice. Playing a man's part in the stern game of life he has emerged from
the struggle strengthened and bettered by the test of skill and endurance, and
in the gentler paths of men he has ever been a vital force for good, a help
and an inspiration to his friends and acquaintances.
JOHN H. BROOKS
The banking and brokerage firm of Brooks & Company, Scranton, was
founded by Reese G. Brooks, deceased, and his three sons, of whom John
H. has ever been considered the active head of the firm.
Reese G. Brooks, who became one of the best known, prominent and well
liked citizens of Scranton, was born at East Mountain, near Scranton, De-
cember 25, 1846, died June 12, 1907. He was educated in the public schools
of Hyde Park, but abandoned school in 1863, and enlisted with the volun-
teers who marched to repel Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania in 1863. Upon
his return from that campaign he entered the employ of the Delaware, Lack-
awanna & Western Railroad, but in 1864 again enlisted, serving with the
L^nion army in eastern Tennessee, until honorably discharged in 1865. Re-
turning then to Scranton he engaged in mining for three years, then became
superintendent of the Capouse Colliery of the Lackawanna, Iron and Coal
Company. He was a valued officer of that company and was successively
promoted until he became inside superintendent of all their mines and later
general superintendent of their coal department. He later became an in-
dependent operator, his operations covering extensive collieries in the valley.
In 1884 he organized the Greenwood Coal Company, and in 1892 the Lang-
cliffe Coal Company. At one time he controlled the Laflin Coal Company,
also the Lee Coal Company and was president of the Bridge Coal Company.
Active as he was in the coal industry, he had official and stockholding rela-
tions with many of Scranton's most important industries and with her finan-
cial institutions. He was president of the Dime Deposit and Discount Bank
(before the merger) and held directorships in the Scranton Trust Company,
and the Title Guaranty and Surety Company, the Westside Bank and others
of perhaps lesser importance. Nor was he so immersed in business that
he neglected any of the duties of a good citizen, but served the municipality
of Scranton faithfully and efficiently for many years as a member of the
school board, president of the poor board, the board of control and for seven
years as city treasurer. He was a Republican in politics and for several years
was chairman of the Lackawanna county central committee. Progressive
and public-spirited he aided in all movements that tended to advance the
public good, not only with his means but by his personal effort and influence.
He enjoyed travel and after thoroughly visiting all parts of the United
States, Mexico and Canada, he visited Europe in i8g6, touring the Con-
tinent and the British Isles. He was an invalid for several months prior to
his demise, but always retained his interest in cuirent aflfairs.
He married Mary A. Morgan, who died March 27. 1905. Children : Mar-
garet, married William R. McQave, of Scranton ; Thomas R., president of
the North Scranton Bank, married Bertha Griffin ; George G., of Brooks &r
CITY OF SCRANTON 37
Company, married Grace Williams ; John H., of whom further ; Cora M.,
married Willard Matthews, of Scranton.
John H. Brooks was born in West Scranton, Pennsylvania, September
16, 1872. His early education continued in the West Side schools until four-
teen years of age, followed by four years at Scranton Central High School
and a college preparatory course at The School of the Lackawanna. He
then entered Princeton University, whence he was graduated B. S., class of
1895. His years at the university were not only profitable years of earnest
study, but of fame in the college world of athletics. He was a member of
the baseball team during each of his four years, and in his senior year, 1895,
was captain of the team. For three years he was one of the players selected
for the All American College team and was also an expert tennis player.
His college club was the Tiger Inn.
After completing his university course he at once began an active busi-
ness life in connection with his father's coal interests, locating for several
years in Scranton, then moved to Pottsville in charge of the Brooks colliery
interests in .Schuylkill county. In 1905 he returned to Scranton and organized
the banking and brokerage firm of Megargle & Brooks, which the year fol-
lowing became Brooks & Company, the principal members being Reese G.
Brooks and his three sons, and continues as orginally formed with the ex-
ception of the honored father, whose connection was terminated by death
in 1907. This firm, of which John H. Brooks has ever been the honored
head, transacts a large business as bankers and brokers. John H. Brooks is a
member of the New York Exchange, his membership dating from the year
1908. He is a director of the Scranton Savings and Dime Bank, the Girard
Life Insurance Company, of Philadelphia, the Spencer Heating Company,
of Scranton, also is interested in many other enterprises of importance.
With a genuine interest in young men and their welfare, he has for many
years been active in the work of the Young Men's Christian Association, and
is now president of the Scranton Association. He is also a trustee of the
Scranton Public Library and of the First Presbyterian Church. In political
faith he is an independent Republican, but not active, save in the cause of his
friends whom he is ever ready to serve with his influence and his ballot.
Mr. Brooks has never lost his interest in athletic sports, but is an active
member of the Scranton Club, holding the club bowling record, is their best
tennis player, and, although now aged forty years, is still the expert at that
game, always considered a young man's game. He also excels at the game
of golf, being a player of national reputation, and in 1901 was chosen on
the All America team to play Canada. All out-of-door sports appeal to
him, but in those mentioned he takes the greatest delight and in those he
excels to a degree unusual for his years.
Mr. Brooks married, April 5, 1904, Augusta .Archbald, of Scranton. Qiil-
dren: Ruth, Mary, John H. (2). James Archbald. The Brooks family residence
is at No. 535 Monroe avenue.
JAMES ALEXANDER LINEN
In the financial world of Scranton there is no name that has ever been
more closely associated with the qualities of honor, integrity and ability than
that of James A. Linen. Having spent most of his business career in the
citv he has been a participant in its marvelous expansion, and in his difTerent
relations with the First National Bank has become known as one of the
safest and most capable financiers of Scranton.
It is interesting to note that while every preference and instinct of James
38 CITY OF SCRANTON
A. Linen led him into the field of finance, by every law of heredity he should
have been imbued with artistic rather than practical desires, inasmuch as
his father, George Linen, was widely known as one of the most talented
artists of his day. George Linen was born in Greenlaw, Scotland, April 2g,
1802. Early evincing artistic tastes and innate ability, he was entered at
the Royal Scottish Academy at Edinburgh, where masterly training by artists
of the highest repute led his brush from its bold and daring strokes into the
refined and softened lines of a more delicate and more beautiful art. In the
excellent course of instruction he received at the academy he developed into
a portrait painter of rare accuracy in faithful and lifelike portraiture. Cross-
ing into England, he there remained for several years, gaining steadily in
prominence and rapidly approaching the height of perfection in his art. In
1834 he came to New York, where he opened a studio which was soon the
scene of busy activity, many of the most prominent men of the day in the
business and public life of the metropolis sitting before his easel. He was
constantly at his work, daily adding to his fame as well as to his material pros-
perity. He made cabinet portraits his special field and one of his master-
pieces, painted five years after his arrival in the United States, received a
medal as the best specimen of cabinet portrait painting shown at the annual
exhibition of the National Academy of Design. Among the official digni-
taries of the day who sat in his studio were Henry Clay and Daniel Webster,
of whom he painted such excellent likenesses, that from his portraits are made
the vignettes which appear upon certain United States treasury notes of high
denomination.
Shortly after his coming to New York, Mr. Linen purchased a farm in
Greenfield township, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania. Here he spent the
summers with his family and here was born James Linen in the year 1840.
It is an interesting fact that while living on this farm Mr. Lmen was in-
strumental in persuading his brother-in-law, Mr. James Dickson, to move
from Toronto, Canada, with his family and settle in Lackawanna county.
Mr. Dickson's sons, Thomas H. and George L. are mentioned elsewhere in
this history.
In literary, as in artistic, fields of culture, George Linen was exceedingly
well-versed, and was, withal, a brilliant convers'itionalist, his charming man-
ners and manly graces making him much sought after socially. His well
balanced mind and deep knowledge of human nature, gained from a study
of the characters as well as the faces of his patrons, saved him from being
over-impressed bv the adulation and profuse flattery of the circles in which
he moved, and kept him ever sincere and natural. During his exceedingly
busy life he had saved a modest competence, and after he had tasted all of
the delights of fame and popularity, he purchased a farm at Bloomingdale,
New Jersey, naming it Glenburne. a word from his native Caledonian tongue,
meaning "the rivulet by the ravine." He here retired to spend his later days,
forsaking his brushes and palette except for the occasional painting of a por-
trait of one of his children, or when he again took up his tools to gratify the
wish of an old friend. It was highly fitting, that, to round out a life of such
rare beauty, there should be a deep sense of religious duty and obligation.
George Linen was blessed with an absolute and high faith in Divine Provi-
dence, and with the full measure of his devotion lived a life free from re-
proach or blame. He was a member of the Reformed church, simple, sin-
cere and earnest in his worship. He was the father of nine children by his
marriage with Sarah Davis.
James .Mexander Linen, son of George and Sarah (Davis) Lmen, was
born in Greenfield township, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, June 23,
i €'-.■"■3 S!3tffrtc:il F:. :
O
a/j/eJ >J
CITY OF SCRANTON 39
1840. In Newark and in New York City he received a thorough education
extending as far as high school training. In early youth he entered the office
of a note broker in Wall street, and during the five years of his employment
there gained a deep insight into monetary aflfairs and the means of their ad-
justment, inflation and depression, which proved mvaluable to him in the
later years of his life, when he became so important a factor in the financial
affairs of Scranton. When he was about to embark upon his independent
career the outbreak of the Civil War occurred, and patriotic love of country
being strong in his youthful heart, he laid aside his plans for business until
a more propitious occasion and enlisted in the Twenty-sixth Regiment New
Jersey Volunteers, September 19, 1862, as a private, but soon rose to the rank
of lieutenant. He completed nine months service in the Army of the Potomac,
which saw much strenuous action in the entire war. his regiment participat-
ing in the battles of Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg, also in the Gettys-
burg campaign, engaging in the first conflict of that historic manoeuvre.
Lieutenant Linen was subsequently transferred to the Army of the West and
for eighteen months was stationed at Camp Nelson, Kentucky, as disbursing
clerk for Captain T. E. Hall, chief quartermaster for the Ninth Army Corps.
When peace had once more fallen upon the country, he became identified
with the National Guard of Pennsylvania, and at the organization of Com-
pany D, Thirteenth Regiment, was elected first lieutenant, later becoming
captain and serving for six years.
In February. 1865, Mr. Linen accepted a position as teller in the First
National Bank of Scranton and three months later was advanced to cashier, a
position he occupied with conspicuous ability for the exceedingly long term of
twenty-six years. During this time he was held high in the estimation of the other
officials of the institution and played an important part in maintaining the sol-
vency of the bank during the period of readjustment that followed the hyster-
ical financial conditions of the Civil War and the reconstruction years. In
all this troublous time the First National Bank, owing to its wise and far-
sighted executive heads, not only was in no danger itself but was able to assist
other and less fortunate concerns which were about to become links in the long
chain of failures that were occurring hourly. In October, 189 1, Mr. Linen
received the election as president of the First National Bank, the culmination
of long years of faithful service and unceasing devotion to its best interests.
In his new position he was quickened to new efiforts in its behalf and for twen-
ty-two years guided it with clear and capable judgment, the bank retaining its
position at the head of the financial institutions of Scranton and among the
strongest in the United States. As proof of its success are the dividends which
it declares, these having increased from ten per cent, in 1864 to sixty per cent,
at the present time, the largest dividend ever paid by any Scranton corpora-
tion. In 1913 Mr. Linen was succeeded in the presidency of the First Na-
tional Bank by Charles S. Weston, descending from the position he had dig-
nified for so many years to make way for a new generation of younger blood.
Upon retiring from his office he accepted the chairmanship of the board of
directors of the bank, thus not entirely severing the bonds which have been
so closely welded in the past forty-eight years. He is also one of the direc-
tors of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad Company.
Mr. Linen has frequently been called upon to act in the capacity of execu-
tor, trustee or administrator of large estates, and has filled many responsible
offices requiring the services of an experienced financier, not the least of which
was his appointment as assignee of the defunct Scranton Trust Company and
Savings Bank, whose affairs he settled in a prompt and satisfactory manner,
fully justifying the confidence placed in his executive powers.
40 CITY OF SCRANTON
Mr. Linen is a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, Penn-
sylvania: a member of Ezra Griffin Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and
the Country Club, the two latter being Scranton organizations. With his wife
he is a member of the Second Presbyterian Church of Scranton. in whose dif-
ferent activities both take a great amount of interest.
He married, December 17, 1889, Anna C. Blair, daughter of James Blair,
of Scranton. Children: Margaret Clark and James Blair, both died in
childhood: Mary Belle, a graduate of Miss Masters' School, at Dobbs Ferry;
Frank Insley, a graduate of Princeton L^niversity : James A. Jr., a graduate
of Williams' College, was a receiver of the Scranton Steam Pump Company,
now reorganized, and he is vice-president and treasurer of this, also vice-
president of the C^nited Service Company: now one of the councilmen in
Scranton.
To Mr. Linen there must surely come a sense of satisfaction in his own
achievements and a feeling of pride in the generation of his name succeeding
him. To be active in such a degree as he has maintained until past the biblical
three score and ten is a record rarely equalled and almost never surpassed.
It has been said that years are not always the true measure of life but that
events are sometimes the best calendar. By the latter standard Mr. Linen
must indeed be a centenarian ; by the former, the calendar is the only indica-
tion of his seventy-three years, his mind preserving all of its youthful vigor
and power.
ARTHUR D. DEAN
The Dean family is an exceedingly ancient one in this country, Walter
Dean, the American progenitor, taking the freeman's oath in Massachusetts.
December 4. 1638. In the six generations of the family from the emigrant
ancestor to Isaac, the father of Arthur D. Dean, of this chronicle, the members
of the family have been active in the different departments of life, civil, pro-
fessional, and industrial. The pioneer spirit has always been strong in all of
the name and one of the family was almost always among the first settlers
in a newly developed section of the country. An evidence of this is found in
the following abstract of a deed of sale :
"Barnet Dickson, Voluntown, Windham county, Connecticut, to Ezra Dean, of East
Greenwich, Kent county, Rhode Island, consideration nine pounds, grants and conveys
unto said Ezra Dean, his heirs and assigns forever, the one full part, right or share in
the Susquehanna purchase, so-called, which whole right, part, or share, individual, I,
the said Barnet Dickson, purchased as being a partner or member of the body of men of
the aforesaid Colony of Connecticut, who jointly purchased the said Susquehanna tract
of land, commonly so called, of the Chief Sachems and Nations, proprietors of the afore-
said country or land, dated 28 January, 1760; recorded 8 March, 1760. Acknowledged
before John Smith, justice of the peace of Voluntown. Windham county, Connecticut."
Isaac Dean, father of Arthur D. Dean, was born in Abington, Luzerne
Cnow Lackawanna) county, Pennsylvania, June 9, 181 1. His early life was
spent on his father's farm, in the clearing and cultivating of which he became
accustomed to the hardest kind of labor. His opportunities for directed study
were few, but he learned many lessons in the school of experience and hard
knocks that left a life-long impression upon him. Although handicapped by
his lack of education he marshalled his forces at hand slowly but surely to
build the foundation of a fortune. He hauled the grain raised on his farm to
Carbondale and Honesdale, selling it to the Delaware & Hudson Company,
and also opened a saw mill on Sheik's Pond, now Lake Sheridan, and cleared
his father's land and his own of all the marketable lumber thereon. In 1843,
CITY OF SCRANTON 41
after his marriage with Polly Searle Heermans, daughter of Henry Heermans,
the first merchant of Providence, Pennsylvania, he bought fifty acres of land
from his uncle, George Gardner, and sixty acres adjoining the family home-
stead, erecting thereon a comfortable house. He then, in connection with his
farming operations, began a butchering business, supplementing this by buying
live stock for drovers at a commission rate. By the judicious investment of
fiis earnings he began to amass a considerable fortune, augmented by the pro-
ceeds from the sale of some property inherited by his wife. Upon the organi-
zation of the Second National Bank of Scranton, in 1863, Isaac Dean was an
active promoter of the enterprise, acting upon the advice and under the leader-
ship of his brother-in-law, W. W. Winton, in whose judgment and integrity
he placed great confidence. He also became a partner in the banking house of
Winton, Clark & Company, which later obtained a charter under the name of
the Citizens and Miners Savings Bank and Trust Company of Providence.
Both of these banks failed, the catastrophe sweeping away the greater part of
Mr. Dean's fortune, although he was able to live comfortably for the rest of
his life; Mrs. Dean died July 8, 1868, and Mr. Dean, November 15, 1902.
Arthur D. Dean, son of Isaac and Polly Searle (Heermans) Dean, was
born on the farm purchased by his father from George Gardner, in Abington
township, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, January 29, 1849. He acquired
his early education by attendance at the public schools, and so active was his
mind and so strong his liking for academic work that when only fifteen years
of age he entered upon a scientific course of study at the University of Lewis-
burg, later Bucknell, completing the same in 1867, During the winter of 1867-
1868 he taught school in the district near his home now known as La Plume,
and in 1868 resumed his studies at East Greenwich Academy, and at the begin-
ning of the fall term entered the classical course of Brown University, Provi-
dence, Rhode Island. He here was graduated A. B. in the class of 1872 and
three years later the degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him. Hav-
ing his remarkably fine scientific and classical education for a firm founda-
tion, in 1872 he enrolled in the law school of the LTniversity of Michigan at
Ann Arbor, and afterward entered the office of Agib Picketts, attorney at
Wilkes-Barre, as a student at law. He was admitted to the bar January 5,
1875, and for the first year of his active practice remained in the office of his
preceptor. He then took office with Elliot P. Kisner and Frank C. Sturges
as a working rather than a nominal partner, and in 1879, ^ Y^^*" after Scranton
had become the county seat of Lackawanna county, came to that city, where he
has been ever since engaged in the practice of his profession. As a lawyer
Mr. Dean is known to be reliable and talented, civil practice being his especial
field. Intimately acquainted with all legal technicalities, his clients are assured
that every efifort consistent with dignity and honor will be extended in their be-
half and under his skillful handling no just cause could go down in defeat.
Besides his professional duties, Mr. Dean is interested in the lumber busi-
ness and is a director of the LTnited States Lumber Company, which controls
vast lumber interests, owning 300.000 acres of yellow pine in Mississippi,
where the company has a controlling interest in the Mississippi Central Rail-
road, extending from Hattiesburg to Natchez, with headquarters at Hatties-
burg, Mississippi. He has also been treasurer of the Board of Trade Real
Estate Company, of Scranton, ever since its incorporation, and this company
owns the Board of Trade Building.
He married, May 11, 1882. Nettie E., only daughter of Arnold Clark and
Isabel (Green) Sisson, of La Plume, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Dean died Novem-
ber 25, 1901, and Mr. Dean still remains unmarried. Children born of this
union are: i. Carroll, born March 27, 1883, a graduate of the Massachusetts
42 CITY OF SCRANTON
Institute of Technology, an electrical engineer in the navy yard at Norfolk.
Virginia; married Christine Parker, daughter of C. M. Parker, and has two
children — Isabelle C. and Arthur Parker. 2. Russell Heermans, born March
19, 1885, lives in Waverly, Pennsylvania; married Mrs. Elizabeth Dunn,
daughter of Dr. A. B. Hand, and they have a son, Gobel Davis Dean. 3.
James Davis, born July 22, 1887, graduate of Brown University, class of
1909. and follows teaching as a profession. 4. Miriam Isabel, born October
I, 1893, a student at Wellesley College, class of 1916. 5. Nettie Catherine,
born November 22. 1901, a student of the Waverly High School.
Mr. Dean, during his active life, has attained that pleasurable degree of
success and prosperity which comes to a man after conscientious attention
to processional duties and intelligent investment and application of his re-
sources. Of pleasing address and personality, he is gifted with the power of
making and holding friends, numbering in his most intimate circle of ac-
quaintances the most talented of the legal profession and the most successful
of Scranton's business men. His home for the past twenty years has been on
a farm in the borough of Waverly, Pennsylvania. He has been president of
the school board of Waverly borough for fifteen years: is a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Hepiasophs ; in college the Alpha
Delta Phi fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa, an honorary society.
HAMPTON C. SHAFER
The best evidence of a man's standing in his community is the attitude
that is taken by the public toward the business enterprises of which he is the
head. When a business proposition is presented to a man, his first query is :
"Who is at its head?" The next is, "Will it pay?" Answer the first question
satisfactorily and support is assured. Applying this test to Hampton C.
Shafer, the result is that his standing among men of capital is found to be of
the highest, as when in April, 1913, he began the organization of the Lincoln
Trust Company, the response was immediate and so generous that on the 7th
of June following, the doors of this newest of Scranton's financial institutions
were opened for business with Mr. Shafer as its president. Mr. Shafer is a
grandson of Peter Bernard Shafer, of German parentage, who settled in the
northern part of Sussex county. New Jersey, where he became a man of im-
portance, serving his state as a member of the legislature. His son, Casper,
married Caroline, daughter of Judge Hazen of Sussex countv. Casper Shafer
in early life was a miller, later a farmer and landowner. Children ; Nathan
Hazen, died in December, 191 1 ; Abraham Edwin, now living in New Jersey;
Sarah Elizabeth, married Edgar V. Kennedy, whom she survives a resident
of Tranquility, New Jersey; E. Louise, died in August, 1913; Hampton C.
The parents were members of the Presbyterian church, in which Casper Shafer
served as elder.
Hampton C. Shafer was born in Sussex county. New Jersey, September
18, 1853. He was educated in the ])ul)lic schools. Schooleys Mountain Sem-
inary and the New Jersey State Model School at Trenton. He began business
life as clerk in a Trenton book store, but after six weeks' experience, entered the
employ of the Lambertville (New Jersey) National Bank as clerk. He con-
tinued with this institution nearly eight years, rising through the several de-
grees of service to the post of assistant cashier. In January, 1881. he came
to Scranton as cashier of the Scranton .Savings Bank, a position he held until
1913. During these years he had firmly established himself in the confidence
of the banking public and won an enviable position in the local world of finance,
his upright, manly life and financial acumen forming the combination essential
CITY OF SCRANTON 43
to the man who appeals to the pubhc for patronage. In April, 19 13, after
carefully maturing his plans he formed the Lmcoln Trust Company, was
elected president, and in June following began business. The success of the
new institution was immediate and most gratifying to all concerned, but doubly
so to the chief executive to whom it came as an indorsement of his fitness to
safeguard the interests of his many patrons. He is also a director of the Trout
Lake Ice Company and has other business interests. He is a member of the
Second Presbyterian Church, which he serves officially, his wife also being an
active member of the church and its societies. He is a director, secretary and
treasurer of the Country Club.
Mr. Shafer married, Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Milton, and granddaugh-
ter of James Blair, November 13, 1891. His only child is Margaret Linen
Shafer.
RONALD PRENTISS GLEASON
Ronald Prentiss Gleason, principal of the Technical High School and Wil-
liam T. Smith Manual Training School, is a native of the State of Massa-
chusetts. He is descended from Thomas Gleason, or Leeson, as the name was
sometimes spelled, who came from England and settled in Watertown, Massa-
chusetts, prior to 1650. His great-grandfather was Phineas Gleason, of West-
borough, Massachusetts, who served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War.
He is the son of Josiah Parsons and Ellen (Tidd) Gleason, of New Braintree,
Massachusetts.
The American ancestor of the Tidd family settled in Lexington, Massachu-
setts, in the first half of the seventeenth century. Seven of his descendants
represented the family in that small band that assembled on the village green
at Lexington, on April 19, 1775, and made an effort to stop the onward march
of the British under Major Pitcairn.
Ronald P. Gleason is one of ten children. He was educated in the public
schools of Massachusetts and was graduated from the Worcester Polytechnic
Institute with the class of 1887, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science in
the mechanical engineering course. For two years he taught in the high school
at Washington, District of Columbia, then crossed the continent to accept the
position of supervisor of manual training in the public schools of Oakland,
California, where he remained for eleven years. When the call came for
teachers to serve in the Philippine Islands, he was among the first to respond.
He was appointed by the government at Washington as the ranking teacher
in charge of the 540 or more who sailed from San Francisco, July 23, 1901,
on the United States army transport, Thomas. Mr. and Mrs. Gleason re-
mained in the Philippine Islands for four years. During all this time Mr.
Gleason was superintendent of the Philippine School of Arts and Trades at
Manila. In January, 1905, he resigned his position and, with Mrs. Gleason
started for home visiting Japan, China, Java, the Federated Malay States,
Burma, India, Europe.
When the Technical High and William T. Smith Manual Training School
buildings were completed in 1905, Mr. Gleason was elected the first principal,
a position he still holds. His services have met with the highest approval of
all connected with and responsible for the welfare of the schools, and he has
raised that institution to a high plane of efficiency and usefulness. He has
gathered together a faculty of exceptionally able teachers, who give their best
to the school and as a result the Technical High School has become an in-
stitution of which Scranton may well be proud. Mr. Gleason is a member of
44 CITY OF SCRANTON
the Pennsylvania State and National Education associations, and also of the
National Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education.
Mr. Gleason' married, in 1890, Nellie Miles Rood, daughter of the late Dr.
James T. and Ellen (Miles) Rood, of Massachusetts. Dr. Rood was a sur-
geon in the Massachusetts volunteer militia and served his country practically
all through the Civil War, being stationed for the greater part of the time in
the Shenandoah Valley. Since coming to Scranton, Mrs. Gleason has taken
an active interest in the life of the city and has been president of the Century
Club since its organization in 191 1.
DAVID CHASE HARRINGTON
David Chase Harrington, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, the distinquished
jurist, is not only an eloquent advocate, capable of swaying juries, but an
able lawyer, preparing and conducting most important cases with strategic
skill and eminent success. It is especially noteworthy that in achieving his
eminence at the bar he has relied not more upon his eloquence and genius, than
upon the unwearied diligence with which he studied and toiled. His family
has been a noted one in both lines of descent.
(I) William Harrington, great-grandfather of David Chase Harrington,
was one of three brothers who came from England to this country and settled
at or near Chatham, Columbia county. New York, where he married and
became the father of six children. He bore his share bravely in the Revolu-
tionary War.
(II) James Harrington, son of William Harrington, was born in 1774, and
died in the fall of 1814 from the effects of a fever contracted while in service
in the War of 1812. His widow, Sarah (Purdy) Harrington, removed with
their eight children to Pine Hill, Ulster county. New York.
(III) James (2) Harrington, son of James (i) and Sarah (Purdy) Har-
rington, was at first a carpenter and builder, later a manufacturer of furni-
ture. He married Emeline Harriet Chase.
The Chase family is of ancient English origin, the name being derived from
the French word "Chasser," meaning "to hunt." The ancestral seat of the
branch of the family from which the American line is descended was at Ches-
ham, Buckinghamshire, through which runs a swift stream, the Chess, which
gives its name to the place. The Chase arms are : Gules four crosses patonce
argent ( two and two) on a canton azure a lion passant, or. Thomas Chase, of
the seventh generation of the English family, and the progenitor of the family
in America, came to Plymouth Rock in 1629, and removed to Hampton, New
Hampshire, in 1644. He married Elizabeth Philbrick. Isaac, son of Thomas
and Elizabeth (Philbrick) Chase, married (first) Mary Perkins, (second)
Mary Tilton. Joseph, son of Isaac and Mary (Tilton) Chase, married Lydia
Coffyn, a great-granddaughter of Tristram Coffyn (Coffin). Abel, son of
Joseph and Lydia (Coffyn) Chase, married Mercy Mayhew. Zephaniah, son
of Abel and Mercy (Mayhew) Chase, married (first) Abigail Skiff, (second)
Love (West) Skiff. He removed with his family from Martha's Vineyard
to what is now Jewett, Greene county, New York. David, son of Zaphaniah
and Love (West) (Skiff) Chase, married Abigail Pratt, for whose family
the town of Prattsville, Greene county, New York, is named. Emeline Har-
riet, daughter of David and .Abigail (Pratt) Chase, while teaching school in
Hunter, Greene county, met James (2) Harrington, whom she married.
(IV) David Qiase Harrington, eldest child of James (2) and Emeline
Harriet (Chase) Harrington, was born December 8, 1834, in that part of Lex-
ington which is now Jewett, Greene county. New York. He learned to read
J'!^ f^
— >*
;x \
r-
%
CITY OF SCRANTO]\ 45
sitting on his father's lap at family prayers in the morning. Before his father
commenced to read he would point to the capital letters, his father telling him
their names, and then he would watch his father read, and when he was
two and one-half years old he could read as well as he can now. He has no
recollection of his first going to school. .4t the age of ten years he had been
so far in the text book as the teacher in the common schools in Greene county,
New York, could take him, and that did not include all of arithmetic and
very little of grammar. When at that age, a gentleman, who had graduated
either from Harvard or Yale College, wished to study for the ministry, and
not having the money to pay his expenses through the university he came to
Jewett and taught school there for two years. Mr. Harrington went to this
school during the last year and a half of this gentleman's tuition, and studied
arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry, geometry, grammar, astronomy, botany,
commenced the study of Latin, and went through the Latin grammar and com-
menced to read this language by the time he was twelve years of age.
His father was engaged in business as a carpenter and builder and the
last piece of work he did as a carpenter was to erect a large building in
Bushnellsville, LUster county, New York, where cane and wood seated chairs
were manufactured for the wholesale trade. When the building was com-
pleted they wished him to instal the machinery, which he did successfully, and
everything was done in so masterly a manner, that he was offered the superin-
tendency of the shops. He accordingly gave up his carpenter business and
moved to Bushnellsville, December 24, 1847, 3"d became head of this estab-
lishment.
As there was no object in sending young Harrington to the district school
to review what he already knew, he was given work in the finishing depart-
ment of the factory in December, 1848, when he was fourteen years of age, and
thus commenced the business portion of his life. In 1849 l^'^ father decided to
go into the furniture business in Pennsylvania, and entered into a partnership
with the man who had charge of the finishing department of the Bushnells-
ville factory. At that time there were no railroads by which he could reach
Providence, so he was obliged to send his household effects by teams to Rond-
out. Lister county. New York, and by boat on a canal to Honesdale, Wayne
county, Pennsylvania, and from there on the Gravity road to Carbondale. June
18, 1849, he left for Providence in a carriage with his family, and arrived at
Providence, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, June 23, 184.9. Young David C.
was still employed in the finishing department of his business, and the partner-
ship which he had formed was continued until 185 1.
The construction of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad was
commenced from Scranton to Great Bend in 1850 and completed in the summer
of 185 1. The Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company owned the real estate
in the village which was afterwards the borough, now the city of Scranton,
and would not sell lots to outsiders. They owned all the property themselves,
intending to keep their own employees there, but when the railroad was com-
pleted, the Lackawanna Iron & Coal Company laid out their land in lots and
sold them to any who would buy. David C. Harrington's father bought a
lot and built a residence and wareroom, completed it and moved into it, Jan-
uary 6, 1852. At the rear end of the lot was the building used as a shop.
David Chase Harrington had learned to finish furniture well although he
had had no special instruction in the ornamentation of it. He took to this
occupation naturally, could varnish and polish, imitate the finest woods, and
when it was necessary to put on ornamentation, was able to do that in a
most satisfactory manner. His father was also in the undertaking business,
and as it was difficult to obtain anyone to engrave plates for the coffins, a
46 CITY OF SCRANTON
set of engraving tools was bought, and David C. successfully engraved the
first name plate that was required, and attended to this part of the business as
long as he was associated with his father. In 1854-55-56 he played the cornet
in the brass band in Scranton and this gave him good chest expansion and
was one of the means of keeping him in good health. He has a chest expan-
sion of six inches to-day, and ascribes much of this development to his prac-
tice on the cornet.
He had never heard a word of German spoken until the family removed to
Pennsylvania. Two of the cabinet makers in his father's shop in Scranton
were Germans, who could not speak a word of English. David C. commenced
the study of German in the fall of 1852 and by the following spring he could
read, write and speak German sufficiently well to communicate with the men
on matters of business, and could go into the wareroom and sell goods to cus-
tomers who were not able to understand a word of English. He was fre-
quently asked by Germans, concerning the part of Germany he came from.
Years ago, when he was living in Philadelphia, the lawyers, knowing that he
spoke the German language, and there being only one interpreter to go to the
different rooms, when his services were already in request and a witness could
not speak or understand English, Mr. Harrington was requested to act as
interpreter.
While engaged with his father in the furniture business he also learned to
work at the bench and to make articles of furniture, and he did turning at the
turning lathe and all kinds of work with the exception of carving. When
he had attained the age of nineteen years his father sent him to New York
alone to purchase the hardware and upholstering materials and other things
needed in the furniture business, and after he had successfully accomplished
tills it was always his province afterwards. He now has in his home seven
landscapes in oil that he himself painted when he was twenty-one years old.
When he attained his majority his father took him into partnership, but at the
end of one year this was dissolved as David C. had expressed the fixed deter-
mination to make law his life work.
David Chase Harrington commenced reading law in April, 1858, studying
during the second year in the office of a lawyer. At this time there were four
villages within a mile of each other — Providence. Hyde Park, Scranton and
Dunmore. During the first winter David C. taught school in Dunmore. As
he lived in Scranton he was obliged to walk a mile to Dunmore every morning,
and the same distance upon his return at night. In this school some of the
pupils were young men of almost his own age, one of whom was after-
ward a judge in the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna county. There
were more than 100 students in this school and Mr. Harrington had an assist-
ant. There was but one room in the schoolhouse and a blackboard was placed
at the rear of this room. It was therefore necessary for Mr. Harrington and
his assistant each to use an opposite side of the blackboard to illustrate the
subjects they taught.
The dates of admission to legal practice of Mr. Harrington are as follows :
Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, May 7, i860: Court
of Common Pleas of Northampton county, Pennsylvania, August 28, 1862;
Supreme Court of the State of Pennsylvania, June 20, 1866: Mayor's Court
of Scranton, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, October i, 1866: United States
Circuit and Districts courts, western district of Pennsylvania. August 5, 1867
Mayor's Court of Carbondale, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, August 15, 1867
Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, August 24, 1868
Court of Common Pleas of Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, April 19, 1869
District Court of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 20, 1870; Court of
CITY OF SCRANTON 47
Common Pleas of Philadelphia, December 24, 1870: United States Circuit
and District courts, eastern district of Pennsylvania, February 18, 187 1 ; Court
of Common Pleas of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, April 14, 1874: Supreme
Court of the United States, Washington, District of Columbia, February 2,
1876; Court of Common Pleas of Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, January
23, 1882 ; Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania,
August 15, 1898; United States Circuit Court of Appeals, Richmond, Virginia,
December 2, 1906.
In 1878 Luzerne county was divided and Lackawanna county was formed
with Scranton as the county seat, and Wilkes-Barre remained the county seat
of Luzerne county. Mr. Harrington won his first case, and the opposing law-
yer, a prominent member of the bar, was so impressed with his conduct of
it that he took him into partnership, and this was continued until the out-
break of the Civil War. April 1, 1862, Mr. Harrington removed to Wilkes-
Barre. In 1863 he laid aside his professional duties to respond to the call of
Governor Andrew G. Curtin for emergency men to repel the invasion of
Pennsylvania by the Confederate army under General Robert E. Lee. He
enlisted as a private in Company K. Thirteenth Regiment Pennsylvania Volun-
teers, Colonel William N. Monies commanding. Mr. Harrington's company
was the first to be mustered in under that call, and they were stationed at Camp
Curtin, near Harrisburg, when that city was threatened by the Confederates,
at the time of the battle of Gettysburg. On Saturday, July 3, the regiment
was filled and ready to march to Gettysburg, but Sunday, July 4, the great bat-
tle at that place was ended, therefore Mr. Harrington was not in active service.
With his command he was honorably discharged, July 26, 1863.
While Mr. Harrington was in Wilkes-Barre he was in partnership with
Caleb E. Wright, one of the old members of the bar, and this association was
continued until 1870. While living in that city there was a great deal of ma-
laria in the Wyoming Valley, and Mrs. Harrington suffered from fever and
ague for the greater part of the time and was subjected to bilious fever once
or twice each year, and the physician said that if she did not remove from the
valley she could not survive. This was the cause of the dissolution of the
partnership with Mr. Wright, in December, 1870, and within one week Mr.
Harrington and his family were in Philadelphia, where he practiced law for
more than thirty-one years.
.■\fter Mr. Harrington had left Wilkes-Barre the lawyers of that city gave
him a Christmas present, in 1872, of a fine full-jeweled gold watch of Waltham
make with the inscription on the case as follows : "Presented to David C.
Harrington by his brethren of the Luzerne Bar, December 25, 1872." This
he values highly, and it is an excellent timekeeper to the present day.
Hon. F. Carroll Brewster, who had been a judge of the Court of Common
Pleas of Philadelphia, was attorney-general of the State of Pennsylvania.
He was obliged to spend all his winters in Harrisburg and in summer could
only escape the importunities of his numerous clients by taking refuge in
Europe. In June, 1872, he requested Mr. Harringfton to take charge of his
legal business. There were two lawyer assistants and a bookkeeper in Mr.
Brewster's office, and in order to take charge of this extensive business and
not neglect his own, it became necessary for Mr. Harrington to take an as-
sistant lawyer in his own office. Judge Brewster then went to Europe each
summer for three years and during this time Mr. Harrington had full charge
of the business, trying the cases, preparing briefs, etc. When his term of
office as an attorney-general expired. Judge Brewster returned to his practice,
and Mr. Harrington was enabled to continue his personal practice.
In 1898 he commenced to represent the International Text Book Com-
48 CITY OF SCRANTON
pany in some copyright suits and attended to some of its other legal business,
and was requested in March. 1902. to return to Scranton and take charge of
all the legal business of this corporation. He has succeeded in winning many
suits for the company, some of great importance, one on the question of
"Doing Business," and that the company is engaged in interstate commerce.
He contended that as it was giving instruction through the mails by means of
selling printed books to students, and giving written instruction from Scran-
ton, each letter written to a student in another state, is a book, and is inter-
state commerce. Courts in three of the .states decided to the contrary and
that the company could not maintain a suit. The first case to be appealed to
the .Supreme Court of the United States arose in Kansas and was decided in
favor of the company. April 4, 1910. and is reported in 217 U. S. 91. In that
case it was held that giving instruction through the mail is interstate com-
merce, and that the company need not file its charter in any state of the United
States. Other cases appealed from Wisconsin and Vermont were decided.
November 7, 1910, in conformity with the Kansas case and are reported in
218 U. S. 664, so that it is now settled that a letter is a book and the selling
of information and giving instruction by correspondence through the mail is
interstate commerce.
In February, 1910. the principal of the School of Law died, and on May
16, 1910, Mr. Harrington was appointed principal of the School of Law, and
now has charge of that department. The instruction business in the law
courses of the company are very important, as the instruction that is given
to students must be accurate in every particular. The two departments re-
quire all of his time. His health has always been good. He has never been
ill in bed, and at the present time is able to be at his desk in his office at eight
o'clock in the morning, and he is sometimes the last to leave if there is any
correspondence to be signed.
Mr. Harrington united with the Presbyterian church in Greene county.
New York, in the spring of 1849. When his father moved to Providence a
letter was taken, and he united with the Presbyterian church in Providence.
When he removed to Scranton in 1852 his letter was taken from the church
in Providence and in November of the same year he united with the First
Presbyterian Church of Scranton, and his sixtieth anniversary occurred in
November. 1912. For many years he was very active in Sunday school work
and in organizing Mission Sunday schools, but since returning to Scranton
he has been obliged to abandon work of this character owing to the fact of
his being frequently away on travels connected with his business pursuits.
At the present time (1914) Mr. Harrington is still enjoying excellent health,
is as vigorous as many men far his juniors in point of years, and there appears
to be every prospect of his attaining a greater age than his maternal grand-
father. David Chase, who lived to the age of eighty-five years, his own father,
who died at the age of ninety-four, and his great-grandmother Harrington,
who was ninety-eight years old at the time of her death.
Mr. Harrington married (first) September 11, 1856. Ann Jeannette Kem-
merer. born in Monroe county. Penn sylvan i.T. January i. 1840, died in .Scran-
ton. Pennsylvania. November 20, 1904. Mr. Harrington married (second)
July 18. 1906. Jeanne Ethlyn Smith. By his first wife he had children as
follows: I. Harriet Elizabeth, born July 10. 1857: married. February 14.
1889, Madison F. Larkin ; child. William Stark, born November 2. 1889. died
same day. 2. Carrie Estelle. bom December 27, 1858: married (first) June
I. !88c'. Charles W. Reichard; child. David Carl, born August 3. 1892. mar-
ried. January 26, 1910, Marie A. Schatt ; one child. David Carl Jr.. born De-
cember 28, 191 1 ; Carrie Estelle married (second) June 3, 1911, Samuel Porter
CITY OF SCRANTON 49
Lummus. 3. Lillian Jannette, born September 15, i860, died July 17. 1898;
married, January 13, i88f), William L. Connell ; children: i. Jessie English,
born November 18, 1886, married, September 29, 1908, George Houck ; one
child, William L. Connell Houck, born July 14, 1913. ii. Natalie Grant, born
December 19, 1888, married, January 8, 1910, Rudolph Senn Houck; children:
Ruolph Senn Houck Jr., born March 27, 191 1, and Lillian Jannette Houck,
born July 18, 1912. iii. Lillian Jannette, born July 29, 1892. iv. Blandina
Harrington, born September 7, 1895, died May i, 1907. 4. Blandina Jayne,
born November 8, 1862; married, March 4, 1896, Thomas Jefferson Foster;
child, Thomas Jefferson Jr., born October 4, 1900. 5. Walter Eugene, born
June 3, 1866; married, November 8, 1888, Maude Hastings; children: Leigh
Walter, born September 17, 1889, and Kenneth Connell, born November 22,
1892, died July 24, 1893. 6. Curtis James, born April 21, 1870, died Septem-
ber 10, 1904; married, June 6, 1891, Helen Bernadon ; child, Curtis James Jr.,
born February 27, 1892, afterwards adopted by Madison F. and Harriet E.
Larkin, and his name changed to Curtis Harrington Larkin. 7. Frederick
Andrew, born March 8, 1872; married, April 3, 1895, May E. Worthington ;
child, William Lawrence Connell, born November 24, 1897. 8. Dora, born
March 11, 1874; married, October 6, 1898, Christian Paul Hagenlocher. 9.
Ethel, born February 25, 1877; married as his second wife, November 29,
1899, William Lawrence Connell, her brother-in-law ; children : William Law-
rence Jr., born June 30, 1901 ; David Harrington, born November 16, 1902,
died May 21, 1907; Ethel Chase, born March 21, 1905, died February 14,
1907. 10. Mabel, born January 16, 1879, died July 5, 1879.
In 1887-88 Mr. Harrington made two trips to the City of Mexico on profes-
sional business, and while there he learned to speak the Spanish language.
Since that time he has lectured on his trips. In 1867 he compiled, collated,
arranged and published "The Rules of the Luzerne County Court," an e.xhaus-
tive volume of eighty-one pages octavo. He has also written many briefs
which have gone into print and some of them have been widely circulated.
Among the more important of his treatises is one on "Commerce and What is
Doing Business, under the Statutes of the United States Relating to Foreign
Corporations," "The Education of Minors," "Ordinances, Affecting Circular
Distribution and Advertising," and on "Law and Facts." During a part of tlie
time he resided in Wilkes-Barre, he reported court proceedings and local
items of news for a paper published in Scranton, and for another published in
Wilkes-Barre.
HON. HENRY ALONZO KNAPP
Hon. Henry Alonzo Knapp, who ranks among the successful and influ-
ential members of the Scranton bar, was born July 24, 185 1, in the town of
Barker, Broome county. New York, the son of Peter and Cornelia Eveline
(Nash) Knapp, both natives of the Empire State, the former a successful
farmer and prominent citizen. Peter Knapp was the son of Henry and Anne
(Harris) Knapp, who came to Broome county from Dutchess county in the
same state in 1817. On his mother's side Henry A. Knapp is the grandson of
Rufus Nash, a native of Connecticut, who emigrated to New York in 1820,
and Rufus was a lineal descendant in the sixth generation from Edward Nash,
who came from England about 1650 and became one of the founders of Nor-
walk, Connecticut.
The boyhood life of Henry A. Knapp was somewhat varied; he left the
fann at the early age of nine years and for the most part for several years
thereafter made his home with his uncle, S. M. Nash, who in i860 was conduc-
4
so CITY OF SCRANTON
tor of one of the two passenger trains on the Lackawanna Railroad, and Henry
A. Knapp very early started on a business career by selHng newspapers and
other commodities on the train. Later he attended the Binghamton Academy,
and in 1873 began the study of law with Judge Handley at Scranton.
Entering the bar in 1875 he formed a partnership with Edward Merrifield,
Esq., under the firm name of Merrifield & Knapp, and continued that relation
several years, and then carried on practice in his own name until 1892, with
the exception of one year when he served as a judge of the several courts of
Lackawanna county, by appointment of Governor Beaver. In 1892 he formed
a law partnership with Hon. E. N. Willard and Everett Warren, Esq., under
the title of Willard, Warren & Knapp, which has continued to the present time,
except that during the time Judge Willard was on the bench of the superior
court the firm name was Warren & Knapp. From 1890 to 1900 Judge Knapp
was county solicitor of Lackawanna county, and from 1889 to 1898 he was also
solicitor of the Scranton school district. The firm of which he is a member is
the counsel of many corporations and his practice in recent years has been mostly
taken up with corporation matters, largely in consultation and office work,
although occasionally in the trial of cases in the common pleas. Judge Knapp
has had a leading part in various business enterprises, and in matters of pub-
lic interest has been prominent and conspicuous.
In 1877 he was a leading spirit in the organization of Company "A," one
of the four military companies recruited during the labor troubles of that year,
and was chosen first lieutenant of the company and a year later succeeded
Captain Bryson as captain. Later he was appointed judge advocate on the
staff of General Gobin with rank of major. He was connected with the
National Guard until his appointment to the bench in 1887, when he resigned.
For nearly twenty-five years past he has been chairman of the advisory board
of the Home for the Friendless ; for several years he has been a director of the
Board of Associated Charities ; he is also a director of the Scranton Hospital
for the Cure of Consumptives, and his legal services have been sought and
freely extended to these and other charitable institiitions, who have found in him
a valued and useful friend. He is vice-president and a director in the Title
Guaranty and Trust Company and also interested in other prominent institu-
tions.
In 1883 Judge Knapp married Lillie Logan, of Scranton, and they have
one daughter, Alice Alden. Mrs. Knapp is a lineal descendant of John Alden,
of Colonial fame.
WALTER WINTHROP WINTON
Pennsylvania is indebted first to Old England and then to New England
for the Wintons, a name represented in the earliest history and development
of Scranton. Of Quaker ancestry, the emigrant came to Connecticut from
England and settled on the Naugatuck river. From this region Andrew Jack-
son Winton, grandfather of Walter W. Winton, of this narrative, enlisted in
the American army at the beginning of hostilites with England in 1812, and at
the conclusion of that conflict in 1814, he settled at Butternut, Otsego county.
New York. Because of the lack of transportation facilities in that section of
the state, he and his brother established and conducted a stage coach line
between Albany and New York, a public accommodation much appreciated and
heavily patronized.
(II) William Wilander Winton, son of Andrew Jackson Winton. was bom
in Butternut, Otsego county. New York, where he lived until he was about
twenty years of age, engaging, after he had obtained his education, in the peda-
CITY OF SCRANTON 51
gogical profession, at the same time continuing his own studies in Latin and
legal branches. Coming to Scranton he secured employment in the store of his
father-in-law, Harry Heermans, one of the first merchants to establish a busi-
ness in what is now Scranton. Harry Heermans came to this locality from
Salem, the journey being made in wagons, containing besides his household
effects his stock of household commodities, groceries and other articles neces-
sary to the families of the region. Every store at that time was of necessity
a general supply centre, whose departments covered all the varied needs of the
small communities, from food for man to harness for beast.
While employed by his father-in-law, William W. Winton continued his
legal studies, his wife teaching school in the vicinity, and while he was never
admitted to the bar he gained a sufticient knowledge of business, law and
processes to enable him to become executor of his father-in-law's estate. He
was largely instrumental in opening one of the first coal mines of the region,
the vein followed extending under the old "Bell school-house." The death of
his father-in-law left the mercantile field open for new concerns, and Mr. Win-
ton, in partnership with A. B. Dunning, his brother-in-law, opened a store in
Providence, Pennsylvania. He soon moved to New York City and was
engaged in the wholesale hat, cap and fur business for a period of fifteen years,
his establishment being on Cortlandt street. The business training he received
in the metropolis opened his eyes to the possibilites of his former field of
endeavor and he returned to Providence, where he organized the New York and
Pennsylvania Coal Company, the second in the North End. Thus attracted
by the opportunities opened to a capable and trusted financier, he opened a
private bank, under the name of Winton & Company, bankers. This enter-
prise met with popular favor and did a large and prosperous business. During
the years of the Civil War he played a prominent part in the organization of
the Second National Bank of Scranton and a few years later performed the
same service for the First National Bank, of Providence, two institutions which
were later merged under the name of the former. He was also the organizer
and became president of the Winton Coal Company, whose mines were
located at Winton, Pennsylvania, a town named in honor of the company. Mr.
Winton's death occurred on December 30, 1894, closing a life of useful activity
and successful endeavor, the reward of years of constant, energetic and well
directed battering at the walls of achievement. He married Catharine Heer-
mans, oldest daughter of Harry Heermans.
(IH) Walter Winthrop Winton, son of William Wilander Winton, was
born in Providence, Pennsylvania, June 3, 1845. After obtaining a public
school education, including a high school course, he entered the law school at
Harvard. This was the result of his father's desire, as the elder Mr. Winton
had earnestly wished for a college legal education, and disappointed in this,
had made it his ambition that the opportunities denied him should be ac-
corded to his son. Walter W. Winton, however, did not care enough for the
profession to make it his life work, and going to New York he engaged in
the wholesale diamond and jewelry business. In this field he prospered, be-
coming an expert in detecting the flaws in precious gems and distinguishing
between imitation and genuine stones. In order to become more closely ac-
quainted with the production of diamonds in which he dealt extensively, lie
visited the world famous mines at Kimberley, Cape Colony, South America,
in 1879, whence comes ninety-eight per cent, of the entire diamond output of
the world. He here familiarized himself with every detail in the mining of
these stones, thus completing his knowledge of the route followed by the
jewels from their resting place in the rocks, where they were formed by some
vast cataclysm of nature, to the dainty ears or shapely fingers of their final
52 CITY OF SCRANTON
purchasers in the large cities of the world. Upon his return from South Africa,
he settled in Scranton, where he opened a retail diamond establishment, at-
tracting a wealthy and influential trade among the best people of the city.
He became connected with the Winton Coal Company soon after his arrival
in Scranton and is now president of that concern. While Mr. Winton is a
strong supporter of the Republican party, his interest in office holding is con-
fined to advancing the cause of some worthy candidate, always refusing public
preference for himself. He has attained the thirty-second degree in Ancient
and Accepted Scottish Masonry.
Mr. Winton married Mary Blakey, daughter of William Blakey, of Orange.
New York, and has one son, Walter Winthrop Jr. Of Mr. Winton's rela-
tion to Scranton affairs it may be said that he is in no way failing the expecta-
tions of those who judged his capacity for achievement from the record of
his honored father, and that in him the ancienr family name finds a most
worthv bearer.
JOHN T. RICHARDS
At the time when the mines in the vicinity of Scranton were being opened
and operations commenced upon a large scale, there was a large number of
Welsh miners who left their positions in their native land and made their
homes in this locality, the reason for the influx of immigrants being that
wages for labor in the newly opened mines were much higher than in Wales. It
was this tide of settlers that carried Thomas Richards to Carbondale in 1833, Al-
though his trade was that of shoemaker, not of mmer. In the following of his
occupation throughout his exceptionally long life he acquired a competence
that enabled him and his wife to spend their later years in quiet and com-
fort, both dying in 1900, both aged eighty-eight years. It was a happy coinci-
dence that two lives spent together in congenial and blessed companionship
should be reunited so soon after their first separation.
John T. Richards, son of Thomas and RIargaret (Morgans) Richards,
was born in Carbondale, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, September 15,
1853. He obtained his early education in the place of his birth, later attending
the public schools of Scranton, and when nineteen years of age entered the
Merchants and Mechanics Bank as errand boy. Although his early employ-
ment was assuredly humble, he performed all of his duties with a quick and
willing cheerfulness that won him instant favor and as rapidly as openings
appeared above him he was placed therein. In each position the same assid-
uous attention to business and a marked capacity for hard work, was observed
by his superiors and four years after his first appearance in the bank he was
appointed cashier. This office he filled with strict fidelity and proven ability
until 1894, when he resigned to engage in wider fields of business. At the
organization of the Alexander Car Replacer Manufacturing Company in 1894
he became secretary and treasurer. The responsibility of the position is ap-
parent when the capitalization of the company, $100,000, is known. The original
officers of the concern were: Joseph J. Jermyn. president, John A. Mears,
vice-president, and John T. Richards, secretary and treasurer. The present
organization is J. F. Mears, president, G. Bogart, vice-president, John T.
Richards, secretary and treasurer. The Alexander Car Replacei Manufactur-
ing Company is a flourishing concern, their appliance being in use on most
of the railroads in the United States, Canada, South .America. Australia, China.
Japan, Europe, and the British Isles. Its use has also been adopted in coal
mines using electricity. In addition to his duties as secretary of this com-
pany, Mr. Richards, in 1895, became executor of the estate of Judge lohn
CITY OF SCRANTON 53
Handley. He has also been actively concerned in coal operations in the
vicinity for many years.
Mr. Richards has always taken great interest in local affairs and at one
time was a member of the Scranton select council, where he was numbered
among the most progressive of the body, always championing any measure
that he believed for the true good of the municipality and as stoutly opposing
those originated for private gain or for the furtherance of selfish purposes.
He is past master of Hyde Park Lodge, No. 339, F. and A. M.
Mr. Richards married Josephine, daughter of Joseph Chase, of Scranton,
and has one daughter, Margaret Louise. Mr. Richards' office is in the Mears
Building. In his business relations he has shown marked ability as a financier,
and as a public spirited and progressive member of the community is ever
enrolled among those who are working for the advancement of the city's in^
terests.
HENRY BELIN JR
Although prominent in the manufacture of explosives used in time of war
with deadly effect, Mr. Belin is not a destroyer, but a constructor and most
humane and liberal in his dealings with his fellow men. In fact his labors in
the cause of afflicted humanity have been so beneficial, and far reaching that
the term "philanthropist" is not misapplied in his case.
The Belins are of French descent, the first of the name known in America
being John Belin, great-grandfather of Henry Belin Jr., of Scranton. He
was a planter on the Island of San Domingo, West Indies. His son, .Augustus
Belin, succeeded him, but in the uprising of the blacks in 1791. he was com-
pelled to flee for safety. He came to the United States, first engaging in-
business in Philadelphia, later moving to Wilmington, Delaware, where he
formed connection with the famous DuPont Powder Works.
He married Alletta Hedrick, of Philadelphia, born of Danish parentage.
Augustus Belin died in Wilmington in 1843, aged seventy-three years, leav-
ing children : Ann, Henry and Charles.
Henry (i) Belin was born in Philadelphia, died in Wilmington, Delaware,
in 1891. After a thorough preparation, he was awarded a cadetship at the
West Point United States Military Academy, where he was graduated, and
joined the newly formed corps of Topographical Engineers, and remained with
that corps until 1843, being connected during that time with various important
surveys conducted by the government. Resigning from the army in 1843, 'i^
formed a connection with the DuPont Powder Works at Wilmington, a com-
pany with which he was identified until 1865, when he moved to St. Louis,
Missouri, engaging in business there for ten years. He then returned to
Wilmington, which was his home until death.
He married, Isabella, daughter of Henry d'Andelot. She died in 1863,
aged fiftv years, leaving children: Gratiot, d'Andelot, died in infancy, Louisa,
Mary, Henry Jr., of whom further.
Henry Belin Jr. was born September 23, 1843, at West Point, New
York, his father being then stationed at the military academy. He prepared
for college at Hopkins grammar school, New Haven, then entered Yale
L^niversity, whence he was graduated A. B., class of 1863. He began his
business life with the house with which his father and grandfather had been
identified, the E. I. DuPont de Nemours and Company, powder manufac-
turers, and is now the president of the Pennsylvania corporation, known over
the world. For seven years Mr. Belin made his home in Wilmington, but in
1870 he moved to Scranton. Pennsylvania, which city has ever since been
54 CITY OF SCRANTON
his home. In addition to his connection as head of the E. I. DuPont de Ne-
mours & Company of Pennsylvania, Mr. BeHn is director of the First Na-
tional Bank of Scranton, vice-president and director of the Cherry River
Boom and Lumber Company, vice-president and director of the Scranton
Lace Company, director of the Lackawanna Trust and Safe Deposit Company,
director of the Hebard Cypress Company, and interested in other of the
business enterprises of Scranton, where he is rated a leading factor in the
development of the business interests of that city and section.
Prominent as is the position Mr. Belin occupies in the world of finance
and industry, he is ever the interested citizen and humanitarian, his sympathy
and benevolences being freely bestowed upon every worthy object. He was in
the service of his state for several years, serving in the Thirteenth Regiment
Pennsylvania National Guard for two years, and for one year as aide de
camp on the staff of Brigadier General Sigfried. In political faith he is a
Democrat, and in religious preference is identified with the Second Presby-
terian Church, which he serves as trustee.
In philanthropic work for the amelioration of the conditions surrounding
the afflicted, he has ever shown interest, sympathy and liberality. He was
identified with all the movements resulting in the establishment of the Penn-
sylvania Oral School for the Deaf, was one of the charter founders and has
served from the first on the board of trustees as treasurer. The demands of
the Hahnemann Hospital have also been recognized, he having long been a
member of its advisory board. He is also a trustee and treasurer of Scranton
Public Library and a member of the Pennsylvania State Library Commis-
sion. Thus Mr. Belin has demonstrated his true manhood, and in all his
activities displayed the characteristics, marking the best type of American
manhood. Modest and retiring in disposition, he is forceful and practical in
reality and while his highest ambition is to be useful to his fellow men in the
truest sense, he has never sought or accepted public office.
Mr. Belin married Margaretta, daughter of Ferdinand LaMotte. of Wil-
mington, Delaware. Children : May, married Nathaniel Robertson, of Scran-
ton ; Alice, Paul B., Charles, F. Lammot, Margaretta, d'Andelot.
PAUL B. BELIN
The city of Scranton became the home of Henry (2) Belin, president of
E. I. DuPont de Nemours Company in 1871, and is still the seat of his
activity. Here were born his two sons, Paul and F. Lammot, who have firmly
established themselves in the business world as worthy sons of their honored
father.
Paul B. Belin was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, July 26, 1875. He
attended the city schools, then entered Yale University, whence he was grad-
uated, class of 1895. He then took a post-graduate course at Columbia Uni-
versity in architecture, following the profession of an architect for several
years. In 1898 he became treasurer and general manager of the Scranton
Lace Curtain Company, one of Scranton's important industrial enterprises,
with which he yet holds the same official position. He is also a director of
the Lackawanna Trust and Safe Deposit Company and interested in other
business concerns. In business circles his standing is of the highest, while in
his official positions he is efficient and most practically useful. He is a mem-
ber of the Engineers' Club of Northeastern Pennsylvania and of the Scranton
Club. Mr. Belin married Lucie, daughter of Charles H. Welles, an eminent
attorney of Scranton. Children: Henry (3) and Charles Welles Belin.
CITY OF SCRANTON 55
F. LAMMOT BELIN
In the person of Mr. Belin, the fourth generation of Belins occupies im-
portant position in the great DuPont Powder Manufacturing Company. F.
Lammot BeHn was born in Scranton, March 15, 1881. son of Henry (2)
Behn whose own and family history is also recorded in this work.
After completing his preparatory courses in the Lackawanna and Hotch-
kiss Schools, F. Lammot Belin entered Yale University, whence he was grad-
uated Ph.B., class of 1901. Returning to Scranton after graduation he was
associated with the Scranton Lace Curtain Company for three years. He
then formed a connection with E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Company, of
Pennsylvania, and is now vice-president of that company, his honored father
being president. Mr. Belin Jr. is also a director of the Traders National
Bank and of the Wyoming Shovel Works. Though comparatively young
in the business world he has met successfully every demand made upon him
and ranks as one of Scranton's capable men of affairs.
He has taken active part in city affairs as a member of the Council to
which he was appointea m the first instance and elected by the people in
191 1. He is an efficient, active official and takes a leading part in city legisla-
tion. He is a member of the Scranton Club and the Scranton Country Club.
Mr. Belin married. January 17, 1912, Frances, daughter of Frank H.
Jermyn, of Scranton. He has a son, F. Lammot (2).
CHARLES P. SAVAGE
Having sprung from the purest of English stock, the Savage family of
Dunmore, Lackawanna county, while retaining all of a descendant's pride in
a mother country, has become so thoroughly imbued with American thought
and spirit that to its foster mother falls the benefit of its services and the
credit for duty well done.
(I) Joseph Savage, grandfather of Charles P. Savage, in 1850 came to the
United States from his home in Bath, England. A far sighted, prophetic
visioned Englishman, he predicted the future of Dunmore and Scranton to a
degree and, desiring his sons to share in the growth and upbuilding of such
a community, there made his home, although the hamlet of 1850 gave to the
person of ordinary perception no promise of the city of the present. Here
Joseph Savage became engaged in the development of the mining industry in
the capacity of mining engineer, and directed work on some of the earliest
operations in that locality, continuing in active pursuance of his calling until
his death.
(II) Robert P. Savage, son of Joseph Savage, was born in Bath, Eng-
land, in 1834, died in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, in March, 1912. When his
parents immigrated to Scranton he was but sixteen years of age, and when but
a young man he learned the carriage building and blacksmith's trade. He
established the first carriage building manufactory in Dunmore and for a long
time was engaged in the making of carriages. He took a prominent part in
the affairs of the borough and for several years served as burgess, also being a
member of the town council. His only fraternal connection was with the
Masonic order, in which he belonged to Peter Williamson Lodge, F. and A.
M. Both he and his wife were communicants of the Presbyterian church.
He married Sarah Elizabeth, daughter of Charles Wesley Potter. Children :
Cora E., married Brevard E. Harris, of Concord, North Carolina : Charles
P., of further mention ; Maude, married E. D. Ames, of Dunmore.
The Potter family, which joined the Savage family by the marriage of
56 CITY OF SCRANTON
Robert P. and Sarah Elizabeth (Potter) Savage, was first planted in Penn-
sylvania by Elisha Sweet Potter, who came from Connecticut on horseback,
settling on a farm in Providence. He was the father o^ Charles Wesley Pot-
ter, died in 1857, aged forty-two years. Charles Wesley ^otter was born on
the Potter farm, now the property of the Delaware and HuJson, and moving
to Dunmore was there one of the first settlers. He conducted extensive deal-
ings in real estate, also engaging in farming and was justice of the peace.
He married Sarah Ann Eakin, a native of Martin's Creek, Pennsylvania.
(HI) Charles P. Savage, son of Robert P. and Sarah Elizabeth (Potter)
Savage, was born in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, November 28, 1862. He ob-
tained his education by attendance at the public schools of Dunmore and at
"Daddy" Merrill's academy in Scranton. His first employment was with
the Pennsylvania Coal Company, his immediate superior being John B. Smith.
He here learned telegraphy and became the company's operator. During his
stay in the employ of this corporation he had held the office of secretary and
treasurer of the Dunmore Gas and Water Company for several years. He
remained in the coal business until his entrance into political service in 1901,
during which time he was purchasing agent for the Pennsylvania Coal Com-
pany, the Dunmore Iron and Steel Company and the Erie and Wyoming Valley
Railroad Company, all three of which companies were under one control. In
1901 he accepted a clerkship under County Controller E. A Jones, who
assumed the reins of ofifice on July i, 1901, and has been connected with the
county controller's office ever since as chief clerk, deputy, and finally as con-
troller, the latter by appointment of the governor to fill out the unexpired
term of Mr. Jones, whose resignation, on October 4, 191 1, left the position
vacant. The choice of the chief executive of the slate was confirmed by the
people of the county in November, 191 1. when Mr. Savage was elected county
controller for a four year term. All of his political triumphs have been as the
nominee of the Republican party. During his Dunmore residence he was for
nine years clerk of the borough council. Mr. Savage is secretary and director
of the Fidelity Deposit and Discount Bank, of Dnnmore. He is also secretary
and treasurer of the Delaware and Hudson and Pennsylvania Coal Companies'
Gravity Employees Association, an organization for purely social purposes,
composed of the old employees of the corporations, which have relinquished
their charters and have ceased to exist in their corporate form.
He is a member of the Masonic order, belonging to King Solomon Lodge,
Free and Accepted Masons, of Dunmore, in which he is past master : he is also
past grand of Dunmore Lodge, No. 816, I. O. O. F. : belongs to Dunmore
Lodge. No. 167, K. of P. ; Dunmore Camp, No. 10,270, M. W. of A. : Dunmore
Lodge. Improved Order of Heptasophs. He is a member of the Presbyterian
church, and takes a great interest in its affairs, having been secretary of the
board of trustees for twelve years. As controller of the county finances, Mr.
Savage has been uniformly careful and accurate in his guard of the public
funds. Honorable, straight- forward and reliable, the people have found in
him a servant worthy of the highest trust.
FRANK H. CONNELL
William P. Connell, father of Frank H. Connell, of this narrative, was a
native of Philadelphia, where his father had been a member of the firm of
Lovejoy & Connell, manufacturers of pewterware. William P. Connell learned
the practical side of this business, and in 1855 came to Scranton, where in
partnership with Henry B. Rockwell he opened a hardware store, under the
firm name of Rockwell & Connell. Both being young men of energy and ac-
CITY OF SCRANTON 57
tion they did not sit passively by and wait for trade from the surrounding
neighborhood to seek them out, but instituted the innovation of covering the
territory by means of wagons, conveying a complete, though necessarily small,
stock of the different articles handled at the store. This system, inaugurated
in an unpretentious manner, met with popular favor and was enlarged until
the force so employed numbered between sixty and eighty men. Emboldened
by the success of this undertaking, the firm branched out in a new department,
plumbing, the amount of work done in that line soon eclipsing that of the
hardware store. Mr. Connell continued in that business until his death, which
occurred in 1899, aged sixty-six years. He was a member of the First Presby-
terian Church, devout in the performance of religious duties. His political
faith was Republican and he was for a time a member of the city council. He
was a thirty-second degree Mason, belonging to Coeur de Lion Commandery,
Knights Templar.
William P. Connell married Alida Van Buren, daughter of House Hurd,
a native of Kinderhook, New York. Frank H., of further mention, is the
only one of the children living. Frederick, the oldest son, a graduate of Yale
University, and a member of the bar of Lackawanna county, died in 1910,
aged fifty years. Mr. Connell's home in Scranton for many years was on the
site now occupied by the People's Bank Building.
Frank H. Connell, son of William P. and Alida Van Buren (Hurd) Con-
nell, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, November 15, 1862. He obtained
an excellent education in the public schools, later attending Kingston Academy
and Lawrenceville Preparatory School. Although ably fitted for college, he
decided upon a business career and for over twenty years was m the employ
of his father. He left his position with his father's firm to become secretary
and treasurer of the Seybolt Milling Company, and was identified with that
company for several years, later becoming connected with the Pennsylvania
Casualty Company, which was m.erged with the Massachusetts Bonding and
Insurance Company, the name of the latter being retained. Mr. Connell's
position with this corporation is as manager. He here finds a wide field for the
exercise of acutely trained business instincts, inherited from a resourceful
and progressive sire, and controls the investments and dealings of the company
with results most gratifying to its officials. He holds true to a course of the
strictest integrity in his business life, seeking onlv to acquire that which may
be obtained legitimately and thus gaining the confidence and trust of business
as.sociates and the regard and respect of friends. His only social connection
is with the Scranton Club, and his religious aflfiliation is with the Second Pres-
byterian Church. He married Frances S., daughter of Calvin Seybolt, of
Scranton. They are the parents of one daughter, Helen.
FRANK CAUM
Edward L. Caum, father of Frank Caum, of this narrative, was born in
Camden, New Jersey. He spent nearly his entire life in the service of the
Pennsylvania Railroad, as master mechanic, first at Mifflin, and from 1869
until his death in 1912, aged seventy-nine years, in Harrisburg, whither the
shops were moved in the former year. He was a member of the Masonic
Order. He married Ellen Wright.
Frank Caum, son of Edward L. and Ellen (Wright) Caum, was born in
Juniata county, Pennsylvania, January 4, 1865. He attended the public schools,
and as a young man began a connection with railroads and transportation
companies that has continued until the present time, although that period has
been spent in the employ of many different roads. He served his apprentice-
58 CITY OF SCRANTON
ship in the trade of machinist in the shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad. He
followed that occupation for seven years in Harrisburg, then going to Meriden,
Connecticut, where he remained for one year, at the expiration of that time
entering the employ of the Meriden Waterbury and Connecticut River Rail-
road. He severed that connection to accept a position in the car barns of
the Rochester Railroad, whose service he entered in 1890. He received a
promotion to the position of engineer in the power station, but after a year
had passed, resigned and took a position with the Ball and Wood Engine
Company, of Elizabethport, New Jersey, and not finding this to his liking, after
a few months returned to Rochester, continuing in his former capacity for
another year. In the latter part of 1892 he became chief engineer of the
power station of the Jersey City and Bergen road, a position he held until
June, 1894. While with this road he was for a short time engaged in the
building of a road in New Jersey. In August of the same year he was en-
gaged as chief engineer of the power station of the Hartford Street Railway.
In 1897 he was promoted to the superintendency, and in 1905 he became
manager. The year after his elevation to that position he came to Scranton as
general manager of the Scranton Railway Company. While Mr. Caum has
in a sense been a rolling stone, as a stone he has possessed the qualities nf
a ball of snow, which when set in motion constantly becomes larger and a more
perfect specimen of a snow ball than before it was moved. So in his restless,
nomadic wandering, Mr. Caum has gathered, not moss, but an invaluable
knowledge of methods used in transportation, and a thorough insight into the
workings of every department of a railway system. It is that technical knowl-
edge that has made him so indispensable to the Scranton Railroad Company,
whose affairs he directs from a perfect understanding of the entire system.
Himself a trained mechanic and one who has seen active service in the lower
grades of the employment, he knows just the amount of work of which each
man is capable, and in fair-minded justice expects him to do no more. He is the
type of employer in whom a faithful and conscientious workman delights, but
a veritable thorn in the flesh to the shirking drone, who does as little as neces-
sary in as long a time as possible. Mr. Caum is a member of the board of
directors of the Anthracite Trust Company.
Mr. Caum married Louise, daughter of Irvin Crane, of Harrisburg, Penn-
sylvania, and they have one son, Norman C. It was a pleasing tribute to the
excellent impression made by Mr. Caum that during the years when his life
was so unsettled he could always return to the position he had just left. He
regards each situation as but a stepping-stone to another, and all but a train-
ing for a more important and more responsible position in the business he has
made his life work.
LUTHER KELLER
Luther Keller, a well known business man of Scranton, Pennsylvania, is a
member of a family whose history is of more than ordinary interest.
(I) Joseph Keller, the emigrant ancestor of this family, was born in
Schwarzenacker, near Zweibruecken, Bavaria, Germany, March 15, 1719. tlis
mother had been twice married, according to family tradition, her first hus-
band being a Mr. Guth, and a son of this marriage had come to .America, as
had also her elder son of the second marriage. Joseph Keller sailed on the
ship William, for America, and arrived at Philadelphia, October 31, 1737.
He lived with the family of his step-brother, Guth, and nearby lived Klary
Engel Drumm, who later married Mr. Keller, with whom she had grown up.
They married about 1742, and settled in Northampton county, Pennsylvania..
CITY OF SCRANTON
59
They were called upon to endure all the hardships of the early settlers, among
these being the capture by Indians of Mrs. Keller and several of her children
and the murder of the eldest child. They were taken by the Indians to Canada
and handed over to the officers of the French army. They were held captives
until three years later when the English army defeated the French at Ottawa
and set free all prisoners held by the French. Mrs. Keller with her chil-
dren made their way back to their home, over looo miles, and were again united.
The children of this family were: i. Christian, born September lo, 1743;
murdered by the Indians at the age of fourteen years. 2. Anna Margaret,
born March 15, 1745: married a Mr. Miller, and had a daughter Elizabeth.
3. Henry Adam, born January i, 1747, died in young manhood. 4. Simon,
born October 29, 1749; married a Miss Dipper, and had three children. 5.
Joseph, of further mention. 6. John Jacob, born July 10, 1754, was cap-
tured by the Indians when a little more than two years old, and never heard
from again. 7. John Jacob, second of the name, was born March 22, 1757;
married Maria Dorothy Metz, and had children; later removed to Ohio. 8.
Philip, born March 29, 1763: married (first) Sarah, daughter of Henry Miller,
(second) Widow Susannah Engler, and had children by both marriages.
(IT) Joseph (2) Keller, son of Joseph (i) and Alary Engel (Drumm)
Keller, was born January 15, 1751, died April 15, 1832. He was almost six
years old when with his mother was captured by the Indians, and about nine
years of age when returned to his home. He enlisted as a "Seven-Months
Man" at the time of the Revolutionary War, but the length of his service in
the Continental army is not known. After his marriage he removed to Cherry
Valley. He married Maria Magdalene Andre, born June 15, 1785, died
September 6, 1831, daughter of Leonard Andre. They had children: i.
Adam, married Elizabeth Fisher and had children ; lived in Upper Mount
Bethel township. 2. Leonard, a blacksmith ; married and had children. 3.
Joseph, married (first) a Miss Riegel, (second) an English woman and had
children by both marriages ; moved to the west 4. Jacob, married Nancy
Dennis and had children ; lived in Briar Creek Valley, Columbia coimty, Penn-
sylvania. 5. John, married Mary Johnson and had children. 6. Henry, mar-
ried a Miss Hess; moved to Columbia county. 7. Elizabeth, married John
Fellenser, had five children, all deceased. 8. Mary, born 1780. died June 4,
1842 ; married Henry Algert and had children. 9. Peter, of further mention.
10. Sarah, married Robert Shaw; moved to Illinois. 11. George, born Janu-
ary 15, 1797, died February 3, 1871 ; married (first) Mary Bitja, born De-
cember 15, 1803, died October 1, 1825: married (second) Lovina Lern, born
March 11, 1807, died August 17, 1872; had children by both marriages.
(Ill) Peter Keller, son of Joseph (2) and Maria Magdalene (Andre)
Keller, was born August 26, 1794, died September 20, 1878. He grew to man-
hood in Cherry Valley, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, now Monroe
county, where he became a prosperous farmer and mill owner, also running
a line of freight teams from that section to and from Easton, Stroudsburg
and Philadelphia, before the era of railroads. He was a Whig in early life,
and upon the organization of the Republican party joined its rank, and was a
very prominent citizen. Mr. Keller married ElizalDeth Heller, born October
19, 1798, died November 23, 1886. They had children: i, John, born October
11, 1818, died April 3, 1886. 2. Susan, born January 2, 1821, died March 2,
1883. 3. Catharine, born in 1822; married Thomas W. Rhodes and had one
son, Stewart T. 4. Daniel, of further mention. 5. Charles, born April 20,
1827; married Lavine Smith, born February 7, 1827. died June 22, 1897; had
children, 6. Mary Ann, born November 29, 1829; married Henry Dennis,
born January 11, 1830, died October 10, 1901 ; had children. 7. Joseph J.,
6o CITY OF SCRANTON
born October i8, 1832, died December 11, 1871 : married Mary J. Rhoads ; had
six children. 8. Lewis, born in 1833, died September 11, 1903: married Julia
Werkheiser. y. Louise, born in 1833. 10. Sarah, born in 1835. II. Wil-
liam, born in 1837: married Sarah Kemmerer, born February 9, 1834; had
children. 12. Theodore, born in 1837.
(IV) Daniel Keller, son of Peter and Elizabeth (Heller) Keller, was born
in Monroe county, Pennsylvania, in April, 1825, died February 8, 1904. He
learned the trade of milling in the grist mill of his father, and succeeded the
latter in the conduct of this business, continuing in it, to the exclusion of other
business interests, until several years prior to his death, when he had retired.
He was a Republican in politics, and a member of the German Reformed
Church. He married Catherine Jane Drake, born April 20, 1828, died March
27, 1861, daughter of Wayne Drake, a prosperous farmer of Monroe county,
Pennsylvania. Four children grew to years of maturity: I. Luther, of
further mention. 2. Morris T., of Scranton. 3. Laura, married James
Decker, of Monroe county, Pennsylvania. 4. Isabelle, married S. B. Decker,
of Monroe county, Pennsylvania.
(V) Luther Keller, eldest son of Daniel and Catherine Jane (Drake)
Keller, was born near Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, October 27, 1850. He
remained at home until he was twelve years of age, at which time his mother
died. He then left the home farm to make his own way in the world, in
which he succeeded without other assistance than his perseverance, and will-
ingness to work. He secured a position on a farm where he worked summers
and attended school winters until he was fifteen years of age. He then
came to Scranton. where for four years he worked with Lewis and Sidney
Keller, who taught him the trade of harness making. During this period he
attended the night classes at Gardner's Business College, gaining a clear knowl-
edge of business forms of proceduie. In 1875 he established his present place
of business, the wholesale and retail lime and cement yard, in Scranton. He
began in a small way, but prospered from the beginning to such an extent that
soon afterward he leased the lime works at Portland which he subsequently
purchased, and at the present time is operating an additional quarry, making
it the largest plant of this kind in eastern Pennsylvania, and employing a large
force of men. The product is sold in New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania and
New York State. To this lime business he has added cement, hard wall plas-
ter, sewer pipe, fire brick and clay, and in fact conducts a complete builders"
supply house. Mr. Keller's office and yards are at Nos. 813-815 West Lacka-
wanna avenue, Scranton, Pennsylvania. He conducts a large and prosperous
business, as manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer, holding the confidence of his
many customers and of the world of business in which he moves. His success
in life has been the result of his own energy, integrity and upright business
principles, strictly adhered to in every transaction. He had aided in the estab-
lishment of many, now prosperous, Scranton industries, in fact, few new
enterprises have been established here during the past twenty years in which he
has not taken an active interest. He has worked personally in this direction
as a persistent advocate of Scranton's desirability as a manufacturing center,
and through the board of trade, of which body he was president two years,
and vice-president five years. In addition to his private business he has been
director of the Third National Bank for twenty years ; is vice-president of the
Scranton Textile Company, and interested in other Scranton enterprises.
Scranton has no truer friend or one who more earnestly labors for the well
being of the community. For fourteen years he was a member of the city
council, its president for two years, and in that capacity used his best efforts
to promote the public good. He was made a Mason in 1877, and is now a
i^S:^^^2&^
CITY OF SCRANTON 6i
member of Union Lodge, Lackawanna Chapter, Coeur de Lion Comman-
dery, Irem Temple and Keystone Consistory, in which he has attained the
thirty-second degree.
In the church of his choice Mr. Keller has been and is most useful. Since
1868 he has been a member of what is now the Immanuel Baptist Church,
formerly the Penn Avenue Baptist Church, for twenty-five years has been
superintendent of the Sunday school, also president of the board of trustees
and deacon for many years. He is widely known in the church outside of
Immanuel, was moderator of Abington Baptist Association, two years ; presi-
dent of the Baptist State Convention, two years : and is now a member of rhe
executive committee of the Northern Baptist Convention, and is a charter
member of the Ministers and Missionary Benefit Board of the Northern Bap-
tist Convention. Mrs. Keller is a co-worker in the church, taking an active
part in the women's organizations. The family home is at No. 515 Clay
avenue.
Mr. Keller married (first) September 18, 1879, .Annie E. Halstead, who
died February 18, 1883, daughter of Nathaniel Halstead. There were no chil-
dren by this marriage. He married (second) January 21, 1886, Laura F.
Frey, daughter of Peter and Maria (Boyer) Frey, of Portland, Pennsylvania,
and the children of this marriage now living are : Ruth, born in 1S92 ; Russell,
born in 1899.
EZRA H. RIPPLE JR.
Ezra H. Ripple Jr., only son of Colonel Ezra H. and Sarah H. (Hackett)
Ripple, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, January 31, 1879. His early educa-
tion was obtained in the public schools, followed by a course at the Univer-
sity School, at Cleveland, Ohio, and at Pennsylvania Military College at Ches-
ter, Pennsylvania. He was graduated from the latter institution, class of
1898. He then enlisted in the Thirteenth Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry,
for service during the Spanish-American War, serving until March, 1899.
He then was engaged as mine surveyor until 190x3, when deciding upon the
profession of law he registered as a student of Welles & Torrey, then entered
the law department of the University of Pennsylvania, whence he was gradu-
ated LL.B.. class of 1904, being admitted to the Lackawanna bar at the March
term 1905. He has since that date practiced his profession in Scranton in
association with H. C. Reynolds. He has been admitted to all state and fed-
eral courts of the district, has a large practice, and in September, 191 1, was
appointed referee in bankruptcy. Mr. Ripple enlisted in Company D, Thir-
teenth Regiment, National Guard Pennsylvania, as private, June 8, 1899, and
has received the following commissions in the regiment : November 8, 1899,
second lieutenant; May 14, 1900, first lieutenant; August 25. 1903, captain;
June 28, 1907, major; September 25, 1908, lieutenant-colonel, his present rank
in the Thirteenth (1914). His college fraternities are: Phi Gamma Delta
and Delta Chi. In religious faith he is a member of the Reformed Episcopal
Church, which he serves as vestryman. In politics he is a Republican.
Mr. Ripple married, October 23, 1906, Lois Schlager, daughter of Charles
Schlager, of Scranton. Children : Ezra H. 3rd, Dorothy Lois, Marjorie
Elizabeth.
GEORGE F. REYNOLDS
The Reynolds family, formerly of Fell township, of which George F.
Reynolds of Scranton is a representative, descends from the New England
62 CITY OF SCRANTON
family, founded at Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1643, ^"^ at Kingston, Rhode
Island, twelve years later. About 1750 a branch of the family moved to
Litchfield county, Connecticut, and came thence with the first settlers of the
Wyoming Valley, under the Connecticut charter in 1769. The family is con-
spicuous in the records of the events of those early years, figuring in con-
nection with the battle and massacre of Wyoming.
(I) George Reynolds, paternal grandfather of George F. Reynolds, came
at an early day from Rhode Island, settling in Fell township, now Lackawanna
county, where he owned 300 acres of land. His was the first framed house
in the township erected prior to 1825. it being covered, sides and roof with long
white oak shingles split out of the log. In 1825 he built the first framed barn
in the township, having in 1824 built the pioneer saw mill. This mill erected
on Fall Brook in the southwest part of the township, was destroyed by a flood,
was rebuilt and again was carried away by a flood, no mill having smce been
built on the site. The old log school house built about 1820 on the creek,
and known as the "Carr School House," was presided over in 1825 by John
Nelson — among his pupils were, Samuel, Maria, George and Shefif Reynolds.
The first wedding solemnized in Fell township was in 1827, one of the high
contracting parties being a Reynolds : Maria, who married Otis Williams.
(IIj George (2) Reynolds, son of George (i) Reynolds, was born in
Rhode Island in 181 7, and was but a baby when his parents came to Fell
township. He attended the old log school house sessions and grew up as was
the lot of the pioneer boy, to hardships and toil. He helped to clear and cul-
tivate the soil, to sow, reap, thrash and grind, living a farmer's life until 1859,
when he moved to Scranton and opened a grocery store on Penn avenue. He
prospered in business, continuing several years at that location, then moved
to the west side, here he lived retired several years prior to his death in 1900.
His wife, Mary Ann Phinney, was born in Connecticut, in 1823, daughter of
James H. Phinney, who kept the Bristol House at Providence for many years,
Mary Ann, his daughter, spending her girlhood in Providence. She died aged
eighty-six years, in October, 1910. Both George (2) and Mary A. Reynolds
were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Six of their eight children
grew to mature years : James S. : George F., of whom further ; Ida, deceased,
married J. L. Harding; Clarence E. Phinney, and John C, deceased: Blanche
and Annie, both died young, the former aged three years, the latter aged
fifteen months.
(Ill) George F. Reynolds was born in Fell township, Lackawanna county,
Pennsylvania, January 7, 1848. He attended the public schools of the town-
ship and later took a course at Dufifs Business College at Pittsburgh. Later
still he became identified with the well known home college course inaugurated
by the Chautauqua Association and for ten years he was a member of the
Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, finishing his courses and being grad-
uated. He began business life as a clerk in Harding's grocery store, but after a
vear moved to Oxford, New Jersey, where he was time-keeper at the iron
works for three years. He then made a trip to the oil region of Pennsylvania,
but finding the oil business very unattractive he took the before mentioned
course at the business college in Pittsburgh, then returned to Scranton. He
entered the employ of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, as bookkeeper
and clerk, continuing in that employ for twenty-eight years, acquiring a splen-
did standing with the company for reliability, dispatch and industry. In 1900
he severed this connection and established a real estate and insurance business
in Scranton. He operates extensively, buying large tracts and dividing them into
building lots. In this manner he added West Park, a tract of 120 acres to
Hyde Park. He is secretary and treasurer of the Keystone Land Company,
CITY OF SCRANTON 63
and is a director of the Peoples National Bank, an institution he aided in
organizing. A successful business man and capable executive, Mr. Reynolds
adds to this the qualities of a good citizen, an earnest supporter of church
and Young Men's Christian Association work. He is a member of the Elm
Park Methodist Episcopal Church ; has been secretary of the board of trustees
continuously since 1874 and served two years (1880-1882) as superintendent
of the Sunday school. During the years 1880 to 1882 he was president of the
Young Men's Christian Association and during this period taught a Sunday
school class. In 1900 he was provisional delegate from the Wyoming con-
ference of the Methodist Episcopal church to the general conference, held that
year in Chicago. Mr. Reynolds is active in all departments of church work
other than those mentioned ; is public spirited and generous, social and refined
in his tastes and devoted to his home and family. He is a member of the
New England Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania. There is little of true
benefit to his community in which he is not interested and his support is con-
fidently relied upon for all forward movements.
Mr. Reynolds has been twice married, his first wife being Miss Ida A.
Ware, of Pedricktown, New Jersey. Her death occurred in 1888. In 1895
he married Mrs. Katherine (Wynkoop) Wylie, daughter of William Wynkoop,
of Newton, Pennsylvania. Children : William W. ; Arthur E. and Margaret,
the latter a child of Mrs. Revnolds and her first husband.
GEORGE F. STUCKART
Although a young man, Mr. Stuckart has risen to a position of responsi-
bility in business and has shown ability of commensurate proportions. His
years of banking experience fitted him for his present position as secretary
and treasurer of the Anthracite Trust Company, his selection for this office
being a natural result, following the careful attention he gave his previous
positions and the ability displayed in the fulfillment of his duties. There be-
ing no efifect without a cause, and in no line of business is merit quicker rec-
ognized than in banking, so surely there are greater honors in store for Mr.
Stuckart, one of the youngest banking officials of Scranton.
George F. Stuckart is a son of Anthony F. and Mary C. (Reinhart) Stuck-
art, the former born in Austria, Europe, coming to the United States when
eighteen years of age. He landed in New York City, and for a time remained
there, later locating in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. He was for many years in
the employ of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company, meet-
ing death in a railroad accident. He married ]\lary C. daughter of George
Reinhart, of Tannersville, Pennsylvania. Children : George F., Paul, Loretta,
Joseph.
George F. Stuckart was born in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, October 25,
1878. He was educated in public and parochial schools, Wood's Business
College and Saint Thomas College. He began business life with the Globe
Warehouse Company ; then for five years was bookkeeper for the Maloney
Oil and Manufacturing Company of Scranton ; the succeeding three years
were spent with the Merchants' and Mechanics' Bank as bookkeeper : in 1909
he was appointed cashier of the Olyphant Bank, having been the first ap-
pointee to that position : in 1910 he was elected secretary and treasurer of
the Anthracite Trust Company, which office he now most capably fills. Mr.
Stuckart enlisted in 1896 in Company F, Thirteenth Regiment Pennsylvania
National Guard, and in 1898 volunteered with the regiment for service in the
Spanish-American War. He enlisted as a private, was at first detailed to the
hospital corps, later returned to his company and was mustered out with his
64 CITY OF SCRANTON
regiment with the rank of corporal. While detailed with the hospital corps,,
he acted as secretary to the brigade surgeon. He is a member of the con-
gregation of Saint Peter's Cathedral ; is past faithful navigator of the Fourth
Degree Knights of Columbus ; member of the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, and in political faith is a Republican. Mr. Stuckart married,
June lo, 1902, Ella R., daughter of Adam Dougherty, of Scranton.
ARTHUR C. FULLER
The ancestry of the Fuller family in America includes a progenitor who
came to this country in the Mayflower, Edward Fuller, and Jesse Fuller, the
sixth American generation of the name, who according to the Massachusetts
Muster and Payrolls and the Rhode Island Service records, was a soldier in
the Revolutionary War, enlisting from the two states previously mentioned.
Charles A. Fuller, father of Arthur C. Fuller, was a native of Southbridge,
Massachusetts, born January 21, 1821. By trade a builder and carpenter, he
became the owner of a planing mill at Clinton, New York, and prospered. His
later life was spent in retirement in Utica, New York. He married Carile
Gates.
Arthur C. Fuller, eldest son of Charles A. and Carile (Gates) Fuller,
was born at Clinton, Oneida county. New York, February 27, 1849. He
attended the district and high schools of Clinton, New York, but although
prepared for college entrance, relinquished his opportunity for further study
and secured employment as clerk in a store in Clinton, where he remained two
years. The following year he entered the branch office of the Remington
Agricultural Works at Utica, New York, and was soon transferred to the
main office of the company at Ilion, New York. After three years' service
he entered the stove manufacturing field in the employ of J. S. and M. Peck-
ham, of Utica, New York, an industry in which he attained marked success.
For nine years he was in charge of the finances of that company, serving
faithfully and well, resigning to remove to Scranton. He here contracted
relations with the Scranton Stove Works, and with J. A. Lansing purchased
the controlling interest, became treasurer of that organization, and acted in
that capacity for thirty years, resigning in 1912. This business was estab-
lished and incorporated in 1866 as the Scranton Stove and Manufacturing
Company and was later changed to the Scranton Stove Works, a corporation
numbering among its founders men of such prominence as the late Colonel
J. A. Price, J. J. Albright, J. C. Piatt, H. S. Pierce, J. A. Linen and William
Connell. In 1892 the business was moved from its old factory on West Lack-
awanna avenue to its present site, where a large and suitable plant was erected
for it, which, including the additions recently constructed, is one of the largest
plants devoted exclusively to stove manufacture in the East. Of the nine
acres occupied by the works, three and one-half are under roof. Four liundred
men are employed therein, the principal product being "Dockash" stoves and
ranges. Mr. Fuller's present connection with this flourishing concern is as
vice-president, but he is not at present active in the management.
Mr. Fuller is otherwise identified with Scranton interests, being vice-presi-
dent and director of the Lansing Hardware Company ; secretary, treasurer
and director of the Scranton Textile Company, and also holds the same posi-
tions with The Scranton Mills, which is the selling company for the former ;
and was for several years director of the Scranton Savings Bank until its con-
solidation with the Dime Discount and Savings Bank in 1913. He belongs to
the Green Ridge Presbyterian Church and is secretary of the board of trus-
tees. He also holds membership in the Scranton Club and the Green Ridge
^^.c^Z/i^^
CITY OF SCRANTON 65
Club, and he was one of the organizers and for eleven years treasurer of the
New England Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The society at its
annual banquet in 1903 presented him with a silver loving-cup, inscribed as
follows: "Presented by the New England Society of Northeastern Penn-
sylvania to Mr. Arthur Charles Fuller, in recognition of efficient services as
Treasurer, 1892-1903."
He married, December 17, 1873, Clara Woolworth, daughter of Cornwell
and Angeline (Coe) Woolworth. Children: Howard A., a graduate of
Lafayette College, in the scientific course, now located at Seattle, Washington ;
Ray W., a graduate of Lafayette College with the degree of electrical engi-
neer, learned the stove business at St. Louis, Missouri, and at Quincy, Illi-
nois, married Grace Sanderson, and they have two children : Arthur C,
Louise S. ; Florence L., died aged three years ; Floid M., a graduate of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts, in the mechan-
ical and electrical engineering courses, now of Duluth, Minnesota ; Warren L.,
connected with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Coal Company as
concrete engineer, married Hazel Tobey.
Mr. Fuller is numbered among the successful manufacturers of the city
and is an authority on all departments of his business. His wise judgment
and careful and persevering financial acumen are attributes contributing largely
to the prosperity of the several organizations with which he is connected.
Public-spirited to the highest degree, he is ever forward in encouraging enter-
prises which can in any way advance the interests of Scranton. A keynote to
his success in his many undertakings is his executive force and mastery of
detail in whatever engages his attention. To a natural dignity of manner
Mr. Fuller adds a geniality that wins for him hosts of friends and makes him
welcome wherever he goes.
ISAAC POST
The Post family is of ancient German origin. As early as A. D. 980 we
find among the conquerors of Nettelburg, later known as Shaumburg, Herren
Von Post, and in 1030 Adolph Post was a member of the Reichstag of Min-
den. From the local name Von Post doubtless came the surname Post, for
in the same town, Ludwig and Heinrich Post, in 1273, appear as witnesses to
a deed, and this Heinrich was progenitor of a prominent German family.
(I) Goossen Post, a descendant of Heinrich Post, and from whom the
American family is traced by the family historian in an unbroken line, is
mentioned in 1376 as one of the anzienlijkste Arr.heimsche burgers. Arnheim
is in that part of Netherlands called Gelderland. He had a wife, Jantje, daugh-
ter of Peter and Jane (Rapalje) Van Zul. They had sons: Peter, men-
tioned below ; George.
(II) Peter Post, son of Goossen Post, owned land in 1390 in or near
Elspet, and is thought to have married Annatie, daughter of George and Else
(Meyers) Suydam, of Zwolle. Children: Peter Arnold, mentioned below;
George, said to have emigrated to England and to have settled in county Kent
about 1473, and his will was filed at Canterbury, 1502; Jan.
(III) Peter Arnold Van Der Poest, son of Peter Post, is given in the
Post Genealogy as son of Peter, and his birth year as 1500, but it is probable
that some generations were missed in the search. Goossen Post must have
been born about 1325 to be a city officer in 1376, and his son Peter, who owned
land in 1399, was born, say as early as 1365, Peter Arnold would be according
to this reckoning, over a hundred years younger than his father. Peter
Arnold married Marragrietje, daughter of Jan Bogert, and had sons : Jan,
5
66 CITY OF SCRANTON
whose daughter Sarah niarried in Maidstone, Kent, September 15, 1607,
Isaac Clark, or Clerk ; Panwell, mentioned below.
(IV) Panwell \'an Der Poest, son of Peter Arnold Van Der Poest, mar-
ried, February 7, 1571, Susannah, daughter of Abraham Van Gelder. Chil-
dren, baptized at the Dutch Church, Austin Friars, London : Abraham, Octo-
ber 6, 1573: Sarah, same date; Susanna, January 18, 1578; Jan, November
S, 1579: Arthur, mentioned below.
(V) Arthur Post, son of Panwell Van Der Poest, was baptized August 26,
1580. He married, February 2, 1614, in Maidstone, Kent, Bennet, daughter
of Richard Lambe. That he was the father of the American pioneer, Richard,
is deduced from a "deed" dated June 14, 1644, "being of grete age Arthur
Post give to my cousin Richard Van Mulken : my second son Stephen and his
wife Margaret ; lands, tenements and hereditaments in Estling, formerly in
the possession of my eldest son Richard, being now of New England, or some
parts beyond the seas. Panwell, my youngest son, to have my wearing ap-
parel." (Phillips Coll. Mss. in Mulken Gen. Mss. XXII, 4). This must mean
will, not a deed in the proper sense of the word.
(VI) Lieutenant Richard Post, immigrant ancestor, son of Arthur Post
of England, is said by the genealogy and other authorities to have settled first
at Lynn and Woburn, Massachusetts, it is true, and was a taxpayer in 1643.
But we have record that he married in Lynn or Woburn, February 27, 1649-
50, Susanna Sutton, and that in the same locality a Richard Post married,
November 18, 1662, Mary Tyler. The records seem to show, however, that
Richard Post went with the pioneers from Lynn to Southampton, Long
Island. He shared in every division of the common land, and from 1643 ^0
1687 he was prominent in the records of the town. It is true that he may have
returned to Lynn for two wives, but it is not known that the Southampton man
had any other wife than Dorothy (given in some works as Johnson). He was
constable, marshal, magistrate, lieutenant, commissioner to treat with the
Indians, on a committee to settle a dispute between the town and Captain
Topping, patentee under Governor Andros' patent. The original homestead
of Post was on the east side of Main street and has lately been owned by
Captain Charles Howells and Henry Post. Before he died he deeded land to
his sons, John and Joseph Post, daughter Martha, wife of Benjamin Foster,
and grandson, Benjamin Foster Jr., April 17, 16S8. He died in 1689. Chil-
dren : Martha, married Benjamin Foster ; Joseph, was in business in Talbot
county, Maryland, in 1675, returned to Southampton and died there November
10, 1721, aged about seventy-one years, leaving a will ; John, mentioned below.
(VII) Captain John Post, son of Lieutenant Richard Post, was born
about 1650, doubtless at Southampton. He was progenitor of all the Post
familes of eastern Long Island ; Montrose and Honesdale, Pennsylvania : Pal-
myra and Newburgh, New York, and California. The homestead of Captain
John Post, was on the east side of Main street, Southampton, and the railroad
station occupies part of it at present. He was one of the purchasers of the
house and lot bought for and dedicated to the use of a Presbyterian parson-
age "forever," and the property is still owned by the church. His will was
dated December 9, 1687, and proved at Southampton, March 21, 1687-88,
bequeathing to five sons and three daughters, homestall. close at the head of the
creek, a fifty-pound commonage, the house and home lot formerly his fath-
er's, the close that was his father's between the Mill path and Cobb's Pound
path, close at Long Springs and his fifty -pound allotment at Mecox ; land at
Hog Neck, west of Canoe place and in Great place. He died in 1687. He
married, in 1671, Mary . Children: Mary; Captain John, mentioned
CITY OF SCRANTON 67
below; Jeremiah, settled in Hempstead; Sarah; Dorothy; Martha; Debo-
rah ; Richard, lived at Hempstead, became a Friend.
(Vni) Captain John Post, son of Captain John Post, was born in 1673, at
Southampton, died there in 1741. In 1690, when he was about seventeen
years old, he was trading land, and in 1692 he was buying and selling land,
and his name was on the tax list. In 171 2 he was a trustee and proprietor
and purchased for the town the North End Burying Ground in which his
uncle Joseph was the first man buried. From 1714 to 1739 he was many
times elected to public office, serving as trustee, collector of taxes, assessor,
commissioner on disputed boundaries and captain of the military company
(as shown by the records at Albany). He died in 1741. He married Mary
Halsey. Children; John, born 1704, died 1792, married Abigail Halsey;
Joseph, born 1704, died 1780; Isaac, mentioned below.
(IX) Isaac Post, son of Captain John Post, was born in 1712. died May
8, 1785. He married Mary Jessup, and among his children was Isaac, men-
tioned below.
(X) Isaac Post, son of Isaac Post, was born in 1741, died in 1788, killed
by a fall from a tree. He married Agnes, born June i, 1764, died May 2,
1834, daughter of Joseph and Deborah (Hudson) Rugg (see Rugg II). His
widow married (second) Bartlett Hinds, born April 4, 1755, and had two chil-
dren: Richard Hinds, born December 17, 1795, and Barlett Hinds, born
June 7, 1797. Children of Isaac and Agnes Post: Isaac, mentioned below;
and David, born July 26, 1786, died February 24, i860.
(XI) Isaac Post, son of Isaac Post, was born August 12, 1784, in South-
ampton, Long Island, New York, died in Montrose, Pennsylvania, March
23, 1855. He was one of the early settlers of Northeastern Pennsylvania,
coming to Montrose in the early part of 1800, where he became one of the
prominent men of the community. He conducted a general store, and also
kept an inn. He took a foremost part in every good project in ihe commu-
nity, and was instrumental in establishing the first bank in that section. He
held various offices of honor and trust, was major of the Second Battalion of
the State Militia in 181 1, and was also inspector of the Second Brigade; he
was treasurer of Susquehanna county in 1812; a member of the state legis-
lature from Susquehanna county in 1828; judge of Susquehanna county in
1837. He was a member of the Masonic organization, holding membership
in Hiram Lodge, No. 131, of Newburg, New York. He married, in 1805,
Susannah Hinds, the ceremony being performed by Thomas Titfany, Esq.
She was born November 10, 1782, died November 15, 1846, daughter of Bart-
lett Hinds (see Hinds V). Their children were: Mary Ann, born March
6, 1806, died April 17, 1806; William Leander, April 26, 1807, died Febru-
ary 26, 1871 ; Albert Lotan, March 25, 1809, died December 6, 1886; Mary
Susannah, May 25, 181 1, died March 23, 1812; Susannah Jane, April 4,
1813, died February 9, 1819; Agnes Ann, September 25, 1815, died June 22.
1816; Isaac Lucius, mentioned below; Jane Amanda, November 14, 1820,
died October 25, 1903, unmarried ; Elizabeth Vallonia, July 4, 1825, died
October 4, 1853, she married Gordon Dimock, M. D., of Montrose, Pennsyl-
vania, who was a surgeon in the Civil War; George Leonidas, September 24,
1828, died December 5, 1841.
(XII) Isaac Lucius Post, son of Isaac Post, was born July 11, 1818, in
Montrose, Pennsylvania, died December 8, 1899. His education was acquired
in the district schools. During the Civil War he served in the paymaster's
department of the Army of the Cumberland, under Colonel Asa Holt Jr., and
after the war, in 1865, he removed to Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he was
for a number of years engaged in the insurance business, and where he also
68 CITY OF SCRANTON
served as justice of the peace and alderman. He was active in the Penn-
sylvania Avenue Baptist Church, of Scranton. He was a very stalwart Repub-
lican and was instrumental in bringing Congressman Galusha A. Grow before
the public, assisting materially in raising the funds for his campaign. Mr.
Post was married, July 28, 1846, by the Rev. H. A. Riley, at ■Montrose, Penn-
sylvania, to Harriet Amanda, born February 26, 1828, died at Scranton,
November 22, 1895, daughter of William and Amanda (Harris) Jessup. To
this union was born one son, Isaac, mentioned below.
(XIII) Isaac Post, son of Isaac Lucius Post, was born November 21, 1856,
at Montrose. Pennsylvania. He attended the public and high schools of Scran-
ton and Professor H. H. Merrill's Academic and Primary Trainmg School.
He began his business career October i, 1873, as messenger boy of the Third
National Bank of Scranton, and a year later, December 2, 1874, became mes-
senger of the First National Bank of Scranton. His ability and fidelity to
duty were rewarded by promotion and he was advanced by various steps to
positions of larger responsibility. He became assistant cashier, January 4,
1886, and in October, 1891, cashier, a position he has filled since then with
conspicuous ability. He enlisted in the Scranton City Guards during the
labor disturbances of 1877, in Company A, and with other members of the
company was mustered into the Thirteenth Regiment, National Guard of
Pennsylvania, October 10, 1878. He was discharged May 25, 1885, with the
rank of first sergeant. In politics he is a Republican ; in religion a Presby-
terian, being a member of the First Presbyterian Church, which he served as
trustee for several years.
He married, February 16, 1887, Emily Pierson, born at Roselle, New Jer-
sey, April 14, 1861, daughter of Hiram Pierson and Caroline Elizabeth (Shny-
der) Baldwin, the former late general passenger agent of the Central Rail-
road of New Jersey. Children: i. Margaret Baldwin, born April 12, 1889;
married October 8, 1912, Reuben B. Pitts, president of the Hermitage Cot-
ton Mills, Camden, South Carolina ; one daughter. Emily Post Pitts, born July
18, 1913. 2. Evelyn Jessup, February 22, 1892; married, June 13, 1913,
Douglass T. Lansing, of the Lansing Hardware Company, Scranton. 3. Nor-
man Baldwin, January 3, 1896, died March 26, 1900, at Scranton. 4. Caro-
lyn Elizabeth, August 27, 1897.
WILLIAM R. WILLIAMS
Although numbered among the older business men of Scranton, a finer
example of well preserved manly vigor, one would have to go far to find. His
life, begun in far away Wales, the family seat for many generations, has found
its full fruition in the wonderful city his muscle, brain and genius has helped
to create.
William R. Williams was born March 10, 1846, in the borough of Car-
marthen, capital of the county of Carmarthen, South W^ales, a city of over
io,coo inhabitants, situated on the river Towy, eight miles from its mouth and
twenty-three miles northwest of Swansea. He is the son of Reese and Cath-
erine (James) Williams, both descendants of old Welsh families. Reese Wil-
liams was a man of good education and one of the most expert cabinet makers
and fine wood workers of his city. He died in his native town in 1851,
age twenty-eight years. His wife, Catherine, was a daughter of William
James, of Vrongach, a town in the same part of South Wales.
William R. Williams at an early age was thrown upon his own resources,
first obtained a good education, passing his boyhood years at the home of his
paternal grandfather, William Williams, owner and operator of Nanty bar
CITY OF SCRANTON 69
mill. William Williams was also a carpenter and cabinet maker, and on arriv-
ing at suitable age William R. Williams became his apprentice, continuing
until he fully mastered the trade. He remained in Carmarthen until his
twenty-fourth year, then married and a month later sailed for the United
States, locating finally in Scranton. This was in the year 1869, and from that
date until the present he has been one of the factors of Scranton's greatness.
His first employment in his adopted city was with his cousin, Daniel Wil-
liams, a contractor and builder, who appointed him foreman over his men,
then engaged in the construction of the Belleville Church. He continued as
journeyman until about 1878, when he began business for himself as a con-
tractor and builder. He had a very successful career as a builder, eighteen
churches and innumerable residences having been erected under his super-
vision, in Scranton and the Lackawanna Valley. He continued in business as
a contractor until 1898, when in association with Frank Washburn and Evan
S. Jones he organized the Washburn, Williams Company, founded on the re-
mains of the Washburn, Zearfoss Company. Mr. Williams was chosen
treasurer of the new company, a position he yet holds. The business of Wash-
burn, Williams Company is that of lumber dealers and contractors, at Nos.
119-131 Meridian avenue, with the branch yards at other points. (A full ac-
count of the company is found in the sketch of Evan S. Jones, president of
the company (1913).) A practical builder and an experienced contractor, the
services of Mr. Williams have been invaluable to the company, while his wise
and careful management of its finances has safely brought them through the
difficulties that ever beset an industrial corporation depending, as it does
on so many outside conditions over which it has no control. That the com-
pany has reached its present state of prosperity is a living testimony to th«
business acumen of its owners, all men of brain, energy and wisdom. But in
every undertaking the final test of strength is in financial condition and here
the wisdom of Mr. Williams, as a financier, has been most conspicuous.
Not only in the management of the finances of the Washburn, Williams
Company, has his worth been appreciated, but for the past twenty years he
has been a director and vice-president of the West Side Bank, giving to that
institution the same careful attention bestowed on his private and corporatf
affairs. For twenty-seven years he has been treasurer of Hyde Park Lodge
Free and Accepted Masons, a term of service unequalled in the history of tha\
lodge. He is also a member of Lackawanna Chapter, Royal x^rch Masons.
and of Coeur de Lion Commandery, Knights Templar. In religious faith h(.
is a Presbyterian, a member, and for the past twenty years a deacon of the
Welsh Presbyterian Church. For many years he was a teacher in the Sunday
school, which he also served as superintendent. His wife is also a communi-
cant of the church, a member of the Ladies' Aid Society and active in genera'
church and benevolent work.
Mr. \A'illiams married, in 1869, in his native land, Gwenllian, daughter oi
Richard Rosser, of Hirrwain, South Wales ; children : Gwilyni, died age
thirty-one years ; Edna : Tudor R., of further mention.
Tudor R. Williams, only son of William R. and Gwenllian (Rosser) Wil-
liams, was born in Scranton, September 4, 1 88 1. He attended the public
schools of Scranton and graduated in 1899 frof.i the School of the Lacka-
wanna. He then entered Cornell University, from which he was graduated as
a civil engineer in the class of 1903. Returning to Scranton he was appointed
resident engineer for the American Railways Company, which position he
held for three and one-half years. To broaden and make more practical his
engineering training he then entered the employ of the Washburn, Williams
Company, in charge of the contracting department and continuing so for
70 CITY OF SCRANTON
three and one-half years. When the company was organized he was chosen
vice-president. In 1910 Mr. WilHams, deciding to adhere more closely to the
engineering profession, forrriied the partnership of Williams & Richardson,
engineers and contractors, for the purpose of entering the field of reinforced
concrete design and construction. Until the formation of this partnership,
reinforced concrete in this vicinity was very rarely used. Since that time,
however, many buildings have been ntade fireproof when originally designed
in wood, only by the alertness and training of Williams & Richardson in
economically bringing about such a change at no greater cost. Mr. Williams
owes the foundation for his success to the honor and experience of his father
before him. Mr. Williams is a member of the Engineers' Society of North-
eastern Pennsylvania, Scranton Board of Trade, and the First Presbyterian
Church. At Cornell L^niversity he was elected to class societies and the Kappa
Sigma fraternity.
In 1906 he married Anna, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Spencer,
formerly of Oil City, Pennsylvania. Children : Gwen and Janet. Family
residence at No. 1322 Gibson street.
WILLIAM CAWLEY
Although a young man Mr. Cawley's banking experience covers a period
of eighteen years, in fact his entire business life, he having begun as book-
keeper with the Dime Deposit and Discount Bank when a young man of seven-
teen, fresh from school life. He has held every position in banking life from
clerk to cashier and in all has earned the right to further promotion. He is
diplomatic and friendly and has that needed quality in the banking business,
the ability of winning friends and holding them. Add to a pleasing person-
ality and a friendly spirit a thorough knowledge of his business, and you have
William Cawley whom it would be libel to call anything but a successful and
rising young man.
Mr. Cawley is a grandson of Thomas F. Cawley, a native of Ireland and
an early settler in Carbondale, Pennsylvania. When the Pennsylvania Coal
Company opened their mines at Dunmore he moved to that town where as a
contract miner he ever afterward remained.
His son. Thomas F. (2) Cawley, was born near the present town of Jes,sup,
Pennsylvania : his parents later moved to Dimmore where he attended the
public schools. He began business life as a merchantile clerk, later he became
a hardware merchant and so continues, his son, Edward F., being his present
partner. He married Annie E. Lynett. born in Dunmore, daughter of Wil-
liam and a sister of E. J. Lynett ; children : Margaret, William, Edward F.,
Catherine, Mary, Ella.
William Cawley, eldest son of Thomas F. and Annie E. (Lynett) Cawley,
was born in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, May 27, 1878. He was educated in the
public schools, continuing until January 10, 1895, when he entered the employ
of the Dime Deposit and Discount Bank of Scranton as assistant bookkeeper,
continuing ten years, becoming paying teller. In 1905 he resigned to accept
the position of cashier of the North Scranton Bank, holding that responsible
position four and a half years. He then returned to the Dime Bank as cashier,
holding that position until its consolidation with the Scranton Savings Bank.
Under the act of consolidation the new institution became the Scranton Sav-
ings and Dime Bank, Mr. Cawley being appointed the first cashier, a posi-
tion he now holds and ably fills. He is a member of the Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks and of the Scranton Club.
CITY OF SCRANTON jr
He married, June 6, 1906, Agnes Morgan, daughter of B. H. Morgan,
an old and present resident of Dunmore ; children: Agnes, Futh, Louise,
Jane.
CHARLES W. MATTHEWS
As president of Matthews Brothers, Scranton's oldest drug house, Mr.
Matthews is at the head of a business with which his father and uncles were
connected for half a century, but whose affairs are now wholly conducted by
the second generation. Originally founded in 1837, the firm continued as
Matthews Brothers under several changes until February 13, 191 3, when
Richard J. Matthews, the last one of the three brothers, William, Charles P.
and Richard J., to enter the early firm and the last to withdraw, sold his in-
terest to Walter L. Matthews and the firm of Matthews Brothers was in-
corporated under the laws of Pennsylvania. The president of the company,
Charles W. Matthews had been a member of the firm many years, succeeding
his father, William Matthews, one of the original members. Walter L., the
treasurer is a son of Charles P. Matthews, also an original member. Originally
a retail business dealing in drugs, paints and oils, a wholesale department was
added, both branches being well established and prosperous. The wholesale
trade is principally confined to Northeastern Pennsylvania, this being the
oldest drug house in that entire section. Under the younger men now in
charge the company's high reputation, built up through half a century of
upright dealing, is fully maintained and progress is still its motto.
(H) William Matthews, son of Robert Matthews (whose life is given in
the sketch of Richard J. Matthews), was born in Cornwall, England, July
12, 1826. Coming to the United States with his parents in 1841, he was
educated in the public schools, and grew to manhood in Honesdale, the
family's American home. He was there engaged in the meat business with
Mr. Henwood for several years, coming to Scranton later, in 1864, and join-
ing his brother, Charles P. Matthews, who had there established a drug, paint
and oil store in 1857. The two brothers continued in business for several
years, then another brother. Richard J. Matthews, who for nine years had
conducted a drug store at Providence, was admitted. In 1872 Charles P. re-
tired from the firm, the two remaining brothers continuing until Charles W.,
son of William, was admitted, he later succeeding to his father's interest.
William Matthews was for many years superintendent of the People's Rail-
way Company, later was its efficient president. He gave his chief attention
to the railway, the store management devolving upon his brother and son.
He was a man of strong character, broad minded, public spirited and a citizen
beyond reproach. In political faith a Democrat, he served his city faithfully
as councilman. He was an attendant of the Episcopal church and a supporter
of all good causes. He died December 16, 1803, in his sixtieth year. He
married (first) Lottie Winton, who bore him a son Charles W. He married
(second) Emma Birdsall, whose only child was a daughter Louise. He mar-
ried (third) Alice Bailey, who bore him sons: Robert and William. He
married (fourth) Mary Howell, who yet survives hmi.
(Ill) Charles W. Matthews, only son of Wilham and Lottie (Winton)
Matthews, was born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, January 16, 1861. When
he was four years of age his parents moved to Scranton v/here he was
educated in the public school, the School of Lackawanna, and "Daddy Mer-
rill's" school. At the age of sixteen years he began work in the drug store
of Matthews Brothers, later being admitted to a partnership, then, succeed-
ing to his father's interest at the latter's death, he and his uncle, Richard J
72 CITY OF SCRANTON
Matthews, became sole owners and proprietors. The firm so continued until
incorporated February 19, 19 13, Charles W. R'latthews becoming first presi-
dent of the corporation. He has had thorough traming for the position, his
life since sixteen years of age having been devoted entirely to the business
over which he now presides. The store, located at No. 320 Lackawanna
avenue, has been the location of the business almost from its first establish-
ment. Mr. Matthews is a member of the Scranton Board of Trade, the
Scranton Qub and of the Royal Arcanum. He married Emilie, daughter of
William J. Pascoe, of Philadelphia. His two sons, Arthur P. and Richard
J. (2), are both associated with him in business.
DR. FREDERICK DOUGLAS BREWSTER
There has descended to the American people of to-day from the stern,
courageous Pilgrims who landed on the New England shore in 1620 a force
stronger than the example of a perfect Christian life, more enduring than their
wise, firm governments, and more uplifting than the great moral lessons they
taught, the very blood of those Christian heroes. Pure and untainted has it
descended through the intervening generations, and nowhere can there be
found in this broad land one whose .\merican ancestor came to this country
in that Heaven-guided band who does not hold his head the higher and feel
more keenly the nobility of his race because of tliat fact. William Brewster,
the ruling elder and spiritual leader of the company, he who sheltered the
small gathering in his England home and at last led them forth to seek freer
lands, was the founder of a family large in number and in greatness second
to none.
(I) It is of this family that Dr. Frederick Douglas Brewster is a member,
although when Eldad Brewster moved to Long Island from Connecticut the
family records were lost.
(II) James Brewster, son of Eldad Brewster, lived on Long Island, and
served throughout the Revolutionary War in the Second Continental Artillery
from Suffolk county, first as lieutenant and later with the captain's rank. He
was the father of two sons and one daughter, Daniel Eldad, Abigail.
(III) Eldad (2) Brewster, son of James Brewster, in 1800 moved from
his home at Sag Harbor, Long Island, and settled on a tract of timbered land
at Montrose, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, which he cleared and later
cultivated. He spent his entire life in this place in the pursuit of agriculture.
He married Hannah Tyler, of Vermont, a sister of Moses C. Tyler, of Mont-
rose. Qiildren of Eldad and Hannah Brewster: Tyler, born 1814, married,
and had a son Samuel, who served in the LInion army in the Civil War, and
died in the hospital of wounds received in battle; Lucena, born 1816; Horace,
of whom further: Daniel, born 1820: Warren, 1822: Andrew Jackson, 1824.;
Sally, 1826: Ann Maria, 1828; Moses Coleman, 1S30. All of the above chil-
dren, excepting Moses Coleman, attained an age of four score vears and over,
a wonderful family record for longevity.
(IV) Horace Brewster, son of Eldad (2) Brewster, was born at Montrose,
Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, in 18 18. He learned the carpenter's trade
and after being employed as a journeyman for a short time began contracting
and building operations. Prospering in this line of work, in his later years
he desired respite from the cares of business and he moved to a farm near
Montrose, this being the one cleared by Eldad Brewster in 1800, where his
remaining days were spent, his death occurring at that place in 1904, when he
was eighty-six years of age. He married Augusta MacNeil. Children of
Horace and Augusta Brewster : Lizzie, married Edward Smith, a resident of
/ \l/l^t^<Aj'<i-yi(^L^
CITY OF SCRANTON 73
Montrose ; Frederick Douglas, of whom further ; D. Truman, an attorney of
Montrose.
(V) Dr. Frederick Douglas Brewster, son of Horace Brewster, was born
at Montrose, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania. October 8, 1850. He ob-
tained his general education in the public schools of Montrose and the Lands-
ford State Normal School, from which latter institution he was graduated
in the class of 187 1. For the five following years he taught school at Nichol-
son, Halstead and different places in that region, in 1876 realizing one of his
most earnest ambitions and matriculating at the New York Homeopathic
Medical College. He received his M. D. from this college in 1879 and im-
mediately began the practice of medicine at Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania,
where he was situated for ten years, with gratifying results. At the expira-
tion of that time he came to Scranton, and in that city has met with a large
share of success, his patronage being wide and among the best of the city's
residents. Dr. Brewster is a member of the County, State and Interstate
Medical societies, as well as of the American Institute of Homoeopathy. His
fraternal order is the Masonic, in which he belongs to Peter Williamson
Lodge, No. 323, F. and A. M. ; Lackawanna Chapter, No. 185. R. A. M. :
Coeur de Lion Commandery. Knights Templar. His religious belief is Presby-
terian and he belongs to the Second church of that denomination in Scranton.
Highly regarded in professional circles for his strict adherence to the lofti-
est of principles and respected for the qualities of good citizenship he has
ever displayed. Dr. Brewster holds a sure and secure place in Scranton so-
ciety, of which he has been a member for almost a quarter of a century.
CLARKE BROTHERS STORES
Among the representative men who liave won a place of prominence in the
commercial circles of Scranton should be mentioned the Clarke Brothers,-
operating under the name of Clarke Brothers Stores.
Edward M. and George W. Clarke are sons of Matthew W. Clarke. Mat-
thew W. Clarke was born in Ireland and came to Carbondale, Pennsylvania,
when only a boy in the year of 1850. He served his time as an apprentice
and learned the carpenter's trade, and in 1857 came to Scranton. Pennsylvania,
where he followed his trade until 1859. He was of a careful and frugal nature
and saved his money, and with this small capital he opened a general store
in Hyde Park, being one of the first merchants there. By close attention to
his business it grew and was successful, and he continued in this line up to the
time of his death which occurred in 1890. During the rebellion he enlisted
in the Union army and served during the last year of the war. His political
affiliations were with the Democratic party in whose principles he firmly be-
lieved. He took an active and intelligent interest in the afifairs of the ward in
which he lived and served as one of its school directors, assisting to the fullest
extent in bringing the public schools to the highest standard.
He married Mary Clarke, who was born in Ireland. Her parents settled
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she spent her childhood. They moved
from Philadelphia to Scranton in 1855. She survived her husband and resides
in Scranton, Pennsylvania, now aged seventy years. Mr. and Mrs. Matthew
W. Clarke were the parents of the following children: i. and 2. Edward M.
and George W., whose history is given more fully further on in this article.
3. Jennie W., who married B. W. Jenkins, of IBaltimore, Maryland, a de-
scendant of one of the oldest and most prominent families of that city, the
ancestors of whom came to America with Lord Baltimore in 1632 and from
that time to the present they have always been represented there. 4.
74 CITY OF SCRANTON
Isabella, who married Captain Louis Mason Guilick, of the United States navy,
now attached to the battleship, Arkansas ; Mr. and Mrs. Guilick make their
home in Washington, D. C. 5. Elizabeth, who married Ashton Deveraux, a
nephew of the late Archbishop Ryan, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where
Mr. Deveraux is a prominent lawyer.
Edward M. and George W. Clarke were both born upon the present site
of their large store at Nos. 310 to 322 North Main avenue, Scranton, Penn-
sylvania, which was the home of their father for some years. The date of the
birth of Edward M. was September 30, 1868, and it was in the public and
high schools of his native city that he obtained the rudiments of his education.
He began his business life as a boy in his father's store and continued in this
until the death of the latter. He then became associated with his brother,
George W. Clarke, forming the firm of Clarke Brothers and opening a de-
partment store at No. 322 North Main avenue, having at that time a force
of about twelve employees. They gave their entire attention to the business
and have built up a large and flourishing business. To meet its demands, the
Homestead was removed and upon its site was built the present large
store, one hundred and fifty feet front by two hundred feet deep and four
stories high, having a floor space of one hundred thousand square feet. This
building is not only the largest in Scranton, Pennsylvania, but probably the
largest in any city in the country the size of Scranton, which is given up to
all the departments known to the modern store.
But this is only one of their chain of stores ; they have another at Nos.
901 and 903 Pittston avenue, one at Nos. loi and 103 Drinker street, one at
Nos. 102 and 106 West Market street, all in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and in
addition to these have stores at Carbondale, Olyphant, Dunmore. Providence,
Wilkes-Barre, Nanticoke, Pittston, Plymouth, Shenandoah and Mahoney City.
The stores in Plymouth, Shenandoah and Mahoney City were opened in 1914.
'Not only do they operate retail, but also wholesale departments in these stores,
and the territory from Forest City to Shenandoah is covered by their rep-
resentatives and wagons. In November, 1913, the firm of Clarke Brothers
was terminated and its place was taken by the corporation known as the
Qarke Brothers Stores of which Edward M. Clarke is the president and
George W. Clarke the treasurer. Edward M. Clarke is also a director in the
Liberty Bank of Carbondale, and on the board of directors of the Scranton
Board of Trade. He is a member of the Scranton and Country clubs.
George Walter Clarke, the youngest son of Matthew W. and Mary Clarke,
was born January 5. 1870, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, as noted above. He
was educated in the public schools, and like his brother obtained his early com-
mercial training in his father's store, continuing there until the death of the
latter, when, in association with his brother, Edward M.. he formed the part-
nership of Clarke Brothers and has been associated with him to the present
time. When the firm was dissolved and the corporation of Clarke Brothers
Stores was formed, George W. Clarke was made treasurer, which position
he still holds. He is a member of the Scranton Board of Trade, the Mer-
chants' Association of New York City, and the Scranton and Country clubs.
He married, February 10, 1904, !\Iercedes L., daughter of Richard Rod-
riguez, of New York City. Mr. and Mrs. George W. Clarke are the parents
of two children: George Walter 1 2), born January i, 1905; Richard R.,
born November 22, 1906.
CITY OF SCRANTON ;5
JOHN R. WILLIAMS
There is an inspiration to future generations in the recital of the hfe oi
anyone who has attained a position of prominence in his chosen field of
endeavor. But for the biographer, who necessarily becomes acquainted with
all the facts and influences surrounding or affecting the success of an in-
dividual, there is no more genuine pleasure than to write the story of one
upon whom fortune has disdained to smile, to whom all the short cuts to
prosperity were blocked, who has been compelled to contend with all unfavor-
able circumstance, and has, with dauntless determination, stormed the ram-
parts of fortune and gained entrance to the land of prosperity and reputa-
tion reached by the road of accepted opportunity. Such a tale is that of John
R. Williams, such the chronicle herein unfolded.
John R. Williams is the son of John F. Williams, a native of Bryn Mawr,
Bredsenshire, Wales, a miner, who married in his native country and came
to the LTnited States with his wife and two sons. John F. Williams first
located at Weathersfield, Ohio, in 1869, and after a short time came to Provi-
dence, where he remained for about a year, then moved to Peckville, where
he engaged in mining. He now lives retired, aged seventy-five years with his
family, at the old home. He married Ann, daughter of John Roberts, a native
of Wales and a refiner in iron manufacture. Children: John R., of further
mention ; Edmund F. ; Jennie ; Margaret, married William J. Lewis ; Kath-
erine, married F. W. Covert: Frank. Both he and his wife are communi-
cants of the Episcopal church.
John R. Williants, eldest child of John F. and Ann (Roberts) Williams,
was born in Bryn Mawr, Bredsenshire, Wales, December ig, 1861. His edu-
cational opportunities were decidedly limited and at the age of nine years it
was necessary that he find employment. This he did in the neighboring mines
where he remained until he was seventeen years of age. He then was engaged
on the old gravity road between Peckville and Carbondale, and after two years
of this service became a teamster in Peckville. This he continued for one
year, his next occupation being as motorman on the Scranton suburban rail-
way, a primitive affair, boasting but two cars of the earliest type, with the
motors on the front platforms, chain driven, the chains running back to the
rear axle. After four years of this employment he accepted a position with
the Scranton Drop Forging Company, and in five years gained a responsible
place in the drop forge shop. He resigned this position and became foreman
in the plant of the Suburban Electric Light Company. Here his ability and
ambition speedily won him definite recognition and he was elevated to the
office of superintendent. During the last few years he had been busily en-
gaged in the perfection of a horse shoe calk, there being nothing on the market
at that time to insure safe footing for horses. In December, 1902, he severed
his connection with the Suburban Electric Light Company and began, with
but little assistance, the manufacture of his invention. .-Mthough his output
was small, he had at first great difficulty in getting his product on the market,
being greatly handicapped by lack of sufficient capital. After the first appear-
ance of the article it met with such popular approval and the demand for it
was so great that he was compelled to seek more spacious quarters, and after
successive additions had been made to his plant, the present factory of two
stories, 190 by 100 feet, was erected. Herein are employed over fifty-five
hands, and the manufactures are shipped to all parts of the country, seventy-
five per cent, of it to points west of Buffalo, New York, through the agency
of jobbers, at the present time, besides four different styles of adjustable calks,
the most important product of the factory is horseshoes, the firm priding it-
76 CITY OF SCRANTON
self upon the excellence of their make, an opinion held by many satisfied users.
Besides being the first company to make left and right shoes for horses, the
Williams Drop Forging Company was the leader in the manufacture of drop
forged shoes to compete in the open market with those made by rolling pro-
cess. How successful that competition has been is best shown by figures, one
million shoes being the annual product of the Williams Company, whose prod-
uct has the reputation of being the finest in the world. In addition to the
above, forty thousand shoe calks are manufactured per day; mine bits are
made, the factory supplying nearly all used in the valley ; and a line of
wrenches is included in the company's manufacturers. On December 3, 1903,
the incorporation papers of the company were granted by the State of Penn-
sylvania under the name of the Williams Drop Forging Company with Alfred
Harvey, president; John R. Williams, vice-president and general manager;
and W. J. Lewis, secretary and treasurer. The present officers are Alfred
Harvey, president and treasurer ; John R. Williams, vice-president and general
manager; F. R. Williams, secretary and assistant treasurer; Edward F. Wil-
liams, superintendent.
Mr. Williams is a member of the Iron, Steel, and Heavy Hardware Manu-
facturers Association, and also belongs to Scranton's Board of Trade. He is
a thirty-second degree Mason, belonging to Green Ridge Lodge, No. 597,
F. and A. M. ; Lackawanna Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; Keystone Con-
sistory, Sovereign Princes of the Royal Secret; and to Irem Temple, Nobles
of the Mystic Shrine. He also holds membership in the Temple Club. While
interested in politics to the extent demanded of a good citizen, he has never
sought office nor done more than cast his vote with the Republican party, in
whose principles he is a firm believer. Both he and his wife are communicants
of the Baptist faith.
He married Rose, daughter of W. A. Beeman, of Scranton. They are the
parents of one daughter. Norma. As the inventor of an article that has
opened a new industry, Mr. Williams has left a permanent record in the his-
tory of manufacturing, while he at the same time plays the role of benefactor
in rendering the lot of horses much more safe and comfortable, particularly
in wintry, stormy weather. In the development of his business he has of
course been rewarded with a plentiful share of this world's goods, which none
begrudge him as his just portion for his persistent, zealous endeavors.
NATHANIEL H. COWDREY
Nathaniel H. Cowdrey is the Pennsylvania representative of a family that
has been seated in Connecticut since the early Colonial days of that state.
His father, Nathaniel A., was born in East Haddam, Connecticut, and there
grew to manhood. After preliminary education he entered the Yale Law
School and after graduation and admission to the bar, spent his entire life
in practice in New York, where he died, aged s'xty-five years. He married
Jane Hartley.
Nathaniel H. Cowdrey, son of Nathaniel A. and Jane (Hartley) Cowdrey,
was born in Hohokus, New Jersey, September i. 1876 His early life was
spent in New York, where he attended the public and private schools, com-
pleting his studies at Yale University, whence he graduated A. B., class of
1898. The Spanish War was the topic of paramount interest at the time and
he enlisted in Battery A, First Regiment Connecticut Artillery, an organiza-
tion that neither saw active service, nor was ordered from the state, but was
mustered out in October. His first business connection was with the Western
National Bank, of New York City, where he was employed for two years.
CITY OF SCRANTON 77
resigning to accept a position with the Morton Trust Company. He re-
mained with this corporation until February ig, 1910, when he became treas-
urer of the Title Guaranty and Surety Company, an office he still holds. With
the exception of his volunteer enlistment at the time of the Spanish War, his
only other military service has been in the National Guard. In 1906 he be-
came second lieutenant of Company I, Twelfth Regiment New York National
Guard, and the following year attained the rani< of captain. For five years
that was his title, until he was made inspector general of the First Brigade
with the rank of major, continuing as such until his resignation from the
organization in 1912. His fraternity is the Psi Upsilon, with which he became
affiliated in his college days. He married Dorothy, daughter of Major Ever-
ett Warren, and has two children : Dorothy and Jane. A capable financier,
Mr. Cowdrey is a worthy addition to Scranton's business men, among whom
he is well liked and popular.
JAMES F. WARDLE
James F. Wardle, broker and promoter, is a descendant of an old English
family, of which but two generations have been American born, four having
lived on this continent.
(I) Joseph (i) Wardle, father of Rev. Joseph (2) Wardle. and grand-
father of James F. Wardle of this narrative, was brought to the United
States by his parents when he was four years of age, his father making New
York his home for a short time, later moving to Philadelphia, and finally to
Lockport, Illinois, where the family resided for many years. Joseph ( i )
Wardle was born January 2"], 1792, and was one of the victims of a destruc-
tive cholera epidemic, his death occurring August 10, 1854. He married
Sarah Hartless, born February 26, 1797, died July 30, 1890, surviving her
husband many years.
(II) Rev. Joseph (2) Wardle, son of Joseph (i) and Sarah (Hartless)
Wardle, was bom in Leicestershire, England. Besides his public school train-
ing he was educated for the Methodist ministry at the C^arrett Biblical In-
situte, of Evanston, Illinois, whence he was graduated B. D. He held charges
in the different circuits of the Rock River conference, including different
pulpits in the Van Brocklin circuit and at Freeport and Chicago. In 1891
he retired, after an active and useful life, spent profitably and blessedly in
the service of his Master. For the past fifteen years he has made his home
with his son, James F. Wardle. He is a member of the Masonic Carder, hold-
ing the Knights Templar degree. He married Mary, daughter of Hiram and
Nancy (Haggard) Morris. The Haggard family is one of the oldest in
America, dating from the landing of the Pilgrims, and also extends far back
into the history of England. Among the more famous of its members is H.
Rider Haggard, the celebrated author.
(III) James F. Wardle, son of Rev. Joseph (2) and Mary (Haggard)
Wardle, was born in Bloomington, Illinois, August 17, 1867. He received his
academic education at Illinois Wesleyan University, whence he was graduated
A. B. in 1890, thre€ years later receiving his IVlaster's degree. In the fall
of 1893 he came to Philadelphia and accepted a position as road engineer for
a firm manufacturing and mstalling heating and ventilating systems, continu-
ing in their employ for eight years, and in igoi began a connection with the
International Correspondence Schools, that continued for three years. He
then became interested in Scranton's new telepiione company and was em-
ployed in its interests for a time, in 1904 entering the investment and broker-
age business independently. One of the many companies which he has pro-
/8 CITY OF SCRANTON
.noted, wholly or in part, is the Mississippi Pecan and Farm Lands Company,
with main offices in Scranton, and of which he is secretary and treasurer. He
is also vice-president and treasurer of the Southern Lands Sales Company,
and vice-president of the Mountain Land Company. Mr. Wardle is a mem-
ber of the Greek Letter Secret Society, Phi Kappa Psi, Indiana Beta Chapter.
He is also prominently connected with the Masonic Order, being past master
of Union Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons : past high priest, Lackawanna
Chapter, No. 185, Royal Arch Masons : past thrice illustrious master of Scran-
ton Council, No. 44, R. and S. M.; district deputy grand master of the Grand
Council of Pennsylvania District, No. 6; past eminent commander of Coeur
de Lion Commandery, No. 17, K. T. ; Keystone Consistory, Sovereign Princes
of the Royal Secret ; Irera Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He also
belongs to the United States Navy League, and is past patron of the Martha
Washington Chapter. Order of the Eastern Star. Both he and his wife are
members of the Elm Park Methodist Church. Progressive and modern in
ideas, Mr. Wardle is a dutiful citizen of Scranton. None of her best in-
terests are disregarded by him and in each forward movement he is an im-
portant factor.
Mr. Wardle married Imogene, daughter of the Rev. Jonas L^nderwood,
of Scranton, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Giurch, who occupies a
Scranton pulpit and fulfills regular ministerial duties, although seventy-eight
years of age. Children : Miriam and Evelyn. Mrs. Wardle is a member of
the Daughters of the American Revolution ; she had four ancestors in the
Revolutionary War.
WALTER LINCOLN HENWOOD
In a business career, covering activities in many states and responsibilities
of great weight, Mr. Henwood has demonstrated his value as a constructive
force and proven his ability as a wise capable man of business. While he is
a native born son of Pennsylvania, his inheritance of English blood is direct
on the paternal side, but through his mothei, his ancestors, though English,
have long been settled in the New England States, coming to Pennsylvania
from Connecticut.
Richard Henwood, father of Walter L. Henwood, was born in Cornwall,
England, August 6, 1815. He remained in his native land until eighteen years
of age, then came to the United States, accomplishing the voyage to New
York in the then quick time of five weeks, it usually requiring a much longer
time for the sailing vessels of that period to cross the Atlantic. He had not ,
a relative anywhere in the country, but was the first of his family to break
down tradition and come to the United States. He obtained work in Ron-
dout, but for a short time only, then in company with H. S. Pi*rce started west-
ward on a Delaware and Hudson canal boat. At Cuddebackville, just below
Port Jervis, New York, obstacles in the canal, prevented further passage of
the boat and the two men, followed the tow path on foot until they reached
Honesdale, June 13, 1833. The young man, Richard Henwood, at once se-
cured work at fifty cents per day with Daniel Blandin, his first day's work
being planting corn in a field now the site of Clark & Company's glass cutting
works. The land was then very new, it often being necessary to use an axe to
cut up the fallen logs, in order to make room for the corn hills. He con-
tinued with Mr. Blandin until 1837, having been engaged a good part of that
time in butchering. In 1837 he bought Mr. Blandin's meat business and
therein continued for many years becoming prosperous and prominent. In
1861 he was elected a commissioner of Wayne county and on the organiza-
woIAAJ^XM^^^
CITY OF SCRANTON 79
tion of the Wayne County Savings Bank, November i, 1871, he was elected a
director, continuing as such until January, 1880. He took a deep interest in
the development of Honesdale and to him is largely due its smoothly ma-
cadeniized streets and abundance of beautiful shade trees bordering them.
In November. 1874, he bade adieu to the scenes of his forty years of pros-
perity and came to Scranton, here attaining the same high position among men
of affairs as he had held in Honesdale, although he lived a semi-retired life,
not, however, withdrawing to an idle life, but keeping in close touch with the
world's progress. He was an ardent Republican, a devoted member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, a man thoroughly respected for his upright life
and Christian character. He was sympathetic, kind and generous, many a
kindly act done for friend or neighbor was quietly, unostentatiously performed,
his final account with the Great Bookkeeper containing numberless credits
of this nature. He was far sighted in his investments, enterprising, with a
rare judgment and great business ability. His public spirit was manifested in
the generous support he gave to all public improvements in both Honesdale
and Scranton, the Henwood Block on Lackawanna avenue, Scranton, stand-
ing as one of the monuments to his enterprise, erected to improve that sec-
tion. He delighted in the society of young people, and in his family life he was
most affectionate, kind and just. He lived a life untarnished by evil report
and left to posterity the rich legacy of an honored name. An incident that
illustrates his reputation for strict probity is well worthy of preservation.
He was obliged on one occasion to bring suit against a fellow townsman. The
defendant thus instructed his lawyer: "Do not cross examine Mr. Henwood,
for whatever he testifies will be true and I will swear to it myself."
He was the husband of four wives, marrying (first) Mary Webb, (second)
Emma Pascoe, (third) Catherine Bushnell, (fourth) Elizabeth Pierce. He
left three sons, all residents of Scranton : William B., a dentist ; Sidney R.,
of the drug firm of Henwood & Company, and Walter L., of whom further.
Catherine (Bushnell) Henwood, mother of Walter L. Henwood, was born
in Honesdale, and there died in 1868. Her father. Pope Bushnell, was born
in Salisbury, Connecticut, February 11, 1783, died aged ninety-thiee years;
coming to Pennsylvania in 1817. He was a major of the First Battalion,
Seventieth Regiment Pennsylvania Militia, and served two terms in the Penn-
sylvania Legislature as representative from Wayne and Pike counties. He
worked for two years aiding Maurice Wurts in securing right-of-way for
the Delaware and Hudson canal and won the open hostility of his neighbors
when later he advocated the right of the Erie Railroad Company to construct
its line through Wayne county. He married Sally Hulbert, born in Goshen,
Connecticut, March 26, 1788, died January 11, 1882, at the great age of
ninety-four years. She was one of the celebrated family of triplets born to
her parents, Sibyl, who died June 2-j, 1875, aged eighty-seven years; Susan,
died October 6, 1876, aged eighty-eight years, and Sally, died January 11,
1882, aged ninety-four years. These instances of longevity have probably
never been equalled in one family, the record of the triplets being especially
remarkable.
The Bushnell family traces its ancestry from early Colonial days, the first
member settling in Connecticut in 1637. A direct ancestor of Walter L.
Henwood, one Gideon Bushnell served in the Revolution. The old Bushnell
homestead in Connecticut, containing 300 acres on which stands a brick house
erected in 1773, is yet owned in the Bushnell name.
Walter Lincoln Henwood, youngest son of Richard Henwood and his third
wife Catherine Bushnell, was born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, November
8, 1864. He attended Honesdale schools until he was ten years of age, his
8o CITY OF SCRANTON
parents then moving to Scranton, where he attended high school and Merrills
Academy, finishing with a course at the business college. He began business
life in 1882 as clerk in the store department of the Lackawanna Iron and
Coal Company, remaining two years. In 1884 he went to Crown Point, New
York, where he took a special course in chemistry under A. S. Bertholet, a
noted authority in that field of learning. Mr. Henwood then formed a con-
nection with the Hudson River Ore and Iron Company at their works in Bur-
den, Columbia county, New York, remaining as chemist until June, 1886. He
then went to the Black Hills of Dakota, there entering the employ of the
Stevens Tin Mining Company, continuing as superintendent until the com-
pany closed their mines in that region. At that time one of the greatest rail-
road contracting firms in the west was Kilpatrick Brothers & Collins, their
headquarters and offices located at Beatrice, Gage county, Nebraska. They
were, at the time Mr. Henwood left the Stevens Company, engaged in rail-
road construction very extensively, the Burlington and Missouri and the
Union Pacific Railroad, having entered upon their period of greatest expan-
sion. Mr. Henwood entered the employ of this active concern, being first sent
to Fort Fred Steele, Wyoming, where he soon afterward was made super-
intendent over the construction of thirty miles of railroad in the North Platte
country. His next assignment was supervising the laying of track on the
Burlington and Missouri extension from Curtis, Nebraska, to Cheyenne,
Wyoming, the line crossing what was formerly known as "The Great American
Desert." On the completion of this line, Mr. Henwood severed his connec-
tion with Kilpatrick Brothers and Collins and returned to the Black Hills,
again entering the employ of the Stevens Tin Mining Company, as superin-
tendent, continuing until June, 1899, when he left the west and journeyed
south. Locating in Virginia, he formed a partnership with a brother Penn-
sylvanian, A. S. Smith and began contracting railroad construction at Boyd-
town. They built thirteen miles of the Atlantic and Danville Railroad, obtain-
ing a substantial profit. He next contracted, in 1890, seven miles of the
Lackawanna and Montrose branch of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western,
following this by six months spent on a large contract in Maine. On January
I, 1892, he returned to Scranton, and formed an association with Clark iS:
Snover, one of the largest of Pennsylvania tobacco manufacturers, and of
this he became secretary and treasurer.
In 1899, Mr. Henwood formed the firm of Sprague & Henwood, diamond
drill contractors, and they have accomplished some of the most notable engi-
neering feats in this line, principal among them being core borings for the
great Catskill aqueduct for the city of New York, also the successful boring
and completing of four angle holes approximately 2000 feet each in length under
the Hudson river at Storm King, a feat never before attempted by any engi-
neering concern in this country.
In 1890, Mr. Henwood retired from the Clark & Snover Comipany and
with Edward F. Lathrop and John J. Shea of New York, organized the
Lathrop, Shea and Henwood Company of which Mr. Henwood is vice-presi-
dent. This corporation was formed for the purpose of doing a general con-
tracting business and has been eminently successful. Among their many con-
tracts may be mentioned the building of the South Buffalo Railway: the mam-
moth ore dock for the Lackawanna Company of Bufifalo, the largest dock in
the world ; also the ore dock and canal for the Buffalo and Susquehanna Iron
Company, thirty miles of railroad for the Pittsburgh, Shawmut & Northern
Railroad Company, ten miles for the Buffalo & .Susquehanna Railrciad Com-
pany, twelve miles for the Erie Railroad Company ; also the foundation for
the beautiful new Lackawanna station in Scranton, Pennsylvania: the power
CITY OF SCRANTON 8i
house and reservoir for the State Hospital for the Insane at Fairview and a
vast amount of other work of a hke character. In January, 1914, they
received two very large contracts now being carried out, for building parts
of the great barge canal in the State of New York.
In the various Masonic bodies Mr. Henwood has passed through the
different orders including, Peter Williamson Blue Lodge of which he is past
master; Lackawanna Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and Coeur de Lion Com-
mandery, Knights Templar, of which he is past commander. He has also
taken thirty-two degrees of the Scottish Rite Masonry, and is a member of
Keystone Consistory ; also Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. In
addition to these he is a member of the Engineers Club of Northeastern Penn-
sylvania, and the New England Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania, and
Pennsylvania Society Sons of the Revolution. He has developed executive
and financiering ability of a high order, while in his special fieki of construc-
tive activity he is one of the most successful in his operations. In his rela-
tions with his fellow men he is a courteous, forceful man of affairs, just, and
keenly alive to the importance of straightforward dealing with all. In local
affairs he is public spirited and generous, aiding in all movements that make
for progress and the public good. He is a Republican in politics.
Walter L. Henwood married (first) at St. Paul, Minnesota, December 22,
1889, Lena L. Pittee, born in California ; her parents were natives of Maine.
She died November 22, 1901, and Mr. Henwood married for his second
wife, January 18, 1905, Esther Pray, of Albany, Georgia.
SAMUEL SAMTER
In many of Scranton's industrial establishments may be found men in
positions of trust, honor, and responsibility, who owe their exalted station to
the work of their own brains and hands, but among them all there is no story
more interesting or more full of teaching and inspiration than that of Samuel
Samter, founder of the firm of Samter Brothers, owners of the largest store
devoted exclusively to the outfitting of men and boys in Pennsylvania, Phila-
delphia and Pittsburgh not excepted. We are prone to believe that the
greatest successes in mercantile, industrial or financial life are those made by
youths who, through some peculiar quirk of fortune, are brought into recogni-
tion and favor with their employers ; when in reality as proven by the follow-
ing narrative, it is the young man who is ever prompt at his task, ever work-
ing his hardest at that duty, and performing it better than anyone else,
who receives the greatest reward. To anyone who is constantly looking for
something better to the neglect of his present obligation, fortune never comes,
but the first upward glance of the faithful, conscientious employee lights upon
a vision of opportunity beckoning him to come to a field of fairer endeavor
and greater effort. So it has been with Samuel Samter, his assiduous at-
tention to study, his quick, clear intelligence, and prompt seizure of every
chance for advancement having placed him in a commanding position at the
head of one of Scranton's most distinguished business houses.
Prussia is the land from which the father of Samuel Samter, Jacob Samter,
came to this country, and there for generations the family had been known
as expert tailors. It is usual in that country for a trade or profession to be
handed down from one generation to another, the father teachmg his son all
of the secrets of the occupation. So it was that for many years the Samters
had been tailors and, in the usual line of descent, that was the trade learned
by Jacob Samter. He, however, appreciating that fact that through all the
preceding years there had been no advance in the family's station in life,
82 CITY OF SCRANTON
determined to break the bonds of tradition and to come to America, where
life might be begim anew and fresh vigor infused into the blood of future
generations. He established in business in Brooklyn and from the start did a
flourishing business, prospering in a degree unheard of in his native land.
He married Bertha Lesser and became the father of five children : Samuel,
of whom further ; Jennie, married Maurice Levy, of New York City ; Theresa,
married Dr. J. B. Potsdamer, of Philadelphia; Isaac, of Philadelphia; Ben-
jamin, of Scranton.
Samuel Samter, son of Jacob and Bertha (Lesser) Samter, was born in New
York, New York, October 24, 185 1. He was given the opportunity for an excel-
lent education, which he eagerly improved, and after completing a course at the
public schools, entered Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, whence he was grad-
uated. Not caring to learn the trade of his father, he left home to lay the
foundation of his future career and directed his steps toward Scranton, then
in the full vigor of its strong and rapid growth. He answered a newspaper
advertisement for a boy to make himself generally useful for three dollars
a week and found it necessary to urge the advertiser to accept his services.
Before his engagement he was able to assist his later employer in closing a sale
involving a large amount and was placed upon the pay-roll. Upon his de-
parture, three weeks later, he was offered a salary of $100 a month to re-
main, but refused. He next entered the employ of Moore & Finley. When
he began work, Mr. Moore asked him what salary he wanted, Mr. Samter
named no figure, simply saying, "It is up to you now, but it will be up to me
bye and bye." Here he remained for three months, leaving to enter business
independently. When he announced his intention to Mr. Moore, the latter, in
expressing his regret at the loss of his services to the firm and in wishing
him good fortune, concluded with "I thought as much." In the spring of
1872, he opened his store in the Valley House block, employing only one
person, working in the store himself. In 1883 he moved to the Old Wash-
ington Hall, a building up to that time more accustomed to the applause greet-
ing the efforts of the best actors and actresses of the day than to the mingled
noises of a mercantile establishment. This edifice was razed in 1888 and in
its place a four story brick building erected, which has been added to at
various times until the floor space of the store is now 27,000 square feet.
A few years after the establishment of the business his brother, Benjamin,
became partner, the business being conducted at the present time, as Samter
Brothers. In 191 1 incorporation was made and the company organized with
Samuel Samter, president ; Benjamin Samter, vice-president, and A. J. Levy,
secretary and treasurer.
The store of Samter Brothers has an ideal location on the ci^rner of Penn
and Lackawanna avenues, at the central city terminal of the Scranton Rail-
way Company. The number of employees is 1 10 and men's and boys' clothing
is the only line of goods carried. The patronage of the firm has steadily in-
creased and caters to the best of Scranton trade. It is to the credit of the
city that it is the home of its largest men's and boys' outfitting store, and
a monument to the organizing power and constructive ability of Mr. Samter.
Mr. Samter married Julia, daughter of Emanuel Klauber, of Munich,
Bavaria, and has three children: Minnie, married A. J. Levy, of Scranton;
Jeanne, married B. Heinz, of Scranton; Evelyn.
JOSEPH JEFFREY
Born in England, and transplanted to a foreign land at the age of six-
teen years, Mr. Jeffrey has taken kindly to his American surroundings and has
CITY OF SCRANTON 83
here flourished and prospered as "one to the manner born." He has won an
honored position in the Scranton Gas and Water Company and has ably-
seconded the effort of the Scrantons, father and son, to extend that company,
to improve its service and to render it of still greater importance in the
development of the communities it serves. While the responsible post of
secretary and treasurer has in a large degree confined Mr. Jeffrey to office
activity, he has nevertheless borne an active part and is a most important part
of the machinery that drives the corporation known as the Scranton Gas and
Water Company.
Joseph Jeffrey was born in Lancaster, England, May 23, 1867, son of
William and Hannah (Bees) Jeffrey, the former now a retired miner aged
seventy-one years. William Jeffrey, born in 1842, spent the first forty-one
years of his life in his native country, following there the occupation of a
miner. In 1883 he came to Scranton where he continued at the business he
knew so thoroughly, mining, continuing for several years before laying aside
the implements of his trade and calling.
Joseph Jeffrey attended school in his native shire imtil twelve years of
age, gaining a foundation for his years of later study and self -improvement.
From twelve to sixteen years of age he was employed at such work as a
lad of his years was capable of performing, and in 1883 he came with his
parents to Scranton, which has since been his home as it has theirs. In Eng-
land he had been time-keeper for the Wigan Coal and Iron Company and
in Scranton his first employer was O. S. Johnson in whose mine office he
started work. Later he clerked in a Dunmore store for a few years, then be-
came an employee of the Fairlawn Store Company, remaining with them
until April 19, i88g, when he entered the employ of the Scranton Gas and
Water Company, as bookkeeper. Here he found his true sphere of activity
and ten years later he had risen to the position of assistant secretary and
treasurer of the company, and in 1906 was elected to his present office, secre-
tary and treasurer, which he most capably fills. The position he holds has
been fairly won and came to him in the way of promotion for valued service
to the corporation he served. The men with whom he has been so long
associated, and who know him best, appreciate him most, and consider no
honor they can bestow upon him is undeserved. Mr. Jeffrey is a member of
the Dunmore Presbyterian Church and president of the board of trustees.
He stands high in the Masonic Order, belonging to King Solomon's Lodge,
Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is an honored past master ; Lack-
awanna Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; Melita Commandery, Knights Templar ;
and Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, the latter a Wilkes-Barre
Temple.
Mr. Jeffrey married, in 1892, Annie, daughter of George Raught and sister
of John Raught, the well known artist of Scranton. Children : Albert R.,
Willard, Louis.
WILLIAM G. O'MALLEY
There is no more important duty laid upon political officials of to-day than
to carry out in all local governments the phrase in the preamble of the
Constitution of the United States stating that one of its purposes is to "pro-
mote the general welfare." In our municipal governments the public wel-
fare is safeguarded and directed by the director of public safety, necessarily
a man of action, decision and wise, far-seeing judgment. It is, therefore, no
mean tribute to the estimation in which William G. O'Malley is held that he
84 CITY OF SCRANTON
occupied this responsible position as the guardian of the peaceful and law
abiding citizens of Scranton during the years from 1909 to 1914.
County Mayo, Ireland, has been the seat of the O'Malley family for many
generations, where all the earlier generations were tillers of the soil, hard-
working, good men, but who never acquired more than a modest com-
petence because of the lack of opportunities in that land. It was not until three
generations ago that one of the line determined to break the chams of patriot-
ism and sentiment that bound him to the land of bis fathers, the far famed
"Emerald Isle," and to seek his fortunes across the sea. Edward O'Malley,
father of Thomas B. O'Malley, and grandfather of William G. O'Malley,
came to this country about 1848, settling in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, when
there were but few settlers in that place. He brought with him his son,
Thomas B., who lived in Carbondale until his marriage to Miss Bridget
Cannon, who died December 8, 1912, aged fifty-eight years, daughter of James
Cannon, when he moved to Scranton. While in his former place of residence
he had been employed in the coal mines, but upon coming to Scranton se-
cured a position in the steel works. By his marriage with Bridget Cannon
he had seven children : Michael F., James, Mary, William G., Eugene,
Thomas F., Daniel.
William G. O'Malley, son of Thomas B. and Bridget (Cannon) O'Malley,
was born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, July 4, 187S. He was given the op-
portunity of a public school education, but the ambition to begin work and
to earn his own way in the world was too strong in him to permit of toil-
some drudgery at books. Consequently at the age of eleven years he forsook
the school room and obtained work on a delivery wagon for a local meat
market. His next employment was in a grocery store, followed by a term of
service in the Lackawanna mills. He then became a clerk in the ofifice of E.
J. Walsh & Company, in 1903 entering the office of the city engineer in the
same capacity. After one year's service his energetic application to duty gained
recognition in his promotion to the chief clerkship in the department of
public works. In two years he resigned his ofifice to become treasurer of the
O'Malley Manufacturing Company, manufacturers of brass goods and plumb-
ing supplies, usually employing about seventy-five men. and for three years
was entirely out of public service ; he also served as director of this company.
On April 4, 1909, he was installed in the office of director of public safety,
continuing there until January i, 1914. Thoroughly efficient in his position
and striving constantly to raise his department to the same plane in every re-
spect, Mr. O'Malley gained the confidence of the city administration to such
an extent that almost no interference was made in his execution of city laws
and ordinances. Scranton may pride itself upon having during the period of
five years which Mr. O'Malley served as director of public safety an official
whose one obsession was the proper protection of the inhabitants of the city, and
who was ever on the alert for anything detrimental to the "general welfare."
Mr. O'Malley is a member of the Knights of Columbus ; the Fraternal
Order of Eagles ; the Modern Woodmen of America, in which society he is
treasurer of the local camp ; the Scranton Bicycle Qub ; and the Scranton
Canoe Club at Lake Winona. He married Anna O'Hara, daughter of Pat-
rick O'Hara, of Scranton.
JAMES E. DAVIS
This branch of the Davis family dates in Pennsylvania from the time of
the arrival of Evan P. Davis, an orphan boy of about seven years, who came
in company with an uncle from his native land, Wales. With the usual'
thrift of his race he prospered and left behind him an honored name.
CITY OF SCRANTON 85
Evan P. Davis was born near Mertliyr Tydvil, Glenmorganshire, Wales,
December ig, 185 1, died in Scranton, Pennsylvania, June 2, 1902. He w^as
early orphaned and did not long remain in his native land. When about seven
years of age he came to the United States, coming with a relative to Provi-
dence, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania. He obtained an education, began
working around the coal mines and finally became an efficient mine superin-
tendent. He was a member of the Welsh Baptist Church, and a good man.
He married Mary Ann Evans, born in Minersville, Schuylkill county, Penn-
sylvania, February 29, 1852, died May 11, 1902, leaving two children: Eliza-
beth, married to Robert H. Carson, of Scranton ; and James E., of whom
further.
James E. Davis, only son of his parents, was born in Nanticoke, Penn-
sylvania, May I, 1885. His early and preparatory education was obtained in
the public schools, he being a graduate of the high school, class of 1902. He
then entered Princeton University, whence he was graduated A. B., class of
1906. After leaving the university he began the study of law under the direc-
tion of Samuel B. Price, of Scranton, and after the required examination was
admitted to the bar in February, 1908. For two years following his admis-
sion he was associated in practice with Samuel B. Price, continuing until May,
191 1, when he established a private practice with offices at Nos. 408-409 Con-
nell Building. His practice is general in its character, excepting that he does
not accept criminal cases. He has been solicitor for the Scranton school
district since July i, 1912. Mr. Davis has obtained a good start in his chosen
profession and has every prospect of a successful future. He is secretary
and treasurer of the Lackawanna Law and Library Association, a member
of the First Welsh Baptist Church, and is a Republican in politics.
MADISON F. LARKIN
To note exactly how prominent a part heredity has played in the mental
and moral composition of Madison F. Larkin, a glance at the following will
suffice. In him are embodied the virtues of a parent of rare steadfastness
of character, the traits of the father descending to the son, and raising the one
to the same station of lofty respect held by the other in a preceding day and
generation.
Of English ancestry, the seat of the Larkin family in its native land was
Lark River, Sufifolk county, England, where available records of those of
the name trace back to the latter part of the twelfth century. The exact date
of the American immigration is uncertain, but in the eighteenth century
Botetourt county, Virginia, was the home of the branch of which Madison F.
Larkin is a member, later Clermont county, Ohio, claimed its residence and
finally Pennsylvania.
Joseph Franklin Larkin. father of Madison F. Larkin, was born at Felicity,
Clermont county, Ohio, January 12, 1821. LIntil he was fifteen years of age
he attended the common schools and numbered among his playmates and class-
mates Ulysses S. Grant, of Civil War and Presidential fame, and, when not
in school, performed farm labor on his father's land. It was the custom in
those days to supply the field hands with liquor and it was thus early in life
that he made a stand for his principles and refused to labor where such a
practice was carried out. After holding a position as clerk in a store at
Neville he learned varnishing in the same village. He then apprenticed him-
self as a clerk to Robertson & Shields, merchants of Batavia, Ohio, for a
term of three years, in return for "board and washing and fifty dollars a
year," but, the firm discontinuing before the expiration of his contract, he was
86 CITY OF SCRANTON
released therefrom and was employed in various country stores until he
was eighteen years of age, when he was offered a position in the wholesale
dry goods house of Wood & Sharp, in Cincinnati, through the good offices
of a friend of his father. Rev. Maxwell P. Gaddis. After a short time spent
in the employ of this firm he accepted a position in the bank of B. W. Hew-
son & Company, in which he became an assistant and afterward teller, making
his home with Mr. Hewson's family and enjoying his highest confidence and
trust. The bank closing its doors in 1842, he identified himself with Hopper,
Wood & Company, proprietors of an auction and commission house. Two
years later he formed a partnership with John M. Wood, under the firm name
of Wood & Larkin, wholesale dealers in dry goods, and in 1848 retired from
the firm, selling his interest to his partner. He then purchased the store of
Hines, Strobridge & Company, but soon after, finding the burden of mainten-
ance too heavy for his resources, discontinued the business and settled with
his creditors for forty per cent, of their claims. It is here that praise must
be given Mr. Larkin for the manner in which he kept his credit and reputa-
tion clear of any taint of suspicion, as twenty-three years later he assembled
his old creditors and made payment of the balance with si.x per cent, interest
from the date of his assignment, the honorable course of a man of honor, who
disdained to use the letter of the law as a shield from his just debts. From
1849 to 1853 he was in the employ of Thomas Sharp & Company, and the
following year was connected with Morris S. Hoi:)per & Company, as a mem-
ber of the firm, then acting as collector in the State of Indiana. It was in the
days of free bank currency and the unstable paper issues were used in that
state at a discount varying from five to forty per cent, and, aware of the fact
that the same money passed in Ohio at a much higher rate, Mr. Larkin con-
ceived the idea of speculation. Opening an office in the banking house of
James F. Meline & Company, Cincinnati, he began the buying and selling of
free bank notes in Indiana and Ohio and negotiating loans on securities froin
contractors on the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, from which he progressed
into a general brokerage business, and in 1857 entered upon a regular bank-
ing business, subsequently forming a partnersh'p with George and Thomas
Fox under the firm name of Larkin, Fox & Brother, which continued for
three years. Mr. Larkin's well known reputation for integrity and reliability
attracted a large clientele, a prosperous business resulting, to which he gave
his exclusive attention. In 1866 the firm expired by limitation and that of
Joseph F. Larkin & Company rose from its ashes, capitalized at $150,000,
financed by some of the leading capitalists of the city. As the head of this
institution, Mr. Larkin added to his prestige in the financial world, and at the
dissolution of the firm by limitation in 1 87 1, he formed the firm of Larkin,
Wright & Company, with a capital of $300,000, which straightway became a
power in the business world and transacted an immense business from its
organization. He later purchased the interest of his partner and the business
was continued until 1881, safely weathering all the storms that wrecked so
many frailer barks on the sea of finance. In the aforementioned year the
Metropolitan National Bank was organized to take over the business of J. F.
Larkin & Company with Mr. Larkin as president, a position he resigned in
1883 to participate in the formation of the Cincinnati National Bank, of which
he became president.
Early in 1867 he, with other prominent men, had organized the LTnion
Central Life Insurance Company. The founders of this com.pany were men
of integrity and high character in the business and religious world. There
are found among them the names of Adam Poe, John M. Reid, R. S. Rust,
D. D., Rev. A. Meharry, Asbury Lowery, D. D., Bishop John M. Walden.
tf<i:D rV CH»^:BHKt,l,jrEW Y
^TOJuvho^^
CITY OF SCRANTON 87
Bishop Davis W. Clark, and among the business men such names as John
M. PhilHps, James Gamble, William A. Proctor, Justice Stanley Matthew;?,
Dr. William B. Davis, William M. Ramsey and Harvey De Camp.
Grateful in the highest degree for the material blessings that had been con-
ferred upon him. Mr. Larkin all his life held to the old system of tithes and
from his earliest youth placed aside one-tenth of his income for use in chari-
table purposes. The religious characteristic in his nature was acutely de-
veloped and from the age of fourteen years he iiad been a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, in later years well deserving the misused title
of pillar of Saint Paul's Church, Cincinnati. There was nothing propitiatory
or expiating in his religion, his was the simple, trusting love of faith. In the
time of financial embarrassment of the Cincinnati Weslevan College, his were
the do:iations that kept life in the institution, and he likewise gave generously
to the maintenance of Wesley Chapel, in which he worshipped for forty
years. The Loveland Camp Meeting Association was also the object of his
generous contributions and he financed the now famous Methodist Book Con-
cern, while the National Association for the Promotion of Holiness, formed
in Philadelphia, received the benefits of his gifts. He was one of the organiz-
ers of the Freedmen's Aid Society, advancing its endeavors in everv possible
way. His entire life was characterized by total abstinence from indulgence in
any form of narcotics or spirituous liquors.
Mr. Larkin married (first) in 1844, Emeline Wood; (second) Julia Ann
Stark, daughter of William T. Stark, of Xenia, Ohio, a lineal descendant of
the Stark family, boasting of John Stark of Revolutionary fame. In her
young womanhood she was an intimate friend of Lucy Webb, who became the
wife of Rutherford B. Hayes, a friendship continuing through life.
Madison F. larkin, son of Joseph F. and Julia Ann (Stark) Larkin, was
born in Cincinnati, Ohio, October 15, 1855. His preliminary education was
received in the public schools, his later academic training in the Ohio Wesleyan
College. He began his business career as messenger in the private banking
house of Larkin, Wright & Company, of which his father was senior mem-
ber, at Cincinnati, and soon became paying teller. In 1875 h^ was seriously
affected by the deaths of a brother and sister, and, his health demanding it,
left home in search of outdoor occupation. Going to Galveston, Texas, with a
letter of introduction to a banker, who has since become well known, J. W.
Seligman, he was prevailed upon by that gentleman to accept a position in a
branch bank at Goliad, in that state, by the argument, that, with the change of
air and climate, outdoor life was neither necessary nor desirable. Only par-
tially convinced, Mr. Larkin soon after returned to his original determina-
tion and engaged as a drover (one of thirty) to drive 4000 head of cattle
from Goliad to Waco, Texas. This was the beginning of a concatenation of
events that provided him with many thrilling experiences, which reached their
climax in a fiat-boat trip down the Red and Mississippi rivers from Shreves-
port to New Orleans, with three companions. They reached their destination,
where they were unacquainted, safely, but penniless and shabbily clothed,
sold their craft for a dollar, bought bread, and endeavored to appease their
ravenous hunger. Mr. Larkin was rescued from what was fast becoming a
pitiable plight by the arrival in port of the river steamer Charles Morgan, com-
manded by a friend of the family. Captain Stein, who fed and clothed him,
aided his companions, and gave him transportation to Cincinnati. Although
the exercise and exposure had greatly improved his physical condition, it was
thought that he could still further profit by the bracing atmosphere of the
west, and he set out for the home of his uncle, a prosperous trader, in Arizona.
While in this region he added to his store of adventurous experiences by a
88 CITY OF SCRANTON
hairbreadth escape from a band of Indians, eluding them only by the fleet-
ness of his horse. At Phoenix he was a clerk in a general store and also
served as agent for the Wells-Fargo Express, being one of its first agents in
Arizona. While here he had a narrow escape from sharing the fate of a com-
panion with whom he was sleeping, who was crushed to death during a terrific
tornado by the roof of their store collapsing.
In January, 1877, Mr. Larkin accompanied King Woolsey, president of the
Upper House of the Territorial Legislature, to Tucson, and in that year's
session served as secretary on the committee on territorial aflfairs, which
reported favorably on the request of the Southern Pacific Railway for fran-
chise. While in this city, which was but a rapidly grown town, he witnessed
many of the territory's earliest political scenes, in which a revolver shot was
too frequently the settlement of a dispute.
In 1879, through the friendly offices of John J. Valentine, president of the
Wells-Fargo Express Company, he became employed in the Bank of Arizona,
and while engaged in that institution had an interesting experience as a the-
atrical manager. A company playing the comic opera "Pinafore," a produc-
tion then in the height of its popularity, with Pauline Markham as leading lady,
was stranded in Tucson.
Mr. Larkin, assuming the entire responsibility and expense, brought it to
Prescott and billed it for a two weeks' engagement, to the enjoyment of the
populace and the benefit of the members of the company, who were nothing
loath to leave the scene of their late misfortune and retrieving triumph. Fill-
ing his bank position to the satisfaction of his employers and gaining their
confidence by his dependability, he was offered a position in the bank of Ari-
zona at Phoenix, also as the agent of the stage company and of the Wells-
Fargo Express Company. Resigning his position he wrote an acceptance of
the offer and soon after followed his letter to Phoenix, only to learn that his
epistle had miscarried and that some one else had been called from California
to fill the office. Disappointed, of course, by this vagary of fate. Mr. Larkin
nevertheless was not discouraged or disheartened by his misfortune, but, re-
turning to Prescott, entered the service of the quartermaster's department at
Whipple Barracks under Major Grimes, and there served until 1881.
He bade farewell to the country that had provided him with such a store of
adventure and experience, in 1881, and returned east, entering the United
States National Bank of New York, then one of the leading financial centers
of the metropolis, and won speedy promotion, being thrice advanced in one
year, and at its close holding a position as individual bookkeeper. He resigned
this to become president of the East End Lumber Company of Cincinnati,
which he conducted successfully for seven years, until the lumbermen's war of
1890, which his company could not survive, and in consequence was forced
out of business. Returning to the banking business, he entered the Market
National Bank of Cincinnati, remaining there until the first of January, 1897,
when he moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where he was in the employ of the
National Surety Company (now of New York City), and subsequently of
Swift and Company, the celebrated meat packers. Here he was engaged in
a struggle the like of which he had never encountered in all his varied ex-
perience, a conflict with himself. On the one side there was the necessity
of providing for his wife and himself, on the other, the voice of conscience
which would not permit him to perform the Sabbath labor required in his new
situation. It was a trying moment for a man with no visible means of sup-
port .should he resign, for his father had lost his all in the Cincinnati bank
closure, and more than once he was on the point of giving in, but cast his deci-
sion for the right when his devoted wife, ever the best of companions pro-
CITY OF SCRANTON 89
■nounced herself as ready to share any hardships or to endure any privation in
order that the lofty principles, as dear to her as to him, should not be dragged
in the dust. So was the decision made and his resignation forwarded, and
to this pair, true to their nobler selves and joyful in the costliness of their
sacrifice, came a telegram from T. J. Foster, of Scranton, offering him an im-
portant and lucrative place with the International Text Book Company. Surely
this was divine watchfulness and care of His own. Entering the service of
this corporation with renewed zeal and strengthened faith in the security of
his destiny, he applied himself vigorously and devotedly to his duties and
won immediate attention by his assiduous application to his tasks. Attention
necessitated favorable comment, and following this came promotion, first to
chief accountant, then assistant treasurer, and finally, December i, 1902, con-
troller of the company. At the present time he fills this office and the same on
the officiary of the International Correspondence Schools, truly a wonderful
rise, possible only to one of exceptional merit. He is also controller of the
International Educational Publication Company, treasurer of the Scranton
Life Insurance Company, and an influential member and treasurer of the
Scranton Board of Trade.
Mr. Larkin has ever been a worker in the ranks of the Prohibition party,
his views and convictions on the subjects forming the basis of that party's
platform coinciding minutely with those of his honored father, and in 1910
he allowed his name to be advanced as candidate for governor of Pennsyl-
vania on that ticket. Disregarding his chances for victory, facing certain
defeat, he displayed in that campaign much of the same spirit that caused
him to resign his position in Mississippi and stood before the people of Penn-
sylvania as the earnest exponent of a principle of immeasurable height. His-
tory records that he was defeated, and by the same token records a campaign
that strengthened the prohibition cause in one of the very strongholds of its
foes and showed the supporters of the liquor traffic an ever increasing power
that will, in time, sweep on to victory. In 1912 he was a candidate for Con-
gress from the Tenth District and in 1913 for treasurer of Lackawanna county,
both candidacies unsuccessful. He is a devoted Methodist and is one of the
most ardent of religious workers among the laity. He is a member of the
board of stewards of the Elm Park Methodist Episcopal Church, ex-presi-
dent of the Men's League of Elm Park, president of the City Evangelization
Union, president of the Scranton City Rescue Mission, and ex-president of
the Lavmen's Association, Wyoming Conference. His gifts to charities are
large and his gifts of time and service larger still, the two combined making
him a power for good of inestimable value to the community and a haven of
refuge to those disowned by fortune and cast out by society.
Mr. Larkin married, in 1889, Hattie E. Harrington, daughter of David
Chase Harrington, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They have one son, Curtis
H., who received the major part of his education at the Bordentown Military
Institute, Bordentown, New Jersey, and at this time just out of the Technical
High School of Scranton. Mrs. Larkin's character is one of true nobility,
peculiarly adapted to her husband's, a union of charming freshness, beauty and
strength resulting from their marriage.
Mr. Larkin's record speaks more eloquently than can the pen of biographer
of what manner of man he is. God-fearing and upright throughout his en-
tire life, his is the reward of fidelity to duty and the dictates of conscience.
Having risen to regnance over self, the greatest conquest was his, all his fol-
lowing triumphs and success springing therefrom.
90 CITY OF SCRANTON
HENRY F. FERBER
Henry F. Ferber is a descendant of a German family, whose seat for
many generations has been the grand duchy of Baden, Germany. The emi-
grant ancestor of the name was Augustus C. Ferber, born in Baden in 1824,
where he obtained his education and learned the baker's trade. When he was
twenty-four years of age he came to the United States, locating in Scranton,
and for nine years was employed by the Scranton Coal Comi)any, assisting
in the opening of one of the first mines ever worked on Roaring Creek. In
1853 he moved to Pittston and there followed the trade he had learned in
his native land, that of baker, but only remained there for five weeks, then
returning to Scranton and to his former employers. While the family was
residing in Pittston, Henry F., (of whom further), was born. After holding
a position as watchman at the Diamond Mines, Augustus C. Ferber
established in the draying business and was so engaged until the years before
his death. For six years he served his city as chief of police, during the
administration of Mayor Mooney. At the time of Lee's invasion of Penn-
sylvania, he enlisted in one of the companies of Emergency Men that were
formed, but never was in active service. Both he and his wife were active mem-
bers and regular attendants of the Immanuel Baptist Church.
He married Mary, daughter of Chester Fram, a veteran of the War of
1812. Her grandfather fought in both the war for independence and the War
of 1812. Their children, who reached maturity, were: Christina, Martha.
Henry F., (of further mention), Elizabeth, Emma, Edward, Ella, and Jennie.
Henry F. Ferber, son of Augustus C. and Mary (Frain) Ferber, was born
in Pittston. April I, 1853. He attended the public schools until he was nine
years of age, but was then compelled to discontinue his studies and to obtain
employment in a coal breaker. Determined not to be thus deprived of all the
advantages accruing from an adequate education, he paid a Mr. Kohler for
instructing him in the branches of which he felt he would have the most need,
receiving these lessons after a day of the most exhausting kind of labor in the
breaker. At the age of thirteen years he apprenticed himself to the Scranton
Stove Works, to learn the trade of stove moulder, following that occupation
until 1875, when he went into the draying business. His business flourished
and he continued in that line until 1894. when he sold his interests. He has
been identified with the city fire department since 1866; was elected chief
1876, served one year; again elected 1882, 1883, and 1884, but was displaced
by changes in the administration. In 1893, he was once more appointed to
that position, serving three years and in 1901, August i, was again appointed
by William L. Connell and has held the position ever since. During his con-
tinuance as head of the department it has attained a high grade of efficiency,
has been provided with all modern equipment, and holds high rank among
those of other cities of the country. Mr. Ferber was a lad of twelve years of
age when the Civil War broke out. With the intense patriotism of youth, he
was eager to join the army as drummer boy, but could not of course obtain
parental permission. Thoughts of battle, long marches, and stirring cam-
paigns became an obsession with him, and on five different occasions he made
an effort to enter the service, claiming that his parents were dead. On one
occasion he had been accepted and had donned his uniform, when the chief of
police entered the recruiting office and compelled him to return home. The
chief of police was the nemesis that upset his fondest hopes, as on each oc-
casion that he tried to enlist, it was he who detected him and returned him to
his parents. They, while full of pride in the youth and his love of country,
would not permit him to go to the front. His only military connection ha.s
CITY OF SCRANTON
91
been three years service in Company B, Thirteenth Regiment Pennsylvania
National Guard, commanded by Captain Kellogg.
He married Mary, daughter of John O. Jones, of Pittston. Children :
Harry F., a member of the Scranton fire department ; Miriam, married W.
W. Scheuer and lives in Scranton ; Lucille, at lionie.
Mr. Ferber is the able head of the department of Scranton's municipal
fire system noted for its efficiency. With the best of apparatus, efficiently
manned by a band of brave and daring firefighters, the property of the tax-
payers of Scranton is safeguarded, as far as is possible by human means,
from the ravages of fire. Mr. Ferber has been a member since 1876 of Union
Lodge, No. 291, F. and A. M., of Scranton, and belongs to the Temple
Club, a social club of Masons. He is also a member of the International
Associations of Chief Engineers ; Keystone Fire Chiefs ; Pennsylvania State
Firemen's Association, in which he has held the office of president; Firemen's
Relief Fund of Scranton ; Volunteer Firemen's Association of Scranton ;
the Scranton Liederkranz, and the German Alliance of Scranton. He be-
longs to the Royal Arcanum. In 1914, at the beginning of Mayor E. B.
Jermyn's administration. Fire Chief Ferber recommended the elimination of
horse drawn apparatus and to install motor operators instead ; this being done,
they have seven pieces of motor apparatus consisting of tractors, triple
pieces and combination autos.
WILLIAM C. HESSINGER
From Germany, the ancient home of the family, to New York, thence
westward to Wisconsin, and then to Scranton, where the present day repre-
sentative of this branch of the family resides, is the course followed by the
Hessinger family in America. Ever a respected and honored name during the
time the family has been in the LTnited States, none has been more worthy of
honor and respect. All in this country have led busy and useful lives, engaged
in occupations necessary to society, and never committing depredations upon
the prosperity of their neighbors or seeking for gain without giving in re-
turn of their talent or labor.
(I) The emigrant ancestor, Theodore Hessmger, came to this country
when a young man, and settled in Williamsburg, New York. While there
he was married and moved to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in both places follow-
ing his trade of cabinet maker, which he had learned in his native country
from a workman who was a master in his art and of wide reputation for the
beauty and skillful execution of his work. He later came to Scranton, being
among the first settlers, and formed a triple partnership for work at his trade,
one of the other members being named Grieser. He became quite prominent
in the public life of the city and was a member of the board of alderman.
(II) Henry Hessinger, son of Theodore Hessinger, was born in Sheboy-
gan, Wisconsin, in 1856. He learned his trade with his father, and in 1868
engaged independently in the furniture and undertaking business on the South
Side. His efforts met with gratifying success, the upbuilding of a flourish-
ing business being interrupted by his death in 1890. Both he and his wife
were members of the German Presbyterian Church. He belonged to the
Patriotic Order Sons of America and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
He married Margaret Kiefer, daughter of Charles Kiefer ; children : Wil-
liam C, of further mention; Frank T., of Philadelphia; Edward R., of
Scranton.
(III) William C. Hessinger, son of Henry and Margaret (Kiefer) Hess-
inger, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Augu.st 21, 188 1. He obtained his
92 CITY OF SCRANTON
early education in the public schools of the city, later attending Woods Busi-
ness College in preparation for his active career. For a time he was em-
ployed in woolen mills in the city, and since that time has been actively engaged
in the establishing and conducting of the New Citizens' Building and Loan
Association, of Scranton, of which he is secretary. While the titles of the
other officers sound much more imposing it is upon the secretary of such an
organization that the real burden of its business falls, and Mr. Hessinger, with
his other business interests, has his time well filled. He is also secretary of
the Globe Silk Manufacturing Company, a corporation organized in 1906 with
the following officers: H. J. Ziegler, president; Henry Frey, vice-president;
Henry F. Ziegler. secretary; Louis Schumacher, treasurer; and Joseph A.
Gnoss, manager. At the present time the officers are unchanged, except that
William C. Hessinger has replaced Henry F. Ziegler as secretary. The short
life of this company has still been a prosperous one. They employ seventy
operators, and have on an average seventy looms running. This product
reaches the market through commission merchants.
Mr. Hessinger is a member of Schiller Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons,
and General Grant Commandery. Knights of Malta. Both he and his wife
belong to the German Presbyterian Church and are regular attendants at its
services. He married Caroline Naher. daughter of Peter Naher. of Scranton,
and they have one son, Paul W.
Tremendously energetic, and directing his energies in an intelligent man-
ner, Mr. Hessinger has proven himself indispensable to the dififerent organiza-
tions which he serves, holding their highest confidence and giving the best
of his labors to their interests.
THOMAS B. HOWE
Of English ancestry. Captain Phineas Howe, grandfather of Thomas B.
Howe, was one of the early settlers of Wayne county, securing land from the
government and rendering service in the War of 1812. He founded a large fam-
ily, many descendants being found in Wayne and adjacent counties, men of
worth in their several communities. His descendant, Thomias B. Howe, represen-
tative of the Scranton branch, is a native son of Wayne county, Scranton be-
ing his home by adoption. The old pioneer added to the wealth of his country by
converting wild forest land into fertile fields, but his grandson has created wealth
and prosperity for man through his inventive genius and the thorough busi-
ness ability that successfully placed his inventions on the market. The lot 01
the inventor is usually to furnish the genius to contrive and construct with-
out participating in tlie pecuniary reward that follows each meritorious in-
vention, but Mr. Thomas both sowed and reaped, gaining fame as an in-
ventor of useful, long needed appliances, and a high position in the business
world.
(H) His father, Abraham S. Howe, son of Captain Phineas Howe, was
born in Wayne county, there lived the life of a farmer and butcher and there
died in 1856, meeting his death by drowning at the age of fifty-one years. He
married Rebecca Bortree, daughter of an old Wayne county settler.
(HI) Thomas B. Howe, son of Abraham S. and Rebecca (Bortree)
Howe, was born in Wayne county, Pennsylvania, July 14, 1849. He was but
a lad when his father died and after finishing his studies in the public school
of his district, he began learning the carpenter's trade. He became a skilled
worker and continued a builder for eleven years. About 1878 he entered the
employ of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad as fireman, later
becoming an engineer. Locomotives at that time were built with stationary
CITY OF SCRANTON
93
grates, a system both wasteful and inconvenient. Mr. Howe pondered the
problem, long and carefull}', finally perfecting and patenting a shaking grate,
the first one ever placed in a locomotive, being his patent and used on Dela-
ware, Lackawanna & Western engines running out of Scranton. After four
years as fireman and engineer he resigned to take personal charge of the
manufacture and installation of his grate and other patented improvements.
He is the father of twenty-eight patented inventions of practical value, the
last being a steam dryer used for drying sand. Mr. Howe many years ago
became interested in sand and gravel banks in both New York and Pennsyl-
vania, and has made the development of such properties his chief business.
He is president of the Scranton Sand Company, with plant at Waverly, New
York; manager of Sayre Sand and Plaster Company, of Sayre, Pennsyl-
vania, and is president of the Ariel Sand Company of Scranton, organized in
1912, with Thomas B. Howe, president and manager, and R. C. Ruthven,
secretary and treasurer. The Ariel Sand Company is one of Scranton's suc-
cessful concerns, it having been formed to supply the large local demand for
sand and gravel, now so plentifully used in constructive work. Mr. Howe
is also a director of the Waverly Chamber of Commerce. He is an in-
dependent in politics, always deferring to his convictions regardless of party
in choosing his candidates. He is public spirited and generous, and so holds
the confidence of the voters of his ward, the thirteenth, that he was chosen
their representative in the city council serving one term. He is a member and
past master of Green Ridge Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; is a companion
of Lackawanna Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; a Sir K,night of Melita Com-
mandery. Knights Templar and a noble of Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine. He is also mterested as a stockholder in the LInion National Bank ;
First Mortgage and Guaranty Company, of Philadelphia, and Black Diamond
Silk Company.
Mr. Howe married, September 26, 1873, Maria H., daughter of William
Copeland, an Englishman of Turnersville, Lackawanna county, where Mrs.
Howe was born. Children : Everett T., now of Rochester, New York ; Rean
M., now widow of Dr. A. G. Fall. Little more than a glance is here given
of the useful life and manly character of Thomas B. Howe. Broad minded,
progressive, just and generous, it is a matter of gratification to all, that from
his genius of invention and soundness of executive management, wealth has
come to him in abundance. It has been fairly earned and is rightfully used.
The world is better, brighter and richer for his having lived in it : he has
created not destroyed and his sixty-four years of life have been spent in a
manner that can cause him nothing but satisfaction in its review.
SAMUEL F. YORK
Yorkshire, England, was the home of the early generations of the York
family, represented in Scranton by Samuel F. York, a stock and bond broker
of Scranton, his children being the only members of this branch born in
America. Never identified with the industrial or manufacturing interests
of the great cities of the country, the Yorks have ever been found in the
country villages or dwelling on their estates in rural England. Theirs was
the free, unfettered, life in the open fields; theirs the pleasure of walking
through the sunlit meadows by the running brooks; theirs all the beautiful
scenes of which the English poets fondly sing, for which Browning, with a
son's love, pines, in his "Home Thoughts From Abroad." It was because
of this innate love of life near to nature that Thomas York, grandfather of
Samuel F. York, all his life lived in Shadforth, England, where he was the
94 CITY OF SCRANTON
proprietor of one of the inns for which the English country side is famous.
Here he Hved quietly and peacefully, a courteous, cordial host, keeping in
touch with the events of the world beyond his own immediate horizon by con-
versation with the travelers who stopped at his inn for supper or for a
night's lodging. Here William F. York was born in 1850 and grew to man-
hood. In him the instincts of the husbandman were lost and he sought the
thriving industries of the city, learned the machinist's trade, and in 1882 came
to America. An expert machinist, familiar with every department of his
trade, he found no difficulty in securing a position, and was employed by the
Dickson Manufacturing Company as erecting machinist. He superintended
the erection of many intricately made machines, his last work in the em-
ploy of this company being done in the construction of the famous dynamite
guns on Fishers Island, New York. He then entered the employ of the
Westinghouse Electrical and Manufacturing Company in the main shops of
the company at Pittsburgh, with whom he has ever since been identified and
in whose service he has established a well-deserved reputation for sterling
worth and expert ability. No problem of mechanics evades his wide and
practical knowledge, no process so involved that he is unable to swiftly com-
prehend its complicated workings. With his knowledge and ability he couples
a capacity for an almost endless amount of work, and is one of the most
trusted and best regarded men in the company's plant, which is of mammoth
size. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel P. Harris, a wholesale and
retail merchant of Darlington, England. She died in 1901, aged fifty years.
Children: John F. ; Samuel F., of whom further; Ernest and Ewart, all of
Scranton; Harry, a resident of Carbondale ; and Anna, married John F. Gib-
son, now living in Birmingham, Alabama.
Samuel F. York, son of William F. and Elizabeth (Harris) York, was
born in Darlington, England, December 10, 1874. His early boyhood was
spent in the city of Scranton and there he attended the public schools. When
a young man he learned the printer's trade and soon after completing same
started in independent operations as the York Printing and Publishing Com-
pany. Establishing a reputation for high class work, especially book and maga-
zine printing, his business rapidly grew until it was the largest of its kind in
the city. A great deal of job work was also handled at the shop, which con-
tinued a flourishing career until 1906, when Mr. York turned the active man-
agement over to others, still retaining his interest in the business. For a time
he gave his undivided attention to other interests in southern land companies,
conducting later investment and brokerage operations. He is now the ac-
credited representative of a large New York City banking house, in the State
of Pennsylvania. His other business connections are as vice-president and
treasurer of the Baumeister Drug Company, and treasurer of the Pension
Mutual Life Insurance Company. Mr. York is a member of the Good Shep-
herd Episcopal Church, while his wife belongs to the Emmanuel Baptist
Church. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, belonging to Schiller Lodge,
Free and Accepted Masons ; Keystone Consistory, Sovereign Princes of the
Royal Secret, and is a noble of Irem Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He is one of
the active members of the Temple Masonic Club and is vice-chairman of the
Navy League.
He married Bertha, daughter of Herz Lowenstein, an old merchant of
Scranton, who established the first department .=;tore in the city of Scranton,
on what is now Cedar avenue. Children : Warren W. and Gladys H.
-^^Luyuci^ xTr^fe'-^-^L-'^^'x^
CITY OF SCRANTON 95
CYRUS D. JONES
Many men pass from mortal view and are only remembered through the
monument marking their resting place. Others by chance are brought into the
public eye through a chance turn of fortune's wheel, while others build a
monument of commercial fame that endures forever. To this latter class
belongs Cyrus D. Jones, who has seen the company he founded grow to such
proportions that the sign. Grand Union Tea Company, is found in all the cities
of our country. He has seen it safely weather every financial storm, and
emerge from each larger, better and stronger. Such a monument, built only
by unceasing industry, careful judgment and wise executive ability, when built,
is one to be proud of, and one worthy of being used as an example of what
can be accomplished by well directed and honorable effort.
A glance at the ancestry of the men of nerve, wisdom and energy who
have accomplished so much, reveals the fact that their forbears were men of
courage and enlightened minds and that Cyrus D. Jones comes rightfully by
his pioneer spirit and owes much to the sturdy ancestors who revolted against
kingly oppression and helped to found a nation in a new world.
Colonel John Jones, the English ancestor, was governor of Anglesea,
member of parliament from Wales, colonel in Cromwell's army and one of
the court of judges who decided the fate of Charles I. of England. When
Charles II. ascended the throne, he pardoned many who aided Cromwell and
his cause, but the members of the court that tried and sentenced his father to
death, he never forgave, but pursued them to the grave. Colonel Jones mar-
ried a sister of Oliver Cromwell, and his son, William Jones, a barrister of
London, came to America with two of the regicide judges, Whalley and Gofife,
assisting in secreting them from the King's officers who were in close pursuit.
The record states that Whalley and Goffe were conducted by Jones and his
friends "some three miles into the wilderness beyond the mill, where a booth
having been constructed, the party spent the night."
Deputy-Governor William Jones, the American ancestor, was born in Lon-
don, England, in 1624. He married, July 4, 1659, Hannah, daughter of
Theophilus Eaton, governor of the colony of Connecticut. He came to Amer-
ica with his wife and two sons, William (2) and Nathaniel, locating at New
Haven with his father-in-law, Governor Eaton. In May, 1664, he was chosen
deputy-governor of the colony, and had a church seat on "the long seat"
with other men of distinction. Isaac Jones, youngest son of Deputy-Governor
William Jones, was born in New Haven, Connecticut, June 21, 1671. He
settled in Stratford, Connecticut, and there married Deborah Clark. Isaac (2)
Jones, sixth child of Isaac (i) Jones, married and had a son John, who mar-
ried and had a son Josiah, who married Sarah Smith. Their son, Isaac (3)
Jones, was born at Stamford, Connecticut, November 11, 1794, and married
Lois Curtis. Their eldest son, Isaac S. Jones, was born in Stamford, Con-
necticut, there became a merchant, represented his town in the state legisla-
ture, also filled various local offices. He married Frances J. Weed, of Pound
Ridge, New York ; children : Frances S., Mary E., Frank S., Cyrus D.,
Charles F. While the three sons of Isaac S. Jones, Frank S., Cyrus D., and
Charles F., at first formed the firm of Jones Brothers, later the Grand LTnion
Tea Company, Frank S. and Cyrus D. Jones, carried the burden longer,
Charles F. retiring ere the business assumed its latter day magnitude.
Cyrus D. Jones was born in Stamford, Connecticut, May i, 1852. He at-
tended school, then became clerk in his father's store, later going to New York
City, where he clerked in a similar store, and for one year was with J. H.
Knapp & Company, a wholesale wood and willow ware house of New York.
96 CITY OF SCRANTON
In the meantime Isaac S. Jones, the father, had moved his residence to Scran-
ton, where in 1871, he was joined by his son, then nineteen years of age. Cyrus-
D. Jones attended Gardner's Business College and clerked in Scranton for
about a year, then having attained his majority he joined with his brothers
forming the firm of Jones Brothers and engaging in the tea business in Scran-
ton. In 1877 they organized as the Grand Union Tea Company and began
their wonderful career of growtii and expansion. The company, which started
so humbly, September i, 1872, is now one of the mammoth retailing companies
of the United States, regularly incorporated with head offices in New York
City, has about 200 stores in leading cities, employs an army of over 3000
people and does an annual business of many millions. Of this great company,
Cyrus D. Jones is vice-president, a position he has held since its formation.
He and his brother, Frank S., trading as an individual firm, purchase all the
products, premiums, etc., used by the company, importing whole cargoes of
tea and supplying the capital for the importation of the immense quantities of
coffee annually sold by the company. The brothers also own the Anchor
Pottery of Trenton, New Jersey, the Grand Union using the most of the output
of that pottery. Charles F. Jones, the third brother, retired in 1893. While
the Grand Union Tea Company, as at present conducted, is a vast, well regu-
lated machine that is almost automatic in its workings, it was not always so,
and while success in its fullest sense has crowned the efforts of the brothers,
the result was not attained without the hardest kind of work and the incessant
exercise of all the best merchandising qualities of the founders.
During its business life of forty years the Grand Union has passed
safely through financial crises, weathering storms that have left the country
strewn with the wrecks of much more pretentious concerns. The company
has so wisely conserved its resources that in times of national financial string-
ency it has been able to extend instead of curtailing its operations.
The history of these operations is as interesting and almost as dramatic (but
happily less tragic) as the scenes the Jones ancestors passed through, when
with parliament they fought their King. When the first start was made in
1872, the brothers made a house to house canvass for orders, and were obliged
to deliver on foot until sufficient means had been accumulated to afford wagon
delivery. Frank S. Jones was the first president of the company, which was
not incorporated until 1893, continuing its head until 1903, when he was suc-
ceeded by W. J. Burke. The home office in New York City, (borough of
Brooklyn) covers an entire block and is devoted entirely to the manufacture
and shipping interests of the Grand Union Tea Company. It contains a plant
for the manufacture of paper bags, another for making tin cans, a well
equipped soap factory and a complete printing establishment.
In addition to the conspicuous part he has evei- played in the affairs of
the Grand Union Tea Company, Cyrus D. Jones holds important official posi-
tion in over thirty other corporations and firms, including the presidency of
the People's Bank of Scranton, the vice-piesidency of the United States Lum-
ber Company and a directorship in the Traders' Bank of Scranton, also on the
executive board of Scranton Trust Company. But these interests, weighty as
they are, have been voluntarily laid aside so far as active participation in their
affairs are concerned, Mr. Jones having determined to limit his personal effort.
He has so far adhered to his resolutions that he now lives practically retired,
his connection being advisory and voluntary. He maintains his beautiful home
in Scranton at No. 901 Olive street, and without ostentation is a liberal bene-
factor of the charitable and philanthropic institutions of his city. Travel is his
chief relaxation and in pursuit of recreation and knowledge he has traversed
Europe and America. His rare and genial nature has endeared him to a wide
0M(k^/^imd.,
CITY OF SCR.\NTON 97
circle of friends to whom the charming hospitality of his home is freely ex-
tended. Mr. Jones is a member of the Elm Park Methodist Episcopal Church,
and president of the board of trustees. He has ever been a friend of the
Young Men's Christian Association of Scranton and was a strong pillar of
support, financially, in the erection of its magnificent building.
Mr. Jones married, March 23, 1876, Mary S. Horn, of Scranton. Chil-
dren: I. Arthur A., president of the Grand Union Tea Company; married
Ellazena Bixby ; resides in Brooklyn, New York. 2. Harry L., connected with
the Grand Union Tea Company as treasurer ; married Edna Caryl ; resides in
Brooklyn. 3. Helen F. 4. Frederick B., a banker and broker, Bank of Scran-
ton.
DANIEL R. WATKINS
Among the earliest settlers of Carbondale, Pennsylvania, was Edward Wat-
kins, grandfather of Daniel R. Watkins, of this narrative, who came to the
United States in 1826 from Breconshire, Wales, where he followed the oc-
cupation with which he had been identified in his native land, that of a miner.
His last years were spent with his son, Thomas E. Watkins, at whose home
his death occurred in 1879, when he was seventy- five years of age.
(II) Thomas E. Watkins, son of Edward Watkins, was born in Carbon-
dale, Pennsylvania, in 1828. His earliest employment was in the mines and
all his life was spent in work connected with mining, mine foreman having
been his position for many years before his death, on October 14, 1889, aged
sixty years. In 1859 he moved to Scranton and was there employed for the
last half of his life in the coal mining department of the Delaware, Lackawanna
& Western. He was a prominent member of the Tabernacle Congregational
Church, to which his wife also belonged, and held a place on the board of trus-
tees. . His fraternal affiliation was with the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows. He married Rachel Lewis. Children : William E., a resident of New
York City; George W. (deceased); Daniel R. (of further mention).
(III) Daniel R. Watkins, son of Thomas E. and Rachel (Lewis) Wat-
kins, was born in Yorktown, Carbon county, Pennsylvania, December 10,
1857. He was excellently educated in the public schools, Wyoming Seminary,
and the Collegiate Institute, of Newton, New Jersey. His father was pro-
prietor of a general store in Hyde Park, although he did not give it his per-
sonal attention, and Mr. Watkins entered the store as manager, sharing the
duties of the position with his brother, W. E. Watkins, the two conducting
the business of the store until 1876. He was then employed in the hosiery
department of the Boston Store for two years, in 1878 going to Philadelphia
with Martin Maloney to accept a position with the Penn Globe Gas Light Com-
pany. Two years also covered his period of service with this company, after
which he became a bookkeeper in the employ of Samuel Stetler, at Duryea.
In 1882 he returned to Scranton and became the partner of E. C. Dimmick,
engaging in the hardware business. At the dissolution of this partnership, on
February 22, 1886, he again became a bookkeeper this time in the service of
T. J. Kelly & Company. In 1895 he took a much needed rest from business,
his health having been poor for some time. Since 1897 he has been connected
with the department of city assessors and since the present administration came
into office has been president of the board.
Mr. Watkins married Miss Stella Josephine Piatt Himrod, daughter of
W. G. Himrod, of Trumansburg, New York. Children : Thomas Brunson, a
resident of BuiiEalo, New York, and William E.. living in Scranton.
7
98 CITY OF SCRANTON
JONATHAN M. WAINWRIGHT, A. B., A. M., M. D.
Wainwrights of tlie branch of which Dr. Jonathan M. Wainwright. A. B.,
A. M.. M. D., is a descendant, claim no very long residence on this side of the
Atlantic, the first member of this branch of the family to settle in this country
being Peter Wainwright, an English merchant, who made his home in Boston
shortly after the Revolution. Since that time the family has been represented
in ecclesiastical pursuits by one of the most saintly of divines, the Rev. Jona-
than Mayhew Wainwright, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York,
well known for his labors in the general convention preparing the standard
edition of the Book of Common Prayer, grandfather of Dr. Jonathan M.
Wainwright, of this narrative. Among his sons were : Jonathan Mayhew,
who attained the rank of commander in the United States navy, and William
Augustus Muhlenburg, father of Dr. Jonathan M. Wainwright. Dr. William
Augustus Muhlenburg Wainwright was a noted physician and surgeon, and
made as valuable contributions to medical, as his revered father had to eccle-
siastic literature. In his half century of life he gained wide distinction in his
profession and was at one time president of the Connecticut State Medical
Society. His death occurred in 1894.
Dr. Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright, son of Dr. William Augustus Muhlen-
burg and Helena Barker (Talcott) Wainwright, was born in Hartford, Con-
necticut, February 20. 1874. He bears the names that were those of his grand-
father and uncle, and have been borne nobly by at least two generations,
one carrying it in priestly state in the paths of peace, the other bearing
it to a grave found in the service of his country and in defence of her honor.
He studied, preparatory to college entrance, at the Hartford High School,
and was graduated A. B. from Trinity College in the class of 1895. Attracted
by the profession of his father, he entered the College of Physicians and
Surgeons, connected with Columbia University, to prepare therefor, and was
graduated M. D. in 1899. He was interne in St. Luke's Hospital of New
York City for a period of eighteen months, and in i8gi came to Scranton to
accept a position as surgeon-in-chief of the Moses Taylor Hospital. This is
his present title and while his duties in connection with this institution demand
a great deal of his time and attention, he nevertheless maintains a large and
lucrative private practice. One of his professional connections is as chief
surgeon of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. In IQ05 his
alma mater. Trinity College, conferred upon him the degree A. ^1. It was at
this institution that he became a member of the I. K. A., a secret fraternity of
the college. He is also a member of the County, State and American iMedical
societies. With his wife he is a member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church. Dr.
Wainwright's military career began m 1892, when he l>ccame a member of
Company F, First Regiment, Connecticut National Guard, as a private, later
becoming corporal on the regimental staff, a ranlc he held for one year. He
was then promoted to the grade of first lieutenant, discharging the duties of
paymaster, and held that rank for four years. When, at the outbreak of the
Spanish-American War, his regiment enlisted as the First Regiment Connecti-
cut Volunteer Infantry, he received a commission as captain. The First Con-
necticut, though not in active service, was held "in readiness" at Camp Alger,
Falls Church, Virginia, where he served as adjutant of the regiment, also as
acting assistant adjutant general of the First Brigade, Third Division, Second
Army Corps. At the end of the war he received his discharge from the serv-
ice. Dr. Wainwright's clubs are the Army and Navy of New York City and
the Scranton.
Dr. Wainwright married Jessie, daughter of William E. Hart, of Engle-
CITY OF SCRANTON
99
wood, New Jersey. Children : Jonathan Mayhew, Talcott, Grosvenor. Ruth
Wyllys.
A progressive and efficient exponent of modern methods and practices in
surgerj, Dr. Wainwright has a record of proud attainment, and a reputation
as an honorable and conscientious practitioner, brilliant promise of future
achievement in the profession which he so worthily represents.
JUDGE ALTON A. VOSBURG
The Vosburgs of Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, descend from the Dutch
settler, Abram Pieterse Vosburg, one of four brothers who settled on the Hud-
son river prior to 165 1. The family were early settlers in Washington town-
ship, Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, where they are remembered by Vos-
burg's Creek and Vosburg Station.
(I) Stephen Vosburg, grandfather of Judge Vosburg, was the first of this
direct line to settle in Scott township, (now Lackawanna county) he coming
from Wyoming county, where he was born about the year 1800. He came to
Scott when a young man, was a farmer and there died about 1870. He mar-
ried Nancy Brown, born in Scott.
(II) Merritt B. Vosburg, son of Stephen and Nancy (Brown) Vosburg,
was born in Scott township, Pennsylvania, in 1842, died July 13, 1913, buried
in Scott Valley Cemetery. He was educated in the public school and be-
came a prosperous merchant of Montdale, finally retiring and spending his
last years free from business cares. He was a man of alert mind and sterling
character, these qualities being recognized by his townsmen and utilized for the
public good. He served for many years on the school board and as justice
of the peace for five years. He was held in high regard by a very large circle
of friends, among whom most of the years of his long life were spent. He
was a Republican in politics, and a member of the RIasonic Order. Squire
Vosburg married Sarah Washburn, daughter of Dexter Washburn, of Sus-
quehanna county, Pennsylvania ; she is now deceased. Children : Alton A.,
of whom further : Bernard V.. of Scranton ; Clara. The parents and children
were members of the Baptist church.
(III) Judge Alton A. Vosburg, eldest son of Merritt B. and Sarah (Wash-
burn) Vosburg, was born in Scott township, (now Lackawanna county) Penn-
sylvania, April 28, 1865. He was educated in the public schools and Keystone
Academy of his own county, then entered the National University at Lebanon,
Ohio, pursuing a course in law at the latter institution. He taught school for
several terms during the course of his youth, and prior to completing his pre-
liminary law studies with Gunster & Welles, of Scranton. He was admitted
to the Lackawanna county bar in 1887, practiced in Scranton alone until 1888,
then formed a partnership with W. S. Huslander, an association that continued
until 1896. He then became the law partner of C. W. Dawson, which con-
tinued until Mr. Vosburg was appointed judge of the Orphans' Court at the
time of its establishment in igoi. He remained on the bench until the first
Monday in January, 1903, then resumed private practice. In his quarter of a
century Mr. Vosburg has enjoyed a large practice, both civil and criminal in
the state and federal courts of the district, to all of which he has been ad-
mitted. Notable cases with which he has been connected are: Dickinson,
versus G. B. Thompson, in which he represented the defendant in the LTnited
States Court ; the Waverly Bible School case ; and the City of Scranton,
versus Koehler, which was carried to the superior and supreme courts. He
was elected city solicitor in 1898, serving two years until the office became
appointive under the "Ripper Bill." In political faith he is a Republican, has
loo CITY OF SCRANTON
been a member of the county committee for twtiity-five years, and for two
terms was county chairman. In religious faith he is aftihated with the Providence
Presbyterian Church, which he has served as trustee. He belongs to many
fraternal orders, including: Hiram Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; all
bodies of Keystone Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite ; Lincoln Lodge,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is past noble grand ; Scran-
ton Encampment, Independent Order of Odd Fellows ; Daughters of Rebekah ;
past district deputy grand master, Pennsylvania Independent Order of Odd
Fellows ; Junior Order of American Mechanics, and the Patriotic Order Sons
of America. His club is the Scranton. Honored in his profession as a
learned and skillful exponent and strong in the confidence of his towns-
men there is surely a future of still greater usefulness awaiting Judge Vos-
burg.
Judge Vosburg married, in December, 1895, Belle Thomas, daughter of
William G. Thomas, a well known and respected resident of Scranton. They
have a son Flovd.
FREDERICK A. WAGNER
For nearly a half a century the Scranton Wochenblatt has been one of the
most widely read of German-American newspapers in the Lackawanna Valley
and during its long existence as the standard of German newspapers has been
closely linked with the name of Wagner, the periodical having been founded
by father and continued by son. Both have held to a lofty plane in all de-
partments, both have striven for the ideal newspaper of reliability and quality,
the Wochenblatt representing their years of effort toward an agent of in-
telligence free from the contamination of sensationalism or yellow journalism.
' Frederick Wagner was born in Anweiler, Bavaria, December 24, 1838,
died June 29, 1913. His father, Joseph Wagner, brought him to the United
States when a youth, the family settling first at Pittston and later moving to
Wilkes-Barre where the family resided at the beginning of hostilities between
the North and the South. Both father and son enlisted in the Union army,
the younger, Frederick, never being called into service. His father, however,
became a member of a regiment of cavalry and was in General Sherman's
army in its historic march, immortalized in song, from "Atlanta to the Sea."
Frederick Wagner learned the printer's trade early in life and for a time was
employed as foreman in the shop of Robert Bauer in Wilkes-Barre, where
was published the Luzerne County Wachter. At the close of the Civil Wai
he took up his residence in Scranton and there, in 1865, founded the Scranton
Wochenblatt, of which he was proprietor until his death, although for several
years previous to that his son, Frederick A., had been in direct charge of the
business.
A strong supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, it was Mr.
Wagner's nature to labor earnestly in the cause of an able, deserving candidate
and to refuse all nominations for himself. Only twice was he brought before
the public in the role of one seeking political preference, the first time in 1882,
being made a member of the board of poor directors elected by popular vote.
The elections were never confirmed, however, for before the newly elected
members of the board had entered upon the duties of their ofiice, the state's
courts declared the law allowing the election unconstitutional and invalid, the
appointment of the board being performed by the courts. His other candidacy
was unsuccessful, when, several years later, he was the nominee of his party
for city treasurer.
Until a few years before his death Mr. Wagner was a conspicuous figure
CITY OF SCRANTON loi
in fraternal organizations. His was the honor of founding and being the first
president of the German-American AlHance of Lackawanna County, whose
president emeritus he was at the time of his final summons. He also belonged
to Schiller Lodge, No. 345, F. and A. M., and Roaring Brook Con-
clave of Heptasophs. During his day of most active participation in busi-
ness aflFairs Lackawanna and Penn avenues were the business centers of the
city and it was he who erected the first store on Spruce street, opposite the
site now occupied by the Hotel Jermyn, and attracted to that locality many of
the commercial houses that now make it their home. In the seventy-five years
of his busy and useful life, forty-eight were spent in the city of Scranton, ex-
cepting two years, when he was in Elmira, New York, publishing the Chemung
County Journal, a German newspaper.
He married Elizabeth Hausam, and is survived by her. Children: Fred-
erick A., of further mention : John U., a professor in the Scranton High
School ; Dr. Joseph A. ; Anna, married William Morrow ; Ida E.
Frederick A. Wagner, eldest son and child of Frederick and Elizabeth
(Hausam) Wagner, was born in Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania,
February 14, 1864. He obtained his education in the public schools of Scran-
ton, and later at Elmira, New York, whither his father had moved to publish
a German newspaper. He learned the printer's trade under the preceptorship
of his father and all his life has been connected with the Scranton Wochen-
blatt. When his father laid down the reins of control in April, 1890, Frederick
A. assumed charge of the business and has since continued it, holding to the
course that was ever that of his lamented father, one of uprightness and honor
in all journalistic affairs. His only other business relation is as director of the
Artisans' Building and Loan Association, of which he has been vice-president
and is now a director. Mr. Wagner is a member of Schiller Lodge, No. 345,
F. and A. M., the Scranton Liederkranz, the German-American Alliance, and
Heptasophs.
Mr. Wagner married Minnie Ailen, of Roxbury, New York. Children :
Frieda E., Mabel J.. Ralph, Grace A., Herbert J. That Mr. Wagner is a
worthy successor of his honored father is proven by the popularity of the
journal he publishes. Fitted by experience, in life's prime, and in an age when
newspapers are a vital force and potent factor in moulding public sentiment,
his is a great opportunity to stand for the best in our modern day existence,
cleanliness in social, honor in business, and purity in political circles.
WILLARD MAINE BUNNELL
The Bunnell family of which Willard M. Bunnell, of Scranton, is represen-
tative, came to Pennsylvania in 1760, Solomon Bunnell, of the fourth Ameri-
can generation, being the original settler of the family in Pennsylvania. He
was a great-grandson of William Bunnell, the emigrant ancestor who came
with his brothers, Solomon and Benjamin, from Cheshire, England, in 1638,
settling at New Haven, Connecticut. William Bunnell sprang from the
Norman Knight, William La Bunnell, who came to England with William the
Conqueror in 1066. From 1638. the date of emigration to America, the Bun-
nells gained in numbers to such an extent that in 1790, the date of the first
national census, they were found in every one of the original thirteen colonies.
The record of the family is thus told by their historians : "Being without excep-
tion men of character and piety, who used every opportunity to promote educa-
tion and religion and were the first to adopt a written constitution and to re-
fuse compensation for public service."
Four generations of the family, William (I^ ; Benajmin (II) ; Benjamin
I02 CITY OF SCRANTON
(III) lived in Connecticut; Solomon (IV) leaving there in 1740, settling at
Kingwood, New Jersey, and in 1760 continuing his migration to Pennsylvania,
settling in Middle Smithfield, Bucks county, now Monroe county.
(IV) Gershom Bunnell, also of the fourth generation, son of Benjamin
Bunnell (III) and brother of Solomon Bunnell, the first of the family in
Pennsylvania, lived and died in New Haven, Connecticut. He married, in
1728, Margaret Johnson.
(V) Joseph Bunnell, fifth of the thirteen children of Gershom Bunnell,
was a soldier of the French and Indian War and also fought in the Revolu-
tionary army. He married Abiah Kirby, as patriotic as himself, she being one
of the' women of Litchfield, Connecticut, who melted the leaden statue of King
George into bullets for the American troops. During her husband's absence
in the army, an Indian attack was so feared that for several nights she carried
her young children to a nearbv field of rye, for additional safety, if such it
might be called.
(VI) James Bunnell, son of Joseph Bunnell, the Revolutionary soldier,
died in Bridgewater, Pennsylvania, August 5, 1841, at the home of his son
Elijah, and was buried on the latter"s homestead, now owned by Willard M.
Bunnell, where a suitable stone marks his resting place. He was a black-
smith and spent most of his life in Connecticut, only spending his latter years
in Pennsylvania. He married, in 1797. Azuba Carter, born in Susquehanna
county, Pennsylvania. Children of James and Azuba Bunnell settled in Penn-
sylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Tennessee.
(VII) Elijah Bunnell, third child of James Bunnell, was born January 6,
1803, died September 20, 1873. He was the grandfather of Willard M. Bun-
nell and the first of his immediate family to settle in Pennsylvania, coming
from Connecticut to Bridgewater, Suscjuehanna county, in the spring of 1833.
He erected a suitable dwelling as soon as possible on his farm, now the prop-
erty of his grandson, Willard M. Bunnell, and used by the latter as a sum-
mer residence. Elijah Bunnell was the perfect type of a pioneer, str.rdy, strong
and a noted hunter. In the spring of 1873 he visited his daughter, Lucy J.
Rogers, in Lawrence, Kansas, was there stricken with a fatal illness, died and
is there buried. He married Lucy Stone, daughter of .Apollos and Eunice
(Throop) Stone, of Litchfield county, Connecticut, and two of their six chil-
dren died yotnig.
(\^III) William Bunnell, second son of Elijah Bunnell, was born in Con-
necticut, February 27, 1829, died February 7, 1898. He was four years of
age when his parents settled in Bridgewater, Pennsylvania, where he obtained
a good education, finishing under the instruction of Dr. Lyman Richardson,
of Hartford, Pennsylvania, a noted early educator. Mr. Bunnell taught
school, but from 1854 to 1858 was engaged as salesman, making several trips
through the southern states. After his marriage he engaged in farming and
merchandising, and in 1881, with two partners, established the National Record,
at Montrose, Pennsylvania, which they edited as the organ of the Greenback
party. He was one of the founders of Montrose Grange, Patrons of Hus-
bandry, was one of the promotors of the Montrose branch of the Lehigh Val-
ley Railroad and throughout his entire life was a useful and public-spirited
citizen. He married, December 21, 1858, Mary Jane Maine, daughter of
Isaiah and Polly May (Williams) Maine.
(IX) Willard Maine Bunnell, youngest of the four children of William
and Mary Jane (Maine) Bunnell, was born at Dimock, Susquehanna county,
Pennsylvania, January 14, 1874. He obtained his early education in the public
school and prepared for college at Keystone Academy, Factoryville, Penn-
sylvania. He then entered Bucknell College, whence he was graduated B. A.,
MmM^
CITY OF SCRANTON lo,^
class of 1897. Deciding upon the profession of law, he began legal study
in the law offices of Willard, Wanen & Knapp at Scranton, continuing until
after passing the required examinations ; he was admitted to the Lackawanna
county bar, February i, 1899. He has since then been engaged in the practice
of his profession, in the public service, and as vice-president and trust officer of
the Anthracite Trust Company of Scranton. He was elected in igo6 prothono-
tary of Lackawanna county, serving with such acceptability that in 1909 he
was elected for a second term of three years, enjoying the distinction of being
the only Democrat ever elected to that ofifice in the county.
Mr. Bunnell, aside from his professional and official duties, has always
found time for social, philanthropic, fraternal and club activities. He is a
member of a number of German and other singing societies, being himself
gifted with fine musical ability. He is also a member of St. Luke's Protestant
Episcopal Church, and a director of the Young Men's Christian Association,
an institution of which Scranton is justly proud, theirs being the finest build-
ing owned by the association in the state,, also a director of the board of as-
sociated charities. He is also a trustee of Keystone Academy and gives these
institutions a great amount of his time and best effort. He holds active
membership in Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Lacka-
wanna Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; Scranton Council, Royal and Select
Masters; Coeur de Lion Commandery, Knights Templar; Irem Temple, Nobles
of the Mystic Shrine ; James A. Connell Lodge, Independent Order of Odd
Fellows ; Fairview Lodge, Knights of Pythias ; Scranton Lodge, Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks ; Knights of the Mystic Shrine, and is lieutenant
commander of the Uniform Rank Patriotic Order Sons of America. He is
president of the Automobile Association of Scranton and thoroughly enjoys
the delights of touring the rural regions of his section and state. The fore-
going gives one an idea of the all around activity of Mr. Bunnell. Diligent
in business, he yet fulfills all his obligations as a citi;:en and neighbor; is
popular with his friends "whose name is legion," and stands as a true type of
virile American manhood.
Mr. Bunnell married, December i, 1897, Margaret Irene Walls, daughter
of George W. and Ventilia Irene (Snyder) Walls, of Lewisburg, Pennsyl-
vania, and is a great-granddaughter of Simon Snyder, former governor of the
State of Pennsylvania. She descends from patriotic ancestors and holds mem-
bership in Shikillemy Chapter, Daughters of the .American Revolution, of
Lewisburg. Children: William Kirby, died in infancy: Walls Willard; Philip
Wolfe.
The summer home of the Bunnells is the old Bunnell homestead near Mont-
rose, which Willard M. Bunnell purchased from his sister who inherited it
from her paternal uncle, Kirby Bunnell. The farm is the meeting place of
the Bunnell clan, who there gather in great numbers in annual reunion. Their
city home is at No. 410 Clay avenue, Scranton.
LEWIS B. CARTER
Three generations of Carters have been born in West Auburn township,
Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, descendent of Hiram Carter of Con-
necticut, great-grandfather of Levv'is B. Carter, the able lawyer and successful
real estate dealer of Scranton. Hiram Carter came from Connecticut, about
the year 1800, and was one of the earliest settlers in South Auburn where he
cleared, planted and hunted. He was a famous hunter, the many wild creatures
then inhabiting the forest giving him abundant opportunity to display his skill.
He carved a farm and home from the wilderness and, although his many chil-
I04 CITY OF SCRANTON
dren were cradled in a bed hewn from a sap log, they grew up sturdy and self-
reliant, worthy pioneer sons and daughters.
(I) Daniel Carter, son of the pioneer, was born in Auburn township, one
of a family of seven sons and two daughters. He lived the early life of a
pioneer boy and spent his life in his native township, becoming a farmer and
landowner.
(II) Griswold Carter, son of Daniel Carter, was born in Auburn township, •
August II, 1841, died April i, 1904. He was a farmer all his life, an active
member of the Patrons of Husbandry, and a landowner. He was a man of
bright intellect and education, mingling prominently in township affairs, serv-
ing as school director, poor commissioner and township auditor. He was a
prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal Qiurch, which he served in
official capacity. He was also a member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows. He married Susan N., daughter of Daniel N. Seeley, of Brooklyn,
Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania.
(III) Lewis B. Carter, son of Griswold and Susan N. (Seeley) Carter,
was born in Auburn township, Susquehanna county. May 4, 1870. He grew
to youthful manhood at the home farm obtaining in the township schools, a
good public school education. He taught school for four winter terms in his
native county, then entered State College, working his way through, not only
paying his own expenses, but leaving college with a surplus. He was honor
man of his class and was graduated B. S., class of 1896. Having finished his
classical course with honor he at once began the study of law, first under the
direction of Watson & Zimmennan, later under Willard, Warren & Knapp of
Scranton. He was admitted to the Lackawanna county bar, August 14, 1899,
and at once established an office in Scranton, devoting himself to general prac-
tice and so continuing until 1903, since which date he has made a specialty of
the law of corporations and real estate. At the same time he began the ex-
tensive promoting and real estate operations that have placed him foremost
among the leaders in that field. During the years 1903-1905. he promoted the
Scranton, Factoryville and Tunkhannock Railroad, which later was merged
with the Northern Electric Railroad : the Sunbury and Selinsgrove Electric
Railway and the Summit Land Company, a very successful company, handling
the Clark's Summit tract and other suburban property. Of this latter com-
pany, Mr. Carter is secretary. In 1908 he financed and built the Luther Apart-
ment House; in 1910, 191 1 and 1912, the Carter .\partments of twenty- four
suites in main building; in 1913, the Carter Apartments .\nne.x of three suites
and store. In the spring of 1913, Mr. Carter formed with Andrew R. Muir
the firm of Carter and Muir, to conduct a law, real estate and insurance busi-
ness, of which firm he is the senior member. In December, 1913, his firm
financed and promoted the Black Walnut Poultry & Stock Farm^ Company at
Black Walnut. Pennsylvania, also Walnut Park, a fine summer resort at Black
Walnut, Pennsylvania. An indefatigable worker with keen business instinct,
mind and body ever alert, the success of Mr. Carter, while phenomonal even
in Scranton, is not a matter of surprise. The qualities he possesses must ever
win, when backed by a clean life and an honest ambition. Whether he be con-
sidered as lawyer, promoter or business man, he meets every requirement and
the future holds for him nothing but bright promise.
To turn to the military career of Mr. Carter, is to reveal another ad-
mirable side to his character. He drilled with the Cadet Battalion five years,
closing his senior year as captain of Company D. and in July, 1896, was ap-
pointed brevet second lieutenant National Guard of Pennsylvania. When
President McKinley called on Pennsylvania for men at the outbreak of the
Spanish War, he enlisted in Company A, Thirteenth Regiment, and on April
CITY OF SCRANTON 105
zy, 1898, marched away with the regiment. He saw only camp and marching
service at Mount Gretna, Pennsylvania, Falls Church, Virginia, and Camp
Young near Harrisburg, but later was sent to Savannah, Georgia, where he
was mustered out March 7, 1899. In January, 1901, he reenlisted in Com-
pany A, Thirteenth Regiment, National Guard, and on April 4, 1901, was ap-
pointed inspector of rifle practice on the staff of Colonel L. A. Watres, with
the rank of first lieutenant, serving until 1904. He built up the rifle record
of the Thirteenth Regiment to a height that surpassed all other regiments of
the guard. He caused to be built a regimental indoor rifle range and an out-
door range at Rocky Glen, and during his official term the rifle team from the
Thirteenth won two permanent trophies for excellence of marksmanship in
competition, and the title of the champion rifle team of the Pennsylvania Na-
tional Guard in 1902. This team also took honorable rank in all the United
States rifle team matches at Sea Girt, New Jersey. In 1904, Captain Carter's
commission expired and he retired from military service. He was one of the
organizers and is trustee of General J. P. S. Goebin Camp, No. 41, U. S. W. V.
Both he and his wife are members of Elm Park Methodist Episcopal Church,
active in the Sunday school, and she in the Woman's Home Missionary So-
ciety, of which she is recording secretary. In political faith he is independent.
Mr. Carter married, June 25, 1907, Mae Hughes, daughter of Luther M.
Jones, and granddaughter of Benjamin Hughes of the Delaware. Lackawanna
& Western Railroad, through whose efforts so many Welsh emigrants were
brought to settle in the Lackawanna Valley. Mr. Carter's home. No. 331 Col-
fax avenue, erected by Mr. Carter in 1907, is one of the many f:ne residences
of Scranton.
CHARLES HARVEY POND
The eighth generation of a famous New England family, whose mem-
bers were among the earliest in Connecticut, and whose immigrant ancestor
was one of the first settlers of Windsor, Connecticut, Charles Harvey Pond,
of Scranton, belongs to one of the oldest families in the country.
The only son of Alvin Porter and Emeline Thirza (Clark) Pond, was born
at .Southington, Connecticut, Decernber 15, 1847. He attended the public
schools of his native town and Lewis Academy, also located in Southington,
and when eighteen years of age began his business career in the employ of
the hardware firm of George B. Curtiss & Company, of New York. In 1868
he was employed at Bristol, Connecticut, in the interest of the same company,
and in February, 1869, returned to the place of his birth in the service of the
Aetna Nut Company, as bookkeeper and secretary, holding this position until
1873, when he went to Ohio in the employ of the Gerard Rolling Mill Com-
pany at Gerard, Ohio, and in 1874 became the junior member of the firm of
Taylor, Mitchell & Pond, at Massilon, Ohio, manufacturers of merchant iron
and "T" rails, both traveling in the interests of the firm and also attending to
the office routine.
After five years he again returned to Southington and was employed by J.
B. Savage for the manufacture of forgings. The seat of the business was re-
moved to Scranton in 1887, because of the greater advantages in the way of
fuel and shipping facilities, and was incorporated as the Scranton Forging
Company. The factory was supplied with the most modern of appliances in
the way of equipment, drop and trip hammers, which were installed, accomplish-
ing work formerly done by hand. The first official arrangement was with
Mr. Savage as president, and Mr. Pond, secretary and manager of the com-
pany, but in i8go, Mr. Pond succeeded to the presidency and has since been
io6 CITY OF SCRANTON
the head of the corporation, which has increased in size and importance until
it is now one of Scranton's prominent and flourishing industries. In addition
to the business of his founding, Mr. Pond is financially interested in various
other corporations, and holds position upon the directorates of several in-
stitutions and organizations, among them the North Scranton Bank. He is
active in the councils of the Scranton Board of Trade, and is a member of
the Green Ridge Club, also belonging to the New England Society of North-
eastern Pennsylvania, of which he is ex-president. For twelve years he was
treasurer of the Green Ridge Presbyterian Qiurch, and for many years was a
trustee of the same, of which he is still a member. His political faith is
Republican.
A successful business man, Mr. Pond does not confine himself so closely to
the relations of business but that he finds time to discharge the duties of a good
citizen. He is a prime factor in all the projects of the board of trade and other-
wise labors to add to the prosperity of the city that he has made his home, and
which, by the advantages it ofifers, has added so materially to his prosperity.
Mr. Pond married, December 15, 1874, Harriet I. Finch, born at South-
ington. Connecticut, December 16, 1850, daughter of Samuel H. and Helen
(Lee) Finch. Children: i. Harry Orlo, born at Massilon, Ohio, October 15,
1875; associated with his father in business; married, October 5, lyii, Helen
M. Heimbach, of Scranton. 2. Charles Wilcox, born at Southington, Febru-
ary 4, 1879, died January 24, 1900. in Scranton.
CHARLES H. WELLES
Charles H. Welles is a descendant of tlie old Welles family of Connecti-
cut, and the pioneer Gay family of the Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania, and
son of Charles H. and Sarah (Gay) Welles.
Charles H. Welles Jr. was born in Dundaff. Susquehanna county, Penn-
sylvania, April 16, 1845. He obtained his preliminary education in the public
schools and his final academic instruction at Luzerne Institute at Wyoming,
although his studies of a legal nature continued for some time thereafter, first
under Samuel Sherrerd, of Scranton, and finally in the office of Hand & Post.
His admission to the bar of Lackawanna county was granted, after a successful
examination in February, 1867, and to that of Luzerne county in the following
month. His practice has always been in Scranton. In 1869 he became clerk
of the mayor's court. The law firm of Welles & Torrey, of which he is the
senior member, was organized in 1898, the junior partner being James H.
Torrey, an eminent legal light. The firm continued to the present time, al-
though three of their sons have been admitted as partners, the partnership
now comprising a quintet of Welles and Torreys, one of the best reputed firms
in the region, supplying the legal needs of a large practice.
Mr. Welles has confined himself exclusively to civil practice, being minutely
exact in his knowledge of legal precedent and processes. He has been admitted
to all the state and federal courts of bis district and is a member of the County
and State Bar associations. His religious connection is with the Second Pres-
byterian Church, and in its organization he fills the position of elder. A lawyer
of high reputation and a churchman of recognized worth, Mr. Welles is also
keenly alive to the needs and requirements of this city, meeting his share of the
burden with the willingness of a good citizen.
Mr. Welles married, October 20, 1869, Hannah B. Sherrerd. He has four
children, the second, Charles H. (3), a member of the firm of Welles & Torrev.
CITY OF SCRANTON 107
FREDERICK WILLIAM WOLLERTON
Although not a native born son of Scranton, Mr. Wollerton is identified
with important financial institutions of the city and is one of her loyal friends
and supporters. He comes from a Chester county family, adiierents of the
Society of Friends, they coming to that county from the town of Hicklin, Not-
tinghamshire, England, at a date not fixed. The first marriage of record in the
family was of Charles Wollerton, who married Jane Chilcot in Concord Meet-
ing, 3rd mo. 18 day, 1726. The line of descent is through their son John, his
son William ( i ) to William (2), father of Frederick W. Wollerton.
William (2) Wollerton was prominent in the public and business life of
Chester county. In 1851 he was elected prothonotary of the countv. and in
1856 Associate Judge, serving in both positions with honor. In business life
he was best known as the able president of the First National Bank of West
Chester, one of the solid financial institutions of the county. He married
Olivia Work, who died in 1891 ; he surviving her until 1898.
Frederick W. Wollerton, son of William (2) and Olivia (Work) Woller-
ton, was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, August 24, 1854. He began
business life as office boy in the First National Bank of which his honored
father was president and passed through every grade of service in that institu-
tion until finally he became cashier. In 1902 he resigned to accept a similar
position with the Traders' National Bank of Scranton, later resigning that ofifice
to aid in organizing the Union National Bank of the same city. He was
chosen its first vice-president and cashier, holding this dual office until he laid
down the latter, now (1914) being vice-president and member of the board of
directors. He is also a director of the First National Bank of Factoryville,
director of the Old Forge Discount and Deposit Bank, director of the Scran-
ton Life Insurance Company and of the Scranton and Binghamton Railroad
Company. He is independent in political action, but a man interested in all
that pertains to the public good. He is fond of outdoor life and sports, iiar-
ticularly golf, being one of the enthusiasts of the Scranton Cour.try Club. He
belongs to the Scranton Country and Bicycle clubs of Scranton, the West
Chester Club of West Chester, the Waverly Country and the Hazleton Country
clubs, taking active interest in all.
Mr. Wollerton married Josephine Brinton Thompson, of Philadelphia,
and has an only child, Martha I3rinton Wollerton.
EDWARD J. LYNETT
Edward J. Lynett, editor and proprietor of The Scranton Times, and who
has made for himself a notable record in the field of journalism, as head of
one of the most influential newspapers of Pennsylvania, was born in Dun-
more, Lackawanna county, July 15, 1857.
His father, William Lynett, was born in county Sligo, Ireland, in 1820,
and came to America in his sixteenth year. For a time he resided in New
York, thence removing to the Dunmore settlement, near Scranton, where he
lived upwards of fifty years and until his death. He was a competent and
successful mining contractor. A man of good practical education and business
ability, he was influential in the community and was called to various public
positions, serving as school director and treasurer, and borough treasurer. He
was a Democrat in politics, and wielded a potent influence. He married Cath-
erine Dowd, and their children were: Ann, who became the wife of Thomas
F. Cawley, of Dunmore; Margaret, who died in infancy; Mary, deceased wife
of D. F. Boland, of Scranton; Edward J., of whom further; Catherine, who
io8 CITY OF SCRANTON
became the wife of Thomas N. Cullen, of Scranton ; Margaret, unmarried;
Ellen, who was a teacher in the Scranton pubHc schools, and died unmarried.
William Lynett died in 1891, his wife surviving until November 20. i8g6.
Edward J. Lynett was educated in the borough schools and the Millersville
State Normal School. His first work was in a coal breaker, but his abilities
were soon recognized, and at the age of sixteen he became deputy clerk in
the mayor's court, in which position he served acceptably for a period of three
years ending with the abolition of the court. He subsequently spent a year
in law studies in the offices of D. W. and J. F. Connolly. His predilection,
however, was for journalism, in which field he was destined to become emin-
ently useful and successful. Taking employment as a reporter on The
Scranton Free Press, a Sunday publication, he developed marked ability, and
was soon made editor and manager, and served in this twofold capacity until
October 10, 1895, when he purchased The Scranton Times, of which he has
been owner and responsible editor to the present time. On becoming owner,
Mr. Lynett devoted all his energies to the development of The Times, and its
character, circulation and prestige steadily advanced. In 1901 more ample
quarters became necessary, and Mr. Lynett erected the present Times Building,
in which he installed a complete newspaper and job printing equipment, in all
respects adequate for every modern need. Beginning with The Times when
its circulation was a scant three thousand, the smallest of any paper in the city,
he advanced it to 40,000 copies, more than that of all other city newspapers
combined. Such success affords ample evidence of Mr. Lynett's possession
of every quality necessary to a leader in journalism in a peculiarly insistent day
— literary ability, integrity of purpose, and business ability. Honest and fear-
less, even aggressive when need be, he has at all times championed the in-
terests of the people at large, defending them in their rights and earnestly con-
tending for the remedying of their wrongs. His public spirit has constantly
been reflected in The Times in the initiation and furtherance of various salu-
tary measures and enterprises, and with entire unselfishness he has ever heart-
ily seconded every laudable effort to similar ends, no matter by whom conceived
or urged. While the material reward has not been meagre, his greatest pride
is, in the true spirit of the conscientious journalist, that he is recognized as the
maker of a clean, honest and well appreciated newspaper, the most popular
and most liberally supported in the city.
While The Times is his first care, Mr. Lynett has given useful personal
service to the community in various capacities. He was for three years a mem-
ber of the Dunmore borough school board : burgess of Dunmore borough for
two years ; was for thirteen years secretary of the Scranton poor district ;
member of the mine cave commission, 191 1- 13 ; and for several years a director
of the Associated Charities of Scranton. He is vice-president of the Dime
Savings Bank : president of the Paragon Plaster Company ; and is interested in
several other industrial and commercial companies. A Democrat in politics,
he has attended many party conventions ; he was also a delegate from his con-
gressional district in the Democratic national conventions of 1900 and 190S,
and a delegate-at-large in that of 1912. He is a communicant of St. Peter's
Roman Catholic Church ; was a delegate to the National Catholic Congress held
in Chicago in 1893 ; and is connected actively with various societies affiliated with
the church — the Catholic Club, Holy Name Society, and the Knights of Co-
lumbus. He is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks,
the Scranton Press Club, and the Scranton Club.
Mr. Lynett married, September 30, 1896. Nellie A. Ruddy, daughter of
Thomas and Elizabeth (Nallin) Ruddy, her father a merchant of Scranton.
Children: William R., born September 10, 1899; Elizabeth R.. June 23, 1903:
CITY OF SCRANTON loy
Edward J. Jr., July 25, 1906. The oldest son, William R., is a student at St.
Thomas College ; the other children attend the public schools.
EDWARD A. BURKE
The Burkes, old time residents of Pennsylvania, are represented in Scran-
ton by Edward A. Burke, the young, enterprising and capable member of the
banking firm of E. A. Burke & Company.
Edward A. Burke is a son of Michael J. and Bridget A. (Faddeu) Burke,
of Carbondale and Scranton. Michael J. Burke was for many years proprietor
of the Eureka House on Diamond avenue, and of the "Palace" on Lackawanna
avenue. He died in 1901, aged forty-four years
Edward A. Burke was born in Chicago, Illinois, .September 20, 1882. He
came to Scranton when a child with his parents and there has passed his subse-
quent life. He was educated at the Saint Cecelia Academy, and began busi-
ness life as a stenographer with I. F. Megargel, the first investment banker
to establish an office in Scranton. Mr. Megarge! was succeeded in business
by his son, Roy C. Megargel, Mr. Burke retaining the same position under the
son and his successors, as under the father and founder. He became thor-
oughly familiar with the investment business, mastering its every intricacy and
detail, fitting himself by experience and knowledge to conduct a similar business
for himself. In May, 1907, he formed the firm of E. A. Burke & Company,
investment bankers, now located in successful business on the ground floor of
the Traders National Bank Building. The firm make a speciality of bank
stocks and of all northeastern Pennsylvania securities, both stocks and bonds.
Mr. Burke has established a reputation among investors as a wise, careful and
judicious adviser and holds the confidence of a large clientele of investors.
He has been identified with the Northern Electric Street Railway since its
inception, assisting the company to finance the road through sale of bonds. The
phenomenal success of the road is well known and it has returned substantial
profits. He is a member of the Scranton Board of Trade and the Scranton
Club, taking active part in both. He has not only built up a good business on
solid principles, but has made for himself a host of business and social friends,
and is rated one of the rising young business men of the city which has been
his home since childhood.
Edward A. Burke married Anna, daughter of J. S. Rambo, of Norristovvn,
Pennsylvania. He has one daughter, Nancy. The family home of the Burkes
is at the Florence Apartments.
JOSEPH A. SINN
The Sinn family is an old one in Pennsylvania, having been seated there
for seven generations. The paternal ancestry of the family is German and the
name, with precisely the same spelling, persists in the German language to the
present time. The maternal ancestry traces to England. Chester county has
been the place of residence of all of the name ever since the arrival of the emi-
grant, Andrew C. Sinn, he being the first of the line to leave the immediate lo-
cality when he moved to Philadelphia in 1840 and there established a dry goods
business. He continued in this line until he was sixty years of age, when he
retired, accepting the presidency of the Merchants' National Bank, of Philadel-
phia, to which he devoted all of his time and talents during his remaining years.
He was a member of the Masonic Order and was past master of Perkins Lodge,
Free and Accepted Masons, of Philadelphia. He married Sarah Ann Pierce,
daughter of George Pierce, of Chester county, Pennsylvania.
no CITY OF SCRANTON
Joseph A. Sinn, son of Andrew C. and Sarah Ann (Pierce) Sinn, was born
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 17, 1854. His preliminary education
was obtained in the public schools of Philadelphia and his college training in
the law department of the University of Pennsylvania, whence he was grad-
uated LL. D. in the class of 1875. He engaged in the general practice of law
until 1866, when he was retained as trust officer of the City Trust Safe Deposit
and Surety Company, of Philadelphia, later becoming vice-president of the
same institution. In 1906 he was elected president of the Surety Underwriters
Association, of Philadelphia, and in that year severed his connection with the
former company. His presidency of the Underwriters Association continued
until 1908, when he came to Scranton, accepting the vice-presidency of the
Title Guaranty and Surety Company and the managership of the Surety de-
partment, an office he holds at the present time. Mr. Sinn is a member of the
Board of Trade and an earnest advocate of any measures tending toward the
ultimate benefit of his recently adopted city. He belongs to the Scranton Club,
the Country Club, the Underwriters Club, of New York, and the Union
League, of Philadelphia.
Mr. Sinn married Ella T. Wise, daughter of Jacob Wise, of Philadelphia,
and has three children: Clarence Wise, of New York City; Francis P., super-
intendent of the New Jersey Zinc Works at Palmerton, Pennsylvania ; Esthei'
M.
HON. JOHN P. KELLY
The Kellys trace to an ancient Irish ancestry. John Kelly, father of Judge
John P. Kelly, was born in county Down, Ireland, and there grtvi' to youthful
manhood, coming to the United States when twenty years of age. He was
employed by the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, at their brick yard in
Scranton from 1850 until about 1853, when he established in Olyphant, Penn-
sylvania, as a brick manufacturer, having thoroughly learned the business from
his first employers. He continued in successful business in Olyphant for sev-
eral years, then moved to Dickson, Pennsylvania, remaining there until 1873,
when he moved to Scranton, where he was proprietor of a hotel in Providence
for many years. He died in April, 1906, at the age of eightv-one years. In his
younger years he took an active part in politics. He married Ella Downey.
Judge John P. Kelly, son of John and Ella f Downey) Kelly, was born
in what is now the borough of Olyphant, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania,
January 30, 1862. His mother died when he was young, leaving the
care of the lad to his father, who never remarried, and his older brother and
sisters. He was educated in the public schools, passing through the various
grades and being graduated from Scranton High School, class of 1879. He
had formed an ambition for the law, and soon after graduation he entered
the law offices of Aretus H. Winton and John B. Collings, as a law student.
After thorough preparation he was admitted to the bar of Lackawanna county,
April 23, 1883. Soon after his admission he entered the office of John F. Con-
nolly, then district attorney of Lackawanna county. He continued as Mr.
Connolly's assistant in the district attorney's office until 1886, when the lat-
ter's term expired. They practiced law together, but not as partners, for two
years. In January, 1888, Mr. Kelly formed a partnership with Joseph O'Brien,
as O'Brien & Kelly, an association that continued until the election of Mr.
Kelly as district attorney, and at the expiration of his term he was elevated to
the bench. In 1891 he was elected district attorney of Lackawanna county on
the Democratic ticket, serving most creditably for one term, being defeated
for re-election by the great land slide that swept about every Democrat in
CITY OF SCRANTON in
Pennsylvania out of office. He resumed private practice, and as junior of the
firm of O'Brien & Kelly, became well known as a learned, aggressive and
successful lawyer. He was admitted to all state and federal courts of the dis-
trict, the firm having important cases in all. Mr. Kelly continued in successful
practice until 1900. acquiring high reputation as a learned and able lawyer.
On April 14, 1900, he was appointed judge of the Court of Common Pleas,
to succeed Judge Gunster, deceased. In the fall of 1900 he was regularly
elected judge to serve the full term of ten years. His career upon the bench
was an honorable one and continued without interruption until January 1,
1908, when he voluntarily resigned, laying aside his judicial honors to return
to the private practice of his profession. He again became a partner of the
law firm of O'Brien & Kelly and, has so continued, honored, respected and
popular. As attorney he has been connected with many important cases, while
as a judge he was called upon to decide many intricate legal questions out
of the ordinary. He gained a high reputation for judicial fairness in his hear-
ing of cases and left the bench with the good will and respect of the entire
bar. As an advocate he is eloquent and forcible, using his deep knowledge of
the law and his powers of oratory with telling effect in his pleadings. He is
aggressive in his legal fights, but eminently fair to an opponent, winning his
cases by preponderance of evidence and masterly presentation of his carefully
prepared attacks and defences.
A lifelong Democrat, Judge Kelly has ever been active in political affairs.
In November, 1888, he was the successful candidate of his party for the
legislature from the first district of Lackawanna county, serving his full term
with honor. He is the father of the bill, which largely does away with con-
tested election cases, and aided in the passage of much useful legislation
passed during his term of office.
Judge Kelly married Theresa E., daughter of Daniel B. Brair.ard, deceased,
a one time owner of the Saint Charles Hotel in Scranton. Children : Louise,
Marion, Margaret, Elizabeth. The family home is at No. 920 Olive street,
the office of O'Brien & Kelly, Nos. 510-515 Mears Building.
JAMES ALBERT LANSING
To James Albert Lansing, the prominent stove manufacturer of Scranton, is
accorded the unusual ancestral distinction of a descent of nine generations,
both maternally and paternally, from the two races which, more than any
others, played a conspicuous part in the development of the American continent,
who founded the strongest legal codes, fostered the deepest religious convic-
tions, and built up the most flourishing and permanent communities in the
new world — the English and Dutch. The progenitor of the branch of the
family of which James Albert Lansing is a member was Gerrit Frederick Lan-
sing, whose father, Frederick Lansing, was a native of the village of Hassel,
Province of Overyssel, Holland. He came to America with his six children
in 1650. settling in New Amsterdam, then governed by the man so famous in
history, Peter Stuyvesant, who, in the exercise of his authority made himself
so odious to the colonists that he earned, beside their cordial dislike, the sobri-
quet, "Peter the Headstrong." A singular trait of family constancy is found
in the fact that since the first pulpit of the first Dutch Reformed church in
America was set up (an article of church furniture brought from Holland")
there has constantly been a Lansing in the consistory of the historic church at
Albany, New York, the house of worship attended by Theodore Roosevelt
while he was governor of the State of New York and residing in Albany.
The line of descent from the immigrant ancestor of the family to James Al-
112 CITY OF SCRANTON
bert Lansing is traced as follows: Gerrit Lansing (i), father of Hendrick G.
(2), father of Jacob (3), the first of the line on American soil. Jacob Lansing
married Helena, daughter of Frans Janse and Alida Pruyn. Their son Hen-
drick (4), born December i, 1703, married Annetye, daughter of Isaac and
Mayke (Van Nes) Onderkirk, of Kinderhook. At the death of his wife
Hendrick married second Metty, daughter of Abraham Onderkirk. Jacob H.
(5), third son of Hendrick and Annetye (Onderkirk) Lansing, was born April
4, 1742. died in Watervliet (now Cohoes), New York, February 7, 1826. He
married, in 1763, Maria, daughter of Johannes and Helen (Fonda) Onderkirk.
William (6), youngest child and only son of Jacob H. and Maria (Onderkirk)
Lansing, was born May 12, 1774, in Cohoes, died in Mayfield, New York, Jan-
uary 23, 1853. He married Alida Fonda. Jacob W. (7), was born in Cohoes,
September 7, 1795, died November 5, 1848; married Helena Wynkoop. Their
son, William J., was the father of James Albert Lansing.
The ancestry of Mr. Lansing in the maternal American line antedates the
paternal, and has a more stirring record, replete with patriotic deeds. Almira
Smith (Cornwall) Lansing, wife of William J. Lansing, was descended from
William Cornwall, a native of England, who emigrated from his native land
in the early part of the seventeenth century. He and his wife, Joan, are on
record as having joined the church at Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1633. In
May of the same year he was one of a band of seventy-seven soldiers, who, in
revenge for constant depredations, attacked and nearly exterminated the tribe
of Pequot Indians in their fort at Mystic, Connecticut. He was later, in 1654,
1664, and 1665, a representative to the colonial legislature of Connecticut from
Middletown. His son John was a sergeant in the militia at Bunker HilL
Benjamin, son of John, was one of fourteen volunteers who enlisted from
Middletown in the expedition against Canada in 1707. It is recorded that he
left an estate valued at nine thousand pounds. His son Cornelius, born in
1722, was a lieutenant in the militia, served in the French and Indian War
and participated in the siege of Quebec, under General Wolfe, in 1759. Ashbel,
son of Cornelius, was born in ^liddletown in 1754. He was a private in the
Revolution in 1775, fought in the battle of Bunker Hill, served with Benedict
Arnold in the expedition against Montreal, and was captain in the War of
1812-1814, marching with his company from Middletown, Connecticut, to
Sacketts Harbor, New York. His old powder horn is now in possession
of Mr. Lansing. Ashbel, son of Captain Ashbel Cornwall, was born in Mid-
dletown, Connecticut, in 1784, died in 1868, and was the father of Almira
Smith Cornwall, who became the wife of William J. Lansing and the mother
of James Albert Lansing.
William J. Lansing, was born in Cohoes, New York, August 12, 1818, died
in Champion, New York. January 29, 1864. He was a carriage maker by
occupation, a man of sterling integrity. Throughout his entire life he was
an exemplary adherent to the faith of his forefathers, and an attendant of
their church, the Dutch Reformed. Early in life a supporter of the Whig
party, his antipathy to human servitude made him an uncompromising Aboli-
tionist. At the formation of the Republican party, he allied himself there-
with, and cast his vote for John C. Fremont, its first presidential candidate,
casting his last ballot for Abraham Lincoln. He married Almira Smith Corn-
wall, born in Broadalbin, New York.
James Albert Lansing, son of William J. and Almira Smith (Cornwall)
Lansing, was born in Montague, Lewis county. New York, October 17, 1851,
Until he was thirteen years of age he attended the public schools, and at-
tracted by the school room, made excellent use of his opportunity for study.
At that age he left home to support himself, a task to which he set himself
I
CITY OF SCRANTON 113
with all of the energy and enthusiasm that has been so conspicuous in what-
ever he has attempted. For two years he did a man's work on a neighboring
farm, attending school for about two months in the middle of the winter,
when the weather was so inclement as to make outside labor impossible. He
then apprenticed himself to a tinsmith, under whom he so thoroughly mastered
his trade that, at the completion of his apprenticeship, his preceptor, then
his employer, offered to admit him into equal partnership in the business.
While grateful for the friendly interest shown and the generosity of the prop-
osition, inasmuch as he was without funds, Mr. Lansing decided to enter the
stove business as a traveling salesman. By this decision he entered into a line
in which he has achieved fortune and distinction, and was diverted both from
a tinsmith's life and that of a lawyer, the latter having always been his
favorite profession and one for which he had done some private preparatory
study.
Mr. Lansing's connection with Scranton and her interests began in Febru-
ary, 1882, when, in partnership with A. C. Fuller, he purchased a controlling
interest in the Scranton Stove Works, an industry founded in 1866 by several
of the citizens of Scranton who formed the circle of business men most prom-
inent in the city's enterprises. Colonel J. A. Price, J. J. Albright, J. Curtis
Piatt, H. S. Pierce, J. A. Linen, and William Connell. After the death of
Colonel Price, Mr. Lansing succeeded to the presidency of the company and
has held that office to the present time. During his regime a new plant, with
an output three times as large as the old foundry, has been built, and the loca-
tion moved from West Lackawanna avenue to its present advantageous site.
Additions have been made from time to time, until the Scranton Stove Works
is the most extensive exclusively stove manufactory in the east and one of the
largest in the world. The principal product is the celebrated Dockash brand
of stoves and ranges, whose reputation is country wide, and which are shipped
to nearly every foreign country.
Although a very busy man, Mr. Lansing contrives to give a great deal of
his time to interests outside of his own, although the task of directing such
a mammoth industry as his would more than occupy the time of an ordinary
man. He was one of the original directors of the Scranton Bolt and Nut
Company, and is now a director of the Scranton Knitting Mill and the Scran-
ton Hardware Company. In the public service he has also measured up
to the obligations of a citizen with the best good of his community at heart
and has given liberally of his time and service to his city. For six years he
was a member of the select council and was a member of the sinking fund
commission for several years after Scranton received its rating as a city of
the second class. The capacity in which he has been able to render the most
important services to the city was as president of the board of trade, and as
member of the manufacturer's committee of the same for the long period
of eighteen years. He was ever one of the board s most progressive mem-
bers, abounding in new ideas, and always led on to further endeavors by a
view of a larger, richer, better Scranton, the equal of the inland manufactur-
ing cities and a pride to the state. During his presidency of the board its pow-
ers were enlarged, its influence increased, and many new and now flourishing
industries encouraged in making the city their home. LTnder Mr. Lansing's
leadership the board of trade promulgated and brought to a successful con-
summation a work of nation-wide importance, influence, and benefit, for which
he and his colleagues received warm and hearty commendations from all parts
of the country ; that is. Mr. Lansing originated, and the board backed, a
movement resulting in the passage by Congress of an act providing for the
establishment of national banks of issue with a capital of $25,000 in towns
8
114 CITY OF SCRANTON
of less than three thousand population. The passage of the bill of our great
deliberative forum in the form in which it was presented by Mr. Lansing and
in which it emanated from the board is an eloquent testimonial to the knowl-
edge of financial conditions of its composer and testifies to the intelligent in-
terest taken by him in affairs of national importance. Broadminded, he per-
ceived the beneficial effects of this measure, which led to an appreciation of
the methods of the national banking system, and its extension of the smaller
towns in rural districts, a movement which eliminated many private banks,
instituting in their stead a more stable and uniform chain of banks under
government supervision.
The most recent recognition of Mr. Lansing's standing among those
engaged in stove manufacturing came in the form of his unanimous election
to the presidency of the National Association of Stove Manufacturers, as-
sembled in their forty-second annual convention at New York. The associa-
tion has within its membership nearly every prominent stove manufacturer in
the United States, representing capital of $75,000,000 and giving employment
to 25,000 men. His election to the presidency of this association, organized
for the common benefit of its members, is a marked tribute to the regard in
which he is nationally held by his associates in business and testifies to his
value in the councils of the organization.
Another proof of the amazing versatility of Mr. Lansing is the part b.e
plays in the religious life of Scranton. He is an elder of the Presbyterian
church and in the work of the Sabbath school has always assumed a heavy
load of responsibility, serving in the capacity of superintendent. It is here
that he has formed connections that will endear him to the hearts of Scranton's
citizens long after he and his generation have gone to immortal rest. Gentle
spirited and of a kindly nature, his warm, friendly and sympathetic manner
has won him many firm and fast friends among the young people of his Sun-
day school, upon whom the lofty example of his blameless life will leave a
lasting impression for good. To various benevolent and charitable institu-
tions he gives cheerful and liberal support. In his private philanthropy he has
been the agent by which many a man, disheartened and discouraged by the
"slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," has been lifted from the depths
of despondency and often much lower levels, and placed upon a plane leading
upward to higher and better things. Reckless giving, so often adding to the
degradation of the beneficiary, has had no part in his benevolences, all of the
favors he bestows having the aim of giving the recipient faith in the powers
he has lost. His political faith is Republican, and the principles of his party
he forcefully advocates, holding a firm position on the questions of the day in
regard to the protection of American industries and commerce. The business
and social organizations of which Mr. Lansing is a member are the Manu-
facturers' Club, of Philadelphia ; the Scranton and County Clubs, of Scranton ;
the New England Society, of Scranton ; the Pennsylvania Society, Sons of
the Revolution, of Philadelphia, and the Holland Society of New York.
He married. May 8, 1877, Mary Frances Waters, of Copenhagen, New
York, daughter of Lyman Twining and Sarah Jane (Shepherd) Waters, both
descendants of old New England families. They are the parents of one
daughter, Ruth, born February 14, 1892.
Of Mr. Lansing's rise to his present important and prominent station,
mention has been made, as also his devoted service to his church and in be-
half of his city's welfare. The facts have been cited, and it is only left to
point to the noble manner in which he has held true to the ideals of his family
cherished through so many generations, and how, the present day representa-
tive of illustrious forbears, has proven the steel of his name and brought
CITY OF SCRANTON 115
wealth, position, honor, and reputation to lay at the feet of the shrine that
begat him, the houses of Cornwall and Lansing.
BENJAMIN E. WATSON
A resident of Scranton since boyhood, Benjamin E. Watson, after passing
through various positions, is now the capable secretary and treasurer of the
Scranton Stove Works, one of the important industrial enterprises of the city.
He is a son of Charles and Jane (Baxter) Watson, who came to the United
States on their wedding trip, and to Scranton in about the year 1857. Jane
Baxter was a member of the Baxter family, famous in Glasgow as book pub-
lishers, her mother being buried in that city in the Baxter family burial plot.
Charles Watson was bom in Ayr, Scotland, there grew to manhood,
learned the carpenter's trade and immediately after his marriage came to the
United States, settling in Scranton, Pennsylvania. For a time after his loca-
tion here he followed his trade with the Dickson Manufacturing Company
and in the car shops of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, after
which he began business as a contractor and builder. In the latter capacity
he contracted for and built the wooden portion of all the depots on the Dela-
ware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad between Great Bend and Stroudsburg,
also the old Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Station in Scranton. He was
successful as a builder until the burning of his shop and ill health caused him
to abandon the city and remove to Flemington, New Jersey. There he lived
retired for a time, doing a little farming. Later in life he returned to Scranton
where he died in 1893 within a few days of his sixtieth birthday. He was
reared in the Presbyterian church but was affiliated with the Adams Avenue
Methodist Episcopal Church, and in New Jersey was superintendent of the
Sunday school. After his return to Scranton he became a member of the
Second Presbyterian Church, of which he was an elder. He was a member
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in all walks of life was an
honorable. Christian gentleman. His wife, Jane (Baxter) Watson, died in
1903 aged seventy-eight years. Children : Charles J., John G., James B.,
George W., Benjamin E., of whom further ; Robert M., deceased.
Benjamin E. Watson was bom in Flemington, New Jersey, February 9,
1868. He was educated in the public schools there and in Scranton, finishing a
high school course. He began business as clerk with the Green Ridge Coal
Company, but shortly afterward entered the employ of the Scranton Stove
Works as office assistant. In January, 1893, he was elected a director of the
company, on January 11, 1896, was elected secretary, and on June 10, 191 1,
was chosen treasurer, which position he now holds. During these years he
studied law under the direction of C. R. Bedford, of Scranton, and in Sep-
tember, 1900, was admitted to the Lackawanna county bar, but has not ac-
tively practiced his profession. He has given the office management of his
company his undivided energy, and in that department ranks with the most
capable of business men. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church,
is active in Sunday school work, serving as assistant superintendent. Mr.
Watson married, April 21, 1897, Jessie S., daughter of A. H. Coursen, of an
old Scranton family. Children: Benjamin E. and Catherine A. The family
home is at No. 709 Madison avenue.
HERSCHEL J. HALL
The Hall family of Rhode Island, a most ancient and honorable one, re-
mained in New England several generations, Jonathan Hall, great-grandfather
ii6 CITY OF SCRANTON
of Herschel J. Hall, of Scranton, being the first of this branch to settle in
Pennsylvania. He located at Abington, purchasing land from the government,
and there spent his after life engaged in farming and lumbering, owning a
saw mill, converting into lumber the trees cut from his own lands.
(H) Jabez G. Hall, son of Jonathan Hall, was born in Abington and there
died in 1883 aged eighty-three years. He was a farmer, and for many years
was collector of taxes for his township. He married Laura Callender, seven
of their sons serving in the Union army during the war between the states.
(HI) Byron G. Hall, son of Jabez G. Hall, was born in Abington in 1837,
died June 6, 1912. He grew to manhood at the home farm, then for twenty-
five years engaged in the butcher business, finally returned to his early occupa-
tion, farming, although he continued to conduct a small meat business. He
served as burgess for several years, a member of council and school director,
serving faithfully in every position in which placed. He enlisted in the Union
army with his six brothers, and was engaged in several skirmishes preceding
the battle of Gettysburg. He and his family were all members of the Baptist
church, he serving many years as trustee. He married Catherine Kirkman,
daughter of John Kirkman, he born in Cornwall, England, his daughter in
Yonkers, New York ; children : Edward L., Thomas G., Robert B., Herschel J.
(IV) Herschel J. Hall, youngest son of Byron G. and Catherine (Kirk-
man) Hall, was born in Scott township, Lackav.'anna county, Pennsylvania,
May 13, 1865. He attended the public schools of Abington. finishing his
studies at a business college in Delaware, Ohio. Pie began business life in
Dickson City, Pennsylvania, holding his first position under John Jermyn, con-
tinuing with him eighteen months, then for six months was in the employ of
the Scranton Supply and Machinery Company and with Dale & Company
about three months. At the expiration of the latter period he began his as-
sociation with the Scranton Lace Curtain Company, acting first as bookkeeper.
Two years later the company was reorganized under its present name and
management, Mr. Hall being advanced to the post of secretary, and in 1913
was appointed to the additional responsibilities of assistant treasurer. He al;o
holds these same positions in the Scranton Lace Company, a corporation
formed to act as selling agents for the factory output of the Scranton Lace
Curtain Company. He is also a director of the Byxbee Publishing Company,
of Chicago. Mr. Hall possesses the essential qualities of the modern success-
ful business man ; has risen to his important position in the business through
his own force of character and in winning his way has also won the respect
and esteem of his associates. He is an active member of Abington Baptist
Church and with his wife is useful in the Sunday school and missionary work
of the church, he being one of the deacons and the efficient superintendent
of the Sunday school. Mr. Hall married Rene Shedd, daughter of Walter
Shedd, of Kankakee, Illinois.
BENJAMIN B. HICKS
On arriving from England at an early date the Hicks emigrant settled near
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and later the family located in Columbia county,
where the name is perpetuated in "Hicks Ferry" established in the year 1800
by Mahlon Hicks, grandfather of Benjamin B. Hicks, of Scranton, and yet
in existence.
Mordecai Millard Hicks, son of Mahlon Hicks, was born at Willow Grove,
Columbia county, Pennsylvania, died in 1904, aged seventy-two years. Though
originally of a Quaker family, Mordecai Willard Hicks became a pillar of
strength in the Methodist Episcopal Church at Willow Grove, serving as steward.
CITY OF SCRANTON 117
trustee and for many years as class leader, his wife also being an active church
worker. He was a farmer all his active years, and an active member of the
Patrons of Husbandry. He married Harriet M., daughter of William Stahl,
of Briar Creek, Pennsylvania. Five of their seven children grew to man and
womanhood : Minnie, married Benjamin F. Hicks ; Alice, married S. W. Kel-
cher; Samuel H., Benjamin B. ; Susan, married C. H. Kline, of Bloomsburg,
Pennsylvania.
Benjamin B. Hicks, youngest living son of Mordecai Millard and Harriet
M. (Stahl) Hicks, was born at Willow Grove, Columbia county, Pennsylvania,
December 8, 1864. He grew to manhood at the home farm, and obtained a
good education in the public schools of Willow Grove. He continued his
father's assistant at the farm until 1884, then left home and spent the follow-
ing summer at Light Street, Pennsylvania. The next year he entered the
employ of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company at Ply-
mouth, Luzerne county, first as a helper in the freight house. In about a year
he won promotion to the position of baggage master, later being appointed
assistant ticket agent. In 1890 he came to Scranton as transcript clerk for
the L'nited States Express Company, later becoming cashier, a position he
held three years. In 1893 he began his twenty years association with the Third
Natonal Bank of Scranton, beginning as clerk and bookkeeper. He won his
way steadily upward until 1909, when he was elected cashier, which respon-
sible position he now holds. In matters religious, he has not departed from
the example and early teaching of his honored parents, but is a valued and
useful member of the Elm Park Methodist Episcopal Church. Active in all
departments of church work his especial interest has ever been in the Sunday
school which he has served as assistant superintendent for twenty years. He
is also a member of the official board, chief usher, collector of pew lents and
always ready to lend a helping hand whenever needed. His wife is a co-
worker in the church, active in missionary work, and in women's special de-
partments. Mr. Hicks is a member of Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and
Accepted Masons, and of the Order of Heptasophs. In political faith he has
always been a Republican. A trusted bank official, an upright citizen, and a
valued friend, Mr. Hicks has fairly earned the general esteem in which he is
held.
Mr. Hicks married, September 9, 1891, Lydia M. Shaffer, daughter of
Samuel U. Shaffer, of Plymouth, Pennsylvania. Children : Millard Utley
and Harriet Elizabeth. The family home is at No. 220 Colfax avenue, Scran-
ton.
RICHARD J. MATTHEWS
Of English birth and parentage, Mr. Matthews has been a resident of
Pennsylvania since 1841. when as a child of three years he was brought by
his parents to Honesdale. Since i860 he has been engaged in business in
Scranton, where the name is a household word, through the long and active
business relations of Matthews Brothers and Matthews & Sons. For over
a half a century Matthews Brothers have been wholesale and retail dealers
in drugs, paints and oils, one of the original founders of the firm, Charles P.
Matthews, later withdrawing and is now the head of the wholesale flour, feed
and grain firm, C. P. Matthews & Sons. The present firm of Matthews
Brothers, wholesale and retail dealers in drugs, paints and oils, is a corpora-
tion, Richard J. Matthews selling his interest to a nepliew, Walter L. Mat-
thews, treasurer of the present company; Charles W. Matthews being presi-
dent ; both are sons of the original partners, Charles P. and William Matthews,
Ii8 CITY OF SCRANTON
which after fifty-six years from its founding passed out of existence as a
partnership, beginning its corporate existence, February 19, 1913.
The memory of the oldest inhabitant hardly carries back to a period when
one of the name of Matthews was not connected with the mercantile interests
of Scranton, yet Richard J. Matthews, whose career follows, gives no un-
usual evidence or his years, seventy-five, or of his over half a century of
active business life, so perfect in his health and so active his mind.
Robert Matthews and his wife, Ann (Henwood) Matthews, both of Corn-
wall, England, came to the United States about 1841 with sons, William,
Charles P., Richard J., and daughter, Elizabeth. He did not come in pursuit
of fortune, as he was an educated gentleman of means, but rather perhaps
to give his sons the advantages a new country like this offers to young men.
He located at Honesdale, Pennsylvania, where he purchased land, engaging in
its management and operation by tenant farmers or hired labor.
Richard J- Matthews obtained a good education in public and private
schools and remained at home in Honesdale until 1858, when he obtained a
position in a bank in New York and spent about one year in that city. In
i860 he came to Scranton where for about a year he was clerk for his brother,
Charles P. Matthews, who had a store where the Fuller P>uilding now stands.
In 1861 Richard J. Matthews purchased an established retail drug store in
Providence, which he conducted for nine years. He then returned to Scran-
ton, joining his brothers, William and Charles P., who were conducting a
wholesale drug, paint and oil business under the firm name of Matthews
Brothers, the original business having been established by Chs.rles P. Mat-
thews in 1857. About 1871 he retired from the firm, Richard J. and William
continuing. William Matthews at this time was also manager of the People's
Street Railway Company, consequently the burden of management of Mat-
thews Brothers fell upon the younger brother, Richard J., who, however, was
fully equal to the task. While in the early years the business was small, it
constantly increased until a force of twenty-eight men is required in its
operation. It is the oldest drug liouse in Northeastern Pennsylvania and has a
well established trade in the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valleys. The pres-
ent building at No. 320 Lackawanna avenue, was erected prior to 1870. Then
until January i, 1913, the firm consisted of Charles W., a son of William
Matthews, and Richard J. Matthews, the only member of the original finn
then connected with the business. While the principal burden of business
was allowed to rest upon the shoulders of the younger man, the elder partner
was actively "in the harness" and still has important official connection with
other Scranton institutions. He is president of the Black Diamond Silk Com-
pany and director of the Title, Guarantee and Trust Company. He attends
the First Presbyterian Church, and is a director of the Pennsylvania Oral
School for Deaf Mutes, an institution in which be takes a great interest. In
political preference he is a Republican.
Richard J. Matthews married, March 8, 1864. Imogene Leach, of Provi-
dence. Pennsylvania. Six children : Anna, married Joseph J. H. S. Lynch ;
Flora L. : Mary, married George P. Griffith Jr. ; Alice, married W. H. Storrs,
deceased ; Helen ; Burton.
RALPH A. AMERMAN
Amerman is a name well known in the legislative annals of Pennsylvania,
and connected prominently with one of the most far-reaching beneficial acts
ever passed in the state i. e. : The Free School Bill, of which Lemuel Amerman,
father of Ralph A. Amerman, was the legislative father. Prior to his valuable
'Lemuel i^^ I
ttierinan
CITY OF SCRANTON ug
public service, his father, Jesse C. Amerman, a dairy farmer near Danvilk.
Pennsylvania, served several years in the Pennsylvania legislature, as a Demo-
crat. Jesse C. Amerman was also a veteran of the Civil War, attaining the
rank of sergeant-major.
Lemuel Amerman was a graduate of Mansfield State Normal School,
and of Bucknell College, and prior to his legal study was a teacher in the
former institution. He read law with James A. Gordon, of Philadelphia, and
after his admission to the bar located in Scranton, where he was active and
prominent in law, politics and business. He was prominent in the develop-
ment of water privileges of his section, holding directorship in the Spring
Brook, Mansfield, Minooka and Rendaham water companies. He was a
Democrat in politics, and for several years clerk of the Pennsylvania house of
representatives. He was later elected a member of the house from Scranton.
and among the important bills he fathered and championed was the acl
providing for free public instruction. He also served a term in Congress.
His public career was long and honorable, and the results of his wisdom and
public spirit will continue until "time shall be no more." He was also promin-
ent in the legal profession, and served several years as city solicitor of Scran-
ton. He was an active member of the congregation of Emmanuel Baptist
Church, and also interested in Sunday school work, serving as superintendent.
He married Mary Van Nort, of Scranton, who bore him a son, Ralph A., and
a daughter, Mary, now the wife of Frederick Lewis, of Norfolk, Virginia.
Ralph A. Amerman, only son of Lemuel and Mary (Van Nort) Amerman.
was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, May 19, 1884. He attended the public
schools of Scranton and Worcester Academy (Massachusetts), then entered
Cornell LIniversity, taking at the latter institution the civil engineering
course. After finishing his college course and arriving at legal age, he as-
sisted in the organization of the Scranton Real Estate Company, and from
1905 until 1908 was engaged in the service of that company. In 1908 he
organized the Scranton Automobile Company for the promotion and sale of
the Buick car. He is the general agent for the Buick car in Northeastern
Pennsylvania, having sub-agents thoroughly covering the territory. The
company also was engaged in the sale of auto accessories and maintained an
extensive repair department. He also has other extensive business affairs,
including the Scranton Taxicab Company, of which he is president. His
college fraternity is Kappa Sigma (Cornell); his secret fraternities: Lodge.
Chapter, Commandery, Shrine and Consistory of the Masonic Order ; clubs,
the Scranton, Country, Press, Bicycle, Temple. A true son of his honored
father, he is interested in both church and education, serving as trustee of
Emmanuel Baptist Church ; president of the board of trustee of Keystone
Academy and trustee of Bucknell University. Mr. Amerman married Ada.
daughter of Rev. John S. Wrightnour, pastor of the First Baptist Church,
of Scranton. The family home is at No. 537 Monroe avenue.
JOSEPH F. KELLER
Descendant of a sturdy German emigrant, who settled prior to the Revolu-
tion in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, Joseph F. Keller, of Scranton,
inherits a legacy of patriotism, devotion to duty and manly character. These
traits have been strongly manifested in preceding generations and have not
been lost in the transmission to the present representative of the family.
The emigrant Keller fought in the Revolution, for the cause of liberty,
was captured by the British at Marcus Hook and in his suffering kindled in
the blood a spirit that blazed forth in his grandson, Theodore Keller, a soldier
I20 CITY OF SCRANTON
of the Civil War, captured at Gettysburg and confined at the Confederate
prison at Belle Isle. But the martial spirit thus transmitted has been tempered
by a generation of peaceful pursuits, tlie second generation having been
farmers.
The grandfather of Joseph F. Keller, born in Cherry Valley. Monroe
county, Pennsylvania, on the paternal farm, there lived, died and was buried,
an old man of eighty-five years. He was a prominent man in his locality, a
pillar and liberal supporter of the German Reformed Church, commissioner
of roads and school director. His wife, Elizabeth (Heller) Keller, was also a
native of Cherry \'alley.
Theodore Keller, of the third generation in Pennsylvania, was born in
Cherry Valley, Monroe county, April 26, 1842. He learned the trade of wheel-
wright and for many years followed that and house carpentry. In 1883 he
settled in Dunmore, and shortly afterward entered the employ of the Dixon
Manufacturing Company, with whom he remained seventeen years, then re-
turned to his trade. He and his family worship in the Methodist Episcopal
Church. During the war between the states he enlisted in Company C, One
Hundred and Fifty-third Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and
fought in all the battles in which his regiment was engaged until Gettysburg,
where he was captured, taken South and held a prisoner at Belle Isle. He is a
member of Griffin Post. No. 139, G. A. R. Theodore Keller married Martha,
daughter of Abel Staples, of Beaver Valley, Pennsylvania, of ? family that
also traces in Pennsylvania to the days of the Revolution. Children (now
living): Lily; Harriet, married Arthur Spencer, of Dunmore; Joseph F. ;
May, wife of Richard Angwin, of Dunmore
Joseph F. Keller, son of Theodoie and Martha (Staples) Keller, was born
at Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, November 12, 1873. Until fifteen vears of age
he attended public school, then spent three years en the Wagner cattle ranch
in Texas. He then came to Scranton, and began learning the carpenter's
trade, continuing as a journeyman four years after finishing his apprentice-
ship. He was ambitious and was determined to obtain more than a knowledge
of the correct use of tools. He studied the principles of building construction
and read such books as treated on the strength of timber and builder's ma-
terials until he was capable of superintending the erection of important build-
ings, as well as becoming expert in the use of tools. In the pursuit of his call-
ing, he traveled all over the United States, and was superintendent in charge
of some important buildings, including some for the government in Wash-
ington. He worked from ocean to ocean in the large cities and gained a vast
fund of valuable experience on the different styles and quality of the buildings
he superintended. In 1897 he located permanently in Scranton as a building
contractor. In 191 1 he formed a partnership with Russel H Dean and as
Keller & Dean has conducted a most successful business, making a specialty
of fine residential and factory construction. The firm holds an enviable posi-
tion as competent, reliable builders, and have executed many important con-
tracts. In his relations with his employees, Mr. Keller is just to a point of
generosity, straining every point possible in their favor. He possesses the
perfect confidence of his men, who know their interests are carefully con-
sidered. As a result he has a loyal corps of good workmen always at his
command and is able to better estimate on the time clause of many of his con-
tracts, a most important item on which important contracts are often awarded.
Still a young man, Mr. Keller deserves the highest encomiums for the position
he has attained as a contractor and builder. He has displayed an energy and
ambition to rise that has not brought him mfluential friends, but has made
his further rise in the building world certain. He is a Republican in politics.
CITY OF SCRANTON 121
and an attendant of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a member of
the Independent Order of Heptasophs. Mr. Keller married, January 12,
1903. Myrtle Irene, daughter of Byron Davis, of Dunmore, and has a daugh-
ter, Elizabeth Virginia.
FRANCIS O. MEGARGEE
To the }ilegargee family, of Scranton. there is accorded the double honor
of being descended from an ancestor whose voyage to America was made
with the leader of the Society of Friends in America, William Penn, and of
having continued in the family for a century and a half the art of paper
making. The first, an accident of birth and residence, is nevertheless a satis-
faction to those caring for the prestige attached to antiquity of family, while
the second reflects credit upon those of the name who perpetuated the trade
instituted as a family occupation so many years ago. The original home of
the Megargees was in the south of Ireland where the terminal letter was "1",
instead of "e". . With a strength of conscience and a simplicity of character
that has characterized the family through the entire descent, the American
father of this branch of the Megargees cast his lot with Penn's band of
Quakers and resolutely set his face toward the West, expecting to find there.
in the wilderness beyond the sea, not only a richer home, but a new land and
free, where each man might live out his own salvation, unbound by the be-
liefs or actions of his neighbors.
Jacob Megargee, grandfather of Francis O. Megargee, was a native paper
manufacturer and inn keeper of Rising Sun, Philadelphia. His son, Sylves-
ter Jacob Megargee, was born in Philadelphia in 1817. He engaged all his
life in the business instituted by his father, the paper manufacturing, in which
he was very successful. Book paper was the line in which he specialized. In
1876 he retired from active participation in any enterprise and lived a quiet
and peaceful life until his death in 1880, aged sixty-three years. He married
Ann V. Gafifney, bom in Baltimore, Maryland. Of their eight children, four
are living, two in Scranton. Children: Sylvester Edwin, of Philadelphia:
Charles G., of Florida ; Bernard B. : Francis Octavius.
Francis Octavius Megargee, son of Sylvester Jacob and Ann V. (Gaf?ney)
Megargee, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 10, 1862, died
September 3, 1914, at his home in Dunmore. He obtained his education in a
private school in Philadelphia, in La Salle College, from which he graduated
and in the Ross Military .-Vcademy. and soon after the completion of his
studies entered the employ of the Megargee Brothers, the leading paper
manufacturing house in Philadelphia, as commercial traveler. He had been
with this firm for about six years, when they discontinued business, Mr. Me-
gargee accepting a position with I. M. Megargee & Company. The business
of this firm was the same as that of the one by which he had been previously
employed, and after four and a half years service, Mr. Megargee came to
Scranton, November i, 1890, where he was a member of the firm of Megargee
Brothers in the general paper business. He and his brother. Bernard B., who
comprised the firm, opened headquarters in the Burr building, and the busi-
ness greatly expanded, becoming the leader in that line not only in Scranton
but all through Northeastern Pennsylvania and parts of New York state.
His business interests were as vice-president of the International Poultry
Supply Company of Brown's Mills, New Jersey, and director of the First Na-
tional Bank of Dunmore. of which he was an organizer. He was mainly re-
sponsible for the organization of the Scranton Poultry .\ssociation, and the
popularizing of poultry raising. In that field he was an expert. His social
122 CITY OF SCRANTON
connections were with the Scranton Club, the Green Ridge Club, the Press
Club, and the Canoe Club. He was a member of Si. Paul's Rcma.T Catholic
Church, of which his wife is also a member.
Mr. Megargee married, June 29, 1899, Katlierine, daughter of William
W. Haggerty, of Philadelphia. She was the principal of the commercial de-
partment of the Central High School, of Scranton. Children : Francis S.,
Katherine B., Robert W., Ann E., Marjorie F., Edwin Irvin. ]\Ir. Megargee
was a popular figure in Scranton society, a progressive, public spirited, un-
selfish citizen.
EDWARD EISELE
Edward Eisele, city controller of Scranton, is a descendant of an old Ger-
man family, whose presence in the United States dates back but one generation.
His father, John F. Eisele, was born in Selinger, Wurtemberg, Germany, in
1830. He there attended the elementary schools and the gymnasium, learning
the tailor's trade. When a young man he came to New York and there follow-
ing his trade, of which he was a skilled master, until 1855. He then came to
Scranton, continuing in the pursuit of his occupation until his retirement, and
still making that place his residence (although he ilid not follow his calling for
many years), until his death September 26. 1913, aged eighty-three years.
With his wife he was a member of the German Lutheran church, at whose
services both were regular attendants. He belonged to Alliance Lodge No. 540,
L O. O. F., in which he was past grand, and for twenty-five years was treas-
urer of that organization.
He married Katherine Durner. and of this union twelve children were
born, of whom five are living: J. George, general salesagent of the Delaware
and Hudson Coal Company, resides in Scranton ; Louisa M., married Emanuel
Fitzelman, deceased, of Scranton ; John F., Jr. ; Charles W., of Flint, Michi-
gan ; Edward, of further mention.
Edward Eisele, son of John F. and Katherine (Durner) Eisele, was born
in Scranton, Pennsylvania. July 11, 1875. He attended the public schools in
his youth and after discontinuing his studies worked at various industries at
one time being employed in a boiler shop. He then engaged in office work,
and was in the office of City Treasurer Robinson from 1899 to 1902, and later
in the office of the city controller. He there gained the experience that has
been so valuable to him in discharging the duties of the office of city controller,
which he has held since April, 1905. His rise to that position has been the
result of his constant application to the acquiring of a perfect knowledge ot
the duty at hand. While acting in the capacity of clerk in the office of which
he is now the head, there was no detail of the routine that escaped his vigilant
notice, and when the office of city controller was left vacant, he was the logical
choice. He performs his public duties thoroughly and conscientiously, an up-
right and incorruptible official. In the full vigor of youth, his opportunity for
still further exploration and conquest in political circles is great, and it is not
likely that he will disregard it. Mr. Eisele is a member of Schiller Lodge, No.
345, F. and A. M.; of Alliance Lodge. No. 340, I. O. O. F., of which he is
past grand: and the Liederkranz, in which he held the office of financial secre-
tary for seven years. With his wife, he is a communicant of the German
Lutheran church.
He married Rose, daughter of Herman Hagen, of Scranton. Children :
Ruth and Edward, Jr.
CITY OF SCRANTON 125
HUGH A. DAWSON
The aphorism to the effect that "the earth is our mother" is famihar to all.
and reasoning to fundamentals it is an indisputable fact that all of our neces-
sities, comforts and luxuries come to us from this source. There are no more
striking examples of maternal prodigality in the bestowing of gracious favors
than in the cases of those to whom Mother Earth has opened the treasuie
stores of her bosom and given entrance to inestimable riches. Hugh A. Daw-
son, of this chronicle, is one who has been a beneficiary of her lavish generosity,
his prosperity and success having come through the seizure of opportunity
thus freely offered.
This branch of the Dawson family of which he is a member is of Irish
ancestry, the home of all of the name having been county Kilkenny, Ireland,
whence came William Dawson at the age of eighteen years. He first lo-
cated at Paterson, New Jersey, and there followed the trade of an iron moulder
until 1884, moving in that year to Scranton, Pennsylvania, entering the employ
of the Dickson Manufacturing Company. He had ever been a strong sup-
porter of the Republican party, and in 1896, when he was elected city as-
sessor for a term of three years, he resigned his position with the Dickson
Company to fulfill the duties of the ofifice. At the expiration of his term lie
accepted a clerkship in the state banking department at Harrisburg and after
five years of service was promoted to chief clerk, remaining in that position
eight years. In ic)i2 he returned to Scranton, and is now clerk in charge of
the state tax in the office of the county commissioners. He married Anna L..
daughter of Hugh Kennedy, of Scranton. Of their nine children, six reached
maturity: John J., Hugh A., of further mention, William M., James J., Alice
M., Anna M.
Hugh A. Dawson, third son and child of William and Anna L. (Kennedy)
Dawson, was born in Scranton, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, July 24,
1884. He attended the public schools of Scranton, including the high school.
and for one year engaged in study at the Young Men's Christian Association
night school, later taking a one year course in the civil engineering department
of the University of Pennsylvania. He then accepted a position with the Dela-
ware and Hudson Company in the mining engineering department, his term
of service covering a period of five years, from 1903 to igo8, in which time he
was advanced from the position of chainman to that of division draughtsman.
In the latter year he resigned to attend to the details of the incorporation of
the Clearview Coal Company, of which, in partnership with L. B. Landau, he
was a promoter. The company was organized in igo8 with L. B. Landau,
president and general manager, and Hugh A. Dawson, treasurer and superin-
tendent. The field of operation of the company is a lease held from the
heirs of Giles Robinson, probably the last of the coal fields in that locality to
come under lease. The concern employs on an average 200 hands, and has
an output of 100,000 tons of coal annually. The sale of the product is largely
local, although part of the output is shipped to New York and New England.
The officers of the company were F. M. Van Horn, of New York, presidenc,
F. P. Christian, treasurer and general manager, and Hugh A. Dawson, superin-
tendent. In 191 3 he negotiated the sale of the company to a syndicate headed
by F. P. Christian and was retained by them as general superintendent. Mr.
Dawson fills his position as active director of the business with a great deal
of ability, making himself personally acquainted with all the operations, from
the digging of the ore to the shipping to the consumer. In this manner he i-^
able to adjust all difficulties that may arise quickly and satisfactorily, where
as an employer whose knowledge was limited to the number of men engaged
124 CITY OF SCRANTON
and their wages would be compelled to depend upon a subordinate of doubtful
reliability. His popularity with those engaged in his line of activity is shown
by his election as secretary of the United Mine Workers in 1903. In political
belief he is a Republican, holding the office of judge of electors in his district
for several years. In May, 1913. he was nominated for representative to the
state legislature on the Republican ticket by the largest majority ever given a
candidate in this district. .As the district is normally Republican by 1,000
majority his election in November is a foregone conchision.
Mr. Dawson is a member of the Greek letter fraternity. Alpha Tau Omega.
Pennsylvania. Tau Chapter; the Railroad Young ;\Ien's Christian Association,
the Engineers' Club of Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Scranton Club, the
Scranton Press Club, the Scranton Bicycle Club, of which he is a director, the
Knights of Columbus, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and
Lackawanna Institute of History and Science. Mr. Dawson married Margaret,
daughter of P. F. Weir, of Scranton, a teacher in the graded schools.
Judging entirely from his successful career in the coal business, a highly
useful and prosperous career may be predicted for Mr. Dawson in the wider
fields of endeavor to which he will be called. Not yet thirty years of age, he
holds a position of responsibility that would justify the efforts of a much older
and more experienced man.
ELLSWORTH KELLY
In common with many other Scranton families founded there at the open-
ing of the vast and valuable coal fields in the contiguous region, the Kellys are
of Welsh descent. James Kelly, grandfather of Ellsworth Kelly, came to the
L^nited States from Mountain Ash, Wales, in about 1865, bringing with him
his wife and his son, John H., and locating at Scranton. Here James Kelly
obtained employment in the mines of the neighborhood and spent his entire life.
(II) John H. Kelly, son of James Kelly, was born in Mountain Ash,
Wales, November 27, 1855. He was but a lad when his parents brought him to
this country and he was immediately placed in the public schools. In early
young manhood he learned the stone moulder's trade, following that occupation
for many years. On June i, i88g, when David M. Jones was postmaster of
Scranton, he received an appointment as mail carrier in the Scranton office.
After twenty-five years of active service, during which time regularly and
promptness have characterized the performance of his every official duty, he is
still in the government employ, a remarkable record of fidelity. Mr. Kelly's
religious convictions are Baptist, and he is a deacon and trustee of the First
Welsh Baptist Church. He is an honored member of the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, and is past grand of Silurian Lodge. For over twenty years
he has handled the finances of the lodge as treasurer and is now past district
deputy grand master. He is also a member of the memorial committee of
the Grand Lodge, and at the expiration of his third decade of service in the
lodge, his home organization presented him with a medal in commendation of
his long and useful career in the fraternity. He married Jane Evans, daugh-
ter of John W. Evans. Of their six children tlie following four attained
maturity: Bertha, a school teacher in Scranton; Norma; Ellsworth, of further
mention ; Ruth.
(III) Ellsworth Kelly, son of John H. and Jane (Evans) Kelly, was born
in Scranton, Pennsylvania, October 27, 1884. He acquired his education in the
public schools of the city, and until he attained his majority was emploved in
various capacities on the staff of The Republican. His political career be-
gan May 28, 1905, when he was appointed clerk in the department of public
(^-fi_<uok^-ru^^
/
CITY OF SCRANTON
I2q
works. So efficient was he in the discharge of his duty and so rapidly did he
famiharize himself with the method and system of the office that on Decem-
ber I, 1906, about a year and a half after his entrance into the public works
department, he was appointed chief clerk. It was while serving the city in
this capacity that he became a candidate for the city clerkship and, victorious
in the election, he entered upon the duties of his new office, January 2, 1912.
He was re-elected city clerk at the reorganization of council held January j,
1914. Although only having held the position for a short time, he has proven
an able clerk, thoroughness and system predominating in all departments of
his work. Mr. Kelly is prominent fraternally. He is a member of the Masonic
Order, holding the thirty-second degree, belonging to the Keystone Consistory,
Sovereign Princes of the Royal Secret. He is also a Noble of Irem Temple,
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. His other relations are with Lodge No. 123,'
B. P. O. E. ; Hyde Park Lodge, Knights of Pythias; Green Ridge Camp,'
Modern Woodmen of America ; Washington Camp, No. 178, P. O. S. A. The
Scranton Athletic Club and Columbia Hose and Chemical Company, No. 5, of
which he is president, number him among their members. In religious belief
he is claimed by the faith of his father, and is a communicant of the First
Welsh Baptist Church.
THOMAS MOORE
Thomas Moore is of the second generation of the name attaining promi-
nence in the financial and mercantile departments of Scranton's industrial
activity. Thomas Moore, the elder, came of a family who had been school
masters for generations. Because of his father's profession, Thomas Moore,
the elder, was granted an exceedingly thorough and remarkably wide education,
without doubt the best that could be obtained outside of the walls of a uni-
versity. Early in life he entered the employ of a firm engaging in the dry goods
business, and when he had about attained his majority he came to New York
City, there establishing in the dry goods business, and remaining until 1866.
In that year he came to Scranton, and after a short period of independent deal-
ing in his business, formed a partnership under the firm name of Moore &
Finley, an association that continued many years. For years the name was
synonymous with excellence and reliability to the shoppers of Scranton, and to
many of the leading merchants of the city in the present day the establish-
ment was a training school for their later careers, the fundamentals of every
lesson learned being fair dealing and courtesy in all transactions. He served
the Merchants and Mechanics Bank as vice-president for several years, his
name lending strength to the institution and confidence to its depositors.
Thomas Moore was a strong supporter of any movement tending to the educa-
tional uplift of the commtmity in which he lived and was especially active
in the management of the Keystone Academy at Factoryville, of which he
was president of the board of trustees. He was the donor of the dormitory,
occupied by the girls of the institution, known as Moore Memorial Hall. In the
various organizations of the Penn Avenue Baptist Church, to which both hi
and his wife belonged, he was an earnest and useful worker.
Mr. Moore was a generous, open-hearted Christian gentleman, returning
to the city much of his worldly goods derived therefrom, and held in universal
respect for the enviable record he had made in the mercantile world by his
unswervingly upright dealings. He married Mary Rodgers, of New York
City, and of their eight children two grew to maturity : Mary, married William
M. Marple, of Scranton; and Thomas, of further mention.
Thomas (2) Moore, son of Thomas (i) and Mary (Rodgers) Moore, wa>
126 CITY OF SCRANTON
born in New York City, and when a youth came with his parents to Scranton.
His education, preparing him for college, was obtained in this city, but ill
health prevented the further continuance of his studies and necessitated less
confinement than would have been possible had he pursued his original inten-
tions. He became interested in the Scranton Woodworking Company, manu-
facturers of cabinet work and interior finishings, remaining identified with this
firm until 1888, when the partnership of Norrman & Moore was formed,
general fire insurance being the field of operation selected by the partners as
the least crowded and most lucrative then oflfering. Hardly had the new firm
gotten well underway when Mr. Norrman 's death left Mr. Moore alone in the
business. In 1898 the pressure of work and the ever increasing needs of the
business for more close personal supervision caused Mr. Moore to form the
present firm of Moore & Foster. The new association was remarkably con-
genial and the success of their later enterprises is an encouraging courier of
greater future prosperity.
Mr. Moore is a thirty-second degree Mason, Ancient and Accepted Scottish
Rite, belonging to Keystone Consistory, Sovereign Princes of the Royal Secret,
and is a Noble of Lu Lu Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Philadelphia,
also a Knight Templar, of Melita Commandery. His other fraternal affilia-
tion is with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and his social rela-
tions with the Scranton Club, the Country Qub and the Green Ridge Club.
In his chosen line of endeavor Mr. Moore has acquired a reputation for
his stability and reliability in business dealings, the result of the care he has
exercised in associating himself only with propositions conducted upon a
strictly business basis. Moore & Foster, in insurance circles, are equalling the
name established a generation before by Moore & Finley, in mercantile circles ;
a notable achievement, indeed.
HENRY J. GUNSTER
The record of the Gunster family in Scranton is one of successful effort
in whatever undertaken. The founder of the family in Pennsylvania was
Joseph H. Gunster, born in Lockweiler, Germany, where he resided until the
age of twenty years, then came to the United States settling in Providence,
Pennsylvania, now a part of the city of Scranton. He learned the cabinet
makers' trade in his native land and after coming to Providence, worked with
David Harrington as journeyman for two years. He then established in busi-
ness for himself, having a shop on Penn avenue, where for about twelve years
he made fine furniture, becoming the leading furniture maker and dealer of
the town. He prospered and when the Merchants and Mechanics Bank was
organized, he became its first secretary. He continued with this institution until
the organization of the City Bank, in which he assisted. He later became
cashier of the City Bank, continuing some years, then sold his interest to
Dr. Throop and resigned. He then served one term as deputy treasurer of
Lackawanna county, and when the Scranton City Bank became involved he
was appointed assignee. After winding up the affairs of that bank and re-
ceiving his discharge from the court, Mr. Gunster retired from active life.
He was an able business man and a citizen above reproach. He stood high in
Masonic circles, was past master of Shiller Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ;
past high priest of Lackawanna Chapter, Royal Arch Masons and a sir knight
of Coeur de Lion Commandery, Knights Templar.
He married Lucina, daughter of Michael Lutts of Greenridge, Pennsyl-
vania. Children : Henry J., of whom further ; Charles W., see sketch ;
George N., of the firm of Gunster Brothers ; Lieutenant Walter E., of the
CITY OF SCRANTON 12-
United States army ; Arthur, member of the firm of Gunster Brothers. The
latter firm was established in 1888 as Gunster & Forsythe, operating a smal!
hardware and plumbing business. About 1902 Mr. Forsythe withdrew his in-
terest, it being purchased by George N. and Arthur Gunster and the name
changed to Gunster Brothers. At that time the firm employed three journey-
men, now thirty-five men are necessary to promptly fill their many contract;
in the installation of heating plants and the erection of heavy cornices and sky-
lights, both in Scranton and outside points.
Henry J. Gunster, eldest son of Joseph H. and Lucina (Lutts) Gunster.
was born in Scranton, January 11, 1858. He was educated in the public
schools of the city, '"Daddy Merrill's" private school and Newton Collegiate
Institute, Newton, New Jersey. After completing his years of school life, he
entered the employ of the Scranton City Bank, continuing about three years,
then locating in Larimer City, Colorado, where for two years he was engaged
as a retail grocer. He then moved to Denver, Colorado, where he entered the
employ of Sprague Warner & Company, wholesale grocers of Chicago. In
1884 he returned to Scranton, where for a time he was with Forrest Brothers,
later with Connell & Son, plumbers and hardware merchants. Shortly after-
ward he became a member of Gunster & Forsythe, a small plumbing and
hardware firm. On the retirement of Mr. Forsythe, his interest was taken by
George N. and Arthur Gunster, and the firm continued as Gunster Brothers,
contracting engineers of steam and water heating apparatus and power plants
for manufacturers. They also deal in hardware, glass, paints and oils, and are
contractors of all kinds of plumbing, tinning, cornice and skylight work of
metal of every kind. The firm's warerooms and offices are at No. 325-327
Penn avenue, their sheet metal works at Nos. 324, 326 and 328 Raymond Court,
their pipe shop at No. 320 and 322 Raymond Court. The firm is a prosperous
one and ranks high among the enterprising, modern institutions of Scranton.
Henry J. Gunster, the head of Gunster Brothers, was for six years a member
of Company C, of the old City Guards ; and is a member of the ]3oard of Trade,
and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In politics he is a Democrat,
but has never sought or accepted office. He married Margaret Cannon, of
Scranton, and resides at No. 705 Jefferson avenue.
CHARLES W. GUNSTER
Charles W. Gunster, second son of Joseph H. and Lucina (Lutts) Gunster,
was born in Scranton, October 11, 1859, and obtained his primary and pre-
paratory education in the public schools, and "Daddy Merrill's" private school.
He passed the examinations for admission to Yale University, but did not
matriculate, deciding instead to enter business life. He entered the employ
of the Merchants and Mechanics Bank of Scranton as messenger boy and has
steadily risen through all intervening grades to his present responsible posi-
tion of cashier, his term of service with this institution serving a period of
thirty-two years. He is a thorough financier, and well informed in the laws
governing banking transactions, a close student of finance, a wise and careful
banker and a safe adviser.
He is a member of Peter Williamson Lodge. Free and Accepted Masons,
past high priest of Lackawanna Chapter, Royal Arch Masons : past eminent
commander of Coeur de Lion Commandery, and a life member of Irem
Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also prom-
inent in club life, belonging to the Scranton and Country clubs, and to the
Scranton Liederkranz. For sixteen years he was a member of Company C,
Thirteenth Regiment Pennsylvania National Guard, enlisting as a private and
128 CITY OF SCRANTON
attaining the rank of lieutenant. He qualified as a sharp-shooter and shot on
many of the winning teams at military tournaments. His standing among the
bankers is shown in his selection as secretary of the Scranton Clearing House
Association, and as secretary and chairman of a group of banks comprising
the Pennsylvania Bankers Association. Mr. Gunster, like his father, is a sup-
porter of the Second Presbyterian Church, of Scranton, and interested in other
good works.
C. AUGUSTUS BATTENBERG
Descending from pure German ancestry, Mr. Battenberg, of the fir<l
American born generation, has made for himself an honored name in the
state in which his father settled on leaving the Fatherland. The family record
in the United States is one most creditable and includes service in the Union
army by the then young German emigrant, Charles C, father of C. Augustus
Battenburg. The United States cannot forget, nor too strongly praise, the
military service rendered by our foreign born sons in every war we have ever
waged, nor can too strong a wish be expressed that never in the future may
they have to choose between loyalty to their native or to their adopted land.
Add to their military service, their wonderful achievements in the arts of peace
and to this the example of thrift, energy, and perseverance, and the debt be-
comes one that can never be paid save by the untramelled opportunities our
land has afforded them to exercise the traits mentioned to their everlasting
advantage.
Charles C. Battenberg was born in Hofgeismar, near Cassel, Germany, in
1841, died in Archbald, Pennsylvania, in 1904. He was educated in the excellent
school of his native province and when young came to Pennsylvania, locating
at Archbald, where he became a stationary engineer. When the war between
the states broke out he enlisted in Company H, 52nd Regiment, Pennsylvania
Volunteer Infantry ; re-enlisted, serving with ardor and bravery four years and
receiving an honorable discharge, as captain of his company, from his grateful
adopted country. After the war he located in Scranton ; later he moved to
Archbald entering the employ of the Delaware and Hudson Company, rising
to the position of outside superintendent of their colliery at that place. At
the time of his death he was postmaster of Archbald. He was a Republican
in politics, a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, and of the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows. He married Amelia Miller, born in Archbald, daugh-
ter of August C. Miller, a pioneer settler of that town, coming from Leipsig,
Germany. He was a pianomaker in Germany, but in Archbald, followed cabi-
netmaking and carpentering, erecting many of the older buildings there.
C. Augustus Battenberg, son of Charles C. and .Amelia C. (Miller) Batten-
berg, was born in Scranton, on Penn avenue, where the Eagle Hotel now
stands, May 20, 1868. After graduating from the School of the Lackawanna
of Scranton, he began the study of law under the preceptorship of James H.
Torrey, and after thorough preparation was admitted to the Lackawanna
county bar in 1894. He at once began the practice of his profession ; was as-
sistant city solicitor under Mr. Torrey and has attained a firm honorable posi-
tion at the bar of his native county. He has been admitted to the variou-
State and Federal Courts of the district, having a good practice in them all.
In fraternal and church affairs he has ever been active, useful and prominent.
He is a member of Green Ridge Presbyterian Church, of which he is an elder,
and at the present time is superintendent of the Sunday school; past master
of Aurora Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons of Jermyn, and past grand of
Archbald Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
CITY OF SCRANTON 129
ANDREW B. WARMAN
Andrew B. Warman was born near Stewartsville, New Jersey, May 12,
1863. His early boyhood was spent on the farm. Mr. Warman's father,
Theodore P. Warman, having sold his farming interests, moved to Easton
where he resided for about two years; later he came to Scranton. Here he
and his brother established a wholesale produce and commission business
under the name of E G. Warman & Brother, located at No. 26 Lackawanna
avenue. The company continued a successful business until the panic of 1873.
Andrew B. Warman attended West Ward Academy in Easton, and the pul)-
lic schools of Scranton until he was fourteen years old. He was first employed
by Frank L. Crane, wholesale and retail hatter and furrier on Lackawanna ave-
nue, remaining eight years with Mr. Crane, until the time he founded the
business in which he is at present engaged. In 1885 the laundry business was
in its infancy and Mr. Warman was one of the first pioneers, for he saw a
prosperous future for this new industry, so the Lackawanna Laundry em-
ploying seven operators, was started at 231 Wyoming avenue. This site being
unfavorably adapted to the business, the plant was moved to what is now the
Grand Army of the Republic Building where it remained for six years. The
laundry business was an established fact, and a new building especially adapted
to the needs of the business was erected at 308 Penn avenue. In a few years
Nos. 310 and 312 were added and new buildings erected. Continual changes
have taken place and improvements been made. Seven years ago the plant
was incorporated as the A. B. Warman Lackawanna Laundry Co., A. B. War-
man, president ; F. J. Donnelly, vice-president ; C. W. Bertine, secretary. At
present this plant is the finest equipped in the state. It covers 33,000 square
feet of ground, is equipped with the most modern machinery, run entirely by
electricity, each machine having an individual motor. The company generates
its own electricity for power and light. There are on an average of 225 per-
sons employed summer and winter, of whom fifty are men. This laundry is
credited with many innovations, such as the Sturdevent System of Ventilation ;
a circulation of filtered fresh air is taken from the roof cooled and forced in
the several departments. Here for the first time in the United States com-
pressed air was applied to operating machines, thereby relieving the women
operators from much labor. The founder by unceasing labors, not only in his
own plant, but also in the National and State Laundry Association, serving in
the latter for sometime as president, has helped to raise the laundry industry
to its present state of recognition.
Nor is his private undertaking the only activity in which he is interested.
Mr. Warman has served for years as director of the Peoples National Bank,
director of the Board of Trade, director of the Maccar Company and trustee
of the Emanuel Baptist Church. For ten years he served as director of the
Y. M. C. A., the last two also in the capacity of president ; he was also vice-
president of Keystone Academy. Mr. Warman married Mary I., daughter of
S. B. Stillwell of Scranton. Children : Saron B., Katherine S. and Donald S.
BERNARD P. CONNOLLY
When, in 1892, Bernard P. Connolly and H. Cliflford Wallace, trading as
Connolly & Wallace, opened their dry goods store at No. 207 North Washing-
ton avenue, Scranton, Pennsylvania, they established the first of the many
precedents by which the shoppers and clerks of Scranton have been benefited.
It was then considered business suicide to attempt to draw trade to that avenue,
Connolly & Wallace being the first merchants to attempt it. They began in a
9
I30 CITY OF SCRANTON
small way with few employes, themselves acting as clerks. They prospered,
however, and for five years did a thriving business in their original location.
Their rapid growth drove them forth to the enlarged quarters they now occupy,
at Nos. 123-133 Washington avenue. These were years of hard work and
many discouragements to the young partners, as their road was not always
smooth, nor the going easy. They met with losses that would have discouraged
less determined, courageous men, but adversity only nerved them to redoubled
eiTort. That they are now rated among the leading retail merchants of Scran-
ton is entirely due to their superior business ability, their indomitable courage,
and their progressive, modern methods. No fortunate chance turned the tide
in their favor; on the contrary, they began under the handicap of insufficient
capital and a new, untried location. But, shoulder to shoulder, they battled,
finally overcoming adverse fortune and gaining the topmost rounds of the lad-
der of mercantile fame. They have ever been leaders in all forward selling
movements and in matters of store government. They were the first to demon-
strate the advantage of shorter shopping hours. The latest progressive move-
ment which they have inaugurated is early closing and Saturday half-holidays,
from June 15 to September 15, thus giving three months of such privileges :o
their clerks, instead of the customary two months of July and August. In
many other matters requiring a leading champion they have had the courage
of their convictions, never fearing to defy established custom and to lead in
new and untried methods that their judgment or public spirit approved of.
The firm gives full credit to their sales force for its part in the upbuilding of
their large and successful business and in return have done all in their powet
to improve working conditions and to make the hours of duty in the store
pleasant and comfortable for the one hundred and twenty-five salespeople
employed.
Bernard P. Connolly, the senior partner, was born in Trenton, Province of
Ontario, Canada, January 3, 1859, son of James and Mary (Connor) Connolly.
He was educated in the public schools and early began mercantile life as a
clerk. He became manager of a store in Warkworth, Ontario, continuing in
that capacity three years. In 1879 he came to Scranton, entering the employ
of R. M. Lindsay, proprietor of the Boston Store. For thirteen years he
remained with Mr. Lindsay, gaining a knowledge of merchandise and develop-
ing plans for his own future. In 1892 he formed a partnership with H. Clifford
Wallace and soon afterward they launched their little bark on the stormy sea
of business. That the sturdy craft made a prosperous voyage and reached a
safe haven has already been told.
Mr. Connolly is fond of out of door life, is a member of the Scranton Club,
Scranton Bicycle Club, Scranton Canoe Club, Benevolent and Protective Order
of Elks, Catholic Club, and Liederkranz. Pleasing in his personality, he has
many friends who appreciate his manliness of character as well as his excellent
business qualifications. Mr. Connolly is unmarried.
H. CLIFFORD WALLACE
H. Clifford Wallace, of the firm of Connolly & Wallace, was educated in
the public schools of Middletown, New York, and began business life as clerk
in his father's dry goods store in Middletown, continuing until 1882, when he
sought the wider field of opportunity offered by Scranton. He entered the
employ of Cleland, Simpson & Taylor, spending with that firm ten fruitful ana
valuable years preparing for the brilliant mercantile career that has been real-
ized in the years since 1892, when he formed his present partnership with
Bernard P. Connolly, with whom he has worked so successfully in establishing
CITY OF SCRANTON 131
the firm of Connolly & Wallace. Mr. Wallace enjoys the social and athletic
pleasures of club life, holding membership in the Scranton, Country and Bi-
cycle Clubs, and is a member of the Scranton Board of Trade. In religious
faith he is a Methodist, belonging to the Elm Park Congregation. While he
has outside business connections, the only organization he serves officially is
the Union National Bank of Scranton, of which he is a director.
Mr. Wallace married, April 18, 1894, Julia, daughter of Sylvester Shively,
of Scranton. Children : Julia, Jean, Eleanor, Harvey. The family home is at
No. 814 Clay avenue.
CHARLES C. ROSE
While Scranton, as a manufacturing center, holds high place among the
cities of its class in the United States, the foundation of its prosperity is, of
course, in the value of the mineral deposits in the neighboring region, a large
part of which is anthracite coal. One of Scranton's foremost citizens, oc-
cupying a prominent position in the development of this industry is Charles C.
Rose, whose career is herein recorded.
The Rose family has long been seated in New York, and it was in this
state that William C., father of Charles C. Rose, was widely known. He was
intrusted with the supervision of the construction work on a section of "Clin-
ton's Ditch," better known as the Erie Canal, a commission he executed faith-
fully and well. He remained here about two years, and after that was era-
ployed by the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company as division superintendent,
remaining in this position the rest of his life and died at the age of sixty-seven,
residing at Port Jervis, New York, at the time.
He married Lovina Shimer, and to this union were born six children, three
sons and three daughters, of whom Charles C. was the youngest.
Charles C. Rose, son of William C. and Lovina (Shimer) Rose, was born
in Rosepoint, New York, July 20, 1847. His education was obtained in the
public schools and at a preparatory academy at Norwalk, Connecticut. His
relation with Scranton industries and affairs began in 1867, when he accepted
a position as private secretary to Thomas Dickson, vice-president of the Dela-
ware and Hudson Company. After a short time he left Scranton, going to
New York where he followed the profession of civil engineer, serving during
this time about five years on the Delaware & Hudson Co.'s Lake Champlaiu
railway extension. In 1880 he was employed by the Delaware, Lackawanna &
Western Railroad Co. upon the construction of their new railroad from Bing-
hamton to Buffalo. After this he was moved to Scranton where he was .n
charge of the engineering work, including maintenance of way, for the Dela-
ware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Co. until 1905. He was then appointed
superintendent of the coal department of the Delaware & Hudson Co., an office
he still holds. His position carries with it great responsibility, as the coal in-
terests of the company are vast and cover a great deal of territory, the details
requiring constant and minute attention.
Mr. Rose's other business connections are as director of the Scranton Bolt
and Nut Company and of the Peoples National Bank. His social relations are
with the Scranton Club, the Country Club and the Engineers Club. In political
belief he supports the Republican party, in whose principles he is a firm be-
liever.
In 1879 hs was married to Emma K. Watson, of Port Kent, New York, and
a son. Dr. Emmason C. Rose, of Brooklyn, New York, was born in the autumn
of 1881. Her death occurred in 1881. In 1888 he married Emma, daughter of
132 CITY OF SCRANTON
A. H. Vandling, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and a son, Vandling D., who is now
a student in the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale, was horn in 1894.
Mr. Rose fills a position as one of the substantial, successful business men
of Scranton, of proven ability : and forms one of the company upon which
foundation of the city's prosperity has been laid.
GEORGE SANDERSON
The Sandersons are among the old Massachusetts families, where the rec-
ords show them as early as 1643. By marriage and intermarriage they relate;
to many of the old and prominent families of New England, the Kingsburys,
Spaldings, Brownes, Gardners, and others. The Revolutionary ancestor of
George Sanderson was Captain Simon Spalding, who enlisted from Pennsyl-
vania and saw much active service. He attained the rank of captain in the
Revolutionary army, and afterward was made a general of militia, by which
title he was more generally known.
Edward Sanderson, the progenitor of the family in America, is mentioned
in early records, found in Hampton, Massachusetts, from which place he
moved to Watertown, Massachusetts, as early as 1643, where, October 15.
1645, he married Mary Eggleston. He was of English descent, but it is not
known whether he was born in England or in Massachusetts. The best evi-
dence is to the effect that he was born in England and was the first of his
■name to come to America.
Deacon Jonathan Sanderson, son of Edward Sanderson, was born in Wat-
ertown, Massachusetts, September 15, 1646, died September 3, 1673. He mar-
ried, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, October 24, 1669, Abiah, youngest daughter
of Ensign Thomas and Hannah (Bartlett) Bartolf, of Watertown. They had
issue.
Samuel Sanderson, sixth child of Deacon Jonathan Sanderson, was born
May 28, 1681, was killed by a stroke of lightning, July 8, 1722. He married,
April 3, 1708, Mercy Gale, and settled in Watertown.
Abraham Sanderson, son of Samuel Sanderson, was born in Watertown,
Massachusetts, March 28, 171 1. He married, December 6, 1733, Patience
Smith and they were the parents of thirteen children. They settled in Lunen-
burg, Massachusetts.
Jacob Sanderson, fourth child of Abraham Sanderson, was born in 1738.
He married Elizabeth Child and had four children.
Jacob (2) Sanderson, son of Jacob (i) Sanderson, married Elizabeth
Childs and had issue. They resided in Lunenburg, Massachusetts.
Jacob (3) Sanderson, youngest child of Jacob (2) Sanderson, was born
October 17, 1780, in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, died December 14, 1853.
He married, November 12, 1807, Jerusha, daughter of Captain Lemuel Gard-
ner, of Boston, and settled in that city. Captain Gardner was the first com-
mander of that famous military organization, the Ancient and Honorable
Artillery Company of Boston. Jerusha Sanderson died June 18, 1843.
Hon. George Sanderson, second son of Jacob (3) Sanderson, was born in
Boston, Massachusetts, February 25, 1810, died in Scranton, Pennsylvania,
April I, 1886. He was educated at the Boston Latin School. After leaving
school he went to New York City, and was there employed for a time in the
store of a relative. From there he went to Geneva, New York. He married a
daughter of Colonel Joseph Kingsbury, a large land-owner of Sheshequin, Brad-
ford county, Pennsylvania. This led Mr. Sanderson to Towanda, the county seat,
where he entered upon the practice of law. He soon became known as one of
the leading lawyers of the county, being elected district attorney and serving
CITY OF SCRANTON 133
for six years, resigning to attend to his large private business, lintenng active-
ly into political life, he was elected state senator from Bradford county in 1853.
In the senate in that year he made the acquaintance of Colonel George W.
Scranton, with whom he co-operated in securing needed legislation, which was
deemed necessary to insure the future of the then infant city of Scranton. Mi.
Sanderson visited that growing city in 1854 and in the following year pur
chased the Elisha Hitchcock farm, built a handsome residence, and soon after
became a resident of Scranton. The site of his first residence is now covered
by the magnificent building of the Scranton Young Men's Christian Associa-
tion. His first business enterprise in Scranton was the organization of the
banking house of George Sanderson & Company, the firm consisting of himself
and brother-in-law, Burton Kingsbury. This was a private bank, that later
was merged with the Lackawanna Valley Bank, and still later into its present
corporate form. The Lackawanna Trust and Safe Deposit Company, one of
the strong, conservative, financial institutions of Scranton. He personally
threw himself with all his energy into the development of the city of Scranton,
as a real estate proposition. He laid out and graded beautiful streets through
what was then farm property, and the result of his activity may now be seen
on Washington, Adams and Wyoming avenues from Spruce to Vine streets,
and in the handsome houses and beautiful grounds of the residential sections
of Scranton. He donated the lots upon which the high school building was
erected, and aided churches and philanthropic enterprises. He was twice
elected burgess of Scranton before it became a city. Having disposed of most
of the Hitchcock farm, he decided to retire from active business and soon after
moved to Germantown, Pennsylvania. He could not, however, get completely
out of the harness, and soon afterward became president of a coal company
with offices in Philadelphia. Selling out to the Reading Coal Company, he re-
turned to Scranton and purchased a tract of land in the northern portion of
the city, now called Green Ridge. By the construction of the Providence and
Scranton Street Railroad, he drew to the new suburb a community of tasle
and refinement, erecting a mansion and continuing to reside there until his
death.
George Sanderson married, at Sheshequin, Bradford county, Pennsylvania,
Marion W. Kingsbury, born September 30, 1816, died at Scranton, Pennsyl-
vania, June 23, 1886, soon following her husband, who died in April of the
same year. She was a daughter of Colonel Joseph Kingsbury, of Sheshequin,
Bradford county, Pennsylvania. Four children survived Mr. and Mrs. George
Sanderson ; James Gardner ; George, of whom further ; Anna K. ; Marion,
married Edward B. Sturgess. Hon. George Sanderson died universally re-
gretted. He was a sound, safe, public-spirited man, and to him Scranton owes
a debt of gratitude for a wise and artistic development of her suburbs and resi-
dence streets. His sons have worthily maintained their father's reputation
and are active business men of Scranton. James Gardner, the eldest son, was
born in Towanda, Bradford county, Pennsylvania, and lived the greater part
of his life in Scranton; was a graduate of the Van Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute, of Troy, and was by profession a civil engineer ; he was interested in
the Union Switch and Signal Company before it became a Westinghouse prop-
erty, and in the early development of Portland Cement manufacture, the
rotary kiln having been first used bv him ; he married Eliza McBrair, of New
York.
Colonel George (2) Sanderson, son of the Hon. George (i) and Marion
W. (Kingsbury) Sanderson, was born at Towanda, Bradford county, Penn-
sylvania, August 22, 1847, and for over half a century has been a resident of
Scranton, Pennsylvania. He was graduated from the Scranton high school and
134 CITY OF SCRANTON
from the Pennsylvania Military Academy at Chester, Pennsylvania. He read
law in Philadelphia under the preceptorship of Samuel Robb, entered Harvard
Law School, and was graduated in the class of 1869, at the unusual age of
twenty-two years. He practiced his profession in Philadelphia for two years,
in 1873 locating permanently in Scranton, where he was soon recognized as a
lawyer of high qualifications and one well-versed in the law. He was the lead-
ing attorney in several important cases, notably : Sanderson versus the Dela-
ware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, in which he obtained establishment of
the legal principle that lease of coal lands in perpetuity was in effect a sale and
that the lessee, as a consequence, was liable for the taxes. This was a far-
reaching decision, affecting all perpetual coal land leases in the state, and was
appealed to the Supreme Court, which affirmed the validity of the principle,
for which Colonel Sanderson contended at every stage in the lower courts.
While always actively engaged in his professional work, he has other and
varied interests. He has long been a director and vice-president of the Lack-
awanna Trust and Safe Deposit Company, the oldest in the city. He suc-
ceeded his father in the management of his Green Ridge property, the beauti-
ful suburb of Scranton. He has been, since his father's death, president of
the Forest Hill Cemetery Association, and gave eight years of membership to
the National Guard of Pennsylvania, from which he gains his title of colonel.
He first served with the Scranton City Guards, afterward merged into the
Thirteenth Regiment, as a private in Company D. He was the warm advocate
of rifle practice for the Guard ; served upon the governor's staff', as inspector
of rifle practice, and in that position was instrumental in developing that fea-
ture of the service to a degree that attracted to Pennsylvania the favorable
criticism of National Guardsmen from all over the country. For eight years
Colonel Sanderson served the Thirteenth ward in Scranton Select Council, a
large part of the time as president of that body, and until recently was presi-
dent of the sinking fund commission. For the past decade he has given little
attention to his profession, devoting his time to his business interests and to
recreation. Colonel Sanderson is an influential Republican but not an office
seeker, and beyond the demands of his city and her interests he has never en-
tertained any proposition that involved personal office-holding. He is a mem-
ber of the Masonic fraternity and a Knights Templar. His social clubs are
the Scranton, Country, Green Ridge Wheelmen, Ciermantown Cricket, Univer-
sity of Philadelphia, and the New England Society of Northeastern Pennsyl-
vania, of which he is an ex-president.
Colonel George Sanderson married, November 28, 1871, Lucy Reed Jack-
son, born in Boston, Massachusetts, May 30, 1846, daughter of Charles and
Maria Louisa (Reed) Jackson, of the ninth generation from the emigrant
ancestor, Abraham Browne, of Swan Hall, England. Children of Colonel and
Mrs. George Sanderson: i. Edward Spalding, a graduate of Cornell Uni-
versity, engaged in business at Waterbury, Connecticut ; married Frederika
Catlin, and has a son Edward. 2. Charles Reed, a graduate of Cornell Uni-
versity, engaged in business in New York City ; married Edith S. Brooks. 3.
James Gardner, a graduate of Cornell L^iversity and of the Chicago Law
School, a practicing lawyer of Scranton : married Beatrice D. Tyler and has a
son, James Gardner Jr. 4. Helen Louise. 5. Marion K., married to Charles
G. Rartlett Jr., now residing in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. 6. George Jr., a
graduate of the law department, Cornell University, class of 1910, now a prac-
ticing lawyer in Rochester, New York.
CITY OF SCRANTON
MORTON W. STEPHENS
135
The father of Morton W. Stephens, the Hon. A. Wesley Stephens, was
for several years the representative of Wyoming county in the Pennsylvania
legislature, in which body he capably represented his district and left behind
him a record of able statesmanship and honorable motive that is a credit both
to him and to the district that so wisely chose him to guard its interests and
to act for it in affairs of state. A. Wesley Stephens was born in Nicholson
township, Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, and for many years was a farmer
later becoming a contractor and builder and conducting operations in Nichol-
son borough where he still resides. He married Emily D. Tiffany, who died
February 24. 191 1, daughter of Orvil Tiffany. The Tiffany family is of Eng-
lish descent and were early settlers in Susquehanna county. Qiildren of A.
Wesley and Emily D. (Tiffany) Stephens: Fannie, married F. L. Fester, of
Nicholson, Wyoming county, Pennsylvania ; Ivadean. married J. W. Kocher,
of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania ; Beatrice, resides in Nicholson ; Morton W., of
whom further.
Morton W. Stephens was born in Nicholson township, Wyoming county,
Pennsylvania, April 9, 1876. He attended the public schools of his birthplace
and prepared for college at the Keystone Academy, whence he was graduated
in 1897. He then obtained a teacher's position in Susquehanna county and
was a disciple of that profession for five years, during that time holding the
office of editor of the county educational paper. In 1901 he resumed his
studies, attending Cornell University, and then entered the law school of the
University of Pennsylvania, wlience he was graduated LL.B. in 1907. While
in college, part of Mr. Stephens' course was instruction in public speaking and
in this he took special interests, cultivating his natural forensic talents witii
such success that he was awarded a place upon the debating team represent-
ing the university in the inter-collegiate debates. He had begun this work at
Keystone Academy, where he took successful part in several oratorical con-
tests. In the same year that he was graduated from the University of Penn-
svlvania he was admitted to the bar and has been associate editor of the Ameri-
can Law Register.
He married, in 1907, Alta F. Finn, daughter of Nelson M. and Myra
(Green) Finn, of Foster, Pennsylvania. Nelson M. Finn is a member of the
family of that name that settled in Clifford township. Susquehanna county,
Pennsylvania. They have one child, a daughter, Freda Eloise, born December 22,
1912. Thorough, conscientious, and exact in the preparation of a case, it is in
its presentation that Mr. Stephens excels, his well balanced, musical, forceful
and convincing sentences conveying the exact shade of meaning intended.
Realizing the often salutary effect of a dramatic speech, he never descends to
cheap emotionalism, but confines his efforts to influencing the reason, rather
than the emotions, of a jury. He is held in high esteem by his legal brethren,
with whom he has formed many firm friendships. He affiliates with the
Masonic Order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Acacia Fraternity,
International Debating Association, and Scranton Rotary Club. His political
faith is Republican, and in religious belief he adheres to the doctrines of the
Methodist Episcopal Church.
HENRY S. ALWORTH
This family dates from the earliest settlement in the region now included
in the borough of Dxinmore, William Alsworth, a young shoemaker, settling at
the "Four Corners" during the summer of 1783. 1'he descendants of the hardy
i3t> CITY OF SCRANTON
old pioneer have dropped the "s" from the name m some branches, spelling the
name Alworth. The settlement at the Four Corners was accidental, Mr. Als-
worth being there overtaken by night, and deeming it a suitable camping-place.
He had been searching for a location in the Wyoming Valley, on land owned
by Connecticut, but, liking the Dunmore locality, determined on settlement
there. Bringing his wife and family with him in a covered wagon, he took up
land and built a log-cabin from the trees it was necessary to remove to obtain
room for dwelling and garden, utilizing the wagon as a sleeping-place during
the erection of the cabin. Between his cabin and the "Lackawa" settlement on
the Paupack, twenty-four miles distant, there stood but two cabins, one ac
Little Meadows, the other "Cobb's," both kept as houses of entertainment.
There were many emigrants passing the cabin, needing convenient places of
rest and refreshment, therefore quarters were provided for the entertainment
of such passers-by as chose to avail themselves of the privilege. The larder
of the old inn was supplied by the rifle of the proprietor, all manner of wild
things of the forest falling before his deadly airrt. For two years he had no
neighbors, but in the summer of 1785 others came, and Bucktown, or the
Corners, became a place of some local note. William Alsworth kept the old
inn in the forest until his death, his wife continuing it for several years longer.
"Widow Alsworth's" being a favorite stopping-place. The old tavern, with
its round swinging sign and long low bar-room, for years a spot of historic
interest, finalh' was destroyed by fire. He was a genial host, and joke and
kindly word cheered the weary and often discouraged wayfarer. Here he
reared his family and left a posterity who honor his memory and worthily
bear the name.
Henry S. Alworth, of Scranton, is a great-grandson of the old pionee>
son of Milton S. and Nancy Jane (Sweet) Alworth. He was born in Cliflford,
Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, January 31, 1869, but when he was two
years of age his parents, Milton S. and Nancy J., moved to Harford, a post
village of the same county, about thirty miles north of Scranton. Here his
youth was spent attending the graded school and working on the farm. Later
he entered Mansfield State Normal School, whence he was graduated, class
of 1889. He began teaching soon after his graduation, and in 1890-91 was
principal of the graded school at Bellevue, Lackawanna township, Lacka-
wanna county, Pennsylvania. He then entered the law school of the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania, whence he was graduated LL.B., class of 1893, and
in ' September of the same year was admitted to the Lackawanna county
bar, at once beginning practice in Scranton. He has a large practice in the
state and federal courts of the district, having been regularly admitted to
practice in all. He has taken a deep interest in public affairs, serving as a
member of council in 1898, and in 1912 was the successful candidate of his
party for the state legislature.
Mr. Alworth married, February 11, 1897, Florence Louise De Munn, and
has a daughter, Natalie.
MICHAEL A. McGINLEY
There is a notable record of achievement in the life of Michael A. Mc-
Ginley that goes far toward proving the value of ambition, determination and
perseverance, and what these qualities will do for the formation of a career.
From the following chronicle may come a gleam of hope or inspiration to
youths whose early circumstances seem to forbid a look above the common
place to the higher level of existence.
Michael McGinley, son of John and Margaret (O'Donnell) McGinley,
CITY OF SCRANTON 137
was born at Maiich Chunk, Pennsylvania, in 1873. All of his school training
was obtained before the age of fourteen years, when he apprenticed him-
self to the machinist's trade. After three years of service in that occupation
he entered the railroad employ as a fireman, continuing so for two years.
Most of his spare time and all of his evenings during this period had been
devoted to study, and in 1890 he obtained a position as court stenographer.
The nature of his duties allowed him much leisure time and this he utilized
by entering the office of O'Brien & Kelly as stenographer and law student.
His studies were so diligently pursued and to such excellent result that his
admission to the Lackawanna county bar was obtained, after passing a rigid
examination in June, 1893. So rapid was Mr. McGinley's rise in his chosen
profession that in 1896, when he was but twenty-three years of age, he was
placed in the office of city solicitor, an office requiring an exhausting knowl-
edge of municipal law. His term as solicitor of Scranton was a very busy
one, as well as most successful. He personally conducted all the litigation in
which the city was involved, delegating nothing to assistants and has a record
singularly free from reverses of any kind. As earnest of the industry and
energy which he carried into his daily duties is the fact that while in office
he was the author of more than iioo opinions on municipal questions sub-
mitted to him. Still further evidence of the scope of his knowledge and the
authoritative nature of his opinions is that not one of the cases in which he en-
gaged in defence of the principles involved in his opinions has been disturbed
by an appellate court. In his private practice he has been counsel in eleven
cases where the defendants were charged with murder and in none of these
was a first degree verdict rendered. It is also a tribute to his legal genius
and ability that he received the first acquittal in Lackawanna county in the
case of a defendant charged with murder where the commonwealth pressed
for a first degree conviction.
Mr. McGinley at one time was a candidate for election to Congress from
his district and in a close election was defeated. The record that he has made
in his profession would have done ample credit to a man whose entire edu-
cation and aim in life had been for the law. The fact that by an uphill battle
with adversity, buoyed up only by his confidence in himself and the sight of
his goal, should give a great measure of satisfaction to the man who looks
back upon such a past.
MATHAIS STIPP
The record of those of the name of Stipp in Scranton has been that they
have followed a constructive policy, working results necessary that others
may prosper with them. Construction has indeed been the keynote of their
efforts, contracting and building being the line followed successfully and with
profit by three Stipp brothers. Their businesses have not been parasitic
growths, imbedding themselves in and preying upon other industries of the
city, but have been those in which achievement is proportionate with labor ex-
pended and in which only ability brings success.
Mathais Stipp, son of Ludwig and Mary Anna (Diedrich) Stipp, was born
in Rheinfalz. Germany, November 22, 1864. After obtaining his education in
the public schools of his native land he came to the ITnited States, settling
in New Jersey in 1883. The year following his landing in this country, he
came to Scranton, the city which his since been the scene of his life's work.
For one year he held the position in the employ of another, but since 1885 has
engaged in business independently, his destinies and fortunes shaped by his
own hands, he alone responsible for the ends he has accomplished. In
138 CITY OF SCRANTON
T892 he added to his contracting and building business, which he had es-
tablished seven years previous, that of brick manufacture, the product of his
factory being 30,000 bricks per day. Not alone in the business world is he re-
garded as one of Scranton's worthy citizens, but in serving two terms as a
member of the common council of the city he placed himself permanently on
record as standing for cleanliness in civil life, honor and openness in the ad-
ministration of municipal finances, and constant co-operation between citizens
and their representatives in office for the most efficient form of city govern-
ment. His fraternity is the Masonic Order, in which he holds the thirty-
second degree, and he is a member of Fairview Lodge. No. 369, K. P.
Mr. Stipp married, March 10, 1887, Ellen A. Marguart, and has children:
Arthur P.. Ezra F.. Mathais J., Paul.
LOUIS P. WEDEMAN
The story of the founding of the Wedeman family in America reveals
an unusual, to say the least, method of immigration, and one that one might
well wish to avoid. Daniel Wedeman, a store-keeper and a single man,
of Hamburg, Germany, had made a trip to London to purchase a stock of
goods to replenish his depleted supply, when he was seized by British soldiers,
compelled to don an English uniform, and was pressed into the service of that
country. He was placed on a transport bound for America, where llie war for
independence was passing through its birth throes, preparatory to the long,
grueling struggle that levied such a heavy toll of lives. Enraged because of
the high handed treatment to which he had been subjected, he deserted the
British ranks and joined the Colonial forces, entering into the conflict with
the double incentive to aid a cause he believed righteous and to avenge his
own abuse. He fought throughout the entire v/ar, and after receiving an
honorable discharge from the service he decided to remain in the land to which
his fate had led him, and purchased 400 acres of land near Providence, being
the second white settler in the Lackawanna Valley. He erected a log cabin
on the site until recently occupied by Daniel Silkman's home. He married and
among his children was Peter.
(II) Peter Wedeman was born in Providence, now North Scranton. Penn-
sylvania, and there followed the farmer's occupation. He married and
was the father of the following children : Daniel. Thomas, John, Henry,
Martin Peter, Cyrus, Ensign, Herman, Abiah, married John Hudson, of Car-
bondale.
(III) Martin Peter Wedeman was born where the borough of Mayfield
now stands. He was a farmer throughout his entire life, taking active part
in local affairs. He supported first the Whig and later the Republican party,
and as the candidate of these organizations held many borough and town-
ship offices, among them school director, supervisor of roads and councilman.
He married, in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, in 1840, Elizabeth, daughter of
Lewis and Elizabeth Jones, born near Merthyr-Tydfil, county Glamorgan,
Wales, in November, 1822. The Jones family above mentioned have long
been natives of Wales. Children of Martin Peter and Elizabeth f Jones)
Douglas: John Daniel, born in .\pril. 1846; David Samuel, born in Novem-
ber, 1849: Louis Peter, of whom further: William H. born in October, 1859;
George Edward, born in August, 1863: Ella Elizabeth, born in July, 1865.
married W. D. Bryden, a professor in the Carbondale High School.
(IV) Louis Peter Wedeman was born at Carl.ondale, I^ckawanna county,
Pennsylvania, March 5, 1856. He obtained his education in the public schools
and until he was sixteen vears of age lived on his father's fa''m. He then
J^
CITY OF SCRANTON 139
learned the carpenter's trade, supplementing his income during the winter sea-
son by teaching school. After learning his trade and working at it for a time,
he branched out in building and contracting operations, in which he met with
pleasing success. Inclining toward the law, he abandoned the business he had
built up and began the study of law in the office of Blakeslee & Ainey, at
Montrose, Pennsylvania. In this profession he found the vocation for which
he is naturally fitted and since his admission to the bar of Susquehanna
county in 1890 has been constantly engaged in practice. He has been admit-
ted to all the state courts, and since 1895 has been located in Scranton. In
1890 he was elected justice of the peace of Susquehanna county, at Forest
City, and has been burgess of the same borough.
He married, in New York City, December 20, 1S98, m the Old Methodist
Qiurch, the first church of the Methodist Episcopal denomination in the city,
Minette, daughter of Warren and Sarah (Gregory) Barlow. Warren Barlow
is in the stone business in Wyoming county, Meshoppen, in that county, be-
ing the birthplace of Minette (Barlow) Wedeman. Children of Louis Peter
and Minette (Barlow) Wedeman: Louis W., born July 15, 1900: John D.,
born December 15, 1903.
JOHN T. PORTER
The prominence of John T. Porter in the financial and commercial affairs
of the city of Scranton and the Lackawanna VnIIey is amply attested by his
long official connection with various of their most im])ortant corporations,
prominent among them being one of his own founding, the John T. Porter
Company, wholesale grocers, the largest house of its class in the entire north-
western part of Pennsylvania, and whose trade extends into the adjoining
states of New York, New Jersey and Delaware. A fact which further testifies
to his ability, enterprise and public spirit is his active identification with the
Scranton Board of Trade, almost from the day of his arrival in the city,
and of which excellent organization he has been president for two terms.
Mr. Porter is a native of Delaware, born in Middletown, May 24, 1850.
Here was also born his father, Abel J. Porter, who passed his life there as a
farmer and miller. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
He married Sarah Ann Van Pelt, who was of Dutch extraction, her father,
Jesse Van Pelt, being a native of Holland. The children of Abel J. Porter
were: Lydia ; Ann Mary, who became the wife of Thomas Price, of Mary-
land ; John T., of whom further.
Jolin T. Porter received his education in Smyrna (Delaware) Seminary.
At the age of nineteen years he was well equipped to make his beginning in
an independent career, and immediately after leaving the seminary went to
New York City, where for five years he was engaged as salesman in a foreign
fruit importing house. Here he served with such ability and fidelity as to win
the confidence and esteem of his employers, while the experience which he
obtained was invaluable to him personally, and afforded him a substantial
foundation for an early establishment in business upon his own account. In
1875 he located permanently in Scranton. where he opened a wholesale grocery
business at Nos. 26 and 28 Lackawanna avenue, a site which his house has
uninterruptedly occupied to the present time. While catering to all immediate
demands, he was constantly developing his business into larger channels, and
added to his lines of goods large quantities of his own direct importation from
foreign markets. Handling every description of staple and fancy groceries,
canned goods, produce and fruits, he made his house a rival in a large field
of those of the more pretentious metropolitan centres. He conducted this great
140 CITY OF SCRANTON
enterprise under his own individual name until il)03, when he effected its in-
corporation under the style of the John T. Porter Company. This house gives
constant employment to more than thirty employes, many of whom are heads
of families.
While it would seem that the upbuilding and management of so large an
enterprise would fully tax the capabilities of any one person, Mr Porter's un-
bounded energy and activity have found other avenues in the part he has taken
in connection with numerous other large undertakings, all of which are im-
portant factors in the business of the community. He was one of the original
incorporators of the Traders' National Bank, served long upon its directorate,
and has been president since 1895. This bank, organized in 1890, with a
capital of $250,000. is recognized as among the safest and most prosperous of
the financial institutions of the city. It has afforded judicious and valuable
support to numerous commercial and industrial enterprises of merit, and in
all ways has contributed in large degree to the promotion of the material in-
terests of the community. .Associated with Mr. Porter in the officiary are the
following named gentlemen of acknowledged financial and personal standing :
J. J. Jermyn, vice-president ; M. J. Murphy, cashier : directors : H. H. Brady
Jr., Robert W. Beadle, F. L. Belin, David Bois, Joseph J. Jermyn, Cyrus D.
Jones, Edward S. Jones, M. W. Collins, H. C. Manchester, Charles P. Mat-
thews, John T. Porter, R. H. Patterson, H. Jennings, R. E. Weeks, James
G. Shepherd. Mr. Porter is treasurer and director in the Mississippi Central
Railroad, and holds similar relations with the United States Lumber Com-
pany, which has extensive lumbering and other interests in Mississippi, which
are being developed into mammoth proportions. Mr. Porter has been for
twenty-five years a member of the Elm Park Methodist Episcopal Church, and
of its board of trustees. He is independent in politics. He is a highly re-
garded member of various leading social bodies — the Scranton Country Club,
the Southern Society of New York, and the Sons of Delaware in Philadelphia.
Mr. Porter married Harriet Schlager, daughter of the late John Schlager.
Of this marriage have been born six children : Elizabeth, who became the
wife of R. E. Weeks, of the firm of R. E. Weeks Company, and president of
the Scranton Board of Trade ; Florence S. ; John Kenneth ; James Russell ;
Eleanor.
JOHN W. HOW.\RTH
In the history of Scranton and her public men, men who have achieved
success through their own individual efforts, the direct result of integrity,
energy and perseverance, it is meet that mention should be made of John W.
Howarth, a member of the firm of Price & Howarth, one of the extensive
lumber enterprises of the city of Scranton.
John W. Howarth was born in Pittston, Pennsylvania, November 29,
1853. He spent his boyhood days at Carbondale, attending the schools in the
vicinity of his home, supplementing this knowledge by a course at Wyoming
Seminary, thus acquiring an excellent education. His first emplovment was in
the transportation department of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, with which cor-
poration he was connected for ten years. He then took up his residence in
Scranton. Pennsylvania, becoming connected with the firm of Swan & Price,
the senior partner being Colonel Price, his brother-in-law. and at the expira-
tion of three years Mr. Howarth purchased an interest in the firm, and upon
the death of Mr. Swan the business was continued by Colonel Price and IVlr.
Howarth, the name being changed to Price & Howarth. its present stvle.
Colonel Price died in 1892, his estate continuing to hold interest up to the
CITY OF SCRANTON 141
present time. The business is that of wholesale and retail lumber, their lumber
yard covering the entire block between Washington, Poplar and Ash streets.
The business is one of the leading enterprises of that thriving city, giving em-
ployment to a number of hands, thus adding to the growth and development
of that section of the city. In addition to this other business connection, he
serves as director of the Scranton Stove Works and the Cross Engineering
Company, of Carbondale, and for many years has been a member of the
Scranton Board of Trade. He is an independent Republican in politics, and
holds membership in the Blue Lodge, Masonic Order. Mr. Howarth has spent
the greater part of his life within sixteen miles of the court house in Scranton.
Mr. Howarth married, in 1882, Ina Price, born in Pittstou, a sister of
Colonel Price, aforementioned, and daughter of Samuel and Zillah fArm-
strong) Price. Mr. and Mrs. Howarth are the parents of two children:
Marian and Helen. The family occupy an enviable position in the social
circle of Dunmore, where they reside, being honored and respected by all who
know them for their many excellent characteristics. They u-e active and
prominent in all worthy causes, ever ready and willing to contribute their full
share toward the betterment of mankind.
JOHN SIMPSON
The history of the merchants of Scranton, reveals that fact that in nearly
every instance, their beginnings were small and that the largest and most pros-
perous firms of to-day are composed of men who have worked their way from
the foot of the ladder to the top most rounds of commercial success. The
present head of the Cleland-Simpson Company furnishes a striking instance
of how a clean living, ambitious young man may overcome the heaviest handi-
cap, and reach success through a strict adherence to the three cardinal virtues,
work, perseverance and honesty.
John Simpson, president of the Cleland-Simpson Company, was born in
Stonehaven, Scotland, January 7, 1852, son of Alexander and Margaret
(Logan) Simpson. Until fourteen years of age he attended the parish school,
then was apprenticed to a draper (dry goods dealer) with whom he remained
three years. At the age of seventeen years he came to the United States, locat-
ing in Rochester, New York, there entering the employ of Sibley, Lindsay and
Curr. After eight months in their employ, he came to Scranton as clerk in the
newly opened "Boston store." He remained in that capacity until 1873, when
he joined forces and capital with John Cleland, and opened a dry goods store
in Danville, Pennsylvania. They conducted a successful business there until
1876, when Mr. Simpson leaving his partner in charge of the Danville store,
returned to Scranton as a partner with Lindsay and Liddle, proprietors of the
Boston store. About three years later, still in partnership with John Qeland,
he opened a dry goods store in Pittston, Pennsylvania, which proved a success-
ful venture from the start. A few years later they sold their Danville store
and opened a similar store in Scranton, concentrating their energies on the
Scranton and Pittston establishments. The firm had now passed through the
formative, experimental stage and had proved their ability to conduct large
business undertakings, with judgment and profit. Deciding upon a plan of
expansion, they admitted a former employee, David E. Taylor, to a partnership,
placing him in charge of a new branch store at Allentown. A few years later
this branch was sold, a store having been opened in Carbondale, which later
was also sold. Later the business was incorporated as the Cleland, Simpson
Company, the present officials being : John Simoson, president : Harry Simp-
son, vice-president; U. A. Noble, secretary and treasurer. The firm employ
142 CITY OF SCRANTON
three traveling salesmen in their wholesale department, and in all their de-
partments about 200 people. An idea of the growth of this business may be
formed from a comparison of their original, with their present quarters. The
original building fifty by one hundred feet, one story in height, was erected by
Horace B. Phelps ; was sold by his estate to Elias Morris, from whom the
present owners purchased it. The present building is 100 feet front, 167 feet
in depth, five stories in height with a basement : the new addition built in
1913 being six stories in height. In addition to his private business and duties
as the head of the Cleland-Simpson Company, Mr. Simpson is a director of
the Scranton Lace Curtain Company.
This showing of the activity and success of the strange young Scotchman
in his forty years of business life in Scranton, stamps him as a man of rare
business genius, backed by an untiring energy, and ambition that would not be
satisfied with even moderate success. Unquestionably. Mr. Simpson deserves
a place among the leading merchants of Scranton, and none more worthilv or
justly bears tlie title of a "self-made" man.
Mr. Simpson married, in February, 1877, Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob
Stewart, of Danville, Pennsylvania ; children : Clara J., married Urban A.
Noble, secretary and treasurer of the Cleland-Simpson Company ; Florence ,
Helen E., married Charles Manacces, of San Francisco, California.
EDWARD PAYSON KINGSBURY
Edward Payson Kingsbury, a public-spirited citizen, and a man whose
honorable business methods and frank and genial manner have won for him
many friends in the city of his adoption, was born at Honesdale. Pennsyl-
vania, May 19, 1834, the son of Hon. Ebenezer Kingsbury and Elizabeth
Harlow (Fuller) Kingsbury, his wife.
On both his father's and his mother's side, i\]r. Kingsbury comes from a
long line of distingi:ished New England ancestry ; they both reach far back
into early Colonial days, and embrace a large number of those who were well-
known in the professions and in public life; many of them were clergymen.
These ancestors were conspicuous for their services to the American cause
during the Revolutionary War; among the latter was Captain Ebenezer
Kingsbur)-, of Coventry% Connecticut. It is recorded of him that "he was a
deacon in the church and a much valued citizen : representative in the general
assembly of the church continuously from 1754 to 1780;" at the same time he
was captain of a company of militia. It is said of him that during a critical
period of the Revolution he returned from the session of the general assembly
on a Saturday to work for the soldiers. His daughter, Priscilla. moulded
bullets from the lead clock weights, and his son, Joseph, made and baked
biscuits, both on the Sabbath : "sand bags were substituted for the lead weights
in the family clock, and on Monday he returned to his post of duty, his saddle-
bags balanced on one side with food for the soldiers, and on the other with
bullets for their enemies."
Mr. Kingsbury's grandfather was Rev. Ezenezer Kingsbury, a graduate of
Yale College in the class of 1783. He had his first charge at Jericho. Vermont,
and in 1810 came to Harford. Pennsylvania, where he preached and labored
for seventeen years, traveling by horseback through the wilderness embraced
by the counties of Wayne, Susquehanna. Bradford and Luzerne, going by
Indian trails and blazed bridle paths. He died, greatly beloved and mourned
at Harford, Pennsylvania, March 22, 1842. His wife was Hannah, daughter
of Rev. Noah and Hannah (Payson) WilHston, of West Haven, Connecticut.
CITY OF SCRANTON 143
She was directly connected with the distinguished Wilhston family of Mass-
achusetts.
Mr. Kingsbury's father was Hon. Ebenezer Kingsbury, who was born in
Jericho, Vermont, June 18, 1804, who came with tiie family to Harford, Penn-
sylvania, in 1810, where he received his education. He studied law with Hon.
William Jessup, of Montrose. On being admitted to the bar he moved to
Honesdale, Pennsylvania, where he soon took a leading position in tJie practice
of his profession. In 1830 he became deputy attorney general of the state.
From 1833 to 1840, in addition to his large law practice, he was the editor
and proprietor of the Wayne County Herald, the leading Democratic news-
paper of Northern Pennsylvania. He was elected to the senate of Penn-
sylvania for four years from 1837 to 1841, representing the counties of
Luzerne, Monroe, Pike and Wayne. During this term he was elected speaker
of the senate and was, by virtue of this office, next the governor in rank and
succession. His journeys each year to Harrisbnrg took several weeks, the
route being by stage to Philadelphia, thence by canal to Harrisburg, and re-
quired his absence from home all winter. He was a ruling elder in the Pres-
byterian church of Honesdale and superintendent of the Sunday school. He
died April 15, 1844, a young man barely across the threshold of life, with a
great future of promise and usefulness before him. It was said of him, "A
man righteous before God in all the relations of life." He inarried Elizabeth
Harlow Fuller, daughter of Edward and Hannah West Fuller, November 24,
1829. Mrs. Kingsbury was born in Norwich, Connecticut, January i, 1805,
and was a lineal descendant of Dr. Samuel Fuller, the beloved physician of
the "Mayflower." She died in Scranton, Pennsylvania, June 13, 1871.
Their son, Edward Payson Kingsbury, was born at Honesdale, Pennsyl-
vania, May 19, 1834. He received his education in the common schools and
in the academy in Honesdale, remaining a pupil until ten years of age, when,
owing to his father's death, he was obliged to leave school and obtain employ-
ment in Honesdale. This he found with a firm of tobacconists, H. E. & J. N.
Conger, where he remained one year, and then went into the drug store of
Dr. Dwiglit Reed, after which he entered the hat store of John A. Brink,
where he remained until he made an engagement with the firm of Scrantons &
Piatt, to enter their store at Scranton, and commenced work for them February
13, 1850. In 1853 he was transferred from the store to the general offices
of the company, by Mr. S. T. Scranton, and was appointed assistant to the
chief bookkeeper. Shortly after this he was appointed cashier of the com-
pany, and held this position until 1859, when the directors of the Lackawanna
Iron and Coal Company, successors to Scrantons & Piatt, this firm having been
merged into this corporation, June 10, 1853, elected him assistant treasurer of
the company. This office he held until 1881, when, after a service with Scran-
tons & Piatt, and their successors, of thirty-one years and six months, he
identified himself with the Scranton Steel Company, incorporated in that year,
with W. W. Scranton as president, Colonel Walter Scranton, vice-president,
and E. P. Kingsbury, secretary and treasurer. In the year 1891 this comr
pany was merged into the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company.
The Tribune Publishing Company was incorporated in 1891, and Mr.
Kingsbury was its first business manager. Later he was elected president,
vice Everett Warren, Esq., resigned. He helped to organize and became secre-
tary and treasurer of the Enterprise Powder Manufacturing Company of this
city. Later on the merging of this company with the E. I. Dupont de Nemours &
Company of Pennsylvania occurred and he became a director and auditor of that
company. Mr. Kingsbury is now a director in the following companies : The
County Savings Bank, the Scranton Gas & Water Company, the Title Guar-
144 CITY OF SCRANTON
anty & Surety Company, E. I. Dupont de Nemours & Company of Pennsyl-
vania, the Scranton Trust Company.
Mr. Kingsbury has been a lifelong Republican ; his first vote was cast in
1856 for John C. Fremont for president, and he has given his vote for the
Republican candidates at every presidential election since that time. He was a
delegate to the national convention of the Republican party held in Chicago in
1888, when Benjamin Harrison, of Indiana, was nominated for president of
the United States. He was appointed a notary public by Governor Curtin,
and re-appointed by Governors Geary and Hartranft. He was elected city
controller in 1879 and served two terms, up to and including 1883, and upon
many occasions has presided at city and county Republican conventions. For
two terms he served as jury commissioner of Lackawanna county.
He has been for many years prominently identified with Free Masonry ;
he became a Mason and member of Union Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons,
January 16, 1857; elected junior warden in December, 1857; senior warden
in 1858; and worshipful master in 1859, served as such during the year 1860-
61-62. In 1863 he was elected treasurer of the lodge, has been re-elected an-
nually since that time, and is now serving his fifty-first consecutive year. Mr.
Kingsbury was also district deputy grand master of the Grand Lodge of
Pennsylvania for several years, for the county of Luzerne. He is a life mem-
ber of Lackawanna Chapter, No. 185, R. A. M. ; was its high priest
for the year i860, and district deputy grand high priest of the Grand
Chapter of Pennsylvania for several years. He is also a member of Coeur de
Lion Commandery, No. 17, K. T., and was its eminent commander for the
years 1868-69-70. He has also served as treasurer of the Commandery for
forty-one years, and was re-elected for the forty-second consecutive time on
March 17, 1914.
From the time of his coming to Scranton, when upon the threshold of
young manhood, Mr. Kingsbury has been an ardent factor in the social,
religious and industrial life of our city. He has not only seen it grow — he
has been a lifelong pushing factor in its growth from a wilderness to a great
and teeming municipality. Scranton has been fortunate in having a large
class of splendid men as its builders, of which Mr. Kingsbury has ever been
one of the foremost. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of
Scranton, and for more than two decades acted as its chorister.
Mr. Kingsbury married Anna Louisa Kressler, daughter of David K.
Kressler, of Scranton, February 13, 1861. Their children are: Henry Willis-
ton, born December 20, 1861 ; Emma, born May 28, 1863, died in infancy ;
Lizzie, born July 18, 1865, died in infancy ; Charles Edward, born November
3, 1867: Anna Kressler, born October 12, 1869, became the wife of Richard
S. Storrs, of Orange, New Jersey; William Payson, born December 14, 1871,
died May 8, 1913. Mrs. Kingsbury was a woman of strong character, charni
ing presence and rare personal qualities. x\n earnest Christian and active
worker in the church, she was an ideal home-maker, than which there can be
no higher testimony paid to woman. She made her home a sanctuary for her
husband and her children, for which she will be long loved and her memory
revered and cherished. She passed to her rest, January 26, 191 3.
MAURICE T. MILLER
Maurice T. Miller, president and general manager of the T. M. Miller
Company, manufacturers of undertakers' supplies, is the first of his branch
of the family of American birth, Germany having been the home of all pre-
vious generations of the name. The origin of the name was probably from
CITY OF SCRANTON
145
the occupation of an early member of the family, most of our surnames having
been derived in that and similar manners.
Theodore M. Miller, son of Otto Miller, and founder of the company of
which his son is now the able head, was born in Leipsic, Germany, one of
the oldest university cities in the German Empire, in 1848. At an early age he
came to this country with his parents, settling in Archbald about 1852. Here
his father conducted a general contracting business and also made coffins, as re-
quired by the undertakers of the vicinity. In this town Theodore M. Miller
attended the public schools and spent his boyhood years. In 1873 he inaugu-
rated the present business at Jermyn, Pennsylvania, twenty years later moving
to Scranton. While from a financial standpoint his enterprise was always
a success, it was not until he came to Scranton that it began its greatest de-
velopment, in the course of which it has trebled in size and has taken a position
among the foremost houses of its kind in the country.
Theodore M. Miller was in his youth a musician of great talent, and with
the proper training, study and instruction would doubtless have become one of
the leading violinists of the day. While still a lad in his teens he played first
violin in a theatre orchestra. He was the organizer of the Jermyn Band, which
at one of the Welsh carnivals of the early days won first prize, Mr. Miller
was one of the most widely acquainted men in the Lackawanna valley and was
held in universal esteem among those with whom he came into contract in
business or social life. Friendly, of genial nature, he possessed the other
qualities so often the concomitants of those, quick sympathy and impulsive
generosity. He gave liberally to those in need, his gifts being tendered in the
spirit of fellowship that took the sting away from the necessity of accepting
charity and made the recipient of his bounty his lifelong admirer and champion.
There were many in the region through which he traveled and in his home
city who blessed his memiory and mourned his death as a personal grief. He
was fraternally connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and
was a charter member of the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks. He died in 1906. He married Sarah Foster, a native of Eng-
land. One of their children died young. The others : Maurice T., of further
mention; Gertrude, married J. Hitchcock; Harry A. ; Robert R.
Maurice T. Miller, son of Theodore M. and Sarah (Foster) Miller, was
born in Jermyn, Pennsylvania, February 17, 1874. He was educated in the
public schools, and early in life began to learn the business of his father,
working in every department and also as a road salesman. Taught to regard
this as his life work he made every preparation possible for the position he
now holds, and at the death of his father in igo6, incorporated the business
as the T. M. Miller Company, with himself as president and general manager,
and M. B. Gay as secretary and treasurer. The latter has since retired from
active participation in affairs, his interest now being owned and his office held
by H. A. Miller, giving the entire control of the business to the family of the
founder. One of the first houses of its kind in Northeastern Pennsylvania,
the T. M. Miller Company is backed by a reputation covering years of service
performed to the satisfaction of the undertakers of the state. Their catalogue
includes all articles needed by undertakers in their business, caskets of all
kinds, dry goods, etc. Their field is country wide, seven salesmen traveling
constantly in their employ and about 120 undertakers acting as local agents.
In addition to this, through the medium of an exhaustive and profusely illus-
trated catalogue, a large mail order business is conducted. Mr. Miller super-
vises this business in a competent manner, maintaining the high standard set
by his honored father.
Maurice T. Miller is a member of Hyde Park Lodge, No. 333, F. and
146 CITY OF SCRANTON
A. M., the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and serves on the Scran-
ton Board of Trade. Both he and his wife are members of the Washburn
Street Presbyterian Church. He married Mary, daughter of Job Harris, of
Scranton, and has two children, Theodore H. and Alary.
Mr. Miller, trained for the position he now occupies, has had little op-
portunity to display his constructive ability, but in the direction of the business
founded by his father shows executive talent that justifies faith in his future
achievements, and promises him to be a worthy son of an honored and re-
spected, albeit deeply mourned, sire.
LUTHAN B. MOSHER
Although a resident of Scranton since 1892, and one of the leading mer-
chants, Mr. Mosher is a native of New York state, where the Moshers and
his maternal ancestors, the Dickinsons, are among the oldest families. He is
a son of Adalbert and Susan (Dickinson) Mosher, the former for many years
a merchant of Trumansburg, New York, where he yet resides.
Luthan B. Mosher was born in Trumansburg, June 8, 1863. He was there
educated and resided until he was twenty years of age, then went to Rochester.
New York, always a great clothing manufacturing centre, where he learned
the trade of garment cutter. After mastering this art he learned the tailoring
part of the business, becoming a finished workman in both branches of the mer-
chant tailor's trade, cutting and making. In 1892 he located in Scranton and
established a merchant tailoring business in association with Henry D. Hodg-
son under the firm name of Hodgson & Mosher. In 1894 Mr. Mosher pur-
chased his partner's interest, and later admitted as partner, J. W. Coleman,
operating as Mosher & Coleman. Four years later he bought Mr. Coleman's
interest and has since continued the business. In 1903 his store was destroyed
by fire, in what is locally known as the Young Men's Christian Association
fire. He is now located in splendidly appointed quarters on the first floor of
the Burr Building, No. 138 Washington avenue, where he conducts a most
exclusive and well patronized tailoring establishment. Mr. Mosher is a mem-
ber of Trumansburg Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Royal Arch Masons ;
Saint Augi:stine Commandery, Knights Templar, of Ithaca, New York ; and
of Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania.
In Scranton he is a member of the Board of Trade, the Scranton Club and
St. Luke's Episcopal Church.
Mr. Mosher married Lois Burr, one of the two daughters of Dr. Andrew
E. Burr, for forty years a practicing physician of Carbondale and Scranton.
He was born in Gilbertsville, New York, in 1837, died in Scranton, Penn-
sylvania, October 7, 1900, and is buried in Dunmore Cemetery. He prepared
for the practice of medicine and in i860 located in Carbondale, where until
1875 he continued in successful practice. In the latter year he moved to
Scranton where he was in active practice until failing health, only a short
time prior to his death, caused his retirement. He was a skillful physician
and a good citizen, aiding by his enterprise and foresight in the development
of Scranton. The Burr Building on Washington avenue was erected by Dr.
Burr against the advice of his friends, but in spite of advice and ridicule he
trusted his own foresight and became the pioneer office builder in that block,
the site of the building being that of his residence which was removed to make
way for the new building. He was well known and popular, had a large prac-
tice and a wealth of friends. While in Carbondale he married Miss Phillios,
who died in July, 1913.
CITY OF SCRANTON 147
EDWARD O. KOLB
In a day when methods and processes of food preparation have become so
unclean, unsanitary, and unhealthful, as to necessitate the vigilance of a Pure
Food Commission and the most stringent of laws to prevent the introduction of
adulterants, preservatives and other deleterious compounds into the articles
intended for our consumption ; and when the United States Bureau of Chem-
istry is constantly engaged in analyzing food-stuits and exposing their illegal
ingredients, it is indeed a satisfaction to discover a place devoted to the prepara-
tion of an article of food where cleanliness and purity reign supreme. Picture
a two-story edifice, built of Avondale marble and brick, 120 by 150 feet,
housing Kolb's Bakery. Within, every appliance used in the making of the
bread is snowy white ; the sides of the building are little more than glass,
through which the sunlight streams ; the robes of the bakers are glistening
white. Fresh air, sunlight, and cleanliness defy the presence of dirt or dust.
Here, safeguarded from any contaminating germs, 25,000 loaves of bread are
baked daily and sent out to the homes of the Lackawanna and Wyoming
valleys, their purchasers assured that here, at least, is a product of purity.
The Kolb family on the paternal side has long been resident in Penn-
sylvania, while maternally New York has been its home for an equally long
time. John G. Kolb was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, died in 1882,
aged fifty years. His lifelong trade was that of baker, which he followed
independently, for the most part. He was a Scottish Rite Mason, belonging
to the Knights Templar. He married Sarah Kaiser, and they became the
parents of several children.
Edward O. Kolb, son of John G. and Sarah (Kaiser) Kolb, was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 29, 1875. He obtained an excellent education
in the public schools, graduating from high school in 1892. He first obtained
employment with his three brothers and thoroughly learned the lumber busi-
ness, abandoning that to learn the baking business, practiced by his father.
In partnership with his brother, Robert C., he opened a bakery in Trenton.
No sooner was this started upon a successful career and its popularity and
permanence assured, than, with his brother, Frank, he went to Reading and
there performed the same operation. After this, too, was firmly established,
Edward O. Kolb came to Scranton and there built and equipped his present
bakery, a model of modern and sanitary methods. In the beginning of the
bakery's existence only ten persons were employed, the force having been
increased in accordance to the demands of the business until now seventy-
five persons are engaged. A most efficient system of distribution is main-
tained, fifty per cent, of the daily output reaching families in the Lackawanna
and VV'yoming valleys outside of the city of Scranton. The enormity of the
amount of bread baked is well shown by the quantity of flour used in its
making, two and a half carloads being converted into the "staff of life" weekly.
Mr. Kolb belongs to the Masonic Order and is a member of King Solomon's
Lodge. No. 114, F. and A. M., and Melita Chapter, Royal Arch Masons. He
also holds membership in the Scranton Bicycle Club. He married Martha,
daughter of William Rayer, of Rayersville, Pennsylvania. Children: Sarah
E. and Emma.
An excellent organizer, Mr. Kolb has placed his business in Scranton upon
a firm and lucrative basis. Catering to the public taste in a manner and by
a system that immediately won approval, he has built up in Scranton, as he did
in Trenton and Reading, a flourishing trade. Progressive and modern in
ideas, he is a valuable acquisition to Scranton society, as his business is to her
industrial interests.
148 CITY OF SCRANTC)N
J. SCOTT INGLIS
Now one of the oldest merchants of Scranton, yet in active business, Mr.
IngHs can boast of a mercantile experience in four countries, Scotland, Eng-
land, South America and the United States. Coming to Scranton when a young
man of about twenty years, his experience as clerk and merchant covers near-
ly a half century and as the city has grown and prospered, so has Mr. Inglis.
He was bom in Newcastleton, Roxburyshire, Scotland, October lo, 1847,
son of Frank and Jeannette (Scott) Inglis, both descendants of old Scottish
families, his mother belonging to the same family as Sir Walter Scott, the
great novelist. His father, Frank Inglis, was a sheep and wool dealer.
J. Scott Inglis was educated in the parish schools of Newcastleton, and
on arriving at a suitable age became a draper's apprentice, serving four years
in the town of Hawick. After finishing his years of apprenticeship he spent
some time in Manchester, England, as clerk for the firm of Cleaton & Williams,
drapers. An opportunity then presented itself, which he embraced, and he is
next found in Buenos Ayres, South America. He did not long remain in that
city, but ascending the Uruguay river to Roman, he found employment with
a beef company, operating a large soladom there, dressing from one to two
thousand cattle daily, the carcasses being shipped to England. While in the
employ of the beef company, he made the acquaintance of an English com-
mercial traveler who recognized him as a man he had seen in Hicke. They
became friends, with the result that the Englishman induced Mr. Inglis to
become his assistant in handling the dry goods trade in his South American
territory. In 1866 he came to the United States, going to New York City for
a short time, then coming to Scranton, being sent here by Samuel Rogers, a
brother-in-law of the late Thomas Moore. He was first employed in a store
of Mrs. Courtney, then was with Orr Brothers until they went out of busi-
ness. He next clerked for the firm of Fisher, Sutphen & Whitmore, whose
place of business was at the present site of Goldsmith's Bazaar. The next year
he spent in the state of Illinois, then returned to Scranton and opened a general
store in Dunmore, continuing in business there four years. After selling his
Dunmore store he opened a grocery at the corner of Penn avenue and Spruce
street, which after three years he sold. He then became a clerk in the store
of R. L. Lindsay in the Boston Store, continuing until 1881, when he became
manager of the carpet and furniture departments of Williams & McAnulty.
who were just starting. Here he gained his expert knowledge of the furniture
and carpet trade and not long afterward became a member of the firm of
Hazlett & Company, carpet and furniture dealers. After one and a half
years he sold his interest to Mr. Hazlett, but remained as manager of the
store. During this period he visited his old Scottish home, spending two
months in revisiting the scenes of his youth. After his return to Scranton he
was manager for H. D. Judd & Company until he established a carpet store
of his own at No. 419 Lackawanna avenue, continuing there in successful
business for eleven years. In 1906 his store was burned and he did not again
resume business until April 12, 191 3. He then opened his present store in the
new building. No. 428 Lackawanna avenue, where he again engaged in the
same lines, furniture, carpets and wall paper. His life has been an eventful
one and from boyhood to the present has been one of activity and purpose.
He is well known and holds an honorable position in the commercial world.
His interests extend beyond his store and are of importance. He was one
of the organizers of the Pine Brook Bank and its first president. In political
faith he is a Republican, and in religious belief a Presbyterian, belonging to
the First Presbyterian Church.
CITY OF SCRANTON 149
Mr. Inglis married Nancy Victoria, daughter of Abraham Robinson, of
Canada. Children : William W.. now manager of the Hillside Coal Company
of Dnnmore; Jessie, married B. E. Aliller, of Scranton, head painter of the
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad of East Orange; Helen, married
W. B. Jennings, vice-president of the Dime Bank of Pittston and superin-
tendent of the Pennsylvania Coal Company.
PHILIP L. SYLVESTER
As a successful inventor and vice-president of the Scranton Butti^n Com-
pany, Mr. Sylvester is well known to the industrial world.
Born in 1852, he passed his youth in New York City where he attended
public school until his sixteenth year, when he left home and journeyed west-
ward, spending two and one-half years in the then sparsely settled state of
Missouri. This separation from the turmoil of city life gave him an op-
portunity to pursue his studies, and acquire the reading habit, which is still
one of his greatest pleasures. Contact with the free life of the early settlers,
untrammeled by conventionalities, developed a liberality of thought and free-
dom from prejudice. In the solitude of the primitive forest he imbibed a love
of nature, which still remains a source of keen satisfaction.
He then returned to New York City, and for nearly five years was clerk
on the wharf of the National Steamship Company plying between New York,
Liverpool and London. Here he availed himself of the fine opportunity
offered for studying the free play of the emotions of traveling humanity when
under the stress and excitement of arriving and departing vessels. He ac-
quired a good working knowledge of custom house regulations and practice, as
well as experience in marine freight, and the discharging and loading of trans-
atlantic steamers. Always of an inquiring and inventive turn of mind, he in-
vented, while in the employ of the company, a reel for winding telegraph tape
automatically. The reels were used successfully in the company's main office
as well as on the wharf, the manager expressing his appreciation of the ap-
paratus by presenting Mr. Sylvester with a substantial bonus.
His leanings towards industrial inventions, however, became too strong
for him to remain in a clerical position. In 1874 he engaged in the manu-
facture of composition goods. Realizing the importance and advantage of
producing a composition that could be used in the manufacture of buttons,
dominoes, checkers, knobs, etc., he bent his energies in this direction, and
finally perfected a substance that has proved valuable in the manufacture, not
only of the articles mentioned, but also of many others, notably moulded
electrical insulations, and its application in this field has kept pace with the
development of the electrical industry. His invention of automatic machines
revolutionized the business, and gave Mr. Sylvester and his business associates
a great advantage over competitors.
After fifteen years spent in Auburn, New York, in the composition busi-
ness, in 1890 he took up his residence in Scranton, becoming associated with
William Connell, and his son, Charles R. Connell, now president of The
Scranton Button Company. This proved an efficient combination of talent.
Charles R. Connell's aggressive business ability combined with Mr._ Sylvester's
inventive and industrial executive ability have firmly established in Scranton
the largest manufacturing plant of its kind in the world, one whose product
is shipped to the uttermost parts of the earth.
Although Mr. Sylvester had taken out more than twenty patents on ma-
terial and processes, he had been granted additional patents on improved
processes and methods of manipulation. He is constantly seeking to produce a
ISO CITY OF SCRANTON
still more perfect material and lessen the cost of production. He is of a
studious turn of mind, with leaning towards scientific and philosophical sub-
jects.
He is a thirty-second degree Mason, a member of Peter Williamson Lodge,
No. 323, F. and A. M.; Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; all
bodies of Keystone Consistory, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite; a mem-
ber of the Temple Club, the Scranton Press Club and the American Society
for Judicial Settlement of International Disputes. Politically he is a Re-
publican.
Mr. Sylvester married, in 1874, Louise C. Haendle, daughter of Conrad
Haendle, of New York City. Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester have three children:
Louise E., a graduate of Wellesley College, now Mrs. Paul L. Criblet, of San
Francisco, California; Elfreida, salutatorian of Scranton High School, class
of 1899 ; Louis G., graduate of Cornell University, now assistant manager of
The Scranton Button Company ; married Harriet Lindsay, daughter of Robert
K. Lindsay. Mrs. Sylvester and her daughter Elfreida are members of the
Second Presbyterian Church. The family home is at 306 Webster avenue.
WILLIAM J. DAVIS
When the Bliss-Davis Building, at the corner of Adams avenue and Spruce
street, was thrown open to the public, it was as the business home of one of
its owners, William J. Davis, merchant tailor. Mr. Davis was one of the
early merchants and leading citizens of Forest City, Pennsylvania, until 1896,
when he located in Scranton and here has advanced to the front rank in his
private business and to important position in the various corporations in which
he is interested. He was born in county Donegal, Ireland, October 30, 1856,
son of Robert and Mary (Brown) Davis, both descendants of old families
of that county and freeholders for many generations. His father, Robert
Davis, came to the United States with his family of six children in 1864, and
purchased a farm on Long Island, New York, where he engaged in agriculture
until his death. The old homestead still remains in the possession of the family.
He had seven children who grew to mature years, William J., of whom further ;
Margaret ; Sarah ; John ; Robert ; George ; Minnie.
William J. Davis passed the first seven years of his life in his native land,
was brought to the United States with his parents in 1864 and grew to man-
hood at the Long Island farm. He was educated in the public schools of his
neighborhood, later continuing his studies at schools in Maine, and St. Albans,
Vermont. After his marriage he purchased a farm in Wayne county, Penn-
sylvania, teaching school during the winter months and managing the farm
in the summer. In 1884 he sold his farm and began mercantile life in Forest
City, then little more than a name, he being one of the first merchants there.
For thirteen years he engaged in mercantile tailoring, and as dealer in ready-
made clothing and all branches of gentleman's furnishings. He prospere(i
abundantly and was one of the leaders in the development of Forest City from
hamlet to borough. He held many public positions, but was especially inter-
ested in educational matters. He was a member of the school board and its
president when the present admirable system of schools was inaugurated and
buildings erected for their accommodation. So carefully were they planned
and so business-like was their erection that their comparatively small cost
caused public comment. Mr. Davis also erected the finest opera house in the
county, one unequaled anywhere in the country in towns even much larger.
He also erected many other buildings ; was a member of the building com-
mittee that erected the Episcopal church, contributed the first money for the
CITY OF SCRANTON 151
building of the Methodist Episcopal church and was one of the first subscribers
toward the building fund of the Roman Catholic church. In 1896 he located
in Scranton, opening a merchant tailoring establishment in the old Frothinghani
Arcade. Later he located on Spruce street, remaining there three years, then
moving to the newly completed Bliss-Davis Building, corner Adams avenue
and Spruce street, of which he is part owner. He does a very large merchant
tailoring business, greater in volume than any other tailor in the city. He
was one of the organizers of the Union National Bank, which he serves as
director, and was president of the Scranton Fire Insurance Company until
it passed out of existence. He is a member of Saint Luke's Episcopal Church
and in political faith is a Republican. Mr. Davis has acquired considerable
valuable real estate in Scranton and other towns and in connection with Mr.
Valentine Bliss he is developing a section of land consisting of forty acres iti
the eastern part of the city.
Mr. Davis, married Frances, daughter of William B. Dalton, of county
Clare, Ireland, the Daltons were originally a family of France. Oiildren :
I. William R., a graduate of Friends School, Providence, Rhode Island, ana
of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, degree of C.E., now engaged in his
profession in Pittsburgh. He was one of the engineers engaged in the con-
struction of Pittsburgh's filtration plant. 2. Ralph, graduate of Blair (Penn-
sylvania) High School and of Cornell L'niversity, class of 191 1, C. E., now
engaged with the great steel firm of Pittsburgh, Jones and Laughlin. ^.
Harold, graduate of Blair High School, received an appointment as cadet to
the L^nited States Naval Academy at Annapolis, spent one year there ; entered
the School of Mines at Golden, Colorado, now engaged in the real estate busi-
ness in Scranton. 4. Dalton, graduate of Blair High School, spent one year at
Dartmouth College, then entered Columbia L'niversity, whence he was grad-
uated 19 1 3 in pharmacy.
JENNIE LEWIS EVANS
That one of the leading retail business houses of Scranton is presided
over by a woman is rather unusual even in this day of advanced thought con-
cerning the equality of the sexes. But when the training previously secured
while in the employ of others, her natural aptitude and her acute business
instinct is weighed, it causes no wonder that Mr?. Evans has risen to a high
position in the mercantile world. In fact the qualities she possesses invariably
lead in but one direction, upward. Thoroughly a business woman and asking
no favors from her masculine competitors on account of sex, Mrs. Evans is so
essentially feminine, gentle and modest, that her success in the stern world of
competitive business calls for more than passing comment. This rare business
ability does not come to her as an inheritance from commercial ancestors, as
their lot was cast among the mountains of Wales where extracting minerals
from mother earth to enrich others, rather than themselves, was their por-
tion. So as neither heredity nor environment can be charged with her rise
in the business world, the secret must be in her own character While from
her Welsh forbears strength of body, clearness of mind and habits of industry
were obtained, the motive power that drives these powers into her service is
not difficult to find. Starting humbly as a clerk, an ambition was aroused to
become a merchant herself. With this definite ambition, close observation, un-
tiring energy and thorough study of the principles underlying retail mer-
chandising, soon brought her to the starting point of an independent mer-
cantile career. The experience ripened her judgment, fewer and fewer mis-
takes were made, success followed success as lines were broadened and trade
152 CITY OF SCRANTON
increased until from the little beginning with two employes, she now is pro-
prietor of the largest as well as the second oldest retail shoe store in Scranton,
employing twenty-five people, enjoying a high class of patronage, sufficient to
keep them all busy. That this has been accomplished in the years since i88i5
seems additional reason to confer upon Mrs. Evans the title of "Scranton's
leading business woman."
Mrs. Jennie Lewis Evans v/as born in Carmarthenshire, Wales, daughter
of Reese J. and Ann (Jones) Lewis. Her father, Reese J. Lewis, was a miner
and contractor in his native land, coming to the United States in 1868. He
spent the remaining years of his active life in mining operations, prospered and
spent his last years retired. He died m 1887. (P'or a more extended account,
see sketch of William R. Lewis in this work).
Jennie Lewis was brought by her parents to Scranton in 1868 and here she
obtained a good education in the public schools. Determining upon a busi-
ness career she entered the employ of Goldsmith Brothers, continuing until
1888, when in partnership with David M. Reilly, she established a letail shoe
store at No. 114 Wyoming avenue, under the firm name, Lewis & Reilly.
The business grew, and prosperity came as a result of well directed effort and
the best modern methods. The firm established a high standing in the business
world for energy and integrity, and existed in the same locality and under
the same ownership until 1900, when Mr. Reilly withdrew. The store is still
continued at the same location under the direct management of Mrs. Evans, its
founder, but greatly enlarged and improved.
Jennie Lewis married, in 1909, Elias E. Evans, born in Wales in 1862,
son of Daniel D. Evans, who soon afterward came with his family to the
United States, locating at Hyde Park (Scranton) where he organized the firm
of D. D. Evans & Company, which became one of the prosperous busi-
ness houses of that section. Elias E. Evans, after completing his studies,
entered mercantile life, and is now proprietor of the oldest shoe store in
Hyde Park, and a successful and prosperous merchant, senior partner of the
firm of Evans & Powell. He is active in religious and public life of Hyde
Park, served twelve years as school director and is a deacon of Plymouth Con-
gregational Church. Mrs. Evans is also a communicant of that church.
GARRETT SMITH
Garrett Smith, a prominent and influential resident of Scranton, Penn-
sylvania, traces his ancestry through a long line of English forbears. He was
born near Belvidere, Warren county. New Jersey, September 17, 1830, son
of Jacob and Caroline (Axford) Smith.
Captain John Axford, maternal great-grandfather of Garrett Smith, was
born in England, December 22, 1761, died January 14, 1843. He came to this
country previous to the Revolutionary War, in which he actively participated,
receiving his commission as captain under General Washington. During the
struggle he made his home at Oxford Furnace. New Jersey, where he be-
came possessor of a large tract of land and where he made his home upon the
cessation of hostilities. He subsequently became a drover, an occupation he
followed for many years, as it was an agreeable and lucrative means of liveli-
hood. He bore a reputation upon which there was no suggestion of a smirch,
his dealings with his fellow men being honorable and upright, while his private
life was scrupulously clean. In religious faith he was a Presbyterian, and in
politics a staunch Whig. He married Eleanor P. Polhemus, born in the
colonies, April 7, 1767, died June 22, 1848, aged eighty-one years, daughter of
John Polhemus, of English birth, and granddaughter of John Hart, one of the
CITY OF SCRANTON
153
signers of the Declaration of Independence. Children : Abraham, John,
Charles, Montgomery, Eleanor.
John Axford, maternal grandfather of Garrett Smith, was a native of New
Jersey, a farmer by occupation, and in 1829 moved from his native state to
southern Michigan, locating in Oakland county, a section of the state then a
wilderness. He purchased 640 acres in the oak openings and erected a log
house in the middle of the section. As a farmer he was practical and efficient,
qualities which he also possessed in business dealings, together with a keen
sagacity. He married (first) Mary De Que, of French extraction, (second)
Charity Axford. Children of first marriage : Samuel T., John, Abraham,
Caroline, Mary, Sarah. Child of second marriage : William J.
(I) Peter Smith, paternal grandfather of Garrett Smith, a native of New
Jersey, followed his occupation of farmer in Warren county, near Oxford
Furnace, where he was the owner of 260 acres of good farm land. Upon his
death the property came into possession of his sons, later becoming the prop-
erty of Garrett Smith, who still retains it, with the exception of a few lots
platted for the village of Oxford Furnace, which was named by Captain
John .Oxford for Oxford, England. Peter Smith died at his home in Belvidere,
New Jersey, aged eighty years.
(II) Jacob Smith, father of Garrett Smith, was born in Warren counry.
New Jersey. For a number of years he engaged in farming in the vicinity
of Belvidere, later moving to near Oxford Furnace. In 1855 he located in
Michigan and purchased a farm near Rochester, Oakland county, where he
spent the remainder of his life. He married Caroline Axford, born in New
Jersey in 1810, died in 1848. Among their children were: i. Sarah, married
William Petty, now deceased, of Washington, New Jersey. 2. Garrett, of
further mention. 3. John A., a resident of Oakland county, Michigan. 4.
Samuel T., a resident of Rockaway, New Jersey, who served as private in a
Pennsylvania regiment in the Union army. 5. Peter J., a resident of Rochelle
Park, now Passaic, New Jersey, a lieutenant in a New Jersey regiment during
the Civil War. 6. Eliza. 7. Caroline, who married John Kline.
(III) Garrett Smith, son of Jacob and Caroline (Axford) Smith, was born
near Oxford Furnace, Warren county, New Jersey, September 17, 1830, and
now (1914) in his eighty-fourth year is an honored resident of Scranton,
Pennsylvania. He obtained his education in the public schools of his native
township, and early in life learned the miller's trade. He came to Scranton at
an early date. 1848, and is one of the remaining residents of this city who
remember the little settlement as Slocum Hollow, then only a furnace and
rolling mill. He came here in company witli John Landis, making the
journey from New Jersey by wagon and teams. Mr. Smith, then only a
boy, drove six cows and it took four days to complete the journey. The present
city was then little more than a hamlet, giving little promise of the prosperous
Scranton of to-day. Mr. Smith's fund of experience in the new section is most
interesting and includes the fact that he has hunted rabbits over the ground
now occupied by the Lackawanna county court house. For eight months
he worked on a farm rented by Mr. Landis and owned by the Lackawanna
Iron and Coal Company, on which the Delaware. Lackawanna & Western Rail-
road station and shops are now located. In the fall of 1849 h^ was employed
in the old frame Slocum mill, operated by the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Com-
pany. In 1850 a new mill, the Brick mill, was erected by the same company,
that began grinding the same year, with Mr. Smith as foreman or head miller.
This mill turned out 600 barrels of flour per month. For thirty years this
mill was run by water power, steam then being introduced, obtained from the
154 CITY OF SCRANTON
company's rolling mills. For fifty-three years INlr. Smith held his position ;
the mill was abandoned in 1901, and he then retired from active labor, a most
wonderful and praiseworthy record of loyalty and appreciation. On April i,
i860, Mr. Smith removed to his present house, then a farm house located upon
a farm owned by the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company,
consisting of 300 acres and known as the Griffin farm tract. The house in
which he still resides was built in 181 2, and for many years he not only acted
as the chief miller for the company by which he was employed but also had
the supervision of this entire farm, looking after these two interests at the
same time. This entire tract of land has since been sold for building lots and
it is now thickly covered with residences.
Mr. Smith is a Presbyterian in religious faith and for thirty years has been
a member of the board of trustees of the Washburn Street Presbyterian
Oiurch, most of that time serving as president of the board. His political
affiliations have always been strongly Republican. To few men has so long a
term of active life been vouchsafed as to Mr. Smith. His long and useful
life is a record of duty well performed, and now long past the allotted term of
man's life he takes a keen delight in the doings of the present, although for
him the "long ago'' is filled with the most pleasant reminiscence. A com-
panionable, sprightly old gentleman he boasts a host of warm appreciative
friends to whom he is both an inspiration and a delight. He is an authority
on local history, his residence covering the long gap between Slocum Hollow
of 1840 and Scranton, the prosperous, thickly populated capital of Lackawanna
county of to-day.
^Ir. Smith married Mary H. Landis, who died in Scranton, October 9, 1891,
daughter of John Landis, with whom he came from New Jersey to Scranton.
Children: Samuel Irving, a farmer of Lackawynna township; Li?zie Bell,
widow of Frank Freeman, lives with her father; Marvin Colvin. an employee
of the Gas and Water Company.
LAYTON L. SHOEMAKER
A guest enjoying the genial hospitality of the Hotel Jermyn where his
every need had been anticipated and every provision made for his comfort,
gives little thought to the master mind behind it all, but regards only the im-
mediate party supplying each need. Chef, cook, waiter, clerk or maid are each
lauded in turn, but of Mr. Shoemaker, the managing mind of it all, he knows
or sees but little. Yet each detail of each department is well known to him,
its head is selected and instructed by him and the burden of the management
of the great hotel, that cares each day for a number of people greater than
the entire population of many villages, rests entirely upon his shoulders. So
the personality of the man who silent and unseen, is so important to the pros-
perity of the great enterprise, becomes of interest.
Layton L. Shoemaker was born in Cherry Valley, Pennsylvania, October
23, 1872. He is the son of Theodore Shoemaker, born in Cherry Valley in
1821, son of German parents, died 1888, his death caused by accident. He
was a farmer of the valley for several years, later moving to East Stroudsburg,
Pennsylvania, where he entered the bridge building department of the Dela-
ware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad as carpenter, continuing until an un-
lucky fall from a bridge on which he was employed caused his death.
Lavton L. Shoemaker spent his very early life in Stroudsburg, coming to
Scranton at the age of ten years, there passing through the public schoo',
finishing in high school, although not completing the full course, having ear'y
in life the problem of making his own way in the world thrust upon him. He
^- >3 ^ ^/^^^^-^-^^^
CITY OF SCRANTON 153
began his business career as errand boy in the employ of C. S. Woolworlh.
continuing six years, but in higher position. He then entered the employ of
The Grand Union Tea Company, at No. 109 Wyoming avenue, as clerk, re-
maining five years, then was transferred to the Lackawanna avenue store of
the same city, holding the same position there for three years. In 1894 he
became a clerk for F. S. Godfrey, proprietor of the Lackawanna Valley
House, Scranton, and there gained his first experience in the hotel business.
He remained with Mr. Godfrey two years, then became manager of the cigar
business of the Hotel Jermyn. The following year he was appointed cashier
of the hotel, two years later became head clerk, and on January i, 1912, was
appointed manager of the hotel, which position he most capably fills. His
management of this greatest of Scranton hotels has met with the entire ap-
proval of the owners, while the patrons of the hotel are loudest in its praise.
The knowledge of duty well performed brings its own satisfaction and reward;
the consciousness that one's efforts are noted and appreciated is a source of
gratification to any man, and to none does greater credit belong than to Mr.
Shoemaker, who has fairly won his way from the bottom of the ladder. He
is progressive, energetic and practical, rides no hobbies, but with well formed
plans, directs this great house of entertainment, with strict regard for the
interest of the owners and the just rights of the traveling public. He realizes
that these never conflict but are so closely allied that should either be neglected,
both must suffer. He is a member of the Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and
Accepted Masons, and of Keystone Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottisli
Rite, thirty-second degree, also a "Shriner" of Irem Temple, Wilkes-Barre.
In his personality genial and generous, the number of his friends is legion
and all have for him a sincere regard.
EMILIO DEANTONIO, 1\L D.
Of gentle blood, high university attainments and of political importance in
the city of his birth, Dr. Deantonio voluntarily relinguished position and friends
to become a resident of the United States. His father, Francesco Deantonio,
was a distinguished scholar, physician, naturalist, for several years professor
of natural science at the Lyceum of Alexandria and translator of the famous
Tito Lucretio Caro poem "De Rerum Natura." This great work was pre-
sented in manuscript form to the municipality of Alexandria, North Italy,
after the translator's death, by his widow. So highly was the gift prized that
that municipality defrayed all cost of publication and gave it to the world in
book form. Professor Deantonio married Angiolina Rossi, of Turin, Pied-
mont (North Italy), and had six children: i. Emilio, of further mention.
2. Felix, prepared for the practice of law under the famed Italian jurist.
Vincenzo Demaria. co-worker in the promulgation of the New Italian Penal
Code ; Felix Deantonio is a leading criminal lawyer of Turin, Italy ; he mar-
ried the then only living descendant of the renowned Italian astronomer and
mathematician, Giovanni Plana: she died in Turin in 1913, leaving large estates
in Stradella, Piedmont. 3. Carlo, one of the bravest and most skillful military
tacticians of the Italian army in which he holds the rank of lieutenant-colonel :
resides in Milan, Italy ; he was for many years professor of the Italian School
of War, has won recognition from both his own and other governments by
whom he has been decorated with many badges of honor ; he married Baroness
Bichi, of one of Italy's noble families. 4. Attilio, now and for many years
professor of literature in the high school of Casale Monferrat. 5. Louise,
married Fortunato Tiscar, Chevalier of the Crown of Italy, the well known
Italian consular agent of Scranton. 6. Josephine, married Julius Fassella,
156 CITY OF SCRANTON
professor of physics and mathematics of Milan Normal School, son of the
late director of the Italian Naval School at Genoa.
Dr. Emilio Deantonio was born at Alexandria, Northern Italy, October 4.
1870. He was educated in the preliminary school of Alexandria, the Roya.
University of Turin and Pavia University, receiving from the latter institution
at his graduation in 1894 the degree of M.D. He was for one year assistant
to the present deputy, R. Rampoldi, who is professor of ophtalmology at Pavia
University. Dr. Deantonio, soon after taking his degree, entered the arena
'of public life and was elected a member of the council, governing the city of
Alexandria. Later he was elected to select council, so well had he served the
interests of the municipality. During his tenure of office as a councilman, he
visited the United States in 1903, arriving on the steamer '"Lombardia." He
traveled over the country with an observant eye and becoming convinced of
the wisdom of such a step resigned his official position in Alexandria, gave
up his practice and has ever since been a resident of Scranton. He established
an office at No. 346 Franklin avenue for the practice of medicine and has
found a most satisfactory demand for his professional services. Thoroughly
qualified in his profession, mastering several languages, an educated gentleman
and a man of refined tastes and habits. Dr. Deantonio has many friends, who
esteem him not alone for his skill as a physician, but as a highly regarded
friend. He is one of the directors of the Scranton Private Hospital; fellow
of the .\merican Medical .'\ssociation, and a Progressive in politics.
WALTER LIVINGSTON LAWRENCE
The ancestry of the Lawrence family is to be sought in that part of Con-
tinental Europe that was the home of the Knickerbockers. The records of
the Old Dutch Church at New York give the arrival and marriage of the emi-
grant ancestor and the baptism of his children, from which it would appear
that the surname of Lawrence in a less x'Knglicized form was adopted by the
emigrant, because he was the son of a man whose Christian name was Laurens,
and that Popinga was the actual surname of the family, if it had any, in
Holland. In the list "Niewe Ledematen Aengekomen" is: "Anno 1662 den 2
Jul. Thomas Laurenszen Popinga ;" and in the margin is : "Jun. 9 1663 Thomas
Laurenszen j. m. (bachelor) Van Groeningen en Marritje Jans wede. (widow")
Van Cornells Langevelt." A preceding entry is: "den 19 Januar. 1658 Cornells
Van Langevelt Van St. Laurens in Vlaenderen en Marytje Jans, Van N.
Amsterdam." There are the following baptisms : Aeltje, Laurens, Thomas,
Samuel, Rachel, all children of Thomas Laurenszen and Marritje Jans, born
between the dates March 26, 1664, and November 19, 1681. The eldest son
of Thomas and Marritje Laurenszen was the father of Thomas, a councillor
of the province of Pennsylvania. The same records give his marriage: "1687,
den 15 April ingeschreven, Laurens Thomaszen, j. m. Van N. York en Cath-
arina Lievens j. d. als boven, beyde woonende alhier, getrouwt den 11 May."
In a MS. which was among Chief Justice Tilghman's papers are the follow-
ing entries preceding the entries in the handwriting of Thomas, the councillor:
"10 May 1687 L: Thomas mary'd Catherin Lewis, he aged 20 years and 10
months and she 17 years and 9 months. Sep. 4 1689 Was born Thomas.
Christened the 8th. 20 Oct. 1692 Was born Mary, Christened the 23d. 8
June Was born Rachell, Christened ye 14th. 21st Jan. 1698 Was born
Samuel, Christened ye 22nd. 12th May 1699 Was born Cornells, Christened
ye i6th. 9th ist 1700 Was born Lawrens, Christened ye loth. 15 Sep. 1702
Dyed Catherin wife of Lawrence Thomas."
Lawrens Lawrence (mentioned previously) married, in Jamaica, Susanna,
CITY OF SCRANTON 157
daughter of John Lawrence, or Lawrance, of that island, and was the ancestor
of J. H. Lawrence-Archer, compiler of "Monumental Inscriptions in the
British West Indies."
Thomas Lawrence, as the aforementioned record shows, was born Sep-
tember 4, 1689, and the record of his baptism in the Old Dutch Church at
New York is: "1689 den 8 Sept. (Ouders) Laurens Thomaszen, Catharina
Lievens, ( Kinders ) Thomas. ( Getuygen ) Thomas Laurenszen Popinga.
Geesje Barens." He appears to have settled in Philadelphia about the be-
ginning of 1720, his son Thomas being born there on April i6th of that year,
William Assheton, the admiralty judge, and Thomas Sober standing as g0(i-
fathers, while Catherine was the godmother at the christening, on the 24th of
that month. He entered about this time into mercantile life, being subse-
quently mentioned by Logan as associated with niin in shipping, and in 1730
he became the partner of Edward Shippen, who afterward moved to Lan-
caster, the firm being Shippen & Lawrence. He continued a merchant until
his death, residing on Water street, and owning considerable land near the
city as well as farms in New Jersey. Christopher Gadsden, one of the m^-n
who attained prominence in colonial affairs and a signer of the Declaration
of Independence, spent his early years in the countinghouse of Thomas
Lawrence. Thomas Lawrence's family attended Christ Church, and in 1722
he was its junior warden, being in 1749 one of the committee appointed to
draft its charter. He was elected a common councilman of Philadelphia,
October 3, 1722; alderman, October 6, 1724; mayor in 1727-28-34-49-53, hold-
ing the latter honorable office at his death. He was invited to a seat in the
Provincial council by Lieutenant-Governor Gordon, April 20, 1727, but did
not qualify until May 10, 1728. In January, 1736-37, he was despatched by
the council to Lancaster county in company with Ralph Assheton to take
measures for the expulsion of a party of Marylanders who were endeavoring
to dispossess the settlers on the Susquehanna river, and returned, after an
absence of two weeks, reporting the organization of a posse comitatus. In
September, 1745. Mr. Lawrence was deputed one of the commissioners from
Pennsylvania to treat with the Six Indian Nations at Albany. On January
I, 1747-48, Benjamin Franklin, declining the rank of lieutenant-colonel of the
Associated Regiment of Foot for Philadelphia, "recommended Mr. Lawrence,
a fine person and a man of influence," says the Autobiography, "who was ac-
cordingly appointed." Among his many and varied activities Thomas Law-
rence was for some time the presiding judge of the county of Philadelphia, s
subscriber to the Dancing Assembly, and a trustee of the College.
His marriage is thus recorded by himself: "Ye 25th of May 1719 I,
Thomas Lawrence was maryed to Rachell Longfield at Raritan by Parson
Vaughn. Present our parents. I convened John Spratt, Thomas Clark and
Richard Ashfield." She was born in 1689, died at Philadelphia, and is buried
in Christ Church yard, daughter of Cornelius Longfield, of New Brunswick,
East Jersey, who was probably the "Cornells Langevelt" who was a son by
the first marriage of Thomas Lawrence's grandmother. Cornelius Longfield
had two other children, Henry and Catherine, who married John Cox, and
was mother of John Cox, of Bloomsburg. New Jersey, and grandmother of
the wife of Hon. Horace Binney and the wife of John Redman Coxe, M. D.,
of Philadelphia.
Thomas Lawrence died April 20, 1754, and was buried in the family
vault in Christ Church yard, the following obituary notice appearing in the
Pennsylvania Gazette: "Last Sunday, after a tedious Fit of Sickness, died
here, very much lamented, Thomas Lawrence, Esq. He had the Honour to
be a Member of the Council of this Province, was President of the Court of
158 CITY OF SCRANTON
Common Pleas for the County of Philadelphia, had been five Times elected
Mayor of this City, and in the enjoyment of these Offices ended his life.
Characters are extreamly delicate, and few or none drawn with Exactness
and at Length, are free of Blemish. Of this Gentleman we think it may be
truely said, he was an affectionate Husband, a tender Parent, a kind indulgent
Master, and a faithful Friend. The Funeral was respectfully attended on
Tuesday Evening by a great number of the principal Inhabitants of the Place,
who justly regret the Death of so able and diligent a Magistrate as a public
Loss." Children of Thomas and Rachell (Longfield) Lawrence: i. Thomas,
of whom further. 2. Henry, born August 10, 1721, died in infancy. 3. John,
born November 20, 1722, died in infancy. 4. John Spratt, born May 30.
1724, educated at Oxford, England, became a prominent attorney of Phila-
delphia, was a member of the council, an alderman, mayor of the city from
1765 to 1767, and was a judge of the Supreme Court; he married, April 19.
1750, Elizabeth, daughter of Tench Francis, attorney-general of Pennsylvania.
and Elizabeth (Turbutt) Francis, and died January 20, 1799. 5. Mary, born
November 30, 1725, died in 1799; she married, August 31, 1754, William
Masters, of Philadelphia, son of Thomas Masters, who in 1708 was mayor of
the city and was for three years a member of the Provincial council. 6.
Longfield, born January 27, 1727, died in infancy. 7. Catherine, born No-
vember 5, 1728, died January 13, 1729. 8. Longfield, born May 19, 1731, died
in infancy.
Thomas (2) Lawrence, eldest child of Thomas (i) and Rachell (Long-
field) Lawrence, was born April 16, 1720, was baptized at Christ's Church,
April 24, 1720, died in Philadelphia, January 21, 1775, and is buried in Christ
Church yard. Upon becoming of age he engaged in business in partnership
with Peter Bard, opening a store on Water street, opposite that of his father,
and prospering. He then became a conspicuous figure in the public life of
the day, was chosen a common councilman of the city, October 4, 1748, was
vendue master from 1752 to 1765, became an alderman in 1755, and mayor in
1758 and 1764. His country-seat, one hundred and fifty acres in the Northern
Liberties of Philadelphia, was called Clairmont. He married, at Morrisania,
New York, May 9, 1743, Mary, born November i, 1724, died in New York,
in 1808, and is buried in the North Church yard at Hamburg, New Jersey,
daughter of the Hon. Lewis Morris, of Morrisania, judge of the vice-ad-
miralty for New York and New Jersey, and his first wife, Trintie or Catherine
(Staats) Morris. Children of Thomas (2) and Mary (Morris) Lawrence:
I. Katherine, born February 5, 1744, died May 24, 1784; married, in 1765,
John Shee, prominent in the public service of Philadelphia and a soldier m
the Revolution. 2. Thomas, of whom further. 3. Rachel, born October 30,
1747, died in February, 1783; married John Marston. 4. Lewis Morris, died
in infancy. 5. John, born September 15, 1751, died about 1799; married
Elizabeth St. Clair, whose father was General Arthur St. Clair, of Revolu-
tionary fame. 6. Staats, died in infancy. 7. Robert Hunter, died in infancy.
8. William, born September 22, 1755, died 1795; married Jane Tongalou
Ricketts, of Elizabethtown, New Jersey. 9. Morris, died young. 10. Staats,
lost at sea. 11. Richard Morris, died young. 12. Mary, born November 5.
1765, died before 1796; married Warren DeLancey.
Thomas (3) Lawrence, second child and eldest son of Thomas (2) and
Mary (Morris) Lawrence, was born October 6, 1745, was baptized at Christ
Church, and died in Hamburgh, New Jersey, November 18, 1823. He en-
gaged in business in New York City and was afterward a merchant in New
Jersey, becoming a judge of the court of common pleas of Sussex county.
He married (first) Rebecca, daughter of Dr. Thomas Bond, the founder of
CITY OF SCRANTON 159
the Pennsylvania Hospital, who resided at Kenderton, in Philadelphia county,
Pennsylvania. She died November 28, 1771. He married (second) his cousin
Mary, daughter of Lewis Morris, of Morrisania, a signer of the Declaration of
Independence. She died at New York in July, 1776. He married (third)
his cousin, Catherine Morris, a sister of his second wife. Children of first
marriage of Thomas Lawrence: i. Mary, born October 16, 1769; married,
in December, 1789, Gabriel Ludlum, a judge of Orange county. New York.
2. Sarah Rebecca, born June i, 1771, died at Hamilton, Madison county. New
York, July i, 1850; married Warren De Lancey, a soldier of the Revolutionary
war. Child of second marriage of Thomas Lawrence : 3. Thomas John, born
July 4, 1776; was an ensign in the First Regiment United States Infantry in
1799, in which year he died at Baltimore. Children of third marriage of
Thomas Lawrence: 4. Lewis Moi ris, born 1779, died in early youth. 5
Maria, born 1780, died 1870; married, 1810, Walter Lewis Shee, her cousin.
6. Richard Morris, born 1781, dieci unmarried in 1858. 7. Catherine Jane
Tumbull, born 1782, died unmarried in 1862. 8. Jacob, born 1784, died in
boyhood. 9. William, born 1785, died in early youth. 10. Lena, born 1787,
died in girlhood. 11. Thomas Johnson, of whom further. 12. Sarah Morris,
born 1793, died in November, 1814; married, in 1813, Dr. Jesse Arnell.
Thomas Johnson Lawrence, son of Thomas (3) and his third wife, Cath-
erine (Morris) Lawrence, was born in 1789, died December 7, 185 1. His
home was at Morrisvale, Sussex county. New Jersey, although his business
kept him much of the time on the road. He married, at Christ Church, De-
cember I, 1813, Janet Willson, who died December 17, 1821. Children: i.
Thomas, of whom further. 2. Catherine Morris, born November i, 1816,
died unmarried at Oaklands, November 24, 1875. 3. Euphemia Ogden, born
May 20, 1818, died 1820. 4. Julia Ludlum, born May 20, 1818. 5. Sabina
Rutherford, born 1819, died young.
Thomas Lawrence, eldest son and child of Thomas Johnson and Janet
(Willson) Lawrence, was born in Hamburgh, New Jersey, December 30,
1814, died in 1893. His education was obtained principally in the public
schools of his native town, and at the completion of his studies he engaged
in the milling business at Lafayette, New Jersey. He then went to Sparta,
New Jersey, and there for a time engaged in the foundry business, leaving
this occupation to return to the home farm at Hamburgh. Here he remained
until his death, taking an active part in the public life of the state. From 1879
to 1891 he was a member of the state senate and in addition to this important
service he was for twenty-five years interested in educational work through-
out the state as a member of the State Board of Education. He was also the
representative of his county upon the State Geological Board until his death..
Through his wisely directed and willing efforts New Jersey was made the
beneficiary of the talents that have been possessed in such great abundance
by the members of the Lawrence family, all the previous generations of the
name having oflfered their allegiance to Pennsylvania, the pages of whose his-
tory they brightened to a marked degree by the fidelity of their service. He
married Margaret, daughter of Hugh and Martha (Linn) Taylor, of Sparta.
New Jersey. Children of Thomas and Margaret Lawrence ; Martha Morris,
Thomas, Hugh Taylor, Janet Willson, Robert Linn, Staats Morris, Margaret
Rembert, Walter Livingston, of whom further ; Gabriel Ludlum, Catherine,
Maria Morris.
Walter Livingston Lawrence, son of Thomas and Margaret (Taylor) Law-
rence, was born in Hamburgh, Sussex county, New Jersey, March 10, 1857.
He attended the public schools of his birthplace and later matriculated at
Rutgers College, whence he was graduated B. S. in 1878. His first employ-
i6o CITY OF SCRANTON
ment was with the United States government as a member of the census-
taking force engaged in compiling the tenth federal census of 1880, his first
business experience being obtained with the Burden Iron Company, of New
York, as mining engineer. He was the chief promoter of the Hudson River
Ore and Iron Company, organized at Hudson, New York, and until 1886 was
assistant general manager of this company's interests, in that year opening an
office in New York City, where he conducted business as a mining engineer
for a short time. In October of the same year he accepted a position in the
real estate office of the Delaware & Hudson Company as chief clerk and en-
gineer, and in 1904 succeeded to the position of head of the department, a
vacancy caused by the retirement of C. S. Weston, the former incumbent.
He still serves the Delaware & Hudson in this capacity and manages with wisf
and far-seeing judgment the various real estate operations of that company.
His length of service in that employ is an eloquent testimonial to the genera!
satisfaction with which his work has been regarded, and with the benefit of
twenty years experience he is at the present time better fitted to fulfill the
duties of his office than at any other time in his career. He is a member of
the American Institute of Mining Engineers, and in political issues supports
Republican principles. His church is the Protestant Episcopal, and he is a
member of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Green Ridge, being a vestry-
man and secretary from 1887 to 1903.
Mr. Lawrence married Laura Lovell Brown, daughter of John Hancock and
Lucy (Lovell) Brown. Children: Jeannette Wilson, born 1884; Lovell, born
1887; Morris, born 1897.
PETER WILLIAM HAAS
From Germany came Daniel Haas, father of Peter W. Haas, the recorder
of deeds of Lackawanna county, descendant of an old and honorable German
family. He was a man of forty years of age when he arrived in Scranton,
where he was first employed in the mines, later as a worker in the employ of
the Lackawanna Iron & Steel Company of this city. In the discharge of his
duty he received injuries that caused his death in 1893. His wife, Amelia
(Benke) Haas, who survives him, is also of German parentage. Children:
Fred P., of New Jersey, connected with the Richardson and Boynton Com-
pany ; Peter W., of whom further ; Minnie, a clerk in the International Cor-
respondence Schools ; Harriet, married Edward Reese ; Mary, married Herman
Bonnert ; Annie, married Adolph Hoffmeister ; Harry, residing in Detroit ;
Jeannette, a clerk, residing in Scranton with her widowed mother and her
sister Minnie.
Peter William Haas, second son of Daniel and Amelia (Benke) Haas, was
born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, January 3, 1877. He obtained a good educa-
tion in the public schools, supplemented by a course at the Scranton Business
College. He began his career as a breaker boy, graduating from that to a posi-
tion as clerk in a clothing store. This was followed by a term of service with
the Scranton Tribune-Republican, later with the International Text Book Com-
pany, after which he became proprietor of a hotel on the South Side. In 191 1
he was appointed clerk in the county commissioner's office, and in 1913 was
nominated by the Republican county convention for the office of recorder of
deeds, and at the following election, November 4, was elected by a large ma-
jority. He assumed the duties of that office on January i, 1914. This is not
Mr. Haas' introduction to official life. He served in the common council from
the nineteenth ward for two years, was select councilman from the eleventh
ward, and was chairman of the old council that was a victim of the "Ripper"
CITY OF SCRANTON i6i
bill that was enacted by the Pennsylvania legislature. In all capacities he has
proved efficient, and has won the confidence of his fellow-citizens to a high
degree. That he measures up to the same lofty standard as recorder of deeds
is a foregone conclusion. He is a member of the Masonic Order, the Pa-
triotic Order Sons of America, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Scranton
Athletic Club, and the German Presbyterian Church.
He married, in October, 1897, Minnie, daughter of John Halin. of Scranton.
Children: Clarence, Robert, Peter William (2), Edna. The family residence
is at No. 415 Pittston avenue.
ERASMUS DENTON AMES
The history of the Ames family carries back to early Colonial days in New
England, the settlement in Pennsylvania having been made by a descendant of
the emigrant, Joseph (2) Ames, a Connecticut farmer, grandfather of Eras-
mus D. Ames, present cashier of the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Rail-
road C'Laurel Line"). On leaving his Connecticut farm Joseph Ames settled
in Canaan Corners, Pennsylvania. The family is of English origin and Con-
necticut the first seat of this branch in America.
(I) Joseph Ames was born in Stonington, Connecticut, and there lived his
entire life, although he made a long visit with his son Joseph (2). He served
in the Revolutionary army and for his services drew a government pension
in his later years. He was a farmer by occupation, as were his progenitors
He married, in 1777, Hannah Tyler, and had issue: William, Erastus, Han-
nah, Elijah, Joseph. William Ames settled at Rockford, Illinois, and during
the administration of President Pierce was United States minister to Germany.
(II) Joseph (2) Ames, son of Joseph (i) Ames, was born in Stonington,
Connecticut, October 28, 1790, died in Canaan township, Wayne county, Penn-
sylvania, in August, 1849. He spent his minority on the home farm, then, on
a fine horse, his only possession, he rode westward to Wayne county, Penn-
sylvania, a locality that lured many Connecticut farmers from their native
state. For the first three years he taught school in the rude log schoolhouse
of the county, married, and settled on 125 acres of wild land he had purchased
at Canaan Corners. This he partially cleared and made his home for several
years. He then sold this property and purchased 150 acres, 100 of which he
lived to clear, cultivate and improve with substantial buildings. He was an
ardent Whig politically, and in spite of his modesty and retiring disposition he
was frequently called to public offices of trust by his neighbors. He was a
member of Wymart Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and a man highly
regarded for his uprightness of life and his benevolence. He married Ger-
trude, daughter of Colonel John H. Schenck, of Monmouth county. New Jer
sey, of Dutch ancestry. Colonel Schenck, born in Monmouth, was a wealthy
man and during the Revolution armed and equipped a regiment which he
personally commanded until the war was over. Gertrude, his daughter, was
born in 1793, in Hunterdon county, New Jersey, and came to Wayne county,
Pennsylvania, with her father, who was one of the Wayne county pioneers.
Colonel Schenck died at Canaan Corners after a life of political prominence
in Wayne county. Children of Joseph and Gertrude .A.mes : Erasmus D.,
married Jane Clawson ; Nelson, married (first) Nancy Hoadley, (second)
Susan Cramer; Eliza, married (first) Alexander Andrews, (second) William
Annan; Tyler, died in boyhood; George R., married Catherine McClain ;
Clarissa, married John Clawson ; Henry C, a farmer, cattle dealer, merchant
and banker, married (first) Julia Ann Enslin, (second) Sara F. Wheeler;
Jacob S., merchant, banker and lumberman, married Harriet N. Woodward :
i62 CITY OF SCRANTON
John H., of whom further ; Reuben T., married Helen Thorp ; Sarah D., mar-
ried John Stryker.
(III) John H. Ames, ninth child of Joseph (2) Ames, was born at Canaan
Corners, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, in 1833, and now, after a long life of
activity as builder, merchant and farmer, is living retired at Hawley, Penn-
sylvania. He attended the public schools, but early became a worker, being a
driver for the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company between Summit and
Carbondale when but nine years of age. At fifteen years of age he began learn-
ing the carpenter's trade with the Plums of Hav.dey. When the "Gravity"'
road was in the course of construction he was placed in charge of the building
of engine house No. 15, the first building he ever erected as superintendent.
When the road was completed and put in operation he was placed in charge of
the water wheel at Hawley. In i860 he opened a general store in that town,
continuing until 1867, when he became a partner with his brothers, Jacob S.,
and Reuben T., trading as J. S. Ames & Brothers, and dealing in general
merchandise, lumber, cattle, hay, grain and feed. The firm was the largest in
Wayne county, operated the largest feed mills in the county, and owned thou-
sands of acres of timber land. Their cattle were driven to Newburgh, New
York, there ferried across the Hudson, and driven to the abattoir then located
at Forty-second street. New York City. In 1884 John H. Ames withdrew
from the firm, which continued under the same name until 1886, when the
property was divided. In addition to money, John H. Ames received as his
share a farm in Minnesota and one of 600 acres at Winding Hill, Wayne
county, Pennsylvania, known as the "Ames Homestead," on which he resided
until 1903. He then sold the estate to a New York banker and retired to
private life at Hawley, his present residence (1914).
Mr. Ames married Melissa, daughter of Amzi L. Woodward, born in 1806,
died in 1878, of P'aupack township, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, son of John
Woodward, of Cherry Ridge township, Wayne county. Amzi L. Woodward
married Irene L. Kellam, whose parents were early settlers in the Paupack
settlement on the Wallenpaupack, her father, Moses Kellam, born 1792, died
in 1862, a justice of the peace at Paupack settlement and for many years county
surveyor. Two of Amzi L. Woodward's daughters married Ames brothers,
Melissa and Harriet N., the latter the wife of Jacob S. Ames. Children ot
John H. and Melissa Ames: W. Dewight, William C, Densmore, Homer G.,
Erasmus Denton. Of the eleven children of Joseph (2) Ames the only sur-
vivor at this time (1914) is John H. Ames, of pievious mention, who is now
aged eighty-one years.
(IV) Erasmus Denton Ames, youngest son of John H. and Melissa
(Woodward) Ames, was born at Hawley, Pennsylvania, October 31, 1874.
He was educated in the public schools of Hawley and the Wyoming Commercial
College (1894). On completing his school years he became his father's as-
sistant in the cattle buying business, continuing until 1896, when he entered the
employ of the Erie and Wyoming \'alley Railroad as clerk at Dunmore Station
under Victor Burschell. In the fall of 1897 he became connected with the
Pennsylvania Coal Company at Dunmore, which connection continued until
1900. In October of the latter year he was appointed secretary to the master
nechanic of the Erie Railroad at Dunmore, J. B. Bronson, but a year later
resigned that position to become a clerk under A. M. Benghan, chief clerk of
the Erie Coal Company. When the greac coal strike of 1902 paralyzed the
coal industry, Mr. Ames was one of the many clerks laid off. When the strike
was over and business was resumed, he entered the employ of the Spencer
Coal Company, of Dunmore, in charge of one of the outside gangs of work-
men, rigging new shafts, planes, electric lights and pumps. He continued in
CITY OF SCRANTON 163
this position until May 10, 1903. On May 20 following he was appointed
cashier of the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad ("Laurel Line"),
to which was also added the position of paymaster, also that of treasurer of
the Lackawanna and Wyoming Power Company. Mr. Ames is eminently
qualified for important places he holds in the business world, and has the per-
fect confidence of those in authority in the corporations named. He is very
popular with the entire force of the "Laurel Line," his genial and generous
disposition making him friends everywhere, his manly and upright character
holding them to him. He is a member of the Masonic Order, the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, and the Junior Order of L'nited American Mechanics.
In political faith he is a Republican.
Mr. Ames married, February 25, 1899, Maud Savage, daughter of Robert
P. Savage. Child, Charles, born February 6, 1900.
OTTO I. EBERHARDT
There are among the mixed peoples and races that comprise the popula-
tion of the city of Scranton but a few who claim the Scandinavian Peninsula
as their birthplace or whose ancestors owned it proudly as their home. One
of the few who name it as the land that gave them birth is Otto Immanuel
Eberhardt Jr., son of Otto Immanuel Eberhardt Sr. Otto Immanuel Eber-
hardt Sr. was a lumberman and farmer of Norway, married Laura Johanna,
daughter of Doctor Irgens, of Skien, Norway. She is now living in Minne
sota. Children of Otto Immanuel (i) and Laura Johanna Eberhardt: Chris-
tianna Cornelia, Otto I., of whom further.
Otto Immanuel (2) Eberhardt was born in Skien, a seaport of Norway,
capital of the amt of Bratsberg, situated at the mouth of the Skiensfjorden,
August 5, 1879. He attended the public schools of his native land and was
graduated from the high school in 1897. On August 19 of that year he came
to the United States, taking passage on the steamship "Island," a vessel of the
Scandinavian-American line, the voyage consuming fourteen days. He landed
in New York City and the following year matriculated at the University of
Minnesota, whence he was graduated E. E. in 1903. Proficient in all branches
requiring electrical skill and knowledge, it was not difficult for him to obtain
a position, which he did with the Minneapolis General Electric Company. He
left the employ of that firm after one year and entered the service of the
Western Electric Company, of New York City, in the capacity of assistant
factory engineer. His next position was as electrical engineer for the Crocker
Wheeler Company, of New Jersey, later with the Westinghouse Electric and
Manufacturing Company at Philadelphia as sales agent. He was engaged at
Philadelphia for a period of six months and was afterward transferred to
the Hazleton office of the same company, where he remained for three years.
At the expiration of that time the office was moved to Wilkes-Barre and he
was in that city until 191 1. In this year he became one of the organizers of
the Penn Electrical Engineering Company, of Scranton, which was incorpor-
ated in the following year, when Mr. Eberhardt was made secretary and sales
agent. In this position he plays an important part in the direction of the
company's afifairs and efficiently manages the distribution of its productions.
He is a member of the Engineering Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania, the
American Institute of Electrical Engineers, the Engineers' Oub, of Scranton,
the National Geographical Society, the Hazleton Country Club, and the Nor-
wegian Society of Greater New York, His membership in the various en-
gineering societies plainly shows the interest he takes in all that pertains to
his chosen profession, and in the fact of his membership in the Norwegian
i64 CITY OF SCRANTON
Society is the key to the love and honor with which he regards his homeland.
Nor is it strange that the memory of a son of Norway should hark back to
his native country with filial love, for few of the Old World lands can boast
of a history so replete with thrilling deeds and conquests, nor was any more
glorified in the works of her children. Bold Vikings of the North, sons of
Thor, their imprint is left upon their descendants, and their living and dying
made the world richer by a mythology unrivalled even by that of the Greeks.
Mr. Eberhardt is a Republican in politics, and belongs to the Lutheran Evan-
gelical Church.
JOHN SCHEUER
In the person of John Scheuer, the old German family of the name has an
American representative, who has taken a prominent place in Scranton busi-
ness life and in the politics of both the city and the state. In both of these
channels he has proven true worth, in both has held the confidence of his
fellow-men, and in both has attained that degree of prominence and station that
men call success.
His father, John Scheuer, was born in Harxheim, Rhein province, Ger-
many, and there learned and following the trade of linen weaver. He was
engaged in the rebellion in his native land and in 1848 came to this country
with his father, Conrad, landing in New York. They had made Scranton their
objective point, and, in order to husband their slender resources, made the
trip from New York on foot. They were unable to procure food for a long
distance along their route, so that, although they die! not actually suflfer for lack
of nourishment, the experience was not of the pleasantest. Arriving at their
goal, they sought and secured employment in the blast furnaces of the Lack-
awanna Iron and Coal Company, under Joseph H. Scranton. After several
years Mr. Scheuer worked for a time with John Jermyn, running ore trucks
from the mines and logs to the saw-mill. Not finding these various occupations
to his liking. In i860 he entered the milk business, the first milk dealer in
the city and the consignee of the first can of milk shipped over that division
of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, the point of shipment being
Glenburn. He served a route in the city for six years and then established
as the proprietor of a retail grocery store on Willow street. In 1874 he started
a bakery at 342 Locust street, in a modest way, with only his two sons, George,
who had just completed his apprenticeship, and John, of whom further, as
assistants. In i88g he retired from active business and engaged in farming
on a moderate scale as a pastime. His sons succeeded to the management of
the business under the name of the Scheuer Brothers Company. With his
wife. John Scheuer was a member of the Hickory Street Presbyterian Church,
of which he was an organizer and trustee. He died April 11, 191 1. He mar-
ried Petronella, daughter of Conrad Hofifman, born in Wachenhein, Rhein-
Hessen, Germany, died in Scranton, May, 1895, coming to that city when a
young woman. Qiildren: George, president of the Pennsylvania Baking
Company and of the Scheuer Baking Company; John (2), of whom further;
Henry ; Philip ; Peter ; Katherine. married Peter Schillert, deceased, and resides
in Scranton.
John Scheuer, son of John and Petronella (Hoffman) Scheuer, was born
in Scranton, December 12, 1858. He attended the public schools and his first
business experience was obtained in his father's store, but after a year of tnis
employment, he made a thorough study of the baking business. He continued
in business with his father, taking several night courses at neighboring business
colleges, first at Gardner's and then at Prof. H. D. Walker's, graduating from
CITY OF SCRANTON 165
the latter in 1889. In that year the business founded by his father was in-
corporated as Scheuer Brothers, which in igoi was replaced by the Penn-
sylvania Baking Company. At the incorporation of the Scheuer Baking Com-
pany in 1912, the bread department of the Pennsylvania Baking Company was
transferred thereto, the latter company now engaging exclusively in the baking
of cakes and crackers. The bakery employs about 125 persons, consumes about
forty-five barrels of flour a day, and ships its products throughout northeastern
and central Pennsylvania. In addition to this, eight wagons are constantly
employed supplying the local needs. The Scheuer Baking Company, of which
Mr. Scheuer is secretary and treasurer, the offices he holds in the Pennsylvania
Baking Company, engages only in the baking of bread, their daily output of
12,000 loaves, produced by sixty employees, being distributed throughout the
valley by eighteen delivery wagons. I\Ir. Scheuer's only other business con-
nection is as director of the Anthracite Trust Company, although he has helped
organize and has been extensively interested in several building and loan as-
sociations. He was also one of the organizers of the Scranton Axle Company,
performing service in the same capacity for the South Side Board of Trade,
being its president for three years. In politics his record as a staunch Re-
publican reflects credit upon the party and has been of benefit to the city and
state. In 1886 and 1887 he was a member of Scranton select council from the
eleventh ward and was repeatedly a delegate from the city to the Republican
state convention. From 1899 to 1902 he was a member of the state legislature,
representing his district with distinction and securing the passage of the State
Hospital bill, a piece of legislation providing for the state control of the Lacka-
wanna Hospital. He presented this measure at the session of 1901, at the same
time requesting an appropriation of $200,000 for its maintenance and improve-
ment, both of which were acted upon favorably. His support of measures
tending toward the benefit of other districts than his own was always enthu-
siastically given, but he was ever the foe of graft and the direction of public
funds into private channels. He is a member of Schiller Lodge, Free and
Accepted Masons, and the Royal Arcanum. With his wife, he is a member
of the Hickory Street Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Scheuer is active in the
various departments of church service as in the work of the Young Women's
Christian Association.
Mr. Scheuer married Anna M., daughter of William Linn, of Scranton.
Children : William W., associated with his father in the bakery business :
Anna C, married Dr. George Huber, a physician of Coffeyville, Kansas ;
Dorothy S. : John C. ; Ruth L. ; Bernice S. Mr. Scheuer's position among his
business associates is one of honor and respect, the former for the high moral
character and unswerving integrity that have marked his every relation,
public, business, or private ; the latter for the ability he has displayed in political
and financial dealings.
ERASTUS SCRANTON DOUD
Like many other names early brought to America, this surname is found
as Dow, Douw, Dowe, Dowed, Dowde, Doude, Dowd, D.oud and Dodd, it, in
common with others, suffering from the diflferences of opinion and custom in
its different branches. The name of the emigrant ancestor, as signed by him-
self on the papers signed by all the planters before landing from the ship at
Guilford, Connecticut, was Henry Doude. Some of his descendants have re-
tained that form, others have dropped the tenninal "e." Henry Doude, it is
believed, is the progenitor of all the Douds or Dowds who were in this country
prior to 1776. He came from Surrey or Kent county, England, with a com-
i66 CITY OF SCRANTON
pany under Rev. Henry Whitfield, and settled in Guilford, Connecticut. He
died in 1668, thirty years after landing. His wife, Elizabeth, died in 1713.
They were probably married in England, and were the parents of four sons
and four daughters.
(H) Thomas Doud, the eldest son, is supposed to have been born in Eng-
land, as no record of his birth has been found in Guilford. He settled in East
Guilford, now Madison. He married Ruth Johnson and both died in 1713,
having four sons and one daughter.
(HI) Thomas (2) Doud, son of Thomas (i) Doud, was born in 1684,
died in 171 1, a resident of East Guilford. He married Silence Evarts, and had
two sons and a daughter. Silence.
(IV) Ebenezer Doud, the eldest son of Thomas (2) Doud, was bom in
1707, died in 1748. He resided in that part of Madison, Connecticut, known
as Hammonasett, and was a large land owner. Before his death he took his
two sons and, riding on horseback, directed the boys where to drive stakes in
a north and south line across his property. He then said to Ebenezer, "The
land on that side of the stakes is yours;" to Timothy, "The land on this side
is yours." This was his will and the bounds thus fixed yet remain. The estate
divided in this manner remained longer in one family than any other in Madi-
son. He had but two sons and a daughter, Lydia.
(V) Ebenezer (2) Doud, the eldest son of Ebenezer (i) Doud, reared a
family of eight sons on the homestead received from his father. He was a
farmer, and for seven years served as an officer in the Revolutionary army.
He endured many hardships during this period which so weakened him that he
was an invalid for many years preceding his death. He married Tamar Wil-
cox and left eight sons, Galen (i), having died in infancy.
(VI) Galen (2) Doud, eighth son of Ebenezer (2) Doud, was born in
1783, died in 1851. He lived at the east end of Boston street, Madison, and
was a prominent and influential man in his community, serving the town for
many years as justice of the peace and in the state legislature. He married,
in 181 2, Mary Ward, and had six sons, one dying young, and three daughters.
(VII) Charles Hamilton Doud, second son and third child of Galen (2)
and Mary (Ward) Doud, was born in Madison, Connecticut, October 6, 1817,
died in Scranton, Pennsylvania, October 12, 1895. In early life he was a sea-
man, rising to the command of a vessel owned jointly with his brother-in-
law, Sereno Scranton, trading with Boston and New York. He left the sea
while yet a young man and engaged as a general merchant in Madison. Later
he was in business in Augusta, Georgia, returned to ^Madison, Connecticut,
then settled in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he was a highly respected mci-
chant until his death, October 12, 1895. He was an elder of the Presbyterian
church, and a strong, upright character. He married, about 1840, Mary R.,
daughter of Jonathan Scranton, of Madison, Connecticut, and at their mar-
riage it was said they were the handsomest couple ever wedded in the village.
In beauty of character they surely excelled, and in their posterity the traits
that characterized the parents are plainly visible. Children: i. Catherine
Josephine, bom in 1842; married, in 1864, William L. Wilson, a veteran of the
Civil war, cashier and president of the Nebraska City National Bank (Ne-
braska) 1872 to 191 1, dying in the latter year, his wife having preceded him
to the grave. 2. Henry Charles, born in Augusta, Georgia, in 1845, died from
injuries sustained from falling from a balcony at Asbury Park, Pennsylvania;
he was a member of the firm of Maloney, Doud & Company, Scranton ; he
married Elizabeth Porter and left issue. 3 Erastus Scranton, of whom further.
4. Curtis William, born in Scranton in 1856; became a civil engineer and lo-
cated in Rochester, New York, where he died, unmarried. 5. Herbert Allison,
CITY OF SCRANTON 167
born in Scranton in 1859; he is a graduate of Lafayette College and shortly
after graduation was appointed to a position in the internal revenue service
at Omaha, Nebraska, becoming chief clerk, a position he held until Cleveland's
second administration, when he resigned ; four years later he again accepted
the same position; he is an elder of the First Presbyterian Qiurch of Omaha.
(VIII) Erastus Scranton Doud, second son and third child of Charier-
Hamilton and Mary (Scranton) Doud, was born in Madison, Connecticut,
July 29, 1849. He was educated in the public schools of Scranton, a grad-
uate of the high school, the State j\Iodel School, of Trenton, New Jersey, and
matriculated in Lafayette College to enter the sophomore class of the latter
institution in 1867. On August 26, 1867, he was offered a position as messen-
ger in the First National Bank of Scranton, which he accepted, remaining
until April 9, 1872, when he became cashier of the Hazleton (Pennsylvania)
Savings Bank, later succeeded by the Hazleton National Bank. Mr. Doud re-
mained with the second named bank until June i, 1891, when he resigned.
He then became interested, with Alvan Markle, in the Lehigh Traction Com-
pany, did a great deal of preliminary work in the interest of the company in
and around Hazleton, and was president of the construction company that
built the third rail line between Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre. From 1901 to
1905 he was secretary of the Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railroad Company,
making his home in Hazleton until the latter year, locating in Scranton on
April 9. He was a public accountant until June 15, 1908, when he became
secretary of the Nay Aug Lumber Company, a position he now holds (1914).
While residing in Hazleton Mr. Doud was especially active in matters per-
taining to public education and as a member of the school board performed
valuable service in increasing the usefulness of the public schools.
He is a member of the Masonic Order, belonging to Peter Williamson
Lodge, No. 323. F. and A. M., and to all bodies of the Ancient Accepted
Scottish Rite, having attained the thirty-second degree. His clubs are the
Green Ridge, of Scranton, and the Westmoreland, of Wilkes-Barre, his mem-
bership in the latter extending over a period of twenty years. Both Mr. and
Mrs. Doud and their sons, Harold and Lawrence F., are members of the
Green Ridge Presbyterian Church. In political faith he is a Republican.
Mr. Doud married, April 23, 1873, Ella Augi'.sta Chase, born January 28,
1854, daughter of Joseph and Louisa (Field) Chase. Children: i. Joseph
Chase, born March 18, 1875; married, March 4, 1896, Edith Totten ; children:
Lois, born in September, 1897, and Marjorie, born in 1899. 2. Walter Scran-
ton, born June 10, 1877; married Laura Becker, of Worcester, Massachusetts,
and has a son, Walter Scranton (2), born in 1907. 3. Mabel Louise, torn in
October, 1879. 4. Eleanor Wilson, born in December, 1881 ; married Fisher
Hazard Leisering, of Connellsville, Pennsylvania ; children : Hazard, Louise,
Mary. 5. Erastus Raymond, born June 11, 1883; graduate of Lafayette Col-
lege; married, July 24, 1912, Miss Porter, of Connellsville. 6. Daughter born
1885, died in infancy. 7. Harold, born 1887; now assistant secretary of the
Scranton Trust Company; married Margaret Ives, on April 23, 1913, on the
fortieth anniversary of his parents' wedding and the twenty-third anniversary
of the marriage of the bride's parents. 8. Ruth, born 1889. 9. Lawrence
Field, born June I, 1891 ; now the Scranton representative of the American
Radiator Company.
CHARLES J. POWELL
Penn Yan, New York, has been for several generations the home of this
branch of the Powell family, their settlement there dating from an early day.
i68 CITY OF SCRANTON
Charles J. Powell is the first of his immediate family to make permanent set-
tlement in Scranton, he being attracted here by his uncle, who founded the busi-
ness of which his nephew is the honored head.
Charles J. Powell is the son of James S. Powell and a grandson of John
Powell, all born in Penn Yan. John Powell was a farmer, married Jane
Bellows, daughter of Peter Bellows, one of three brothers who settled in Bel-
lows Falls, Vermont. She was a teacher for many years in Penn Yan, New
York, and left issue : Lewis Bellows, Jnmes S., Mary, Sarah, Charles F.,
William.
Lewis Bellows Powell, eldest son of John and Jane (Bellows) Powell,
was born November i6, 1838, in Penn Yan, New York, died in Scranton, Penn-
sylvania, August 28, 1881. He was educated in Penn Yan schools and under
private tutelage in certain lines of study which his mother taught him, and his
first business venture was in Scranton in 1859, establishing the first music store
on Lackawanna avenue and brought the first organ and piano to Scranton, con-
trolling twenty-eight counties for the sale of the Chickering Piano and Mason
& Hamlin Organ. He adhered to the one price, not deviating an iota. The
one price system was the backbone of his success, and advertising judiciously.
He was a remarkable reader of human nature and he set an example to young
men of business principle that many have appreciated in after life. He was
a worker for every good in Scranton, and the Young Men's Christian Associa-
tion found in him a great supporter. He continued in business from 1859 until
his death, though he was not active for the five years preceding his death on
account of a protracted illness.
Mr. Powell married, June 28, 1871, Ruth Quincy Trask, born November 18,
1838, daughter of Rev. George and Ruth Q. F. (Packard) Trask, of Fitch-
burg, Massachusetts, the former named a Congregational minister located in
Fitchburg for thirty-three years and until his death in 1875. ^'''- Powell was a
Mason. He died aged forty-three years, mourned by all who knew him. He
was in love with his business, and happy in his home life. He was a great
musician and a great business man, a combination not often met with, and was
also a Christian gentleman.
James S. Powell, second son of John and Jane (Bellows) Powell, was born
at Penn Yan. New York. In early life he learned the blacksmith's trade, and
later he engaged in the hardware business for many years. He married Maria
Easton, of Middlesex, New York; children: George K., died in 1910; Nellie
B., now living in Los Angeles, California; Mary S., died in 1907; Charles J.,
of whom further.
Charles J. Powell, son of James and Maria (Easton) Powell, was born in
Penn Yan, Yates county. New York, August 14, 1856. He was educated in
the public schools of Penn Yan and Kingston Seminary, taking a commercial
course at the latter institution, graduating in 1874. On April i, 1875, he came
to Scranton. Pennsylvania, entering the employ of his uncle. Lewis Bellows
Powell, then engaged in business as a dealer in musical instruments and kindred
lines. The young man began at the lowest round of the ladder, was office
boy, general helper, etc., until he became familiar with the business, then was
advanced to salesman and later confidential clerk and for the last six years of
his uncle's life was practically manager of the entire business. He continued
as manager of the business for Mrs. L. B. Powell after his uncle's death, and
extended the lines until the store became a veritable headquarters for the
music trade in Scranton. In 1909 he formed a partnership with C. H. Chand-
ler, and they purchased the stock and good will of L. B. Powell & Company,
the firm trading as Powell & Chandler. Mr. Powell is one of the best known
men in the trade, has a host of friends and possesses the business qualities that
CITY OF SCRANTON 169
make for success. He has built up a reputation for honorable dealing and fair
treatment that holds his customers to him and makes them his loyal supporters.
He was one of the charter members of the first lodge of the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks, formed in Scranton, and with Frank Jermyn and
George Throop was largely instrumental in founding the lodge. Mr. Powell
is a Republican in politics, and an attendant of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mr. Powell married Edith G., daughter of Ambrose Stark, of Penn Yan,
and has children: Elsie S., born September 17, 1885, married John Mac
Meckin and resides in Seattle, Washington: Helen S., born November 19. 1886;
Frank R., born November 27, 1890, graduate in chemistry, Lafayette College,
class of 1912, now in the employ of the Giant Por^^land Cement Company.
GUSTAV A. MILLER
Gustav A. Miller, of the ancient German family, is one of the oldest and
best known undertakers in the city of Scranton. His grandfather, Michael
Miller, had the distinction of being a colonel in that most perfect of military
organizations, the Gennan army, and his father, Michael (2) Miller, son of
Colonel Michael ( i ) and Margaretta Miller, was born in Lutzenhausen, Rhine
province, Germany, March 17, 1831.
Michael (2) Miller obtained his education in the public schools and at the
gymnasium, graduating from the latter when seventeen years of age. It had
been his ambition to enter the Germany army as a sharpshooter, and although
filling the requirements as to age and education, parental objections so barred
the way that he was compelled to relinquish his earnest desire, and was for
three years employed as a clerk in the office of a judge. Wearying of this oc-
cupation and thwarted in his attempt to choose a career, he resolved to im-
migrate to the United States, and in fulfillment of that resolution he took
passage on the sailing vessel, "Emma," a craft which the following year was
wrecked and sank in mid-ocean. It is a peculiar fact that the boat which car-
ried Mr. Miller back to Germany for a visit, in 1889, the "Elba," met the
same fate the year after his voyage was taken. After a passage of forty-nine
days, uneventful for the most part, the "Emma" made Philadelphia harbor in
safety, and Mr. Miller had reached the land of promise. He came immediately
to Scranton. It was a period of depression in the mercantile and manufactur-
ing industries and employment was difficult to find, but he finally secured work
chopping wood, where the court-house now stands, at wages of forty cents
per day. As the various activities and industries of the growing city were
once more opened at full pressure under the stimulus of better times, em-
ployment became more plentiful, and Mr. Miller entered the service of the
Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company in the rolling mill, remaining there for
thirteen years and becoming a practical iron roller. In 1863 he established a
grocery store in the twelfth ward, remaining in business there for twelve
years. Popular and well liked, all of his acquaintances became his patrons, a
large and lucrative business resulting from their generous trade. He purchased
the site of his present business in 1874, and moved his grocery business to
that place, starting, in connection therewith, a livery stable. Eleven years
later, when both his grocery and livery businesses were firmly established and
steadily paying properties, he lent his name to an enterprise managed by his
son, Gustav Adolph Miller, the undertaking business. This, too, met with the
success that had attended all of his other dealings, and acquired a well-deserved
reputation as one of the leading houses of its kind in the city.
When Mr. Miller retired from active business relations, he placed his son
and daughters in charge of his varied interests, built up by him in such a thor-
I70 CITY OF SCRANTON
ough and able manner by the work of his hands and the genius of his mind,
the latter seeing the opportunity and the former carrying the plans of the lat-
ter to a successful consummation whenever that was possible by dint of hard
and unremitting toil. Mr. Miller retained title to five residences and a block
in the business section of the city, properties he had acquired as investments
with the proceeds from the different undertakings he has planted and nursed
to a vigorous maturity.
He was a follower of the faith that has been cherished by the family for
many generations, the German Presbyterian. While holding to family tradi-
tion in this respect, Mr. ■\Iiller broke a time-honored custom of all of his name
for many years by not identifying himself with the Masonic fraternity, a Mil-
ler of his branch always having been a member of that order. His political
beliefs were strongly Republican, and the principles of the party he firmly
supported.
Michael Miller married, in Dunmore, in 1852, Maria M. Fickinger, a native
of Rhine province, Germany. Children : C. Mary ; Gustav Adolph, of whom
further ; Louisa, married Stephen Spruks, and resides in Scranton. Mr, IMillcr
died November 9, 1904.
Gustav Adolph Miller, son of Michael (2) and Maria M. (Fickinger;
Miller, was born July 29, i860. He attended the public schools and there
obtained all the education he ever received under graded instruction. In early
youth he entered the employ of his father in the latter's grocery store. In
1878 he went to New York City and there learned undertaking and the art of
embalming, and upon his return to Scranton he engaged in business under his
father's name, being the first undertaker of the city with a knowledge of em-
balming. His place of business has always been on the South Side and he is
now one of the oldest established undertakers in the city, bearing an excellent
reputation backed by years of experience. He has been treasurer of the Livery-
mens and Undertakers Association since its organization. Mr. Miller is a
member of the Masonic Order, is past master of Union Lodge, No. 291, F.
and A. M., and belongs to Lackawanna Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, Coeui
de Lion Commandery, Knights Templar, Keystone Consistory, Sovereign
Princes of the Royal Secret, and is a noble of Lu Lu Temple, Nobles of the
Mystic Shrine, of Philadelphia. He also affiliates with James Connell Lodge,
No. 170, I. O. O. F., Comet Lodge, No. 413, K. of P., and Camp No. 430,
P. O. S. of A. Both he and his wife are members of the German Presbyterian
Church and play an active part in all of its associations. He has been treas-
urer of the Men's Society of the church since the second year of its ex-
istence, while his wife and daughter are prominent in the Sunday school
organization. He married Clara Bodenstine, of Philadelphia. Children : Mary
Louise, and Madeline Spruks.
A lifelong resident of Scranton, Mr. Miller has many warm admirers in
the city who are held close to him in the firmest of friendship's ties. The
veritable "thousandth man" of whom Kipling tells, he is ever at the service
of those who are privileged to know him best. His life is exemplary in char-
acter, his influence for the best and far-reaching in its effect.
ROBERT WILLIAM ALLEN
Prior to his settlement is Scranton, George Allen, father of Robert William
Allen, the present efficient commissioner of Lackawanna county, resided in
Bath, New York, having settled there on coming to this country. He was
born in Ireland, one of a family of five: i. John, deceased. 2. William, now
living in Bath, New York; married Ellen Crai<^ and has children: George:
CITY OF SCRANTON i-l
Elizabeth, deceased ; Annie ; May ; William, deceased. 3. Richard, deceased.
4. George, see forward. 5. Annie, married Michael Connor and resides in
Scranton ; children : William, manager of the Armour Beef Company at
Wilkes-Barre ; Jennie ; Thomas, deceased ; John and Mary.
George Allen, on coming to Scranton, found employment in the shops of
the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, became later affiliated with
the Knights of Labor and took an active as well as prominent part as one of
the leaders of that organization. He became a member of the police force of
Scranton, under Terence V. Pbwderly, and continued thereon until a few years
prior to his death, in 1894. He took active pari in the division of Luzerne
county whereby Lackawanna county was created and was one of the strong
men of his day. He married Catherine Smith and had issue: 1. Katherine,
deceased. 2. Louise, deceased. 3. Thomas, deceased. 4. George, deceased.
5. Edward, deceased. 6. John, now spinner in a woolen mill ; married Annie
Kblb and resides in Scranton. 7. Robert William, see forward. 8. Joseph,
clerk in the tax commissioner's office ; married Ellen Ronton and has seven
children.
Robert William Allen was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, November i-^,
1871. He has spent his entire life in the city of his birth, working himself ever
upward from a lowly position to one of honor and influence. He was educated
in Scranton schools and began his wage earning life as a bell boy in the old
Wyoming House then conducted by John E. Allen. He was promoted from
bell boy to the billiard room force, continuing with Mr. Allen seveial years.
He then was employed at the Valley House under Fred Godfrey, next spend-
ing five years at the old Westminster Hotel. When the Westminster was
sold to William McBride, Mr. Allen remained with him one year, then was
with Charles S. Gilbert at the Central Park House. He then decided to enter
business as proprietor and for three years conducted the Coleman House. In
1903 he was the candidate of his party for register of wills, was elected and
served the legal term of three years. In 1906 he was a candidate for re-elec-
tion, but was defeated at the polls. Until igoS he was m the employ of the
Anthracite Brewing Company as collector. In the latter year he was elected
county commissioner and in 191 1 re-elected. He has served the county well
in official position and has the confidence of the voters as his repeated elec-
tions indicate. Mr. Allen is president of the Anthracite Brewing Company,
treasurer of the Scranton Base Ball Association and interested in other enter-
prises of this city. He is a member of the P. O. S. of A., Camp No. 242 ;
B. P. O. E., Lodge No. 123; F. O. E., Eyrie No. 304; Saint Luke's Protestant
Episcopal Church. In political faith he is a Republican. Mr. Allen married
Catherine Dice, of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, descendant of a German family.
FRANCIS OSCAR STONE
This is a well known family name in Pennsylvania and one springing from
different nationalities. The branch herein followed was planted in Pennsyl-
vania by Benoni Stone, of the New England family, who settled in Waverly,
Lackawanna county, where his long life of ninety -five years was spent in farm-
ing and farm management. He was the founder of a large and influential
family among his children being a son, Oscar.
Oscar Stone was born and grew to manhood in Lackawanna county, Penn-
sylvania, his residence being at Hawley. He was educated in the public schools
and worked on the farm for a time, later being a conductor on the Gravity
Road running between Pittston and Hawley. He received a serious injury in
a wreck on this road and was unable to continue *.he active life demanded of a
172 CITY OF SCRANTON
railroad employee. He later became a stationary engineer at Hawley, con-
tinuing until his death at the age of forty-five years. He married Alvira L.
Mitchell, of HJolIisterville, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, who bore him seven
children, two of whom died in childhood : Victor B., of further mention ; John
M., of Hawley, a railroad man ; Earl W., a stone cutter and contractor of
Scranton; Sidney S., a train dispatcher on the Erie & Wyoming Railroad;
Arthur K., born January ii. 1862, a journalist, editor and proprietor of the
News at East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, married Minnie A. Turner, deceased.
Victor B. Stone was born in Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, and resided
for many years in HIawley. He was educated in the public schools, and during
his early manhood was engaged in the lumber business. He then entered the
emplov of the Erie Railroad as fireman, received in due time his promotion to
engineer and for twenty-five years held the throttle on one of the company's
engines. He moved to Scranton in 1888 and here yet resides. Pie is a member
of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, an independent in politics, and
a valued and trusted employee of the company he has served so long and faith-
fully. He married Mary May Enslin and has children : Francis Oscar, of
whom further ; Friend A., a foreman ; Mark V., chief clerk in the Erie Rail-
road shops : May ; Madge.
Francis Oscar Stone was born at Port Jervis, New York, September 17,
1883. His parents moved to Scranton when he was five years of age and in
the public schools of this city he obtained his elementary education, finishing
his study at Pennsylvania State College. He began business life in the store
department of the Erie Railroad, continuing two years, then was with M. P.
Michel until igo6. In that year he became attached to the clerical force of the
surveyor of Lackawanna county, contimiing in subordinate position until 191 1.
For a short time he was connected with the engineering department of the
Scranton Gas and Water Company, but later in the year was nominated by the
Republican party for the office of conntv surveyor and in the following Novem-
ber election was chosen by the electors of the county to fill that important posi-
tion which his technical training and years of experience eminently quali-
fied him to fill.
He married, June 14, 1910, Marian E. Swartz, of Dunmore, Pennsylvania,
daughter of Frank E. and Emma Swartz ; her father vice-president of the
Fidelity Deposit and Discount Bank and secretary and treasurer of the Ceme-
tery Association of Dunmore. One daughter, Eleanor Swartz Stone.
FREDERICK H, EMERY
In the manv years spent at the mines as breaker boy, Mr. Emery saw the
need of a machine that would separate slate from coal, work of a trying and
dangerous character, then performed by beys. Ht was not the first to invent
such a machine, but followed with a perfect picker the inventions of Captain
Thomas and Charles W. Zeigler, both of whose machines allowed the loss of
more or less coal. So successfully did he plan, that to-day his invention (the
Shaker Picker) is in use by the leading coal companies of the anthracite
region, and many have been sent to Canada, Wales and England, and Mr.
Emery is now in communication with other coal operators in foreign countries.
In the anthracite region as well as in the foreign countries, tb.e slate has a
flat smooth surface, and is not separated from the coal by the ordinary
machine. By the use of the Emery oscillating machine, the slate is given a
backward movement carrying it under the coal and through openings under-
neath into a receptacle, the coal going forward through the regular breaker.
The following is an illustration of the machine above described.
CITY OF SCRANTON
173
Another machine which Mr. Emery invented is for the purpose of taking
out heavy rock and is so constructed that instead of dropping the rock through
continuous openings, a portion of the coal is taken away from the slate and is
converted into a separate pan ; the balance of the coal and rock that drops
through the first opening is repeated in the same manner until the final separa-
tion is niade. Thereby no coal is lost in the process and is entirely free from
slate and rock. The following is an illustration of the machine.
^■-
Emery Slate Picker
IQl-* IMPROVIEir? CIOHTDCCK
/^)t-*^'/«/r'y, A
L-h^
77f OJr£ OFS7eA77oJJ
i
^
^J^-^.
Drawing 2Z3> June 19 14
^
J
^^^
i
5J5^
^^S
^^^^ll^'^vT"^^^ n
^^^
^^
^
/"^'T'^^n/^^ '^^■'
'^^^^^«::--'
1914 improved eight deck ten pickings and repickings obtained in one opera-
tion. Covered by patents issued to F. H. Emery as follows : 599569, March,
1887; 640549, June, 1900; 755472, March, 1904; 7S4783, March, 1905 ; 969048.
August, 1910. Other patents pending.
The Emery Shaker Picker and the Rock Separator are not the result of a
dream or an inspiration, but the result of the labor of years, during the hours
174 CITY OF SCRANTON
the inventor could spare from his regular duties, and often were hours that
could profitably have been spent in sleep. The machines are valuable con-
tributions to the labor saving machinery of this day and reflect the highest
credit upon their inventor.
Frederick H. Emery was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, March 14, 1865,
son of George and Anna (Richardson) Emery. George Emery was born in
Morganshire, England, and there lived until after his marriage to Anna, daugh-
ter of Robert Richardson. They came to the United States about 1863, set-
tling in Scranton, where he followed the occupation of a miner until his death
at the age of sixty-two years. He was a member of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, and both were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Children: Elizabeth, Frederick H., Nora, Bertha, Daniel, the latter deceased;
a sixth child died young.
Frederick H. Emery attended the public schools of Scranton, but early in
life became a breaker boy, later working in the mines and continuing until 1893.
During these years he evolved his idea of a slate picker, but so closely was he
confined by his duties in the mine that he could find no opportunity to work
out his ideas of a picker. In 1893 he abandoned a miner's life and for fourteen
years was in government employ at the post office in Scranton. During these
years he worked his great invention, the Emery Slate Picker, secured his
patents, proved its value, and, resigning his position, began manufacturing the
machine. The firm of F. H. Emery & Company was formed, consisting of
F. H. Emery, T. R. Hughes and J. R. Richardson, the latter now deceased,
the first two named partners taking over his interest. The business of the
firm is the manufacture of slate pickers from Mr. Emery's patents, a force of
twenty-five men being constantly employed. It is gratifying to note that Mr.
Emery reaps the reward of his years of persistent effort and controls both the
manufacture and sale of this child of his brain. He has other business in-
terests, principally connected with the coal trade, being a director of the South-
western Anthracite Coal Company and of the Scranton Anthracite Coal Com-
pany, both operating from Clarksville, Kansas. He is a member of the Benevo-
lent and Protective Order of Elks, and in political faith is a Republican.
CHARLES HENRY LINDSAY
A resident of Scranton since 1870, Mr. Lindsay has been for over forty
years connected with important commercial enterprises of the city in positions
of trust and responsibility. He was born in Bath, New York, March 9, 1846,
son of James and Maria (Richardson) Lindsay, the former born in Sligo,
Ireland, in 1799, the latter in Bath, New York, in 1806.
Charles Henry Lindsay obtained a good public school education in Bath
and until 1870 was engaged in mercantile business in that city. In that year
he came to Scranton where until 1880 he was associated with Hunt Brothers
& Company, from 1881 to 1903 with E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Company
of Pennsylvania, and from 1885 to the latter year was secretary and treasurer
of the Consumers Powder Company. In 1903 he was elected treasurer of
DuPont de Nemours & Company of Pennsylvania and as such continues at the
present date (1914). In addition, from 1877 to 1891, he was manager of the
Academy of Music. The family are members of Green Ridge Presbyterian
Church, and in political faith Mr. Lindsay is a Republican.
He married, in Washington, D. C, October 5, 1886, Annie Mitchell,
daughter of William H. and Eliza (Cropley) Tenney, of that city. Children:
William Tenney, now clerk in the First National Bank of Scranton ; Carl
Ludovic, now clerk for the Scranton Lace Curtain Company ; Louise ; Stewart.
The family residence is No. 1631 Washington avenue, Scranton.
-:^<">"i* jVlft^fma'/'i^ ..
-ir^e
CITY OF SCRANTON
ROBERT THOMPSON BLACK
17=
When the history of Scranton and her public men shall have been completed
its pages will bear no more illustrious name and record, no more distinguished
career than that of the late Robert Thompson Black, in whose demise the city
of Scranton lost one of its representative citizens, a man of uncompromising
integrity, unassailable character, keen perception and shrewd judgment, an
active and potent factor in the financial and mercantile affairs of his adopted
city, whose aggressive opposition to public or private fraud made him a man
whose influence invariably assisted in turning the balances in favor of the
right.
Robert Thompson Black was born October i, 1821, in Rath Melton, six
miles from Londonderry, county Donegal, Ireland, a descendant of a Scotch-
Irish lineage. He was reared to maturity in his native town, attended the
district school, and in 1842, upon attaining his majority, emigrated to the
United States, sailing from Londonderry on the ship Lafayette, arriving in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the journey covering a period of six weeks. From
Philadelphia he removed to Zanesville, Ohio, where he clerked for a time in a
store owned by his brothers, John and Peter Black, later assumed charge of a
store in McConnellsville, Ohio, and subsequently removed to Springfield, Ohio,
where he engaged in the retail mercantile trade, continuing along that line for
eight years, during which time he achieved a large degree of success. He then
returned to Philadelphia and directed his attention to the dry goods business,
purchasing an interest in the firm of Eschrick, Penn & Company, he assuming
the active management of the business, which prospered abundantly under his
control, he being progressive in his ideas, although conservative in his methods,
and later he was actively engaged in the coal business, which was also a lucra-
tive enterprise. In 1861 he disposed of his interest in the firm of Eschrick,
Penn & Company to his brother, and in 1866 removed to Wilkes-Barre, Penn-
sylvania, and there became connected with the Vulcan Iron Works and later
turned his attention to the coal business, in which he had become an expert.
In 1867 Mr. Black took up his residence in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and
there spent the remainder of his days, residing there for more than three
decades, being busily engaged in divers pursuits. His first business venture
after moving to Scranton was in connection with two brothers-in-law in coal
operations at Minooka ; later he was appointed treasurer and general manager
of the Pennsylvania and Susquehanna Coal Company, which at first had but
one colliery, but Mr. Black built another and operated the two for a number
of years, making shipments by the Delaware & Hudson and Delaware, Lacka-
wanna & Western railroads, the business growing steadily in volume and im-
portance under his competent guidance and excellent administration of affairs.
About the year 1878 he disposed of his interest in the company.
During the period of his residence in Scranton Mr. Black was actively and
prominently identified with many leading enterprises which had for their ob-
ject the welfare and progress of the city. He assisted in the organization of
the Second National Bank, of Wilkes-Barre, of which he was a director for
more than twenty years, and at different times served as vice-president and
president of the Lackawanna Valley Bank, of Scranton, holding the latter posi-
tion at the time of its reorganization as the Lackawanna Trust and Safe
Deposit Company, and was a director of the concern at the time of his decease.
He was a shrewd investor, a close scrutinizer and conservative adviser, and he
knew the value of bank stock, government bond' and securities as very few
of his compatriots did, hence his value in high official positions, which he filled
acceptably and commendably.
176 CITY OF SCRANTON
For six years Mr. Black represented the eighth ward upon the board of
control, and also held the position of member of the poor board for a number
of years, finally tendering his resignation. He was a staunch adherent of the
principles of the Republican party, in whose interests he labored faithfully,
but he steadfastly declined nomination for local office, preferring to render his
service in a less conspicuous manner. He was a vigorous fighter in the cause
of good government against lawlessness. In the memorable series of prosecu-
tions by the Young Men's Christian Association, and successively conducted
by its presidents. Colonel Henry M. Boies and Edward B. Sturges, in the early
seventies, against saloon keepers for violation of the liquor laws, Mr. Black was
the financial backer, and again in 1876 he rendered a like service in the graft
prosecution of F. A. Beamish.
During his later years Mr. Black withdrew somewhat from the public eye
and from the active furtherance of public work, but he never ceased to hold
a gentle sway in the hearts of countless friends, to whom his demise was a sad
affliction. He loved hnmanitv and was never content unless doing something
for others, but his charity was simple and was prompted by the purest motives
of a kindly and sympathetic heart. Especially in his later years he possessed
a most striking personality ; having a full head of hair as white as snow and
by contrast a fair and ruddy complexion ; an extremely vivacious manner of
speech and a high keyed treble voice ; plain in dress, invariably wearing the
conventional black. He had a remarkable memory and his mind was a store-
house of facts, incidents and reminiscences, and he enjoyed a good joke and
could tell many. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Scran-
ton, in the work of which he took an active interest.
Mr. Black married, July 15, 1858, Caroline A. Perkins, who survived him.
Children : Robert Thompson Jr., who was a resident of Scranton, died in
1907 : Thomas Atherton. a resident of Scranton : Mary S., who became the
wife of C. E. Judson, of Wyoming, who for a number of years has managed
an extensive cattle ranch in that state belonging to the late Mr. Black.
Around the fireside of his happy home, surrounded by his family that he loved
dearly, Mr. Black passed many of his happiest hours, enjoying to the full
their companionship and love. He was a loving husband, an indulgent father,
a good friend, a kind person, an estimable citizen and an honest man, which
tribute is more to be desired than any other.
Mr. Black died at his home in Scranton, May 25, 1900, and mterment was
made in the family vault in Dunmore Cemetery. The funeral services were
conducted by the Rev. James McLeod, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church,
and the Rev. Dr. Logan, both of whom spoke eulogistically of the character
of the deceased. The following was Dr. Logan's tribute :
It is fully fifty years since I first met Mr. Black, and for twenty-five years I held
toward him the intimacy of a recognized pastor. When I first met him he had recently
arrived in the county and was hard at work on what was then the frontier. With a
Scotch ancestry and an Irish birth-place, he belonged to that race of Presbjlierians — the
Scotch-Irish — who placed the Presbyterian church in this country. He called himself a
Presbyterian. I once told him I thought him more of a Presbyterian than a Christian,
and he said he was. From early life he had connected himself with the church, but in
the active and multifarious contact with the world in business, for a time he departed
from it, and it was my privilege to bring him back to the church in which he maintained
his worthy Christian life through the last half of it.
Robert Black was a man of strong characteristics. Honest and true in whatever he
undertook, he was the kind of stuff out of which the citizenship of such a land as this
is made. His life was energetic, industrious and kind, and he was more than ordinarily
successful. There was stalwart truthfulness without effort at polish and yet in his heart
a kindness and geniality which always bound men to him. During the last thirty years
he walked among us engaged in great personal enterprises, but always ready to work
CITY OF SCRANTON
1/7
and sacrifice for the building up of a Christian city. His courage in resisting the wrongs
m our citizenship and maintaining the right was more than conspicuous. Twenty-three
^ears ago, when the honest and good citizens of Scranton were searching for friends to
protect them from dislionesty in office, from ignorance and vice in our citizenship, he
was found among the first.
Just as in the day when the nation was searching in all byways for men who by
strength and sacrifice could s-ave the country in the dreadful war, he was true and per-
petually active, and his manliness and steadfastness ought to be remembered. There is
preserved in the archives of this city and in the .archives of his family, I trust, a
worthy testimonial to the fidelity and honest and worthy citizen's sacrifice of Robert
Black. It is where all the best men of the city have certified to his devotion and testi-
mony for the right. His service is a part of the heritage of this peaceful and prosper-
ous city.
He had his faults, but we can as Christians speak no evil of the dead ; even the
heathen would not do that. He was rugged and too earnest and honest to spend his
time polishing down his points of contact with the forces he proposed to meet and per-
haps men of as good qualities as he may have done the same work with less friction, but,
with all which seemed to be rugged badness, to the worthy and true, he always mani-
fested a great, generous heart. And his work has gone into the warp and woof of those
labors and sacrifices which have made our city a joy and blessing to the coming gen-
eration.
Our life is indeed short and busy, and it is very easy for him who is spared to re-
spectable old age to find his work entirely forgotten. The children enter into the heri-
tage of the fathers, and in a very short possession will apply it as their own. Yet it is
true that God does not forget ; the worthy life will have its telling power, and the vir-
tuous, honest citizenship resigned shall still remain a potency which God himself will
demonstrate in the end of the days.
As Mr. Black's old friend and pastor, I feel it to be a pleasure to recall his rugged
manly, patriotic and honest life. And there are many within the sound of my voice
who, I know, will appreciate the tribute which I have brought to his memory. He was
not only a man that aimed to do right, but had no hesitancy in using all the power that
God gave him to make others do likewise.
Our sympathies go out to his family, where as husband and father he was its light
and in whose joys and sorrows he always appeared at his best. Let us all realize that
our time is short, and what we do for ourselves, for our country and for our God must
be done speedily. Let us gird ourselves and go forward with new zeal, realizing that it
is not vain to serve God, and work righteousness among our fellowmen.
JOSEPH CURTIS PLATT
To Joseph Curtis Piatt, who came to the present site of Scranton in 1846,
the city owes much of its early prosperity and present greatness. He had
married in his boyhood home, Connecticut, Catherine Serena Scranton, ant!
when Slocum Hollow emerged from its chrysalis condition, took on manufac-
turing dignity and demanded a inore suitable name, he was instrumental
in securing the adoption of the name of Scranton, out of compliment to Messrs.
George W., Selden T., and Joseph H. Scranton.
The Platts, of Scranton, are of the Saybrook, Connecticut, branch, descen-
dants of Frederick Piatt, who settled in Killingworth, Connecticut, about 1790,
supposedly a descendant of Richard Piatt, the emigrant of 1638, who settled
at New Haven and Milford, Connecticut. At the latter place, among the
coping stones of the beautiful memorial bridge over the Wapawaug to perpet-
uate the memory of the early settlers, is one bearing this inscription :
Deacon
Richard Piatt
Obit 1684
Mary His Wife.
Frederick Piatt married a Miss Fox, of New London, Connecticut. His
third son married Hannah Lane and located at Saybrook in the part now called
Winthrop. Captain Dan Piatt, son of Obadiah Piatt, was an officer of the
Revolutionary army. He was born 1735, died aged eighty-eight years. He
178 CITY OF SCRANTON
married, January 12, 1763, Jemima Pratt. Deacon Dan Piatt, son of Captain
Dan Piatt, was born June 21, 1764, married Catherine Lane, December 20,
1787, and died in Madison, Connecticut, aged over seventy-eight years. He had
five sons and five daughters. Joseph Piatt, eldest son of Deacon Dan Piatt,
was born in 1789, married Lydia Pratt, and died aged thirty-seven years.
He was a lawyer and an associate of the father of Chief Justice W aite of the
United States Supreme Court.
Joseph Curtis Piatt, son of Joseph Piatt, the lawyer, was born in Saybrook,
Connecticut, September 17, 1816. Left fatherless when ten years of age, he
began at eleven years to earn his own living as clerk in a country store. In
1836 he had accumulated sufficient capital to begin business for himself. He
opened a general store at Fair Haven, Connecticut, carried on a successful
business there for eight years, then married and two years later moved to
Scranton, Pennsylvania. His marriage, April 2, 1844, to Catherine S., daugh-
ter of Jonathan Scranton, of Madison, Connecticut, was the cause of this
removal. Her brother had become deeply interested in iron manufacture in
the Lackawanna Valley, the company also operating a store which in 1846
needed a new manager. Joseph H. Scranton, on one of his trips East, per-
suaded his brother-in-law, Mr. Piatt, to visit the Valley in November, 1845.
The result of this visit was that the following year, having converted his prop-
erty into cash, interested his friends with capital to also invest, he located in
Slocum Hollow to the everlasting benefit of the then village, now city. To
illustrate the change in transportation facilities, Mr. Piatt later in life wrote
the following account of his coming to Scranton with his little family in
March, 1846:
There being no railroad we came by night steamer from New Haven, and arriving
in New York, the next morning found the streets so full of snow that our carriage
could hardly get to the Franklin House on Broadway, corner of Dey street. After break-
fast we found it impossible to get a carriage to take us to the ferry at the foot of Cort-
land street, on account of the depth of the snow, consequently we had to walk, and a hand
cart took our baggage. At that time the Morris and Essex Railroad only ran between
Newark and Morristown. Our car was hauled by the Camden and Amboy Company
over its road to Newark where it was disconnected and drawn by four horses up the
jame heavy grade that is now operated by steam. From this point we were taken by a
locomotive with one pair of driving wheels to Morristown. At Summit Station we found
a novel plan for supplying the engine with water. .A. pair of wheels on a line of shaft-
ing were placed beneath the track, the upper side of them being in line and level with its
top. The locomotive was chained with its drivers resting on the wheels beneath its
track, when the engineer put on steam and pumped what water he needed. At Morris-
town we took a stage and arrived at Oxford about dark. There we spent about a week,
owing partly to a heavy rain which had so raised the Delaware River that we had to
cross it by the bridge at Belvidere and struck the river again at what is now Portland.
We were delayed in the Water Gap by ice and logs in the road. After covering small
bridges with slabs of wood hauled out of the river, we finally reached Tannersville and
spent the night. The next morning, finding good sleighing at Forks, we changed our
vehicle to runners and again for wheels at Greenville (now Nay- Aug) and arrived at
Selden T. Scranton's house about dark March 17, 1846. the traveling time being one day
from New York to Oxford and two more to reach here. At present the trip is made
over substantially the same route in 4V2 hours and from New Haven in 8 hours. This
route generally took 2j4 days to or from New York and was the usual one followed.
The only way to shorten the time was to take the stage at Hyde Park at noon and rid-
ing through the night reach Middletown. New York, in the afternoon, then taking the
Erie Railroad to Piermont and steamer down the Hudson, arriving in New York about
6 P. M. the next day after leaving home.
April I, 1846, San ford Grant, having retired from the association with the
Scrantons and their iron and coal enterprises, Mr. Piatt took charge of the
store operated by them, and in November of that year the firm was reorganized
as Scrantons & Piatt, with a capital of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars
CITY OF SCRANTON 179
Later in the same year Joseph H. Scranton and Mr. Piatt purchased the inter-
est of E. C. Scranton, the firm continuing as Scrantons & Piatt until 1853,
when having far outgrown their original plans, the business was incorporated
as the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company. In all the formative period of
the new settlement on the Lackawanna, the laying out of the town plot of
lots, the founding of its churches, schools, lodges, etc., Mr. Piatt bore a lead-
ing part and it is to him that Scranton owes its broad straight streets and all
the liberal features of the original plan. In 1850 the first steps were taken to
lay out the village plot and of this Mr. Piatt writes: "I felt it a matter of
importance to start right and held many consultations with Joel Anderson,
the engineer." So interested was he in the planning and building of the town
that this department was given into his full charge, and until he retired from
active business in 1874 he continued in full charge of the company's real estate
interests with the title of vice-president.
In 1856 the borough of Scranton was organized, Mr. Piatt becoming one
of the members of the first council. On August 27, 1858, the first Young
Men's Christian Association was organized with Mr. Piatt as one of its man-
agers. On March 20, 1862, the Dickson Manufacturing Company was organ-
ized for the manufacture of machinery needed in many plants starting in the
Lackawanna Valley. Of this company he was one of the first directors, for a
number of years was treasurer, continuing as director until his death. In
1863 the First National Bank was organized with Mr. Piatt a member of the
board of directors. In 1864 he became a member of the milling and grain fiim
of C. T. Weston & Company. In 1865 he was chosen superintendent of the
Sunday school of the First Presbyterian Church. The great demand for
powder to be used in the blasting demanded a better source of supply, and in
April, 1865, the Moosic Powder Company was formed with Mr. Piatt a di
rector, this connection continuing until death, he also serving for a time as
treasurer. In 1867-1868 the mercantile interests of the Lackawanna Iron and
Coal Company demanding enlarged quarters, a large and commodious store
building was erected under Mr. Piatt's plans and direction. In 1871 he became
a director of the People's Street Railroad Company. In August, 1872, he
was elected vice-president of the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company and the
same year was chosen vice-president of the First National Bank, a position to
which he was annually re-elected until his death. In 1874 the firm of C. F.
Weston & Company was incorporated as the Weston Mill Company, with Mr.
Piatt as director, and the same year he became a director of the re-organized
Lackawanna Hospital.
But now the heavy burdens he had carried since a boy of ten years, and the
demands of fifty years of a busy and useful life, made themselves felt and he
determined to spend the afternoon of life in a less strenuous manner. To this
end he resigned his office of vice-president of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal
Company in 1874 and seriously tried to retire from the more arduous of his
activities — but in vain- — he could not shake off the habits of a lifetime and
roon he was again in even heavier harness. In 1876 he became a director
of the Riverton Mills Company of Virginia, an offshoot from the Weston
Mills Company. In 1877 he resigned as superintendent of the Sunday school
after twelve years service. In 1879 he was elected secretary and treasurer of
the People's Street Railway Company, and the same year became a member
of the First Board of Health of the City of Scranton. In 1880 he was chosen
a director of Ihe Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, and in 1882 a director
of the newly finished Moses Taylor Hospital. In 1883 he joined with others
in the creation of an institution to bring "speech to the silent" and accepted a
directorship on the board governing the Pennsylvania Oral School for Deaf
i8o CITY OF SCRANTON
Mutes, one of Scranton"s most successful and characteristic philanthropies. In
1886 he was chosen director of the newly formed "Lackawanna Institute of
History and Science." In 1887 he resigned as secretarj- and treasurer of the
People's Street Railway Company, but the same year became a director of the
Scranton Forging Company, a new company transplanted from Connecticut.
In July, 1887, he experienced a great grief in the death of his wife, whom
forty-three years previous he had led to the altar and whose loss he was
destined not long to sun-ive. He had now reached the age of seventy-one
years, sixty of which had been years of business activity, seldom equalled. He
was in full possession of his physical and mental faculties, when, in October,
1887, he was suddenly stricken with that dread disease, paralysis, and although
provided with the best medical attention and every comfort, he did not recover,
but on November 15 following, his spirit fled its mortal frame and on unseen
wings, joined his life's mate in the ''house of many mansions."
This brief review of the life of one of Scranton's "benefactors" shows
imperfectly how much he did and how well he performed his every duty.
He died "in the harness," although in his latter years he labored less for
the material things, becoming more and more interested in plans and enter-
prises for the betterment of his fellow men and the relief of suffering humanity.
The year prior to his death he contributed to the archives of the Lackawanna
Institute a valuable historical paper, containing a full account of the develop-
ment of the Lackawanna \'alley from the view point of an actual participant.
This paper since his death has been printed and is a recognized authority on
the period and events it covers. The life work of Joseph Curtis Piatt shows
him to have been possessed of more than average ability and good judgment,
but the mainspring of his success was his untiring energy, reinforced by in-
domitable courage. He lived the simple life and cared little for wealth, ex-
cept for the opportunity it gave him to carry out ambitious plans for the
good of Scranton and her people. He retained his connection with the cor-
porations previously named, and on his death his associates in each ex-
pressed their profound sorrow by appropriate resolutions. He is buried in
Dunmore Cemetery by the side of his beloved wife.
As previously stated, ]\Ir. Piatt married. April 2, 1844. Catherine Serena,
daughter of Jonathan Scranton, of Madison. Connecticut, and sister of the
Scranton brothers famed in early annals of the city that bears their name.
She died July 4, 1887, preceding her husband to the grave by about four
months, they having enjoyed an ideal married life of forty-three years.
Children: i. Joseph Curtis Jr., (q. v.). 2. Ella J., a resident of Scranton until
her death, January 28, 1908. 3. Frank Elbert, of whom further.
Frank Elbert Piatt, youngest son of Joseph Curtis and Catherine Serena
(Scranton) Piatt, was born in Scranton, February 21, 1859. After preparation
at the Peekskill Military Academy he entered Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
of Troy, New York, whence he was graduated with the degree of Civil En-
gineer, in the class of 1879. After his graduation he followed his profession
as civil engineer for several years in the Water Works Department of the City
of Troy, in the bridge department of the Delaware & Hudson Company and
on the preliminary survey and location of the New York, Lackawanna &
Western Railroad between Binghamton and Buffalo under the late James
Archbald, chief engineer. He then turned his attention to iron manufacture
and was uniformly successful as superintendent of the blast furnaces of the
Franklin Iron Works, Clinton, New York, of the Hudson River Iron Ore
Company. Cold Spring. New York, and of the Chestnut Hill Iron Ore Com-
pany, Columbia. Lancaster county, Pennsylvania.
On the death of his father, the settlement and management of his estate
CITY OF SCRANTON i8i
recalled him to Scranton where he has since resided. He has become identified
with many of the business enterprises with which his father had been asso-
ciated. He is a director in the following local corporations : The Scranton Coal
Company, Pine Hill Coal Company, Elk Hill Coal and Iron Company, Scran-
ton Electric Construction Company, Susquehanna County Light and Power
Company, The Penn Store Company, Central Realty Company, Keystone Store
Company, Dickson Store Company, Lackawanna Institute of History and
Science, the Pennsylvania Oral School for the Deaf, and the Scranton Forging
Company. He has been a director of the First National Bank of Scranton
since 1905. He is a member of the University Club of New York, of the Scran-
ton Club, the Engineers Club, and is president of the Country Club of Scran-
ton. For the past twenty years he has been assistant treasurer of the Scra^i-
ton Coal Company which operates thirteen collieries along the line of the
New York, Ontario & Western Railway Company. He possesses not only the
technical skill of the trained engineer, but the wise business sagacity required
of the modern business man, an equipment rendering him a valuable acquisi-
tion to the companies in which he is interested. With cultured tastes and in-
stincts he enjoys the world of art, science and literature, and the pleasures
of a gentleman of means. In political faith he affiliates with the Republican
party, and in religious preference is a Presbyterian.
Frank Elbert Piatt married Elizabeth Augusta Skinner, of Guilford, Con-
necticut, born i860. Children: i. Margaret Scranton, born in New York City.
2. Joseph Curtis (3), born in Cold Spring, New York, November 18, 1887;
graduated from Yale, 1910; business, lumber. 3. Philip Skinner, born in
Scranton, November 26, 1889 ; graduated from Yale, 1912 ; business, public
health and hygiene. 4. Leonard Scranton, born in Scranton, June 12, 1900.
FREDERICK JOSEPH PLATT
Joseph Curtis (2) Piatt, son of Joseph Curtis (i) Piatt (q. v.), was born
in Fair Haven, Connecticut, January 9, 1845, died in Waterford, New York,
July 7, 1898. The year following his birth, his parents moved to what is now
the city of Scranton, an interesting story of their journey being given in the
preceding sketch. The boyhood of Joseph C. Piatt was spent in Scranton and
his early education there obtained. He prepared at Phillip's Andover Academy,
whence he was graduated, class of 1862, then entered Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute, Troy, New York, continuing until 1866, when he was graduated with
the class of that year receiving the degree for which he had qualified, that of
Civil Engineer. His youthful manhood was spent in the services of the
Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company of Scranton, where he added to hi.s
previous qualifications those of a mining engineer. He rose to eminence in
his dual professions and in iron manufacture, and while still a young man had,
as consulting engineer, charge of the construction and later operations of the
Franklin Furnaces in New Jersey, then considered a very large and important
iron manufacturing plant. He remained at Franklin Furnace until 1875, when
he moved to Waterford, New York, where for nearly twenty years he was
one of the leading manufacturers. He was president of the Mohawk and Hud-
son Manufacturing Company and of its successor, the Eddy Valve Company,
also proprietor of the Button Boiler Company, leading industries of that sec-
tion. He retired from active business life during his last years, devoting him-
self to his earlier professional pursuits by the preparation of essays on tech-
nical engineering subjects for the scientific journals.
He was a successful man in both professional and business life, held to
the highest code of honor and followed his convictions with fearless and out-
i82 CITY OF SCRANTON
spoken candor. He was ever an enemy of the liquor traffic, denouncing i;
publicly and privately, fighting it almost single handed in his town. Yet so
consistent was his life and so honorable and open his opposition, that he was
held by the liquor men in greater respect than any other man in Waterford. In
religious faith he was a Presbyterian, was a trustee of the Waterford congre-
gation, chairman of its finance committee, and for several years superintendent
of the Sunday school. He also took a deep interest in all charitable and bene-
volent work, contributing liberally of his time, good judgment and means.
Joseph Curtis Piatt married, December 8, 1869, Katherine Judd Jones, of
Penn Yan, New York, daughter of Ebenezer Backus (2) Jones, born in Troy,
New York, September 5, 1808, died May 24, 1892, and his wife, Lucy (Judd)
Jones, born in Rhinebeck, New York, in 1812, died September i, 1889. Mr.
Jones, a successful man of high character, was engaged for many years in the
mercantile business in Penn Yan, a son of Ebenezer Backus ( i ) Jones, of
Troy. Lucy (Judd) Jones was a daughter of Uri Judd. of Woodbury, Con-
necticut. Children of Joseph Curtis Piatt: i. Frederick Joseph, of whom
further. 2. Llewellyn Jones, born at Franklin F^trnace, .New Jersey, July 23,
1873, died in Scranton, Pennsylvania, July 15, 1876. 3. Elbert Scranton, born
December 21, 1876; graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, now in the
chemical department of that institution in Troy, New York ; married Angelica
Schuyler Thompson, and has a son, Elbert Scranton Piatt. 4. Edward How-
ard, born November 5, 1878, died in infancy.
Frederick Joseph Piatt, eldest son of Joseph Curtis (2) and Katherine
Judd (Jones) Piatt, was born at Franklin Furnace, New Jersey, July 21, 1871.
He prepared for college at the Peekskill Military Academy, Peekskill, New
York, then entered Cornell University, pursuing the full mechanical and elec-
trical engineering course and was graduated M. E., class of 1892. He later
located in Scranton, where he has attained eminence as an electrical and
mechanical engineer. He is president of the Scranton Electrical Construction
Company, and treasurer of the Susquehanna County Light and Power Com-
pany, director of County Savings Bank, director of Scranton Trust Company,
director of United Service Company, and has other business interests of im-
portance. He is a Kappa Alpha, a Republican in politics, and a member of the
Scranton Club and Scranton Engineers' Club.
Mr. Piatt married, January 24, 1895, Jessie Gay Blair, of Scranton. Chil
dren: Joseph Curtis (3), Austin Blair, Frederick.
ARCHIBALD F. LAW
There has been much in the history of the Law family in Pennsylvania to
make the name honored among the most celebrated of the state. Inseparably
connected with the coal mining industry in the first generation in this country,
a pillar of the mercantile world in the second, and a power in many of the
industrial enterprises of the present day, one of the name has ever been a prom-
inent figure ever since the United States became the scene of the family's
conquests. The Laws are of great antiquity in Scotland and its members -n
that country have been elevated to positions of height in professional and civil
life. The fruits of the latter generation are but the realization of the promise
of earlier days.
(I) Archibald Law, grandfather of Archibald F. Law. was the chief engi-
neer in Scotland of the Duke of Buccleuh, and he came to this country on
the invitation of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad to take charge of their ex-
tensive mining operations. This was in 1830, when he was thirty-one years of
age, and to him is due the praise for the introduction of the present method
^
d/,/
CITY OF SCRANTON 183
of underground mining used in place of the system then in vogue, the working
of the vein from the surface by stripping or quarrying. At Wanlockhead,
Scotland, his birth-place, he had been taught the profession of mining engineer-
ing, and upon his arrival in Pennsylvania he obtained employment with the
Delaware &• Hudson Coal Company in that capacity. His extended knowledge
of his profession, gained from a close study of the properties of anthracite
and the best miethods of working, soon made him a recognized authority upon
these subjects, and the innovation he introduced in the extraction of coal only
served to add to his fame and increase his prestige in his field of operations. It
was Mr. Law's efficiency in mining matters that led to the accident causing his
death. Although he suffered severe injuries in the year 1836 by a falling
roof in a mine, that was only incidental to the life of a miner and was a part of
the daily risk run by all who elected to spend their working hours buried be-
neath thousands of tons of earth and rock, far below the light of day. His
really fatal injury was received in 1843, after he had been promoted to the
office of chief nxining engineer and first inspector of coal, to determine its
qualities of combustion, appointed by the Delaware & Hud.son Company. It
was necessary that an inspection of the mine pumps be made, a duty re-
quiring the services of an expert engineer and involving the life and safety of
hundreds of miners, one which no conscientious and honorable engineer could
assign to a subordinate. While engaged in his task a mass of slate roofing fell,
severely injuring his spine and permanently disabling him, its effects hastening
his death, which occurred in 1848. That a life from which so much of use-
fulness was expected in the service of his fellowmen should be so unduly
shortened was indeed deplorable. In commemoration of his momentous rev-
olution of the mining industry, a massive monument was erected on the oc-
casion of the fiftieth anniversary of the city of Carbondale. marking the spot
first worked in this manner and honoring the man introducing it.
(II) Charles Law, father of Archibald F. Law, was born in Carbondale,
Pennsylvania, in 1833, and there attended the public schools. His business life
began at the early age of thirteen years, when he became an indentured ap-
prentice to the mercantile business in an establishment conducted by Law &
Howell, the senior partner being his elder brother. After eight years spent in
the service of others, he establishd a mercantile business in Pittston under the
firm name of Charles Law & Company, which was subsequently changed to
Law & Campbell, so continuing until 1878, when Mr. Law withdrew from the
firm, at that time conducting an extensive business. After his retirement from
this field, Mr. Law contracted connections with many important enterprises
about Pittston, and was actively engaged until his death, the Hendrick Manu-
facturing Company of Carbondale being one of his chief interests. He mar-
mied, November 25, 1854, Ellen Atwater, daughter of Charles Atwater, an
early merchant and postmaster of Providence, Pennsylvania. The Atwaters
were of English origin, and were among the first settlers of New Haven, Con-
necticut, and Providence Plantations. Pennsylvania, all of the name in this
country tracing to David Atwater, the immigrant. On November 25, 1904,
Mr. and Mrs. Law celebrated their golden wedding anniversary.
(III) Archibald F. Law, eldest of a family of ten children of Charles and
Ellen (Atwater) Law, was born in Pittston, Pennsylvania, June 21, 1856, died
at his home in Scranton, Pennsylvania, July 18, 1914. He was educated in
the public schools and by private tutors in preparation for a college course,
but having an inclination for active work he did not complete the course and
began his business career in the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Cox-
ton, Pennsylvania, in the capacity of weighmaster, and as such was engaged at
Pittston for a period of six years. From 1879 to 1885 he was cashier of the
i84 CITY OF SCRANTON
Canada Southern Railway, at Buffalo, New York, acquiring a good knowl-
edge of modern railroading, and in the latter named year became connected
with the large coal operating firm of Simpson & Watkins at Scranton as secre-
tary and confidential man. Finding the occupation well to his liking, Mr. Law
acquainted himself with all departments of the business, subsequently ac-
quiring an interest therein. In 1899 the interest of this firm was merged with
that of the Temple Iron Company, Mr. Law being made secretary. Later the
duties of treasurer were added to those of this office, while shortly afterward
he was made vice-president, with absolute control over the entire administration
of the business of the company, a position of great responsibility, which he
held until the dissolution of the Temple Iron Company in April, 1914. The
business of the company included the furnace at Temple, Berks county, Penn-
sylvania, and the eight collieries in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, namely:
The Northwest, Edgerton, Babylon. Mount Lookout, Forty Fort, Sterrick
Creek. Harry E. and Lackawanna, employing in rill eight thousand men. He
had in him the true American spirit of fair plav, and was always personally
responsible to his employees for any official action, his equable disposition and
genial personality rendering impossible all of the conflict so often found be-
tween employer and employed. So considerate had lie been of the rights and
needs of the host of men dependent upon him, and upon whom he depended,
that no formal request within reason was ever refused them, while many of
their desires were anticipated and fair action taken.
In addition to the responsibilities of this office, to which most of his time
was devoted, he was actively connected with the following industrial and
financial organizations : The Northwest Coal Company, of which he was presi-
dent : the Edgerton Coal Company, of which he was president : !Mt. Pleasant
Coal Company, of which he was president ■ Sterrick Creek Coal Company, of
which he was president ; Babylon Coal Company, of which he was president ;
Forty Fort Coal Company, of which he was president ; the Cross Engineering
Company, manufacturers of mining machinery, of which he was president,
which company recently, owing to their greatly increased business, gave their
employees a bonus of five per cent, on their earnings for the past year, they
having in their employ about fifty men, the amounts varying from $30.00 to
$50.00, and to Mr. Law is due the credit of instituting the profit-sharing plan
in Lackawanna county ; the Wyoming Electric I .ight & Pbwer Company, of
which he was president ; the Mears Mining Company of Joplin, Missouri, of
which he was director and treasurer ; the Title Guaranty and Surety Company,
of which he was a director ; the Peckville National Bank, the Scranton Trust
Company, the Forty Fort Silk Company and the Lytle Store Company, at
Minersville, in all of which he was a director. Mr. Law's knowledge of each
of the industries and organizations was complete, thorough and systematic,
the policy of each and the state of its business all being the property of his
wonderfully retentive mind.
It is doubtful whether a college education could have improved Mr. Law's
literary tastes or widened the fields open to him in that direction. With a
strong instinct for all that is best in the world of letters, he found his chief
recreation in the recesses of his library, a large well-filled room, the shelves
stocked with all the works of the classics and the best of modern authors. Many
of his books are so rarely valuable as to make duplication almost impossible
and in these he took the fond pride of the literary connoisseur. While con-
tinued and diligent reading often tends toward an absorption almost selfish.
Mr. Law escaped the construction of the only evil that could result from deep
pursuit of the master writers of the world, and ever delighted to have others
participate in his pleasures. To this end he was primarily the founder of the
CITY OF SCRANTON 185
A. F. Law Library Association, which was given his name in lecognition of
his generosity and pubHc spirit. To this institution, dedicated at Jessup, Janu-
ary 24, 1905, in the presence of over 1000 of the townspeople, deeply apprecia-
tive and grateful, he contributed more than 1000 carefully selected volumes.
As a result of this splendid gift, Jessup prides itself upon the possession of a
public library unequalled by that of any town of its size in the valley.
Mr. Law was a director of the Pennsylvania Oral School for the Deaf,
by appointment of Governor Tener, and was a member of the advisory board
of the Hahnemann Hospital Association. He was a member of the following:
American Society of Mining Engineers: Engineers' Society of Northeastern
Pennsylvania; International Society of Social Insurance, of which he was the
American delegate-at-large, headquarters, Paris, France, this institution being
for the purpose of discussing and devising ways and means for the protection
and insurance of working men ; the Scranton Club : the Green Ridge Club ;
the Country Club, all of Scranton: the Westmoreland Club, of Wilkes-Barre,
and various other societies and clubs. In the Masonic order he held the thirty-
second degree. Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. His only military service
was for three years in an independent company of the National Guard of
New York, the Buffalo City Guards. He was a member and trustee of the
Green Ridge Presbyterian Church, and politically he was a strong supporter of
the Republican party.
Mr. Law married, September 25, 1878, Eva G. Brenton, daughter of Joel
Brenton, of Pittston, Pennsylvania, and three children were born to them, two
of whom were : Frank E., a graduate of Ya'e University, living at the
present time (1914) : Grace B., married, September 4. 1908, Frank B. Rutter,
who was vice-president of the Scranton Bolt and Nut Company, and both
were instantly killed in a New Haven Railroad coach near New Haven, Con-
necticut, September 2, 1913, their bodies arriving in Scranton on the fifth an-
niversary of their wedding.
Mr. Law was a good citizen, and in the development of the anthracite in-
dustry in the valley none played a more prominent role. He learned the mining
business from the beginning and no coal expert was more versed on mining.
He also displayed remarkable ability and a vast capacity for governing men in
the various positions to which he was called. He was, moreover, a Christian
gentleman of high type, kind, considerate, benevolent and philanthropic.
J. BENJAMIN DIMMICK
That the name of Dimmick, so closely related to many of most im-
portant financial institutions and commercial enterprises of Scranton, and
with numerous educational and humanitarian projects in the vicinity, should
be one of the most highly regarded and respected is only returning to an
ancient and honorable lineage its just due. Although in the pages of history
the name appears as Dymock, Dimmock and Dimick, modern usage sanctions
only the spelling used in this chronicle, Dimmick, The Rev. Dr. Miller casts
the following light upon the derivation of the surname : "The Dymocks come
down from Tudor, Prince and Chief of the Welsh Marches, to David ap Madoc,
some five hundred years, they being known in Wales as Dai (from Dy), Dai
being in Welsh the diminutive of David. His successors were known as
Daimoc, and Sir William Dymock, the sixth in descent from him, had the
spelling in that form." Although in the days of George IV. the office of
hereditary champion of England was abolished, from an early period it had
been occupied by the English Dymock, acquired by the marriage of Sir John
i86 CITY OF SCRANTON
Dymock, in the reign of Edward III., to the sole heirship of the Marmions, ni
whose family the position had previously been held.
It is Elder Thomas Dimmock that all bearers of the name in New Eng-
land recognize as their common ancestor. He came from Barnstable, England,
and was one of the incorporators of the town of that name in ^Massachusetts,
in which state he held residence in 1635, although the exact date of his arrival
is unknown. In the judicial, public, military and religious life of Barnstable
he held positions of responsibility and honor. In religious convictions he was
years n advance of his generation, a firm advocate of the tolerance he person-
ally ex,;rcised. In the early settlements of the new country it was frequenth-
to one man that the other citizens looked for guidance in all their public action
and it was Elder Thomas Dimmock who served the village as leader in all
matters of town government and improvement.
Timothy Dimmick, the fourth generation of the name in this country,
married Ann, daughter of Joseph Bradford, a direct descendant of Governor
Bradford, who came to America in the "Mayflower."
Alpheus Dimmick was the first of the family to make his permanent resi-
dence outside of the boundaries of New England. He attained eminence among
the legal lights of New York state and represented Sullivan county in the
state legislature. He was the father of Samuel Erskine Dimmick and grand-
father of J. Benjamin Dimmick, whose careers are herein recorded.
Samuel Erskine Dimmick was born December 24, 1822. He was granted
opportunities for a liberal education, and, improving these, began his honor-
able and eventful legal career with an excellent and comprehensive foundation
for the more involved and more important legal questions he afterward
learned. The office in which he was entered as a student at law was that of
his cousin. William H. Dimmick, and it was here, in the years from 1844 to
1846, that he received much valuable and well-directed advice upon the legal
lore that he was required to peruse, his relationship to Mr. Dimmick causing
the latter to take special interest and concern in his welfare. On May 6, 1846.
he was admitted to the Wayne county bar and subsequently formed a partner-
ship with his cousin and former preceptor which continued until the latter"s
death in 1861. In addition to his large general practice he was retained as at-
torney for the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, the county commission-
ers, and the Honesdale Bank, whose interests he guarded in a most satis-
factory manner during the years of his connection in that capacity. In 1856
he was the choice of the Republican party of his district for the congressional
election, his opponent being William H. Dimmick. The campaign was full of
interest because of the peculiar circumstances of the case, the two contestant.--
being blood relations, law partners, and the one having been the instructor
of the other in the very matters upon which the qualifications of each for
office were based. The district being strongly Democratic the public choice
fell upon the older man, the Hon. W. H. Dimmick.
Samuel E. Dimmick was a loyal member of the Republican organization
and a potent factor in the innermost councils of the party, to whose national
convention he was a delegate in i860. 1864 and 1868. In 1872 he was elected
a delegate to the constitutional convention of Pennsylvania, a splendid tribute
to his worth in council and intimate knowledge of the political and economica'
conditions of the country. His ap])ointment by Governor Hartranft as at-
torney-general of the commonwealth was another proof of the confidence and
reliance placed in his powers as a lawyer by those in authority above him. Plis
usefulness in his new office was ended on October 11, 1875, by the grim hand
of the Great Reaper removing him from a position in which he was only be-
ginning to grasp the opportunity to exercise unrestrainedly the vast talent.'^
CITY OF SCRANTON 187
with which he had been endowed and which had increased abundantly under
his careful husbandry. The following is the official gubernatorial proclamation
issued the day after Mr. Dimmick's death :
Executive Mansion,
Harrisburg, October 12, 1875.
To the People of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania :
It is with profound sorrow that I make official announcement of the death of Sam-
uel E. Dimmick, which took place in this city last evening. The high tone of his public
life, the talents and the private virtues of this distinguished man. will be his enduring
memorial in the hearts of the people of Pennsylvania. Out of respect to his eminent
services the several departments of government will be draped in mourning for the
period of thirty days, and closed on Friday. October 13, when his funeral will take
place. J. T. Hartranft.
Probably there is no more sincere and better deserved memorial to the
worth of any public official spread upon state or national records than that
dedicated by the executive head of the State of Pennsylvania to Samuel E.
Dimmick in his message of 1876:
In October last the mortal remains of the late .Attorney-General Samuel E. Dim-
mick were reverently laid to rest in the little cemetery at Honesdale. Three years ago
the character, integrity, and recognized legal abilities of this lamented man designated
him for the important position he filled with so much dignity and honor, and the full
measure of popularity he enjoyed at the time of his death showed how satisfactorily he
discharged his responsible duties. Generous, manly, and upright in all the relations of
life, and administering his high office with a stern and uncompromising fidelity to the
interests of the state, the deceased attorney-general tempered his decisions with so much
benevolence and courtesy that it is difficult to say whether as a man or official he was
most beloved. Of delicate health and suffering from the affliction that resulted in his
death, in response to what he believed a call of duty. Mr. Dimmick died while in at-
tendance upon the Board of Pardons, where his merciful disposition and mature and
correct judgment were invaluable helps in dispensing justice. With the public grief
that deplores his loss, I may be permitted to mingle my private sorrow, for while the
State mourns for a just and incorruptible officer, the administration has been deprived
of a careful and wise counsellor, and the executive of a disinterested and devoted
friend.
Samuel Dimmick married, January 28, 1855, Lucretia M. Benjamin, who
died at Honesdale, Pennsylvania, February 14, 1880, daughter of Joseph
Benjamin, Esquire, of New York.
J. Benjamin Dimmick, son of Samuel Erskine and Lucretia M. ( Benja-
min) Dimmick, was born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, October 3, 185S. His
opportunities for liberal education were well improved, his studies preparatory
to college entrance being pursued at Adams Academy, Quincy, Massachusetts,
and at Phillips Exeter Academy. In 1881 he matriculated at Yale College and
was nearing the completion of his academic course, when, in the last term of
his senior year, failing health necessitated the discontinuance of his studies.
His vitality strengthened and his energies recruited by an extended European
tour, he returned to Yale, subsequently receiving from that institution the de-
grees of Bachelor and Master of Arts. Upon his return home he drcided upon
the legal profession as the career best suited to his talents and liking, and after
instruction in the office of William H. Dimmick was admitted to the bar of
Wayne county in 1882. His active practice began in 1883, in which year he
located in Scranton and formed a partnership with his cousin, Edward C.
Dimmick, an association that continued for but a short tiine before continued
ill-health compelled him to withdraw from the firm and seek a change of air
and climate. He again went abroad, spending most of his time in Switzer-
land, until, fully recovered, he returned to Scranton. Here he became inter-
ested in financial and industrial affairs rather than in the practice of his pro-
i88 CITY OF SCRANTON
fession and has become a notable figure in many of the leading institutions
of this kind in the city. He is president of the Lackawanna Trust and Safe
Deposit Company, and of the Scranton Lace Curtain Company, vice-presi-
dent of the First National Bank and in the South Side Bank he holds the
office of director.
Mr. Dimmick has always been a close student of political economy and
has a broad and comprehensive knowledge of national, state and municipal
needs and conditions. As a resident of the City of Scranton he has taken
especial interest in its civic progress and betterment, and in 1906, in response
to an urgent request of the citizens of the city, he permitted his name to be
used as a candidate for the office of the city's chief executive. His election
and induction into office was immediately followed by unusual activity and
progress along all municipal lines, health conservation, recreation and improved
highways receiving especial attention. While acting as mayor his name was
first mentioned as a candidate for the office of United States senator, but it
was not until the year 19 14 that he became an active candidate for this im-
portant office. Although defeated by the powerful influences arrayed against
him the strong personality of the man was manifest in the support given him
throughout the state. As is natural with one of his wide education he realizes
the value and companionship of good books to the individual and is a firm
friend and supporter of the Scranton Public Library. His kind, benevolent,
and warmly sympathetic nature is testified by his interest in the Scranton
Society for the Prevention and Cure of Consumption, and in the Pennsylvania
Oral School for the Deaf Mutes, in both of which he is a trustee. In the
leading literary and social organizations of the city he is a prominent member,
belonging to the L^niversity Club, the Yale Club, of New York City, and the
Scranton and Country clubs, of Scranton.
Mr. Dimmick married, November 9, 1881, Louisa H. Hunt, daughter of
Dr. E. K. and Mary (Crosby) Hunt, of Hartford, Connecticut. Children:
Jeannette Hunt, born July 28, 1883; Lucretia Benjamin, born May 20, 1889,
died January 4, 1893; Mary Crosby, born February 10, 1894.
COLONEL LOUIS ARTHUR WATRES
\\''hile the records of the past are practically bare of reference to the Watres
family of which Colonel Louis A. Watres is a member, the generations of the
name to come will seek no fairer heritage than the honor descending to them
found from the part played in all the different paths of life by those with
whom this narrative deals. Patriotism in time of national need, activity in
the aid of all humanitarian enterprises, unselfish devotion to public duty, and
eminence in political life, are a few of the glorious attributes which make the
name of Watres one of the proudest of the present day.
Lewis S. Watres, father of Colonel Louis A. Watres, was born in Phoenix-
ville, Pennsylvania, in 1808, died August i, 1882. When he was twenty-seven
years of age he became a resident of the Lackawanna Valley, in whose material,
intellectual and moral progress he was ever after a prominent factor. Hav-
ing purchased 400 acres of land in iMount Vernon, now Winton, he first turned
his attention to its clearing and to disposing of the lumber secured through this
process. Besides being the proprietor of many of the business enterprises
of the vicinity, he opened the first coal mine in the valley below Carbondale.
His activity in the development of that section of the valley made him widely
acquainted throughout the region, and for several years he served as justice
of the peace of Blakeley township. After coming to Scranton, his participa-
tion in political matters was confined to holding the office of alderman from
-^^
' /^~-y-^<
-j^j
CITY OF SCRANTON 189
the ninth ward for seventeen years, from the time of his arrival in the city
in 1865 until his death.
Although at the outbreak of the Civil War physical weakness prevented him
from going to the front, his patriotic sympathy for the Union cause led him
to recruit a company which was mustered in at Harrisburg and assigned as
Company H, Fifty-second Pennsylvania Infantry. He later formed another
company, which was attached as Company I. Fifty-sixth Regiment, and by his
successful eiiforts in raising equipment and money, and by sturdy defense of the
war policy of the administration, was quite as useful to the cause of the North
as though he had enlisted. Hearty sympathizers at home were of great value
at the time, the complaints of the stay-at-homes often proving as troublesome
to the officials in charge as the attacks of the opposing army. Mr. Watres was
a communicant of the Presbyterian church and was the donor of the first
church of any denomination erected in the valley, Pecktown Presbyterian
Church. His strong and uplifting influence was felt by all of his associates,
his sympathetic and considerate character making him a figure admired and
loved. Contact with him lent a freshness to daily life that, lingering, abided
long.
Mr. Watres married Harriet G. HoUister, a poetess, possessing unusual
talent, whose poems made a peculiar appeal to popular tastes and were widely
read. Among her poems was "Send Them Home Tenderly," which was set to
music and became a popular camp fire song. All were printed over the
pseudonym "Stella of Lackawanna," and some, since her death, have been
published in a volume entitled "Cobwebs."
Colonel Louis Arthur Watres, son of Lewis S. and Harriet G. (Hollister)
Watres, was born in (now) Winton, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, Ap'^il
21, 1851. His education, as far as school training was concerned, was curtailed
by the necessity of earning his own livelihood. He was employed in various
ways, utilizing all his spare time for study and for attendance at night school.
While still a young man, he secured a position as teller of the Merchants' and
Mechanics' Bank, of Scranton, later becoming cashier of the County Savings
Bank and Trust Company, of Scranton. His youthful ambition, a desire in-
creasing with the passing years, had been to qualify himself for admission to
the bar. Assiduous study and increasing application to the mastery of the
principles of the law enabled him to reach the goal of his striving, and in
1878 he successfully passed the examination securing him admission to the
Lackawanna county bar. Having thus gained recognition as the possessor of
the necessary knowledge for the practice of the law, he immediately set him-
self to the task of proving himself worthy of his chosen profession. He ad-
vanced steadily in his profession, and in due course of time his ability and
dependency as an attorney was proven and testified to by a Urge and thor-
oughly representative clientage, and he stands among the foremost lawyers
of the state. For a dozen years, however. Colonel Watres, by reason of his
other mterests, has been obliged to withdraw from the active practice of the
law.
The experience that he gained in business before his adoption of the law
has been invaluable to him as adviser, in private, and as counsel, in profes-
sional relations, with various business enterprises in Scranton. His keen judg-
ment and discernment make him a most able and successful financier, and his
services are eagerly sought. He is a stockholder and director of many corpora-
tions in the Scranton and Lackawanna Valley. He was one of the organizers
of the Scranton Passenger Railway Company, of which he became president.
He is president also of the County Savings Bank, of the Spring Brook Water
Supply Company, of the Mansfield Water Company, of the Scranton Trust
I90 CITY OF SCRANTON
Company and of the Boulevard Company, and is a trustee of the American
Surety Company of New York. As the executive head of these various cor-
porations he has added to his legal achievements those of a financier of the
highest order, all of his concerns having a firm and sound basis and enjoy-
ing the confidence of all investors. So well known is his reputation for the
strictest sort of business dealing and so free his record from the slightest taint
of suspicion of irregular transactions, that his name upon the directorate of a
concern is proof positive of its reliability.
Not too deeply engrossed in his professional and practical pursuits to rec-
ognize his public duties, Colonel Watres has been a notable figure in the po-
litical events of the day, his rise in that field being on the same broad scale as
his advance in the other walks of life to which he has been called. Well
versed in all political issues, and giving support and allegiance to the Re-
publican party, as the representative of that party he attained prominence that
has brought fame to him and honor to the Republican organization. In 1881
he was elected county solicitor of Lackawanna county and retained that posi-
tion until 1890. From 1883 to 1891 he was state senator, and in the senate,
the highest deliberative forum of the state, was a commanding power, pro-
posing and aiding in the enactment of many of the most important measures
before that body during his years of service. Here his training as a lawyer
stood him in excellent stead, his forensic talents often making him the choice
of his party for the defence of legislation requiring exact and lucid explanation
and forceful and convincing support. Called from his senatorial service to
the duties of lieutenant-governor, he fully justified in this lofty office the choice
of the people by the competent manner in which he bore its weighty responsi-
bilities. Proof of his place in the estimation of the voters of the state is
given in the figures of the election, his plurality being 22,365, while that of
Mr. Pattison, candidate for governor on the opposing ticket. Democratic, was
17,000. Among the more important duties devolving upon his office were
those of president of the senate and president of the board of pardons. In
the former he controlled legislation with a masterly hand, causing the strictest
decorum and dignity to prevail during the consideration of any measure, and
in the latter tempering the severity of the statutes with a mercy as wise as it
was kind, yet observing the strictest justice throughout. By an act of the
state assembly he v\'as appointed commissioner from Pennsylvania to the
World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago, and subsequently he was elected
vice-president of the board. In August, 1891, he was chosen chairman of the
Republican state committee. For thirty years Colonel Watres has been a
vital force in molding the affairs of the Republican party and in safeguarding
and directing its interests in Pennsylvania. He has always been an exponent
of the most progressive movements of the party, an advocate of the best and
purest in politics.
The same open plan of procedure has been followed by ColoTiel Watres in
his public life as in all his other dealings, and his political record is an open
book, each page free for the perusal of any one who cares to read. He has
been actively associated with the National Guard of the State for many years,
and during his service in that body he gained the rank of colonel. As a state
official he did much toward promoting the efficiency of, and toward creating
interest in, that excellent organization, whose importance and usefulness can-
not be over-estimated. He was in continuous ser\'ice from 1877 to 1891, and
again from August, 1898, to August, 1904, seven years of this time as captain
of Company A, Thirteenth Regiment. From 1887 to 1891 he was a member
of the governor's staff, as inspector of rifle practice, with the rank of colonel,
and subsequently, during the period of the Spanish War, became colonel of
CITY OF SCRANTON 191
the Eleventh Regiment Provisional Guard. On the return of the Thirteenth
Regiment from the field and after its muster out of service, he became colonel
of the Thirteenth Regiment National Guard of Pennsylvania. At the organ-
ization of the National Guard Association of Pennsylvania, he became its first
president, holding that office for two years. Colonel Watres is a member and
past master of Peter Williamson Lodge, No. 323, F. and A. M. ; elected junior
grand warden in 1909, and at the present time (1914) is right worshipful
deputy grand master of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Pennsylvania.
Colonel Watres married, in 1874, Efifie Hawley. and of this union three
sons were born : Harold, died September 16, 1905, aged twenty-six years ;
Lawrence and Reyburn.
In the course of his unusually useful life. Colonel Watres has engaged in
a variety of pursuits that proclaim him the gifted and talented man of parts.
Perhaps his greatest achievements have been as a public servant, yet none of
the many phases of his life's work can be disregarded. His assumption and
discharge of the duties of good citizenship have been admirable and thorough,
an honor to himself and the state he served. The influence of his gentle char-
acter and of his upright example, so worthy and yet so difficult of emulation,
will live long after the body of Colonel Louis Arthur Watres has returned
to its natural elements and his spirit to everlasting life.
LUCIUS C. KENNEDY, M. D.
John Kennedy, who came from Bangor, county Down, Ireland, in 1763,
and settled in Kingston, New York, is the first of the family of whom we have
absolute knowledge. He was born April 24, 1739. Owing to his being of the
Scotch Presbyterian faith and having lived but a few miles from the Kennedys
of Cultra, some have thought him related to that ancient family, who were
doubtless connected with the Earls of Casselis in Scotland, in which the name
John was given to the oldest son for seven or eight generations. Be that as
it may, family tradition assures us that John Kennedy, the emigrant, was a
man of ability, clear-headed and kind-hearted. Like the majority of those
who came early to this country he had a trade, being a tailor, an occupation
he pursued after coming to America. In Kingston, New York, he married
Mrs. Josiah Van Fleet, whose maiden name was Armstrong. There were sev-
eral children born of her first marriage who settled in Galena, Ohio. The
time and place of her death is unknown, but her husband long survived her.
He settled in the Wyoming Valley in 1780. He died August 20, 1809, aged
seventy years, and was buried in Plains township cemetery, Luzerne county,
Pennsylvania. To John Kennedy and his wife were born five children, four cf
whom married into families who were in the Wyoming Valley previous to the
massacre, several members of them being in that memorable conflict. Cath-
erine, married Cornelius Courtright ; Elizabeth, married Henry Stark ; John,
married Sallie Abbott; James, married Nancy Armstrong; Thomas of whom
further.
(II) Thomas Kennedy, son of John Kennedy, married, in 1801, Elizabeth
Schofield, born April 15, 1784, in Kingston, New York, a gentle little woman,
much beloved by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She
was descended from the Pinckneys of South Carolina, and in many respects
was a remarkable woman. Left a widow at twenty-five years of age with five
little children, she managed her aflfairs in such a manner that they grew to
manhood and womanhood, a credit to their mother's training. She died
April 12, 1880, at the home of her son, James Schofield Kennedy, where she
had long resided. The children of Thomas and Elizabeth (Schofield) Kennedy
192 CITY OF SCRANTON
were : John, married Polly Campbell ; Sarah, married William H. Sherman ;
Polly, married Crandall Wilcox ; Henry, married Julia Mills ; James Scho-
field, of whom further.
(Ill) James Schofield Kennedy, son of Thomas Kennedy, was born Janu-
ary 28, 1808. Early in life he learned the carpenter trade, and was a con-
tractor for several years. He afterward purchased a farm in Lackawanna
township, now Taylor, and in connection with his farm did an extensive
business in grain and flour, selling to the merchants all along the Valley from
Pittston to Carbondale. He was justice of the peace from 1843 to 1845. He
sold his farm in Lackawanna just before coal was discovered, and moved
to Hyde Park. In 1850 he opened a store in Providence in the old Arcade
Building on North Main avenue, long occupied as an office by the Providence
Water Company. Later he carried on business on Providence Square, being
a partner in the firm of Kennedy & Osterhout. In 1854-56 he had a contract
to build a section of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, then
being constructed between New York and Scranton. He was active in public
affairs, serving on the borough council and also on the school board. In
1865 he sold out his interest in the store to his son, William DeWitt Kennedy,
and retired from active business. He died March 7, 1885.
He married, September 26, 1833, Pauline Jayne, born December 13,
181 5, died May 16, 1897, daughter of Samuel and Elsie (Stephens)
Jayne. The Jaynes were descended from Henry de Jeanne, a pro-
fessor in Oxford University. His son, William, a student in the Uni-
versity, afterward married in England, name of wife not known. In 1652
he was chaplain in Cromwell's army. In 1670, his wife having died
and the cause of Cromwell being no longer popular, he emigrated to
America, settling in New Haven, Connecticut, leaving three grown sons in
England. At that time he took the name of Jayne. In 1675 he married Annie
Beigs, and soon after with thirteen or fifteen others crossed over to Long
Island, purchased land of the Indians, and settled the town of Brookhaven.
The graves of the first settlers are to be found there, and the old farm is
still owned by one of the family. William and Annie (Beigs) Jayne were
the parents of nine children. Their oldest son, William Jayne, married Eliza-
beth Woodhull, whose oldest son, William Jayne, married Tabitha Norton;
they were the parents of Rev. David Jayne, born May 14, 1751, died March
9, 1837, who served in the war of the Revolution, and was afterward given
a section of "Soldier Land" on Lake Cayuga. The wife of the Rev. David
Jayne was Elizabeth DeWitt, born May 3, 1754, died February 15, 1825,
whose father, Daniel DeWitt, also served in the Revolution. The son of
the Rev. David Jayne was Samuel Jayne, bom February 4, 1779, married
Elsie Stephens, May 2, 1796, died at Factory ville, Pennsylvania, August 12.
i860. The grandfather of Elsie (Stephens) Jayne was Eliphalet Stephens.
He was a native of Massachusetts, although his military service is credited to
New York, from which he enlisted, then his home. After the war he settled
in the Wyoming Valley, where he was a man of substance and importance.
In the court house in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, (book of deeds No. 3,
page 46) it is recorded, "James Finn to Eliphalet Stephens (Stevens), land
in Pittston township, on the Lackawanna river, and one-half interest in a
Saw Mill May 25, 1795; consideration 600 pounds sterling." Other deeds
are recorded showing him to have been a large land owner. Eliphalet Stephens
was born in Massachusetts, in 1731, and died in Nicholson, Pennsylvania, in
August, 1814. Early in life he removed to Connecticut, from thence to
Dutchess county. New York. On July 31, 1775, he enhsted in Third Regiment
New York Continental Line, Captain Jacob S. Bruyn's company, under Colonel
CITY OF SCRANTON
193
Clinton. He is described as a man five feet seven inches in height, Ught hair,
fair complexion, age 44, occupation blacksmith. He married, in 1751, Elsie
Holloway, who died at Nicholson, Pennsylvania, in April, 1820. Eliphalet
Stephens had a son, Ebenezer Stephens, born in Goshen, New York, May 12,
1759. He was also in the Revolution, entering at the age of seventeen, and
served during the entire seven years. He was a pensioner until his death, in
Nicholson, Pennsylvania, November 15, 1839. He married, at Goshen, New
York, May 16, 1780, Rachel Squirrel, born at Goshen, in 1758, died at
Nicholson, Pennsylvania, August 2, 1848. After the death of her husband,
his widow, Rachel (Squirrel) Stephens, received the pension during her liff
time. They were the parents of Elsie Stephens, who married Samuel Jayne;
she was born May 15, 1780, died November 10, i860.
James Schofield and Pauline (Jayne) Kennedy were the parents of thir-
teen children: Mary L., married James Hicks: Catherine H., married Rev.
Lyman C. Floyd; John Jayne, married Mehitable Griffin, he died July 21,
1897; Sarah E., married (first) Isaac H. Heermans, (second) A. B. Crandall .
William De Witt, of whom further; James Thomas, married Angeline Carey;
Julia A., married Rev. George Forsyth; Charles Henry, died September 11,
1806, unmarried; Nancy Elizabeth, died young; Adelaide May, married David
F. Shook; Frank E., married Sylvia Davis; Clara Augusta, married George
R. Clark, she died October 5, 1895 ; Helen, married William H. Stevens.
(IV) William De Witt Kennedy, son of James Schofield and Pauline
(Jayne) Kennedy, was born in Lackawanna township, Luzerne county, Penn-
sylvania, September 24, 1842. He was educated in the public schools of
Scranton, and Eastman's Business College, Poughkeepsie, New York. Mr.
Kennedy was a director of the Scranton Savings Bank until it was mergeci
with the Dime Bank, now the Scranton Savings & Dime Bank, and otherwise
prominent in the business life of Scranton, Pennsylvania. He was for many
years a trustee in the Providence Presbyterian Church, and now serves in the
same capacity in the Green Ridge Presbyterian Church. He is a member of the
Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution on the records of Eliphalet
and Ebenezer Stephens and Daniel De Witt. He belongs to the Country Club
and the New England Society. He served during the war of the Rebellion in
the Thirtieth Pennsylvania Reserves, during the invasion of Pennsylvania by
the Southern army under General Robert E. Lee. During the last year of the
war he was quartermaster's clerk in the Fiftieth New York Regiment (En-
gineer Corps). He is a member of Ezra Griffith Post, No. 139, G. A. R.
Mr. Kennedy married, February 11, 1868, Amelia Maria Carter, born
April 29, 1844, daughter of Pulaski Carter (see Carter). Through her father,
Mrs. Kennedy descends from sterling New England ancestry, notable for
patriotism and high public spirit. Mrs. Kennedy graduated from East Green-
wich Seminary, East Greenwich, Rhode Island, in 1865. She has been for
many years interested in the philanthopic movements of the city, particularly in
connection with the Home for the Friendless. She has been on its board of
managers for twenty-three years, and has held many offices from secretary to
president. For some years she has been vice-president of the Young Woman's
Christian Association. For over fifty years she was an active member of the
Presbyterian church, for the first thirty years of this period affiliating with the
church of that denomination in the Providence section, but since 1893 has been
identified with the Presbyterian church at Green Ridge.
Mr. and Mrs. William De Witt Kennedy are the parents of three sons and
one daughter: i. William Pulaski, born October 30, 1869; graduated from
the Scranton (Pennsylvania) High School, class of 1889; he was for fifteen
years teller of the People's National Bank of Scranton, Pennsylvania, now
13
194 CITY OF SCRANTON
cashier of the Tribune Republican; he married December ii, 1895, Georgina,
daughter of George R. and Harriet (Westbrook) Kittle; she was graduated
from the same high school class as her husband; they are the parents of two
children: Olive Ingalls, born December 15, 1896, graduated at Scranton High
School, June 19, 1914, and Hilda De Witt, born June 14, 1901. 2. Dr. Lucius
Carter, of whom further. 3. Katharine May, born November 11, 1875; grad-
uated from the School of Lackawanna, class of 1895, afterward attending Miss
Baldwin's School for Young Ladies at Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania ; she married,
June 25, 1902, Dr. William Anthony Sherman, son of Albert K. and Mary
(Barker) Sherman, of Newport, Rhode Island, descended from Philip Sherman,
one of the eighteen persons who purchased the Island of Rhode Island from the
Indians; Dr. Sherman was graduated from Harvard University in 1899, and
from the medical department in 1902 ; Dr. William A. and Katharine May
Sherman are the parents of two children : William Albert, born May 12, 1903 ;
Charlotte Carter, born June 20, 191 1. 4. Harold Sherman, born November 28,
1884; graduated from Blair (New Jersey) Academy in 1905; later entered the
law department of the University of Pennsylvania, class of 1910, admitted to bar
of Lackawanna county, October, 1910, and is practicing his profession in
Scranton.
(V) Dr. Lucius Carter Kennedy, second son of William De Witt and
Amelia Maria (Carter) Kennedy, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Septem-
ber 8, 1872. He is a graduate of Scranton High School, class of 1889, School
of the Lackawanna, 1891, Princeton University, A. B., class of 1895, University
of Pennsylvania Medical Department, M. D., 1898. After graduation Dr.
Kennedy spent eighteen months as a member of the medical staff of Moses
Taylor Hospital, Scranton, then pursued a post-graduate course at the Uni-
versrty of Vienna, Austria. He then returned to Scranton and in 1900 began
the active practice of his profession in this city where he is thoroughly estab-
lished in public regard as a physician of learning, skill and honor. He is chief
of the staff of one of the departments of the State Hospital at Scranton and
ministers to a large private clientele. In 1907 Dr. Kennedy was president of
the Lackawanna County Medical Society; is a member of the American and
Pennsylvania State Medical associations and interested in the work of all.
His clubs are the Scranton, Country, and Green Ridge. In political faith he
is a Republican, and in religious association a member of Green Ridge Pres-
byterian Church.
Dr. Kennedy married, April 14, 1914, Margaret, daughter of William
Robertson, of Branford, Canada. His offices are at No. 1030 Green Ridge
street, Scranton.
PULASKI CARTER
Pulaski Carter, deceased, was one of the strongest characters and most
useful men of his day. He inherited in marked degree the sterling traits of his
New England ancestry, and his name was ever a synonym for the strictest
integrity and most uncompromising devotion to principle. His family has been
from the beginning of its history in America notable for patriotism and public
spirit of the highest quality.
(I) The first Carters of whom we have authentic record in this country are
Thomas Carter, blacksmith, and Mary his wife. Their names appear upon
the church record in Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1636. They were married
in England. Their children were : Thomas, Joseph, Samuel, John, Mary, Han-
nah. The will of Thomas Carter Sr. was recorded in 1652. He died possessed
of considerable landed property. His wife Mary died in 1664, and her death
is thus recorded : "Mary Carter, mother of the Carters in town."
f(
CITY OF SCRANTON 195
(II) Joseph Carter, second son of Thomas Carter, was a currier. He
was first of Charlestown, but later lived on the old Billerica road, Woburn,
Massachusetts, with his son, Joseph Jr. He died December 30, 1676.
(III) Joseph (2) Carter, son of Joseph (i) Carter, lived in Woburn,
Massachusetts, married Bethia Pearson, and at his demise in 1692 left three
sons and three daughters.
(IV) John Carter, son of Joseph (2) Carter, was born February 26, 1676,
moved to Canterbury, Connecticut, with his wife Mary about 1706.
(V) John (2) Carter, son of John (i) Carter, was born in Canterbury,
February 24, 1709. He married Deborah Bundy, and they had nine children.
(VI) Joseph (3) Carter, son of John (2) Carter, was born July 18, 1736.
He married Patience Pellet, October 3, 1762. He served as quartermaster in
the Revolution, and died August 15, 1796.
(VII) Phineas Carter, son of Joseph (3) and Patience (Pellet) Carter,
was born November 23, 1766. He was a landed proprietor of Westminster,
Connecticut, and a man of strong character and strict integrity, upright to the
point of austerity ; a devout Christian of the Congregational faith, rigid in ex-
acting observance of religious forms and ceremonies ; and strict in his family
discipline. He married Cynthia Butts, a woman of gentle nature and lovable
traits of character. She was born March 16, 1773, and came of a family of
prominence in the public and private colonial life of New England. Her father,
Deacon Stephen Butts, of Westminster, Connecticut, born June 15, 1749, was
the son of Joseph Butts, born March 17, 171 1. The father of Joseph Butts
was Samuel Butts, who married Sarah Maxfield, July 22, 1701. Samuel
Butts was a man of distinction in many respects, and the record of his official
services is preserved in the archives of the state of Connecticut. He was
elected thirteen times to the colonial assembly from Canterbury, Connecticut,
during the period between 1715 and 1729, and was otherwise conspicuous in
the community. His father was Richard Butts. He married Deliverance Hop-
pin, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Hoppin, who came from England to
Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1636. Phineas Carter died November 8, 1840,
long surviving his wife, who died March 19, 1814.
(VIII) Pulaski Carter, son of Phineas and Cynthia (Butts) Carter, was
born in Westminster, Windham county, Connecticut, June 23, 1813. was only
nine months old when his mother died. His father desired for him the career
of a physician, and was much disappointed when the young man's inclina-
tion turned toward mechanics, and he went to Brooklyn, Connecticut, where he
learned blacksmithing. On completing his apprenticeship he went to Winsttd,
Connecticut, where he entered the shop of Captain Wheelock Thayer, and
there gained a thorough practical knowledge of scythe-making. He first visited
Pennsylvania in 1840, at which time he went to Honesdale and several other
localities, finally deciding to locate in Providence (now the first ward of Scran-
ton). In 1841 he returned there and engaged in scythe-making. In June of
the following year, in company with Jerrison White, he purchased the Sager
& White Axe factory, and began the manufacture of axes as well as scythes — •
the first factory of the kind in the state. He shortly afterward acquired his
partner's interest, and in 1843 associated with himself a boyhood friend,
Henry Harrison Crane. Mr. Crane subsequently disposed of his interest in
the business, but stil! remained in the works. Mr. Carter then took as a
partner Artemus Miller, but this partnership was soon dissolved, Mr. Carter
assuming the entire ownership and management of the business.
Meanwhile Mr. Carter had laid the foundations of the enterprise which
came to be known as "The Capouse Works" (so named after the old Indian
chief of the Monseys, from whom also the Capouse Meadows received their
name), purchasing a thirty-acre tract of land from Henry Heermans, arid
196 CITY OF SCRANTON
erecting thereon shops, etc., sufficient to commence business, and here was
made the wide reputation of the "Carter axes" which were for many yeats
unrivaled. In 1864 the factory burned down, entaihng a most serious loss, the
insurance being wholly inadequate to defray the cost of rebuilding. In this
hour of his great disaster, Mr. Carter was proffered abundance of financial
aid by persons who appreciated his enterprise and had implicit confidence in
his ability and integrity. These evidences of confidence he gratefully declined,
and he built and equipped an entirely new and improved factory which for
many years was one of the important industries of the valley, and this was
accomplished with the preservation of that personal independence and self-
reliance of which he was so justly proud. His business career ended only with
his death, and he maintained to the last his deep interest and pride in the great
enterprise which was the creature of his own brain and hands.
In his relations to the community at large, Mr. Carter bore himself with
the same dignity and conscientiousness that characterized the conduct of his
business affairs. Whatever claimed his attention received from him the deepest
interest and best efforts of which his heart and mind were capable. The
parental training had indoctrinated him with the loftiest conceptions of an all-
comprehending morality, and when he first left the paternal roof he came undc"
influences which intensified his thought along the same lines. In the first days
of his blacksmith apprenticeship, youth as he was, he became acquainted with
the philosophy of the famous Concord and Brook Farm School. This was
brought about through the Unitarian minister at Brooklyn, Connecticut, the
Rev. Samuel J. May (intimate friend of \'\^lliam Lloyd Garrison, Wendell
Phillips and Ralph Waldo Emerson), who allowed him free access to his library
and aided him in his reading. So impressed was the young man with the field
of thought to which he was thus introduced that in after years he was able
to repeat from memory entire pages from the volumes which he read in those
early days, and the sentiments which he imbibed colored his whole life. A
signal exemplification of this was seen in 1847, when the free school idea was
first broached. With a heart inspired with the most liberal New England ideas
as to education, Mr. Carter, then a young man of thirty-four, threw himself
into the struggle with all the intensity of his nature, and traversed the valley
back and forth, preaching the gospel of free schools. An earnest and forceful
speaker, he produced a deep impression. Nor was he content with this effort;
he followed his appeals with labors of organization, and when the question
came before the people he had his followers so well in hand that a decisive
victory was won at the polls. Thus was the free school planted in Providence,
at a time when Scranton was little more than a name upon the map. Mr. Carter
followed his success with yet more practical effort, donating the land on which
was erected the first free school building in the place, and he maintained an
undiminished interest in educational affairs throughout his life. In 1857 the
first graded schoolhouse was built, and in the public celebration of that event
Mr. Carter was awarded high praise as the corner-stone upon which the free
school cause had been founded. For twenty-eight years he served as director
and treasurer of the Providence school board, and this fact speaks yet more
eloquently of his heartfelt interest in the cause which he had so long and faith-
fully championed, for naturally of a retiring disposition and averse to public
prominence, he had steadfastly declined the mayoralty and other important
positions which he was solicited to accept. His considerate humanitarianism
found eloquent expression in his efforts in behalf of temperance. His voice
was ever heard in denunciation of the evils of the liquor traffic, persistently op-
posed the granting of license, and the saloon keepers greatly dreaded and feared
him. But he went far in advance of the great mass of temperance agitator^.
CITY OF SCRANTON 197
He gave his personal effort to the reclamation of the drunkard, and rescued
many a one from a life of poverty and shame, and aided him to an honest and
happy establishment in life.
Mr. Carter married (first) August 5, 1839, Susan S. Spaulding, of Abington,
Connecticut, about the time he had completed his trade, and two years before
he located in Providence. The year of his coming (1841) a child was born
to them, but death claimed the young mother a month later, and in the following
summer the little one also died. Mr. Carter married (second) August 7,
1843, Olive Ingalls, of Canterbury, Connecticut, a double cousin of his first
wife. Her ancestry is traced to the early colonial period, her emigrant ancestor
being Edmund Ingalls, son of Robert Ingalls, and grandson of Henry Skirbeck.
Edmund Ingalls was a native of England, born in Lincolnshire in 1598. He
came to Salem, Massachusetts, in 1628, with Governor Endicott's company. In
1629, with his brother Francis and four others, he founded the settlement at
Lynn, Massachusetts. In 1648, while traveling on horseback to Boston, he
came to his death by drowning in the Saugus river, the accident resulting
from a defective bridge. His son Henry, born in 1627, died 1719, was a land-
owner in Ipswich, and was one of the first settlers of Andover, where he
bought land from the Indians, making payment with clothing and trinkets.
He was a wealthy man for the times, and took a leading part in town affairs.
He married Mary Osgood, July 6, 1653, a daughter of John Osgood, who was
the first representative to the general court from Andover, in 165 1. It is th*
first record of a marriage in Andover. The ceremony was performed by Rev
Simon Bradstreet, following the Puritan doctrine and belief in marriage as a
civil compact. Their son Henry, like his father, was prominent in colonia/
affairs. Joseph Ingalls, son of Henry Ingalls Jr., was born in Andover in
1697, and married Phoebe, daughter of John Farnham. Their son, Joseph Jr.,
born 1723, removed to Pom fret, Connecticut; he married Sarah Abbott, daugh-
ter of Paul and Elizabeth (Gray) Abbott, and died in 1790. Their son, Peter
Ingalls, born 1752, died 1783, served in the war of the Revolution. He mar-
ried Sarah Ashley, and the homestead built by him is still standing and re-
mains in the ownership of descended relatives of his daughter, at Elliott, Con-
necticut. His son Marvin, who served in the war of 1812, born 1789, married
Amelia Spaulding, who came from an old colonial family. Her father, James
Spaulding, lived at Windham, and was one of Putnam's militia that marched
to Lexington, and was also in the company that marched to Cambridge in the
early period of the Revolutionary war, and his name appears on the pension
roll of Revolutionary soldiers in 181 5. He was descended from Edward
Spaulding, whose family records go back to an early period of English his-
tory, and numbered at least one eminent divine among its members. Edward
Spaulding settled in Braintree, Massachusetts, between 1630 and 1633, where
he was prominent in town affairs, being a selectman and also for many years
a surveyor of highways. He was a landed proprietor and left a large estate
The crest of the Spaulding family bears the motto Hitic iiiilii saltis. Pulaski
and Olive (Ingalls) Carter had three children: Amelia Maria. Pulaski Pliny,
Marvin Phineas, all of whom further.
(IX) Amelia Maria Carter, first child of Pulaski and Olive (Ingalls)
Carter, was born April 29, 1844. She married William DeWitt Kennedy
February 11, 1868. Mr. Kennedy is of Scotch-Irish and French-Dutch an-
cestry. One of his ancestors of his mother's side was chaplain in Cromwell's
army. His father was James Schofield Kennedy, who was the son of Thomas
and Elizabeth (Schofield) Kennedy. The father of Thomas Kennedy was
John Kennedy, whose family was of Scotch-Irish lineage. He was born
April 24, 1739, and came to America from Bangor, Ireland, in 1763. He was
198 CITY OF SCRANTON
of the Scotch Presbyterian faith. He settled in Kingston, New York, and
later married Mrs. Josiah (Armstrong) Van Fleet, widow. Soon after his
marriage in 1780 they moved to Wyoming Valley. His mother was Pauline
Jayne (the original form of the family name being "De Jeanne") the daughter
of Samuel and Elsie Stephens Jayne, the latter being the daughter of the
Rev. David Jayne, whose wife was Elizabeth DeWitt, a cousin of the wife of
General James Clinton, of Revolutionary fame. The grandfather of Mrs.
Kennedy, the Rev. David Jayne, served in a New Jersey regiment in the
Revolution, and took up a large and valuable section of "soldier land" near
Lake Cayuga, New York. Her great-grandfather, Eliphalet Stephens, and
his grandfather, Ebenezer Stephens, were both in the Revolutionary army.
and remained in service the entire seven years of the war. Ebenezer Stephens
drew a pension at Wilkes-Barre as long as he lived.
(IX) Pulaski Pliny Carter, second child of Pulaski and Olive (Ingalls)
Carter, was born June 6, 1849. He was educated at East Greenwich, Rhode
Island, and at Fort Edward Institute. He is largely interested in real estatt
enterprises, and is owner of the large office building at the corner of Adam.>i
avenue and Linden street, Scranton. He married, June 6, 1882, Venitia White,
born February 11, 1862, daughter of Joseph M. and Phebe A. (Cole) White,
daughter of Immanuel Cole, the latter of excellent English descent. Joseph
White was the son of Ephraim White, of White's Mills, near Honesdale, who
was the son of Ezekiel (3) White, the son of Ezekiel (2) and Sarah (Vinton)
White. He was the son of Ezekiel ( i ) White, who married Abigail Blanchard.
Ezekiel (i) White was the son of Captain Ebenezer White, whose wife was
Hannah Phillips. Captain Ebenezer White was born in Weymouth, Massa-
chusetts, and was a son of Thomas White (wife's name unknown) who was
admitted a freeman in Massachusetts colony, 1635-36. Place of nativity in
England unknown. He was among the early settlers of Weymouth, and a
member of the church there; many years a selectman, often on important com-
mittees, and also commanded a military company, and was representative to
the general court in 1637-40-57-71.
There were bom to Pulaski Pliny and Venitia (White) Carter six chil-
dren: I. Pulaski, born June 2, 1883; educated in the Scranton High School,
from which he graduated in the class of 1903, the Boston School of Tech-
nology and Columbia LTniversity ; married Pearl Lidstone. 2. Phebe, born
September 14, 1885 ; educated in the Scranton High School, Smith College,
Northampton, Massachusetts, and Columbia LTniversity, receiving the degree
of A. M. in 1913 ; teacher in Technical High School, Scranton. 3. Ina, born
March i, 1888, died January 26, 1897. 4. Olive Ingalls, born Novem-
ber 9, 1890; educated in Scranton High School, Smith College, North-
ampton, Massachusetts, and Columbia University, receiving the degree of
A. M. in 1913; teacher in Meriden High School, Meriden, Connecticut. 5.
Ada, born November 3, 1893; educated in Scranton High School and Smith
College, attending the latter institution at the present time (1914). 6. Roy,
born July 13, 1899 ; a student in Scranton High School.
(IX) Marvin Phineas Carter, youngest child of Pulaski and Olive (In-
galls) Carter, was born November 28, 1857. He was educated at East Green-
wich, Rhode Island. He is one of the successful business men in Scranton,
the owner of valuable real estate, a director in the People's Bank, and other-
wise actively identified with the business of the city. He married Minnie
Parmelia Murphy, born June 26, 1863, daughter of John Archbald Murphy, of
Warrenville, Connecticut. He was several times elected to the state legisla-
ture, and was a man of business prominence in the town where he resided.
His mother was Mary, daughter of Benjamin Spaulding, descended from Ed-
CITY OF SCRANTON
199
mund Spaulding, who came to Braintree. Massachusetts, about 1630. T(3
Mr. and Mrs. Carter were born three children: i. Marvin Clarence, born
July 29, 1885 ; a graduate of the high school, class of 1905, graduate of Lafay-
ette College. 2. Lucius, born November 20, 1887, died June 3, 1889. 3.
Marguerite, born May 30, 1889; graduate of Scranton high school, graduate of
Mt. Holyoke College, Mt. Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Mr. Carter, the father of the family above named, whose career as a man
of affairs and a humanitarian has been treated of in the foregoing narrative,
met with a dreadful accident from the effects of which he never entirely re-
covered, and which doubtless shortened his life. In November, 1876, while
driving in his carriage, his vehicle was driven into by two teams driven by
drunken racers. Mr. Carter was caught in the wreckage and so seriously in-
jured that for some days his life was despaired of. His excellent constitution,
unimpaired by reason of his abstemious habits, enabled him to resume his
accustomed avocations, but he never regained his old vigor. He died October
13, 1884, aged seventy-one years, leaving to survive him his widow and their
three children. His widow died December 8, 1898.
GEORGE J. LUCAS, J. U. D., D. D.
There is found in Rev. George J. Lucas, J. U. D.. D. D., rector of St.
Patrick's Roman Catholic Quirch, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, a blending of
scholarly attainments and ministerial fidelity that do credit to the man possess-
ing them. If culture may be gained in excess and the lure of study become
harmful, its harm is in the temptation it brings to give to it paramount im-
portance and to allow the delights of deep intellectual pursuits to exclude the
sterner duties, the less inviting realities of iife, to place a clouding veil over the
features of existence more enjoyably forgotten. Despite the honors that have
been showered upon Dr. Lucas, the distinction that he has received as an author,
educator and scholar, has neither made him regardless of his priestly responsi-
bilities nor lessened his anxiety for the welfare of the people to whom he
ministers.
The Lucas family is of French origin, the line having been founded in
Ireland by a Huguenot ancestor who had fled the land of his birth. The
grandfather of Rev. George J. Lucas was a native of Ireland, and env
braced the religion of the Society of Friends. His son George, father of Rev.
George J. Lucas, was a master of the workhouse at Youghl, county Cork, and
in that locality passed his entire life. He married Margaret Field, of county
Cork, a communicant of the Catholic faith, and in that their children were
reared. George and Margaret (Field) Lucas were the parents of: .Margaret,
Thomas, Mary, George J., whose name heads this sketch ; Frederick, John,
William.
Rev. George J. Lucas was born at Youghl, connty Cork, Ireland, May 22,
1852. Almost from his childhood his education was directed toward the priest-
hood, his early training being received under the direction of the Christian
Brothers of Cork, and after coming to the L^nited States his preparation con-
sisted of a three years' course in philosophy and a four years' course in the-
olog}' under the Jesuit Fathers at Woodstock, Maryland. He was ordained in
St. Mary's LTniversity, in Baltimore, Maryland, October 28, 1889, Cardinal
Gibbons officiating at the ceremony, and in June of the following year he
received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the same university, his first
charge after his ordination being as assistant to Rev. E. J. Melley, of St.
John's Church. When the degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon
him at St. Mary's University, Cardinal Gibbons, and the chancellor of the
200 CITY OF SCRANTON
Catholic University of America, then onl) one year in existence, and Mon-
seigneur Schroeder, the dean of the Catholic l^niversity. requested Bishop
O'Hara, then Bishop of Scranton, to permit Rev. Dr. Lucas to prepare a
standard of degrees of theology for the Catholic University of America, to
which candidates for the degree of Doctor of Divinity should conform, and the
permission of the Bishop having been granted. Rev. Dr. Lucas prepared such
a standard, which was accepted by the authorities of the institution. In
order to prepare this work, Rev. Dr. Lucas entered upon a five year period
of study, the first of which was spent in the Catholic University of America,
and the remaining four in private research and study. The greater part of
this time was devoted to the preparation and vvruing of a dissertation for the
doctorate in theolog}' at the above mentioned university, the subject of which
is "Agnosticism and Religion," the whole being an examination of Spencer's
"Religion of the Unknowable," preceded by a history of agnosticism, from
Xenophanes to Herbert Spencer. This is probably the most standard work on
the subject from the point of Christianity, regardless of denominational dif-
ferences, that has ever been written, and its fairness of treatment, as well
as the high literary standard that has been maintained throughout, has won
for it the most favorable criticism from the American and European press.
One of the most commendatory notices that has come to the hand of the author,
and one especially valued because of its celebrated source, is a personal letter of
three pages from the late William E. Gladstone, the famous English statesman,
in which he expresses his great satisfaction with the scholarly disquisition and
his appreciation of the spirit of toleration which pervades the book. The
work was published by the Christian Press Association Publishing Company,
of New York, in 1895, and it was after submitting his dissertation to the
Catholic University of America that he was awarded his Doctor of Divinity
degree from that institution in 1903, a degree that has been conferred but four-
teen times in nineteen years by that university, his being the first to be con-
ferred.
Dr. Lucas is the author of a series of articles on the "Origin of Evil,"'
mainly in refutation of the well known publication of Professor Fisk dealing
with that subject, through which Dr. Lucas added to the brilliancy of his
literary fame and gained still greater repute as a thinker, logician and scholar.
He has taken a place among the most noted writers of the day on religious
topics, and aside from the substantial value of his writing the reflection of the
workings of a master intellect, the ease and grace of his expression wins the
admiration of those who care to delve no deeper than the surface beauty of his
work. Numerous articles above Dr. Lucas' signature have also appeared in
the New Catholic Encyclopaedia. In 1910 the Papal University at Rome, com-
monly known as the "Apollonaire," conferred upon him the degree of Doctor
of Canon Law, one year later adding to this that of Doctor of Roman Civil
Law, the two expressed by J. U. D., a degree with which but very few priests
in the United States have been honored. Di'. Lucas has had the honor of being
invited to be present as a special examiner of all the candidates for the degree
of Doctor of Divinity in the Catholic LTniversity of America. This is the only
post-graduate Catholic University in the world, one of the requirements for
admission being a certificate of graduation from a duly recognized seminary,
and the scholarship of graduates is perhaps the highest of any Catholic
university in the world.
Dr. Lucas' ministerial record comprises eight months of service as assistant
of Rev. A. J. Melley, of St. John's Church, after which he became assistant
to Rev. John Moylan and T. J- Comerford, of St. Thomas' Church, Archbald,
Pennsylvania, where he remained for four years. For the next five months he
CITY OF SCRANTON 2oi
served in the same capacity with Rev. J. B. Donovan, of Dunmore, then being
appointed to his first rectorate, at St. Andrew's Church, of Blossburg, Penn-
sylvania. His ministry in this place extended over a period of twelve and one-
haJf years, during which time he conducted a valuable work among his
parishioners, and the following three years he was rector of St. Mary's Church,
at Pittston. On January i, 191 2, he received his appointment as rector of St.
Patrick's Church, in Scranton, which church and city has since been the scene
of his ministerial endeavors. His church is a thriving and prosperous one,
financially strong and spiritually powerful, exercising an influence potent and
far-reaching in the community. He has been appointed as examiner of the
clergy of Scranton, serving for the past nine years, and of the most important
local offices in the diocese. He is also one of the directors, and the secretary
and treasurer of St. Patrick's Orphan Asylum. On October 28, 1914, Father
Lucas will have been priest for twenty-five years and on Sunday, October 25,
1914, he will celebrate the silver jubilee.
GEORGE L. PECK
Those who cavil at ancestry and deride the doctrine of heredity may with
profit study the history of the Peck family in America. From the days of
heraldry, three crosses formed the principal part of the Peck coat-of-arms.
This indicates service in the Crusades, which proves the militant trait. Many,
many years thereafter this trait shows in Jesse Peck, of the fifth American
generation, who with three of his sons served in the Revolutionary army. In
the next generation, the spirit of the three crosses is manifested in Luther
Peck with whom Methodism came into the family. He was for many years a
class leader of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and distinguished for his
fidelity to every duty and his devotion to the cause of Christianity, the same
spirit that drove the old Crusader to the Holy Land in an endeavor to wrest the
Saviour's tomb from the grasp of the Saracen. Witness the result of heredity
in the sons of this God-fearing old Methodist class leader. All five of them
became eminent ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, one of them.
Rev. Jesse Truesdell Peck, D. D. LL.D., being elected in 1872 bishop of that
churcli and serving with such distinction that the name Peck vies with that
of Simpson in the affection and esteem of Methodists everywhere. Two of these
sons were also distinguished authors. Five of the grandchildren of Luther
Peck were also eminent ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church. So
we can let heredity answer for itself through this wonderful Peck family, so
honored and revered in the annals of Methodism and eminent in whatever
station placed or profession followed. The name Peck is of great antiquity in
England, and is found in every civilized country. In America it first appears
with Henry Peck one of the founders of the New Haven Colony and his name
appears as one of the subscribers to the charter of the New Haven Colony.
He settled in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1638. The family home continued
in New Haven during the next two generations, headed by John ( I ) and John
(2) Peck.
(I\') Fliphalet Peck, son of John (2) Peck, and of the fourth American
generation, left New Haven when young, spending most of his life in Dan-
bury, Fairfield county, Connecticut.
(V) Jesse Peck, eldest son of Eliphalet Peck, settled in the southern part
of Danbury (now Bethel) where he cleared a farm from the original forest.
In Jesse and his son was revived the ancient military spirit of the family, he
with his three sons enlisting in the Revolutionary army : Jesse and his son
Nathaniel contracted smallpox and died before the war ended. The other two
202 CITY OF SCRANTON
sons were captured in battle, carried to New York City and confined in the
old hulk Jersey anchored in the East river, and used by the British as a prison
ship. Here they suffered the greatest horrors, and when finally released and
carried home were to broken down by disease and brutal treatment that for a
time they were unable to recognize their own mother. Jesse Peck married
Ruth Hoyt, born February 26, 1738, died February 2, 1809.
(\'I) Luther Peck, son. of Jesse Peck, the Revolutionary soldier, left Con-
necticut with his family in 1794, settling in what is now Middlefield Center,
Otsego county, New York. With Luther Peck begins the connection of the
family with the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was a class leader for many
years, and a man of most exemplary Christian life. He reared a remarkable
family, all of his five sons becoming eminent ministers of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church, as were five of his grandchildren. He married Annis Collar,
whose father was also a Revolutionary soldier. They were the parents of
eleven children, the youngest being Rev. Jesse Truesdell Peck, a well known
and greatly beloved bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, who died May
17, 1883, eleven years after his elevation to the Episcopacy.
(VH) Rev. George Peck, D. D., second of the five famous sons of Luther
Peck, was born in Otsego county. New York, August 8, 1797, died in Scranton,
Pennsylvania, May 20, 1876. He joined the Methodist Episcopal Church at
the age of fifteen years, and three years later was licensed as an exhorter.
The following year, 1816, he was licensed a local preacher and served on the
Cortland (New York) circuit without salary. In the same year he was re-
ceived into the Genesee Conference on trial. He advanced rapidly in the
esteem of his brethren, becoming in 1824 presiding elder of the Susquehanna
district, being then but twenty-seven years of age. In 1835 he was elected
principal of Cazenovia Seminary, continuing three years. In 1839 he was
again presiding elder of the Susquehanna district, and frona 1840 until 1847
was editor of the Methodist Quarterly Review, his editorship marking a new
era in ttie history of that magazine; from 1847 until 185 1 he was editor of the
official organ of the church. The Christian Advocate. In 1852 he returned to
the active ministry, stationed at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. In 1854 he was
presiding elder of the Wyoming district; in 1855 of the Binghamton district;
in 1856 and 1857 in charge of Scranton Mission (now Elm Park Methodist
Episcopal Church); in 1858 presiding elder of the Wyoming district; sta-
tioned in 1866-67 ^'^ Providence; in 1868 at Dunmore ; in i86g presiding elder
of the Wyoming district. In 1873 he was placed on the supernumerary list,
having most gloriously served his church as exhorter, preacher, presiding elder
and editor for fifty-eight years. Three years later, in 1876, he died.
His interest in educational matters was intense. He had labored for the
advancement of Cazenovia Seminary long before he became its efficient presi-
dent in 1835. One of his biographers claims that he was "the orginator of
the first course of study prescribed by tlie general conference for traveling
preachers" and that he was "the originator and first moving spirit in the found-
ing of Wyoming Seminary." He was a delegate to the general conference in
thirteen sessions, 1824 to 1872, and was a member of the Evangelical Alliance
which met in London, England, in .\ugust. 1846. Throughout almost his entire
ministerial career, he was a valuable contributor to the literature of the Metho-
dist Episcopal Church and in other fields of literature, enjoying tlie reputation
of a faithful and accurate writer.
In 1835 Wesleyan University conferred upon him the degree of Master oi
Arts and in 1840 Augusta College bestowed that of Doctor of Divinity. Says
another of his biographers : "I view him as one of the most remarkable men
of our times, one whose genius and piety are indelibly stamped on the ec-
CITY OF SCR ANTON 203
clesiastical policy and wonderful growth of the church, whose wise counsels
and herculean labors are interwoven in its development. For the past fifty
years of his life he has been distinguished by a de^'oted love to the church, and
unswerving loyalty to the honest convictions of truth."
Rev, George Peck married Mary, daughter of Philip and Martha (Bennett)
Myers. Of his five children two sons. Rev. George Myers Peck and Rev.
Luther Wesley Peck, were ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church ; a
third son died in infancy ; a fourth, Wilbur Fisk Peck, was a graduate in
medicine, of the University of the City of New York and a surgeon in the
Union army. An only daughter, Mary Helen, married Rev. J. T. Crane, a
graduate of Princeton College and a minister of the Methodist Episcopal
Church.
(VIII) Rev. Luther Wesley Peck, second son of Rev. George Peck, D. D.,
was born in Kingston, Pennsylvania, June 14, 1825, died at Scranton, Penn-
sylvania, March 31, 1900. He spent one year at Wesleyan University (1842)
then entered the L'niversity of the City of New York, whence he was graduated
Master of Arts, class of 1845, receiving from his alma mater in 1878 the
degree of Doctor of Divinity. After leaving the university he finished a
course of theological study, and in 1845 was admitted to the New York Con-
ference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, following in the footsteps of his
honored father. He was stationed, under the itinerant law of the church, as
pastor of churches in New York, Brooklyn, Durham, Rhinebeck. Newburgh,
Poughkeepsie, Kingston, Middletown and other places until 1S68. when he
was transferred to the Wyoming conference, Pennsylvania. He continued
in the mlinistry forty-five years ; was presiding elder of the Honesdale district,
1876-79, and retired from active ministry in 1891 at the age of sixty-six years.
He was a rarely eloquent pulpit orator, a pastor of great usefulness and a
forceful, graceful, pleasing writer of both poetry and prose. His published
works include: "The Golden Age" (1858) ; "The Flight of Humming Birds"
(1895) ; A Poem "The Burial of Lincoln" for Rev. Jesse T. Peck's "History
of the Great Republic," and edited, "A View From Campbell Lodge in Wyom-
ing" written by his father. Rev. George Peck. He was also an extensive and
valued contributor to the National Magazine, the Quarterly Review and the
Ladies Repository. In his long and active life he accomplished great good and
added additional lustre to the name of Peck, already illustrious in the annals
of Methodism.
Rev. Luther Wesley Peck married, January 18, 1848, Sarah Maria, daugh-
ter of Dr. Ransom Hall and Hielen (Whitbeck) Gibbons. She was born in
Dormansville, Albany county, New York, in 1828, died June 17, 191 1, in Scran-
ton, Pennsylvania. Children: Helen, Mary E., Emma D., Frances A., Sarah
M., Susan G., Jessie T., Fanny M., George L.
(IX) George L. Peck, only son of Rev. Luther Wesley Peck, D. D., was
born in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, February \2, i86g. After a course of
study in the public schools, he prepared for a higher institution of learning
at Cazenovia Seminary, a school that for three years was presided over by his
grandfather. Rev. George Peck. D. D. In 1886 he entered Wesleyan Univer-
sity, whence he was graduated Bachelor of Arts, class of 1890. Breaking away
from family tradition, he chose the profession of law, preparing under the
preceptorship of Cornelius Comegys, an. eminent lawyer of Scranton, Penn-
sylvania. Passing the necessary examinations, he was admitted to the Lack-
awanna county bar. April 10, 1893. He at once began the practice of his pro-
fession in Scranton and so continues, having attained high standing at the bar
and practices in all state and federal courts of the district.
Not only has Mr. Peck gained honorable distinction in his profession but is
204 CITY OF SCRANTON
numbered among the active, useful and successful business men of his citj
He is president of the Electric City Bank of Scranton. a sohd, prosperous,
financial institution, and is manager of the Board of Tiade and Real Estate
Company, with offices in the Board of Trade Building. Adhering strictly to
the faith of his fathers, he is a useful member of Simpson Methodist Episcopal
Church, president of its board of trustees and for the past eighteen years has
been superintendent of the Sunday school. Thoroughly informed in church
government, history and precedent, ]\Ir. Peck has rendered valuable layman
service to tlie church, and in 1912 was chosen lay delegate to the quadrennial
general conference, held that year in Minneapolis, ably representing there the
lay interests of his church.
Through the service of his patriotic ancestor, Jesse Peck, the Revolutionary
soldier, Mr. Peck had gained membership to Pennsylvania Chapter, Sons of
the Revolution, an association he greatly values. He is also prominent in the
Masonic Order, belonging to Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Accepted
Masons ; Lackawanna Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; Coeur de Lion Coui-
mandery. Knights Templar (of which he is past eminent commander) : Irem
Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
This brief account of the life and activity of Mr. Peck gives but an idea of
his usefulness to his community, but does fully prove his own worthiness and
the high character of his forbears, dating from the first American ancestor,
Henry Peck. As a study in heredity, it is of deep interest and furnishes an
unswervable arginnent in favor of the exponents of the theory that "blood will
tell."
George L. Peck married, September 10, 1896. Helen Abigail, daughter of
Frank W. and Harriet C. (Kilmer) Mott. Children: George Francis, James
Knickerbocker, Jesse Truesdell, Mott. The family home is at No. 145 South
Hyde Park avenue.
JOHN VON BERGEN, JR.
As chief executive of Scranton borough, Alayor Von Bergen justified the
wisdom of the voters of the city, and so far as his power extended he gave
the friends of good government satisfaction in their choice. While not a native
born son of Scranton, his earliest recollection does not carry him beyond the
city, as he was but a child of three years when his parents first made Scranton
their residence. Here he was educated and grew to manhood, imbibing the
true Scranton spirit of progress, engaged in business, entered public life and
gained the prominence and reputation that resulted in his election to the high
office of mayor of the third most important city of Pennsylvania.
(I) The V^on Bergens are a Swiss family, Mayor Von Bergen being rep-
resentative of the first American born generation. The first of the family to
leave their far away mountain home and to come to the LInited States was
Andrew Von Bergen, who with his wife, Elizabeth, and children, came about
1 85 1, settling in Jackson, Illinois. He was a carpenter by trade and after
working in Illinois until 1856, came to Pennsylvania, locating in Taylor, where
he engaged in farming.
(II) John Von Bergen, son of Andrew and Elizabeth \'on Bergen, was
born in Berne, Switzerland, April 18, 1845. He was brought to the L'nited
States by his parents when about six years of age, and to Taylor, Pennsyl-
vania, when eleven, having spent the intervening years in Jackson, Illinois.
He received such education as the public schools afforded, and at Taylor as-
sisted his father in farm labor until of suitable age to enter the coal mines. He
worked at mining several years, winning his way upward until he became a min-
CITY OF SCRANTON 205
ing contractor. In 1877 he located in Scranton and there was actively engaged
in business until his death, April 15, 1910. He was a man of forceful char-
acter, genial and kindly in nature, but of so retiring and quiet disposition that
he was known as the "Silent Swiss." He was a director of the Providence
Bank, served two terms as councilman in Scranton, then was elected di-
rector of the poor of the city, holding that office until his death. He was a
member of Schiller Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows and Greuth-Verein. He was deeply interested in religion
though not a professed member of any denomination and was liberal to all
churches. It is in commemoration of these characteristics of Mr. Von Bergen
that the congregation of the Court Street Methodist Episcopal Church are
now assembled by the tones of a strong, richly toned bell, inscribed "Pre-
sented to the Court Street ^Methodist Episcopal Church, March 23, 191 3, by
John Von Bergen, Junior, in memory of his father, John Von Bergen, de-
ceased." In presenting the bell to the congregation, the donor said in part.
"I believe that whatever honor accrues from this contribution should go to
him who first conceived it : Should go to him in whose honor this contribution
is now made. I believe that it belongs to him, rather than to me who am now
carrying out what I know to have been his most heart- felt wish. My satis-
faction will come too, with every toll of this bell, for the sound of it as it peals
forth from the belfry of this church, will bring back to me a very vivid recol-
lection of one whom I believe to have been the best father that a son ever
had." John Von Bergen married Caroline Weisen, born in Scranton, daugh-
ter of Nicholas Weisen. She was also a devoted Christian. Children : Eliza-
beth, married Wells Hockenberry, of Scranton; John, of whom further;
Caroline, a teacher in Scranton public schools ; Mildred, married R. W.
Jefifers, of Scranton ; Louis, of Stanton ; Helen.
(Ill) John (2) \^on Bergen, eldest son of John (i) and Caroline (Weisen)
Von Bergen, was born in Taylor, Pennsylvania, November 15, 1874. He was
educated in the Scranton public schools and Wood's Business College, begin-
ning business life as weighmaster in the employ of the Delaware, Lackawanna
& Western Railroad Company. He continued in the employ of that company
until 1900, serving in different capacities, rising to a position virtually that of
outside assistant superintendent. He then resigned, becoming clerk in the
office of the commissioners of Lackawanna county, remaining four years. Ir
1904 he was elected clerk of courts for Lackawanna county, serving one term,
but failing of re-election. In 1909 he was successful candidate of the Repub-
lican party for mayor of Scranton. He was sworn into office, April 5, 1909,
and served the city with a fidelity and zeal that won him hosts of friends ann
warm supporters. He is a director of the Providence Bank and of the Anthra-
cite Traction Company, and interested in other business enterprises. He has
attained prominence in the Masonic Order, .belonging to Queen Ridge Lodge,
Free and Accepted Masons, and to all bodies of the Ancient Accepted Scottish
Rite, Keystone Consistory, in which he holds the thirty-second degree. He is
also a Noble of Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Wilkes-Barre,
Celestial Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Fraternal Order of
Eagles and the Modern Woodmen of America, being very highly esteemed
by his brethren in these orders.
Mr. Von Bergen married, September 28, 1904, Emma, daughter of Chris-
tian G. Schwindt, of Scranton. Children: Mildred and John (3).
2o6 CITY OF SCRANTON
FRIEND A. CROSS, M. D.
It has been a noticeable feature of American life, and indeed of the age,
that the tendency in all of the sciences and professions has been to develop
men complete masters of one branch of a calling. The depth of research and
the profundity of theories advanced have been accompanied by the realization
that life is too short and the undertaking too vast for one to learn, under-
stand and be an authority upon all departments of even one science or pro-
fession. So the need of specialization has been felt and to accommodate this
want learned men in all walks of life have concentrated their mental faculties
upon one subject, or part of a subject, making everything known thereof
their own and ceaselessly experimenting, searching and studying to add to
this store of accurate evidence. As one wise man, apt in expression, summed
up the need of the times, what is required is not simply broad men, but "broad
men sharpened to a point." It is in the application of this method to the
medical profession in the case of Dr. Friend A. Cross that the above is
pertinent at the present time.
Dr. Friend A. Cross is a descendant of a family old in Wayne county,
Pennsylvania, his grandfather, James Cross, having been an early settler who
there engaged in lumber dealing. The father of Friend A. Cross, Albert James
Cross, was born in Sterling, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, in 1849, ^nd was
for several years a teacher in the public schools, later opening a general store
in the place of his birth, where he is now engaged in the mercantile business.
He holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Albert James Cross
married Mary E. Hildebrandt, of Columbia, New Jersey, and has children:
Freeman H., Clarence G., Friend A., of whom further ; Russell E., deceased ;
Earl B., Beulah C, H. Milton.
Dr. Friend A. Cross, son of Albert James and Mary E. (Hildebrandt)
Cross, was born in Sterling, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, July 8, 1882. After
a public school education he attended the East Stroudsburg State Normal
School. For two years he was a school teacher, in 1903 entering the Medico-
Chirurgical College of Philadelphia, whence he was graduated M. D. four
years later, then serving for one year as interne in the State Hospital. In 1908
he moved to South Scranton, beginning the practice of his profession on
Pittston avenue, a short time afterward enrolling in the New York Post
Graduate School and Hospital, in New York City, where he specialized in the
study of eye, ear, nose and throat, returning to Scranton in August, 1913. His
present office is in the Dime Bank Building, in which place he receives the
many patrons of his large practice, his knowledge, skill and ability as a phy-
sician being universally known. From 1908 to July i, 1914, Dr. Cross was an
assistant to Dr. Mears and Dr. C. L. Frey, of the State Hospital, in cases where
the disease is of the eye, ear, nose or throat, his advanced study making him an
assistant of worth. On July i, 1914, he was made chief of the eye depart-
ment of that hospital. The many years that in all probability stretch before
Dr. Cross offer excellent ground for the laying of a career of brilliance and
usefulness, for he is absorbed in his profession, a tireless worker, and a con-
stant student. His medical societies are those of the county and state, and
he is a member of Lodge No. 330, F. and A. M., of Hamlin, Pennsylvania.
His church is the Elm Park Methodist Episcopal. Dr. Cross married, Decem-
ber I, 1909, Lulu A., daughter of Hon. John D. and Mary Houck.
MAJOR EVERETT WARREN
There is a spirit in the American people that in some manner can never
resist the appeal made to the senses by the words of Bunker Hill. The mere
(Of ^. -0^i>^ef-^'^
CITY OF SCRANTON 207
utterance of these magic syllables causes each head to be held a trifle higher,
each pair of shoulders to be raised a little more erect and each breath to come
a little quicker than its predecessor. It is a glorious monument to the Warren
family herein recorded, that the name of one of its members has been written
indelibly upon the records of our mighty republic, as the hero of that historic
conflict. General Joseph Warren.
(i) Isaac Warren, related to General Joseph Warren in a collateral line,
has the distinction of introducing a new industry in this country, the manufac-
ture of calf skin boots. He was the father of several children, one of his
sons, George Frederick Warren, serving with honor in the Civil War, and
being placed upon the stafif of General Grant at the request of that officer.
(II) Harris Franklin Warren, son of Isaac and Leonora Warren, was
born in Bethany, Connecticut, March 10, 1824. In 1838 he went with his
brother to Newburgh, New York, where for a year he attended high school.
Going west in 1843, he was employed as a bookkeeper in the large wholesale
establishment of Reuben Towne in Detroit, Michigan, a position he resigned
in 1848 to enter the service of the mercantile house of Zach, Chandler & Com-
pany, of which he became junior partner in 1850. The western climate prov-
ing unfavorable to his delicate health, Mr. Warren returned to the east and
accepted a position in Scranton in the car and machine shops of the Delaware,
Lackawanna & Western Railroad. For almost ten years he suffered as a semi-
invalid, finally recovering the strength and robustness that have always char-
acterized the family, and lived to an advanced age. Had his health been as
vigorous as his spirit, it is possible that his efforts in a military line would have
redounded quite as much to the honor of the family as did the deeds of his
valiant ancestor, as his enlistment in the Lmion army at the time of the Civil
War was barred by the examining physician. He married twice and became
the father of three children.
(III) Major Everett Warren, son of Harris Franklin and Marian Mar-
gery (Griffin) Warren, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, August 27, 1859.
Having obtained from the public schools of the day all that they had to offer,
his insatiable desire for learning as a means of self improvement led him to
enter Merrill's Academic School, where he obtained instruction in Latin and
Greek, preparatory to entrance into college, payiiig his tuition fee with his
earnings as a carrier of the Scranton Republican, subsequently for the Scranton
Times. Not having all the preparation necessary for college entrance, he con-
tinued to study under the tutorship of Frank Bentley, paying for this service
with three- fourths of the wages he earned as clerk and office boy in the office
of A. H. Winton and later of Hand & Post. Such perseverance and am-
bition, such undaunted and immovable determination to obtain an education,
such sincere desire for better things, could not remain unrewarded, the fall
of 1877 witnessing the fulfillment of his college hopes and the gratification of
a wish for which he labored long and unceasingly, his matriculation at Yale
University. Here he applied all the energy and labor to the different depart-
ments of his course that he had previously devoted to obtaining entrance,
gaining special pleasure from the literary and debating work of the college, in-
cluding an editorship of the Yale News, and graduating A. B. in the class of
1881. After graduation he studied for the legal profession, and soon after
his admission to the bar became the partner of the Hon. E. N. Willard. Judge
H. A. Knapp joining the firm in 1892, the triple alliance continuing until June,
1895, when Mr. Willard received appointment as a superior court judge from
Governor Hastings. Since that time Major Warren has been the head of the
firm, and has maintained a position as one of the leading members of the
Scranton bar, the business of the firm thriving because of the excellent reputa-
2o8 CITY OF SCRANTON
tion borne by all partners. The firm was Warren & Knapp until Judge Willard
retired in 1898 and resumed his place in it, continuing until his death, March
2, 1910. The firm then became Warren, Knapp & O'Malley, remaining such
until January i, 1914, when it became Warren, Knapp, O'Malley & Hill. Mr.
Warren has represented individuals as well as corporations in as fully im-
portant controversies as those of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, the
New York Central, the Lehigh Valley, the Erie and the Erie & Wyoming
Valley railroads, the Scranton Traction Company, the Lackawaima Iron and
Steel Company, and the Pennsylvania Coal Company. We cite the Crawford
will case, and the Martin case against the Delaware & Hudson, Susquehanna
& Western Canal companies, when the biggest verdict was given that was ever
obtained in a persona! injury case in Pennsylvania. To recount the reasons
for his continued success in his chosen profession entails a description of the
qualities of the man himself, his strong mentality, prepossessing personality and
confident self assurance, which make a most favorable impression upon all with
whom he comes into contact. All of his success, of course, is laid upon his
extremely intimate and thorough knowledge of fundamentals, which enables
him to unravel thread by thread the most complicated and abstruse of legal
problems ; but aside from this, without which a lawyer could never be truly
great, his remarkable forensic gifts have been the greatest aid to him in his
profession. Just as the most beautiful of songs loses its entire charm by a
poor rendition, so the strongest legal attack loses its force and power of con-
viction unless its delivery is eloquent, well balanced and emphatic. In the
presentation of his cases. Major Warren combined all of these qualities, with
a result shown by the number of decisions in his favor.
Major Warren's distinction is not confined to the bar of his state, but
reaches into political and military circles. His connection with the Penn-
sylvania National Guard began in 1881, when he enlisted as a private in Com-
pany A, Thirteenth Regiment, then commanded by Captain Louis A. Watres,
who afterward became lieutenant-governor of Pennsylvania. His promotion
to sergeant-major followed in three years, his next rank being that of adjutant
and finally judge advocate of the Third Regiment with the rank of major on
the staff of General J. P. S. Cobin. In 1891 he resigned as judge advocate
and closed an association with the National Guard which had covered a period
of ten years, during which time he had been constantly active in the work ol
the organization. He was offered a position on the staff of Governor Hastings
as colonel, which he refused, and he also declined the position of judge ad-
vocate on Major General Snowden's staff with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
In the field of Republican politics he has gained a position of influence and
power, and is one of the leaders in the party in that state. In 1887 the first
convention of the recently organized National League of Republican Clubs
was held in the old Chickering Hall in New York, where Major Warren was
the representative of the Central Republican Club of Scranton. and in the
election of National ofiicers was the unanimous choice of the Pennsylvania
delegation for treasurer. At the organization of the State League of Penn-
sylvania at Scranton in April, 1888, he was chosen the first of three vice-
presidents and six years later was elected president by acclamation, and at
York in 1895 was re-elected, continuing as the cliief executive officer of the
league until 1896. He has been a member of the advisory committee of the
National Republican League, his advice and opinions carrying great weight
whenever, after mature consideration of the subject at hand, he either gives
the one or advances the other. Twice he has declined allowing his name to be
used in connection with a nomination for Justice of Supreme Court of Penn-
sylvania. In local politics, too, his knowledge of affairs has called him into
CITY OF SCRANTON 209
service. As secretary of the county committee, chairman of the city com-
mittee, and as a member of the advisory board of the state committee, he has
fulfilled all the duties of a good, conscientious citizen. At the state conven-
tion in Harrisburg in 1896 he was nominated presidential elector from the
eleventh congressional district.
Major Warren and his wife are communicants of St. Luke's Episcopal
Church, he serving as vestryman. He has been a member of standing in com-
mittees of the diocese of Bethlehem for twenty years, and deputy to the
General Convention of the Episcopal Church. He holds fraternal affiliation
with the Masonic Order, belonging to Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Ac-
cepted Masons ; Lackawanna Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; and Melita Com-
mandery, No. 68, K. T. He was chairman of the First City Planning Com-
mission of Scranton under appointment of Mayor Von Bergen. He is also a
member of the Yale Club of New York, the University Club of New York, the
Scranton Club and Country Club of Scranton.
On May 31, 1883, Major Warren married Ellen H., daughter of Hon. E.
N. Willard. Children: i. Marian Margery, married Worthington Scranton,
vice-president of the Scranton Gas & Water Company. 2. Dorothy J., mar-
ried Nathaniel H. Cowdrey, of New York City. 3. Edward Willard. Major
Warren personified the type of American citizen in whom lies the hope of
purity in our local, state and national politics. An honorable, upright, Chris-
tian gentleman, deserving and holding the regard of all, highly trained in legal
matters, and closely acquainted with the vital issues of the day, his life has
shown nothing but a lofty attitude of service to society and earnest effort in
behalf of his city and state.
ELIAS G. ROOS, M. D.
At the close of his quarter of a century of professional relation to the
city of Scranton, it is the privilege of Dr. Elias G. Roos to look back upon that
period and find therein only that which has added to his fame in his profession
and has raised him to a lofty place in the regard of the many friends he has
made since coming to that city. Beyond the peradventure of a doubt one of
the most learned physicians and surgeons of the city and state, the nobility of
his character and his attractive personality would have gained him prominence
had not his professional ability been of so high an order. He is a member of
an old German family and in that country prepared himself for the practice
of medicine and surgery, attending the best of the many excellent universities
of which that country boasts.
His grandfather, Samuel Roos, and his father. Rabbi Kaufman Roos, were
both life-long residents of Germany, where the latter was born, in Lichtenau,
Baden, in 1809. Kaufman Roos obtained his education for the rabbinal at
the world famous university, Heidelberg, in the grand-duchy of his birth.
After the completion of his theological studies he was honored with a call
to the old and well known Jewish Community in Schmilheim, Baden, where
he performed the duties as District Rabbi for forty-one years or up to the time
of his death. He married Zippora Rice, whose paternal line for three genera-
tions had been rabbis and teachers of the Jewish law. Her brother, Simon,
born in Breisach, Baden, Germany, came to the United States when he was
seventeen years of age, and in i860 established himself in the grocery busi-
ness. Several years later he admitted his brother. Max, to a partnership in
the business, under the firm name of Simon Rice and Brother. They engaged
in a wholesale grocery business in Scranton until the retirement of Simon
from the firm, aged forty-seven years, after which time Max Rice continue'!
14
2IO CITY OF SCRANTON
the business independently. Simon Rice died in 1901. He had been one of the
earliest settlers of the city of Scranton and was a member of the "Old Guard'"
of business men of that place. While he did not reap as abundantly of the
harvest of wealth that the region offered as some of his contemporaries and
those that followed them, all of his efforts in behalf of the city were tendered
in open-hearted generosity and not through hope or desire of private gain.
He was a supporter of Republican principles and as the candidate of that
party was twice elected a member of the Scranton council, in which body he had
a fuller opportunity to work effectively for the city's advancement, which he
did with energetic zeal. For many years he was an official of the Madison
Avenue Jewish Synagogue, in which faith he had been strengthened by the
self-sacrificing example of his father, his grandfather, and his great-grand-
father. Rabbi Kaufman Roos died in 1875, his wife surviving him eighteen
years, her death occurring in 1893. Children of Rabbi Roos: Gotthilf, born in
1857; Frida, born 1858; Elias G., of whom further; Sara, 1865; Emilie, 1868.
Dr. Elias G. Roos was born in Schmilheim, Baden, Germany, February 7,
i860. His early education was obtained in the high school at Ettenheim and
later on in the gymnasiums at Freiburg, Rastadt and Mannheim, from which
latter place he was graduated in 1881 after a course of study extending over
a period of nine years, so minute and thorough is the German system of edu-
cation. He then entered the University at Freiburg, subsequently attending
those at Konigsburg and Berlin, receiving after seven years of the most ardu-
ous study the degree of M. D. He soon after came to Scranton and im-
mediately began practice in that city. His rise to popular favor was rapid and
for seven years he continued a prosperous practice. At the expiration of that
time, in spite of his unusually liberal education, he felt that he would be bene-
fitted by a course in an American institution, and accordingly enrolled at the
Philadelphia Polyclinic College for Graduates in Medicine in 1897 and in this
college was the winner of a fellowship. There is, in that action of Dr. Roos a
sermon for many a youth, or indeed, for those of more mature age, that is,
that in direct proportion to the amount of knowledge acquired, unexplored
fields open ahead. He then returned to his Scranton patronage and has there
ever since remained, ever becoming more firmly intrenched in the affection of
those who are privileged to know him best, and as constantly rising in the
respect of the many who are acquainted with him only through reputation and
the report of his achievements along medical and surgical lines. He holds
position as consulting surgeon to the Midvalley Hospital and as one of the
visiting surgeons to the State Hospital in the city, and is examiner for several
life insurance companies. Dr. Roos belongs to the County, State and American
Medical societies, and to the Congress of Surgeons of North America. His
political views are Republican in sympathy, and he is a member of the Madi-
son Avenue Temple.
He married (first) in 1891, Frances Wertheimer, of Philadelphia, who
died in 1895; (second) Edith Hirschmann, of Binghamton, New York. Chil-
dren of first marriage : Beatrice Frances and Henrietta Frances.
Perhaps the most attractive point about the career of Dr. Roos is the vast
amount of good he lias been able to accomplish as the direct result of the years
of study and preparation spent in Germany. He could not possibly have seen
the goal of his efforts and yet the faith that kept him so closely to his studies
has been more than justified in the reward that has come to him in the lessen-
ing of human suff'eiing and in restoring to some the use of faculties long
dormant, bringing to many the light and inspiration of fresh hope for useful
lives.
CITY OF SCRANTON 211
CHARLES H. VON STORCH
In Charles H. Von Storch the city of Scranton has found a citizen who,
called upon to fill numerous responsible positions in municipal life, has never
failed to respond willingly, to accept any trust, and, having accepted it, has re-
mained true thereto until his every obligation has been discharged. Numerous
of Scranton's institutions have felt his strengthening guidance, and for two
decades he has been prominent in the work of the school board, having several
times been its president, an office he ably administers at the present time. But a
full recital of his activities follows in its proper place.
The family of Von Storch was a noted and famous one in Germany, from
which country the name has disappeared, one branch becoming numerous in
Russia, another, founded by Heinrich Ludwig Christopher Von Storch, flour-
ishing in the United States. The family record traces to Per. Staerch, who
married, at Wassbro, a daughter of Lars Oloffson. His coat-of-arms was
adopted by his son, Jon Persson Staerck, upon his introduction into the Hall
of Knighthood of Sweden.
Jon Persson Staerck, on June 5, 1608, was made groom of the bedchamber
by King Charles IX, and on August 7, of the same year, equerry to the King.
In 161 1, at the head of a company, acting without special order, he drove the
Danes out of Skara and out of Sweden. For this he was highly praised by
Gustavus Adolphus II, receiving title and deed to the Castle of Salis, Germany,
afterward being granted Delstorp at Mitau for an eternal possession, also becom-
ing captain of a company of horsemen. He received from the same monarch the
promise of a diploma of nobility, but because of the illness of the recipient
of this honor, it was not granted until his death. This diploma was dated
August 12, 1632, and was confirmed by the royal authorities. He married a
daughter of Christopher Goeranssen and had children, one Johann, who was
first called Von Storch, and four others, one Isaac Jonsson, founder of the
Swedish line of the name.
Through Johann, who married Elizabeth Hammerstein, the descent to
Charles H. Von Storch is through Gustav, who married Anna Von Moisling,
and had children : Lucas Frederick, councillor of commissions ; Johann Gustav,
of whom further; Carl Frederick, councillor of ecclesiastical economy; and
Christian Heinrich, a pastor.
Dr. Johann Gustav Von Storch, son of Gustav and Anna (Von Moisling)
Von Storch, was councillor and burgomaster of Guestrow, Mecklenburg, Ger-
many, and grand duke of Mecklenburg-Schwering. He married Sophia
Schoeppfer. among his five children being Christian Theodosius.
Christian Theodosius Von Storch, son of Dr. Johann and Sophia (Schoep-
pfer) Von Storch, was doctor and pastor at Lohman, Mecklenburg, Germany,
and was twice married, the children of his first union, with Margaret Sophia
Conradina Schoeppfer, founding the Russian family of Von Storch, while
Heinrich Ludwig Christopher Von Storch was a child by his marriage with
Anna Sophia Conradina Von Wick, and the founder of the family in the
United States, represented in the city of Scranton by Charles H. Von Storch
attorney, financier, and public servant.
Heinrich Ludwig Christopher Von Storch was born in Lohman, Mecklen-
burg, Germany, in 1772, died in Scranton, Pennsylvania, April 10, 1826. He
came to the United States in 1794, in the company of a countryman, as a
fur hunter, and after following this occupation for a time purchased three
hundred acres of land in what is now North Scranton. He afterward returned
to Philadelphia, where he had landed upon immigrating to this country, soon
coming once more to the Scranton district, marrying in Wilkes-Barre. Penn-
212 CITY OF SCRANTON
sylvania, Hannah Miner, daughter of Wilham Searle, a settler from Con-
necticut. After his marriage he brought his bride to his log cabin on what is
now the southeast side of Main avenue and Green Ridge street. Ludwig Von
Storch was the proprietor of the first store opened in North Scranton, and
after his death his wife and eldest son managed the farm and store. His wife
was a woman of intellectual brilliance, possessing both business capacity and a
knowledge of the law, and for many years prepared deeds and other legal
papers for the neighborhood, her death occurring after she had been a widow
for thirty-six years. May 14, 1862. Heinrich Ludwig Christopher and Hannah
Miner (Searle) Von Storch were the parents of seven children: i. Ferdinand,
bom December 4, 1810, died November 21, 1868; married January 17, 1873,
Caroline, daughter of Sidney and Jane (La France) Slocum, and had issue.
2. Theodore, bom May 19, 1812, died May 30, 1886; married, October 21, 1863,
Josephine Deborah, daughter of Hiram and Orpha (Church) Barney, and had
children. 3. Leopold, born May 8, 1814, died November 4, 1882; married,
August 22, 1839, Julia Ann, daughter of Aaron and Anna D. Gregory, and
had issue. 4. Ludwig, born April 28, 1816, died April 12, 1886. 5. William,
born February 9, 1819. 6. Godfrey, of whom further. 7. Justus, born April
15, 1824, married, August 9, 1882, Serena, daughter of Leonard and Mary
Ann Boice.
Godfrey Von Storch, son of Heinrich Ludwig Christopher and Hannah
Miner (Searle) Von Storch, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, July 24, 1821,
died December 3, 1887. When he was thirteen years of age his father's estate
was divided between the mother and the seven sons, and in his youth he ob-
tained employment upon the canal, working on the Lehigh for several sea-
sons. He later engaged in farming, becoming owner of a saw-mill, afterward
operating in coal, superintending the sinking of the \'on Storch and Leggett's
Creek shafts. Prospering in material matters, he found time for public serv-
ice, and was several times elected burgess of Providence, for three years repre-
senting the second ward in the select council of Scranton. He married, at
Providence, Pennsylvania, May 22, 1859, Mary, born in Exeter, Luzerne
county, Pennsylvania, April 4, 1830. daughter of Nelson and Jane (Durliii)
Rogers, and had children: Bell and Charles Henry, of whom further.
Charles Henry Von Storch, son of Godfrey and Mary (Rogers) Von
Storch, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, March 13, 1863. .A^fter prepara-
tory training in the public schools of Scranton and Merrill's private school he
entered the University of Pennsylvania, leaving this institution in 1885, and
two years later was admitted to the bar, having since been active in his pro-
fession in the city of Scranton. He has made an estimable record in legal
circles, and at the present time is president of the Providence Bank. Among
the public service that he has performed in his native city is twenty years as
a member of the school board, several of which were passed as president, an
office he now holds, having been last elected thereto in 1910. He has given
to the city a business administration of school affairs, has devoted himself
to his arduous duties with praiseworthy fidelity, and has raised the public
school standard of Scranton to a plane worthy of a city of its standing. He
is a citizen of unselfish instincts, has made for himself an enviable reputation
in the place of his birth, and is universally recognized at his true worth, a
lawyer of talent, a municipal executive of sterling principles, and a gentleman
of the noblest instincts.
Mr. Von Storch married Carrie A., daughter of Frank and Harriet C.
Mott, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and has one son, Searle, born January 3, 1899.
Carrie A. Von Storch died June 3, 1914.
CITY OF SCRANTON 213
WILLIAM ROWLAND DAVIES, M. D.
Dr. William Rowland Davies, one of the prominent physicians of Penn-
sylvania, and a leader among his professional brothers in the state, comes of a
family originally Welsh, and representative of the best type of that stalwart
race, which has contributed to valuable an element to the composite citizenship
of the United States. Small in numbers comparatively with the representa-
tions of many European countries here, the Welsh contingent in America is not
less valuable, forniing, as it does, a leaven of its own peculiar virtues for great
capacity for labor, industry and strong moral sense.
(I) Dr. Davies' grandfather in the paternal line was John W. Davies, a
native of Glamorganshire, Wales, where he was born probably in the first
decade or two of the nineteenth century. This ancestor was the founder of
the family in America. He was married to Magdalen Daniels, also a native of
Glamorganshire, Wales, and the daughter of Morgan Daniels,, who was born
in Neath, in the same Welsh county in 1775. Morgan Daniels married Mary
Gibbs in his native land, and in 1832 emigrated from there to the United States.
He died not live a great while in his new home, however, his death occurring
at Spring Brook, Pennsylvania, in 1846. Mr. Daniels was a prominent figure
in both his native and adopted communities and was the father of nine children.
When John W. Davies came to this country he settled in Carbondale, Penn-
sylvania, and there his eldest child, William J., was born.
(II) William J. Davies, father of Dr. Davies of this sketch, was born
in the month of June, 1844, and as above stated, in Carbondale, Pennsylvania.
As a boy he attended the Carbondale public schools, and later pursued a more
advanced course at the Wyoming Seminary. Upon completing his studies he
took up construction work, and has been employed during most of his life in
railroad construction and on public works. He married Jemima A. Rowland,
a native of Carbondale, daughter of Moses T. and Ann (Rogers) Rowland,
of that place, where Mr. Rowland was a tailor at the time of the outbreak of
the Civil War. They were from Llangesny, North Wales. The children born
to William J. and Jemima A. (Rowland) Davies are as follows: Laura,
who became Mrs. John B. Nicholas, of Hazelton, Pennsylvania; William Row-
land, of this sketch: Esther, who is now a teacher in School No. 13, Scran-
ton, Pennsylvania.
(III) Dr. William Rowland Davies, the second living child of William J.
and Jemima A. (Rowland) Davies, was born November 2, 1875, a* Pittston,
Pennsylvania. He received the elementary portion of his education in the local
public schools, but supplemented this with a course of study in the Keystone
Academv at Factoryville, Pennsylvania, where he prepared himself for a col-
legiate course. It had been his intention from an early age to devote his
life to the profession of medicine, and accordingly, after completing his pre-
paratory work, he matriculated in the Medical School of the LIniversity of
Pennsylvania in 1895. He graduated with the class of 1899, taking the degree
of M. D. The summer following his graduation he spent as house surgeon
in the Pittston Hospital. He opened an office at No. 221 South Main avenue,
and has remained in that location ever since. He is a member of the County
Medical Society, the State Medical Society and the American Medical .Associa-
tion. In these he has representated the county society in the state body, and
was chosen by the latter to represent it in turn in the national organization.
He is chairman of the public safety and legislative committees in the Lacka-
wanna County Association. Besides these honorable and responsible posts,
he serves on the staff of the West Side Hospital of Scranton, and is consulting
physician of the Mid Valley Hospital. He is a member of the progressive
214 CITY OF SCRANTON
section of the Republican party. He is interested in music and art. He is
a member of Peter Williamson Lodge, No. 323, F. and A. M., and Keystone
Consistory.
Dr. Davies married, June 20, 1902, Helen Clara Bard, a native of Factory-
ville, Pennsylvania, where she was born. Mrs. Davies is a daughter of Wil-
liam W. and Alma (Newton) Bard, and a descendant of the old and dis-
tmguished New England family of that name. To Dr. and Mrs. Davies
have been born three children, as follows: Frederick Bard, born January 12,
1905; Ralph William, born October 25, 1906; Alary Alma, born November
10, 1910. Dr. Davies and Mrs. Davies attend the First Baptist Church of
Scranton. They are active in church work.
JOSEPH H. STEELE
In the death of Joseph H. Steell, late of Scranton, who for many years
was an influential citizen of that city, where he was effective in promoting
the business, social and moral advancement of the community, well known for
his great ability and unflinching adherence to principle, his adopted city lost
one of its most esteemed and honored members.
Mr. Steell was born in the village of St. Clair, Schuylkill county, Penn-
sylvania, December 2, 1846, died in Scranton, Pennsylvania, March 9, 1900, in
the prime of life and when he had but reached the zenith of his powers. He
grew to maturity and was educated in his native village, residing there until
the year 1878, when he located in Scranton, in which city he spent the re-
mainder of his days. He at once became a member of the firm of Beadle &
Steell, which established and conducted an extensive grocery business on
Lackawanna avenue, later the site of the Grand Central Hotel, which proved ati
exceedingly lucrative enterprise. Later the business was removed to the cor-
ner of Penn avenue and Center street, where they conducted successful opera-
tions until the general store firm of J. H. Steell & Company was organized,
with offices in the Traders' Bank building in Scranton. This corporation, with
Mr. Steell as manager, operated six stores at one time, located at various com-
manding points in the anthracite region, and the success achieved was due ir
a large degree to the sagacity, foresight and executive ability displayed by Mr.
Steell in his management of affairs. In addition to this extensive business en-
terprise, he was an active and potent factor in various other large commercial
and industrial concerns. He was actively and prominently identified with the
Hillside Coal and Iron Company, his connection with this being the founda-
tion upon which was built the Steell Store Company. He was numbered
among the largest lumber operators in the Lackawanna Valley, connected with
two of the most important corporations in that trade, and served for many
years as president of the Allegheny Lumber Company, operating plants at Bell-
haven, North Carolina, which were the very extensive dressing mills formerly
owned and operated by the Bellhaven Lumber Company. He was among the
incorporators of the Lackawanna Lumber Company of Scranton, of which
he was also president, his tenure of office being noted for the utmost con-
servatism compatible with progressive ideas, which policy aided materially in
the development and progress of the company. There were few enterprises of
any magnitude in the city of Scranton in which he was not interested, in one
capacity or another, and his counsel and advice was always eagerly sought and
earnestly followed, it proving of great advantage in every case.
Mr. Steell displayed his love for his country by enlisting his services in
its defence during the trying period of the Civil war, he being then but a lad
of fifteen, but he faithfully performed the duties allotted to him as a mem-
CITY OF SCRANTON 215
ber of the Pennsylvania Volunteers. He derived his greatest pleasure in the
companionship of his family, which consisted of his wife, and four daughters:
Nellie, Leila, Katherine, Ruth, to whom he was always most devoted, doing
all in his power for their comfort and happiness, and to these his untimely
demise was the greatest affliction that could befall them. His club membership
was limited to the Scranton Club and the Country Club. Mr. Steell possessed
all the attributes of a highly successful business man, ability, sagacity, perse-
verance and tact, and probably the greatest compliment that can be paid him is
that he made himself an honor to the great commercial world, as well as a
credit to the mercantile community in which he lived.
The directors of the Traders' Bank, in which Mr. Steell was a director, he
numbering among its board of directors some of his most trusted personal
friends, passed the following resolutions at the time of his death : "He was a
man of excellent judgment, honest, upright, warm-hearted, and ever more
willing to give than to receive. Many business institutions of the city will
miss his wise and t'mely counsel." The directors of the Allegheny Lumbe'
Company placed upon its records and before the public equally fervent tribute .
"In the loss of our president we part with one who has been energetic, intel-
ligent, and has shown great sagacity and good business judgment as the chief
officer and manager of the affairs of this company. The business community
also mourns the loss of one who has largely helped to mould and shape many
successful business enterprises of this flourishing city." The same body, at
the same time and in the same manner, touched a responsive chord in every
heart in the community by its touching phrasing of the personal worth of
the friend whom they mourned: "His private life was without blemish, and
at the time of his death he enjoyed the confidence and respect of his business
associates, neighbors and closest friends. We desire to express to the bereaved
family our sorrow in the loss of a beloved husband and father, and commend
them to Him who is the Father of the fatherless and the widow's God. Life i=;,
as Prospero says: 'such stuff as dreams are made of, and our little life is
rounded with a sleep.' "
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL JAMES W. OAKFORD
The ancestors of the Oakford family, represented in the present genera-
tion by Lieutenant-Colonel James W. Oakford, a prominent resident of Scran-
ton, were among the earliest residents of the city of Philadelphia, and several
of them were settled on the banks of the Delaware when William Penn firsc
sailed up that river to the present site of Philadelphia. In the years when
Philadelphia was the chief port of the New World, members of the family
held prestige as leading merchants, being active factors in the growth and
development of that flourishing city. Being of Quaker ancestry, they con-
formed to all the doctrines of that sect, leading peaceful and quiet lives.
Colonel Richard A. Oakford, son of Joseph Oakford, who was a prominent
importer of china and tea, as was his father, Isaac Oakford, was born in Phila-
delphia, Pennsylvania, December 8, 1820. He attended the public schools of
that city, and also studied at Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, where he
specialized in languages, and studied German, French, Spanish and Italian,
which he read with ease, and he spoke two of these languages fluently. He
also studied engineering. Owing to failing health, he moved from Philadelphia
to the Wyoming Valley. Later he was engaged in the coal business in Pitts
burgh, Pennsylvania, and made extended trips down the Mississippi Valley
as far as New Orleans, thus becoming acquainted with the southern viewpoint
in regard to secession, slavery and likelihood of war. Because of this he
2i6 CITY OF SCRANTON
held a more exact and comprehensive idea of the attitude of that section tha'.l
most northerners, not exxepting those in authority. He realized that in the
South there would be no compromise, and knowing well the position of the
North, was prepared at any time for the announcement of war. At the out-
break of hostilities, at which time he was a resident of Scranton, he was
among the first to volunteer for service, enlisting for three months, and was
elected colonel of the Fifteenth Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry. He was
placed in command of the post at Camp Curtin, Harrisburg, named in honor
of Governor Curtin, where the mobilization of the state troops was taking
place, and when the regiment was ordered to the field, he commanded it in thf
Shenandoah Valley. On August 15, 1862, the One Hundred and Thirty-second
Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was mustered into service, and he
was chosen colonel. He was not destined to hold his new position long, for
on September 17, 1862, while leading his men into the fray at the battle of
Antietam, a bullet from the enemy's first volley found a vital spot in his boay.
killing him instantly. Although he had been in the service but a short time,
he had found that place in the regard and respect of his fellow officers and
the men of his regiment ever held by a true gentleman and a gallant soldier.
In the official report of the battle forwarded to the War Department at Wash-
ington by Brigadier-General Kimball, the following notice of his death occurs :
"Among the killed and wounded are many brave and gallant soldiers. Colonel
Richard A. Oakford, 132nd Pennsylvania, was killed while leading his regi-
ment." The fearless manner in which he went to his fate, and the able training
he had given his regiment for service, were recognized in a set of resolutions
drawn up by the commissioned officers of the regiment and presented to the
family, testifying to his heroic action and paying tribute to him as a patriotic
officer of unblemished reputation. That Colonel Oakford fully appreciated
the awful danger of the engagement in which he lost his life, is shown in
Colonel Hitchcock's history of the One Hundred and Thirty-second Pennsyl-
vania in the war — "War from the Inside" — in which, concerning the eve of
the battle of Antietam he writes, "I can never forget the quiet words of Colonel
Oakford, as he inquired very particularly if my roster of the officers and men
of the regiment was complete, for, said he with a smile, 'We shall not all be
here tomorrow night.' " Then after a description of the events previous to
Colonel Oakford's death, he continues, "He had been in command of the
regiment a little more than a month, but during that brief time his work as a
disciplinarian and drillmaster had made it possible for us to acquit ourselves as
creditably as they all said we had done. General Kimball was loud in our
praise and greatly lamented Colonel Oakford's death, whom he admired very
much. He was a brave, able and accomplished officer and gentleman, and his
loss to the regiment was irreparable. Had Colonel Oakford lived his record
must have been brilliant and his promotion rapid, for very few volunteers had
so quickly mastered the details of military tactics and routine. He was a
thorough disciplinarian, an able tactician, and the interests and welfare of his
men were constantly upon his heart." To the words of a comrade of those
stirring times little can be added, except in regret that a life promising so
much usefulness and service in the less violent paths of existence should be so
sacrificed.
Colonel Oakford married, December 27, 1843, Frances Carey Slocum.
By the marriage of Colonel Richard A. Oakford with Frances Carey Slocum,
the English and Swedish blood of the Oakford family became allied with
another strain of English origin. Members of the Slocum family have been
connected with the history of Scranton since the day when it derived its
name from them and was known as Slocum's Hollow. The records of the
Siufdb-f CitmpbEll Bruzhsr^-Ky.
CITY OF SCRANTON 217
town of Warwick, Rhode Island, contain the certificate of marriage of Johna-
than Slocum and Ruth Tripp, on February 23, 1758, both of Portsmouth, New-
port county, Rhode Island. In November, 1777, Jonathan Slocum settled on
land in the Wyoming Valley purchased two years before. It was from his
home in this valley that on November 2, 1778, his daughter, Frances, then about
four years of age, was stolen and carried away into captivity by the Indians.
The grief-crazed father was an implacable enemy of the Indians, and met his
death in struggle with them in the battle which has come to be known in his-
tory as the Wyoming Massacre, fought July 3, 1778. Isaac Tripp, his father-
in-law, was likewise killed at that time. The search for Frances Slocum was
never abandoned and fifty-nine years later she was discovered with a tribe of
Indians near Logansport, Indiana, by her brothers. She had been kindly
treated, had married into the tribe, was the mother of several children, and
was accorded far more consideration than the Indian squaws. The Indians,
in deference to her superior intelligence, conferred with her on many matters,
and she had instructed them in numerous useful arts, which had been her
natural heritage. During her long stay with them, she had completely for-
gotten her native tongue and was compelled to converse with her brothers
through an interpreter. Realizing that it was for her best good not to attempt
to take her from what had become a congenial environment, they left her. Her
death occurred near Peru, Wabash county, Indiana, March 23, 1847. William,
son of Jonathan and Ruth (Tripp) Slocum, was bom January 6, 1762, died
in Pittston, Pennsylvania, October 20, 1810. From 1796 to 1799 he served a?
sheriff of Luzerne county. He married, June 4, 1786, Sarah L. Sawyer.
Laton, the fourth child of William and Sarah L. Slocum, was born in Pitts-
ton, Pennsylvania, August 16, 1792, died January 16, 1833. He married
Gratey, daughter of James Scoville, and it is through the marriage of his
daughter, Frances Carey, that the lines of the Slocum and Oakford familie.^
meet.
Lieutenant-Colonel James W. Oakford, son of Colonel Richard A. and
Frances Carey (Slocum) Oakford, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, June
5, 1859. After a preparatory education he matriculated at Yale College, whence
he was graduated A. B., class of 1884. At the completion of his college course
he entered upon the study of law, in the ofhce of Judge Archbald. Upon the
elevation of that gentleman to the bench, he was court clerk in the prothono-
tary's office and later continued to study in the office of S. B. Price, Esq., until
his admission to the bar. He remained in Mr. Price's office for one more
year after gaining the right to practice, and then established an office inde-
pendently. While meeting with success in his chosen profession, he grad-
ually acquired so many business interests that he gave less and less attention
to legal matters. The chief of his varied interests are the Cherry River Boom &
Lumber Company and the Hebard Cypress Company, both controlled b)'
Scranton capital, holding the office of president in both. He is also a director
of the Scranton Savings Bank and the Third National Bank.
With a love of military affairs inherited from a father who drank war's
cup to the dregs, he has always been active in the Pennsylvania National Guard,
and on two occasions has seen service at the call of the governor, once ar
Homestead and again at Hazleton. Before leaving home for college he was a
member of the Scranton City Guard and continued in membership while away.
Returning to Scranton, he became identified with the Thirteenth Regiment
Pennsylvania National Guard, serving six years in the ranks, later as regi-
mental quartermaster and commissary, and afterward as brigade judge advocate,
with the rank of major, and as division judge advocate ranking as lieutenant-
colonel. His fraternal affiliation is with the Masonic Order, Peter Williamson
2i8 CITY OF SCRANTON
Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Royal Arch Masons ; and Coeur de Lion
Commandery, Knights Templar. With his wife he is a member of the Episco-
pal church.
Lieutenant-Colonel Oakford married Mary, daughter of William Manness,
of Scranton. Children : Frances Slocum and Mary.
CHARLES E. THOMSON, V. S.. M. D., LL. B.
A learned physician and a skilled surgeon. Dr. Charles E. Thomson, is
one of the most conspicuous figures in the medical and surgical profession in
Scranton. Educated for his life work in the highest degree and with a prac-
tical experience gleaned from the most arduous of service, Dr. Thomson has
identified himself with the Scranton Private Hospital as superintendent, and
as the head of that institution gives to Scranton the fruits of his years uf
study and the reward of his wide and varied practice. Gives these to Scran-
ton only in so far as Scranton is the seat of the hospital of which he has the
honor to be the leader ; in a fuller and truer sense, gives of his vast store of
medical and surgical science for the relief of suffering humanity. Not only
that, but through those whose instruction is received in the hospital, his in-
fluence and power is extended an hundred fold, reaching thousands of the
mained, sick and helpless, a mighty work of mercy.
Dr. Charles E. Thomson, son of Alexander and Mary ( Vaugh ) Thomson,
was bom in the Province of Ontario, Canada, October 23, 1859. He was
educated in the provincial schools, later attending school at Canandaigua,
New York. He then entered the Ontario Veterinary College, whence he was
graduated in 1884 and for five years practiced as a veterinary. Impressed by
the extent of this field and appealed to by the wider field of service in the cur-
ing of human ills and the alleviation of bodily pain, he decided to engage in
the study of medicine and entered P>ellevue Medical College, New York, grad-
uating M. D. in the class of 1891. After receiving his degree he remained in
the hospital for a period of six months, performing the duties of an interne,
and here gained a fund of invaluable knowledge and experience. He was then
offered the opportunity of accompanying a scientific expedition, sent out
under the direction of the New York State Colonization Society of Liberia, as
a physician. On this African trip he was by far the most necessary member
of the party, as in the unaccustomed climate many of the men sickened with
fever and for a time were in a very perilous condition. Dr. Thomson, how-
ever, although new to the practice, met with excellent success in combating the
ravages of the fever and not one of the cases proved fatal. This was the first
real test of his resourcefulness and ability, for without the numberless con-
veniences of an office and with inadeiiuate supplies, the seriousness of the task
and the responsibility for the health of his party would have appalled a man
of less sturdy courage or with less self reliance. After the return of the
scientific expedition and his release from further duty in that capacity he be-
came an interne in the hospital for the cure of Ruptured and Crippled, in New
York City, and after one year's service then came to Scranton in 1894, ac-
cepting the superintendency of the Moses Taylor Hospital. Upon the or-
ganization of the Scranton Private Hospital in that year, he was appointed
its superintendent, an office for which he has proven himself eminently fitted
and whose duties are discharged in the most thorough and able manner. To
this hospital belongs the honor of establishing the first hospital training school
in Scranton, its seal antedating that of the State Hospital. Dr. Thomson per-
sonally supervises the work of each department, his zeal in working for the
continual improvement of the institution being responsible for the high stan-
CITY OF SCRANTON 219
dard that it has set up and maintains. Engaged in a noble work, much of the
nobility of Dr. Thomson's character shows in his performance of his daily
duties. The responsible head of a great organization, he so directs his co-
workers that the results of their labors are blessings to their fellow-men,
whose blessings, in return, come to those who relieve their pain and lessen
their anguish.
In the pursuance of his policy of keeping abreast of the most modern move-
ments in his profession. Dr. Thomson is an active member of the County and
State Medical societies and American Medical Association. He also belongs
to the Knights of Columbus, of Scranton. But perhaps the most wonderful
achievement in the life of Dr. Thomson was his successful graduation from
Columbia College in June, 1914, when he received the title of LL. B. He en-
tered this college in 191 1 and for the following three years attended lectures
weekly, commuting between his home in Scranton and New York City, travel-
ing in this time more than thirty-five thousand miles.
Dr. Thomson married Saraii, daughter of Richard Donnelly, of Ontario.
Children; Marion, Charles C, Kenneth, Janett, Kelvin.
CHARLES HENWOOD
The life of Charles Henwood is a splendid example of the position ot
prestige and influence, honor and affection, to which sincerity, unimpeachable
integrity and earnest effort will carry him who strictly adheres to them. He
came of an old Cornish family, and represented that best type of Englishman
which formed the great preponderance of our colonial population, and upon
which, as on a sure foundation, the subsequent structure of American citizen
ship has been safely built.
His father, Charles P. Henwood, was employed in the English revenue
service and in that capacity was obliged to move much about the coasts of
England and Scotland, being stationed at various points thereon. His death
occurred at Wellington, Somersetshire. Mr. Henwood married Sarah Kosking,
a native of Penzance, Cornwall, and by her had two children, Charles, of whom
further, and a daughter Elizabeth, who became Mrs. Scott Hammett, of Well-
ington, Somersetshire.
Charles Henwood was born May 28, 1846, at Penzance, Cornwall, Eng-
land. He was educated in Ottery, St. Mary, Devonshire, and in William
Corner's Academy. He used to accompany his father on the latter's various
excursions about the United Kingdom, while still a lad, but in 1861, when he
had reached the age of fifteen years, and completed his studies, he was ap-
prenticed to a pharmacist, Thomas E. Hooker, who afterwards became well
known in London as an electrician. Continuing in this service five years, Mr.
Henwood, then a young man of twenty, removed to Bath, where his skill and
knowledge of his subject soon won him an e.xcellent position as an assistant
pharmacist. Equipped as he was with theoretical and practical knowledge,
there is no doubt that he might have had a successful career in his native land,
but his ambitious nature continually urged him to explore fresh fields of en-
deavor, and it was not long before his attention was directed to the United
States. Upon reaching his majority in 1867, Mr. Henwood set sail for America
and upon arriving here settled in Scranton, Pennsylvania, which from that
time on was to be his home. The first employment which he found was along
the line of his former endeavors, with the firm of Matthews Brothers, phar-
macists, with whom he continued for three years. By 1870, as a result of his
constant industry and a worthy spirit of economy, he had amassed a con-
siderable sum of money, sufficient to purchase the drug establishment of Rich-
220 CITY OF SCRANTON
ard J. Matthews on the corner of North Main avenue and Market street.
This purchase was made January i, 1870, and the enterprise thus begun was
soon an assured success. His business grew rapidly and ere long had reached
such large proportions that he found it convenient, if not necessary, to remove
to larger and more appropriately located quarters at No. 1909 North Main
avenue, where he continued until his death. In the year 1886 he admitted into
partnership with himself his cousin, Sidney R. Henwood.
Despite the size of his business and die demands necessarily made by it
upon his time and attention, Mr. Henwood did not confine his activities to
his personal interests but gave generously of both to the general life of the
city. He was keenly interested in all proposals looking toward the industrial
development of Scranton, and an unusual clear sightedness and practical sense.
made his advice in such matters of great value and caused it to be eagerly
sought. He was one of the most active of the organizers of the Scranton
Woodworking Company, and held the position of treasurer of the concern for
a number of years prior to his death. He was also a member of the Board of
Trade and of the Druggists' Association, and in both wielded a large influence,
born of his recognized integrity and worth. Always appealed to strongly by
philanthropic causes, he was one of the supporters of the Young Men's Chris-
tian Association of Scranton, and was a charter member of the same. He was
a very successful advocate in charitable work generally for he had earned the
right to be regarded as a practical man and one unappealed to by chimerical
schemes, and as such was the more readily listened to by business men
generally. Indeed it may be said that many of the industrial propositions which
he furthered were in his intentions philanthropic in part, for it was a favorite
purpose of his to furnish legitimate means of occupation to the needy. Mr.
Henwood was a modest and unassuming man, but of very strong convictions,
and in a quiet way influenced not a little the community of which he was a
member. In politics he was a staunch member of the Republican party,
moulding his opinions not on questions of selfish interest, but upon his ideals
of the highest civic duties, which he counted only less important than the
obligations of religion. He was a man of deep religious sentiment and one of
the most highly valued members of the Penn Avenue Baptist Church, serving
for many years as deacon and giving generously of his means to its support.
He was also much interested in the success of the North Main Baptist Church,
a younger organization, and it was in a great measure due to the aid which he
rendered it that this church was early placed upon a fimi foundation and
enabled to attain to its present useful ministry. It was in his home life, how-
ever, that Mr. Henwood's fine traits of character were perhaps the most
beautifully displayed, and his afl^ection and generosity formed for his family
circle the true atmosphere of home.
Mr. Henwood was married in Glenwood, Pennsylvania, to Ada Hartley,
a native of that place, and a daughter of James Hartley, of Scotch-Irish
descent. To Mr. and Mrs. Henwood were born five children, as follows :
Elizabeth May; Frederick, died at the age of eight years; Julia Alice; Charles
Hartley; Ethel, who died in her fifth year.
Mr. Henwood's death occurred suddenly, February 22, 1902, in the fifty-
sixth year of his age, and was universally deplored in the city which had so
long been the scene of his active life, the community paying him the unusual
honor of closing the places of business about the public square during the
funeral services. The interment was made in the Forest Hill Cemetery.
'Ai^
CITY OF SCRANTON 221
LEWIS MARTIN BUNNELL
Lewis Martin Bunnell, who has achieved prominence as an attorney in
Scranton and the adjoining country, represents a family which has attained
distinction in this country and in England for many generations. He traces
his ancestry to William La Bunnell, the Norman knight, who came to Englanc
with William the Conqueror in 1066. In this country the family was founded
by William, Solomon and Benjamin Bunnell, who emigrated from England
in 1638 and settled at New Haven, Connecticut. In 1790, when the first federal
census was taken, representatives of this family were to be found in each of
the thirteen original states. Historians speak of them as follows : "Being
without e.xception men of character and piety, who used every opportunity to
promote education and religion and were the first to adopt a written consti-
tution and to refuse compensation for public service." The first four genera-
tions— (I) William, (II) Benjamin, (III) Benjamin, (IV) Solomon — lived
in Connecticut. Solomon removed to Kingwood, New Jersey, in 1740, and to
Pennsylvania in 176c, settling at Middle Smithfield, Bucks (now Monroe 1
county. Miles Bunnell, son of Solomon, and great-grandfather of Lewis M.
Bunnell, was born in Norwich, Connecticut, and came to Pennsylvania, locat-
ing at a place called Auburn Corners. His son. Miles M., grandfather of Mr.
Bunnell, was born in Danville, Connecticut, and also came to Auburn, Penn-
sylvania. Martin Bunnell, son of Miles M. Bunnell, was born in Danbury,
Connecticut, December 11, 1800. He married Permelia Doud, from Con-
necticut also. They settled in Herrick township, Susquehanna county, coming
there from Delaware county, New York, in 1827. Mr. Bunnell now owns the
home farm. Martin and Permelia (Doud) Bunnell had nine children, five
boys and four girls, of whom three boys and one girl are living in 1914, in-
cluding Lewis M., mentioned below.
Lewis Martin Bunnell was born in Herrick township, Susquehanna county.
Pennsylvania, December 8, 1835, and attended the public schools of his native
township until he was fifteen years of age. In his sixteenth year he was sent
to Herrick Center, where he was apprenticed to learn the trade of wagon
building with Patrick McGunigal, but at the end of one year, went to Dundaff,
and there assisted in a blacksmith's shop. He worked at Keene's Pond, near
Honesdale, during the season of 1852, then returned to his home because of
an accident to his father, and entered the employ of Captain James Giddings.
Later he matriculated at Harford LTniversity, remaining there two years, and
taught school two years, 1856-57, near Idlewild, then known as Long Pond.
Kingston was his next abiding place, and there he studied elocution, Latin,
etc., under Professor Nelson, after which he was again occupied as a black-
smith for one year, and then for a short time as an agent. He became principal
of a school in Danbury, New Jersey, and upon his return to Susquehanna
county, taught school there until April, 1859. The following month he went to
Montrose, Pennsylvania, and there took up the study of law with R. B. Little,
and was admitted to the bar of Susquehanna county, August 6, 1862, his
studies having been interrupted by his military service, a detailed account-
of which is given below. Upon his return from the war he engaged in the
practice of law in Montrose for one year, then traveled three years, after
which he located in Scranton, where he has been actively identified with the
legal profession since that time. He has had charge of much important litiga-
tion, and has been connected as attorney with many large estates, among
these, acting as attorney to John Hernans, trustee of the estate of the late
Joseph Fellows, a connection which existed sixteen years. Several millions
of dollars were involved in this and some of the property consisted of coat
222 CITY OF SCRANTON
lands in and near the city of Scranton. From 1873 to 1876 Mr. Bunnell served
as school director of Hyde Park, now a portion of the city of Scranton.
Mr. Bunnell married, January i, 1866, Anna M., born in Newport, Oneida
county, New York, a daughter of Richard R. and Elizabeth (Briggs) Davis, a
native of Wales. Children : Mary R., Lewis M., Bessie A., Anna M. and
Ralph Decatur.
The following record of the military service of Mr. Bunnell was compiled
from official and authentic sources by The Soldiers and Sailors Historical and
Benevolent Society :
"Lewis M. Bunnell enlisted from Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania,
April 10, 1861, to serve three months, and was the first man to enlist from
that county, in what was expected to become Company A, Twenty-fifth Regi-
ment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Colonel Henry L. Cake commanding,
but this company was not mustered into service, Ringgold Light Artillery, one
of the original five companies of the state having been substituted in its place,
the regiment having gone forward, and his company was broken up. He,
however, took the drill, and, as a camp follower, was with the regiment,
without muster into service or pay until it was mustered out at Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania, July 26, 1861, its term having expired.
"This was one of the first regiments to organize at the opening of the
Civil War, Companies A, D, E, G and H, being the five original companies of
the State, and engaged in barricading and guarding the Capitol until the ar-
rival of the Massachusetts Sixth, and the New York Seventh, a period of about
ten days. Companies A, B, C, E and H were on duty at the Arsenal, during
the greater part of their service, and Companies D, F, G, I and K, moved, on
June 15, to Rockville, reaching there next day. July i, moved to Pooleville,
and reported to General Charles P. Stone, commanding the Rockville expedi-
tion, thence via Point of Rocks to Sandy Hook, Williamsport and Martins-
burg, where it was assigned to the Seventh Brigade, Third Division, of Gen-
eral Patterson's Army. On July 15, marched to Bunker Hill, thence to
Charlestown and Harper's Ferry, where it remained until July 23, when it
was ordered home for muster out of service.
"He re-enlisted, October 2, 1862, to serve nine months, and was mustered
into service at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, November 11, 1862, and commis-
sioned captain of Company E, One Hundred and Seventy-seventh Regiment,
Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Colonel George B. Wiestling commanding.
"The companies composing this regiment were chiefly from the counties
of Lycoming, Susquehanna, Dauphin, Luzerne, Perry and Indiana, and were
organized at Camp Curtin, Harrisburg, during the months of October and
November, 1862. A regimental organization was effected on November 20. On
December 3, the regiment was ordered to Washington, District of Columbia, and
proceeded thence to Newport News, Virginia, reporting to General Corcoran,
where schools for officers were at once established and drill commenced. De-
cember 17 it was transferred to Suffolk, to the command of General Viele, and
was assigned to the brigade of Colonel Alfred Gibbs on the east bank of the
Nansemond River on the opposite side of which was a pine forest, which
General Viele ordered to be cleared. Details from the One Hundred and
Seventy-seventh were assigned to this duty, and although the growth of the
timber was heavy and the labor very severe, by persistent and unceasing efforts
a tract of several hundred acres was swept. At intervals of about ten days
reconnoissances were made toward Blackwater, the enemy being met near
Deserted House, seven miles south of Suffolk, where skirmishing commenceo.
On January 30, 1863, the entire force in and about Suft'olk had gone on an
expedition except the One Hundred and Seventy-seventh, and during the
CITY OF SCRANTON 223
absence of the forces, Colonel Wiestling was attacked by a body of rebel
cavalry, which was handsomely repulsed. Upon the return of the expedition,
General Corcoran with his stafT, arriving after nightfall, attempted to pass the
lines without the countersign, and nearly lost his life. On March 8, the regi-
ment moved to Norfolk, thence to Deep Bottom, on the Albemarle and
Chesapeake Canal, and here the regiment built a fort, also a stockade at Great
Bridge, breaking up a notorious rebel mail route, capturing letters from the
hems of dresses, hollow handles of umbrellas, hollow spokes and rails of carts
and other vehicles. The command also took part in several expeditions, cap-
turing a number of rebel schooners, steamers, stores and prisoners, perform-
ing valuable service, and was present at the battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
On July 10, it was ordered to Washington, District of Columbia, and as-
signed to the Second Brigade, of Geary's Division, Twelfth Corps, Army of
the Potomac, performing duty at Maryland Heights and other points until
ordered home for muster out of service.
"The said Lewis M. Bunnell was appointed enrolling Marshall in 1862, at
the time of the draft; enrolled the Township of Herrick previous to the said
draft, and was elected either lieutenant or captain of such company which he
drilled and returned again on recruiting duty. Between July 26, 1861, and
October, 1862, at the request of Governor Andrew G. Curtin, he recruited six
companies of infantry and one of cavalry. In February, 1863, Captain Bun-
nell was promoted to Brevet Major,, and placed in command of four companies
occupying an improvised tent on the Nansemond River. He was sick and
disabled with camp fever and diarrhoea which resulted in hemorrhoids at the
time of his discharge. He was sent with a command of one hundred and
sixty infantry and cavalry about one hundred miles to Currituck, North Caro-
lina, and had a skirmish with Walker's guerrillas. After leaving South Mills,
North Carolina, moved four miles south to the Bay, sank two barges, destroyed
four hundred bushels of salt, captured and paroled a number of prisoners,
and upon his return liad a severe encounter on the bridge with Bushwhackers,
in which the Union forces were finally victorious. He received a final honor-
able discharge at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, August 6, 1863, by reason of ex-
piration of his term of service, and after his discharge recruited for the old
regiment and spent three and one-half years in earnest effort for the Union
cause."
He is a member of Griffin Post, No. 139, Department of Pennsylvania.
G. A. R. ; a member of the Union Veteran Union ; was commander of the De-
partment of Pennsylvania for three and one-half years; is a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, and has
held public office as a school director. His wife has ever been active as a friend
of the Grand Army of the Republic ; is a member of the Daughters of Rebekah.
LEONARD M. HORTON
Leonard M. Horton, secretary and treasurer of the Scranton Bolt and Nut
Company, is a true son of Pennsylvania, the commonwealth having been the
home of many of his line, most of whom resided in Bradford county. John
M. Horton, father of Leonard M. Horton, was a follower of the shoemaker's
trade and later conducted a hotel at what is now Terrytown, where he died
at the early age of thirty-seven years. He married Susan L. Bacon.
Leonard M. Horton was born in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, June 30,
1854. He was but seven years of age when his father died and for the four
following years he lived in Illinois. He then came to Harveyville, Luzerne
county. Pennsylvania, and obtained his first position in a mercantile house,
224 CITY OF SCRANTON
remaining in the mercantile business until he came to Scranton in 1872, and
began a long and honorable career in the office of the Moosic Powder Com-
pany, continuing for eighteen years. He was then connected with the Boies
Steel Wheel Company for a period of seven years, then moving to Easton to
become secretary of the Sterlingworth Railway Supply Company, remaining
two years. He then assisted in the organization of the Scranton Bolt and Nut
Company, in 1899, was elected a director and its secretary and treasurer,
which position he has filled continuously ever since.
Mr. Horton has always been prominently affiliated with religious move-
ments in Scranton. He is a member of the Immanuel Baptist Church, in which
for many years he held the office of trustee, for fifteen years was treasurer,
and for the past eighteen years has been a deacon, and is an ardent and de-
voted worker in all the interests of the church and its societies. He has served
on the executive committee of the Scranton Baptist City Mission Society, in
which organization his active co-operation has had a most desirable effect in
furthering the projects of the society. To another branch of religious work
which aims at the strengthening of the foundation of our nation, its young
men, the Young Men's Christian Association, he has also given unsparingly
of his time and labor, as well as of his means. For thirty-three years he was
a member of the board of directors, and for ten years the watchful and faith-
ful guardian of the association finances. He is still a participant in the magnifi-
cent undertakings of the Scranton branch as a member of the board of trustees,
full of interest for and pride in the splendid organization of the city, as is his
right, after the struggle to raise it to such a fair eminence, in which his part
has been willingly borne. He holds membership in the Scranton Club and
Scranton Board of Trade. His military connections have been confined to
four years' service in the Scranton City Guard and four years as commissary of
the Thirteenth Regiment Pennsylvania National Guard. He belongs to the
Navy League, of which he has been a member since its organization. He is a
member of the Pennsylvania Society of New York, and was one of the eight
original charter members of the Scranton Bicycle Club.
Mr. Horton married Elizabeth, daughter of Lewis W. Keller, of Scranton.
Children: Dickson M., associated with his father in the Scranton Bolt and Nut
Company, and John M., an employee of the Lincoln Trust Company.
In the fifteen years of his membership of the officiary of the company of
which he is secretary and treasurer, Mr. Horton has filled his position in a
most efficient and competent manner. Of high moral standard, identified witri
the best of the city's society, and of unimpeachable integrity, he is of the type
that founded the city's greatness and insures it for the future.
SAMUEL HINES
Of distinguished Colonial ancestry, and of a family noted in the military
history of his country, Samuel Hines, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, in his own
person has been an important and conspicuous figure in the state for many
years. His maternal great-grandfather, Daniel Carroll, was a member of the
commission that met at Suters Tavern, Georgetown, March 30, 1791, when
the proclamation directing commissioners to determine and lay out the boun-
daries of the District of Columbia was signed by George Washington, Presi-
dent of the United States, and Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of the State. Here
also the commissioners, Thomas Johnson, David Stuart and Daniel Carroll,
met September 9, 1791, and declared that the name of the national capital
should be the "City of Washington." Mr. Hines paternal grandfather, John
Hines, and a brother, Rudolph Hines, were soldiers of the Revolution, serving
CITY OF SCRANTON 225
in a Maryland regiment. His father, Philip Hines, with five of his brothers,
served in the War of 1812. His brother, William Hines, was a soldier of the
Mexican war; two brothers, Thomas and Daniel Hines, were soldiers in the
Confederate army, and two others, William and George Hines, served in the
Union army, during the Civil War.
Samuel Hines was born in Washington, District of Columbia, July 21,
1843, ^nd was educated in the public schools of that city and at Union Academy,
attending the latter institution, 1850-1858. In the latter year he commenced
his remarkable business career as a clerk in the office of the commissioners of
customs, serving until 1861, when he entered the military service of the United
States as chief clerk to Colonel Henry B. Blood, deputy-quartermaster of the
armies operating against Richmond, and continuing until 1865. In the fol-
lowing year he began his long and valuable service in Pennsylvania as pay-
master, later as general agent of the Mercer Iron and Coal Company, and
treasurer of the Jamestown and Franklin Railroad Company, covering the
period 1866-1873. He then became intimately associated with the subsidiary
companies of the New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad Company in
Pennsylvania, holding important positions in the following, between 1874-1896:
President, superintendent and general manager of the Hillside Coal and Iron
Company ; Towanda Coal Company ; Northwest Mining and Exchange Com-
pany ; Blossburg Coal Company ; director of the New York, Lake Erie &
Western Railroad Company ; Dagus Cahonda Railroad Company and Toby
Creek Railroad Company. He was one of the organizers of the Erie & Wyo-
ming Valley Railroad Company, and was a director in this from 1885 to 1890.
He was one of the organizers of the Traders National Bank of Scranton, in
1889, was elected the first president, and was the incumbent of that office until
1896. This institution commenced doing business in January, 1890. with a di-
rectorate and board of officers composed of some of the most influential and
representative men in the city. It was capitalized to the extent of two hun-
dred and fifty thousand dollars, and with its conservative and farsighted man-
agement has become one of the most stable and leading of the city's numerous
financial institutions. This result has been acquired in a great measure
through the able offices of Samuel Hines, who enjoys and merits the confidence
of the business and commercial circles generally. He follows closely the
financial questions of the day, and is particularly conversant with the value and
fluctuations of local securities.
While the services of Mr. Hines have been invaluable to the corporations
mentioned above in every particular, there are one or two instances of per-
sonal influence that worked such great advantage to the Erie, that they de-
serve especial mention. In 1886 and 1887 suit brought by Dr. C. K. Earley, of
Ridgway, Pennsylvania, was tried and decided by the Supreme Court of Penn-
sylvania against the Northwest Mining and Exchange Company (owned by the
Erie Railroad Company) escheating to the state of Pennsylvania, bituminous
coal lands belonging to the defendant company. The verdict in favor of the
company was appealed from Elk county court to the Supreme Court of Penn-
sylvania, the attorney-general of the state being the appellant. The decision
was aflirmed by the Supreme Court, in terms that rendered it necessary to
pass an act of "legislature to enable the company to hold the lands against the
escheat. There was strong opposition to the bill among the members of the
house representing organized labor. At the request of the lawyers represent-
ing the Erie, Mr. Hines went to Harrisburg in the interest of the bill and
through his friendship with Henry Hall, a member of the house, head of
the Knights of Labor, and an old Scranton friend of Mr. Hines, he obtained
a hearing. The result of his argument with Mr. Hall, lasting several hours,
15
226 CITY OF SCRANTON
was the withdrawal of opposition and passage of the bill that saved to the Erie
coal lands valued at millions of dollars, for had the escheat held, it would
have involved the other coal companies owned by the Erie.
Some years after the above occurrence, a general strike was ordered
among the bituminous coal miners of the United States, which if carried into
effect among the Erie miners would have entailed serious loss upon the com-
pany. At the earnest request of President King and Vice-President Felton,
of the Erie, Mr. Hines assumed control of efforts to prevent a strike, using
his great personal influence with the miners so successfully that the men re-
fused to join the strikers and during the strike's duration the Erie mines were
the only ones in operation in the district, their contracts were fulfilled, and
their engines well supplied with fuel, while other railroads were greatly hamp-
ered and caused excessive extra expense. In carrying out his negotiations with
the miners, frequently meetings were necessary at distant points, and for
weeks Mr. Hines was continually on the road, making many trips by rail and
wagon between the different mines, and keeping the strikers from influencing
the loyal miners. On one of these trips in Bradford county, his team ran
away, throwing him from the wagon and breaking his shoulder and also caus-
ing concussion of the brain. From this accident Mr. Hines has never fully
recovered, both shoulder and nervous system still showing the effects of this
strain.
The use of small anthracite coal by the Erie locomotives may also be
attributed to Mr. Hines, they having an abundance of a size then unmarketable.
A volume would not contain the record of Mr. Hines' valuable service, but
another instance of his business ability must not be omitted. As president of
the Hillside Coal and Iron Company, he drew up a lease in 1887 for anthracite
coal lands to the company, that was duly executed, providing for a royalty
based on the price of coal received by the company. In 1910 the lease was
contested by its holders and suit involving six hundred thousand dollars, for
that year, was begun. The case was tried in the county court and decided in
favor of the Hillside Company, a new trial resulting from the same verdict.
An appeal was taken to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and the judg-
ment of the lower court sustained. On a retrial by the Supreme Court, the
same verdict was rendered, the lease being so perfectly drawn that no other
verdict was possible under the law.
The standing of Mr. Hines in matters pertaining to mines and mining was
so generally recognized that in 1883 and 1884 he was appointed chairman of the
anthracite coal commission, formed to prepare an anthracite coal law for
presentation to the legislature. In 1897 he became agent for the Price, Parker,
Pancost and Throop estates, in Lackawanna county, and is now agent for the
estates of Joseph Price, Eli K. Price and Dr. Benjamin H. Throop, Erie
estates. Mr. Hines was one of the original members and first sergeant of
Company D, Scranton City Guard, which was finally merged into the famous
Thirteenth Regiment. He was elected second lieutenant, August 25, 1877;
first lieutenant, November 15, 1878; captain, July 6. 1880.
While the foregoing would indicate a busy life, the social side of life has
not been neglected nor the duties of a good citizen. Through the services of
his patriotic ancestors he received the right of membership in the Sons of the
American Revolution, a right he exercises, belonging to District of Columbia
Chapter, his serial mmiber being T228 of the Chapter, and 24,376 of the Na-
tional Society. He joined the Masonic fraternity in 1870. and is now past
master of Lake Lodge, No. 434. having accepted this chair in 1873. He is a de-
voted churchman, and from 1875 to 1883 and again from 1902 to 1912, served
as vestryman, senior warden and, treasurer of St. Luke's Protestant Episcopal
CITY OF SCRANTON 227
Church of Scranton. In poHtical faith he is a Democrat and influential in
party councils. When the Democratic convention was in session in Scranton
to nominate their candidates for the fifty-second congress, a committee was ap-
pointed to wait upon Mr. Hines and tender him the nomination, the conven-
tion taking a recess of one hour to wait for the report, although eloquently
urged by the chairman, Frank Thompson, he would not accept the honor. He
was then asked to make his choice for the position and responded, "Lemuel
Ammerman," who was then in Europe. Upon the return of Mr. Ammerman
to this country he at first refused to accept, but through the earnest entreaty of
his friend, Mr. Hines, he finally accepted reluctantly. His opponent was Joseph
A. Scranton, a very strong and popular man. An ante-election canvass near
election day showed that if a change of a few hundred votes could be effected
in the Carbondale district, the then lead of Mr. Scranton could be overcome.
To this task Mr. Hines addressed himself with such good effect that his
friend, Ammerman, for whose candidacy he was responsible, was elected, and
served in the fifty-second congress, 1890-91. In the latter year the Democratic
city convention tendered Mr. Hines the nomination for mayor of Scranton, but
he declined this honor also, and suggested the name of Joseph Bailey, who was
then nominated and elected. Thus loyal to his friends, and a tower of strength
in their behalf in politics, as in everything, Mr. Hines seeks not his own ad-
vancement, but as a good citizen uses his best efforts to promote the public
good. His long life has been one of honorable service and in whatever light
he be viewed, the verdict must be "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."
Mr. Hines, married, in 1867, Rose Nolan, of Hamilton, Canada.
ERNEST GLOOR
A Swiss by birth, and intensely patriotic in his sentiment toward the home-
land, Ernest Gloor, secretary and treasurer of the Gloor & Strubi Embroidery
Company, has nevertheless to all outward signs and purposes completely trans-
ferred his allegiance to the land of his adoption, and in thought and feeling
is as true an American as though his birthplace had been upon this side of the
Atlantic. John Gloor, father of Ernest Gloor, was born in Leutwyl, Canton of
Argovie, Switzerland, and was identified with the civil life of his native town
for many years as town recorder. He married Elizabeth Rupp and had chu-
dren : Frederick, died in Paris, France, in 1913; Gustavus, an employee of the
Petersburg Silk Mills ; Elise, married a Mr. Haggi, of Oftringer, Switzerland ;
Ernest, of whom further; Emma, died in 1910, married a Mr. Werder. The
father of the above children died in the land of his birth in 1864.
Ernest Gloor, son of John and Elizabeth (Rupp) Gloor, was born in
Leutwyl, Canton of Argovie, Switzerland, April 14, 1861, and for ten years
was a student in the public schools of his birthplace, six years being spent in
preparatory study for the high school course of four years. In 1882 he en-
gaged passage on the steamer "Province," a French liner, and after an unevent-
ful voyage landed at New York, proceeding directly to Philadelphia, where for
two years he was employed by the Sauquoitt Silk Company. This company
later transferred him to their mills at Scranton and he was identified with
that company in this city until 1905. In the latter year he grasped an op-
portunity for the realization of a plan he had long cherished, the establishment
of an independent business, and in partnership with Ernest Strubi, in March
of that year, he opened a factory for the manufacture of embroideries. From
its inception the project was an assured success and by 1908 its business had
branched into such diverse channels that to facilitate the administration of the
company's affairs incorporation papers were taken out, and the Gloor & Strubi
228 CITY OF SCRAT^ITON
Embroidery Company took its place among the industries of Scranton, housed
in a large store and ample factory at Nos. 533-537 Orchard street. The fac-
tory is equipped with the last word in embroidery manufacturing machinery,
capable of turning out the finest and most delicate work, the annual output
of the firm having a value of approximately one hundred and fifty thousand
dollars. To Mr. Gloor is due a generous share of the credit that attached
itself to the founding of a business and the introduction of an industry into a
community where it was previously unknown, and a portion of like dimensions
is deserved by Mr. Strubi, his partner in the venture. Mr. Gloor is a mera-
ber of the Zion Lutheran Church on Mifflin avenue. He has taken an inde-
pendent political stand, and belongs to the Scranton Gruetli Association, a
Swiss patriotic organization, the Scranton Liederkranz, and the German Al-
liance. He married Amelia Hungerbuhler, of Philadelphia, and is the father
of one daughter, Amelia.
Ernest Strubi, one of the founders of the firm of Gloor & Strubi, is the
only son of George Strubi, a life-long resident of Switzerland, his birth-place,
and was born at Degersheim. St. Gall, Switzerland, in 1873. He was educated
in the public and high school of St. Gall, and in 1904 immigrated to the United
States, the following year becoming a member of the partnership alluded to
above. He and Mr. Gloor have ever worked in frictionless sympathy for the
advancement of their mutual interest, to the effect that they are the owners of
a profitable business, a structure, the work of their own hands. Mr. Strubi
is a member of the Junger Mannerchor, while his political convictions betray
him to no party alliance. He married Anna Landeck.
EDWARD MERRIFIELD
For fifty-nine years a lawyer of Pennsylvania, most of that time passed
in the city of Scranton, Edward Merrifield has in that time achieved brilliant
success and has been accorded abundant honor. It has been thirty years since
he began to loosen, one by one, the ties of his profession, gradually with-
drawing from active practice, and even now, when he has passed the four
score mark in years, his abandonment thereof is not complete. He is venerated
by the members of his profession, and particularly by those who were at the
bar when his activities were at their height, as a lawyer who has ever remained
true to the code of honor that embodies lofty principles, as a gentleman whose
consideration of the rights and feelings of others has made his life gentle and
full of virtue, and as a man who in the service of a client or of the public,
whatever his remuneration or reward, has fulfilled every obligation and has
satisfied every trust. Not one of his many talents has been wasted, and from
each there has come benefit to the cause of right and justice, of which he is an
unfaltering champion.
Edward Merrifield was born at Hyde Park, Scranton, July 30, 1832. He
began his studies in the public schools, later becoming a student in Wyoming
Seminary, whence he was graduated in 1849, completing his academic studies
at Oxford Academy, of New York. In 1852 he entered the law school presided
over by Judge MacCartney, of Easton, and the following year became a stu-
dent at law in the office of Harrison Wright, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
In 1855 Mr. Merrifield was admitted to practice at the bar of Luzerne county,
in that year opening an office and beginning practice in Hyde Park, six yeai s
later transferring his activities to Scranton. with which city he has been since
prominently identified in legal and political circles.
As he attained prominent and honorable position at the bar through the
exercise of legal ability of unusual worth, proving his strength as an attorney
^^^cuJ^<^ i^,'^^^/h\.
CITY OF SCRANTON 229
in contest with the leading lawyers of the region, so, through devoted and
efficient service, he gained like station in political circles. As a Democrat, in
1870 he was nominated for the office of recorder of the mayor's court of Scran-
ton, and in 1884 for judge of the court of common pleas of Lackawanna county,
and in 1894 was the choice of his party for Congress, a similar honor being
conferred upon him in 1896. In 1878 Mr. Merrifield was the author of the
new county bill, and was appointed to use his efforts and influence to secure the
passage of the bill. Journeying to Harrisburg, in order that he might the
more closely watch the deliberations of the state legislature, he there worked
valiantly that the proposed legislation might be accomplished, but it was not
until six years later that the bill he had drawn up became a law. This was Mi.
Merrifield's second victory in securing the possibility of a new county, as in
1873 he had been deputized to attend the constitutional convention to advocate
a change in the constitution in regard to the creation of new counties upon
which the convention took favorable action.
Mr. Merrifield's services were again required when the people of Scranton
desired the establishment of a United States district court in this city, and he
was delegated to present the plea of the people to the Congress of the United
States, assembled at the Capitol. Proof of the success of his mission is the dis-
trict court that has since sat at Scranton. Thus might the story of the projects
he has guided to a successful consummation, of his achievements at the bar, and
of his invaluable public service, continue at great length, but it is sufficient here
to repeat that failure has been recorded against him only when he has been
confronted by impossibilities and that, having accepted a trust, he remains
faithful until the complete fulfillment of its terms. For a number of years
he was vice-president of the Lackawanna Institute of History and Science, and
since March, 1914, Mr. Merrifield has filled the office of president, to which he
was elected at that date. For years and since the death of Dr. E. Fisher he
has been the acting president of The Animal Rescue League of Lackawanna
county, a chartered institution for the prevention of cruelty to animals, to the
duties of which he has given much time and attention.
Mr. Merrifield married, in November, 1855, A. Jennie Eldridge, of Owego,
New York, and has one daughter, Jessie M., who married John H. Blackwood,
of Los Angeles, California.
DAVID B. HAND, M. D.
While in his own person Dr. Hand, an eminent and representative physician
of Scranton, is a most interesting personality, a study of his ancestry on both
the paternal and maternal sides is also one of absorbing interest.
The ancestors on the paternal side came from England in the early part of
the seventeenth century, settling in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Stephen
Hand, the great-grandfather of Dr. Hand, was born in New Jersey, was the
father of twenty children, and was a descendant of the Connecticut and Long
Island family of Hand, mentioned elsewhere in this work. His son, Nathan
Hand, born in Morris county. New Jersey. November 13, 1781, died in Cortland
county. New York, aged sixty-four years. He married Margaret Crandel-
meyer, born in Germany, was brought to New Jeresy when five years of age,
and died at Damascus, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, aged eighty-seven, at the
home of her son, Nathan, who is living at the present time, aged ninety-six
years. Her father died at the great age of one hundred years. Their son,
Robert Hand, was born in Wantage, Sussex county. New Jersey, November
26. 1806, died in 1854. In 1831 he moved to Hawley. then a wilderness with
but four or five houses, and purchased one hundred and eighty acres of valuable
230 CITY OF SCRANTON
timber land, cleared fifty acres, and erected a large dwelling. He then en-
gaged extensively in lumbering, owning vast tracts of timber land, then of
little value. The logs were rafted down the Lackawaxen and Delaware rivers
to mills below. Later he erected saw mills, prospering in all his undertakings.
His death was the result of fever contracted from exposure during a freshet,
he being away from home at the time. He married, in New Milford, New
Jersey, in 1827, Susan Goble, who bore him the following named children:
I. Nathan G., died in a Philadelphia hospital from disease contracted in the
army. 2. Charles F., an engineer, died at the Wayne county homestead, aged
thirty-three years. 3. Elizabeth L., married Dr. H. B. Stephen, and after be-
coming a widow she became noted as an evangelist and worker in the Women'*;
Christian Temperance Union, being president of the county unions, state super-
intendent of Mothers" Work and state organizer. 4. Melissa A., whose first
husband, Nelson Wilber, died from wounds received in battle while serving
in the Union army. 5. William J., served as a member of Company E, Third
Regiment Pennsylvania Reserve Corps, fought in thirteen battles, was twice
wounded, and at Gaines Mills, June 27, 1862, was taken prisoner. 6. David
B., of whom further. 7. Sarah A., aged four years when her father died ; be-
gan teaching at fifteen years of age and continued until she was thirty; she
labored in all departments of W'omen's Christian Temperance Union work ami
contributed largely to the educational work of that association of devoted
women; she married. May 18, 1880, Jonathan Brown, of Lake Ariel.
The progenitor of the family in America on the maternal side was Stephen
Roy, great-grandfather of Dr. Hand, who at the time of the great persecutions
in Scotland migrated to America, settling at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. He
became a wealthy land owner there, and during the winter that General Wash-
ington's army was quartered at Valley Forge, he almost impoverished himself
in his efforts to relieve their sufferings. In later years, when offered remunera-
tion by the government, he refused to accept it, saying "My country's freedom
is my reward." A daughter of Stephen Roy became the wife of Nathan Goble,
born in Sussex county. New Jersey, where he was a farmer and stockman,
and of this union a daughter, Susan, was born, who became the wife of Robert
Hand, aforementioned. Mrs. Hand was a granddaughter of Francis Price,
who served as judge of Sussex county for thirty-two years. She was also a
niece of Governor Price, of New Jersey. Mrs. Hand was a remarkable woman,
remarkable for her mental strength, noble traits of character, loving and lovable
disposition, and true charity. Quoting from a lifelong friend and neighbor
biographer under the caption "Life of a Truly Great Woman:" "How much
may be bound up in life of a human being cannot be measured or appreciated.
Influence can be traced for ages, but who shall drive the golden nail and say
'Here influence stops.' We are constrained to this remark when considering the
life and work of Airs. Susan Hand, of Hawley, Wayne County." "Mrs. Susan
Hand's birth-place was in Sussex County, New Jersey. Through her veins
flowed Scottish and French blood, and the history of her ancestors would
sound like a page of romance from a master's hand. It would give a glimpse
at a picture of contentment amid the streams and hills of 'Bonnie Scotland.'
Then a scene of persecution would appear culminating in a flight for life from
Scotland to the wilds of America." "Then as time passed on, we would catch
a glimpse of \'alley Forge, with its suffering and starving patriots. We would
see her grandfather impoverishing himself, spending nearly his entire fortune
in furnishing food and comfort to those who suft'ered so awfully in that memor-
able epoch of the American Revolution. We would hear the noble old patriot
say proudly at the close of the war, when offered pay for what he had done,
'My country's freedom is sufficient pay." Would that there were more such
CITY OF SCRANTON 23T
spirit in these days of selfishness and political dishonesty." Mrs Susan Hand
died September 17, 1891, aged eighty years.
Dr. David B. Hand, youngest son of Robert and Susan ( Goble) Hand,
was bom in Hawley, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, March 31, 1848. He ob-
tained a good public school education, and until he was sixteen years of age
worked on the home farm, where he was for a time his mother's only as-
sistant. He then began the study of medicine, impelled thereto as artists to
paint or musicians to sing, and at once entered the office of Dr. George B.
Curtis, who was pleased to say that he had a better knowledge of anatomy and
physiolog}' than half the doctors. He matriculated later in the medical de-
partment of the University of the City of New York, whence he was grad-
uated, 1868, but being only twenty years of age the college would not grant
him his degree of M. D. until he should attain legal age. He, however, began
practice, locating at South Canaan, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, remaining
there three years and a half, and laying the foundation for his reputation as
one of the most skillful of physicians. He then located at Carbondale, where
he continued in successful practice for seven years. Overwork now told on hi*;
health, and he was obliged to desist for a time. He sold his practice and for
several months traveled in California and other western states, then returned
to Pennsylvania, settling at Columbia. But he loved the mountains and valleys
of the coal regions, and in the spring of 1880 he came to Scranton and there
purchased the practice of Dr. Horace Ladd, one of the oldest physicians of the
city who moved to Philadelphia, Dr. Hand succeeding him in practice and still
continues.
Dr. Hand has always had a very large practice, and during his long life has
been brought into contact with all forms of disease. His knowledge, skill,
experience and successful treatment of baffling intricate cases have brouglit him
into prominence in his profession, while in his special field of diseases of chil-
dren he stands unrivaled. He loves children and perhaps no physician has
labored more earnestly or efi^ectivelv in their behalf. So he loves nature, ani-
mals and the soil. In gratification of this craving for nature and her works,
he purchased a farm of one hundred acres at Waverly and there revels in fine
stock and a model dairy. He began operations on the farm by thoroughly drain-
ing it, using eleven miles of tiling. In stocking it, he moved cautiously, mak-
ing careful study of the different strains, finally deciding on Holstein. He pur-
chased only registered cows, most of his herd being found in the "Advanced
Registry."' His young Holstein bull, "King Pontiac," the finest bred bull
perhaps in the world, he purchased when six weeks old at a cost of three
thousand dollars, his neighbors considering him raving mad to pay such a price
for so young an animal. Dr. Hand and "King Pontiac" are familiar sights at
the Lackawanna County Fair, where the latter is exhibited with great prit^e by
his owner. The milk from his herd, about five hundred quarts daily, is sold
to dairies, about one-third of it bottled, especially nrepared for babies. The
farm is Dr. Hand's greatest enjoyment and on it he has adopted every modern
adjunct to successful dairy farming. His name is a familiar one all over the
United States and Canada from his long connection with remedies, which he
has placed upon the market for the alleviation of suffering and the cure of
infant's troubles. Early in his professional career he discovered that he wa?
very successful in treating children. He found certain remedies very effective
and for years he labored to secure just the proper ingredients and proportion?,,
then resigning from the medical societies to which he belonged, he placed
these remedies on the market under the name "Dr. Hand's Remedies for Chil-
dren." These covered the various diseases of the little ones and have always
had a large sale.
232 CITY OF SCRANTON
In the business world, Dr. Hand holds a high position. He has aided
largely in the development of Scranton along industrial lines and holds of-
ficial relations with eighteen corporations of importance. He is also prominent
in the fraternal world, belonging to Union Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons,
of which he is past master ; Lackawanna Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; Coeur
de Lion Commandery, Knights Templar, of which he is a past eminent com-
mander; Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; to all bodies of Keystone
Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, thirty-second degree, and to the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In political faith he is a Republican,
serving in Waverly as a member of council.
Dr. Hand married (first) in 1870, Sarah T. Cromwell, born May 2, 1851,
in Hawley, daughter of James Cromwell, and granddaughter of Oliver Crom-
well, who settled in Canterbury near Newburgh, New York. She was an earnest
temperance worker, president of the Lackawanna County Women's Christian
Temperance L^nion, and a devoted worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mrs. Sarah T. (Cromwell) Hand died in 1903, aged fifty-two years. Children
of this union: I. Mary Isabella, died at Columbia, Pennsylvania, aged six years.
2. Fred Cromwell. 3. Elizabeth, married (first) Stephen F. Dunn, of Battle
Creek, Michigan, deceased; married (second) Russell H. Dean, of Scranton;
children of first marriage; David Hand Dunn and Stephen F. Dunn Jr. Chil-
dren of second marriage: Goble Davis Dean and Howard D. Hand Dean, de-
ceased. Dr. Hand married (second) Charlotte W. Wilcox, of Carbondale,
Pennsylvania, daughter of Joseph N. and Adaline (Marshall) Wilcox. Joseph
N. Wilcox came from England in 1874, settling in Carbondale. Mrs. Wilcox
is a native of Carbondale. Mother of Joseph N. Wilcox whose maiden name
was Newton was a direct descendant of Sir Isaac Newton. Mr. Wilcox is a
mathematician which faculty comes naturally to him although never having
taken up the study of mathematics.
This record of a useful active career is not complete, as Dr. Hand is hale
and vigorous with many plans for the future that will no doubt be realized ere
"Finis" is written on the volume of his life's deeds. He sprang from honored
sires and in turn transmits to his posterity the record of a life spent largely
in the service of humanity and one that from the time, when as a boy of
thirteen, he stood by his honored mother's side, her strong support, down
to the present hour has never known one dull, unprofitable hour.
CAPTAIN JAMES MOIR
A resident of Scranton since 1871, Captain James Moir has attained the
highest civic honor the city can bestow, the office of mayor. In the military-
service of his adopted state he has also been honored, having for ten years
prior to 1894 served as the regularly commissioned captain of Company C,
Thirteenth Regiment Pennsylvania National Guard. He has also merited the
confidence that for ten successive terms he was chosen by the voters of the
Ninth Ward as theii rejjresentative in councils. That such high civic and
military preferment have been bestowed upon Captain Moir, can only be con-
strued as a recognition of his worth as a citizen of his adopted city.
(I) Captain Moir descends from Scotch forebears, his grandfather, John
M. Moir, having been a resident of one of the Orkney Islands, lying north cf
Scotland. His maternal grandfather was a native of Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
(II) John Moir, son of John M. Moir, was born in the Orkney Islands,
and married Elspath Robertson, of Aberdeenshire. He spent many years of
his life in the Saskatchewan region of Canada, in the employ of the Hudson
Bay Company. He was there brought in contact with the Indians of that
CITY OF SCRANTON 233
region, spoke many of the tribe dialects and was always a friend of the Red
Men. He finally returned to Scotland, where he died, leaving a family ci
seven children, of whom James was the eldest.
(Ill) The boyhood of Captain James Moir was spent in Scotland, but he
was obliged to become a wage earner early in life. He went from Scotlan 1
to London, England, where he learned the tailor's trade and worked until 1867.
In that year he came to the United States, locating in Philadelphia, Pennsyl-
vania, where he remained until taking up his residence in Scranton in 1871.
He there opened a merchant tailoring establishment on Lackawanna avenue
and in time built up a business of large proportions. His military service began
in 1877, he being one of the original members of the old Scranton City Guard,
which later became Company C, Thirteenth Regiment Pennsylvania National
Guard. He rose from the ranks, passing through successive promotions until
in 1884 he was elected captain, serving in that rank two terms of five years each.
At the expiration of his second term, in October, 1894, he received an honorable
discharge. Captain Moir has always been a Republican and has been for many
years a conspicuous figure in the public life of Scranton. He was elected mayor
of Scranton in 1899, and during his administration the present City Hall was
erected and his name is on the corner stone. His term as mayor was preceded
by a long term in council, being president three years and also serving as chair-
man of the judiciary committee and a member of other important committees.
At the expiration of his term as mayor in 1908 he was elected an alderman
of the Ninth Ward, serving until 1913 when he was again elected to the same
office and in which he is still serving. He attends the First Presbyterian
Church. He is a member of the Caledonian Club and chief of this ; a mem-
ber of Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; a member of
Keystone Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, holding the thirty-second
degree; member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Robert Burns
Lodge, of which he is a charter member, and now has the forty-five year badge
of this organization. He is past treasurer of the Encampment and a Patriarch
Militant of the same order. He is also a knighted member of the Knights
of Malta, Columbus Commandery; also a member of the B. P. O. E., of Scran-
ton, No. 123, and has held various offices. Thus in business, military, civic
and fraternal life, Captain Moir has actively borne his part and in the distribu-
tion of honors he has been awarded a generous share.
Captain Moir married, in London, England, Frances Flint, born in London,
England ; children : James S., John W., Helen, Robert B., Wallace W., Frank-
lin, Wilfred, Flora, Elsie, Fannie. Robert B. Moir was a cadet at West Point
Military Academy, appointed from Scranton, but in his second year was so
badly poisoned by poison ivy that after three months he received an honorable
discharge for disability. After his return home and recovery, he was ap-
pointed to a position on the city engineering staff, continuing in that position
imtil his death in February, 1896.
WILLIAM LUTSEY HOUCK
William Lutsey Houck, of the firm of Houck & Benjamin, one of the
most able of Scranton's many legal firms, is a member of a family long native
to Pennsylvania, and since 1904 has made his residence in Scranton, that year
also marking the formation of the above mentioned firm and its establishment
in that city.
(I) Fle is a descendant of John Wesley Houck, born in Bushkill township,
Northampton county, Pennsylvania, July i. 1809, died in Columbia county,
Pennsylvania, July 2, 1884. He spent his early years in the region of his
234 CITY OF SCRANTON
birthplace and when a young man came to Luzerne county in the pursuit of his
trade, that of millwright. Later in life he abandoned that occupation and en-
gaged in farming, continuing so until the infirmities of old age compelled his
retirement from active participation in manual labor. This he was loth to
do and in his latter years chafed under the enforced idleness caused by years,
his whole life's creed being industry, from which he derived more genuine
enjoyment than is obtained by most people engaged in nothing more strenuous
than a hunt for pleasure. He was a Republican in politics, and a Methodist in
religion, having been reared by parents of that faith and having united with
that denomination in early youth. He married and was the father of five
children : Julia, Sarah, Samuel, John, Florence Elizabeth, the third and last
named now deceased.
(H) Samuel Houck, son of John Wesley Houck, and father of William
Lutsey Houck, was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, June 6, 1838, died
in Berwick, Columbia county, Pennsylvania. April 20, 1906. He was edu-
cated in the schools of his native county, and there resided until his thirtieth
year, when he moved to Briar Creek township, Columbia county, buying a
farm in that township and there living until 1904. In that year he sold his
land and moved to Berwick, in the same county, there remaining until his
death. He had prospered in his fanning operations and after moving to Ber-
wick lived retired. His religious beliefs were those of his father, and in all
departments of the service of the Methodist Episcopal church he played a
prominent part, contributing generously to its maintenance and varied bene-
ficences. Education was a subject upon which he favored the most advanced
views, and as a member of the school board of Briar Creek township he was
ever progressively in favor of improved educational advantages for the chi!
dren of the locality. In the cases of his sons he carried out his convictions
and rejoiced in his ability to afford them all a college education. He mar-
ried Huldah Jane Lutsey, born June 19, 1832, died September 26, 1906. She
was a daughter of William Lutsey, a successful and prosperous farmer of
Slocum township, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, who was a grandson of John
Lutsey, the pioneer of the name in Pennsylvania, who came thither from
Connecticut soon after the close of the war for independence. Samuel ami
Huldah Jane Houck were the parents of Ulysses G., William Lutsey, of whom
further; John W., Harry M.
(Ill) William Lutsey Houck was born in Slocum township, Luzerne
county, Pennsylvania, November 11, 1871. He attended the public schools
in his youth and was graduated from the Berwick High School in the class
of 1887, holding first honors in his class and delivering the valedictory ad-
dress. He then attended Dickinson Seminary, Williamsport. Pennsylvania,
and upon his graduation from that institution held first honors in his course,
class of 1892, and was awarded, as well, a special prize for excellence m
psychology and the prize offered in oratory by the president of the Seminary.
He then took up his residence on his father's farm in Briar Creek township
for a time, and prior to entering law school he taught school, being vice-prin-
cipal of the Berwick .schools in 1897 and 1898 and for the two following years
principal of the schools of Freeland. Pennsylvania. In 1901 he entered the Dick-
inson School of Law, at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, whence he was graduated in
1904. As in his earlier school days, he displayed high proficiency in his
studies, and was awarded prizes in Real Property. Evidence, and Constitu-
tional Law, which augured well for his success when he should begin prac-
tice. This he did in the year of his graduation from Dickinson, receiving his
credentials of admission to the Lackawanna county bar in the same year.
In October, 1904, he formed a partnership with Frank P. Benjamin, as be-
CITY OF SCRANTON 235
fore stated, and this connection continues to the present time, to the mutuai
satisfaction and benefit of those most vitally concerned. The offices of the
firm are in the Miller Building, Scranton, and here they have attracted a
clientele among the most desirable legal patrons in the city. The early liking
for legal procedure which Mr. Houck displayed during his college days has
ripened into a more mature respect for his profession. Nor was the prophecy
of his earlier days false, for in the nine years of his active career he has per-
formed much legal work of merit, which has been characterized by the thor-
ougiiness of its preparation and the minute knowledge of the law shown.
With his no less able partner, he has raised the fimi of Houck & Benjamin to
a position of place among others of longer standing and has proved himself
nc mean adversary in a legal contest. Mr. Houck is a Republican in political
action, and fraternally affiliates with Knapp Lodge, No. 462, F. and A. M.,
Berwick, Pennsylvania, of which he is past master.
Mr. Hijuck married, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, October 28, 1908, Katherine
May Klink. With his wife he is a member of the Green Ridge Presbyterian
Church.
FENWICK L. PECK
The line of American descent of Fenwick L. Peck, of Scranton, is from
Joseph Peck, who came to Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1638, from Hingham,
England, with three sons, a daughter, two men servants and three maid ser-
vants. He was representative to the general court, 1639-42, removed to
Rehoboth in 1645 ^"c' there died December 22, 1663.
(II) Simon Peck, son of Joseph Peck, born in England, was a glazier by
trade, lived in Dorchester, Massachusetts, where he served as selectman in
1667., He married ( first ) Hannah Farnsworth, ( second ) Prudence Clapp.
(III) Samuel Peck, son of Simon Peck and his second wife, was born
April 20, 1667, settled in Mendon, Massachusetts, where he died September
6, 1725. He belonged for many years to the Presbyterian church. His first
wife, Sarah (Wilson) Peck, born June 20, 1792, married, December 31, 1816,
died July 17, 1842, leaving several children.
(IVj Jonathan Wilson Peck, son of Samuel and Sarah (Wilson) Peck,
was born in Franklin county, Massachusetts, July 9, 1826, died in Scranton,
Pennsylvania, October 14, 1895. When but a lad his parents settled in that,
then unbroken, section of Pennsylvania, which later became Peckville, named
in honor of Samuel Peck. Jonathan W. Peck engaged in lumbering with his
father on arriving at a suitable age, and became a most influential and promin-
ent man in his section. He was keenly active to the unusual opportunities
ofifered at that time and was foremost in the development of Peckville, estab-
lishing and supporting the various financial and industrial companies there
organized. Capable business man that he was, he did not rise at the expense
of others, but aided all who came under his observation. He is remembered
in Peckville as mcst kindly-hearted and generous, one of his last kindnesses
to the village being to present the Baptist congregation with a new parsonage,
an unsolicited gift. Some ten years prior to his death he moved to Scranton,
where he spent the closing period of his useful life in retirement. Mr. Peck
married (first) Mercyette Hall, born in Abington, Luzerne county, Pennsyl-
vania, August 26, 1834, died in 1874, daughter of Sheldon Hall. He married
(second) Hattie A. Clapp, who survived him. Three of the children of Jon-
athan W. Peck yet survive: Fenwick L., of whom further; Edson S., of
Scranton ; Mary A., wife of Everett A. Bush, of Orange, New Jersey.
(V) Fenwick L. Peck, eldest son of Jonathan Wilson Peck and his first
236 CITY OF SCRANTON
wife, Mercyette (Hall) Peck, was born near what is now known as Elm-
hurst, Pennsylvania, September 18, 1854. His early life was spent in Peck-
ville, where he obtained a public school education. He then entered Wyoming
Seminary at Kingston, whence after a three years' course he was graduated,
class of 1875. He was his father's assistant in his lumber business until he
was twenty-two years of age, then was admitted to a partnership, the firm
becoming J. W. Peck & Son, and continuing until 1886. During these years
the younger man was in charge at the Dunning ( now Elmhurst ) tract where
saw mills had been erected. His days were spent in the woods and mills, his
evenings being devoted to accounts and correspondence of the finn. In 1880
the Dunning tract being exhausted, similar operations were begun at Spring-
brook, continuing there five years, making nine years the young man had spent
at the two tracts. They were valuable years to him, aside from the pecuniary
reward they brought. He had developed into the strong, sturdy, physical
man and had gained an intimate knowledge of the value of standing timber,
and an intimate and expert knowledge of lumber manufacture in its every
detail. In about a year after the working out of the Springbrook tract, he
discovered and after thoroughly investigating a tract of hemlock timber in
Potter county, Pennsylvania, organized, with the aid of his father and some
of the wealthy men of Scranton, the Lackawanna Lumber Company with
$200,000 capital. Jonathan W. Peck was chosen president of the company
and Fenwick L. Peck, in whose ability perfect confidence was placed, was
appointed general manager of all operations necessarj' to convert the timber
into lumber and find for it a market. In 1887 the first saw mill was built at
Mina. Air. Peck making that town his residence. Later two mills were acquired
on the Allegheny river, logs being supplied to them by raft. The capital stock
of the company was increased in 1892 to $750,000, additional timber lands
being purchased and new mills erected. The annual output of the company
rose to one hundred million feet of manufactured lumber. All through the
panicky years from 1893, Mr. Peck continued his extensive operations and
instead of the prophesied failure earned substantial dividends for his stock-
holders, a result speaking volumes for his courage and executive ability.
Later he was induced to purchase an interest in the J. J. Newman Lumbei
Company, operating in the yellow pine belt of the state of Mississippi. In
order to thoroughly acquaint themselves with this property and the adjacent
territory it became necessary for Mr. Peck and his associates to make a trip
over the entire tract by team, the distance traveled being about one hundred
and fifty miles. The capital stock of the Newman Company was increased
and three hundred thousand acres of additional long leaf pine timber lani
purchased and large lumbering operations begun. In 1899 he assisted in or-
ganizing the Cherry River Boom and Lumber Company, capital $1,000,000, and
they purchased a large tract of spruce and hard wood timber, located in
Pocohontas, Greenbrier, Nicholas and Webster counties, West Virginia. A
large mill was built, but before operations were fairly begun the property was
sold, the price offered being irresistible.
As the advantages of combination became apparent, Mr. Peck and hi?
associates formed the plan of consolidating their interests into one corpora-
tion. In 1901 this plan was carried out by the formation of the United States
Lumber Company, that corporation taking over both the Lackawanna Lumber
Company and the I. J. Newman Company. The new company, with a capital
of $5,000,000, purchased additional lands and so expanded that their annual
output reached two hundred and fifty million feet of manufactured lumber.
At the head of this corporation was Fenwick L. Peck. He was eminently
fitted for the head of such a company, and has successfully managed the field
y*'*-* .
JLun4
CITY OF SCRANTON
237
operations from its beginning and as the executive head, planned with a far-
sightedness and courage that has brought important results. The operations
in Mississippi, at the Hattiesburg mills, have been very extensive and the
corporation successful.
Mr. Peck's activity in the lumber world naturally led him into other fields
of progress. He became one of the organizers and large stockholders in the
Mississippi Central Railroad Company and was elected president of that
company. He was also led into the field of finance, becoming a director of the
State Bank of Sumrall, Mississippi ; director of the First National Bank of
Commerce of Hattiesburg, Mississippi; director of the Guardian Trust Com-
pany of New York, and in his own city, Scranton, is a director of the Scran-
ton Savings Bank and of the Dime Bank.
In other industrial fields he has also invested largely. He is vice-president
and director of the Peck Lumber and Manufacturing Company; director of
the Scranton Mills ; director of the Scranton Textile Company and has in-
terests in many others not necessarily of a minor character. He continues
in addition to all these important interests, president of the United States Lum-
ber Company, with its varied and important business that has not diminished
with the lapse of time.
Scranton is Mr. Peck's home city and here at No. 545 Jefferson avenue, in
that choice residential district, he erected a house that is remarkable in even
this city of handsome residences. Nor have the demands of business taken
away his enjoyment of the social side of life, nor his interest in his fellowmen,
nor his thirst for knowledge of the world. He has visited Europe several
times and has toured his own country many more. His early days in the
woods bred in him a love of out-of-doors and he has seen a great many of
natures wonders everywhere. His clubs are the Country and Scranton of
Scranton, and the Railroad Club of New York. Politically he is a Republican ;
in fraternal relations a Mason, holding membership in Lodge, Chapter and
Commandery.
Mr. Peck married (first) November 20, 1881, Jessie V. Mott, who died m
March, 1883, daughter of James Mott, of Blakeley, Pennsylvania. She left a
daughter, Jessie Mott. He married (second) February 5, 1885, Mina V..
daughter of William and Grace (Oliver) Pethick, of Wayne county, Penn-
sylvania. A daughter was also born of this marriage, Florence Louise, and a
son, Charles Wilson, who died in infancy.
WILLIAM R. LEWIS
Wales, "the country of mountains and each mountain a mine," is the
land claimed by William R. Lewis, of the law firm of Taylor & Lewis, as his
birth-place. Wales has been the home of his family for many generations,
his father, Reese J. Lewis, being the first of the line to leave his native
country and to seek his fortunes in a newer and richer land. Reese J. Lewis
was a miner and contractor in Carmarthenshire, Wales, and came to the
United States in 1868. Attracted to Pennsylvania by the similarity of its
topography with that of his home land, he settled in the mountains of north-
eastern Pennsylvania, at Scranton. Here he engaged in mining and through
his native habits of industry and thrift was able to save a large part of his
income which he invested wisely and profitably, so that during the last ten
years of his life he was freed from the cares of active participation in business.
The customs of years, however, were too strong to be snapped at once and
to occupy, partially, his time, he gave his various properties much of his per-
sonal care and supervision, seeing that they were kept in repair and attend-
238 CITY OF SCRANTON
ing to many of the smaller improvements himself. Both he and his wife were
members of the Baptist church, in whose work he was very active. His death
occurred in 1887, he having survived his wife, Ann (Jones) Lewis, by eighteen
years. His children were: Joseph R., deceased; Mary, married William Lewis,
of Scranton; Annie, widow of Daniel James, of Wilkes- Barre; Jennie, married
Elias E. Evans, of Scranton ; Katherine, married John J. Davis, of Scranton ;
William R., of whom further.
William R. Lewis was born in Carmarthenshire, Wales, February 26,
1876. He was but a year old when his parents brought him to the United
States. He was educated at the Bloomsburg State Normal School, whence
he was graduated in the class of 1886. For five years thereafter he held the
position of deputy prothonotary under Thomas H. Dale, during that time
reading law under Judge Gunster and afterwards under Judge Alfred Hand.
He obtained admission to the bar in September, 1893, and in January of the
year following formed the present partnership of Taylor & Lewis for general
practice. In his chosen profession, Mr. Lewis has had gratifying success. One
of the honors that came to him as a result of the standing he had attained
among those versed in legal affairs, was the election as district attorney, an
office he filled with conspicuous ability from 1901 to 1906. Aside from hii
public service he has been a potent factor in the success of his firm, which
bears a reputation for integrity and fair dealing gained through the learning,
uprightness and honor of the partners. Mr. Lewis' only business connection is
with the Scranton Big Muddy Coal Mining Company, of which he is presi-
dent. He is a director of the West Side Hospital, to whose affairs he gives a
great deal of time and attention.
Mr. Lewis married Josephine, daughter of Joseph D. Doyd, of Scranton.
Their children are : Mary, Ruth, Gertrude. Mr. Lewis' residence is at No.
614 North Main avenue, where he enjoys an ideal home life.
JOHN B. CORSER, M. D.
This family, whose name was spelled both Corser and Courser, was brought
to America in 1635 by William Corser. The Corser family descending from
this Puritan sire has proved a valuable one, contributing to the public service
many military men and many who have served equally well in business and
professional walks of life.
Dr. John B. Corser, of Scranton, descends from the New Hampshire
branch founded by John Corser, born about 1678, who settled in Boscawen,
New Hampshire, in the early settlement of that town. In April, 1776, "Articles
of Association," including a declaration of independence antedating that issued
by Congress in Philadelphia, July 4, 1776, were subscribed to by citizens of
Boscawen and among the signers were David, John (i), John (2), John Jr.,
Asa, Nathan, Samuel and Thomas Corser. David (3), Asa and Jonathan
Corser fought at the battle of Bennington ; Asa and William Corser at Bunker
Hill, while Samuel, John, Thomas and other Corsers were also in the service.
Similar service has been rendered by Corsers in every war waged by this
country.
John F. Corser, father of Dr. John B. Corser, came from New Hampshire,
settling in Towanda, Pennsylvania, where he was a successful merchant for
many years, moving to Scranton about the year 1900. He married Harriet E.
Smith.
Dr. John B. Corser was born in Towanda, Pennsylvania, October 14,
1873. He was educated at Susquehanna Collegiate Institute, Towanda, then
spent two years at Princeton University, but deciding upon the profession of
CITY OF SCRANTON
239
medicine he entered the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania,
whence he was graduated M. D., class of 1898. He took post-graduate courses
at Lackawanna Hospital, then for three and a half years engaged in general
practice in Scranton. Deciding to make a specialty of diseases of the eye,
ear, nose and throat, he made special preparation in hospitals in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, and in Vienna. Austria, for eighteen months, then returned to
Scranton and began his successful career as a specialist in the diseases named.
He is occulist at the West Side Hospital and at the State Hospital, member
of the Pennsylvania State and American Medical associations, and has been
president of the Lackawanna County Medical Association. He is a director
of the Lincoln Trust Company, but gives his profession his chief attention,
study and best effort. He obtains relaxation from the exactions of his pro-
fession in the social and athletic features of the Scranton, Country and Bicycle
clubs of Scranton.
Dr. Corser married Fannie G., daughter of Charles and Helen E. (Pier-
son) Laverty, of Elizabeth, New Jersey. Mrs. Laverty was a daughter of
Pierson, first president of the coal company. Children : John B.,
Helen Elizabeth, Anna Laverty and Dorothy Gildersleeve.
HENRY REED VANDEUSEN
The VanDeusens of "VanDeusen Manor," Great Barrington, Massachusetts,
descend from Isaac ( i ) VanDeusen, "Rich Isaac," who was the son of
Abraham and Jemima ( Schoonhoven ) VanDeusen and grandson of Matthew
Abrahamsen VanDeursen, one of the five brothers who came to New Amster-
dam (New York) about 1650. These brothers were sons of Abraham Van-
Deursen, a resident of Deursen, a small village in North Brabant, Nether-
lands, and of an old Dutch family. Matthew Abrahamsen VanDeursen lived
in Albany. New York, from 1657 to 1700, and his son Abraham in Kingston
and Albany. "Rich Isaac" VanDeusen remained in Kinderhook on the Hud-
son until May, 1735, then moved with his family to the Housatonic settle-
ment, where he built a log house on the land of his father-in-law, Coonrod
Burghardt, near the site of the manor-house erected a few years later. "Rich
Isaac" acquired an estate of several hundred acres in the upper part of Greut
Barrington, some of it lying along the Housatonic river. This was known as
"VanDeusen Manor." He owned other lands in the neighborhood and hid
sons added largely to their inherited estates. The VanDeusens and the Burg-
hardts were the largest land-holders in western Massachusetts, and the old
manor-house, of Dutch architecture, built of wood and brick, stood for more
than a century, the home of Isaac (i), Isaac (2) and Isaac (3), the first
known as "Rich Isaac," the last as "Wise Isaac." After the death of the latter
in 1 83 1 the manor passed out of the family and speedily began to deteriorate.
The main part was taken down in i860, the wing having been removed at an
earlier date. Not a vestige of the original building remains, and the stone
gate-post is the sole memorial of the manor building.
"Rich Isaac" VanDeusen married, January 14, 1730, at Kinderhook, New
York, Fiche, daughter of Coonrod and Gesie (VanWie) Burghardt. His six
sons all settled upon lands owned by their father, which he deeded to them in
1787. He acknowledged the deeds in 1787. but they were not recorded until
after his death in 1796, at the age of ninety-three years. These sons, Abraham
Coonrod, John. Matthew, Jacob, Isaac (2), were noted for their uncommon
height, the" tallest being six feet seven and one-half inches, the shortest, six feet
two inches.
"Wise Isaac" VanDeusen, who afterward added an "I" as an initial, was
240 CITY OF SCRANTON
the eldest son of Isaac (2) and grandson of "Rich Isaac" VanDeusen. He
was a man of high character, a staunch churchman, and a fine French scholar.
He lived in Great Barrington until 1806, when he moved to Ohio, later to
Louisiana, returning to Great Barrington in 1818. In 1829 he wrote a history
of St. James Church. He inherited the manor-house from his father in 1816,
and from 1818 until his death in 1831 made it his home.
Coonrod VanDeusen, second son of "Rich Isaac" VanDeusen, was bom at
Kinderhook, New York, February 4, 1735, died December 26, 1808, at the
"old stone house" and was buried in Mahaime Cemetery, Great Barrington.
The "old stone house," built in 1771, stood on the east road to Housatonic at
the western base of Monument i\lountain, Coonrod receiving lands there from
his father. He married, in 1763, Rachel Hollenbeck, and had by her several
children.
John VanDeusen, third son of "Rich Isaac" VanDeusen, was born March
19, 1737, died January 13, 1820, and is buried in the Buel Cemetery, Cana-
joharie. New York. He lived in the brick house in Great Barrington, north
of the family burial ground, on land given him by his father. He married,
in June, 1762, Catherine Hollenbeck, who died August 4, 1789, and is buried
in the VanDeusen burial ground.
John (2) VanDeusen, son of John (i) and Catherine (Hollenbeck) Van-
Deusen, was born in 1763. He married (second) January 28, 1796, Rhoda
Tuller, of Egremont, Massachusetts, and had issue.
Henry VanDeusen, eldest son of John (2) and Rhoda (Tuller) VanDeusen.
was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, in 1797, and spent his life
as a farmer. He married Julia Ann Reed and had issue: George S., died in
191 1 ; Henry Newton, of whom further; Albert, a minister of the Methodist
Episcopal church ; Sylvania, married J. Snyder, of Cherry Valley, New York.
Rev. Henry Newton VanDeusen, son of Henry and Julia Ann (Reed)
VanDeusen, was born in Cherry Valley, New York, in 1836, and after an
active, honorable life spent in the service of the Methodist Episcopal church
is now living a retired life. He was a member of the Wyoming Conference aru
served many churches in both New York and Pennsylvania. He was educated
at Cazenovia Seminary and the Methodist BibHcal Institute, the latter now
the theological department of Boston University. Rev. Henry N. VanDeusen
married Mary Jane, daughter of James Porter, of English descent. On Sep-
tember 8, 1913, the aged couple celebrated their golden anniversary, amid the
happy rejoicings of their many friends and relations. Children: Porter B.,
of Rochester, New York; Ellen G., married Frederick O. Spooner, of Syracuse,
New York; Henry Reed, of whom further; Julia, married P. B. Genger.
Henry Reed VanDeusen, second son of Rev. Henry Newton and Mary
Jane (Porter) VanDeusen, was born at Laurens, Otsego county, New York,
June 2, 1872. He was educated in the public schools of the different towns
to which his father's ministerial duties called him, and after preparatory
courses entered Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, whence he
was graduated A. B., class of 1894. After graduation he was instructor in
Greek and Latin at Dickinson Seminary, at Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He
studied law under John J. Reardon Esq., of Williamsport, later entering the
University of Pennsylvania, whence he was graduated LL. B., class of 1899.
In February, 1900, he located in Scranton and has since been there engaged in
active practice of the law. He has served as assistant solicitor for the city
and has a well-established practice. He is a member of the Scranton Club
and the Scranton Bicycle Club, having been president of the latter for several
terms. In political faith he is a Rei)ublican, and in religion a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church.
CITY OF SCRANTON 241
Mr. VanDeusen married Jessie L., daughter of Edward J. Dimmick.
Children: WiUiam, deceased; Lawrence Reed, born July 8, 1906; Henry Reed
(2), born April 19, 1909.
CLARENCE D. SIMPSON
Prominence in the business world carries with it certain responsibilities
that must be met. Among these are an upright life, and one free from every-
thing but what would serve as an example of business probity to the young
men who strive to emulate their successful elders. While Mr. Simpson is
not an old man, his success in business life has brought him prominently into
the public eye, and rendered him an object of interest to young men and it is
to him they have often turned for example and advice. In following his busi-
ness course, it reveals nothing but what has been accomplished in the most
honorable manner, the secret of his life, not being hidden in mystery, can, be
attributed to hard work, great energy, laudable ambition, clean, upright living
and wonderful executive ability.
(I) Mr. Simpson comes from an early Rhode Island family, his grand-
father, Christopher Simpson, settling in Albany county. New York, during
the early years of the nineteenth century. He was born in Rhode Island in
1 78 1, there married his wife Dolly, born 1786, and soon afterward emigrated
to New York State.
(II) William S. Simpson, son of Christopher and Dolly Simpson, was
born in Rensselaerville, New York, April 2, 1825, died at his home in West
Pittston, Pennsylvania, December 5, 1912, one of the best known and respected
of men. After attending public schools until his sixteenth year, he became a
carpenter's apprentice at Prattsville, New York, becoming an expert worker
in wood. In after life he took great pride, not only in the constructive work
in which he was engaged but in his personal skill as a workman, equaling that
of his best men. He located in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, where he engaged
in building operations. He supervised the erection of the tannery in the upper
part of the borough, erected the tannery buildings at Brackney and also built
many dwellings for the workmen at Brackneyville near Binghamton. His long
connection with the Scranton district began in 1856 when he settled in Dun-
more, engaging in general contracting and building. He superintended the con-
struction there of many public buildings and residences, among them the old
Dunmore Presbyterian Church and Dunmore Christian Church. He became
interested in the construction of breakers, to him belonging the honor of erect-
ing at Archbald for Eaton & Company (afterward Jones, Simpson & Company)
the first coal breaker erected in the Lackawanna Valley. He continued a
private contractor until 1861, when he was induced to accept the position of
superintendent of construction with the Pennsylvania Coal Company, then
having their headquarters at Pittston. This necessitated the removal of
his residence to Pittston, and from that time until the close of his long
and useful life that was his home. His work for the company covered
extensive operations in the erection of breakers, trestles and colliery build-
ing in endless variety. This exacting position he filled to the perfect satis-
faction of his company, retaining through all the years of his connection their
confidence and respect. With his men he was ever the thoughtful employer
and their friend. He was cheerful and optimistic, his morning greetings always
pleasant and friendly. As he advanced in years he retained his youthful man-
ners and ever enjoyed the companionship of the young, his home being a gath-
ering place for old and young alike. At the age of seventy-two years he re-
tired, having amassed a competency, living, therefore, some fifteen years to
16
242 CITY OF SCRANTON
enjoy it. He died in his eighty-eighth year, and though of rugged physique
the ravages of time made themselves felt, his end coming not through any
organic complaint, but was caused by the general wearing away of all his parts.
In his death almost the last link was broken that bound the formative early
days of Pittston with the present. That he had borne so prominent a part in
the upbuilding of the section was ever to him a pleasant reminiscence, and
surely none builded better or more wisely than he. He saw the little town ot
his adoption grow, expand and prosper until it took front rank among the
cities of Northeastern Pennsylvania. He won to him many staunch friends,
was one of the best known men of his section, having spent the greater part
of his years, eighty-eight, in Northeastern Pennsylvania. His death, though
expected, was deeply regretted and was received with many expressions of
sorrow.
Mr. Simpson married (first) December 26, 1846, Catherine Brandow, of
Prattsville, New York, who died in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, in 1854; he
married (second) A^larch 26, 1867, Mary Emmeline Whalen Rice, of Dunmore,
who died in West Pittston, August 30, 1884; he married (third) January 12,
1887, Mary J. Price, of West Pittston, who survived him. In religious faith he
was a devoted Methodist, serving the church in official capacity.
(Ill) Clarence D. Simpson, son of William S. and Catherine (Brandow)
Simpson, was born at Carbondale, Pennsylvania, April 4, 1849. He attended
the public schools of Dunmore and Pittston, beginning a wage earner's life
when young as water boy for a gang of his father's carpenters. Advancing
sufficiently in years he became clerk for the Butler Colliery Company at Pitts-
ton, remaining in that employ several years, constantly rising in rank, event-
ually becoming superintendent. He resigned this position and in Buffalo, New
York, became western representative of C. A. Blake & Company, anthracite
coal dealers. After nine years there he returned to Pittston, becoming super-
intendent of the Enterprise Colliery near Wilkes-Barre. About 1881, in as-
sociation with C. M. Sanderson, he leased and opened the Pancoast Colliery,
continuing its operation successfully about four years, when he sold his inter-
est to his partner. He then joined forces with Thomas Watkins in leasing
the Grassey Island Colliery. He was now successfully started in coal operations
and in succession organized and operated with success the Northwest Coal
Company, the Edgarton, Babylon, Mount Lookout, Harry E. and Forty Fort
collieries, all later sold to the Temple Iron Company. In 1901 he organized
the West End Coal Company, in which he has a large interest. Besides his
large private interests, Mr. Simpson is a director of the International Text
Book Company, the Cherry River Boom and Lumber Company, the Hebard
Cypress Company and other corporate enterprises. He is a man of large affairs
and controls a vast amount of capital, engaged in the industrial enterprises of
Pennsylvania. While not a practical builder like his father, he is none the
less a great constructor and much that is lasting and beneficial has arisen
through his constructive ability. One of his enterprises, launched about 1897,
was the New Mexico Railroad and Coal Company. Their 465 miles of rail-
road and their 25,000 acres of coal land was made possible by Scranton capital,
Mr. Simpson aiding in the organization of the company and becoming chair-
man of the first board of directors.
Mr. Simpson is emphatically a man of business, but also enjoys the social
side of life and the companionship of his fellow-men. He is a member of the
Scranton and Country clubs, also of the Union League of New York City. He
gave to the city the Catherine Simpson Young Girls' Home and the land for the
Hahnneman Hospital and contributed a large portion of the capital to build
the same.
CITY OF SCRANTON 243
Mr. Simpson married Katherine, daughter of George Perrin, of Pittston;
she died in 1906, leaving a daughter, Clara, now wife of H. H. ]3rady.
There is much to be gained from a study of the two men whose careers
are herein traced. Like his honored father, Mr. Simpson Jr., began at the
foot of the ladder and like him also reached the topmost round, although in
a different line of activity. Both were graduates of the stern school of neces-
sity and the secret of their rise in life may be found in their tireless energy
and upright lives.
MICHAEL J. MARTIN
One of the most distinguished members of the bar of Pennsylvania is
Michael J. Martin, whose family, on the paternal side, came originally from
France, but during a residence of many years in Ireland became united with
a family of that land, a combination which has more than once resulted in
great talents and ability, the clear annalytical powers of the French mind en-
lightening and in turn being informed by the imaginative and romantic spirit
of their northern kin.
(I) The paternal grandfather of Mr. Martin also bore the name of Michael
Martin and was born in France, being one of those members of his family
who came from that country and settled in Ireland during the early part of the
nineteenth century. It seems that the Martins were connected in some way
with one of the many attempts of that period to restore independence to Ire-
land, which in this case actually reached the stage of an armed expedition, of
both land and naval forces against England. However, the expedition came to
naught, being defeated by the British force sent against them, and the Martins
among others were obliged to seek refuge in Ireland. From this country they
never returned, but after a while settled in that most picturesque region on the
northwest coast of Ireland, Sligo county, near Sligo bay. From this region
northward through Donegal was a favorite resort of many French fugitives,
especially the Huguenots, so that it is likely that the Martins often looked
upon the faces of their countrymen, a sight which could not have been wholly
unwelcome, despite the difference in faith, for the Martins were Roman
Catholics.
(II) Patrick Martin, the father of Michael J. Martin, and son of the
Michael Martin just mentioned, was born in Sligo, Ireland, October 26, 1846,
and there passed his boyhood and youth up to the time he was seventeen years
of age. He was educated in the local public schools, and upon completing his
studies emigrated to the United States, settling in the great coal region of the
state of Pennsylvania. Here he found employment in the mines, and fol-
lowed the occupation of miner for a number of years, but later in life took to
farming, from which he gained lucrative returns, and in which he continued
until his death, September 13, 191 3. He married Margaret Sullivan, a daugh-
ter of Charles and Jane (Stanton) Sullivan, of Denville, New Jersey, where
she was bom May 12, 1848. To them were born ten children, as follows:
Michael J., of whom further; Jane, now Mrs. Bagley, of Carbondale, Penn-
sylvania; John, now a resident of Moscow, Pennsylvania; Dr. Thomas P., a
resident of Jermyn ; Margaret, now Mrs Eagan, of Jermyn ; Frank, a resident
of the same place ; James ; Katherine and William, all residents of Daleville,
Pennsylvania. It was in Daleville, Pennsylvania, that Mr. Martin spent the
latter years of his life, where he eventually met his death and where Mr.i.
Martin and the three youngest children still reside. Mr. and Mrs. Martin
were members of the Roman Catholic church and in that faith reared their
large family of children.
244 CITY OF SCRANTON
(III) Michael J. Martin, the eldest child of Patrick and Margaret (Sul-
livan) Martin, was born December 29, 1871, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where
his parents were then residing. When he was but two years old his parents
removed from the city of Moscow, Pennsylvania, so that the earliest associa-
tions of childhood dwelling in his memory are with the latter place. He re-
ceived the elementary portion of his education at the local public schools,
and at the age of fifteen found employment as a clerk in a country store.
He did not remain in this service for a great while, inclination and ability
having destined him to a different sort of career. He entered the Wyoming
Seminary at Kingston, Pennsylvania, to prepare for a college course, and hav-
ing graduated from this institution in 1891 he matriculated soon after at
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, from which he graduated with the class
of 1895. Returning then to Scranton, the city of his birth, he registered a;
a law student in Scranton, with Hon. Lemuel Amerman, and after reading
law in his offices for the prescribed period, was admitted to the bar of Penn-
sylvania, February 22, 1896. Two years later, in 1898, he was admitted to
practice before the Supreme Court of the state. From the outset Mr. Martin's
career was assured. His practice was rapidly developed, and his handling of
the important cases entrusted to him was such as to increase his reputation
and bring him to the notice of litigants in all parts of the state. His services
were in quarters to which talent and ability always find their way, and he be-
came attorney for a number of large transportation and industrial corpora-
tions. On February 24, 1906, Mr. Martin was admitted to practice before
the Supreme Court of the United States. Both the volume and the importance
of his cases now increased, and he was one of the eminent counsel chosen to
defend Judge Archbald at the time of that jurist's impeachment. He was one
of those who defended Judge Archbald in the preliminary proceedings before
the house of representatives, and in December, 1912, was admitted to the bar
of the United States senate, sitting as a high court of Impeachment, and took
part in that now famous trial. Mr. Martin, as a result of his brilliant record,
not alone in this case, but in many others, only less important, is now regarded
as one of the leaders of the bar both of the state and the nation. He is a
member of the Lackawanna Law Library Association, of the Pennsylvania
State Bar Association and the American Bar Association, member of the
executive committee of the Pennsylvania State Bar Association and also holds
membership on the committee of the American Bar Association.
Besides his chosen profession, his very obvious abilities have been in de-
mand in other quarters, and he is a director of the LInion National Bank of
Scranton, and of several large mining companies. He is a member of the
Republican party, but though an interested and intelligent observer of the
great movements taking place in the political world of today, has never been
tempted to take an active part in that department of public life, notwithstanding.
He takes an active part in the social life of his community, and is a member
of a number of organizations, such as the Scranton Club. C3ne of Mr. Martin's
chief interests lies in the delightful realm of horticulture, and he might be
called a gentleman farmer on a large scale. He belongs to the Lackawanna
County Horticultural Society, and to the Grange of Covington township, where
he owns two farms, upon one of which is situated his delightful summer home,
and where he engages extensively in the cultivation of fruit, having there ovev
a thousand fruit trees of many varieties.
Mr. Martin married, November 6, 1906, Ellen Griffin, a daughter of Aaron
and Sarah (McWade) Griffin, of Scranton. Mr. Griffin was a native of
Scranton, where he held the office of superintendent for the Delaware, Lacka-
wanna & Western Railroad. His death occurred in 1883 and he was survived
j-.-~,^J/7s/ef,c^//^^ ^'^
I
CITY OF SCRANTON
245
by Mrs. Griffin until January, 191 1. By his wife, who was Miss Sarah Mc-
Wade, a native of Covington township, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, he
had three children, daughters, as follows: Ellen, now Mrs. Michael J. Martin;
Grace, wife of Frank H. Jermyn ; Elizabeth, wife of W. W. Lathrope. Mrs.
Martin is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Scranton.
COLONEL FREDERICK W. STILLWELL
Colonel Frederick W. Stillwell, who has made a most brilliant military
record and enjoys wide acquaintance in the National Guard of Pennsylvania,
among whom he is highly regarded for his fine soldierly qualities, was born in
Scranton, June 14, 1865, a son of Captain Richard and Margaret (Snyder)
Stillwell. His father was actively and intimately associated with that splendid
group of pioneers — the Scrantons, Charles F. Mattes, William W. Manness,
and others, who laid the foundations of the present greatness of the city of
Scranton. Captain Stillwell also had an enviable military record. In his
seventeenth year he enlisted in Captain Reeder's ( Easton ) company, and rose
to the rank of orderly sergeant. In 1854 he organized the original Scranton
Guard, was its first captain, and made it a notable organization. During the
Civil war he served in the One Hundred and Thirty-second Pennsylvania Regi-
ment, as captain, and participated in the battle of Antietam ; and was of the
forlorn hope which charged Mary's Heights, at Fredericksburg, in which he
was so severely wounded that he was obliged to resign. After this he served
as assistant provost marshal, and performed arduous service in enforcing vari-
ous drafts for fresh troops, and in the apprehension of deserters. Besides
his active professional career in connection with coal and iron industries, ke
gave to the city valuable services as chief of the fire department, member of
the city council, and m other capacities. His wife was descended from General
Peter Kichlein, who commanded a regiment of riflemen in the famous battle
of Long Island (Brooklyn).
Colonel Frederick W. Stillwell, son of Captain Richard Stillwell, was
educated in the Scranton schools, and at the age of sixteen became a messenger
in the First National Bank. He acquitted himself with marked fidelity, and in
1893 was promoted to receiving teller, in which responsible position he has
continued to the present time. He is also treasurer of the Wayne Development
Company, and of the Pennsylvania, New. York & New Jersey Power Company,
which are developing a large power enterprise on the Wallenpaupack river in
Wayne and Pike counties, Pennsylvania. The doctrine of heredity finds ample
illustration in his military life. On January 12, 1885, at the age of twenty,
he enlisted as a private in Company A. Thirteenth Regiment Pennsylvania
National Guard, was promoted to corporal, July 5, 1886, to sergeant, January
22, 1888, and to second lieutenant. January 14, 1889. In 1892 Lieutenant Still-
well performed eighteen days duty with his company at the scene of the Home-
stead riots. He was promoted to captain, January 22, 1894, and to major,
April 9, 1897, and with that rank performed duty for seventeen days in Sep-
tember of that year in the coal fields on the occasion of the Lattimer riots.
At the outbreak of the Spanish-American war six companies of the Thirteenth
Regiment, all of Scranton, volunteered for field service, and with them Major
Stillwell. The regiment, under command of Colonel H. A. Courson, was
mustered into the service of the LTnited States at Camp Hastings, near Harris-
burg, May 13, i8g8, and from May 19 to August 30 was stationed at Camp
Alger, Virginia. It was then ordered to Camp Meade, at Middletown, Penn-
sylvania, where Major Stillwell was promoted to lieutenant-colonel, October
21. same year. On November 14th the regiment was transferred to Camp Mc-
246 CITY OF SCRANTON
Kenzie, at Augusta, Georgia, to make preparations for a campaign in Cuba.
The war, however, came to an abrupt close, and Lieutenant-Colonel Stillwell
was mustered out with the regiment, March ii, 1899. During its term of
service the command suffered severely from disease, losing by death nineteen
men. Twelve officers out of thirty-six were in hospital at the same time.
Officers and men, whatever their disappointment in not being participants
in the active operations in Cuba, had the proud satisfaction that comes from
doing all that a soldier may — obey the call of country, and perform such service
as demanded. The Thirteenth Regiment returned to its place in the National
Guard establishment, Lieutenant-Colonel Stillwell retaining his rank therein.
In 1902, during the coal strike, he served for forty days at Olyphant, taking
the regiment to that point and commanding it until the arrival of Colonel L. A.
Watres. Lieutenant-Colonel Stillwell was commissioned colonel, August 25,
1904, and still commands the regiment.
The foregoing presents an unusual record of service — long and honorable,
without a tinge of personal vainglory. Colonel Stillwell takes a laudable pride
in the splendid body of citizen soldiery with which he has so long been identi-
fied, and it is the concensus of opinion of both officers and men that its ex-
cellent condition and esprit de corps is in very large degree due to his military
ability and the enthusiasm which he awakened and sustained. Within six
months after he assumed command the regiment had attained such a degree
of efficiency that it passed from ninth to third place among the regiments of the
National Guard of Pennsylvania, and it now ranks first in efficiency, accord-
ing to reports on file in the War Department. Of Colonel Stillwell personally.
it is to be said that throughout his career his various promotions have been
solely upon merit, and he holds his subordinates to the same lofty standard
which at the beginning he set up for himself, and all appointments and promo-
tions recommended by him are based only upon demonstrated ability and de-
servingness, his judgment uncolored by aught of a personal or political nature.
With a well selected corps of officers, commissioned and non-commissioned,
constituted through his unyielding adherence to these tenets, his ample techni-
cal knowledge and his strict disciplinarianism, the Thirteenth stands forth as
a regiment not to be surpassed in the National Guard establishment of any
state in the Union.
EDWIN C. AA-IERMAN
A graduate of Bucknell University and Dickinson College, from which
latter institution he received the bachelor's degree in both arts and law, Ed-
win C. Amerman has been a legal practitioner in Scranton since his admission
to the bar, his active work in the city covering a period of ten years. That
this decade has been spent in nothing but diligent professional application is
evidenced by his present legal status and the dimensions of the practice that
he has acquired in that time.
Mr. Amerman is a native of Danville, Pennsylvania, his father, Jesse
C, born at that place in 1821. Jesse C. Amerman was a farmer. He was
twice elected to the Pennsylvania state legislature. He married Margaret Ap-
pleman, and had children: Charles \'., of Danville, Pennsylvania; Edwin C.
of whom further.
Edwin C. Amerman, son of Jesse C. and Margaret (Appleman) Amerman,
was born November 20, 1878, and in his boyhood was a student in the public
schools of his native place. After attending the Mansfield State Normal School
he matriculated at Bucknell University, later entering Dickinson College and
there completed the prescribed classical course and received the degree of A. B.
CITY OF SCRANTON
247
and then took up the study of law, being graduated LL. B. in 1904. On October
10, 1904, Mr. Anierman was admitted to the bar and immediately began the
practice of his profession in Scranton, remaining in that city to the present
time. He is now associated in the practice of law with George M. Maxey.
Mr. Amerman has succeeded in his profession not only through natural talents
that have been strong factors in his rise to prominence in legal affairs, but
through his quick comprehension, easy adaptability, and intimate knowledge of
the law. He has passed the period when books are his study, and derives much
of his legal prowess from close scrutiny of men, motives and facts. At the
bar he is a trained and fluent speaker, a forceful advocate, full of conviction,
gaining the ear of his audience through his intense earnestness quite as much
as through the plea he presents. Mr. Amerman is a thirty-second degree
Mason, belonging in that society to Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine,
of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and also affiliates with the Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks. His political views are strongly Democratic, that be-
ing the party he has ever supported. He married Lillian, daughter of William
Rechel, of Rupert, Pennsylvania, and has one daughter, Margaret.
I. RAYMOND VINCENT, M. D.
Dr. I. Raymond Vincent, one of the most successful of the rising genera-
tion of physicians of Scranton, is a member of a family of Scotch-Irish origin,
and typical of the best character of that strong and dominant race, which has
contributed so large and valuable an element to the make-up of the composite
citizenship of this country, and impressed our people with no little share of
their own hardy virtues of indomitable courage and practical sense. Of this
race in the first place, the X'incents have nevertheless dwelt for so many genera-
tions in America, in that part comprised within the limits of Eastern Pennsyl-
vania, that they have become completely identified with the life and traditions
of that region.
The paternal grandfather of Dr. Vincent was Isaac Vincent, a native,
himself, of Pennsylvania, and a life-long resident of that state, where he
followed the occupation of farming with a high degree of success. He was
a well known figure in his community. He married Phoeba Watson, of what
is now known as Watson Town, named after her family. Her father and his
three brothers were, indeed, the original settlers in and the founders of the
place. They were pioneers in that region, making their way at that early date
through what was virgin wilderness. Arriving at the site of the present Wat-
son Town, they proceeded to clear the land, and built the first rough dwell-
ings. Coming some years later to the spot, Isaac \'incent met and wed the
daughter of one of these hardy pioneers, Phoeba W'atson. To the couple
were born five children, as follows: i. George, the father of our subject.
2. Rebecca, who became the wife of Dr. J. L. Lowrie, of Winchester, Illinois,
deceased ; they had two children. Paulina and William. 3. Elizabeth, now Mrs.
Frederick Van Fleet, and the mother of one son. Vincent. 4. Henry Clay,
who married Bertie Opp ; they had four children : Hazel, Fred, Dudley and
Margaret. 5. Charles, now a resident of Boston, Massachusetts.
George Vincent, father of Dr. Vincent of this sketch, was born in Watson
Town, where his father had settled some years previously, in the year 1852,
and following in the elder man's footsteps he engaged in farming all his life.
He was very successful in this and became a man of substance and a con-
spicuous figure in Watson Town and the surrounding country. His death
occurred in 1904, at the age of fifty-two years. He was married to Laura B.
McKaen, a native of Jacksonville, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Samuel
248 CITY OF SCRANTON
McKaen of that place. To George and Laura B. (McKaen) Vincent were
born five children, as follows: i. Dr. I. Raymond, the subject of this sketch.
2. Elizabeth Lowry, now the wife of the Rev. B. F. Bieber, a clergyman of
the Lutheran church, and the mother of one daughter, Laura Frances. 3.
Phoeba Rebecca, resides at the home of her parents. 4. Lucy Bell. 5. Wil-
liam Mark.
Dr. L Raymond Vincent, the eldest child of George and Laura B. (Mc-
Kaen) Vincent, was born December 25, 1878, at Watson Town, Northumber-
land township, Pennsylvania. He received the elementary portion of his edu-
cation in the public schools of Watson Town, and graduated from the high
school there in the year 1896, having prepared himself for college. Upon
completing his studies at these institutions, he matriculated at Bucknell Col-
lege, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and graduated therefrom with the class of
1900, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. He then took up the profession
of teaching, and for two years after his graduation occupied the post of in-
structor in the schools of Watson Town and the adjoining districts. In tne
meantime, however, the purpose had been growing in the young man's mind to
devote his life and energies to the profession of medicine, to which he was
strongly drawn by interest and inclination. Accordingly, at the end of the two
years mentioned, he returned to his studies, this time matriculating at the Jef-
ferson Medical College in Philadelphia. Here he set himself to the task of
mastering the great subject he had chosen as his life work, with all his char-
acteristic aptitude and zeal, distinguishing himself highly during the three
years he remained in the institution, and graduated with the class of 1905, with
the degree of M. D. He was twenty-seven years of age at the time of his
graduation, but instead of immediately beginning his active practice, he spent
six months at Wolmesdorf, Pennsylvania, and the following six months in
the employ of the Great Lakes Coal Company, at Taylor, Pennsylvania. On
June 18, 1906, Dr. Vincent came to Scranton, Pennsylvania, and there
established himself in the medical practice which has steadily developed since
that time. It is beyond doubt that his choice of medicine as a career was a
wise one on the part of Dr. Vincent. His practice is demonstrating his ability,
not only to his own clientele, but to his colleagues throughout the region. He
is a member of the Lackawanna County Medical Society, and the State Medical
Association. He is also a member of Peter Williamson Lodge, No. 328, F.
and A. M. ; of Keystone Consistory, Sovereign Princes of the Royal Secret;
Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and of the Temple Club. He is a
member of the Republican party, and takes a keen interest in all political
questions, whether the issues involve merely local or larger considerations,
and is an intelligent observer of local politics, albeit his duties preclude any
participation in them on his part. His religious affiliations are with the Pres-
byterian church, and he attends the Second Church of that denomination in
Scranton. He is active in so far as his professional duties permit, in the work
of the church, and materially supports the many benevolences in connection
therewith.
Dr. Vincent married (first) Kate G. Dunkel, a daughter of Hiram Dunkel,
of Watson Town, where she was born. This marriage took place on Septem-
ber 26, 1906. Mrs. Vincent died August 25, 1908. Dr. Vincent married
(second) Mrs. Bessie F. Flemming, a sister of his first wife. She is a native
of Pennsylvania.
c^ry
t'-e-^VtJ^i^-ZT^
CITY OF SCRANTON 249
FORREST FRANK HENDRICKSON
There is a certain satisfaction that follows duty well performed, even when
results are not as hoped for, but to Mr. Hendrickson has been granted the
higher satisfaction of seeing his labors crowned with the best of success. The
Eureka Specialty Printing Company, organized with small capital, has grown
in importance and influence until it is a firm to be reckoned with, even in im-
portant governmental printing, and consultations are not infrequent with high
government officials connected with the bureau of engraving and printing at
Washington. Forrest F. is a son of John Hendrickson, and a grand-
son of Uriah Hendrickson, of Great Bend, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania,
and of Dutch ancestry.
John Hendrickson was born in Great Bend, September 11, 1825, died in
1899. He learned the shoemaker's trade in early life, but later engaged in
farming, owning his own abundant acres. He followed agriculture for several
years, finally selling his farm and returning to the shoe business. He mar-
ried Mary Ann Curtis and had issue : William, Fred J., Forrest F., Grace.
Forrest F. Hendrickson was born in Jackson, Susquehanna county, Penn-
sylvania, January 21, 1870. He attended the public schools, finishing at Gib-
son Graded School, winning by his excellent scholarship the coveted honor
of valedictorian of the graduating class. After completing his studies he
taught for two years and in 1891 located in Scranton. He began business life
as a bookkeeper for the Elk Hill Coal Company, remaining with that concern
for three years. He then became salesman for the Eureka Cash Register and
Credit Company, introducing their system of cash and credit accounting. He
was with the Eureka four years, then was in the retail grocery business with
his brother, Fred, for two years. At the end of his mercantile experience he
sold out to his brother and returned to the employ of the "Eureka." That
company had become sadly in the toils, but Mr. Hendrickson effected a re-
organization under the present style and title. The Eureka Specialty Printing
Company, with himself as president. The combined cash capital of the owners
was but $5,000, and with this the company started business anew, but con-
fining themselves to specialty printing. The working force in 1903, at the
start, consisted of five boys, but under the guidance of Mr. Hendrickson work
of quality and attractive design was turned out from the presses and orders
flowed in. From this small start, advance has been con,stant, the end of the
first decade in business, 1913, finding one hundred and twenty people on the
payroll of the company, and the tiny $5,000 capital carrying a business of a
quarter of a million dollars annually, with goods being shipped to every part
of the United States. Pages of laudation could not equal these facts in esti-
mating Mr. Hendrickson's efficiency as an executive manager. He founded,
built up, and is the present head of a most prosperous company. In 1909 he
with others organized the Green Ridge Bank, with a capital of $50,000. Of
this prosperous financial institution Mr. Hendrickson is president. He is also
owner of the Green Ridge Department Store, East Market street, corner of
Boulevard avenue, which is under the management of his brother, Fred J.
Hendrickson. Probably no man in business in Scranton can show such a
record of achievement in a single decade as herein recorded.
Mr. Hendrickson is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and is a trustee of the same. He is a member of the Scranton and Press clubs,
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of Camp No. 400, P. O. S. of A.
While interested in all that pertains to the public welfare of his city, state
and country, he has never entered into political life save in the exercise of his
250 CITY OF SCRANTON
franchise, his ballot usually being cast for the candidates of the Republican
party.
Mr. Hendrickson married, March lo, 1892, Eva May, daughter of John
and Anna Price. Children : Blanche, Edna, Mildred, Marion, Evelyn, Forrest,
died in 1908, Ollie, Kenton, Robert, Elinor.
CAREY P. WILLIAMS
The men of deeds are the men who excite the admiration of the world, and
when a man rises to a position of prominence, whether it be in the business
world or in private life, he merits and receives the esteem and respect of all
by reason of the sterling qualities he must undoubtedly possess. It is of such
a man that this review treats, in the person of Carey P. Williams, of Scranton,
Pennsylvania.
The Williams family of Wales and England is of great antiquity. The sur-
name is derived from the ancient personal name William. Sir Robert Wil-
liams, ninth baronet of the House of Williams of Penrhyn, was a lineal
descendant from Marchudes of Cyan, Lord of Abergelen, in Denbighshire, of
one of the fifteen tribes of North Wales that lived in the time of Roderick the
Great, King of the Britons, about A. D.. 849. In Wales it was formerly ap
Williams, and it is worthy of note that Morgan ap Williams, of Glamorgan-
shire, Gentleman, married a sister of Lord Thomas Cromwell, afterwards
Earl of Essex, who was the ancestor of the noted Puritan, Oliver Cromwell.
The ancient Williams coat-of-arms of the Welsh family is: Sable a lion ram-
pant argent armed and langued gules. The crest is a moor cock. The seat of
the family was at Flint, Wales, and in Lincolnshire. The Williams families
of America descend from more than a score of different immigrant ancestors,
the branch in question here having landed in 1636. The immigrant ancestor's
name was Robert.
(I) Erastus Polodore W'illiams, great-grandfather of Carey P. Williams,
and lineal descendant of Robert Williams, was one of the earliest of the
pioneer settlers in Vermont, coming there from Massachusetts. He died in
Northfield, Vermont.
( II ) Silas Williams, son of Erastus Polodore Williams, was born in Rai'.-
dolph, \'ermont. He was a farmer there, and died there at an advanced age.
He married Cornelia Safiford. who died in Randolph, \"ermont, at the age of
eighty years, and of their four children those now living are: Carlos D., cf
further mention ; Persis Ann, married Frank A. Preston.
(III) Carlos D. Williams, son of Silas and Cornelia (Safiford) Williams,
was born in Randolph, \'ermont, and there grew to manhood. His educa-
tion was acquired partly in his native town and partly in Northfield, where
he learned the drug trade, with which he has been successfully identified a'l
the business years of his life. From Northfield he came to Burlington, \'er-
mont. where he established himself in the drug business and has one of the
finest and oldest stores in the city. He has won a reputation for the reliability
with which his business is transacted, a matter of paramount importance in a
concern of this nature. He was in active service throughout the duration of
the Civil war, being first lieutenant in Company F, Twelfth Regiment Vermont
Volunteer Infantry. His last position during this struggle was in the com-
missary department. He is a member of the local post. Grand Army of the
Republic, has served for some time as commander, and is holding this office
at the present time. He al.so served on the staff of the state department com-
mander, and has taken an active part and interest in all Grand .Army matters.
He is also a member of the Loyal Legion and of the Masonic fraternity.
CITY OF SCRANTON
251
Mr. Williams married (second) Ellen Thayer, born in Northfield, Vei-
mont, and their only child is Carey P., of further mention. Mrs. Williams
is a daughter of James C. B. Thayer, a prominent resident of Northfield, Ver-
mont, where he was connected officially with several banks. She has a sister,
Alice, who married W. M. Rennbough, and resides in Dales, Oregon, and a
brother, H. B. Thayer, vice-president of a corporation in New York City.
In our New England Colonial history the family name Thayer has been
known since the first half of the seventeenth century, and is closely connected
with John and Priscilla (Mullins) Alden, of "Mayflower" fame. The name
came to us from England, from the village of Thaydon, in Essex, about
eighteen miles north of London. Augustine Thayer, of Thaydon, through the
grace of his sovereign, was granted a coat-of-arms, and received other marks
of the royal favor. Evidently he was a person of considerable distinction and
exercised an influence in the shire in which he lived. Both in the mother
country and in New England this surname is found written Thear, Their and
Theyer, as well as Thayer, the latter being the generally accepted form of
spelling by virtually all of the families on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.
The immigrant Thaycrs were Richard and Thomas, the former of whom had
lands granted him in 1635, and was made freeman the same year, and the
latter in 1640. They are believed to have come to America as early as 1630,
from Braintree, Essex, England, and were among the earliest settlers of
Braintree, Massachusetts, in New England.
(IV) Carey P. Williams, son of Carlos D. and Ellen (Thayer) William^:,
was born in Northfield, Vermont, May 11, 1880. He received his preparatory
education in the public schools and the high schools of Burlington, Vermont,
after which he matriculated at the University of Vermont, and was graduated
from that institution in the class of 1902. His first business position was
with the Baldwin Locomotive Works, at Philadelphia, where he remained one
year: he then devoted himself to the telephone business in Philadelphia, then
remained one year at Jenkintown ; three years at Norristown ; one and a half
years at Scranton ; one and a half years at Reading, Pennsylvania; then re-
turned to Scranton, in October, 191 1, and his business interests have since
been identified with that city. He was made traffic supervisor of the Scranton-
Wilkes-Barre District, comprising a section one hundred and fifty-eight miles
wide and two hundred miles long, and he has developed this up to the highest
possible standard. He has executive ability of a high order, and this com-
bined with his foresight make of him "the right man in the right place." Mr.
Williams has taken an active part in the public affairs of Scranton, was one
of the organizers of the Boy Scout Council, and has held official position in
this body since 1909. He is a member of the Delta Psi fraternity ; the Loyal
Legion of the United States, a military organization ; the Rotary Club of
Scranton Scouts; master of the Boy Scouts; and organized the Reading
Council. His religious affiliation is with the Protestant Episcopal church. Mr.
Williams married, in October, 1908, Edith C. Lynch, of Philadelphia, and
they have children : Carey P. Jr.. Charlotte T., John Alden.
FRED ELIAS BEERS
From Pennsylvania via New Jersey, Connecticut and England, the Beers
genealogy may be traced to Holland, in Europe. The settlement in America
was made in Connecticut at an early day, from thence two brothers settled
in Morris county, New Jersey, from whence came Elias Tompkins Beers,
grandfather of Fred Elias Beers, of Scranton. locating in Honesdale, Penn-
sylvania, the birth-place of the two succeeding generations of this branch.
252 CITY OF SCRANTON
Elias Tompkins Beers, who came from Morris county, New Jersey, to
Honesdale, Pennsylvania, in 1835, was a son of David Beers, and grandson of
Nathan Beers, one of the two brothers above referred to. He was a mason,
contractor and builder and for many years conducted a large business in and
around Honesdale. Monuments to his mechanical skill, sterling integrity and
uncompromising honesty, there exist in number, including the Methodist, Bap-
tist, Presbyterian and Lutheran churches, the public building and finest private
residences of his day. He married Harriet Pruden, and left issue: Ulysses F.,
of whom further; Fannie, died in 191 1; Delia, married S. A. Roper and yet
resides in Dandy, New York.
Ulysses F. Beers, only son of Elias Tompkins Beers, was born in Hones-
dale, Pennsylvania, October 15, 1842, where he resided until 1913 when he
came to reside with his son in Scranton. He spent his active years as a
builder, having been a contractor of all forms of mason work, a trade he
learned in all its branches and followed until his retirement. He married
Amelia S.. daughter of Z. M. Pike Bunnell, of Pennsylvania. Children, all
deceased except Fred E. : Kniven Kirk, Harriet A., Roscoe D., Carlton F.,
Fred Elias.
Fred Elias Beers was born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, November 20, 1870.
He was educated in the public schools of Honesdale, finishing at high school,
Wyoming Business College ( 1888-89 ) then spent two years at Susquehanna
Collegiate Institute at Towanda, Pennsylvania. At that point in his career he
decided upon the law as his profession, entered the law department of the
University of Pennsylvania, whence he was graduated LL. B., class of 1896,
returning the following year and taking a post-graduate course. He registered
as a law student with Patterson & Wilcox, of Scranton, and in 1896 was ad-
mitted to the Lackawanna county bar. After his post-graduate course he
opened a law office in the Connell Building, and was there until 1913 when he
moved to the Pauli Building. He is a well established, highly regarded at-
torney of the city, piacticing in all state and federal courts of the district, in
association with R. Louis Grambs, a graduate of the law department of Cor-
nell L'niversity, forming the firm of Beers & Grambs at No. 419 Connell Build-
ing. Mr. Beers is a member of the State and County Bar associations, the
Knights of Malta, the Patriotic Order Sons of America and Green Ridge Club,
and in political action is strictly independent. For five generations in direct
line the family heads have been elders and deacons of the Presbyterian church
and pillars of strength in their respective congregations.
Mr. Beers married, in 1899, Mazie P., daughter of John and Jemima
(Matthews) Davis. Children: Fred Sturges. born November 9, 1900; John
Robert, November 20, 1901. The family residence is at Dalton, Pennsylvania.
SCRANTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
It was indeed a fortunate coincidence for the city of Scranton that in 1889,
when a special committee of the Board of Trade presented a report to the
eflfect "that they considered the starting of a free public library in Scranton
as feasible, provided the sum of at least $35,000 could be raised by subscription,
and tliat the chance of being able to do so was sufficiently good to warrant
the effort," that John Joseph Albright, now of Buft'alo, New York, came to the
front and offered to donate the site and building as a memorial to his parents,
Joseph J. and Elizabeth Albright. Mr. Albright determined that the build-
ing should be centrally located on the Albright homestead site, at the inter-
section of Washington avenue and Vine street ; his brother and sisters joining
him in the gift of land, and the entire tender was submitted to the city with the
CITY OF SCRANTON 253
following conditional clauses : I. For the establishment of a free public library
for the use and benefit of the citizens and residents of Scranton. II. That the
building be called the Albright Memorial Building. III. That the library there-
in placed be reasonably maintained. IV. That the same be managed and con-
trolled by a board of sixteen trustees, to be selected and appointed in manner
as specified. V. That the management and control provided for may be
changed at any time to conform to any general laws of the commonwealth
regulating free public libraries, when accepted by a majority of the trustees.
In due time city councils made formal acceptance of Mr. Albright's gift,
by an ordinance passed and approved April 5, 1890, in accordance with a deed
of gift which conveyed the property to trustees named for the purpose. Build-
ing operations were not begun for twelve months, the time being occupied by
the preparation of plans, letting of contracts, and for study of the entire situa-
tion.
Stimulated by Mr. Albright's magnificent gift, the "Citizens Subscription
Fund" soon reached $25,000; contributions of one hundred and forty-one per-
sons, in sums ranging from $3.00 to $1,000, and one of $5,000. The success
of this movement, designed for the purchase of books, was due largely to the
constant and untiring solicitations of the Rev. S. C. Logan, D. D., and the
equally earnest labors of Henry Belin Jr., treasurer of the committee. The first
stock of books purchased numbered about fourteen thousand six hundred
volumes, all of which were minutely catalogued and placed in condition for
use ; so that, on the completion of the building, and its dedication, the latter
occurring on May 25, 1893, the library was ready to be opened to the public,
whose use of the same began on the first of June, following. As soon as the
proposed library became a certainty, negotiations were begun by the librarv
board for a librarian, their choice falling upon Henry J. Carr, a most fortu-
nate selection, who was engaged to undertake the organization of the library ;
a work he accomplished with painstaking fidelity and has since continued as
librarian.
By a subsequent will of Trustee William Tallman Smith $1,000 was be-
queathed the library, which has been invested to found the "William Tallman
Smith Mining Section Fund," the income from the bequest to be used for the
purchase of technical works on mines and mining. The library depends solely
upon city appropriations for its support, which it has received annually, since
its founding, in sums varying from $10,000 to $15,000 and upwards. By judic-
ious application of those somewhat limited appropriations the library has been
able to fill a long felt need in the life of the city ; and, as an educational centre,
has served well the purpose of its founder and is an enduring memorial to the
parents of John Joseph Albright. The success of the library, too, has been due
to the stability of the board of trustees, several of the original members still
serving.
The Albright Memorial Building was erected at a final cost to its donor oF
$125,000, and is a substantial structure of pleasing architecture, in Franch
chateau style of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; the exterior material
being gray Indiana limestone, based on brown Medina stone, all laid in coursed
ashlar. The main portion of the building runs parallel with Vine street, and
is two stories in height, with a basement, from which a right angle wing pro-
jects, slightly lower, containing three stack room floors and a large room above
The roofs are high, of steep pitch, with twelve dormer gables, covered with
black Spanish tiles. In the panels of the dormers, as on other parts of the
building, are elaborately carved symbols of the notable early bookmakers.
Iron window sash, English casement style, have the glass leaded in various pat-
terns, and the transoms contain leaded medallions, showing the distinguishing
254 CITY OF SCRANTON
marks and devices used by the early printers ; while large colored glass win-
dows, in prominent portions of the building, depict celebrated book-bindings
of past centuries. The entrance hallway is laid in marble mosaic and the in
terior finish is in quartered oak, including the first story ceiling. Plate glass
partitions divide the lower floor into rooms, a view of the entire length being
possible. Three fireplaces constructed of imported marbles give a striking
eflfect. Including the stack-rooms, main building and basement, there is shelv-
ing space possible for seventy thousand volumes. In the near future an ad-
dition will be necessary; a prediction based upon the past growth and the al
ready crowded conditions now existing.
Henry James Carr, librarian of the Scranton Public Library, son of
Colonel James Webster and Jane D. (Goodhue) Carr, was born in Pembroke,
New Hampshire, August i6, 1849. He obtained his education in the grammar
and high schools of Manchester, New Hampshire, and Grand Rapids, Michi-
gan. From 1867 to 1886 he was accountant and cashier in commercial and
railway offices, later taking a partial law course at the University of Michigan
and gaining admission to the bar in 1879, although never engaging in the prac-
tice of the profession. In 1886 he became librarian of the Grand Rapids Pub-
lic Library, continuing as such until 1890, when he went to Saint Joseph,
Missouri, to organize a free public library in that city. In the following year
he came to Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he assisted the board of managers
in their plans for the new institution, his experience being a great help to
those in authority. Since that time he has been the capable head of the active
library work, the city receiving from his competent management a library of
exceptional system. He is a member of the American Library Association and
from 1886 to 1893 was its treasurer; from 1895 to 1896 recorder; vice-presi-
dent in 1896; secretary from 1898 to 1900; president from 1900 to 1901 ; and
a member of its council to the present time. In other organizations relative
to his calling he has also been prominent and is past vice-president and past
president of the Pennsylvania Library Club; and past president of the Key-
stone State Library Association. He is a contributor to several technical
periodicals, his articles being mainly on commercial accounting and library
topics. In his chosen calling, Mr. Carr has achieved an enviable reputation,
his prominence among others of the same following proving his worth, inas-
much as the judgment of one's colleagues is the final test of merit. Mr. Carr
married. May 13, 1886, D. Edith Wellbridge, of Springfield, Illinois.
CHARLES DUDLEY SANDERSON
In the person of Charles Dudley Sanderson the Scranton district is pos-
sessed of a citizen, who besides holding a prominent position in many circles,
is backed by the prestige of ancestry through "Mayflower" descent through
his father's mother, Mary (Cook) Sanderson, a member of this family hav-
ing had passage on that famous vessel.
(I) The pioneer ancestor of the Sanderson family settled in Waltham,
Massachusetts, in 1636, marrying. October 15, 1645, Mary Eggleston, of Dor-
chester, and had children : Deacon Jonathan, of whom further ; Hester.
(II) Deacon Jonathan Sanderson, of Cambridge, was born September 15,
1646, probably moved to Piety Corner, Waltham, about 1689, died September
3, 1735, and is buried in the old graveyard at Waltham. He married, October
24, 1669, Abbie Bartlett, born May 28, 1651, died September 13, 1723, and was
buried by the side of her husband. They were the parents of: John; Samue',
of whom further; Edward, died in 1776. married Mary Parkhurst and had
■iij
iPf
" '", RO,.S »5 "• THEN »VAS,
',: •■' tENCfO THE miONlSMT «ISe OF
/•aUl. REVCJt.
■ - ,.p AT .BOUT TWO OC.^C. O^- r»f .ORN.NO-
l.«,i. /« 1775, T»£ «««r BflNO etFAIf ^NO T^HE
MOC«>H ,Ti T«;«0 «UA.(««.50T THUS fAH ON Bl*
, ■-.M.-T^u T.-1 jnuccOr^ ALARMINO THE
'•- ' co-f/i-POHS. Wll-LIAH OAWf 5. OP e«TON, AND DK.
• SAMUEL PRESCOTT, or CONCOHB. W^xe. JUBPENuY
• HA1.«P 8r A BWTIJM PATROL, WHO HAD it^TlONtO
: TMMSetVSS AT THIS tCnfi 0> THE «OAD. DAWES
ruHKIH » BAt-K.HAK ms tSc>,Fe.PHes<iOTT,
C1.IAHIJ»» THE srowi MTAU, ANO Fotiowmo- A PATH
KNOWN TO HIM ThROUAH THl LOIf GrKCUNP, f^EaAINED
THE HIiHV/tY AT A fOinT FUKTHM OH. AND GAVE THS
ALARM AT CONC08B. RevtERE T«IEP TO HEACM THE
NElCHBO^JNO WO«C.Bur WAS lUTSWCfPTEO B If
A Mdlr OF OFFICERS AfCOjiPAKYm© THE PATROL,
DtTAIMM A»J. KEPT IM #l»!ESr. PgESCNTLr
ACK
TO i-tX.NSTOW, There FiELe>»S£0, A«D ThA"
MonK.Mft jemrp Hahcock amp Adams.
ntfuft ,r THC NIfiHT „, ,
WstE ALSe TAKEN BACK WlTn'RECERE.
Tah/ef on the roac/fo Concorc/
(in fhe tpwn ofUhco/n)
CITY OF SCRANTON
255
two children ; Hannah, married George Stearns, of Lexington, and settled at
Waltham.
(HI) Samuel Sanderson, son of Deacon Jonathan and Abbie (Bartlett)
Sanderson, was born May 28, 1681, and was killed by lightning, July 8, 1722.
He married, April 13, 1708, Mercy Gale, born September 16, 1683, died May
8, 1776. Children: Samuel, served in the French and Indian war; Abraham,
married Patience Smith, settled in Lunenburg and they were the parents of
thirteen children; Jonathan, of whom further; Mercy; Moses, married (first)
Mary Flagg, (second) Elizabeth Goddard.
(IV) Jonathan (2) Sanderson, son of Samuel and Mercy (Gale) Sander-
son, was born February 24, 17 14, died March 31, 1780. He married (first) Mar)'
Stearns, (second) Mary Bemis, born March 10, 1722, died August 16, 1801,
their marriage having been solemnized February 26, 1744. He was the father
of: Mary; Esther, married Captain Phineas Stearns, being his second wife;
Samuel, of whom further; Sarah; Elijah David; Nathan, married (first)
Elizabeth Bond, (second) Mrs. Mary Hastings, and had ten children, all by his
first marriage ; Jacob Jonathan, married Mary Adams ; Anna, married Isaac
Pierce.
(V) Samuel (2) Sanderson, son of Jonathan (2) and Mary (Bemis)
Sanderson, was born September 8, 1748, moved to Lancaster about 1776, and
died in 1800. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. He was captured
on the same evening and at the same place as Paul Revere, as is told in the
following lines :
TABLET ON THE ROAD TO CONCORD.
(In the Town of Lincoln)
AT THIS POINT
On the old Concord road, as it then was, ended the midnight ride of Paul Revere. He
had at about two o'clock of the evening of April 19, 1775, the night being clear and
the moon in its third quarter, got thus far on his way from Lexington to Concord, alarm-
ing the inhabitants as he went, when he and his companions, William Dawes, of Boston,
and Dr. Samuel Prescott, of Concord, were suddenly halted by a British patrol, who had
stationed themselves at this bend of the road. Dawes, turning back, made his escape.
Prescott, clearing the stone wall and following a path known to him through the low
ground, regained the highway at a point further on, and gave the alarm at Concord.
Revere tried to reach the neighboring wood, but was intercepted by a party of officers
accompanying the patrol, detained and kept in arrest. Presently he was carried by the
patrol back to Lexington, and there released, and that morning joined Hancock and
Adams. Three men of Lexington, Sanderson, Brown, and Loring, stopped at an earlier
hour of the night by the same patrol, were also taken back with Revere.
Mr. Sanderson married at Lexington, Massachusetts, October 27, 1772,
Mary Monroe, who died in Lexington, October 15, 1852, at the marvelous age
of one hundred and four years. In the Hand Book of Lexington Massa-
chusetts, published in 1891, under the direction of the Lexington Historical
Society, Mary Monroe Sanderson is mentioned as follows : "Near the old
Monroe Tavern, a little below and on the same side of the road, is the old
Sanderson House in which a wounded soldier was left by the British under the
care of Mrs. Sanderson. She lived to the remarkable age of one hundred
years and used to tell that the English soldier feared that she ineant to poison
him and would not take food or drink until some member of the family had
tasted it. In this house was born Lewis Downing, the famous coach builder."
Samuel and Mary (Monroe) Sanderson had issue: Amos; Mary, married
Daniel Clark; Samuel, of whom further; Nancy; Lydia, married Ezra Fiske,
of Weston, Massachusetts ; Isaac, of East Cambridge.
256 CITY OF SCRANTON
(VI) Samuel (3) Sanderson, son of Samuel (2) and Mary (Monroe)
Sanderson, was born January 17, 1776, died July 18, 1829. He married
Eunice, daughter of George L. Lawrence, born May 3, 1784, and had children:
Benjamin Lawrence, of whom further; Marshall; Chester, married Sarah
Stickney; Caroline, married Edward Goodnow ; Grace; Elizabeth Herrick;
Harriet.
(VII) Benjamin Lawrence Sanderson, son of Samuel (3) and Eunice
(Lawrence) Sanderson, was born in West Cambridge, Massachusetts, and
was a lieutenant-colonel in the Massachusetts Militia, his commission from
Levi Lincoln, governor of the state, reading as follows :
His Excellency, Levi Lincoln, Governor and Commander in Chief of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts to Benjamin L. Sanderson, Esq. Greetings —
You have been elected on the loth day of July, 1832, Lieut. Colonel of the First
Regiment of Cavalry in the First Brigade and Third Division of the Militia of the
Commonvifealth ; reposing special trust and conlidence in your ability, courage, and good
conduct, I do, by these presents, Commission you accordingly. You will therefore with
honor and fidelity discharge the duties of said office according to the laws of this Com-
monwealth and to the Military Rule and Discipline. And all inferior Officers and sol-
diers are hereby commanded to obey you in your said capacity, and you will yourself
observe and follow such Orders and Instructions as you shall from time to time receive
from the Commander in Chief, or others your Superior officers.
Given under my hand and the seal of the Commonwealth the 14th day of July, 1832,
and in the 57th year of the Independence of the United States of America.
By His Excellency, the Governor,
Signed, LEVI LINCOLN.
EDWARD BANGS, Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Benjamin L. Sanderson married j\Iary C. Cook and had children: Theo-
dore Lyman, born in 1824, married (first) Mary , (second) Lizzie
Corey; Emily, married William Kidder; Clarence Marcellus, of whom further.
(VIII) Clarence Marcellus Sanderson, son of Benjamin L. and Alary C.
(Cook) Sanderson, was born at Charlestown Neck, now Arlington, Massa-
chusetts, June 9, 1829, and until he was thirteen years of age attended the
comtnon school of West Cambridge, at that age moving to Vermont. Upon
attaining his majority he engaged in business in the copper mining regions
of Lake Superior, in 1865 becoming a member of the firm of Day, Huddle
& Company, coal dealers, in Maiden, Massachusetts, and in 1876 became the
owner of the Phoenix Colliery at Pittston, Pennsylvania, organizing the Pan-
coast Coal Company, of Scranton, the property of that company being in
Throop. This concern enjoyed a successful continuance and Mr. Sanderson
was connected therewith the remainder of his active life. He maintained his
residence in Newark, New Jersey, his summer home being in the beautiful
village of Madison, New Jersey. He was well known in social and fraternal
organizations, belonging to the Essex Club of Newark, Lodge, Chapter, Com-
mandery and Shrine of the Masonic Order, the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, the Royal Arcanum and the Knights of Honor. He married
(first) in 1851, Mary Orinda, who died in 1864, daughter of the Hon. John
Waite, of West Randolph, Vermont; (second) in 1866, Mrs. Eliza A. Bellman,
of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Children of first marriage : Mary Emma, born
in 1853 ; Charles Dudley, of whom further. By his second marriage he ha&
one son, James Murray, born in 1872, a graduate of Columbia Law School,
class of 1895.
(IX) Charles Dudley Sanderson, son of Clarence Marcellus and Mary
Orinda (Waite) Sanderson, was born at Rockland, Ontonagon county, Michi-
gan, October 13, 1856. His birthplace was a log cabin, and in 1862 he ac-
companied his parents to Maiden, Massachusetts, and to Newark, New Jer-
1
^;^^^^/
~-"-^^~^^\\^'^^»^«^
CITY OF SCRANTON 257
sey, in 1866. He obtained his education in the pubHc and private institutionb
of Maiden, Massachusetts, and Newark, New Jersey, in December, 1874,
moving to Waverly, New York, three years later to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsyl-
vania. In April, 1879, 'i*^ returned to Waverly, learning the trade of machinist
in the locomotive works of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, at Wilkes-
Barre, and at Waverly. Moving to Throop, Pennsylvania, on January 26,
1882, he entered the employ of the Pancoast Coal Company, subsequently
serving that corporation in a variety of capacities, among them locomotive en-
gineer, weighmaster, bookkeeper and paymaster, being made general superin-
tendent of the company on October i, 1888. For fourteen years and two
months he directed the multifarious and complicated affairs of this concern,
resigning his position at the end of that time, the ownership of the company
having changed hands. Mr. Sanderson took up his residence in the city of
Scranton, April I, 1901, entering into business as a stock broker, his services,
because of his well known business record, being greatly in demand. He was
later appointed treasurer of a manufacturing concern, and was afterward en-
gaged as manufacturer's agent in the sale of machinery and supplies, a
business oiifering practically inexhaustible resources in such a community as
Scranton. While a resident of Throop, Mr. Sanderson took an active part
in all public aft'airs and gave abundantly of his time and efficient service to his
city, the same characteristics having marked his career as a member of the
Scranton community. He was appointed postmaster of Throop by President
Arthur, January 5, 1882, holding this office continuously for nineteen years,
and on February 17, 1885, was elected burgess of Dickson City borough, serv-
ing one year. He was a member of the school board of Dickson City borough,
being elected in February, 1887, serving as secretary for three years, at the
end of that time being re-elected and was made president of the board. When
the setting off of Throop from the borough of Dickson City was proposed
he was prominent in the agitation of this matter and instrumental in securing
incorporation papers for the new borough, which were granted April 16,
1894. On May i, 1894, he was elected school director of the borough of
Throop, holding the office of secretary for one year, being re-elected the fol-
lowing year, and for three years was president, secretary and treasurer, respec-
tively. For seven years he was treasurer of Throop Hose Company, No. i,
of which he was a founder, a fire-fighting organization which has performed
meritorious service in the borough. Since April i, 1898, Mr. Sanderson has
been a vestryman of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, having been re-elected each
year since that date. He is a Thirty-second Degree Mason, belonging to Peter
Williamson Lodge, No. 323, F. and A. M., of which he is past master; Lacka-
wanna Chapter, No. 185, R. A. M. ; Scranton Council, No. 44, R. and S. M. ;
Keystone Consistory, Sovereign Princes of the Royal Secret ; Coeur de Lion
Commandery, No. 17, K. T., of which he is a past eminent commander; and
Lulu Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also
a member of Scranton Council, No. 923, R. A.; I. O. of H., Providence Coun-
cil, No. 195 ; Scranton Board of Trade ; and the Scranton Engineers' Club.
Mr. Sanderson is numbered among the members of the New England So-
ciety, of Northeastern Pennsylvania, of which he is vice-president, and the
Pennsylvania Society, Sons of the Revolution.
Mr. Sanderson married, September 10, 1887, Gertrude, daughter of Andrew
Jackson and Jemima Ellen (Sax) Griffith, of West Pittston, Pennsylvania,
and has children : Charles Dudley Jr., born at Throop, Pennsylvania, the birth-
place of his brother and sister, October 14, 1889; Lucy Griffith, born May 15,
1893; Clarence Marcellus, born November 4, 1894.
17
258 CITY OF SCRANTON
RUFUS J. FOSTER
Rufus James Foster, son of Clement Storer and Rebecca (McCamant) Fos-
ter, and cousin of Thomas Jefferson Foster, founder of the International Corres-
pondence Schools, was born in Minersville, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania,
October lo, 1856. He was educated in the public and private schools of Ash-
land, Pennsylvania, and when eighteen years of age secured a position in the
mining engineering department of the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron
Company, a connection which continued greatly to his benefit, because of the
vast fund of practical experience he was accumulating, until the fall of 1887,
when upon resigning his position he associated himself with his cousin, Thomas
Jefferson Foster, in the publication of the Colliery Engineer, a technical min-
ing paper then published at Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, now its seat of pub-
lication being Scranton, whither it was moved in 1888. With Mr. Foster as
editor, a circulation campaign was inaugurated, the highest authorities on min-
ing subjects were obtained as contributors, and the general tone of the jour-
nal so raised that as a conservative and reliable organ of mining information
it was unsurpassed, in consequence of which it is now the most widely read
of all periodicals in its special field. Upon the incorporation of the company
in 1890, Mr. Foster became a member of the board of directors and at the
organization of that body was elected president.
In 1890 he assisted Thomas J. Foster in the formation and organization
of the first department of the International Correspondence Schools, and
since that year has been continuously connected with the International Text-
book Company, of which he is now vice-president and was formerly presi-
dent. This company is one of the largest publishers of technical works, and
prepares the textbooks used by the International Correspondence Schools. Mr.
Foster's personal ability and energetic enthusiasm has contributed largely to
the success which has attended the company since its incorporation and many
new features are the result of his careful planning.
Mr. Foster is a member of the Board of Trade, of the Engineers' Club of
Scranton and the American Institute of Mining Engineers ; is an associate
member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and is an honorary
member of the Coal Mining Institute of America. In the Masonic Order he
is a member of Peter Williamson Lodge, No. 323, F. and A. M. ; Lackawanna
Chapter, No. 185, R. A. M. ; Scranton Council, Royal and Select Masters;
Coeur de Lion Commandery, No. 17, K. T. ; and Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic
Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the Scranton Club,
the Scranton Country Club, the New England Society of Northeastern Penn-
sylvania, of which he was president in 1910-11, and the Pennsylvania Societv,
Sons of the Revolution. Politically he is a supporter of the Republican party,
and holds religious affiliation with St. Luke's Protestant Episcopal Church, of
which he is a vestryman.
Mr. Foster married, September 9, 1884, Jane Bennett Taylor, born Janu-
ary 9, 1858, youngest daughter of Joseph F. and Adeline (Nice) Taylor, of
Minersville. Joseph F. Taylor was a member of the Society of Friends, and a
pioneer coal operator of the Schuylkill region. Mr. and Mrs. Foster have one
son, Joseph T., a graduate of Yale University, A. B., class of 1908, a repre-
sentative of the brokerage firm of Montgomery, Clothier & Tyler, of Phila-
delphia. I
CITY OF SCRANTON 259
JAMES W. GUERNSEY
For a half of a century a business man of the city of Scranton, James W.
Guernsey entered business life only after failing health had compelled the
abandonment of a plan of activity that he had cherished through young man-
hood, the practice of law. He is a native of Pennsylvania, descendant of a
New England family that was settled in Pennsylvania by James W. Guernsey's
grandfather, Joseph U. Guernsey, coming from Connecticut.
(I) Joseph U. Guernsey made his home in Susquehanna county, Pennsyl-
vania, in 1802, and there become a man of position and prominence. He mai-
ried and they had children : John W., for many years a member of the Penn-
sylvania state legislature; Peter B. ; Warren; Levi B., of whom further;
Hiram C. ; Anna ; Sophia, married Peter William and had a son, Henry W.,
for many years a judge of the superior court of Pennsylvania, passing a great
part of that time as president judge.
(H) Levi B. Guernsey, son of Joseph U. Guernsey, was born in Canaan,
Connecticut, in 1798. He married Hannah P. Carrier and they had children:
George M., married Martha Roche and they had children, Maud and Fannie;
Peter C, married Martha Allen and they had children ; James W., of whom
further; J. Frank; Ophelia C, died young; Abbie M., married George M.
Sweet, a soldier of the Union army, who met his death at the battle of Gettys-
burg; Sophia W., married William Clark; Almira C, married Alonzo M.
Stearns ; Marie M., married J. K. Brady, of Scranton ; Alice, married Frank
Lamberson.
(HI) James W. Guernsey, son of Levi B. and Hannah P. (Carrier;
Guernsey, was born at Bridgewater, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, De-
cember 31, 1846. He there attended the public schools until he was eighteen
years of age. After graduating from Montrose Academy, he was for one year
a school teacher, then went to Michigan and for three years taught in the
State Reform School at Lansing. At the end of this time he began the studv
of law under the direction of Professor Angell, one of the most brilliant law-
yers and most able jurists of his day, but ill health made it necessary to re-
linquish his legal ambitions. After discontinuing his studies for the pro-
fession of law Mr. Guernsey moved to Scranton, there establishing himself
in the sale of musical instruments, a line he had since followed. His stock in-
cludes instruments of all kinds, wind and string, all of a high and reliable
grade, and through his long continuance in this business he has come to own a
steady patronage, held to his store because of the uniformly courteous and
attentive treatment there received and because there value is given in every
transaction. He has prospered in gratifying measure, his business being not
only the oldest of its kind in the city, but one which compares more than favor-
ably with others of a §imilar nature. Mr. Guernsey is a member of the
Masonic Order, with which he became identified in Lansing, Michigan, and be-
longs to the Second Presbyterian Church of Scranton. His political stand
is independent.
Mr. Guernsey married Mary C. Ives, a teacher of the Scranton public
schools, and they are the parents of the following children : Jessie, married
N. B. Spencer, of Honesdale, Pennsylvania, and is the mother of James and
Ruth ; May, married A. C. Curtis ; Edwin ; Bertha, married John Roderick,
and they are the parents of Lois and Mary ; Clara, unmarried, acting book-
keeper and active in the business with her father.
26o CITY OF SCRANTON
REV. WILLIAM P. O'DONNELL
Father O'Donnell has been for a quarter of a century a priest of the
Roman CathoHc church in the Scranton district, in that time .identified with
two churches. His administration has been in every way a success, and the
expansion that has taken place under his leadership has been of far-reaching
influence, its outward evidence, the erection of a new and costly house of
worship, being one of its least important effects.
Rev. William P. O'Donnell is a son of Patrick and Ann (McNelis) O'Don-
nell. His father was a native of Ireland, and here he passed his entire life,
a butcher and dealer in cattle. William P. O'Donnell was born in Donegai,
Ireland, October lo, 1855, and there obtained his early education, his native
land being his home for the first thirteen years of his life. Coming to the
United States at that age he attended the public schools of Wilkes-Barre, and
later taught in Sugar Notch, afterward entering Kingston Academy, whence
he was graduated in the class of 1878. He then became a student in St.
Charles College, receiving a diploma of graduation from this institution in
1880, and then took up the study of theology in the Roman Catholic Seminary,
at Baltimore, Maryland. After completing his course he was ordained into the
ministry of the Roman Catholic church at Scranton, July 25, 1889, the Right
Rev. Bishop O'Hara officiating at the ceremony. On November 19, following
his ordination, he was appointed assistant to the Rev. Father McManus, pas-
tor of the Providence church, and was there in service until May i, 1897,
when he was appointed to the pastorate of the Holy Cross Church, of Scran-
ton, by the Right Rev. Bishop O'Hara, the dignitary who performed the rites
that made him a priest of the Church.
Since this date Rev. Father O'Donnell has been in charge of the Holy
Cross congregation, first building for their use a temporary church at the
corner of Fifth avenue and Broadway, the structure being dedicated on July
4, 1897. The congregation has now in the course of erection a church edifice
that, when completed, will have cost seventy-five thousand dollars and will be
a worthy temple for a congregation of the strength of that of the Holy Cross
Church. Rev. Father O'Donnell has here perfected a church organization
efficient and useful, his leadership able and inspired. He is a member of the
Holy Name Society and the Catholic Alutual Benefit Society. His political
convictions are according to the teachings of no political organization.
DAVID J. REEDY
David J. R«edy was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, August 8, 1871,
son of John and Hannah (O'Malley) Reedy, who passed the greater part
of their lives in the city of Scranton, where John Reedy was engaged in the
grocery business, in which he was highly successful. They were the parents
of five children: Walter M., a practicing physician of Scranton; David J., of
this review; Mary E., John J., William A.
David J. Reedy attended the public schools of his native city, then pursued
a course of study in the parochial schools, after which he matriculated in St.
Michael's College, Toronto, Canada, and subsequently became a student in the
law department of the University of Pennsylvania. He was admitted to the
bar, October i, 1892, and he established in general practice in Scranton, for a
time serving as solicitor of the local school board, and on September i, 1907,
receiving an appointment as first assistant district attorney. Becoming thor-
oughly familiar with the duties and requirements of the office by his in-
cumbency of that position, upon his appointment as district attorney, January
CITY OF SCRANTON 261
2, 1912, he entered vigorously upon his administration, serving with useful-
ness until January 5, 1914, when his term expired. During that period and
all through his professional career his conduct has been marked by a strict
sense of honor, from which neither desire nor temptation has induced him to
swerve. The Democratic party is that which has ever claimed his allegiance,
and he is a communicant of the Roman Catholic church. Among the or-
ganizations in which he holds membership are the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Improved Order of
Red Men and the Scranton Country Club.
Mr. Reedy married, October 23, 1901, Agnes Crossen, deceased, and has
one daughter, Margaret.
GEORGE WASHINGTON SLOCUM
The first Slocum of record in the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valleys cf
Pennsylvania is Joseph Slocum, the great-great-great-grandfather of George
Washington Slocum, of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Joseph Slocum was a great-
great-grandson of Anthony Slocum, the founder of the family in America, a
family of honorable record from early colonial times. While the name is
found under varied spellings, the form "Slocum" has been quite uniformly ad-
hered to since 1700, by the descendents of Giles Slocum, eldest son of Anthony,
who is the common ancestor of all Slocums in America claiming colonial
ancestry dating prior to the year 1700. Anthony Slocum was of English
birth, Somersetshire believed to have been the family seat, and 1637 the year
of the arrival in New England. The coat-of-arms of "Slocombe" of Somer-
setshire is thus described. "Argent on a fess gules between three griffins' heads
couped sable, as many sinister wings or." Crest : "Griffin's head gules be-
tween two wings extended or."
(I) Anthony Slocum, the emigrant, is recorded as one of the forty-six
"first and ancient purchasers" in 1637 of the territory of Cohannet, which was
incorporated as Taunton in New Plymouth, now Massachusetts, March 3,
1639. In 1662 he moved to that part of New Plymouth, which in 1664 was
incorporated as Dartmouth township. He is believed to have become a mem
ber of the Society of Friends, which was the cause of his removal to Dart-
mouth and his exclusion from the rights of citizenship. His wife is believed
to have been a sister of William Harvey, who was also one of the "first pur-
chasers" of Taunton.
(II) Giles Slocum, eldest son of Anthony Slocum, was born in 1618 In
Somersetshire, England, died in Portsmouth township, Rhode Island, 1682.
He was a land owner, prosperous and energetic, and a member of the Society
of Friends. His wife, Joan (Barton) Slocum, "the wife of old Giles Slocum
she Dyed at Portsmouth the 3idt 6 mo 1679," according to Friends' record of
Portsmouth, was the mother of nine sons and daughters.
(III) Samuel Slocum, the seventh child of Giles and Joan (Barton) Slo-
cum, was born November 4, 1657. He resided in or near Newport, Rhoae
Island, where he married and had a son Giles (2).
(IV) Giles (2) Slocum, son of Samuel Slocum, was born in Newport,
Rhode Island, 1680, was there admitted a freeman in May, 1707, and died
prior to 1724. He married, at Newport, November 27, 1707, Alary, daughter
of Ralph and Dorothy Paine, of Freetown.
(V) Hon. Joseph Slocum, eldest son of Giles (2) and Mary (Paine)
Slocum, was born in Newport, Rhode Island, was married there to Patience
Carr, September 27, 1724, and moved to East Greenwich township, Rhode
Island. He was admitted a freeman there in 1732 and became a farmer and
262 CITY OF SCRANTON
land dealer. He was deputy to the general assembly of Rhode Island, 1741-
1742 and 1744. There is little known of his later life, but in Miner's "History of
the Wyoming Valley" (Pennsylvania) he is named as one of the first settlers
of Kingston, about 1768. His first wife. Patience, was a daughter of Caleb
Carr, of Jamestown. He married (second) in 1743, Hannah , who
bore him a daughter. By his first wife he had six children, all daughters, ex-
cept the fourth child, Jonathan.
(VI) Jonathan Slocum, son of Hon. Joseph and Patience (Carr) Slocum,
was born in East Greenwich township, Kent county, Rhode Island, May i,
1733, was killed by the Indians on the town plot of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsyl-
vania, December 6, 1778. He married, February 23, 1757, Ruth Tripp, born
March 21, 1736, died at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, May 6, 1807, daugh-
ter of Isaac Tripp, of Warwick. After his marriage they lived in Warwick.
where he purchased land of his father-in-law and followed his trade of black-
smith. His father, Joseph Slocum, and Isaac Tripp, his father-in-law, went
to the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania about 1768. Jonathan Slocum, leav-
ing his family behind, followed them and bought land now within or very
near the present city of Scranton. Afterward he returned to Rhode Island,
coming again to the Wyoming Valley in the year 1774, settling with his
family in a house within one hundred yards of Wilkes-Barre Fort. On No-
vember 2, 1778, a party of Delaware Indians invaded the settlement and car-
ried away his five year old daughter, Frances. In 1835 she was found living
in Miami county, Indiana, widow of an ^ndian Chief, possessed of consider-
able property and a person of influence among the Indians. She died March
9, 1847. On December 16, 1778, Jonathan Slocum and his father-in-law,
Isaac Tripp, were killed by the Indians and Tories, and William Slocum, son
of Jonathan Slocum, wounded, although he escaped. Jonathan Slocum was a
member of the Society of Friends and kindly disposed toward the Indian',
from whom he considered himself free from attack, being a non-combatant.
His eldest son, Giles, was one of the few who escaped massacre after the
battle of Wyoming; Judith, his eldest daughter, married Hugh Forsman, who
fought in the same battle and was one of the fifteen of Captain Hewett's com-
pany that escaped slaughter and the only one to bring off his gun ; William,
the second son, was wounded as stated, later became sheriff of Luzerne county,
jnd one of the prominent and influential members of his company ; Ebenezer,
of further mention ; Mary, the second daughter, married Joseph Towne ;
Frances, "the Indian Captive," was called by the Indians Ma-con-a-quah,
meaning "young bear," she married (first) an Indian "Little Turtle," (second)
ihe chief of the Miamis named She-poe-kew-ah, but called by the whites "The
Deaf Man;" she was later in life reunited with her family, but never returned
,0 them; she had forgotten her own tongue; she was well cared for and lived
in comfort with her Indian friends until her death ; a portrait of Frances
Slocum appears in Lossing's "Field Book of the Revolution" and in Peck's
'History of Wyoming," engraved from an oil painting, painted for her brother,
Joseph, in 1839; Benjamin, the fourth son, was the first postmaster in the
Lackawanna Valley and in 1826 occupied his farm, now the site of the present
tillage of Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania ; Isaac, Joseph and Jonathan, the eighth,
ninth and tenth children, all married and reared families.
(VII) Ebenezer Slocum, third son and fourth child of Jonathan and Ruth
(Tripp) Slocum, was born in Warwick township, Kent county, Rhode Island,
January 10, 1766. He came to' Pennsylvania when eight years of age, and died
from apoplexy on the street while on a visit to Wilkes-Barre. Pennsylvania,
July 25, 1832. He was one of the earliest settlers of Providence, (now
Scranton) and in 1798 purchased an interest in a grist mill at Deep Hollow,
CITY OF SCRANTON 263
which he named L"nionville, carrying that name on his books until 1828, when
he adopted the local name for the place "Slociim Hollow." He there built a
distillery in 1798 and a saw mill in 1799. In the latter year his brother
Benjamin purchased the interest of James Duwain. The brothers in 1800
built an iron forge and in 181 1 another distillery. The isolated settlement
became an important trading point and so continued until the iron ore was ex-
hausted in 1822 and the partnership between the brothers dissolved. Ebenezet
Slocum built the first frame house at the "Hollow" in 1805 and it was a land-
mark known as the "Old Slocum red house," the oldest house in Scranton.
The first lodge of Odd Fellows in Scranton was organized in this house and
for a time meetings were held in a room over the kitchen. In 1875 the old
house was torn down to give further room for the extensive street works.
In 1821 Ebenezer Slocum was justice of the peace, the district then including
the present Pittston, Providence and Exeter townships. He was a good thrifty
man of business and acquired 1800 acres now included within the limits of
Scranton and all underlaid with coal. He gave the first period of business
prosperity to Scranton (as it is now) and when the brothers ceased operations
progress was checked in the "Hollow" for several years.
Ebenezer Slocum married, in Warwick, Rhode Island, December 3, 1790,
Sarah Davis, born August 31, 1771, died November i, 1842, daughter of Dr.
Joseph and Obedience (Sperry) Davis. They were the parents of thirteen
children, nine of them sons. All of these married except Charles Miner and
Mary.
(VIH) Joseph (2) Slocum, fifth child and fourth son of Ebenezer and
Sarah (Davis) Slocum, was born at the home of his grandfather. Dr. Davis,
in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, July 15, 1800, died in Scranton, June 22, 1890.
During his minority he was employed in the different lines of activity with
his father and became an expert worker in metal, being able to forge anything
from a horse shoe to the complicated parts of machines. He also made all
the boots and shoes for the family, was a good horseshoer and for a time
ran the saw mill. He worked on the Delaware and Hud.son Canal for a few
months and for eighteen months for Rodolphus Bingham. He then, in
association with his brother, Samuel, managed his father's estate and was so
employed until the latter's death in 1832. The estate of 1800 acres was di-
vided by the administrator into four parcels, Joseph and Samuel obtaining
lot No. 4, containing 505 acres. He bought from his brothers and sisters until
he owned 626 acres, located in the heart of Scranton, and on account of the
coal underneath it of great value. He was a man of remarkable endurance,
and was the victim of more serious accidents than is believable, yet lived
to a good old age although crippled by the many broken ribs and bones he
carried. The sale of his lands realized him a handsome fortune, and no man
was more highly respected in the city than "Uncle" Joseph Slocum. He never
used tobacco or ardent spirits. He was a Whig and Republican, was the first
burgess of Scranton borough, and held many local offices. He was one of the
first poor directors and while he was in office no taxes were levied on the poor.
Mr. Slocum married, December 22, 1830, Edilda Bingham, daughter of
Rodolphus and Sally ( Kimball ) Bingham, of Palmyra, Pike county, Penn-
sylvania, becoming acquainted with her while working for her father. For
two years after marriage they each lived with their parents, beginning house-
keeping in a new frame house near the old stone still house. Later they
moved to the "Old red Slocum house." She was born December 24, 1805,
and on December 22, 1880, the aged couple celebrated their golden wedding.
Children: Joseph W^arren, of whom further: Rodolphus Bingham, born May
4, 1845, married, in May, 1874, Anna Lloyd, and moved to Jonesville, Wis-
consin.
264 CITY OF SCRANTON
(IX) Joseph Warren Slocum, eldest son of Joseph (2) and Edilda (Bing-
ham) Slocum, was born July 23, 1833, in Scranton, died August 31, 191 3.
He was one of the seven children who comprised the first school in Slocum
Hollow. He was a lumber dealer in Scranton, and for twenty years was
deputy United States marshal. He married, in Salem, Wayne county, Penn-
sylvania, February 21, 1856, Hannah M. Collins. Children: Florence Weston.
born April 3, 1858; Frank Huntington, born June 20, 1861, married Carrie
Faust; Kate, born July 22, 1865, married F. A. Taylor, income assessor in
Rock county, Wisconsin, and they have three children, Helen, Philip and Al-
len, and reside in Janesville, Wisconsin : Joseph, born November 22, 1867,
married Eunice Kimble; Ida, born May 7. 1870, died in infancy; Bessie, born
October 16, 1871, died October 8, 1877; George W.
(X) George W. Slocum, youngest child of Joseph Warren and Hannah
M. (Collins) Slocum, was born in Scranton, May 25, 1876. He was in busi-
ness in Janesville, Wisconsin, in the sale of coal and wood, farming imple-
ments, etc. He returned to Scranton, in 1904, and was associated with his
father up to the time of his death. He married, August 14, 1902, Clara,
daughter of Herman Kellogg. Children: Jay Warren, born July i, 1905;
George K., November 16, 1907; Louis C, August 12, 1913.
LOUIS WATRES HEALY
The business activities of Louis Watres Healy, of Scranton, Pennsylvania,
have at this time assumed a more general turn than earlier in his career,
when his profession, that of electrical engineer, claimed all of his time and at-
tention. The Westinghouse Electrical and Manufacturing Company and the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company were the companies with which his early
experience as an electrical engineer was obtained, while the greatest work he
accomplished along electrical lines was as president and general manager of
the LTnited Power Company, of East Liverpool, Ohio. Business interests in
Scranton know him now as secretary of the Wayne Development Company,
secretary of the Scranton Cold Storage Company, as president of the Shoshone
Tungsten Mining Company, of Nevada, vice-president of the Spring Brook
Water Supply Company, while he is associated in an advisory capacity with a
number of the city's institutions.
Mr. Healy is a son of Samuel Healy, the latter born in 1836. Samuel
Healy was educated for the profession of a civil engineer, and followed that
calling for several years. He became a soldier in the Fifty-sixth Regiment
Pennsylvania Volunteers, when war was declared between the states, and
served through that struggle as adjutant with the rank of captain. He was
engaged in many of the most important conflicts of the war, and was wounded
at the battle of Gettysburg, receiving an honorable discharge from duty at the
close of the war. The strain and exposure of life at the front had so lowered
his vitality and strength that his death occurred a short time after the cessation
of hostilities. He married Florence Eugenia, daughter of Louis S. Watres,
and they had one son, Louis Watres, of whom further.
Louis Watres Healy, son of Samuel and Florence Eugenia ( Watres "1
Healy, was born in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, December 4, 1866. His pre-
liminary education was obtained in the public institutions of Scranton and un-
der private instruction, and in 1886 he entered Cornell LIniversity, receiving
his degree of electrical engineer from that institution in 1890. He first entered
the service of the Wightman Electric Company, of Scranton, one year later
going with the Westmghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, of Pitts-
burgh, with which corporation he remained for three years. While still as-
CITY OF SCRANTON 265
sociated with the Westinghouse Company, Mr. Healy received an appoint-
ment to the electrical department of the Pennsylvania Railroad, being lo-
cated at Altoona, Pennsylvania, the latter corporation his employer for a
period of three years.
With his appointment to the presidency of the East Liverpool Railroad
Company, Mr. Healy transferred the scene of his activities from Pennsyl-
vania to Ohio. Not long afterward he became president and general manager
of the Ceramic City Electric Light Company, and then president and general
manager of the Wellsville Electric Light Company, three important concerns
controlling public utilities, there being associated with Mr. Healy in these com-
panies Colonel Watres and William F. Hallstead. Through the activity of
Mr. Healy, these three companies were consolidated under the title of the
United Power Company, of which he was president and general manager until
the Liverpool properties were disposed of. While holding these high positions
in the United Power Company, Mr. Healy was likewise president and general
manager of the Island Run Coal Company, having acquired valuable coal
lands to which the railroad extended its line for operation. His administra-
tion of his various offices was in every way a success, and in the merging of
the individual companies into one controlling interest he put into practice or-
ganizing powers and abilities that made his work perfect and complete.
Mr. Healy's return to Scranton was for the purpose of undertaking the
utilization of the Paupack river water power for the generation of electricity
to supply the Lackawanna and Wyoming valleys and since that time he ha'^
remained in the city. He is now secretary of the Wayne Development Com-
pany, holding the same office in the Scranton Cold Storage Company, and is
vice-president of the Spring Brook Water Supply Company. He is, as pre-
viously stated, president of the Shoshone Tungsten Mining Company, owning
properties in Nevada. He is a member of the Phi Kappa Psi and the Theta
Nu Epsilon fraternities, to which he was elected while a student at Cornell
University.
Mr. Healy married, in 1896, Louise Bright Rowe, of Atlanta, Georgia,
and they are the parents of Joel Watres, born May 20, 1900; Louis Hollister,
born March 16, 1904.
FRANK RAYMOND STOCKER
Paternal grandfather, Albert Stocker, came to Salem township, Wayne
county, Pennsylvania, in 1840 from Fairfield county, Connecticut, where the
family had lived since the middle of the seventeenth century, having emigrated
from England. Paternal grandmother, Lydia Rebecca ( Peet ) Stocker, whose
earliest American ancestor, John Peet, came from Duffield Parish, Derbyshire,
England, to New England, on the ship "Hopewell" in 1635 and became one
of the pioneer settlers of Stratford, Connecticut. Maternal grandfather, Al-
bert R. Raymond, was a Presbyterian minister, educated at L^nion College, and
at Princeton Theological Seminary. He preached for upwards of forty years
in the villages of Hamlinton and Sterling, Wayne county. The Raymond
family were French Huguenots and emigrated to England at the time of the
persecution of Nantes and from England emigrated to the Genesee Valley,
New York State. Maternal grandmother, Mary (Wright) Raymond, a mem-
ber of the Wright family of Massachusetts.
(II) James D. Stocker, son of Albert and Lydia Rebecca (Peet) Stocker,
was born in Salem township, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, March 9, 1850.
He received a good education and spent his early life in Wayne county, going
to Jermyn, Pennsylvania, in 1872, where he engaged in the mercantile busi-
266 CITY OF SCR.\NTON
ness, at first for himself and later in partnership with S. W. Cook, until
1898. He is interested in various enterprises, among others the Wilson Lum-
ber & Milling Company, the Huntingdon Water Supply Company, the Arm-
strong Water Company, the National Water Works & Guarantee Company,
the Consumers Water Company of Montrose, in all of which institutions he is
an officer.
(HI) Frank Raymond Stocker, son of James D. and Frances (Raymond)
Stocker, was born in Jermyn, Pennsylvania, July 24, 1876. He attended the
public schools in Jermyn, and prepared for college in the School of the Lacka-
wanna at Scranton, graduating from the latter institution in the class of 1894.
He then entered Yale Liniversity, whence he was graduated with the degree of
Bachelor of Arts in the class of 1898. At college, he stood eleventh in his
class and took special honors in Economics and History. At graduation, on
account of the illness of his father, he assisted in his business for a year ani
a half, and then entered upon the study of law in the offices of Willard,
Warren & Knapp, and on January 29, 1901, was admitted to the bar of
Lackawanna county and later to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, as well
as the Federal courts of the districts, in which he practices. For several years
he had charge of the legal and claim departments of the Pennsylvania Casualty
Company, a position he resigned in the spring of 1909. Since April i, 1909,
he has engaged in the general practice of law, with offices at 603-04 Mears
building, Scranton, Pennsylvania. In 1912 and 1913 he was assistant dis-
trict attorney of Lackawanna county. He is a member of the First Presby-
terian Church of Carbondale, Pennsylvania. In politics, he is a Democrat and
served one term as chairman of the Lackawanna County Democratic Commit-
tee.
On October 17. 1901, he married Marion Fraser Crane, daughter of Israel
and Mary (Lathrope) Crane, of Carbondale, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Stocker
died March 18, 1914. Children: James D., born September 10, 1902; Dwight
L., born February 8, 1904: Frank R. Jr., born January 3, 1909. Mr. Stocker
lived in Jermyn until the death of his wife, since which time he has been
living at 92 Lincoln avenue. Carbondale, Pennsylvania.
GEORGE F. HOWER
Hower & Stender, lumber dealers, hold high position, not only among
firms operating in their line, but among the flourishing, substantial and re-
liable institutions of the city of Scranton. The business of the firm is a large
one, giving employment to one hundred and fifty men. George F. Hower.
one of the members thereof, is a descendant of a German family, Germany
having been the birthplace of his ancestors. The grandfather of George F
Hower died as the result of injuries sustained in an accident in a stone c|uarry,,
where he was employed, and he was survived by two children, Mary, Jacob J.,
of whom further. His wife died aged eighty-two years.
Jacob J. Hower was born in Germany in 1834, died in 1888. In the yea?
that he attained man's estate he came to the United States, after learning the
trade of blacksmith, and entered the employ of the Delaware, Lackawanna &
Western Railroad. Several years afterward Mr. Hower resigned from this
service, and in partnership with his brother-in-law established a grocery store
at Hyde Park, trading as Warnke & Hower. This firm continued for a period
of thirteen years, at the expiration of which time Mr. Hower sold his interest
and became barn boss at Briggs shaft for the Lackawanna Coal Company, and
while discharging the duties of that office met with an accident that caused
his death, the second of his line to have his life shortened bv casualty. He
CITY OF SCRANTON 267
married Elizabeth Fern, and had children: i. Mary, deceased. 2. George F.,
of whom further. .3. Martha, married A. F. Rickert, of Scranton ; children ;
Elizabeth, Anna, May, Mabel, George. 4. August, engaged in business in
Scranton; married Bessie Wagstaff. 5. Annie, married Jacob Ullendick ;
children: Edna and Ruth. 6. Emma, married John J. F. York, of Scranton;
children : Albert and Darwin. 7. Mary, married Joseph M. Thompkins. 8.
John Jacob, employed by his brother, George F. ; married Bessie Powell ; chil-
dren : Helen, Mildred, John.
George F. Hower, son of Jacob J. and Elizabeth (Fern) Hower, was born
in Scranton, Pennsylvania, November 26, 1865, and until he was thirteen
years of age was a student in the public schools. At that age he began picking
slate in the breaker, later becoming a driver, and was then for one year em-
ployed with the Lackawanna Bakery Company, leaving this company to learn
the trade of carpenter, which he followed for eighteen years. For a time his
employer was John D. Kohl, and he served in the capacities of carpenter, fore-
man and superintendent, afterward forming a partnership with his former em-
ployer, an association which the death of Mr. Kohl, which took place nine
months later, brought to an abrupt termination. On March 15, 1897, Mr. Hower
entered into partnership with Herman F. Stender, the present firm of Hower
& Stender the result of that combination, its prosperous condition the result
of the progressive ideas and unremitting toil of the two men who have well
and successfully conducted their business for seventeen years. Hower &
Stender do not confine their operations to lumber dealing, contracting and
building being lines in which they have been active and in which they hav;
met their competitors with as favorable issue as in lumber dealing. The
business of the firm in the past year totalled three hundred thousand dollars,
a sum attained through steady increase annually, and which it is but reason-
able to believe will lemain the high water mark of the concern for but a
short time. In the transaction of the firm's business the services of one hun-
dred and fifty employees are required, and on the seventeenth anniversary oi
the founding of Hower & Stender this force presented their employers with
a large and beautiful flag, mounted on a staff, in honor of the occasion and as
an expression of their good will and esteem. Mr. Rower's business activitie^^
are to a large extent confined to the management of the firm's affairs, al-
though he finds time to serve as a director of the Central Loan and Invest-
ment Company. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, his lodge the Green
Ridge, Free and Accepted Masons, while he is a charter member of the
local lodge of the Knights of Malta, and for the past thirty years has be-
longed to Camp No. 178, P. O. S. of A. His church is the Lutheran, and
in politics he recognizes the dictates of no party, acting independently in local
and national affairs.
Mr. Hower married, December 28, 1892, Anna W., daughter of Frank
Earley. a veteran of the Civil War. Mr. and Mrs. Hower are the parents of
Floyd Earley, born August 18, 1896; George F. Jr., born November 22, 1899
Martha Elizabeth, born October 28, 1909.
JAMES HUMPHREY TORREY
James Humphrey Torrey, a prominent attorney of Scranton, Pennsylvania,
is descended from an English family whose first representative in this coun-
try was William Torrey, of Combe, St. Nicholas, England, who settled in
Weymouth, Massachusetts, about 1640. His descendant in the tenth genera-
tion was Major Jason Torrey, who settled in northeastern Pennsylvania in
1794, and was one of the organizers and promoters of Wayne county. He
268 CITY OF SCRANTON
built the first house ever erected in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, and among his
eleven children were : Hon. John Torrey, of Honesdale ; Rev. Stephen Torrey,
of Honesdale ; Mrs. Colonel Richard L. Seeley, of Honesdale, mother of Hon.
H. M. Seeley ; Mrs. Elijah Weston, mother of E. W. Weston, Esq., of Scran-
ton ; and Rev. David Torrey, D. D., the youngest, who was graduated from
Amherst College and the Union Theological Seminary, and was ordained a
minister in the Presbyterian church. He was pastor in Delhi, Ithaca and
Cazenovia, New York, and in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He married Mary E.,
a daughter of Rev. Heman Humphrey, D. D., LL. D., and Sophia (Porter)
Humphrey; a grand-niece of Dr. Noah Porter, of Farmington, Connecticut;
and a cousin of Dr. Noah Porter, president of Yale University. The first
American ancestor of the Humphrey family was Michael Humphrey, who
came from England to Windsor, Connecticut, in 1643. Rev. and Mrs. Torrey
had children : Sarah M. and James Humphrey.
James Humphrey Torrey was born at Delhi, Delaware county, New York,
June 16, 1 85 1. After preparation in the lower public schools, he became a
pupil in the high schools of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and of Northampton.
Massachusetts, and then became a member of the class of 1873 o^ Amherst
College. He left during his junior year, but has since received the degree of
Master of Arts from that institution. On January 10, 1872, Mr. Torrey com-
menced the study of law in the offices of Willard & Royce, of Scranton,
Pennsylvania, and at the end of six months formed a connection with the
Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, first as a member of the engineer corps,
then as weighmaster at the mines, the latter position enabling him to find
sufficient leisure time to pursue his legal studies, which he did to such good
effect, completing them in the office of E. B. Sturges, in Scranton, that he
was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, November 20, 1876. From the
time of his admission to the bar Mr. Torrey has devoted himself to the practice
of his profession, with a very satisfactory amount of success. The Scranton
Board of Trade appointed him as its representative in the inter-municipal
conventions of 1886-87, 3-"^ he was one of three engaged in drafting and
securing the passage of the act of May 24, 1887, for the government of the
smaller cities of the state. From the time of its organization, Mr. Torrey was
the treasurer of the Lackawanna Bar Association, for a number of years
secretary of the Lackawanna Law Library Association, and has served as
chairman of the board of examiners of law students. He was for many years
a manager, and for two terms the president of the Young Men's Christian
Association of Scranton. Church afi:'airs have also engaged a considerable
share of his attention, and he served as superintendent of the Sunday school
of the Second Presbyterian Church, and was appointed an elder in the church
in 1886.
Mr. Torrey married, December 10, 1872, Ella C, a daughter of Douglas
H. Jay, of Scranton, whose great-great-uncle was John Jay. the first chief
justice of the L^nited States, and whose grandfather, Joseph Jay. of New
Brunswick, New Jersey, distinguished himself as an officer during the Revo-
lution, and later destroyed his vouchers for payment for the services he had
rendered. Mr. and Mrs. Torrey have children : Mary Humphrey, married to
A. E. Fitch; William Jessup ; Elizabeth Jay, married to W. B. Kirkpatrick;
Douglas Jay.
PROFESSOR FRANK J. DANIEL, F. A. G. O.
Possessor of a musical training received in the conservatories of Scotland,
England and the Continent, Professor Frank J. Daniel, F. A. G. O., has
/>U:i^p^^ Jj ' J()cuu<^<jL^
CITY OF SCRANTON 269
since 1906 been a most welcome addition to musical circles in the city of
Scranton, a city noted for the excellence of its talent along that line and for
the strength and ability of its organizations for the promotion and fostering of
musical taste in Scranton. Professor Daniel is organist and musical di-
rector of St. Peter's Cathedral, of Scranton, a position he has held for the
past eight years, and in that time has gained high praise for the musical serv-
ices of the Cathedral, which he has placed upon a high plane.
Professor Frank J. Daniel was born in Carlisle, England, June 3, 1874,
and began his musical career as a choir boy in a church at Oban, county of
Argyle, Scotland, where he remained for seven years, during that time placing
himself under the instruction of Dr. Clemens, a noted performer and teacher.
He remained abroad until 1900, studying ceaselessly all of that time, and in
that year came to the United States, for five years residing in Williamsport,
Pennsylvania, where he was organist at Trinity Church, teaching music a'^
well. In 1906 he became organist and musical director at St. Peter's Cathedral,
and since his arrival in Scranton has specialized in vocal, organ and piano con-
cert work, many of his efforts coming before the public through his connection
with the Catholic Hall Club. Not only have the recitals given under his di-
rections been unusually fine productions, calling the notice of the city to the
extraordinary talent within their midst, but through his connections abroad be
has been directly responsible for the American visits of some of Europe's
favorite artists. Professor Daniel is a Fellow of the American Guild of Or-
ganists, a degree which is a coveted honor, about sixty belonging, election
thereto being based upon excellence as a performer and theoretical attainments
of a very high order. With Professor Daniel his art is an all-absorbing pas-
sion, and he finds no pleasure equal to encouraging the development of talent
in a brilliant pupil, in whose musical conquests he takes as great delight aa
though they were his own, as indeed they are. The works of the old masters
are known to him with a familiarity almost amazing, and to hear him perform
upon the organ is to have a revelation of the power and beauty of that sym-
pathetic instrument. In the rise of Scranton to further prominence among
the American cities known as art centers. Professor Daniel will have a leading
part, for in such efl^ort no labor is too great, no detail too minute, to receive
his faithful attention.
Professor Daniel married, in 1903, Charlotte Mitchell, born in Syracuse,
New York, and is the father of: Cuthbert Francis, Maude, William, Gabriel.
WILLIAM McCLAVE
The life of William McClave, a representative citizen of Scranton, ha>
been an active one, and his enterprises are such as have added to the general
wealth and welfare of his adopted city. Scrupulously honorable in all his
dealings with mankind, he bears a reputation for public and private integrity,
and being sociable and genial, he has a host of friends, composed of all classes
of society.
William McClave was born in Scotland, February 7, 1844, but was reared
and educated in the United States, being brought to this country by his par-
ents when he was two years of age, they settling in Boonton, New Jersey,
where they resided until 1850, a period of four years, and then took up their
residence in Scranton, Pennsylvania, William McClave receiving a practical
education in the public schools of that city. He then became an employee of
W. G. Doud & Company, at Hyde Park, serving an apprenticeship at the trade
of tinsmith, in which line of work he became highly proficient, later working
for several years as journeyman, and subsequently established a business on
270 CITY OF SCRANTON
his own account in Pittston, carrying a full line of stoves and hardware, and
in the conduct of this enterprise he achieved a large degree of success, it be-
ing the foundation for his future success. Being of an inventive turn of mind,
and possessing genius of a high order, he invented a stove-grate, known as
the Dockash grate, which was placed in the stoves manufactured by the Scran-
ton Stove Works, and which proved of such practical value as to at once at-
tract the favorable attention of dealers. As a result, Mr. McClave disposed
of his store, and entered the employ of the Scranton Stove Works, traveling
in their interest for three years, during which time he succeeded in creating
a large demand for their product.
At the expiration of his three years' travel, Mr. McClave sold his patent
to Colonel J. A. Price, of the Scranton Stove Works, and he directed his at-
tention to the invention of means for more efifectually consuming the waste
products of the anthracite coal fields, culm and buckwheat as they were known.
Various attempts had already been made in this direction, but with only
partial success. Nothing daunted by the failures of his predecessors, and pos-
sessing a strength and force of character which would overcome obstacles
which to others less hopeful and less courageous would seem unsurmountable,
he persisted in his experiments, and finally perfected the excellent device
known as the McClave Grate and Argand Steam Blower, which has proved of
great value and which has been used extensively. He then entered into busi-
ness relations with Reese G. Brooks, and for a number of years they had the
grates and blowers manufacti:red in the machine shop of I. A. Finch & Com-
pany. As their business increased rapidly in volume and importance, it was
found imperative to increase their facilities, and with this end in view they
organized the firm of McClave, Brooks & Company, which rented the old
foundry of the Scranton Stove Works, in West Lackawanna avenue. Sub-
sequently the firm purchased a site on Seventh street, near the bridge of the
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, with a six-story building upon
it, and a commodious foundry and suitable ofifice buildings were erected, af-
fording ample accommodations for that time. In 1902 the business was in-
corporated as the McClave-Brooks Company, and a site was purchased com-
prising about thirteen acres on Diamond Flats. Upon this was at once com-
menced the erection of an immense modern plant, covering nearly eight acres
of the area, increasing the capacity of the work five-fold. With the increased
facilities they added to the scope of their work, beginning the manufacture of
mechanical stokers, and other devices in the same line, and giving employment
to four hundred men when running to full capacity. The McClave appliances
have from that time to the present been in general use, and well-nigh without
a rival. They are adapted to every description of fuel, and can be placed un-
der boilers and in furnaces of nearly every description. Their trade extends
throughout the length and breadth of the United States, maintaining branch
offices in nearly all the principal cities. Mr. McClave invented his first article,
the Dockash grate, in the autumn of 1877. and since then the patents issued
in his name from the LTnited States and foreign offices number upwards of
eighty, all covering devices of approved practicability and worth.
Mr. McClave, although a Scotchman by birth, is a true American, and his
loyalty and patriotism was proven by his answering President Lincoln's first
call for troops at the commencement of the Civil War, becoming a member
of Company K, Fifteenth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. In 1862 he re-
enlisted, becoming a member of Company K, Fifty-second Regiment Pennsyl-
vania Volunteers, being chosen to the grade of first (orderly) sergeant. He
served efficiently under General McClellan in the peninsular campaign, but the
excessive duties and continual exposures incident to those operations, in a
CITY OF SCRANTON 271
region of swamp, and during the rainy season of the year, so impaired his
health as to bring upon him a severe attack of typhoid fever, and he was hon-
orably discharged from the government service upon a surgeon's certificate
of disability. He suffered for some time from the effects of his strenuou.~,
service, but finally recovered his health and was able to resume his daily
avocations.
Mr. McClave is a member of the Penn Avenue Baptist Church, serving in
the capacity of trustee, and also taking an active interest in all the work con-
nected therewith. He is a Republican in politics, but has never sought or held
public ofiice, his time being entirely devoted to his business pursuits. He is
an active member of the Board of Trade of Scranton ; of the Engineers' Club;
of Lieutenant Ezra S. Griffith Post, No. 139, G. A. R. ; of the Fifty-second
Regiment Association of Pennsylvania \'olunteers, of which he is president;
and of Peter Williamson Lodge, No. 325, F. and A. M.
Mr. McClave married, April 11, 1864, Mary Rowland, a native of Wales,
and they are the parents of one son, William R., who was formerly connected
with the Scranton Steel Works in the capacity of assistant paymaster, and is
now associated with his father in business, being manager and treasurer of
McClave-Brooks Company; he married Margaret Brooks, daughter of Reese
G. Brooks and his wife, Mary H. (Morgan) Brooks, and they are the parents
of three children : Robert Brooks, Mary Brooks, Arthur Brooks.
CLARENCE S. WOODRUFF
In the two generations of Woodruffs with which this narrative deals the
pursuit of the pedagogical profession played a prominent part, although both
abandoned it after a time, one in favor of the mercantile business, the other
to study law. Lewis H. Woodruff was son of Andrew Woodruff, born at
Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1758. Lewis H. Woodruff was also born in Litch-
field, Connecticut, February 25. 1798. This was his home until he was seven
years of age, when his parents moved to Triangle, New York, in which place
he received the major part of his early education. He later entered Hamilton
College and in 1824 was awarded an A. B. by that institution. For the ne.xt
five years he engaged in teaching, first at Binghamton, New York, for three
years, and then at Montrose, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, for two years.
Subsequently he moved to Le Raysville, Bradford county, Pennsylvania, and
there became the proprietor of a general store, also teaching for a time a pri-
vate school. He married Almeda, daughter of William Hutchinson. Chil-
dren : Maria, married Dr. T. J. Wheaton ; Alice ; Lewis H., a graduate of Madi-
son University ; Caroline M. ; Fannie M. ; William H. ; Sarah A. ; Isadore
N. ; Clarence Samuel, of whom further ; Clara S.
Clarence Samuel Woodruff was born in Dimock, Susquehanna county,
Pennsylvania, March 6, 1855. He attended the public schools and later grad-
uated from the high school at Binghamton, New York. He then entered
Yale and graduated in the class of 1878, a classmate of Ex-President Taft. He
then obtained a position as instructor in the Mansfield (Pennsylvania) Nor-
mal School, continuing for two years, read law in Montrose, Pennsylvania,
and later became principal of the Montrose (Pennsylvania) High School, con-
tinuing in that capacity for three years. In the fall of 1884 he began the
practice of his profession at Scranton, where he has since resided. In political
belief, Mr. Woodruff is a strict Prohibitionist, observing with conscientious
regard the principles of his party. He is a member of the Presbyterian
church. His fraternal relations are with the Independent Order of Hepta-
sophs and the Patriotic Order Sons of America.
272 CITY OF SCRANTON
Mr. Woodruff married (first) August i, 1881, Susan M., daughter of Asa
and Lucretia (Sweet) Bullock; (second) August 27, 1896, Agnes Muskett.
Children: Clara L., a graduate of Bryn Mawr College, A. B., class of 1905,
married Robert A. Hull ; Lelia T., a graduate of Bryn Mawr College, A. B.,
class of 1907, married F. J. Stokes ; Margaret, a graduate of Wells College, A.
B., class of 1909; A. Allen, a graduate of Yale University, A. B., class of 1912;
Lewis H., a graduate of Yale University, class of 1914, A. B. ; Amy, a
student at Scranton High School, class of 1915 ; Ruth, a student at Scranton
High School, class of 191 5; Alice; Francis and Florence, twins; Dorothy;
Clarence S. Jr.; Eleanor; Rollin S., deceased.
GEORGE LARDNER BRECK
Major George Laidner Breck, born in Wilmington, Delaware, August 23,
1837, son of William and Gabriella Breck, was educated in the schools of the
city of his birth. After leaving school he went to New York in the office ot
Howland & Aspinwall, one of the largest shipping firms of New York; this
was in 1857; he went in as junior clerk, advanced to be cashier of the firm
and remained there five years. Then he went into the ship brokerage busi-
ness on his own account, and remained in that business five years, at the end of
which time he came to Scranton to engage in the coal mining business at
Mocanaqua, Pennsylvania. He remained in this business until the property
was sold in 1875, when he retired.
The military career of George Lardner Breck is one of which he may
well feel proud. He is a member of the Twenty-second Regiment, National
Guard of New York, which he joined in 1861 as a private, and served the
full term. In 1862, at the time of the invasion of Lee, the Twenty-second
Volunteers were ordered to Harper's Ferry, Virginia, where they remained
over three months. Their time expiring about that time, the secretary of
war asked them to stay longer, or until reinforcements came to Harper's
Ferry. When the relief came, consisting of twelve thousand men, the Twenty-
second with one or two other regiments returned to New York. However,
again in 1863, the Twenty-second was called out, and in June went first to
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, remained there a few days, and on being ordered
to join the Army of the Potomac, met this army at Wainsboro. While they
were at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the Confederates shelled the town and burned
the United States barracks. They did not participate in the battle of Gettys-
burg on account of not reaching that place in time. After this great battle,
as their services were no longer needed, the Twenty-second Regiment again
returned to New York, at which time Mr. Breck was honorably discharge.
In 1877, at the time of the riots in Scranton, the Battalion of City Guard of
four companies were formed under Major Boies. Mr. Breck joined Com-
pany D, Captain Ripple's company. Subsequently this battalion with four
ether companies was formed into the Thirteenth Regiment, National Guard of
Pennsylvania ; then Mr. Breck was made inspector of rifle practice with the
rank of captain. They developed many fine marksmen on the old range on
the hill, under the captaincy of Mr. Breck, and they had such promising num-
bers of crack shots, that it was suggested they go to Creedmoor, New York,
to compete with the several teams from the National Guards throughout the
country. This was in 1879, but they took away no prizes until 1882, when
they won the Army and Navy Journal Cup, a regimental trophy ; the Inter
state Match, the Soldier of Marathon Statue; and the Hilton trophy, pre-
sented by Henry Hilton, of New York, costing $3,000. This was a great
event for Scranton. With much rejoicing the victors were welcomed home
CITY OF SCRANTON 273
And there was not one wlio did not realize that in good measure the triumph'^
were due to Captain Breck's good judgment in the selection of his competitors,
his patience in training them, and the encouragement he gave them. In 1885
Captain Breck won the appointment he deserved, as division inspector of rifle
practice of the National Guard of Pennsylvania, with the rank of major.
And in 1887 he was detailed on the staff of Governor Pattison, during the
absence of Colonel Shakespear, who was the general inspector of rifle prac-
tice. After Colonel Shakespear returned. Major Breck sent in his resignation.
Major Breck married, September 28, 1882, Mary Hale Breck, daughter of
George and Emily McQuean (?Iale) Breck, both natives of Philadelphia. Major
and Mrs. Breck have no children, but they have an adopted son, George Wil-
liam Breck, a son of Mrs. Breck's brother who died about the time his son
was born and whose wife died five years later. The son is now residing in
New York City.
Both Major and Mrs. Breck are members of the Episcopal Church of the
Good Shepherd. He is also allied with the Ezra Griffith Post, No. 139, G. A.
R. Of the members of his rifle team that shot on the Creedmoor range,
only five are now living : Charles H. Welles, E. W. Ives, Henry M. Ives,
James H. Rittenhouse and Majoi' Breck. Major Breck"s home is at No. 1649
Sanderson avenue.
RALPH E. WEEKS
ARTHUR L. WEEKS
In commemorating and perpetuating the lives of those men whose careers
have been of signal usefulness and honor to the city of Scranton, it is neces-
sary that mention be made of Ralph E. Weeks, a prominent and active factor
in a number of the leading enterprises of that thriving city, and probably the
greatest compliment that can be paid to him is that he has made himself an
honor to the great commercial world, as well as a credit to the mercantile com-
munity in which he lives. Public-spirited to the highest degree, he is ever for-
ward in encouraging enterprises which can in any way advance the interests of
Scranton.
(I) Levi Weeks, grandfathei of Ralph E. Weeks, was bom in Draycott,
England, in which country he was reared and educated, emigrating to the New
World in 1842, aged eighteen years, settling in Skaneateles, Onondaga county,
New York. Later he purchased a farm located one and a half miles outside
the village of Skaneateles, on which he resided for many years, and this he
cultivated to a high state of perfection, deriving therefrom a goodly income.
The last twenty-five years of his life he lived retired in the village of Skaneat-
eles, enjoy a well earned rest, the sequel of a life of activity and toil. He was
a staunch Republican in politics, and although he never sought or held public
office, he took an active interest in the affairs of the party of his choice. He
and his family were members of the Methodist Episcopal church, regular at-
tendants at the services, and took an active part in the work of the various
societies connected therewith. He married Eliza Radford, a native of England,
who bore him children: Thomas: Levi Jr.. married and was the father of
Harry, Maud, Mary; William T.. of whom further; C. Albert, married Anna
Feltus and their children were : Lambert L., Melwin R., G. Rosswell, Forest,
Zorada. Mr. Weeks died in 1904, at the age of eighty-two years, and his
wife at the age of eighty-one years, and their remains are interred in Skan-
eateles Cemetery.
(II) William T. Weeks, father of Ralph E. Weeks, was born in Skan
eateles. New York, September, 1844, died April 3, 1893, at the early age of
18
274 CITY OF SCRANTON
forty-nine years, while still in the prime of life. His boyhood days were
spent on the homestead farm, and his education was obtained in the common
schools of the neighborhood and Cazenovia Seminary. At the age of eighteen
years he removed to the village of Skaneateles and entered the employ of his
uncle, Forest G. Weeks, a paper manufacturer of Skaneateles Falls, New
York, remaining with him for a short period of time. He then became a
member of the firm of Knox & Weeks, shoe merchants, and after severing
his connection with that concern again turned his attention to farming, con-
ducting his operations on the old homestead farm of his wife's people, which
then belonged to his father-in-law, David Cuddeback, a successful farmer, and
there spent the remainder of his days, the farm proving a profitable source of
income under his capable management. He cast his vote for the candidates
of the Republican party, and was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, also interested in the work of the Sunday school connected with it.
He married Martha M. Cuddeback, born in Skaneateles, New York, November
9, 1853, daughter of David Cuddeback. She is living at the present time
(1914) and is a member of the Elmpark Methodist Episcopal Church of
Scranton, also holding membership in the Ladies' Aid Society of the same.
Mr. and Mrs. Weeks were the parents of seven children, namely: i. Ernest
H., president of the Weeks Hardware Company, and interested in the R. E.
Weeks Company, both of Scranton ; married Harriet C. Hineman, of Syra-
cuse, New York. 2. Ralph E., of whom further. 3. Arthur L., of whom
further. 4. Fanny J., wife of Winford B. Hornbaker, secretary and general
manager of the Blackhorn Sales Company ; son, Robert W. 5. Nellie G.,
wife of Frederick A. Lyford, treasurer of the Weeks Hardware Company ;
daughter, Mary Elizabeth. 6. Theodore W., secretary of the Weeks Hard-
ware Company ; married Doris Short, of Atlantic City, New Jersey. 7.
Marguerite E., wife of Roy W. Cobb, secretary and manager of the Ashley
Silk Manufacturing Company.
(HI) Ralph E. Weeks was born in Skaneateles, New York, February 9,
1878. He was reared on the homestead farm, gaining health and strength in
the open life of the country which thoroughly prepared him for the activities of
life, and his education was obtained in the district schools and Skaneateles
high school, graduating from the latter institution in the class of 1895. In
July of the same year he took up his residence in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and
accepted the position of assistant bookkeeper for the Foote & Shear Company,
located at No. 1 19 Washington avenue. The valuable service he rendered
the company was appreciated, and three years later, in 1898, he was promoted
to a more responsible position, that of treasurer, in which capacity he served
until 1902, when he was appointed president, a still further honor, and per-
formed the duties of that high office until the firm was succeeded by the
Weeks Hardware Company, in 1908, and he acted as president of that con-
cern for the first year, then became the vice-president, which position he has
since held, his brother, Ernest H. Weeks, being the president. In addition to
this office he is president of the Ralph E. Weeks Company, Weeks Realty
Company, Capouse Warehouse Company, Danville Hardware and Supply
Company of Danville, a director of the J. D. Williams Stores, treasurer of
the Blackhorne Leather Company, and director of the Trader's National Bank.
He is equally active and prominent in other lines of activity, serving as presi-
dent of the Scranton Board of Trade, treasurer of the Young Men's Christian
Association, and one of the seven members of the Recreation Bureau of Scran-
ton, institutions of great value to the community.
Mr. Weeks married, November 22, 1904, Elizabeth Porter, born in Scran-
ton, April 6, 1883, eldest daughter of John T. and Harriet S. (Schlager)
'^ixA^,
CITY OF SCRANTON 275
Porter, of Scranton. Mrs. Weeks is a member of the Century Club of Scran-
ton. Children: Clara E., born December 15, 1906; John Porter, born May 24,
1908; Eleanor M., born January 31, 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Weeks are prominent
in the social life of the community in which they reside, and have a wide circle
of friends and acquaintances.
(Ill) Arthur L. Weeks was born at Skaneateles, New York, February
10, 1882. He came to Scranton, February 25, 1897, where he was a pupil at
Public School No. ^^, and also at the Scranton High School, and was well
equipped for entrance upon a business career. He accepted a position with
Foote & Shear Company, whose business was carried on at the present site of
the Weeks Hardware Company. In 1905, when the Ralph E. Weeks Com-
pany was organized, Arthur L. Weeks was made secretary of the corporation,
and so excellent were his services in this office that at the present time (1914)
he fills the dual office of secretary and sales manager, to the satisfaction of all
connected with it. They handle all kinds of plumbing and heating supplies
and sheet metal products, their business being a most extensive one, some of
their patrons coming from great distances. Mr. Weeks is also secretary of the
Capouse Warehouse Company. In his political opinions Mr. Weeks is inde-
pendent, and in religion he is a member of the Elm Park Methodist Church.
Fraternally he is a member of Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Accepted
Masons ; Lackawanna Chapter, No. 323, R. A. M. ; Coeur de Lion Com-
mandery. Knights Templar ; Moses Taylor Council, Junior Order of United
American Mechanics ; and the Young Men's Christian Association.
Mr. Weeks married, in 1907, Grace E., a daughter of James and Sarah
(Sargeant) Maycock. James Maycock was one of the pioneer settlers in
Slocum Hollow, now Scranton, and was closely identified with the early growth
and development of the city. Mr. and Mrs. Weeks have had children : Warren
L., born July i, 1908; Lester J., born February 19, 1912.
LOWELL MASON GATES, M. S., M. D.
Both the paternal and maternal grandparents of Dr. Gates were pioneer
settlers of Pennsylvania, the former of Wayne county, the latter of Susque-
hanna county. They were of old New England stock, the Gates and Bigelows
coming from Massachusetts, the Halls and Lambs from Connecticut. They
brought with them to their forest surroundings the spirit of the Puritan for-
bears, and in their lives exemplified the virtues that in their ancestors made
history, of which as a nation, we are proud. Speak slightingly as we may of the
"Blue Laws," the age that produced them also produced men and women who
laid broad and deep the foundation of our nation's greatness, and left an ex-
ample of self sacrifice, patriotism and godliness that has never been equalled.
They so bred their principles into the blood and sinew of their descendants
that wherever found they possess those traits of character that make for
splendid lives and lofty achievement. Like the Gulf Stream, the New Eng-
land character is separate and distinct, following along through the broad
ocean of life in a well defined course, giving succor and refuge to the storm
tossed, and even when far from its source bringing blessings to those de-
pendent on it for even life itself. So this strong Gates blood, transplanted
to the wild forests of Pennsylvania, ran so true to all the best instincts of
character that for nearly ninety-three years Alpheus W. Gates, father of Dr.
Lowell M. Gates, walked the earth, exemplifying in his life the virtues of his
sires and leaving a posterity equipped by birth, example and precept to worthily
bear the name of Gates and add to it fresh lustre.
Alpheus W. Gates was born in Mount Pleasant, Wayne county, Pennsyl-
276 CIT\ OF SCRAN TON
vania, July 28, 1820, died in Scranton, February 14, 191 3, nearly ninety-three
years of age. He spent all but his last years engaged in farming and lumbering,
and when he retired from active life came to Scranton, the home of his chil-
dren. He was a Baptist in religion, a man of pure life, and honored wherever
known. He married Semantha, daughter of Major Martin Hall, of Jackson,
Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, a veteran officer of the War of 1812;
children: Quincy A., an eminent lawyer of Wilkes-Barre ; Lowell Mason, of
whom further ; Delcie, married J. W. Browning, of Scranton.
Dr. Lowell Mason Gates, second son of Alpheus W. and Semantha (Hall)
Gates, was born in Scott township, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, March 26,
1852. After preparatory courses he entered Hillsdale College, Hillsdale,
Michigan, whence he was graduated B. S., class of 1876, the same college
later conferring the degree of M. S. He then, in pursuance of an ambition
long cherished, entered the medical department of the University of Michigan,
whence he was graduated M. D., class of 1878. In the two vacations prior to
matriculation at Ann Arbor he had read medicine under Dr. O. T. Bundy. 01
Deposit, New York, and after obtaining his degree he formed a partnership
with his former preceptor, practicing in Deposit for eighteen months. In No-
vember, 1879, Dr. Gates came to Scranton and established in general practice.
After one year he was appointed superintendent and house surgeon of the old
Lackawanna Hospital, continuing as such two years, and then resumed private
practice, although he was a member of the medical and surgical staff for
twenty years, serving until the hospital became a state institution. Dr. Gates
has firmly established himself in the regard of the people of Scranton as an
honorable and skillful physician, as an affable gentleman and public-spirited
citizen. He is with few exceptions the oldest in practice in Scranton. Ever a
student, wide reader and deep thinker, he has kept pace with modern progress,
and in the practice of his healing art is thoroughly modern. He is held in
highest regard by his brethren of the profession, who have chosen him as
president of their County Medical Society and vice-president of the Pennsyl-
vania State Medical Society. He is also a member of the American Medical
Association, and at their annual meeting in 1913 Dr. Gates sat as representative
from the State Medical Society of Pennsylvania. With this public endorse-
ment from his professional brethren, and with the encouragement of a large
practice, it is apparent that Dr. Gates is a worthy descendant of his Ne-.v
England progenitors from whom he inherited the qualities that he has culti-
vated and strengthened, reaching a position of professional excellence a. d
manly development of character. He is a member of Immanuel Baptist
Church, Scranton Board of Trade, and of Lackawanna Lodge, Independent
Order of Odd Fellows.
Dr. Gates married (first) Helen, daughter of Rev. Ransom Dunn, D. D.,
one of the founders and later president of Hillsdale College, Michigan, and
for many years head of the theological department. Mrs. Gates was a Hills-
dale college classmate of her husband, a graduate, and a woman of great
mentality, possessed of every womanly grace. She was a useful worker in the
Immanuel Baptist Church ; president of the Woman's Missionary Society
at the time of her death and of other church activities. She was the organizer
and first president of the Young Woman's Christian Association of Scranton,
and chairman for many years of the department of Pennsylvania, including
also the states of Delaware and Maryland. An eloquent public speaker, in
the furtherance of her work she had spoken in every city of Pennsylvania.
She was also an able writer, and contributed richly to the literature of her day.
On May 25, 1910, her death occurred at the age of fifty-two years. Dr.
Gates married (second) in 1912 Mrs. Minnie C. (Bittenhender) Brader, of
^^O^lZ^^
, /i^f-l'T^ \J-'>rf''^W
CITY OF SCRANTON
277
Scranton. Children, all by first wife: i. Wayland D., a graduate of Hillsdale
College, and now professor in the Technical High School of Scranton ; he re-
ceived the degree of M. A. from Columbia University, then for three years
served as missionary teacher in China, giving part of his attention during this
time to the study of the Chinese language; he married Gertrude Pugh, and
they have one child, Dorothy. 2. Evelyn, married Forest P. Knapp ; he and
his wife are graduates of Hillsdale College; he is secretary of the Young Men's
Christian Association at Hillsdale, Michigan; they have three children: Delcie,
Mildred, Francelia. 3. Helen M., a graduate of Mt. Holyoke College ; now
teacher in the Allentown College for Women. 4. Edith M., now a student at
Oberlin College.
JOHN JERMYN
To write the life record of John Jermyn from the time he arrived in the
United States in 1847 to the time of his death in 1902, is to also write a
history of the development of the Scranton district. Nor does the record end
with his own life, as there are now in the city of Scranton four of his five
sons, worthily bearing the name, administering the estate they helped to create,
and heading individual enterprises of great importance.
The record of the wonderful life of John Jermyn is more than a chronicle
of a successful business man who rose from humble position to one of affluence
and influence. He won his own way, it is true, but in winning it he provided
for its permanence by inculcating the principles that won, into his sons and in
bequeathing to Scranton his family of capable sons he left a richer legacy
than his buildings, his mines oi' his lands. From early life they were his
associates and from the example of their sturdy energetic father, and no less
capable mother, learned not only the value, but the dignity of labor ; became
his valued assistants, and when the master mind was stilled forever, they con-
fidently and ably carried on the plans and enterprises that constituted the
Jermyn estate in addition to their own private interests.
Little can be told of John Jermyn that is not familiar to every Scrantonian,
the impetus he gave to its building movement, his furtherance of industrial
development and the progressive character of his operations. He was a hard
worker, daring in his plans, but with a confidence in himself that often led
him to disregard the caution of his friends. Yet he was unassuming and most
democratic in his personal life. The coat-of-arms carried in the furnishings
of the Jermyn Hotel are rightfully his, but he relied on himself to create a
name and from mines and rocks and lands he builded that name and fortune
which endures.
Under the direction of the sons of John Jermyn, every interest of the
estate left in their care has been wisely handled, and when in twenty years
from the death of the founder the estate shall be divided according to the
terms of his will, it will be found that the stewardship of the sons and daugh-
ter has been a wise and profitable one. Of the six sons of John Jermyn, four
are active, leading business men of Scranton, one resides in New York City,
another has gone to his long home, accidently killed in San Francisco. One
of his daughters resides in Scranton, and one in Oswego, New York.
John Jermyn was born in Rendham, SuiTolk, England, in 1825. died in
Scranton, Pennsylvania, May 29, 1902. Early thrown on his own resources,
he made his way to London and at the age of twenty years, with little besides
a rugged frame and a stout English heart, came to this country. In 1847
he arrived in New York City and learning of a need for men at Slocum's
Hollow. Pennsylvania, (now Scranton) made his way thither. His first day's
278 CITY OF SCRANTON
work was cleaning up the lawn of the old Piatt mansion, then at the old ore
mine, now known as Burnt Ridge on the East Mountain. His compensation in
these early days was seventy-five cents per day. He soon accumulated a small
capital and made some good friends, the result being that he was able to assume
the responsibility of small contracts which he executed so faithfully that
larger ones followed. One of these was the Diamond Mine, Mr. Jermyn be-
ing the first man to strike a pick in that later famous mine. About 1854 lie
was fully engaged in developing the coal properties of the New York and
Pennsylvania Anthracite Coal Companies of Lackawanna county, near the
Notch, of which he was general manager, and on its completion, five years
later, developed the White Oak, then Archibald, then Jermyn, then Rockwell
mines, thus becoming possessed of capital sufficient to justify him in beginning
private mining operations. In 1859 he arranged with Judson Clark the terms
of an agreement to sink a slope and mine coal on property owned by Mr.
Clark on the Abington turnpike, Rockwell mine. On Mr. Clark's death, a
few years later, Mr. Jermyn formed a company and leased the mines from the
Clark estate, operating for three years as Jermyn, Wells & Company, then
abandoning the mines. Then came the leasing of the abandoned mines of the
Gibson estate at Rushdale, now the thriving borough of Jermyn, having at
present ( 1914) three thousand three hundred people. These mines had been a
failure in the hands of others and Mr. Jermyn's friends strongly remonstrated
with him for attempting so great a risk as their reopening. But he had con-
fidence both in the mines and himself and went forward with the undertaking,
which proved successful and laid the foundation of his future prosperity.
He bought new machinery and in 1862 opened the plant. His first lease was
for one million tons, which later he increased to three million tons, and in a
few years delivered that amount entire. This placed him among the largest
and wealthiest private operators in the valley, and his future career was one
of constant acquisition. In 1880 he built and equipped a modern breaker at
Rush Brook near Peckville, which the estate still owns. In 1881 he leased the
Price tract of nine hundred acres of coal land near Dickson, a section then hav-
ing but a few houses, now containing thousands and known as the borough of
Jermyn. Also after selling out his interest in Priceburgh he started operations
in Old Forge borough and the town is now named Rendham in honor of Mr.
Jermyn"s birth-place in England. About 1882 he opened the Rendham Col-
lieries which are still operated by the Jermyn estate. In 1884 he moved his
residence to Scranton which was ever afterwards his home. In 1885 he erected
the Coal Exchange Building, and in 1895 built the Hotel Jermyn. He became
one of the largest land owners in Scranton and in surrounding towns. With
wonderful foresight he chose his lines of operation and made few mistakes.
He was identified with many enterprises with others, also conducting ex-
tensive private operations. He was public-spirited and in his improvements
awakened a great spirit of progress in Scranton. One of his greatest build-
ing improvements was the erection, in 1895, of the large hotel that bears
his name, and which is yet part of the Jermyn estate. He had, however, be-
gun his building operations much sooner, erecting the Coal Exchange Build-
ing in 1885 and followed these with many buildings and residences, including
his own at Jefferson and Vine streets. He was a heavy stockholder and a di-
rector of the First National Bank, until his death the estate still retaining this
valuable interest. He was the princijja! factor in bringing the New York,
Susquehanna & Western Railroad to Scranton, built the line, and in 1886 ac-
cepted the general managership of the road. He had many interests and
neglected none, working them with his sons' assistance, the eldest, Joseph J.,
having been his constant associate from boyhood. He was of a generous dis-
CITY OF SCRANTON
279
position and noted for his hospitality. He never forgot his own humble start
and often aided others who were struggling as he struggled. He was not
only well known, but well liked, and in accumulating his estate of $7,000,000,
he invoked no governmental favor or special privilege. He fought his own
battle in the open and gained an honest victory.
John Jemiyn married, October 19, 185 1, Susan, daughter of Joseph Knight,
of West Scranton. There were no railroads in those days and their wedding
trip was a stage coach ride to Pittston and return. Mrs. Jermyn survived her
husband three years, dying January 17, 1906, aged seventy-two years. She was
a true helpmeet, bore her full share of their earlier burdens and worked hand
in hand with her husband to obtain their start in life and foothold on pros-
perity's ladder. She was kindly, gentle and charitable ; very unobtrusive,
but very practical in her charities. She was a liberal donor to the Home for
the Friendless and to the Woman's Guild of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, of
which she was a member for many years. Born in Lostwithal, Cornwall,
England, June 12, 1833, she was brought to this country at so early an age
that she had little recollection of her English home. Children of John and
Susan (Knight) Jermyn: Joseph J., of whom further; William H., died aged
nineteen years ; Frank H., of whom further ; Myron, died aged two years ;
George B., of whom further; Walter M., of whom further; Edmund B., of
whom further ; Emma, married D. W. Mears, of Scranton ; Susan, married
R. A. Downey, of Oswego, New York, president of the Second National Bank
there, and vessel owner and grain shipper on the Lakes and a very prominent
man in all the affairs of the town, they have two children : Robert A. Jr. and
Jermyn ; Rollo G., of whom further.
Joseph J. Jermyn, eldest child of John Jermyn, was born in Hyde Park,
Pennsylvania, in 1852. He attended the public schools, Kingston Seminar}'
and Bucknell College, but from boyhood was associated with his father, ac-
companying him to and in the mines when a boy of twelve. He has worked
at everything connected with the business, aided in the store, delivered goods
to the miners, powder, oil, wick, etc., and has never ceased his activity but
conducts large private interests in addition to his duties as executor, chosen
under the terms of his father's will to act with his brother, George B., and
sister, Emma, to administer the Jermyn estate for twenty years from the date
of death of the founder, when it may be divided. He is a man of great energy
and public spirit and is recognized as one of the strong men of his city. He is
president of the Taylor Bank of Taylor, Pennsylvania; president of the Gulf,
Texas & Western Railroad Company ; president of the Tintern Manor Water
Company, of Long Branch, New Jersey; vice-president of the Traders Na-
tional Bank of Scranton, is a large mine owner and has a fine stock farm at
Greenfield as well as other farm property in the valley. The Tintern Manor
Water Company, of which he is owner, consists of a pumping plant on Swim-
ming river, near Red Bank, New Jersey, and one hundred miles of mains ex-
tending through Red Bank along the famed Rumson road to Sea Bright, down
the coast supplying all the towns as far south as Asbury Park. The franchise
is perpetual and the water rate fixed. In acquiring this great property and
franchise, Mr. Jermyn had a hard legal battle, but won out against the efforts
of some of the officials who sought to efifect personal gain. The Gulf, Texas
& Western Railroad is also his own property and at present consists of one
hundred and thirty miles of well built, perfectly equipped railroad, in Texas,
planned to extend west from Dallas and Fort Worth to a connection with the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe at Lubbock, three hundred and twenty-five miles
west of Dallas. Mr. Jermyn is fond of his horses and stock, taking a great
deal of pleasure from the operation of his farm. He belongs to Lodge,
28o CITY OF SCRANTON
Chapter, Commandery, Shrine and Consistory of the Masonic Order, holding
the thirty-second degree. He is a supporter of church and philanthropic insti-
tutions and aids in every way the cause of progress.
Frank H. Jermyn, third child of John Jermyn, was born in Scranton,
Pennsylvania, in 1858, died in San Francisco, California, January 3, 1910.
He was injured in a trolley car collision and died shortly afterward in the
hospital. His body was returned to Scranton and rests in Dunmore Cemetery.
He had lived in California for about ten years, having purchased Pleasanton
Stock Farm, where he gratified his love for fine horses and outdoor life. He
sold this farm in 1907 and at the time of his death was living in San Francisco.
He was a good, true and manly man, and was highly esteemed by his many
friends. He married Grace G. Griffin, who died in April, 1907. Their only
daughter, Frances, was educated in music at Berlin, Germany, and married La
Mott Belin, of Scranton.
George B. Jermyn, fifth child of John Jermyn, was born in Jermyn, Penn-
sylvania, May 9, 1862. He was educated in the public schools, "Daddy
Merrill's School" and Granville Military Academy, of Granville, New York.
After completing his school years he began active business life as manager of
the Standard Oil Company's interests in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, continu-
ing there five years. He then engaged in mercantile business in Rendham,
Pennsylvania, continuing until the death of his father in May, 1902. He wa=
appointed under his father's will one of the executors of the Jermyn estate
and has since devoted himself to the administration of that trust, although he
has large private and corporate interests. He is president of the Scranton
Savings and Dime Bank, assistant treasurer of the Gulf, Texas & Western
Railroad Company ; vice-president, secretary and treasurer of the Hallstead
Water Company ; vice-president, secretary and treasurer of the Great Bend
Water Company ; treasurer of the Tintern Manor Water Company, Long
Branch, New Jersey ; and a director of the Pennsylvania Oral School for Deaf
Mutes. He is a member of the Scranton, Press and Country clubs ; holds all
degrees of Masonry in both York and Scottish Rites up to arid including the
thirty-second. He is also a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, and a member of the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is most democratic and public-
spirited, believes in the cause of the "public good" and throws the weight of
his influence in favor of good government. Most energetic in business, he
is a fine type of the successful modern business man. He married, April 20,
1892, Annie Adams, of Fair Haven, \'ermont, daughter of Hon. A. W.
Adams, the genealogist of the Adams family, now deceased. Children : Mar-
garet, a graduate of Mrs. Dow's Briarcliffe School, and Ruth, aged thirteen
years. Mr. Jermyn's residence at No. 616 Webster avenue is a fine Colonial
style building, erected by W. H. Taylor, who occupied it but eight months,
then moved to New York, leaving his costly residence vacant for ten years until
purchased by Mr. Jermyn.
Walter M. Jermyn, sixth child of John Jermyn, was born in Scranton,
Pennsylvania, June 2, 1864. He was educated in the Granville Military
Academy, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, of Troy, New York, an in-
sitution from which he was graduated with the degree of C. E. He was en-
gineer in charge of the Jermyn mining interests, later general su]U'rintendent.
He then located in Oswego, New York, being president and general manager
of the Oswego Boiler Works. After operating that plant for several years he
sold out entirely and retired from active business life. His city home is The
Great Northern Hotel, New York; his summer home, "Little Grenadier Isl-
and," one of the Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence. He married Lena
Kehoe, of Oswego.
CITY OF SCRANTON 281
Edmund B. Jermyn. seventh child of John Jermyn, was born in Jermyn,
Pennsylvania, April 12, 1867. He was educated in public schools, Jermyn
public school, Peekskill (New York) Military Academy, Harry Hillman
School, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and Pierce's Business College, Phila-
delphia. He began business life in his father's Scranton office, continuing three
years, then becoming manager of the grist mill at Jermyn. In 1896 he became
manager of the Jermyn mining properties at Old Forge, which is yet his busi-
ness headquarters. He is president of the Traders Coal Company, of Laflin,
Pennsylvania, president of the Archbald Bank of Archbald, Pennsylvania,
and has many other private and corporate interests. He was president of the
Taylor Hospital, Taylor, Pennsylvania, for seven years and is now chairman
of the executive committee. He is a man of energy, has a clear record as a
business man, and while never a politician in 1913 led the forces of
reform in the battle to obtain the chief magistracy of Scranton. He made
his primary fight successfully, and also made a strong plea for a business
administration of city affairs. An extract from his letter to the voters is ap-
pended: 'T would like to be Mayor to demonstrate how easy it is to render
better service in every respect to the taxpayer, without any more cost. I want
to take hold of the City Hall and run public business as an up-to-date private
successful business is run." His wish was granted and he was elected in No-
vember, 1913, and is now serving in that office. Mr. Jermyn is a membei
of all bodies of the Masonic Order in both York and Scottish Rites, including
the thirty-second degree, and is a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member
of the Scranton Club, Country Club, Bicycle Club, Engineers Society of North-
eastern Pennsylvania, Sportsmen of America, Patriotic Order Sons of
America, Crafts Club, Masonic Lodge of West Scranton, Scranton Rod and
Gun Club, Wooden Plate Club, of Philadelphia. Pennsylvania, Westmoreland
Club of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and City Club of Oswego, New York.
He married Mary Decker, of Scranton. Children: Edmund B. (2), Prince-
ton, 1915; Elizabeth, married Major Lee White, of Madison, new Jersey, and
has a son. Major Lee White (2), born September 18, 1913; William S., a
student at Hill's School, Pottstown. The family residence is at No. 621
Jefferson avenue.
Rollo G. Jermyn, tenth child of John Jermyn, was born in Jermyn. Penn-
sylvania, March 3, 1873. His early education was obtained in the public
schools of Jermyn and Scranton, after which he entered St. Paul's School at
Garden City, Long Island, whence he was graduated in class of 1892. At
the age of eighteen years he began business life as his father's assistant in the
Scranton office, having charge of the real estate books for one year. He then
was in charge of the Oswego Boiler Works, belonging to the family until
their sale in 1903. He then was in charge of an independent telephone line
in Syracuse, New York, belonging to his brother Joseph J. until 1905,
when the line was sold. Mr. Jermyn then returned to Scranton. and pur-
chased a half interest in the mercantile business of his brother, George B.,
at Rendham, which he still retains. In 1909 he became treasurer of the Jermyn
Hotel, the property of the Jemiyn estate. He is a director of the Dime
Bank of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and has other and varied business in-
terests of importance. Like all the sons of John Jermyn he is gifted with keen
business talent and a capacity for work, that accomplishes much without ap-
parent effort. He is a member of Lodge, Chapter and Commandery of the
Masonic Order in Oswego, and of Media Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine,
of Watertown, New York, also a member of the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, of Oswego. His clubs are the Scranton, of which he is di-
rector : the Countrv and Canoe, all of Scranton. In church relation he is a
282 CITY OF SCRANTON
member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church. Mr. Jermyn married Kate, daughter
of Douglass Jay, of Scranton and has a son Rollo G. (2). The family resi-
dence is at No. 539 Clay avenue, Scranton.
JAMES N. RICE, M. D.
It is certainly within the province of history to commemorate and perpetu-
ate the lives of those men whose careers have been of signal usefulness and
honor to the city in which they resided, and in this connection it is not only
compatible but absolutely imperative that mention be made of the late Dr.
James N. Rice, of Scranton, who was not only an eminent and successful
medical practitioner, but an inventor, and one of the most expert authorities
in mining operations in the anthracite region of the state of Pennsylvania.
William Rice, father of Dr. James N. Rice, was among the early settlers
of Abington, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, residing on a farm at Fac-
toryville, which he cultivated and improved, and from which he derived a
lucrative means of livelihood. He was a devout Christian, and his advocacy
of the cause of temperance was wide and enduring. His death occurred in
1858, and he was survived by his wife, Sarah (Reynolds) Rice, daughter of
George Reynolds, who was also among the early settlers of Abington. Mrs.
Rice was a woman of great force of character, cultured and refined, a devout
member of the Baptist church for forty-si.x years, and an earnest advocate of
the cause of temperance. During the Civil War period her patriotism wa^
most ardent and intense. She survived her husband many years, her death
occurring in 1874. She was the mother of seven children: Norman, Edson
J., Freelove, Elvira (Mrs. Green), Nicholas E., James N. and Stephen L.,
three of the sons serving during the Civil War, one of whom, Captain Edsoi;
J. Rice, being killed in the battle of Chancellorsville. He entered the service as
first lieutenant and participated in nearly all the battles under General Mc-
Clellan, and also in that at Fredericksburg under General P.urnside ; he was
slightly wounded at Fair Oaks, and was promoted to captain a few months
before his untimely but glorious death. The mother met this dreadful affliction
with Christian resignation, and found some surcease of sorrow in devoting
herself with redoubled energy to the work in which she had been foremost
from the beginning, the providing of comfort for the sick and wounded sol-
diers in the hospital, and of necessities for the families whose bread-earner ^
were at the front.
Dr. James N. Rice was born in Factoryville, Pennsylvania, in 1845, '^'^'^
in Scranton, Pennsylvania, December y, 1902, after an illness of but a few
hours. He attended the public schof)ls in the neighborhood of his home, and
later became a student in the medical department of the University of Michi-
gan, at Ann Arbor, from which institution he was graduated, and subsequentb.
took a post-graduate course at the Bellevue Medical College, New York City,
from which he graduated in 1867. He began the active practice of his choseii
profession in his native town, continuing until 1870, achieving a large degree
of success, when he removed to Pittston, Pennsylvania, where he resided for
nineteen years, during which time lie built up an enviable practice, winning
and retaining the confidence and esteem of his many patrons, and a place 01
prominence among his professional brethren. In addition to his professional
career, Dr. Rice was actively interested in the coal industry, to which he had
devoted considerable time and attention, and he became the owner of a small
mine in Pittston known as the Cork and Bottle, which he operated successfully
for a number of years.
In 1889, having decided to change his field of labor and enter upon an en-
CITY OF SCRANTON 283
tirely different line of work, which he had successfully tried and proven, he
removed to Scranton, Pennsylvania, which was his home at the time of his
death. At that time he was interested in the development of the property of
the Mt. Lookout Coal Company at Wyoming, Pennsylvania, and shortly af-
terward he organized the Blue Ridge Coal Company, which operated a mine
at Peckville, and this he later disposed of to the (Dntario & Western Coal Com-
pany at an advantageous price. He then directed his attention to the manage-
ment of the Riverside and West End Coal companies, in the former of which
he held a controlling interest, acting as general manager of the latter, each
operating one mine. Subsequently he was an active factor in several of the
extensive individual coal industries in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, and
at one time was also extensively interested in mining operations in Schuylkill
county, Pennsylvania. He attained the same degree of success in this as in his
professional labors, owing to his thorough mastery of detail in whatever en-
gaged his attention, and his skill and ability, one of his properties, the Blue
Ridge Colliery, being one of the best paying coal properties in the Valley.
Dr. Rice was not only successful as a manager, but was entirely familiar
with the conditions and possibilities, making an exhaustive and thorough study
of the same, and was recognized as one of the most expert authorities in that
locality. President P'owler, of the Ontario & Western Railroad, said of him,
that his views with reference to the coal industry were fully four years in ad-
vance of the average thought of coal operators. An evidence of his practical
ability is afforded in the instance of the coal breaker at Riverside, which
was built after his own ideas and under his own supervision, and which en-
abled twenty boys to secure the same results which had previously required
five times that number. He possessed inventive skill of a superior order,
which he used to good advantage, one of his inventions, the Rice Coil Car-
riage Spring, including the machine to make it. being now in general use. This
was manufactured in Pittston for a number of years by a company of which
he was the head, and later was made by the Columbus Buggy Company. He
was interested in the work of the strike commission for the independent min-
ing companies, his influence being ever on the side of right and justice.
Dr. Rice added patriotism to his many excellent characteristics, and at
the early age of sixteen years, at the commencement of hostilities between the
North an South, he enlisted as a member of Battery L, Second Pennsylvania
Artillery, with which he participated in several hard-fought battles, being
severely wounded in the battle of Cold Harbor. He served until the expira-
tion of his term of enlistment, his duties being performed in a highly credit-
able manner, and after his honorable discharge from the service of the United
States government he returned to his home and resumed his interrupted studies.
Dr. Rice married. May 9, 1876. Sarah E. Cake, who survived him, maintain-
ing the family home in .Scranton, honored and esteemed by all who have the
honor of her acquaintance. They were the parents of three children : Homer
Cake, Earl Leroy, both of whom inherit in large degree the inventive genius
of their honored father, and Marion Helene.
This brief resume of Dr. Rice's many spheres of activity proved the broad-
ness of his mental vision, and whether considered as physician, manager, in-
ventor, employer or soldier, he was found to be a man true to himself and
true to his fellows. To a natural dignity of manner Dr. Rice added a genial-
ity that won him hosts of friends and made him welcome everywhere, but
he found his jarincipal interest and relaxation in his home, surrounded by his
wife and children, to whom he was devotedly attached.
284 CITY OF SCRANTON
WILLIAM ALONZO WILCOX
One of the best known lawyers of Wyoming, Luzerne county, Pennsyl-
vania, is William Alonzo Wilcox, who has inherited many of the distinguishing
traits of his incestors, the earliest of whom were among the first settlers of
New England.
(I) Edward Wilcox, of Portsmouth, and Kingstown, Rhode Island, was
one of the free inhabitants of that place in 1638 and was one of those who
formed the civil combination or compact of government. May 28, 1638. In
partnership with Roger Williams he had a trading house at Narragansett
about this time, and prior to 1648 he died, probably at that place. In 1653
there was a guardian for his eight children, among whom was Stephen, of
whom further.
(II) Stephen Wilcox, son of Edward Wilcox, born about 1633. He was
a resident of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, 1655. He was one of the settlers of
Westerly in 1661, and when the town was incorporated in May, 1669, he
was among the freemen, and was one of the first delegates to the general
assembly, being re-elected in 1672. The old Wilcox farm, near Watch Hill,
is still occupied and owned by his descendants. He is mentioned as deceased
in a paper dated February 6, 1689-90. Stephen Wilcox married, in the spring
of 1658, Hannah, a daughter of Thomas Hazard, of Portsmouth, who came
from Wales to Boston about 1635. Children: Edward, of whom further,
Thomas. Daniel, William, Stephen, Hannah and Jeremiah.
(III) Edward (2) Wilcox, eldest child of Stephen and Hannah (Hazard)
Wilcox, was born about 1662. and administration on his personal estate was
granted his widow, November 15, 171 5. He was the incumbent of several
public offices of responsibility, among them being delegate to the general as-
sembly in 1693. Judging from the inventory of his estate he must have been
a man of considerable wealth. He married (first) a daughter of Robert and
Mary (Brownell) Hazard, (second) in 1698, Tamzin, daughter of Richard
Stevens, of Taunton, Massachusetts. By the first marriage he had : Mary,
Hannah, Stephen, of whom further. Edward, and by the second : Sarah,
Thomas, Hezekiah, Elisha, Amy, Susannah.
(IV) Stephen (2) Wilcox, son of Edward (2) and (Hazard)
Wilcox, left a will dated, January i, 1753. He married, July 12, 1716, Mercie,
a daughter of Matthew and Eleanor Randall, of Westerly. He had children :
David, Mercy, Eunice, Stephen, Valentine, Isaiah, of whom further.
(V) Rev. Isaiah Wilcox, son of Stephen (2) and Mercie (Randall)
Wilcox, was born in 1738, died March 3, 1793. He was one of the organizers,
in 1765, of the Third Church of Christ in Westerly, popularly known as the
"Wilcox Church," and was its first pastor, having been ordained February 14,
1771. He married, October 15, 1761, Sarah, daughter of John Lewis, of
Westerly, and had twelve children.
(VI) Deacon Isaiah (2) Wilcox, eldest son of Rev. Isaiah (i) and Sarah
(Lewis) Wilcox, was born in Westerly, January 31, 1763, died at Newville,
Herkimer county. New York, July 13, 1844. He was not old enough to enlist
in the Continental army at the outbreak of the Revolution, but was accepted
in the "Home Guard," made up chiefly of "the undisciplined, the youthful
and the aged, spared by inefficiency from the distant ranks of the rejiublic."
Colonel William Pendleton was the commander of this brave band, and they
rendered efficient service in guarding the coast, and also were engaged in
many land skirmishes. He removed with his family to Danube. Herkimer
county, in 1792, and was a man of influence in the councils of the Democratic
party. He married, January 22, 1788, Polly, daughter of Colonel William
W.^l'Wi/c
€01
CITY OF SCRANTON 283
Pendleton, and had : Polly, Isaiah, William Pendleton, Asa, Lydia, Nancy,
Nathan Pendleton, of whom further.
(VII) Nathan Pendleton Wilcox, youngest son of Deacon Isaiah (2) and
Polly (Pendleton) Wilcox, was born in Danube, New York, May 3, 1804,
died April 24, 1833. He was a farmer and contractor, and had already shown
much ability as a business man. He married, October 9, 1828, Lurancia,
daughter of Lieutenant William and Sarah (Norton) Richardson, and they
had one child, Nathan Pendleton, of whom further.
(VIII) Nathan Pendleton (2) Wilcox, only child of Nathan Pendleton
(i) and Lurancia (Richardson) Wilcox, was born at Nunda, New York,
May 16, 1832, died at Nicholson. Pennsylvania. April 25, 1904. His educa-
tion was a liberal one, and upon its completion he was engaged in teaching in
McKean county, Pennsylvania, in 1847-48 and 1852-53. From 1848 to 1852
he was also employed in the store of his uncle, Jeremiah W. Richardson, at
Nunda, then was with Smith Brothers and N. S. Butler, in Olean, New York.
In 1856-57 he was senior member of the mercantile firm of N. P. Wilcox &
Company, the junior member being J. K. Comstock, and in 1858, in association
with Frederick Eaton, formed the firm of W'ilcox & Eaton, continuing until
1862. He removed to Nicholson, Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, in the spring
of 1862, and was a merchant there until 1886. He was very prominent in
church affairs, and was chosen one of the ruling elders of the Presbyterian
church at Nicholson when it was organized. He was a teacher in and super-
intendent of the Sabbath school, and had charge of an adult Bible class.
Politically he was a Democrat always, and filled, very efficiently, a number
of local offices, among them that of magistrate and surveyor. Mr. Wilsou
married, October 6, 1856, Celestine, daughter of John and Nancy (Little)
Birge, of Coventry, Chenango county. New York, and they had children ;
William Alonzo, of whom further; Henry Pendleton, in the mercantile busi-
ness at Nicholson ; Clara B. ; Anna J.
(IX) William Alonzo Wilcox, son of the late Nathan Pendleton (2) and
Celestine (Birge) Wilcox, was born July 25, 1857, at Olean, New York,
where his father was a merchant. The son attended Keystone Academy in
1874 and 1875; taught "the Hack School" in Benton the winter of 1875-76;
was employed in his father's hardware store in 1876 and 1877, and studied
law in Tunkhannock in 1878 and 1879 with Robert R. Little and his sons,
William Ernest and Clarence A. Little. He was admitted to the bar of
Wyoming county in January, 1880; in Lackawanna county the same month,
and opened an office in Scranton, where he has since continued. He was ad-
mitted to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1882. His residence was
with his parents at Nicholson until his marriage in 1885. In the first Pattison
campaign (1882) he was chairman of the Democratic county committee and
secured the largest Democratic vote and majority in the history of Wyoming
county before or since. He is a past master of Nicholson Lodge, Free and
Accepted Masons, and past high priest of Factoryville Chapter, Royal Arch
Masons.
Mr. Wilcox has served many years as a director of the Lackawanna Law
and Library Association; was an incorporator of the Pennsylvania Bar As-
sociation ; member of the American Bar Association ; organized the Farmers
National Bank of Montrose, of which he was many years a director ; is a
corresponding member of Wyoming Historical & Geological Society at Wilkes-
Barre ; a vice-president and prominent in Wyoming Commemorative Associa-
tion ; was a ruling elder in Presbyterian church in Wyoming while resident
there; was title officer and trust officer of The Title Guaranty & Trust Com-
pany and trust officer of The Scranton Trust Company for many years ; pub-
286 CITY OF SCRANTON
lished a volume of law reports, a Wilcox-Brown-Medbery genealogy ; some
historical addresses, etc. He has been president of the New England Society
of Northeastern Pennsylvania; was given the degree A. M. by Hamilton Col-
lege in 1908; is now president of the Waterloo Water Company (Seneca coun-
ty. New York) and (1914) chairman of the Democratic county committee of
Lackawanna county. He assisted Colonel Hitchcock in the preparation of
portions of this history — the chapter on the Bench and Bar is largely from his
pen.
Mr. Wilcox married, April 22, 1885, Katharine J., youngest daughter of
Hon. Steuben and Catharine ( Breese) Jenkins, of Wyoming. The children
of this marriage are: William Jenkins, A. M. (Hamilton) LL. B. (Washington
and Lee), a member of the Lackawanna bar; Emily (Mt. Holyoke) ; Helen,
and twins, Stephen and Henry, born 1898, died young. The first two children
were bom at Wyoming; the latter three at Scranton. Mrs. Katharine J.
Wilcox died at Lake Winola, September 3, 1913.
CHARLES F. MILLER
Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania are the states that have been
graced by the residences of this branch of the Miller family, settled in Massa-
chusetts at an early period in Colonial history, some of the family members
of the band of Puritans that founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In
England those of the name bore an honorable record and in the rolls of the
volunteer regiments raised in Massachusetts to throw off the dominion of the
King of England, the name Miller appears with a frequency that eloquently
attests their patriotism and sturdy independence. Nor was such spirit lacking
in the maternal forbears of Charles F. Miller, of this chronicle, for the Van
Olindas, of Holland ancestry in both lines of the family, were also numerously
represented in the Revolutionary War. In the later war that has distressed
our nation, the struggle between the North and the South, three Miller brothers
served in the Northern army, one of whom was Milton, father of C. F. Miller.
He was a first lieutenant in a company of the One Hundred and Forty-ninth
Regiment New York Volunteers, participating in all the campaigns in which
that regiment was in action from the declaration of war until the signing of
the articles of peace. Milton Miller came from Wales, Massachusetts, to New
York, in which state his son, Charles F., was born.
Charles F. Miller was born on a farm at Brewerton, New York, and ob-
tained his entire graded education in the common schools of the locality.
When he was twenty-three years of age he engaged in independent business,
for a time conducting farming operations, after which, until he was thirty-six
years old, he was a manufacturer, continuing in this line for nine years. He
then entered the law office of Newell & Chapman, of Syracuse, New Nork,
as a student, but after a short time decided against the legal profession and
secured an engagement in the journalistic field, becoming connected with the
advertising department of the Syracuse Post Standard, and for some time
was a well regarded member of the staff of that paper. After leaving the em-
ploy of that periodical, Mr. Miller formed association with the Boyd Publish-
ing Company of Syracuse, remaining with that firm until 1899. when he re-
signed his position and moved to Scranton. Here he established in the pub-
lishing business, his first work being the publication of a pamphlet of mine
laws, of which more than 100,000 copies were distributed in the adjacent min-
ing regions. This pamphlet, reproducing in full and interpreting all legisla-
tion enacted on this subject performed a great work in enlightening the native
and foreign mine workers as to the obligations and responsibilities of both
"^^i^^Tt^a^ —
CITY OF SCRANTON 287
employer and employed, and received the liearty commendation of the press,
those interested in humanitarian projects and the general public. In 1903
Mr. Miller began the publication of the Board of Trade Journal, at the time
one of three publications of its kind in the United States, the two others be-
ing published in Portland, Maine, and at Providence, Rhode Island. He is
still the editor and proprietor of this periodical, which is of valuable assistance
to the administration and to those interested in the welfare and advancement
of Scranton's industrial expansion and development. The strength and power
of this journal, universally recognized as one of the most progressive municipal
publications in the country, is in large measure due to its skillful guidance,
judicious editing and careful arrangement by Mr. Miller, who places in its
pages much of his own spirit of progress and action.
Besides his affiliations with the Board of Trade, Mr. Miller is a member of
the Masonic fraternity, being a thirty-second degree Mason and member of Irem
Temple, Mystic Shrine, the Engineers' Club, and is past commander of the local
organization of the Sons of Veterans. In his contact with the business men
of Scranton, Mr. Miller has made many firm friends, and is accepted by all in
social or business circles as an earnest and disinterested worker for the
city's best good.
JUDGE MICHAEL FRANCIS SANDO
Dating in the United States from the year 1826 and from the early pioneer
days of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, the Sandos have occupied prominent place
in their communities. The emigrant, Michael Sando, was born in Cornwall,
England, and there passed his early life, becoming a practical deep mine
worker in the famous mines of his native shire. In 1826 he came to the
United States, settling in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, being one of the early set-
tlers there. He became one of the first coal operators of that district, be-
ginning at a date prior to the coming of the railroads. The coal he mined in
the earlier days was marketed in Philadelphia, but was transported by wagon
and teams. For the first twenty-seven years in Pottsville district he was
general superintendent of mines for others, but later engaged in the same
business for himself. He was successful and ere the close of his sixty-nine
years of life was able to retire with a competence. He married Jane Gould,
born in Devonshire, England, died in 1884, aged ninety-three years, retaining
excellent health and full mental powers until her last short but fatal illness.
Two of the children of Michael and Jane Sando are yet living — Joseph W.
was the youngest and the only son.
Joseph W. Sando was born in Coal Castle, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania,
December 2, 1835. He attended the public schools until sixteen years of age,
then began active business life as a lumberman, working in the woods and
for a time in a saw mill as sawyer. After two years spent in this manner, he
began a regular apprenticeship at the machinist's trade with the Orchard Iron
Works at Pottsville. He served three years as apprentice, then two additional
years were spent as journeyman with the same company. In August, 1859, he
located in Scranton, obtaining employment as machinist with the Dickson
Manufacturing Company, then engaged in the building of locomotives, sta-
tionary engines, mining machinery, boilers, etc. He continued as journeyman
machinist until 1872, when he was promoted foreman of the machinery de-
partment, holding that position twenty-four years, earning the fullest con-
fidence of his employers and the respect of the men over whom he had control.
The position he capably filled, was one of great responsibility, demanding not
only mechanical skill beyond that of any of his men, but tact and a high
288 CITY OF SCRANTON
order of managerial ability. These qualities Mr. Sando possessed and in his
twenty-four years as foreman he proved equal to every emergency, meeting
every demand made upon him and establishing for his department a high record
of efficiency. In July, 1896, the management of the company passed into
other hands, and Mr. Sando, having reached the age of sixty-one years, re-
signed his position and retired from active business life. He had played well
his part and in his own sphere had rendered important service to his adopted
city. In his political belief Mr. Sando is a Democrat, but is not radical or
partisan. He is a communicant of the Roman Catholic church, attending
Saint Peter's Cathedral with his family. Mr. Sando married Mary Grogan ;
children : Alichael F., of whom further ; William J., a mechanical engineer.
Judge Michael Francis Sando was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, May
8, 1862. He was educated in the city schools, finishing at the high school,
whence he was graduated in class of 1879. He decided upon the profession
of law, preparing therefor under the preceptorship of W. H. Gcaihart, an
attorney of Scranton. Completing the course of study and passing the re-
quired examination he was admitted to the Lackawanna county bar in 1883
and at once began the practice of his profession in Scranton, and so continued
until his elevation to the bench in 1902. From his early manhood. Judge
Sando was active in the Democratic party and an effective party worker. For
about fourteen years he was a member of the county and city political com-
mittees, was delegate to state conventions and from 1885 until 1888 was
deputy collector of internal revenue. He was twice elected to the state legis-
lature, serving from 1888 to 1892. While a member of the house he served
on committees : Appropriations, municipal corporations and judiciary general.
In 1898 he was the candidate of his party for Congress from the Eleventh
Congressional District, but failed to secure the election. He continued the
private practice of law, was admitted to practice in all state and federal courts
of the district and was in command of a good law practice. In 1902 he was
nominated for judge of the Orphans' Court of Lackawanna county and at
the following November election was the successful candidate. He assumed
his judicial duties, January i, 1903, and is still the honored judge of that
branch of the county judicial system. He had presided over the sessions
of the Orphans' Court with fairness, justice and dignity, and has so far as able
expedited the important business of his court without doing any injustice to
those dependent upon his decisions or rulings. He has earned the title of a
"just judge" and is held in highest esteem by his brethren of the bar. In
religious faith he is a Roman Catholic, an attendant of Saint Peter's Cathedral.
Scranton.
Judge Sando married, in Scranton, August 28, 1885, Anna L. Blair;
children : Joseph B. and Francis B.
JAMES EDWARD BURR
Member of a distinguished New England family that found its way to
Pennsylvania by way of New York, James Edward Burr, of Scranton, is a
native of the former state and has been a prominent legal practitioner of
Lackawanna county ever since the formation of that political division. The
family of Burr is one whose members have ever held high position among
their fellows, one of the famous historical characters belonging thereto being
Aaron Burr.
(I) James Edward Burr is a grandson of Isaac Burr, a native of Fair-
field, Connecticut, a surveyor and land agent, who married Deborah Raymond,
CITY OF SCRANTON 289
of Norwalk, Connecticut, and had children: i. Dr. George, practiced the medi-
cal profession first in Ohio and later in Binghamton, New York ; married
Eunice Swift, and was the father of Dr. Daniel S., of Binghamton, New York,
and George M., a prominent banker and lumber merchant of Manistee, Alichi-
gan. 2. Dr. Charles, a physician of Carbondale, Pennsylvania ; married Lenora
Farrer, and was the father of Charles R. and Mary. 3. Isaac, of Meredith,
New York ; married a widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Johnston. 4. Raymond, died
in Columbus, Ohio; married Elizabeth Runyon. 5. Elizabeth, married Rev.
Crispus Wright, a minister of the Presbyterian church. 6. Jane, married
Orrin Porter, deceased, of Delaware county. New York. 7. Washington, of
whom further.
(II) Washington Burr, son of Isaac and Deborah (Raymond) Burr, was
born in Meredith, Delaware county. New York, in August, 1824. He was
a jeweler and watch-maker, conducting retail dealings along these lines until
his death, the business that he founded now managed by his son, Frank E.
He married Lucinda, daughter of Elbert Bradley, of Carbondale, Pennsyl-
vania, and had two sons, James Edward, of whom further; Frank E., of whom
further.
(HI) James Edward Burr, son of Washington and Lucinda (Bradley)
Burrj_was born in Carbondale, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, July 8,
1852. After completing courses in the public school and preparatory schools,
he matriculated at Princeton University, of which one of his ancestors had
been president at an early date, and in 1875 was graduated A. B., afterward
receiving the degree of M. A. He then became a student at law in the office of
E. P. and J. B. Darling, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and in 1877 w^s
admitted to the bar. Mr. Burr was one of the first lawyers to engage in
practice at the bar of Lackawanna county, being admitted thereto immediately
after the erection of the county. Since coming to Scranton he has been re-
tained as counsel in many important cases. Air. Burr is a member of the
Scranton Club and of the Princeton Club, of New York. His church is the
First Presbyterian, of Scranton, and he was formerly a member of the session
of the First Church of that denomination at Carbondale.
Mr. Burr married ( first ) Matilda Parsons, daughter of Rev. Edward
Bryan, of Carbondale, Pennsylvania; (second) Harriet A., daughter of Le
Grange Hulse, of Middletown, New York, and widow of Dean H. Bassett, of
Carbondale, Pennsylvania. Children of his first marriage: i. Sarah, mar-
ried Philip Coan, a member of the editorial stafif of the New York Evening
Sun, and has one son, Philip, and a daughter, Leonie. 2. Edward Bryan,
married Amber Jadwin, daughter of J. S. Jadwin, of Carbondale. 3. Lily
Paxton, married Donald Bassett, of Carbondale. 4. Kathryn Meigs, mar-
ried Robert A. Gardner, of Scranton. Mr. Burr is the father of one daugh-
ter by his second mairiage, Constance Hulse.
FRANK E. BURR
A farsighted business man and a progressive, public spirited citizen vr.
Frank E. Burr, proprietor of the leading jewelry store of Carbondale, Lacka-
wanna county, Pennsylvania.
Frank E. Burr was born in Carbondale in January, 1862, son of Washing-
ton Burr (q. v.), and received a substantial education in the public schools
of his native city. L'pon the completion of his education, he became associated
with his father in the business founded by the latter, and upon the death of
the senior member of the firm assumed sole control and has conducted this
business successfully up to the present time. The store is located at No. 35
19
290 CITY OF SCRANTON
North Main street, in a building erected by the elder Air. Burr, and now owned
by Frank E. Burr. Mr. Burr is possessed of a remarkable degree of enerf^y
and executive ability, and keeps his business up-to-date in every particular,
and is the originator of a number of novel ideas. He is also interested in a
number of other business concerns, among them being the First National
Bank, in which he is a stockholder. He affiliates with the Republican party,
and is a member of the First Presbyterian Church. Fraternally he is a
Mason, having passed through all the degrees up to that of the Shrine. He
married Grace SicMillan, daughter of James and Jean (Maxwell) McMillan;
of Carbondale ; children : Marion Grace, married Joseph Winter Johnston,
and Betty J.
HON. WILLIAM J. LEWIS
The Hon. William J. Lewis, deceased, of Scranton. was one who in his
life stood conspicuously in the community as a splendid exemplification of
noble manhood. He was among the foremost men of affairs in the city, ac-
tively identified with numerous commercial and financial interests which were
strong factors for the general welfare. With lofty conceptions of the duties
of citizenship, he ever exercised his influence in behalf of that which was de-
manded by the highest standards of conduct both in personal and official life.
He served the state and the community in important positions with signal
ability and unblemished integrity. In his purely personal character he was an
ideal Christian gentleman. He was a son of John D. Lewis, and a grandson
of David J. Lewis, who came to the United States from Wales and died in
Carbondale aged seventy-six years.
John D. Lewis, whose experience as a practical miner made his services
of great value, was of material assistance in developing the coal industry in
Carbondale and its vicinity. Some years were spent in the employ of the
Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, but he abandoned mining in 1858 and
engaged in farming in Clifford township, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania.
He again made his home in Carbondale in 1866, when he retired from stren-
uous work. After the death of his wife, ten years later, he removed to Scran-
ton, where he lived with his son, William J., until his death in May, 1880. at the
age of seventy-three years. He married Anna Hopkins, who like himself
was born in Wales, and died in Carbondale, in March, 1876, aged seventy-six
years. They had children: David, who went to California in 1852; Lewis,
died in i860; Gwennie, died in 1856; John F., in the employ of the American
Safety Lamp and Mine Supply Company, in Scranton ; Thomas, lives in San
Francisco, California; Margaret E. Kenvin, also lives in San Francisco; Wil-
liam J., of this sketch.
Hon. William J. Lewis was born in Carbondale, Lackawanna county, Penn-
sylvania, August 27, 1843, died in Scranton, January 25, 1902. The family
was a fairly numerous one, and it became necessary for even the youngest
child of the family to lend his assistance in its support. Accordingly, when
he was but nine years of age, he commenced working in the mines, but a.--
this occupation did not appeal to him, he accepted a position on a farm quite
far from his home. When his father bought the farm in Clifford township,
young Lewis was his assistant in its cultivation. In the fall of 1862 he could
no longer resist the calls of patriotism and enlisted in Company B, One Hun-
dred and Seventy-seventh Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, for a
nine months' term. During the term of his enlistment he was mainly in \'ir-
ginia, but when the battle of Gettysburg was about to be fought, this regi-
ment made a forced march in order to reach the scene of this conflict. They
CITY OF SCRANTON
291
were not in time to render any assistance in the fighting, but did excellent
service, as a part of General Slocum's corps, in pursuing the enemy in their
retreat to the south. In September, 1863, Mr. Lewis was honorably dis-
charged with his regiment, which was commended for its bravery and courage.
While Mr. Lewis had attended school but a few years, he had spent all of
his spare time in study and wide and diversified reading, and was well equipped
for the profession of teaching, which he now followed for a time with great
success. The school terms, however, were extremely short ones, and the pay
moderate. The work in the coal mines was uncongenial labor, but it was com-
paratively well paid, and the means thus acquired could then be utilized for
some other advance in life. Having well considered these matters, Mr. Lewis,
in 1864, with his brother, John F., engaged in mining in Jermyn. He fol-
lowed this two years, then removed to Scranton where he opened a general
merchantile business in the Providence section of the city. After a short time
he sold this and opened a hardware store in the same section, under the firm
name of Lewis & Fish, at the end of two years bought out the interests of his
partner, and continued it alone for a further five years. In spite of strenuous
labor this business was not the success which the efforts of Mr. Lewis would
have warranted, and he lost the entire capital he had invested. He then em-
barked in business as an insurance agent and conveyancer, and built up a large
enterprise.
Mr. Lewis had been appointed paymaster of the Ninth Regiment, National
Guard of Pennsylvania, in 1875 by Governor Hartranft, an appointment
which was in the nature of honor paid to his ability and integrity, as it in-
volved heavy responsibilities, but was very poorly paid. The same governor, in
1879, appointed him as one of the first auditors of Lackawanna county, but
Mr. Lewis declined this office. When Lackawanna county was separated
from Luzerne county, Mr. Lewis was appointed associate judge, and held
court for a period of five years in Washington Hall, on Lackawanna avenue, in
association with Judges Handley, Hand and Moffit. Lender the provisions of
the new constitution this office was then abolished, and in 1885, after a hotly
contested election, he was made sheriff of the county by a Republican plurality
of one thousand votes, a fine testimony to his personal popularity, as the sec-
tion was a strongly Democratic one. During his term of three years, which
commenced January i, 1886, Mr. Lewis made the banner record for efficiency
in that office. In 1889, after the failure of the Scranton City Bank, Judge
Lewis, representing the depositors, and Dr. Throop, representing the stock-
holders, were appointed trustees of the property then known as the "Jessup
leases," and it was largely due to his financial ability that the depositors were
paid in a comparatively short time. His financial and executive ability hav-
ing been thus publicly demonstrated, Mr. Lewis became a director and the
general manager of the New York, Susquehanna & Western Coal Company,
October i, 1890. This controlled the output of eighteen breakers, and was
under the charge of Mr. Lewis until merged with the Erie Company. Other
important enterprises also claimed his time and attention. He was chosen
president of the Susquehanna Connecting Railroad Company, of which he
had been one of the incorporators, in 1896 ; a leading spirit in the organization
of the North Scranton Bank, its first president, and was still holding this office
at the time of his death ; president of the Lackawanna Telephone Company of
Scranton ; a director in the Dime Deposit and Discount Bank ; and was offi-
cially and otherwise connected with other institutions and enterprises in Scran-
ton and its vicinity.
In political opinion he always sided with the Republican party, and cast
his first vote for President Lincoln. At various times he served on state and
292 CITY OF SCRANTON
county committees, and sat as a delegate in the conventions of his party. He
was a thirty-second degree Mason but later resigned from all the bodies of this
order with the exception of Hiram Lodge, No. 261, of which he was a life
member. He was an active member of Griffin Post, No. 139, G. A. R. He
was one of the organizers of the North End Board of Trade, and served as
president of the body until he positively declined re-election. His connection
with the Providence Presbyterian Church was a most meritorious one. He
served fifteen years as a member of the board of trustees, during this time
was chairman of this body, a part of this time being the years when the new
church was erected. Generous as he was in his contributions to this worthy
object, the physical and moral support he gave to this undertaking was of
incalculable benefit, as he was rarely absent from morning and evening service.
It was said of him : "he was a regular, devout and reverent worshiper in God's
house on the Sabbaih day, and was a Christian man of a rare type of excel-
lence. His fervent belief in God and Christ, and his faith in prayer, were
real things to him. He practiced religion in his daily walk and conversation."'
Judge Lewis married (first) December 31, 1863, Adeline Wells, a native
of Susquehanna county, who died there April 14, 1864. He married (second)
in Scranton, in March, 1867, Cassandra, daughter of William Bloss, a con-
tractor and builder, and a member of an old Pennsylvania family. She died
May 30, 1877, leaving two children: William J. Jr., whose sketch follows;
Efifa, who married Arja Powell. He married (third) June 2, 1882, Mary
Griffith, a native of Wales. They had three sons, one of whom died at the age
of two years, another at three years of age, and the third is Walford C. No
more fitting or accurate estimate can be given of the character of Mr. Lewis
than is to be found in the resolutions adopted by the board of directors of
the bank of which he had been president so long a time. They were in part
as follows :
A manly man, Christian gentleman, the president of this bank, is dead — William J.
Lewis, for many years a resident of North Scranton. We all knew the Hfe he led. To
this community it was a benediction, and to all of his neighbors an inspiration. Right
minded, strong and courageous in his convictions from a proper sense of duty, he never
wavered. Bright and cheerful in disposition, his presence on any occasion was grate-
ful, his unexpected or enforced absence invariably deplored. Rare, indeed, was his per-
sonality. The heart and the head each seemed to play an equal part, the one compelling
respect and admiration by the e.xercise of its powers; the other inspiring love and de-
votion by the exhibition of its virtues. As a neighbor he was hospitable to all. and kind
to the poor. A man of affairs, and exceptionally wide experience, in both private and
public life, he was honest and true to the best and highest ideals. From the organiza-
tion of the North Scranton Bank until the hour of his untimely death, he was
president of the institution. A member of our board of directors, he was sagacious
and conservative in consultation. The highest executive officer of the bank, no detail
of its business escaped his notice, nor did any matter appear too trifling to claim his at-
tention. Not a little of the bank's present highly satisfactory condition, not a little
of its promising future, is to be attributed to his indefatigable and unselfish devotion
to its interests. And now, finally, it may be said of him that he was a man of many
friends and no enemies.
WILLIAM J. LEWIS JR.
The name that heads this chronicle is one that in a past generation was
familiar to and its bearer loved by a wide circle in Lackawanna county, and
in the present day designates one who is a worthy successor of his sire. Wil-
liam J. is the son of William J. (q. v.) and Cassandra (Bloss) Lewis.
William J. Lewis Jr. was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, August 27,
1869, and after obtaining a public schools education began work in the mines
of the region. He was active in the construction of the Suburban Railroad
CITY OF SCRANTON
293
and Electric Line, foi a year and a half having control of its operation. He
operated one of the first street cars used in Scranton, and when the electric
road supplanted the Peoples Road he became associated with the former.
When he was nineteen years of age he was the principal factor in the organiza-
tion of the first union of street car men formed in Scranton, and the second
in the United States, the other being in New York City, and after the affilia-
tion of this organization with the Knights of Labor Mr. Lewis became worthy
master of the lodge. For two years he was a clerk in an establishment at
Providence, resigning to take a course in Wood's Business College, and while
attending this institution he studied practical electricity, and later installed the
first electric hoisting signal service in Leggett's Creek Mine, owned by the
Delaware & Hudson Company. He was then appointed weighmaster for the
New York, Susquehanna & Western Coal Company, serving in this capacity
for three years, at the end of that time becoming assistant general coal in-
spector, continuing so for four years. The following year he passed in Mauch
Chunk as a motorman, and was then offered the superintendency of the Mauch
Chunk Power Plant, which he accepted and held for two years. He then re-
turned to his native city and was connected with the New York, Susquehanna
& Western Coal Company as assistant general coal inspector until that con-
cern was absorbed by the Erie Railroad. Remaining in the same line he be-
came weighmaster at Johnson's No. 2 Colliery, owned by the New York,
Ontario & Western Railroad, later aiding in the organization of the Williams
Drop Forge Company, of which he was secretary and treasurer for five years.
His present occupation is insurance and real estate dealing, and he is also
interested in advertising novelties and specialties, in both of which lines he
has met with success, in the latter having a reputation for the originality and
attractiveness of the plans and novelties he has introduced. Mr. Lewis holds
the thirty-second degree in the Masonic Order, belonging to Union Lodge, No.
291, Keystone Consistory, and to Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine,
and holds membership in the Modern Woodmen of America, the Benevolent
Order of Beavers, Lodge No. 150, the Commercial Travelers of Utica, and
S. of V. Camp, No. 8, of Scranton.
Mr. Lewis married, in 1902, Margaret A. Williams, daughter of John F.
and Margaret A. (Roberts) Williams, of Peckville, Pennsylvania. Children:
Cassandra B., Margaret A. and Effie; also Amanda, who died in infancy.
ALFRED L. DERRY
Walsall, Staffordshire, England, is the birthplace of Alfred L. Derry and
the home of his ancestors, his grandfather, John Derry, having been born there.
John Derry was a brick manufacturer of Walsall, England, continuing in that
line throughout his long career, his death occurring at the advanced age of
ninety-seven years, his wife, Martha, dying when she had attained the won-
derful age of one hundred and one years, husband and wife presenting re-
markable cases of longevity. They are buried near their home. Both were
members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They were the parents of Wil-
liam, Henry, John, of whom further.
(H) John (2) Derry. son of John (i) and Martha Derry. was born in
Walsall, England, and for many years was an iron master in a furnace at
Bentley, England. He immigrated to the LInited States after his second mar-
riage, and settling in Scranton, Pennsylvania, he became a brick manufacturer
and building contractor, afterward moving to Covington, Kentucky, remaining
in that place until his death, aged ninety-six years, the family trait of long life
prevailing in him. He was the successor in the brick business of McKeever
294 CITY OF SCRANTON
Brothers, at Minooka, Pennsylvania, and with Jerry W'ilHams erected the
original buildings of the Sarquoit Mills, then owned by Harvey Brothers. He
superintended the erection of many buildings in Scranton, and was likewise in
charge of the first street grading done in that city, on the Genett Estate, on
what is known as the South Side. He was a man of excellent education, and
was at one time a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church. John
Derry attained prominence and influence in the Scranton district, having risen
to this position by the tireless application of the talents with which he was en-
dowed, energy, industry, persistence, perseverance and the faculty of seizing
opportunity at its flood. He was held in high esteem by those with whom he
associated, and died as he had lived during his long life, loved, honored and
respected.
He married (first) at Walsall, England, Anna Jordon, a native of that
place, who died aged forty-eight years, and is bi:ried in England; (second)
Anne Dash, a native of England. Children of first marriage: Stephen, John,
Alfred L., of whom further, Clara, Mary Ann. Children of second marriage :
Jasper, resides in Cincinnati, Ohio ; Clarence, lives in Cleveland, Ohio ; Anna,
married Herbert Yewell, of Chicago, Illinois; Nellie, married D. R. Burley,
and resides in High Spring, Florida.
(Ill) Alfred L. Derry, son of John (2) and his first wife Anna (Jordon)
Derry, was born in Walsall, Staffordshire. England, July 9, 1856, and wa'i
there reared until he was ten years of age. when he was brought to Pennsyl-
vania by his parents. His education begun in his native land, was continued
in his new place of abode, and as a youth he became employed in the breaker at
the Meadow Brook Mines, owned by William Connell, later being transferred
to clerk duty in the store of the company. For the twelve following years he
was clerk in the Scranton Post Office, and then, until 1900, was employed as
a commercial traveler. Since 1900 Mr. Derry has been engaged in railroao
contractors' supplies, his ofiice in the Connell Building, and in this line he ha;
been successful in gratifying measure, directing a business substantial and
lucrative, the prosperity of which is due to his strenuous efforts in its found-
ing. Mr. Derry is prominent in the Masonic Order, holding the thirty-second
degree, and belongs to Peter Williamson Lodge, No. 323, F. and A. M., of
which he is past master; Lackawanna Chapter, No. 185, R. A. M. ; Scranton
Council, No. 44, R. and S. M. ; Coeur de Lion Commandery, No. 17. K. T. ;
Keystone Consistory. Sovereign Princes of the Royal Secret : and Irem Temple.
Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. His political faith is
Republican, and he is a member of the Christian Science church.
Mr. Derry married, October 14. 1880. Harriet M.. born in Scranton,
daughter of Charles C. and Southard Rogers, and has children : Ralph B.,
Charles R., Walter T., Wesley A., Florence J., married Rothell K. Coan, of
Scranton, and has one daughter, Jeannette Grace. The family residence i;
at No. 442 Colfax avenue, Scranton, where he built a house in 1900.
THOMAS F. WELLS
Following in the footsteps of his father. Corydon H. Wells, who located in
Scranton in 1854. Thomas F. Wells has in his profession and in his de-
votion to the church honorably filled the place left vacant in both by the
death of his honored sire. The career of the elder Wells began in Scranton
with the early days and covered activities as merchant, insurance agent and
lawyer. He was successful in all, and two of the large fire insurance agencies
of to-day were founded by him. The career of the son covers thirty-eight
CITY OF SCRANTON
295
years of successful Itgal practice in the city, and nearly sixty years contmuous
residence, dating from 1854, the year succeeding his birth,
Corydon H. Wells was born in Dundaff, Susquehanna county, Pennsyl-
vania, died in Scranton, in 1888, aged sixty-two years. He was educated in the
public schools and Waverly Academy, beginning business life in Scranton in
1854 in partnership with his brother-in-law, George F. Bass, the firm trading as
Wells & Bass. He was married prior to coming to Scranton, where he did
not long continue in mercantile life. He was elected justice of the peace and
during his incumbency of that office studied law, one of his preceptors being
Colonel Wright, of \\'ilkes-Barre. He was admitted to the bar and at once
began practice in Scranton. During his early years in practice he also con-
ducted a fire insurance business, the present important agencies of R. W.
Luce & Son and W. W. Phillips & Company having been established by Mr.
Wells during this period. He gained in reputation as an able lawyer, and as
practice increased he withdrew from the insurance field. He practiced alone
until the admission of his son, Thomas F. Wells, to the bar. then they became
partners, an association that continued until a few years prior to the death of
Mr. Wells Sr. He was elected a member of the board of city assessors, but
before he had entered upon the duties of that office death ended the useful
career, council electing his son, Thomas F., to fill his place on the board.
He was a member of the Washburn Street Presbyterian Church, which he
joined after his marriage, his wife being one of the original members of that
congregation. He was clerk of sessions for many years, and an elder, taking
a deep interest in tho welfare of the church and actively engaging in its up-
building. Corydon H. Wells married Mary G., daughter of Thomas H. and
Ann (Chittenden) Bass, of Pleasant Mount; children: Thomas F. ; Jennie R.,
wife of Rev. William Irwin Steans, D. D., of Westfiekl, New Jersey.
Thomas F. Wells was born in Dimdaiif, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania,
September 17, 1853. He was about one year old when his parents moved to
Scranton, which has ever since been his home. He attended the public schools
of the city, and after due preparation entered Lafayette College, class of 1874.
He chose his father's profession, studying in the office of Hand & Post, of
Scranton, and after passing satisfactory examination was admitted to the
Luzerne county bar in 1875. He was at once admitted to a partnership with
his father, who had a well established practice and together they continued
until a few years prior to the death of the senior partner. Mr. Wells has been
admitted to all state and federal courts of the district and has an extensive civil
practice, large corporate and orphans" court business. He is a thorough!)
capable and reliable lawyer and has gained high standing among his profes-
sional brethren and with a class of most desirable clients. Mr. Wells has also
allied himself with several of Scranton's industries and holds directorships in
the Spencer Heater Company, the J. A. Breman Drilling Company, the Wolf
Creek Coal Company, the Lackawanna Mountain Ice Company, the Lehigh
and Lackawanna Ice Company, the Gouldsboro Ice Company, the Saylers-
burg Ice Company and the W. L. Carr Mercantile Company of Gouldsboro.
While active and busily engaged in professional labor and in his official busi-
ness relations with corporate interests, Mr. Wells also is active in church and
fraternity. He is a member of Green Ridge Presbyterian Church, which he
serves as elder and clerk of session and for thirteen years was superintendent
of the Sunday school, having previous to his going to Green Ridge been
superintendent of the Sunday school of another church. He is a member of
Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and for twenty-five
years has been district deputy grand master of the Thirteenth District of the
State of Pennsylvania. He is also a companion of Lackawanna Chapter, Royal
296 CITY OF SCRANTON
Arch Masons, and a Sir Knight of Melita Commandery, Knights Templar.
He is a member of the Country Club.
Mr. Wells married E. Louise Jenkins, born in Crompton, Wayne county,
Pennsylvania, daughter of William and Mary ( Sherman ) Jenkins, the latter
a connection of the General Sherman family ; children : Anna, married Frank
L. Phillips, of New York; Harold Sherman, now a resident of Portland,
Oregon.
HERMAN C. RUTHERFORD
Of Scotch ancestry on his paternal side, born in New York state where
he obtained his professional education, Mr. Rutherford has since 1894 been
a resident of Scranton, where he is rated one of the leading architects of the
city. He is a son of Robert Rutherford, and a grandson of George Ruther-
ford, both born in Scotland, and the latter coming to the United States with his
brothers. Walker, Robert and John; sisters, Janet and Isabel, and his own wife
and children. The family settled in New York state soon after their arrival
in 1853 and there George Rutherford died. His children : Robert W., William,
Archibald. Agnes, Mary, all deceased.
Robert W. Rutherford was born in Scotland in the year 1838 and when
a lad of fourteen years came with his parents, uncles and aunts to the United
States. After some time spent in different locations they settled in Edmeston,
Otsego county. New York. Robert W. went away to learn the machinist's
trade and followed it many years, but owing to poor health was compelled to
give it up, and moved back to Edmeston. where he died in 1881. He married
Caroline, the youngest daughter of the Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus Steere, of
Norwich, New York, who came with the early settlers of that county from
the state of Rhode Island in the early part of the year 1800, and had the fol-
lowing children : Herbert G., Herman C., Nealon.
Herman C. Rutherford, second son of Robert W. and Caroline (Steere)
Rutherford, was born at Edmeston, Otsego county. New York, October 10,
1872. He obtained his education in the primary, grammar and high schools,
and later took up the study of architecture, and has since followed that pro-
fession, opening an office for himself in Scranton in 1898. During the past
fifteen years of active professional and business life in Scranton he has be-
come well and favorably known in the city as a man of ability, integrity
and sound judgment, these qualities attracting a patronage most satisfactory.
He is a director of the Williams Drop Forging Company, the Spencer Heater
Company, the Scranton Real Estate Company, the Pine Brook Bank and many
other industries in the city as well as outside. He is a member of Elm Park
Methodist Episcopal Church, of Green Ridge Lodge, No. 597, F. and A. M.,
and is a thirty-second degree Mason, belonging to all of the bodies of Keystone
Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, and to Irem Temple, the Mystic
Shrine.
Mr. Rutherford married Nettie S. Davis and they have the following
children : Robert W.. born 1903 ; Catherine, born 1908.
MILTON W. LOWRY
Tradition, that elastic authority that while often misleading, sometimes
preserves facts otherwise lost, weaves a dramatic story around John Lowry,
the founder of the family now represented in Scranton by Milton W. Lowry,
of the Lackawanna bar. John Lowry came from Ireland to Lowell, Massa-
chusetts, and according to tradition was the son of a nobleman and induced to
CITY OF SCRANTON
297
make the trip across the Atlantic by an uncle named Lowell, after whom Lowell
was named. The vessel on which he sailed was shipwrecked and young Lowry
lost all the papers and documents that could have proven his identity, only
escaping from the wreck with his life and a belt around his waist in which
was a quantity of gold coins. He reached safety and continued his journey
to Lowell, where later he married Sabra Hunt and reared a large family.
(I) One of the descendants of the emigrant, George Lowry, with his wife,
Mary, moved to Sparta, New Jersey, prior to the year 1800 and there con-
ducted his trade of cooper for several years. In 1806 he continued westward
to Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, and later settled in Clifford township Sui-
quehanna county. There he bought land, but later by reason of defective titles
he lost it all. Mary Lowry lived many years after the death of George, her
husband, later having married a Mr. Wilcox. She died in 1870, aged nearly
one hundred years. George and Mary Lowry had children : Holloway, of
further mention ; Nancy, married Chauncey Deming ; Polly, married Jeremiah
Tuttle ; John, removed to the West and settled in Kansas ; Catherine, married
P. S. Foster ; George, unmarried ; Sarah, married Orin Griswold.
(II) Holloway Lowry, eldest son of George and Mary Lowry, was born
in Sparta, New Jersey, in 1801, died in Clifford township, Susquehanna
county, Pennsylvania, in 1875. In 1822 he bought land in Clifford township.
but his title was also faulty and the money paid was lost. In 1823 he pur-
chased a farm in Clifford township, upon which he resided until his death, also
ownin? ere on the southern slope of the South Knob of Elk Mountain. He
was a prosperous farmer, very systematic and careful in his business affairs
after his first bitter experience, and left an estate that was easily, quickly and
cheaply settled by the executor, his son, James W. Lowry. He married, in
1824, Sophia Wells, of Clifford township. Children: Charles, born 1826. a
farmer of Lackawanna county; Martha, born 1828. married Rev. G. M. Dim-
mick; James W., of further mention; John, born 1832, a farmer of Lacka-
wanna county; Amy, born 1834. married J. F. Kenback ; Sarah, born 1836.
died 1863, married Elias E. Lowrie ; Wright, born 1838, a farmer of Lacka-
wanna county; Clark, born 1840, a merchant of Scranton ; Benjamin, born
1842, a carpenter and builder of Luzerne county; Hezekiah. born 1844, a
farmer on the homestead; Samantha, born 1847. married (first) Thomas
Kelly, (second) John Philbin.
(III) James W. Lowry, second son of Holloway and Sophia (Wells)
Lowry, was born in Clifford township, Susquehanna county. Pennsylvania,
July 18, 1830, died December 3, 1908. He was educated in public schools,
Dundaff and Waverly academies, and for seven years in early life taught in
the public schools of Susc|uehanna and Wayne counties. In 1854 he married
and purchased a farm near Elkdale on the east branch of Tunkhannock creek
and there installed his bride. He conducted a lumber business with his father,
built a saw mill on the farm and continued in business eight years. In 1862
he purchased a large farm and residence in Elkdale, to which he then re-
moved and there conducted an agricultural implement business, engaged large-
ly in the purchase and sale of farm stock and was interested in farming and
bee culture. He enlisted with three of his brothers when Pennsylvania was
threatened with invasion and with other volunteers went to Harrisburg to be
sworn in, but the need for their service quickly passed by General Lee's retreat
from Pennsylvania, and they returned home. Squire Lowry held the office
of justice of the peace nearly forty years, was school director fifteen years, and
in 1878 was the Republican candidate for the state legislature, failing of
election by but twenty-eight votes. He was clerk and long time member of
Elkdale Baptist Church, was active in church and Sunday school work, one of
298 CITY OF SCRANTON
the strong men of his comniunity, and one of the original trustees of thf^
Abington Baptist Association, of Lackawanna, Susquehanna, Wyoming ana
Wayne counties, which position he held from the incorporation of the associa-
tion until his death.
He married, in 1854. Alma Taylor, born November 17, 1830, daughter oi
Thomas and Elizabeth (Worth) Taylor, her father, Thomas Taylor, born n^
Providence, Pennsylvania, in 1797, died 1892. Children: Wells J., a physiciai;
of Carbondale, Pennsylvania, married ( first ) Celia M. Fuller, ( second ) Flora
M. Hammond; ]\Iilton W., of further mention; Samuel E. ; Eva L., married
to John E. \\'illiams, of Ceres, California; Susan A. and George E., who died
in childhood.
(I\'j Milton W. Lowry, second son of "Squire" James W. and Alma
(Taylor) Lowry, was born at Elkdale, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania,
iVlarch 10, 1859. He began his studies in the public schools, continuing at
Keystone Academy, Factoryville, Pennsylvania, where all the children of
Squire Lowry attended, and where his preparatory courses were finished.
He then entered Pennsylvania State College, by appointment of Senator
Nelson to a scholarship, made on competitive examination, whence he was
graduated with honors, class of 1884. In his junior year he won the class ora-
torical prize, and in 1884, delivered the salutatory oration. Possessing the great
requisite for a successful lawyer, the gift of graceful and forceful oratory
and with his classical education meeting all requirements, Mr. Lowry, more-
over, with an inherited love for the legal profession, decided to prepare himself
for the bar. He began the study of law under the preceptorship of Hon.
W. W\ Watson, and in 1886 was admitted to the Lackawanna bar after suc-
cessfully passing the required examinations. He began private practice at
Scranton soon after having served as deputy prothonotary of Lackawanna
county, which office he filled until April, 1888, when he resigned to devote
his entire time to his law practice. He has risen to the front rank in his pro-
fession, and in contact with the strong men of the Lackawanna bar has so
proved his fine natural gifts that no man may claim to be his superior in
forcibly, clearly and eloquently presenting his case before judge, jury or
tribunal. He has been admitted to all state and federal courts of the district
and in all transacts a large amount of legal business.
Strong as is his position at the bar, Mr. Lowry is not less prominently
or less favorably known in the public life of city, county and state. A Re-
publican in politics, he has been active and influential in party councils, and
as a campaign orator his eloquence and personal magnetism has strengthened
the wavering and brought new recruits to the party standard. He was elected
president of the Republican State League by the Altoona Convention in 1909
and served a term in that capacity. In 1904 he was appointed by the governor
of Pennsylvania a trustee of Pennsylvania State College, his alma mater,
and for upwards of ten years has, by reappointment, been associated with
General James A. Beaver, Andrew Carnegie, M. E. Olmstead, Charles S.
Schwab, Vance McCormick and other eminent Pennsylvanians and for a term
of years has been a member of the executive committee of the board. Also
for twenty years he has been a member of the board of trustees of Keystone
Academy, Factoryville. Pennsylvania, where he prepared for college, an in-
stitution for which he has a most tender regard. In city affr'rs he has for
years been a leading figure. He was a member of select council for several
years, and during the administration of Mayor Dimmick served as president
of that body. For many years he has been a member of Scranton Board of
Trade, also member of the Committee on Municipal Afifairs, and was appointed
with Judge Kelly who together acted as attorneys for the Board of Trade to
^ila/oH^oL, .^). ^ij
CITY OF SCRANTON 299
write an opinion and later to draft a series of ordinances to regulate the opera-
tions of the coal companies mining beneath the city of Scranton. Mr. Lowry
is a member of the county and state bar association and many other bodies
of varied purpose and in all is held in high esteem. He meets every issue
in law, politics or in general debate fairly and squarely, uses no subterfuge to
gain his ends, but by a thorough knowledge of his cause and forceful and
eloquent presentation depends for victory.
Mr. Lowry married, in October, 1885, Annie Lowry, of English birth and
parentage, and a graduate of Bucknell University, in 1883. Since 1884 his
residence has been in Scranton, his present home being at 601 Clay avenue,
comer of Olive street, a beautiful residential section. He has one son, Robert,
a graduate of Princeton L^niversity, class of 1912. Mr. Lowry is a member
of the Immanuel Baptist Church of Scranton, and one of the official board and
is president of the board of trustees. In 1910 he was elected as a trustee of
the Abington Baptist Association to fill the vacancy caused by the decease
of his father.
MAJOR JOHN BILLINGS FISH
Major John Billings Fish was a fine type of that character which has
contributed in such large degree to the development of the resources of
Pennsylvania, and to the extension of its splendid industrial enterprises.
While thus acting as a prime factor in the accomplishment of great results,
which have largely benefitted the entire community, he also accumulated con-
siderable personal interests as the reward of his intelligent and industrious
effort, preserving throughout his entire career a spotless character. He came
of an old family, distinguished for active and clean lives, and he inherited in
rich measure the patriotic spirit which animated his forebears, and was
among the first to respond to his country's call when there was need for his
service on the field of battle.
Edmond Fish, grandfather of Major John Billings Fish, was an active
participant in the stiuggles of the Continental army during the war of the
Revolution, and was one of the most patriotic of the brave men of those days.
Daniel Fish, father of Major John Billings Fish, was born in Connecticut, and
died at the age of ninety-two years in Damascus, Wayne county, Pennsylvania.
He was a soldier in the War of 1812.
Major John Billings Fish was born at Liberty, Sullivan county, New York,
March 14, 1829, died at Scranton, Pennsylvania, July 15, 1905. He was edu-
cated in the public schools of his native town, and upon the completion of hi>
studies he was apprenticed to learn the trade of tinning and sheet iron working,
being in the employ of others until he had almost attained his majority. He
then established himself in this line of business independently at Liberty, but
not long afterward removed his business to Hancock, Delaware county. New
York, where he continued for about one year, then sold his business and re-
moved to Bainbridge, New York, worked there at his trade as a journeyman
for about two years, then spent one year in Deposit, New York. In 1854 he
removed to Pittston, Pennsvlvania, where he served as burgess in 1858 and
1859.
In 1861. when President Lincoln issued his call for three months men.
Major Fish was one of the first to volunteer his services, and enlisted in the
Eleventh Regiment Maine ^^olunteer Infantry. He was advanced to the rank
of lieutenant, was with the first troops to cross the Potomac above Washington,
and his was the first Maine company to have blood spilled during the war.
He re-enlisted at the close of his first term of service, becoming first lieutenant
300 CITY OF SCRANTON
in the Fifty-second Regiment Pennsylvania \'olunteer Infantry, and his men
were the first to drive the Confederate forces from Chickahominy. At that
point he had his first meeting with General Negley, and thereafter was in h's
command as a scout and on reconnoitering duty. In 1863 he was promoted to
the rank of captain at Morris Island. He was mustered out, January 27,
1865. His service was varied and distinguished throughout for fidelity and
bravery, taking part in the occupation of Martinsburg, siege of Yorktown,
Lee's Alills, Williamsburg, Seven Pines, seven days before Richmond and Mal-
vern Hill. He sailed for Beaufort, South Carolina, December 31, 1862, taking
part in the assault on Fort Johnson, action at Secessionville, bombardment of
Fort Sumter, having charge of three guns, also of picket boats in Charleston
Harbor: capture of Fort Cregg, in command of Mortar and Columbian Bat-
tery on Morris Island, and was complimented highly by the commanding gen-
eral.
At the close of the war Major Fish took up his residence in Providence,
Scranton, which was the seat of his business activity from that time until his
death. In association with Sheriff Lewis he engaged in the hardware business
in 1866, but sold his interest in this in 1868. He accepted a position as super-
intendent of the Providence Gas and Water Company, an office he filled many
years. He was the leading spirit in the organization of the North Scranton
Bank, of which he served as a director many years, and was personally inter-
ested in a number of other important business enterprises. He was a man of
superior business ability, and his rank in the business world was a more than
ordinarily high one.
In military matters his e.xecutive ability was no less pronounced, and he
served five years as captain of Company H, Thirteenth Regiment National
Guard of Pennsylvania, being elected captain, October 20, 1885: major, Octo-
ber 4, 1888, and was in active duty with this rank four years. In political af-
fairs Major Fish was an active and consistent supporter of the Republican
party, and while his labors in the field of politics were of great benefit to the
community, he never held nor desired to hold a salaried public office. Hi-,
fraternal affiliation was as follows : Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the
L^nited States, to which he was elected May 6, 1896, Class I, Insignia 11448; a
charter member, and a member of the board of control of Lieutenant Ezra
Griffin Post, No. 139, G. A. R., of Scranton: Susquehanna Lodge, Free and
Accepted Masons, of Bainbridge ; Celestial Lodge, Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, of which he was the first noble grand. He served as an elder of
the Presbyterian church, of Providence, and was a liberal contributor to the
support of this institution.
Major Fish married, October 5, 1853, Sarah A., a daughter of Robert and
Laura Turner, of Bainbridge, New York, whose ancestors also took part in the
Revolutionary War. Children: Laura T. ; James B., married Edith Arnold and
has one son Robert ; Morris P., deceased. Mrs. Fish, who was born in Deposit,
New York, passed to her eternal rest some months before her husband, her
death being hastened by the shock due to a fall experienced at her own home,
some weeks previously. She left behind her a record of good deeds and loving
kindness, which will be long remembered. Major and Mrs. Fish had the rare
pleasure of celebrating their golden wedding anniversary, and this occasion
was one which will not be soon forgotten.
We cannot better show the high esteem in which Major Fish was held
than by giving an extract from an article which appeared in the principal
newspaper of Scranton at the time of his death.
His purity of inner life, his fervent love for the Word of God, his loyalty to Zion,
his Christian liberality and stanch type of practical purity, form a rich legacy to the
CITY OF SCRANTON ,01
church in which he was esteemed and loved. — Major Fish was a good man. He was a
Christian man and never uttered a harmful word about his fellow man. He died as he
had lived, with a faith in the true Christian's hope for the future. He was a true
friend to those with whom he was mostly intimate. The writer knows whereof he
speaks. For over a quarter of a century he was an adviser, a patron, a friend in time
of need, and we shall miss his kind counsel. But he is gone to a rest well earned.
The following resolutions were adopted by the directors of the North
Scranton Bank :
For many years a resident of North Scranton, we well knew the life he led. To
this community it was a benediction, and to all his neighbors an inspiration; high-
minded, strong and courageous in his convictions, from a proper sense of duty, he never
wavered. Bright and cheerful in disposition, his presence on any occasion was grateful,
his absence invariably deplored. From the organization of The North Scranton Bank
until the hour of his untimely death he was the promoter and father of the institution,
always taking deep interest in its success and ever ready to promote its welfare. A
member of our board of directors, he was sagacious and conservative in consultation,
no detail of its business escaped his notice, nor did any matter appear too trifling to
claim his attention. And now, finally, may it be said that he was a man of many friends
and no enemies. — P. J. Ruane, J. A. LaBarr. J. R. Atherton. Committee.
ROBERT JOSIAH BAUER
Of the fourth American generation of his family, Professor Bauer, the
well known band master and musical director of Scranton, traces his ancestry
to Abraham Bauer, who came with his family from Germany, settling in
Pennsylvania. He served as a captain in the Revolutionary War and later
made settlement at Wind Gap, now a borough of Northampton county, Penn-
sylvania, near the Killany Mountain, thirteen miles from Easton on the New
Jersey Central and ether railroads. He had sons, Charles, Jacob, Abraham,
Samuel, Adam, Reuben. From these spring all the different branches of
the Bauers claiming descent from the brave old Revolutionary soldier and
pioneer settler.
(II) Charles Bauer, son of Abraham Bauer, "the settler," became a school
teacher in early life at Wind Gap, later engaging in other occupations more
profitable in that day. He married Alary Wever, of Plainfield, New Jersey,
and had issue: Abraham, William, Frank, Kate, Einma, Josiah.
(III) Josiah Bauer, son of Charles Bauer, was born at Wind Gap, Penn-
sylvania, in 1829. He became a large and wealthy contractor, owning con-
siderable property which he lost during the war between the states. In 1869
he came to Scranton, where for $303 he was offered a large tract of land, now
valuable, but then so swampy that he failed to see its future value. He con-
ducted business in painting and contracting until his death in 1876. He was
possessed of marked musical ability, a talent that he transmitted to his son. He
married Lucy, daughter of Frederick Warner, and had issue : Augusta, mar-
ried Bromley Williams, of Scranton ; Robert Josiah, of further mention ; Rev.
Benjamin, Minnie, Ellen, Emma, Amanda, all deceased except the two first
named.
(IV) Professor Robert Josiah Bauer, son of Josiah Bauer, was born at
Nazareth, Pennsylvania, April 17, 1857. He attended the public schools, and
in 1869 came with his parents to Scranton. He displayed a decided musical
talent from his youth and was taught by his father until the death of the latter
in 1876. The young man then spent a year in New York City under a noted
violin instructor, returning to Scranton in 1877. He was then not only an ac-
complished performer but a capable leader, and having decided upon a musical
career he organized "Bauer's Military Band and Orchestra," an organization
he has successfully conducted for thirty-five years. The band and orchestra
302 ■ CITY OF SCRANTON
has ever been one of the leading musical organizations and its leader one ot
the noted conductors of northeastern Pennsylvania. He has developed a
perfect musical organization and from its ranks many noted performers have
been graduated. The band at present numbers forty musicians, perfectly
trained, held under perfect control by the baton of their talented leader, who
carries them through the difficult scores with a skill that perfectly interprets
the theme of the composer. Professor Bauer is not alone an artist and con-
ductor, but is also a composer of band and orchestral music, many of his
compositions having brought him fame in that field. He is a musical authority
in the city and has achieved a fame that extends far beyond local limits. He i?,
a member of Scranton's well known musical organizations, the Leiderkrantz and
Junger Mannerchor ; belongs to Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Accepted
Masons; Lackawanna Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, Coeur de Lion Com-
mandery, Knights Templar ; Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the
Mystic Shrine; Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Temple Club.
In political faith he is a Republican.
Professor Bauer married Mary, daughter of Thomas Lexshen, and has
children : Allen, a surveyor ; Theodore, a musician ; Helen ; Florence, deceased ,
Julian, deceased.
GEORGE W. MAXEY
The Welsh founders of the city of Carbondale number among them several
of the name of Maxey and Evans, both the paternal and maternal ancestors
of George W. Maxey, they having come nearly a century ago from Wales to
Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, where many of the family still reside
Benjamin Maxey, father of George W. Maxey, is at the present time mine
inspector of the twenty-first inspection district, comprising the counties of Sus-
quehanna, Wayne and Sullivan. He is the son of George and Mary Daniels
Maxey. George W. Maxey 's mother, now deceased, was Margaret (Evans)
Maxey, the daughter of Lewis and Ann Evans.
George W. Maxey was born in Forest City, Pennsylvania, February 14,
1878. He was a student in the public schools of his native town. He also
worked as a miner and in other capacities in the mines of Vandling near
Forest City. He prepared for college at the Mansfield State !^ormal School.
In 1898 he entered the L^niversity of Michigan, where he graduated with the
degree of A. B., in the year 1902. While a student at the LTniversity of Michi-
gan, Mr. Maxey was interested in debating and oratory, winning first prizes
in several contests and representing the University of Michigan in several
inter-collegiate debates with teams from the L^niversities of Chicago and Min-
nesota and the Northwestern, his university winning the championship of the
Central Debating League. Mr. Maxey held among other important elective
positions at the LTniversity the position of managing editor of the University
of Michigan Daily News. The year following his graduation at Michigan,
Mr. Maxey entered the law department of the University of Pennsylvania,
completing the prescribed course in less than three years. In this college
also he was prominent in debating circles and won the first prize in debat-
ing. He twice led the L^niversity team in debates with the University of Vir-
ginia, in both of which his team was successful. He was also elected presi-
dent of his class in this institution.
He was admitted to the bar of Lackawanna county, March 12, 1906,
and has since been active in the practice of law in this county and has fre-
quently appeared in court at Montrose, the county seat of Susquehanna, his
native county. Soon after his admission to the bar he formed a partnership
■s ^'j?^^ jvy
CITY OF SCRANTON 303
with Edwin C. Amerman, the offices of the firm being in the Republican
Building. On September 16, 1913, Mr. Maxey was nominated both by the
Republican and Washington parties for the office of district attorney, his
majority in both parties at the primaries being about twenty-five hundred
votes. On the 4th of the following November he was elected district attorney
by a plurality of thirty-eight hundred and sixty-five votes over his Demo-
cratic opponent. He entered upon the duties of his office, January 5, 1914.
That no influence can be brought to bear upon Mr. Maxey to cause him to
deviate from a path of the strictest rectitude is well known to all acquainted
with his professional career, and to those who are privileged to be his friend.-:
in private life he is known for his loyalty and fair dealing. He has made an
auspicious beginning upon a career of promise and he has the natural talents
and habits of industry that insure his continued success.
JOHN WESLEY PINNELL
The Pinnell family was founded in the United States by the immigration
of two brothers, Robert and Charles, both natives of England, and the only
members of their line who left the home land. Robert Pinnell was born
February 22, 18 1 7, and was reared to manhood and educated in England,
coming to this country in 1848. Both he and his brother settled in New York
state, he making his home in Bovina, Delaware county, New York, where he
was joined by his wife 1849. He was a blacksmith by trade and was pro-
prietor of a shop in Delaware county for fifteen years, a part of that time
being associated with John Johnson. In 1864 he moved to Dunmore, Penn-
sylvania, and was employed in the machine shops of the Pennsylvania Coal
Company until his retirement, his death occurring in Dunmore in 1882, his
wife also dying in that place. He married, in 1845, Mary Hyam, born in
England, September 25, 1822, and had children: Elizabeth, deceased; Jon.'s
T., of whom further; John Wesley, of whom further.
(II) Jones T. Pinnell, son of Robert and Mary (Hyam) Pinnell, wa-.
born in Bovina, Delaware county. New York, May 6. 1850. He obtained his
education in the public schools of that place and in the Dunmore High School,
to which latter place the family home was changed in 1864. He served a
five years' apprenticeship in the moulder's trade in the foundry of the Penn-
sylvania Coal Company, his instructor being John Deacon, one of the most
skillful and adept masters of his trade in that locality. He was successively
employed in the Dickson Works, Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Rail-
road, the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company, then returning to the service
of the Pennsylvania Coal Company. His independent start in business was
on a modest scale, but industry and ceaseless application had made him the
the proprietor of a firmly estahlished and paying business, his iron and brass
foundry, a well equipped plant forty-five by forty feet, housing a thriving
concern. Mr. Pinnell has attracted a large trade by the excellence of hi.-,
work along special lines and performs all kinds of jobbing and mine work.
Soon after its invention in 1887 he placed on the market Pinnell's Sash Weight,
one of the most efficient devices of its kind manufactured, which met with a
welcome reception from builders and householders. His first invention was a
belt tightener, and ami)ng many other useful articles he devised a can top
straightener, made of aluminum, an indispensable adjunct of the fruit jars
in common use among housekeepers, the best of his inventions all covered by
patents. Mr. Pinnell is a supporter of the Republican party, and holds mem-
bership in the American Mechanics.
Mr. Pinnell married (first) in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, Clara Bailey, born
304 CITY OF SCRANTON
in Waymart, Pennsylvania, died in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, June i, 1888,
daughter of William Bailey, former principal of the Green Ridge School.
Children: i. Lizzie, married a Mr. Oliver, of Dunmore, Pennsylvania. 2.
Edward, a moulder, associated in business with his uncle, J. W. Pinnell. 3.
Wesley, a machinist in the employ of the Finch Manufacturing Company. 4.
Howard, foreman for his uncle, J. W. Pinnell. 5. Nettie, wife of Henry
Zeigler, superintendent of Clotts Silk Mills, Alexandria, Virginia. Mr. and
Mrs. Pinnell were also the parents of a daughter Clara, who died in infancy.
He married (second) November 24, 1898, Arbelle Barton, only daughter of
David and Metahetable (Krotzer) Barton, of Washington, D. C, died at
Dunmore, Pennsylvania. Her parents had two sons. No children to Seconal
marriage.
(H) John Wesley Pinnell, son of Robert and Mary (Hyam) Pinnell,
was born at Bovina, Delaware county. New York, July 11, 1852. He ob-
tained his scholastic training in the schools of New York state and of Dun-
more, Pennsylvania. His connection with manufacturing began in 1881, and
he still continues in that line. His first venture was in partnership with Ed-
ward Gibson, the two establishing in the foundry business on First street,
Jersey City, New Jersey, Mr. Pinnell selling his interest the following year and
returning to Dunmore. Here he entered the same line in conjunction with
his brother, Jones T., the firm transacting business as Pinnell Brothers, Jones
T. Pinnell becoming sole proprietor when his brother entered hardware deal-
ing in 1885. This line Mr. Pinnell abandoned in 1894, re-entering the foundry
business and continuing until the purchase of his plant by the Scranton Steam
Pump Company in 1901, being employed by this concern as foundry super-
intendent for the two following years. In 1903 he once more became inde-
pendently engaged in foundry work, his place of business being on Green Ridge
street, where he remained until 1906, when he purchased his present plant
at No. 1200-1208 Capouse avenue. In this place Mr. Pinnell conducts an
e.s tensive and lucrative business, his wide experience in and extensive rela-
tions with foundry work giving him a firm basis upon which to found the
prosperity of his plant. This is his only business interest, and he is a stock-
holder in the Anthracite Bank of Scranton. He is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church of Dunmore and has been a member of the choir of that
church for forty-six years, first singing as a member thereof in 1868, and
still singing there (1914). His fraternal orders are the Knights of Pythias, in
which he has been treasurer of trustees, outer guard, inner guard, master at
arms, vice-chancellor, chancellor commander, past chancellor, prelate ; the
Knights of Malta, and has filled all the chairs, having been senior warden,
captain general, generalissimo, sir knight commander, and prelate ; and the
Improved Order of Heptasophs.
Mr. Pinnell married, in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, September 21, 1876.
Junia Frances Dilley, born in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, April 27, 1856, daugh-
ter of Stewart Dilley, born at Hanover, Pennsylvania, January 23, 1829, and
Lucinda (Wert) Dilley, born near Reading, Pennsylvania, June 5, 1833.
Stewart Dilley was superintendent of the Pennsylvania blacksmith shops at
Dunmore, Pennsylvania, from 1854 until his accidental death in 1869. Chil-
dren of Mr. and Mrs. Dilley : Junia Frances, above mentioned ; Mary, married
E. W. Bishop; Lydia, deceased; Ruth, married S. M. Ives, of Taylor, Penn-
sylvania; S. G., deceased. John Wesley and Junia Frances (Dilley) Pin-
nell are the parents of: i. Lydia Mae. born in Jersey City, New Jersey, No-
vember 29, 1880; married a Mr. Shafifer. and has one daughter. Ruth, born
in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, February 16, 1902. 2. Hope Junia, born in Dun-
more, Pennsylvania, November 5, 1884; married Stewart B. Seigle. 3.
CITY OF SCRANTON 305
Lucinda, born in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, March 19, 1892. It is curious to
note that the birth dates of Mr. Pinnell, his wife and children, as well as the
date of marriage of the parents, fall in a bissextile or leap year, a coincidence
seldom occurring
OSEE D. DEWITT
The lines of business in which Osee D. DeWitt is known to the city of
Scranton are lumber, planning mill, insurance, real estate, and automobiles.
In the eighteen years covering the time Mr. DeWitt has been in Scranton he
has become well and favorably known in the city of his adoption. He is a
son of Isaac DeWitt, born in New Jersey, a shoemaker by trade. Isaac De-
Witt enlisted in the Union army in 1862 and fought in the ranks until the
close of the war, in one battle receiving a severe wound in the hand. Upon
the signing of articles of peace he was given an honorable discharge, but the
wound in his hand had incapacitated him for delicate work, so that he was
compelled to abandon his trade. He engaged in farming operations and lum-
ber dealing until his death, holding membership in the Grand Anny of the
Republic. He married Lucy Spencer, of Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, and
had: Eva, deceased: G. Dow; Osee D., of whom further; Warren Spencer,
president of the DeW itt Lumber Company ; Martha ; Walter, met an accidental
death by drowning.
Osee D. DeWitt, son of Isaac and Lucy ( Spencer ) DeWitt, was born in
Rockford City, Illinois, June 9, 1858. His parents moving to Susquehanna
county, Pennsylvania, when he was a child, he was there educated in the
public schools. In later life he engaged in lumber dealing, managing the luni-
ber mill of DeWitt Brothers in Wyoming county, and in 1896 moved to Scran-
ton, there engaging m the same business until 1907. In that year he sold his
interests in the firm and established in insurance and real estate dealing at
Green Ridge, later moving his office to the Miller Building, Scranton. When
he first came to Scranton he became associated with his brother, W. S. De-
Witt, in a retail lumber and planing mill business in which he continued until
1906. The partnership being dissolved at that time he entered into the real
estate and insurance line alone; later in 1912 became interested in the auto-
mobile business and organized the Eureka Motor Car Company, later be-
coming manager. In 191 2 he located at No. 319 Washington avenue, there
adding automobile activity to his earlier lines, being president and manager of
the Eureka Motor Car Company. He holds the agency for the Franklin car
and the Brockway truck, both machines with many desirable features, both
meeting other cars and trucks upon a level of efficiency, in the one elegance
and comfort in construction, in the other, strength and durability. Mr. De-
Witt's only other business connection is as vice-president of the Green Ridge
Bank. His fraternal society is the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in
which he belongs to the Green Ridge Lodge, and he is a member of the Metho-
dist Episcopal church, holding a place upon the board of trustees.
He married, October 26, 1881, Priscilla A., daughter of Mark A. and
Priscilla Gardner, of Wyoming county, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. DeWitt
are the parents of; Harry G., born July 4, 1886, and Hazel P., born August
14, 1896.
JUSTIN ELISHA PARRISH
A descendant of the Connecticut Parrish family, and of Archibald Par-
rish, who settled in the Wyoming Valley shortly after the "Massacre," Justin
20
3o6 CITY OF SCRANTON
E. Parrish possesses an ancestry that in both states helped to lay the founda-
tion for future greatness. On the site of the present Courthouse Square hi
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, once stood one of the old taverns or inns of the
early day. This tavern was kept by Archibald Parrish, and after his death
by his widow, Phoebe ( ^liller ) Parrish, who died at the great age of ninety-
eight years. Archibald and Phoebe Parrish had issue : Bradley, served in the
Union army during the war between the states ; Archibald, one of the or-
ganizers of the Adams Express Company ; Gould, built the first powder mill
in northeastern Pennsylvania ; Charles, organized the Wilkes-Barre and Lehigh
Coal Company, and was one of the leading coal operators of his day ; Sarah,
married Frank Hunt and had issue, Charles P., Elwood, Anna ; Mary G. ;
George H.
George H. Parrish was born at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in 1823, there
grew to manhood, learning and following the trade of blacksmith. He after-
ward moved to Louisville, Kentucky, there opening and conducting a shop
devoted to his trade. After the destruction of his plant by fire, he moved to
Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. In 1864 he returned to Wilkes-Barre where he be-
came associated with his brother, Charles, in coal mine operations. The latter
had recently opened the Dundee Shaft at Buttonwood near Wilkes-Barre, now
owned by the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Coal Company. Charles
Parrish had in 1864, in association with Samuel Thomas, established the firm
of Parrish & Thomas and operated what is now known as Breaker No. 9 of the
Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company, at Sugar Notch, near Wilkes-Barre,
then an undeveloped coal property. There were several changes of owner-
ship and finns in the early operations, Parrish & Drake becoming owners of
Breaker No. g. and m.ines at Pine Ridge and the mine then operated by Thomas
Broderick, now known as the Empire Mine, these properties forming th.e
nucleus of the present Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company, organized by
Charles Parrish and now one of the strong coal companies of the anthracite
region. George H. Parrish was interested with his brother in the business
until his death.
Mr. Parrish married Charlotte Matilda Brown, of New Jersey, their wed-
ding journey being taken in one of the coaches of the old Wilkes-Barre and
Easton stage line. They were the parents of fourteen children, five of whom
are yet living: Justin Elisha, of whom further; Ernest L., Harry Edsal,
Nellie B., Esther" N.
Justin Elisha Parrish was born at Louisville, Kentucky, November 23,
1854, residing in boyhood in that city, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, and coming
with his parents to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in 1864. He was educated in
public schools and Lawrenceville Preparatory School, beginning active busi-
ness life in 1874 when he entered the Wilkes-Barre branch shops of the Dick-
son Manufacturing Company of Scranton. He began work in the machine
shop and after a time went to the draughting room and was in that room two
years, then was transferred to the same department at the works in Scranton.
While there he assisted in preparing the designs and later in the erection of
the five blowing engines installed by the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company,
then an innovation in coal mining. In 1880 he was retransf erred to the \\'ilkes-
Barre shops, but in a much difi^erent and higher capacity. The superintendent
of the works. James E. Dickson, having resigned on account of ill health, Mr.
Parrish, who had made such progress in his mastery of the business, succeeded
him. He continued as superintendent for five years, then resigned in order to
avail himself of expert instruction in the application of electricity to ma-
chinery, and for illuminating purposes, this agent then just coming into use.
He spent several months in New York City with the Arnoux & Hochhausen
CITY OF SCRANTON 307
Company, gaining the desired information concerning electrical machinery
and installation. Returning to Wilkes-Barre he was appointed superintendent
of the Wilkes-Barre Electric Light Company, organized by his father, George
H. Parrish. four years earlier. The company at this time was operating seven,
ten arc light dynamos for street illumination, the cost to the city being seventy-
five cents nightly. In 1886-87 Jwstin E. Parrish constructed and operated the
incandescent lighting system for the entire city. At the same time W. B. Rock-
well had organized a company in Scranton under the name of the Illuminat-
ing Heat and Power Company located on Lackawanna avenue at the foot of
Linden street. In 1888 Mr. Parrish came to Scranton succeeding Mr. Rockwell
as superintendent of the company just mentioned. The company at that time
had a plant of sufficient power to operate two thousand incandescent and thirty
arc lights, but so popular did the new light become that when later the com-
pany sold out to the Electric Company of America it was operating thirty
thousand incandescent lights, one thousand arc lights and generating two
thousand horse power for motor service. At the same time Mr. Parrish came
to Scranton ( 1888 ) E. B. Sturgess installed and was operating the first electric
street car system used in the United States, his power plant being on Wash-
ington avenue. He later sold to the Scranton Railroad Company but retained
his power plant changing his generators and machinery, making them effective
for electric lighting purposes. Mr. Parrish, as superintendent, was called un-
expectedly to face a great emergency, when on January i, 1897, the com-
pany's lighting plant was destroyed by fire. This would have left the city
without light but Mr. Parrish had power and light brought from the Street
Car Company, the Suburban Light Company and the Electric Light Plant of
the Dickson Manufacturing Company. At the end of seventy-two hours he
had an efficient lighting plant built and in operation on the ruins of the old
one, installing eight dynamos and four engines for incandescent lighting and
one for arc lighting. When a few years later the Electric Company of America
purchased the Dunmore and the Suburban Electric Light Companies, the Il-
luminating Power and Heat Company and Scranton Electric Light and Power
Company, Mr. Parrish remained with the new company under the consoli-
dation, but later decided to engage in business privately. He did so for the en-
suing two years, but was then induced in addition to his own business, to return
to the company as superintendent of their entire system. He remained as such
two years, when the American Gas and Electric Company of New York City,
Henry L. Doherty, president, purchased the system. Mr. Parrish then re-
turned to private business and so continues, one of the leading electrical and
mechanical engineers of his state.
Mr. Parrish is held in high esteem by his brethren of the Engineers Asso-
ciation of Northeastern Pennsylvania, and in the various Masonic bodies with
which he is affiliated, having a wide circle of business and social acquaintances
outside the bodies named. The fraternal orders which he is connected with
are : Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Lackawanna Chap-
ter, Royal Arch Masons ; Coeur de Lion Commandery, Knights Templar ; Irem
Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine : Keystone Consistory, Ancient Accepted
Scottish Rite, thirty-second degree ; Independent Order of Heptasophs and
Royal Arcanum. He is an independent in politics, and a member of the Sec-
ond Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Parrish married Elizabeth, daughter of Washington La Grand, of
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the latter a blacksmith, and his brother, Louis,
a carriage maker of Wilkes-Barre. In 1865 Washington La Grand moved to
Sugar Notch, there taking charge of the smithing department and machine
shops of Parrish & Thomas. When Mr. Parrish returned to Wilkes-Barre,
3o8 CITY OF SCRANTON
Mr. La Grand accompanied him, becoming manager of the Empire shops. He
died in May, 1913, aged eighty-four years. Children of Justin E. and Eliza-
beth (La Grand) Parrish : Helen J., married E. H. Clark, of Scranton;
Justin Elisha {2), now of Montreal, Canada: Charlotte B., a graduate of
Wellesley College ; La Grand, now a student at Lawrenceville Preparatory
School, Lawrenceville, New Jersey, an institution from which his father grad-
uated in 1874, and has the same room his father had.
EDWARD LATOX FCLLER
The late Edward Laton Fuller, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was a man
whose death was deeply and sincerely deplored by all classes of society. It
was not alone that he accomplished great things for the business world of
Scranton that made him a noted personality, but his large heart, his liberal
ideas on all subjects, endeared him to all with whom he came in contact. The
fine traits which characterized him were inherited from an honorable ancestry
which can be readily traced to the Pilgrims of 1620.
(I) Dr. Edward Fuller, the direct ancestor of Edward Laton Fuller, came
to this country on the "Mayflower." in 1620, and landed at Plymouth with
his wife and son Samuel. Dr. Fuller and his wife could not long endure the
hardships the early settlers in this country were called upon to contend with,
but their son grew to manhood, married, and his descendants have added
prestige to the family name. We find the second and third generations in
Connecticut, from whence they migrated to Montrose, Pennsylvania, when
that section of the country was still a wilderness. Edward, great-grandfather
of Edward Laton Fuller, married Hannah West, who was interred in the
cemetery in Scranton. They had children : Charles, Edward, Henry, Isaac.
George, I\Iary L., Elizabeth, Deborah.
(II) Charles Fuller, son of Edward and Hannah (West) Fuller, was born
in New London, Connecticut, November i. 1797, died November 29, 1881.
The family removed to Bridgewater township, Luzerne county (now Susque-
hanna county), Pennsylvania, in 1806, and in this section, which boasted of but
few settlers, the opportunities for acquiring an education were very limited.
At the age of thirteen years he sought and found employment in a country
store at Tunkhannock, and subsequently held a similar position in Kingston.
In 1817 he established himself as the proprietor of a drug store in Wilkes-
Barre, and when he sold this business turned his attention to farming, his
products being taken by team over the Pocono to Easton, then the only market
for the Wyoming \'alley. In 1848 he took up his residence in Scranton,
where he became bookkeeper for Scranton & Piatt, and later for the Lacka-
wanna Iron and Coal Company, with whom he remained some years. Still
later he devoted his energies and fine business ability to the insurance business,
in which he was very successful. October 14, 1848, he was one of the or-
ganizers of the Presbyterian church of Scranton, and the scope of the work
he thus created can scarcely be overestimated. Mr. Fuller married, January
8, 1818, Maria Scoville, of Exeter township, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania,
who had been born in Connecticut, in 1802, and their children were : James.
Edward C, Laton S., John, Mary, Catherine, Penelope, Francis, Eudora.
(III) Edward C. Fuller, son of Charles and Maria (Scoville) Fuller, was
born in Wyoming, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, June 8. 1826, and received
an excellent education in the Wyoming Seminary. He had learned the art of
manufacturing rope under the able instruction of his father, and then traveled
two years as salesman for the output of their factory. He then took up the
study of pharmacy under the preceptorship of Dr. Throop, later becoming
CITY OF SCRANTON
309
associated with him in the drug business, the partnership being dissolved in
1851. Mr. Fuller then opened a drug store in Hawley, Pennsylvania, con-
ducted this one year, then removed to Scranton, which city was his place of
residence from that time. Associated with him was his brother, and the drug
business at No. 303 Lackawanna avenue was conducted under the style of
L. S. and E. C. Fuller, until four years prior to the death of Mr. Fuller. His
interest in the Republican party was an active one, and he became associated
with it when Fremont was its first presidential candidate. He was elected
school controller in i860, held this office some years, and was honored with the
office of treasurer of the school board during the greater part of this time.
President Garfield appointed him postmaster of Scranton, May 16, 1881, and he
was continued in office by President Arthur. He was elected city assessor in
1890, and served three years. When the Lackawanna Hospital was organized,
Mr. Fuller was chosen for the responsible and honorable post of director
and treasurer, an office he filled with ability until his death. He was also
president of the Dunmore Cemetery Association from the time of its organiza-
tion until his death. In early manhood he became one of the charter members
of the First Presbyterian Church. Mr. Fuller married Helen Ruthven, who
died in October, 1892, and they were the parents of: Charles R., who mar-
ried (first) Frances Penman, (second) Catharine Scranton; Edward Laton,
whose name heads this sketch ; James A., married Eva Davis ; Harry G., mar-
ried Ida Frink, and died in November, 1893.
(IV) Edward Laton Fuller, son of Edward C. and Helen (Ruthven) Ful-
ler, was born at Hawley, Pennsylvania, October 10, 1851, died suddenly at
Augusta, Georgia, whither he had gone to recuperate, January 29, 1909. The
public schools of Scranton furnished him with educational advantages, which
he utilized to the utmost. Throughout his life he was earnest and thorough
in whatever he undertook. Having accumulated a sufficient capital, he in-
vested it in the purchase of coal lands, operated these to advantage, sold them
and with the money thus obtained made larger purchases, and continuing along
these lines for some years, he finally came to be regarded as one of the largest
individual coal operators in the anthracite section. At various times he owned
the Mount Pleasant Colliery, at Scranton : the Seneca Coal Company's prop-
erties, the Newton Coal Mining Company, the old Forge Coal Mining Com-
pany, at Pittsburgh and the Girard Coal Company, at Mount Camiel, Penn-
sylvania. He was the organizer of the Fuller Syndicate, and by means of his
influence as a director in the Western Maryland Railroad Company and the
West Virginia Central and Pittsburgh Railroad Companies, secured control
of these corporations. His connection, official and otherwise, with a number
of other important enterprises is partially as follows: President of the Em-
pire Limestone Company, of Buffalo ; the Retsof Mining Company, of New
York; the Avery Rock Salt Mining Company, of Louisiana; and the Genesee
and Wyoming Railroad Company. He was a director in the Penn Casualty
Company and the Wyoming Shovel W^orks. But his principal interests were
connected with the salt industry, and as president of the International Salt
Company he was a dominant factor. His efforts in other directions have been
of lasting benefit to the city, and his influence will be felt for generations to
come. It was through his instrumentality that the Erie Railroad Company
purchased the Pennsylvania Coal Company and the Wyoming \'alley Railroad,
and obtained important and favorable contracts for the individual operators
for the sale of their coal. This was one of the great changes in the coal in-
dustry.
Mr. Fuller ever had the welfare of the city deeply at heart, and was fore-
310 CITY OF SCRANTON
most in furthering all projects which could benefit it in any manner. He wa:>
the head of the Municipal League of Scranton, a member of the Scranton
Board of Trade and of the Chamber of Commerce. The State Hospital at
Scranton, formerly known as the Lackawanna Hospital, which had had the
generous support of his family for generations, had the benefit of his active
support, and he served as oresident of its executive committee and treasurer
of its board of trustees. The cause of education also had in him a warm sup-
porter and friend, and in connection with this work he gave much of his time
and attention to the Young Men's Christian Association, making liberal do-
nations, and serving as president of its board of trustees. He was also a di-
rector of the Pennsylvania Oral School for Deaf. He was for many years
a member of the Second Presbyterian Church of Scranton, served as president
of its board of trustees, and in commemoration of the celebration of his silver
wedding he and his wife erected an addition to the church building. His
membership in organizations of various kinds was a large one, a partial list
being as follows : Society of American Engineers ; Transportation Club, of
New York; Union League Club, of New York; Lawyers' Club, of New York;
City Midday Club, of New York; Scranton Club; Country Club of Scranton;
New York Yacht Club; Maryland Club of Baltimore; Bulifalo Club of Buffalo,
New York; Westmoreland Club, of Wilkes-Barre ; Atlantic Yacht Club;
Economic Club ; Pen Club ; New England Society, of Scranton and New York.
Mr. Fuller married, in 1876, Helen M. Silkman, and they had one son:
Mortimer Bartine, whose sketch follows. ]\Irs. Fuller, who died in August,
1912, was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Silkman, for many years resi-
dents on North Main avenue, Scranton, and a sister of Mrs. Byron Winton.
who died a few years ago; Mrs. Charles Mercer, of Washington, District of
Columbia ; and Mrs. John Ryon, of Pottsville, Pennsylvania. The death of
Mrs. Fuller was a sudden and unexpected one, and was probably hastened by
the burning of the bam and stables at her magnificent country seat, "Over-
look," three weeks previously, when a number of valuable pet horses lost their
lives. She had apparently recovered from this shock, however, but it had
evidently been too much for her sensitive and sympathetic nature, and she
succumbed. Like her lamented husband, she was a woman of unbounded
charity and nobility of character, and her benefactions, however liberal, were
always bestowed in an unostentatious manner. The amount of them will
never be known save by the immediate recipients. In the world of society
she held a leading position, to which her grace, beauty and tact fully entitled
her. Her personality was a most charming one. Simplicity of manner was
combined with rare intelligence and a never-failing courtesy, which made her
the center of her social circle. As a hostess her receptions were characterized
by an originality it would be difficult to duplicate. In every respect she was a
fitting and charming helpmate to her honored husband.
A review of the character of Mr. Fuller can be best given in a few ex-
tracts from editorials in the leading papers of Scranton at the time of his
death. From the Scranton Times we glean the following:
Mr. Fuller was a very steam engine of effort. He had built up great enterprises. Hav-
ing been with them from the start he knew every detail of the business and would not
recognize the fact that they had grown to such enormous proportions that the work of
looking after details was beyond the power of any one man. At home he worked many
hours every day. When he traveled for alleged rest or recreation his stenographer was
with him and he kept in touch with the several plants of his various companies by tele-
phone and telegraph. Ordinary men might envy him his wealth, but they did not ap-
preciate the tremendous physical effort spent in obtaining it.
CITY OF SCR AN TON 31 1
The Scranton Republican wrote as follows :
Few men in any community have achieved so early the place that this man has
filled. He has made ineffaceable marks in this region of his home. His example of
indomitable courage under disheartening circumstances, of undreamed success that left
him still sunny of temperament, imspoiled and kind, is a heritage to his city that has its
value. The e.xample of his ever ready generosity and sympathy, his exceptional e.xecutive
ability, will remain as a tribute to his memory. That Scranton has lost one of its fore-
most citizens is too sad a fact to need elaboration. He was a man of high ideals, a
loyal friend and a wortliy exponent of America's possibilities.
From the Scranton Truth we have :
When death robs a community of a man in the full vigor of middle life, of a man
whose generosity aided a hundred and one worthy projects of a busy city and whose
means were ample to gratify this desire to be generous, of a man who gave time and
thought to the uplift of the locality that was always his home, that community has
indeed sustained a loss. And it is such a loss that Scranton is now called upon to
bear in the death of E. L. Fuller. Those who have had occasion to solicit funds for
the numerous benefactions that distinguish this city, know that they were never turned
away empty handed when application was made to E. L. Fuller. He was a wealthy man
but he shared his wealth with the city of his choice. He possessed a genius for or-
ganization and a mind that could grasp the practical advantages of almost any proposi-
tion. On more than one occasion he utilized this ability for the benefit of the city. It
was due to him more than to any other man that the State Hospital was located here,
and his indomitable energy was applied to building up this institution after it had been
located here.
MORTIMER BARTINE FULLER
The amount of real work which may be accomplished by well directed and
well ordered effort, energy and ability has been shown most conclusively in the
career of Mortimer Bartine Fuller, of Scranton. Pennsylvania, who, while ju.=t
on the borderland of middle age, is connected officially with such a large num-
ber of important enterprises that it would seem almost a matter of impossibility
for one brain to control them. He is the only child of the late Edward Laton
and Helen M. (Silkman) Fuller.
Mortimer Bartine Fuller was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, September,
1877. He received his preparatory education at Dr. Cann"s School, now The
School of the Lackawanna, and at the Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville,
New Jersey. He then matriculated at Princeton University, being graduated
from this institution in the class of 1899. He is a member of the Tiger Inn
Club, of Princeton. Upon his return to his home in Scranton he became ac-
tively identified with the many financial and industrial concerns with which
his father was connected, and since the death of the latter in 1909 has suc-
ceeded to the presidency of the International Salt Company of New Jersey and
of the subsidiary companies. His other business connections are : President of
the Detroit Rock Salt Company, the Empire Limestone Company, Genesee and
Wyoming Railroad Company ; director in the Marine National Bank of Buf-
falo, Scranton Savings Bank, Dime Bank of Scranton. Spencer Heater Com-
pany of Scranton. Scranton Life Insurance Company, and the Mason-Seainan
Transportation Company of New York. Like his father, he is a philanthropist
of high standing. He is trustee and treasurer of the State Hospital at Scran-
ton, an office his father filled many years, and of which his grandfather was
also the incumbent when the institution was known as the Lackawanna Hos-
pital. He is a member of the board of directors of the Young Rien's Christian
Association, and a liberal contributor to the funds of this worthy organization.
His religious meinbership is the Second Presbyterian Church, in which he is
a member of the board of trustees. His social membership is : Director and
secretary of the Scranton Club; director in the Scranton Country Club; mem-
312 CITY OF SCRANTON
ber of the Railroad Club of New York, Union League Club of New York,
City Midday Club of New York, Princeton Club of New York, New York
Yacht Club, Buffalo Club of Buffalo, Nassau Club of Princeton, Blooming
Grove Hunting and Fishing Club, New England Society of Northeastern Penn-
sylvania and the Pennsylvania Society of New York.
Mr. Fuller married, in February, 1904, Kathryn, daughter of Joseph H.
and Fannie (Van Derwarker ) Steell, of Scranton, and they have children:
Edward Laton, Mortimer Bartine Jr., Henry O. Mr. Fuller has a clear con-
ception of all aft'airs with which he is connected and the right regard for what
is best in the exercise of human activities. With all the elements of a strong
character, he shoulders his exacting responsibilities, and by his prudence, fore-
sight and ability increases them largely in value. In all his relations — busi-
ness, public and personal — he measures up to the standard of a splendid citizen.
HENDRICK ELSWORTH PAINE
The Paine family, represented in the present generation by Hendrick Els-
worth Paine, numbered among the foremost citizens of Scranton, where he
has resided for more than three decades, was planted by Stephen Paine on the
rugged coast of New England in the year 1635, and his numerous descendants
are to be found in many states of the Union, engaged in the various walks of
life, performing well their part in whatever duties are assigned to them.
The family has furnished one signer to the Declaration of Independence,
Robert Treat Paine. The name has been variously spelled : Pain, Payn, Paine
and Payne, and it is first mentioned in Bloomfield's "History of Norfolk County,
England," printed in 13 16. This shire was the earliest recorded seat of the
family, which traces its lineage to the ancient Britons, or Angles. The Els-
worth family, related to the Paine family by marriage, claims among its
members one who attained the honored position of chief justice of the United
States Supreme Court, and another one that of governor of Connecticut.
Stephen Paine, the immigrant progenitor of the family, settled in Hingham,
Massachusetts, in 1635, and the line from him to Hendrick E. Paine, of this
review, is through the following generations : Stephen Paine, who removed to
a little village then called Indian Seacouck, and changed the name to Rehoboth.
Stephen Paine, removed to Pom fret, Connecticut, served in the old Colonial
wars, fought at the battle of Louisburg, and was with Wolfe on the Heights
of Abraham. Stephen Paine, removed to East Windsor, Connecticut, and waj
residing there at the time of the Revolution, serving in two enlistments. Eleazer
Paine, born in East Windsor, Connecticut, served in the Revolutionary War,
and later was commissioned colonel of the Nineteenth Connecticut Regiment,
receiving his commission from the hand of Governor Jonathan Trumbull in
the year 1803: he married Auriel Elsworth, daughter of Job Elsworth, of East
Windsor, Connecticut. Colonel Hendrick Elsworth Paine, born in East Wind-
sor, Connecticut, died at Monmouth, Warren county, Illinois, aged ninety-
three years. He served in the War of 1812. He removed to Painesville,
Ohio, with his parents in 1803, and he built the first forge for the manufac-
ture of merchant bar iron that was erected in northern Ohio and thus be-
came the pioneer ironmaster in a field that is now one of the greatest iron
and steel centers of the world. In 1809 he married Harriet Phelps, a mem-
ber of an old and distinguished Phelps family of Connecticut. Major Henry
Paine, born in Painesville, Ohio, February 4. 1810. lost his life by an accident
at the age of fifty-eight years. He succeeded his father in the management
of the iron business, and was also engaged in the lumbering business and in
farming. He married Harriet N. Tuttle, daughter of Ira and Charry (Mills)
CITY OF SCRANTON 313
Tuttle, of Ashtabula county, Ohio. Their children were: Elizabeth E., Auriel,
Mary D., Charlotte I., Hendrick Elsworth, Ira T., Charry M., Harriet N.,
Stella A., Henry.
Hendrick Elsworth Paine, of this review, eldest son of Major Henry and
Harriet N. (Tuttle) Paine, was born at Paine's Hollow, near Painesville, Ohio,
March 12, 1845. He received a practical education in the district school, thi,-^
knowledge being supplemented by attendance for one term at Madison Semin-
ary, located near his home, and by a course of reading in the school library.
In 1861, when President Lincoln issued his first call for troops to aid in de-
fense of the Union, Hendrick E. Paine oflfered his services, but was refused
on account of his youth, but in the following year he was accepted as a drum-
mer boy in Company D, One Hundred and Fifth Regiment Ohio Volunteer
Infantry. His term of enlistment was for three years, dating from July 31,
1862, but he was discharged for pliysical disability at Gallatin, Tennessee, Feb-
ruary 26, 1863. In the following year, having recovered his usual health and
strength, he again enlisted, this time for one hundred days, becoming a mem-
ber of Company E, One Hundred and Seventy-first Regiment Ohio \'olunteer
Infantry. This time he served his full term, discharging his duties with signal
ability and bravery, as he also did in his first enlistment, performing the duties
of a soldier, although only enlisting as a drummer boy.
After his honorable discharge from the service of the government, he went
to the oil fields of Pennsylvania, and for the following eighteen years he was
actively engaged in drilling and operating oil wells, and mastered the business
in all its details. He gradually advanced from one position to another, and in
due course of time became the manager of companies amongst the most ex-
tensive in the oil field. He also operated on his own account, achieving a fair
degree of success, and in 1882 he disposed of his oil wells, and retired from
that line of business.
He took up his residence in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1883, and there
engaged in the fire insurance business, his present line of work. Seven years
later he admitted his only son into the business, changing the name to H. E.
Paine & Son, its present style, and they conducted a general agency business,
their field of operations covering all northeastern Pennsylvania. Mr. Paine
has also given his attention to other lines of business, actively and prominently
identified with several of the best known corporations of Scranton. He is a
firm advocate of the principles of the Republican party, but he casts his vote
for the candidate who in his opinion is best qualified for office, irrespective of
party affiliation. He represented his ward in the city councils, his influence
being on the side of right and justice, and he gives his earnest support to every
movement calculated to benefit his adopted city. He holds membership in
the Penn Avenue Fiaptist Church, in which he serves in the capacity of deacon ;
in Griffin Post, Grand Army of the Republic, the largest post of this order
in the State of Pennsylvania ; in the Sons of the Revolution ; in the New Eng-
land Society, being one of its charter members.
Mr. Paine married, December 25, 1866, Jennie L. Powers, daughter of
Benjamin and Ann Powers, of Perry, Ohio. One child, Ernest Ira, born
November 12, 1867. He is now the junior member of the firm of H. E. Paine
& Son, and is also interested in other business matters with his father. He
is past master of Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of
Scranton. He married, October 14, 1891, Nettie Moore, daughter of John and
Fannie Moore, of Scranton. Children : Harriet Eleanor and Arthur Ernest.
314 CITY OF SCRANTON
PHILLIP RINSLAND
Closely identified with important business enterprises in Scranton, Phillip
Rinsland, present state inspector of dairies and watersheds, is a conspicuous
example of a self-made man, who from an humble beginning has risen to a
position of honor and influence. He has been a potent factor in the develop-
ment of Scranton and has in all his enterprises shown an integrity of purpose
and a public spirit that has won him an honored name among his fellowmen.
Phillip Rinsland is a son of John Rinsland, born in Oppenheim, Germany,.
who came to the United States, settling first in New York City. He followed
his trade of tanner in New York and Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, residing in
the latter place in 1883, when he met his death at Carbondale, under the
wheels of a passenger train, he being then in the employ of the Delaware &
Hudson Railroad Company. He was fifty-two years of age at the time of
his death, a Republican, and a member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows. He left a widow, Victoria (English) Rinsland, and children: Louis,.
Henry, Josephine, Phillip, Christine, Mary.
Victoria (English) Rinsland, born January 13, 1843, was the daughter ot
John English and his first wife, Barbara ( Speizer ) English, who died re-
spectively, September 14, 1852, and July 15, 1846. John English, of German
birth, came to New York City, where at No. 62 Bleecker street, he carried
on an extensive tobacco manufacturing business for many years until finally
selling out to the Lorillard Tobacco Company. He then moved to Liberty,.
Sullivan county. New York, where he resided until death. At the time of his
removal to Liberty he overlooked a small favorable balance in the Bleecker
Street Bank which was not discovered by his heirs until fifty-two years later
in 1904. although the bank had regularly advertised the account each year.
When rightful ownership was proven, the account was settled. John English
married (first) Barbara Speizer, October 16, 1833; children: Mary, born June
19, 1835; John, September 9, 1837: Elizabeth, July 30, 1840; Victoria, Jan-
uary 13, 1843, married John Rinsland. By a second wife, Mr. English had
Josephine, born November 19, 1848: Louis, September 10, 1851.
Phillip Rinsland was born at Callicoon, Sullivan county, New York, Jan-
uary 20, 1873. He was ten years of age when his father was killed and as
there were three boys in the family, both older than Phillip, the main burden
of the support of their mother and sisters fell at first on them. Phillip, how-
ever, added his, at first, small earnings to the family fund and as he grew in
earning ability bore his full share of family expense. He was first a door
tender in a coal mine, later a driver boy at Simpson & W'atkins mine at Car-
bondale. He came to Scranton in 1883 and began learning the barber's trade
in the shop of John Wahl, becoming an e.xpert in that line. His education had
not been neglected, but during the years outlined he had attended the public
schools and improved his opportunities. He established a tonsorial estab-
lishment in Scranton after attaining proficiency at his trade, attracted a very
large patronage and had the largest and best-appointed shop in the city. He
prospered in business for several years, then disposed of his interest and de-
voted himself thereafter to the real estate business, later becoming senior
partner of the firm of Rinsland & Jones and adding an addition to the citj
of Scranton in the Hyde Park district, devoting it to the best class of resi-
dential buildings. He also organized (1903) the Keiser Land and Improve-
ment Company of Scranton, and in 1906 the All America Powder Company
of which he is now a director. A close student of real estate values, Mr. Rins-
land has made few errors in judgment in determining upon investments. He
purchased the old Nettleton property at No. 920 Green Ridge street and there
CITY OF SCRANTON 315
erected "Rinsland's Hall," a three-story brick building with all modern safety
and sanitary features, the third floor equipped for fraternal society uses of the
Green Ridge section. The floor is now occupied by the Royal Arcanum, Junior
Order of American Mechanics, Knights of Malta and the ladies' branch of the
Modem Woodmen. He broadened out in other lines of activity, becoming
one of the strong and active operators of the city. He is president of the
Moscow Sand and Gravel Company, a director of the Clarks Summit Land
Company, has interests in silver mines in New Mexico, gold mining interest.-:
in Alontana, and was one of the founders of the Youngstown Hard Wall
Cement Company, whose plant was erected in Scranton in 1905. These ac-
tivities were carried on successfully and profitably, Mr. Rinsland being also the
owner of valuable real estate in the city.
Mr. Rinsland's public service has been most valuable. He was elected
city assessor over seventeen candidates and so worthily did he fill the office
that he was continued therein nine years under three mayors and administra-
tions. He was a most capable, just and upright assessor and withal so courte-
ous and conscientious that he was regarded as a model official. After nine
years' service in the assessor's office he was appointed state inspector of dairies
and watersheds for Lackawanna county, and wag appointed county detective,
January i, 1914, under George W. Maxey, district attorney. He is a life
member of Scranton Lodge, No. 123, B. P. O. E. ; member of Modern Wood-
men of America ; Junior Order of American Mechanics ; Royal Arcanum ;
Knights of Malta ; German Alliance of America and other organizations. He
was an active member of the Million Dollar Industrial Development Company,
city of Scranton. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church, and a
Republican in politics. For five years he served in the Pennsylvania National
Guard, a member of Company H, Thirteenth Regiment. Highly as Mr. Rins-
land is regarded for his business ability and official efficiency, he is not less
highly esteemed as a friend and neighbor. C)f genial personality and ab-
solute friendliness to all, he has won a wealth of personal friends, and in all
departments of his active life numbers among his warmest friends those who
know him best.
THOMAS SPRAGUE
The Sprag^e family of Scranton, represented in the present generation by
Thomas Sprague, senior member of the firm of Sprague & Henwood, con-
tractors and prospectors for coal and other minerals, is an old and honored
family of Rhode Island, several generations of the family residing there,
having been activelv interested in various lines of work, and contributing
greatly to the general welfare of the communities in which they resided.
(I) Thomas Sprague, the first of the line herein recorded of whom we
have definite information, was a native of Providence, Rhode Island, and
there spent his entire lifetime, honored and esteemed by his business associates
and personal friends. In early life he led a seafaring existence, being captain on
a mrchant vessel, and later turned his attention to the cotton manufacturing
business, establishing a mill in the vicinity of Providence, and in due course of
time this section became sufficiently inhabited to become a village, to which
was given the name of Spragueville, in honor of Thomas Sprague. The
business prospered under his competent management, and he became a man
of considerable means, wielding an influence for good in that section of his
native state. He married Sarah Fenner, and among their children was Ed-
ward H., of whom further.
(II) Edward H. Sprague, son of Thomas and Sarah (Fenner) Sprague,
3i6 CITY OF SCRANTON
was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1812, died in 1891. After com
pleting his studies in the schools of his native city, he followed in the foot-
steps of his father, becoming a cotton manufacturer, conducting his opera-
tions in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and while a resident of that city he served
in the state militia, taking part in the suppression of the Dorr rebellion in 1842.
He removed to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1861, and was instrumental in
founding the IManufacturers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company, which be-
came one of the strongest companies in its line in the east, and of which he
was secretary to the time of his death. He was a member and vestryman of
St. Mark's Church in Boston, and was a Republican in politics. He mar-
ried Clara P. Smith, a native of Middlebury, Vermont, daughter of Reuel P.
Smith, and they were the parents of eight children, among whom was Thomas,
of whom further.
(Ill) Thomas (2) Sprague, son of Edward H. and Clara P. (Smith)
Sprague, was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, May 15, 1845. He at-
tended the schools of his native place, acquiring a practical education which
thoroughly qualified him for the active duties of life. His first employment
was with the Boston & Albany Railroad, and later he was in the setvice of
the Pennsylvania Railroad, in Ohio, the Hartford, Providence & Fishkill Rail-
road, the New York & New England Railroad, and the New York, New
Haven & Hartford Railroad, thus being employed from 1867 to 1886, a period
of nineteen years. In the latter named year he located in Scranton, Penn-
sylvania, and engaged in coal operations with the late William T. Smith,
of the Mt. Pleasant and Sterrick Creek collieries, and continued in that rela-
tion until 1900, when he entered into partnership with W. L. Henwood, un-
der the style of Sprague & Henwood, now Sprague & Henwood, Inc., suc-
ceeding to the business of H. P. Simpson, and have successfully executed many
large contracts for drilling for coal and iron mining companies, railroad com-
panies and individuals. In these undertakings they have used with entire
success a most excellent device known as the Diamond Drill, which bores a
perfectly straight smooth hole to any depth and in any given direction from
vertical to horizontal, bringing to the surface a solid section or "core" of
all strata passed through, in order, revealing their exact individual depth,
thickness and character of all stone or other deposits passed through, thus
affording accurate knowledge of the material to be encountered in sinking a
shaft, and providing data for a close estimate of the cost of sinking the
shaft, and an appromixate idea of the value of the workable mineral strata.
Mr. Sprague is a man of keen judgment and foresight, essential characteristics
in the man who follows his line of work, and being careful and methodical in
all his habits, has become recognized as a safe counsellor in everything per-
taining to mining operations, and this fact has gained for him the patronage
of an extensive and representative clientele. He is also serving in the capacity
of director and vice-president of the People's Bank of Scranton, and he was
a director and president of the board of trustees of the State Hospital at
Scranton. He is a member and vestryman of St. Luke's Protestant Episco-
pal Church, a member of the Scranton and Engineers' clubs, and a staunch
adherent of the principles of the Republican party.
In 1862, shortly after the breaking out of the Civil War. when he was sev-
enteen years of age, he displayed his love of country by offering his service
in her behalf, enlisting in Bigelow's Massachusetts Battery, actively participat-
ing in all the engagements in which it took part, including the battles of Gettys-
burg, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, Bethesda Church, the oper-
ations against the Weldon Railroad, and against Petersburg and Richmond.
He received an honorable discharge from the service of the United States
CITY OF SCRANTON 3,7
government in June, 1865, at the cessation of hostilities. Mr. Sprague is a
representative of that class of citizens who are worthy of the respect and
esteem of their fellows, men who labor earnestly to build up our business en-
terprises, who give employment to the masses, and whose efforts in life have
tended to make Scranton a great mercantile and manufacturing center.
Mr. Sprague married Frances E. Duncan, daughter of Samuel Duncan,
of Columbus, Ohio, and they are the parents of two daughters: Grace D..
wife of Jerome W. Leverich ; Gertrude H., wife of Nelson R. Osborne.
WILLIAM SWEET
Although a native of England, and responsible to that country for his
education and the calling of which he is so able a master, the business life
of William Sweet is entirely a story of American endeavor. His father, George
Sweet, was born in Cornwall, England, and throughout his entire active life
was manager and gamekeeper of a large estate in his native land. In the ca-
pacity of superintendent all matters pertaining to the cultivation of the lantl
were brought to him for approval and advice, and he became an authority
upon the relation of soil and crops, being thoroughly informed as to the eiYect
of ground containing certain ingredients upon grains and food-stuffs and the
chemical explanation thereof. He married Lydia Hawke, their children being :
Thomas, a resident of New York City; George, lives in Lock Haven, Penn-
sylvania ; Samuel J., of Denver, Colorado ; Emma, married E. D. Webster,
and resides in Denver, Colorado ; William, of whom further.
William Sweet, son of George and Lydia ( Hawke ) Sweet, was born in
Cornwall, England, November 27, 1862. After completing his youthful studies
he became apprenticed to the British government to learn the art of stone cut-
ting, the seal of Queen Victoria being attached to his indenture. Having
learned this trade he immigrated to the United States, arriving in Philadel-
phia, Pennsylvania, on November i, 1881, there obtaining work at his oc-
cupation, then moving to Danville, Pennsylvania, remaining in the latter place
for two years. From that time until September, 1889, he traveled in the pur-
suit of his calling, working in nearly all of the large cities from the Atlantic
Coast to the Rocky Mountains, and since the latter date has been engaged in
stone cutting contracting in Scranton. He is one of the best in his line of
business, his delicate work adorning many stately and imposing edifices in
all parts of the country. Mr. Sweet's worth as a citizen and qualities of up-
right manhood have been recognized by his associates in his nomination for the
state legislature on the Prohibition ticket, also a candidate for county prothon-
otary of Lackawanna county, and he is assured of the support of many of the
best and most loyal citizens of Scranton. He holds membership in the Church
of the Good Shepherd (Episcopal), and belongs to the Masonic Order and to
the Sons of St. George and Knights of Malta.
Mr. Sweet married, April 14, 1886, at St. Stephen's Church, Wilkes-
Barre, Pennsylvania, Lydia, daughter of Francis Hawke, of Cornwall, Eng-
land. Their children: i. William George Francis, born at Wilkes-Barre,
Pennsylvania, March 13, 1887. 2. Samuel Edward, born June 30, 1888. at
Meshoppen, Pennsylvania. 3. Philip Anthony, born at Black Walnut, Penn-
sylvania, August 2^, 1889. 4. Robert John Stephen, born March 12, 1891
at Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania. 5. Henry Thomas, born June 10, 1893, at
Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania. 6. Ewart Gladstone, born at Nicholson, Penn-
sylvania, October 11, 1895. 7. Herbert Nelson Hawke, born at Nicholson,
Pennsylvania, February 25, 1898. 8. James Paul Ethelbert, born in Scranton,
Pennsylvania, March 25, 1900.
3i8 CITY OF SCRANTON
WILLIAM S. MEREDITH
This Welsh family in Pennsylvania has held residence mainly in Schuyl-
kill and Lackawanna counties, although those bearing the name have found
homes in other localities within the borders of the state, others going beyond
its limits.
(Ij The first of the line in the former region was Thomas Meredith, a
native of Wales, who upon immigrating to the United States settled in
Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, in that state passing his remaining years. He mar-
ried . Children: i. Jane, married William Watkins, a soldier of
the Union army in the Civil War, who was wounded in action, his death re-
sulting from the injury thus received ; they were the parents of George, Fred.
Edith. 2. Mary, married Thomas Samuels, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania ;
children, Meredith, M. D., Carrie, Catherine. 3. Hattie, married Charles
Keech. 4. Deborah, married Monroe Brundage. 5. Thomas G., of whom
further.
(II) Thomas G. Meredith, son of Thomas Meredith, was born in Tamaqua,
Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, in 1849, and when a lad accompanied his
parents to Scranton, the family settling on the Von Storch Slope, father and
son obtaining mine employment. Thomas G. Meredith later engaged in gen-
eral farming operations, residing in Providence and Leggett's Creek, and af-
terward went to Brisbane Shaft, there being employed as engineer until hi;-,
death. He married Mary Evelina, daughter of William Anderson, of Provi-
dence, Pennsylvania, and had children: i. George Lester, a druggist of Provi-
dence, Pennsylvania. 2. Eva, married a Mr. Schwartz, and resides in Dun-
more, Pennsylvania ; children : Gertrude and Ethel. 3. William S., of whom
further.
(III) William S. Meredith, son of Thomas G. and Mary Evelina (An-
derson) Meredith, was born in Providence, Pennsylvania, August 31, 1878.
In his boyhood he attended Public School No. 25, of that place, and his first
employment was in the breakers of the neighboring coal mines. He then be-
came errand boy for the Green Ridge Lumber Company, next returning to his
studies at school. After leaving school permanently he was employed in a
meat market until he was twenty years of age, when he passed a short time
in Middletown, New York, as agent for the Grand Union Tea Company. Re-
turning to Providence, he established a meat market, in partnership with F. F.
Hendrickson. at the corner of Parker street and North ]\Iain avenue, and a
short time afterward purchased the interest of his partner, continuing the
business under his own name. In 1902 he sold his business in Providence, and
forming a partnership with Herbert Day he founded a business of the same
nature in Binghamton, New York, of which they later disposed. Lfpon once
more returning to Scranton, where he has since remained, he was placed in
charge of the meat department of George A. Dickerson's establishment, sub-
sequently buying out his employer. Of this store he was the proprietor until
his retirement, September i, 1914, handling a full line of groceries and meats,
transacting business under his name, the excellent appearance of both de-
partments of his store making a favorable impression upon patrons, freshness
and cleanliness predominating. Mr. Meredith was a genial merchant, pos-
sessed a wide acquamtance, and personally attended to the details of manage-
ment of his store, taking pride in its appearance of immaculate order and
tastefully arranged displays, the market value of which he had a full realiza-
tion and appreciation. Mr. Meredith holds membership in the Presbyterian
church, and in political action is independent of any organization associations,
his vote at the polls being cast entirely according to his judgment. He be-
CITY OF SCRANTON
319
longs to Celestial Lodge, No. 833, I. O. O. F., and Hiram Lodge, No. 261,
F. and A. M.
Mr. Meredith married Carrie C, daughter of Lewis Hut¥, of Providence,
Pennsylvania, and has: Lewis, born May 7, 1905; Bernice, born November
10, 1909.
MYRON STEPHEN KNIGHT
Mr. Knight claims Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, as his birthplace,
while his forbears claim New York state as their home, and there they bore
their full share in the development and improvement of the communities
wherein they resided.
(I) Nicholas Knight, the first of the line here under consideration of
whom we have information, was born in New York state, October, 1754, died
September 12, 1828, aged seventy-three years and eleven months. He was
the son of and (Bennett) Knight, the latter named having
been a relative of Hon. Ziba Bennett, formerly of Wilkes- Barre, Pennsyl-
vania. Nicholas Knight married Elizabeth Case, and they made their home in
Goshen, Orange county. New York. Among their children was Benjamin, of
whom further.
(II) Benjamin Knight, son of Nicholas and Elizabeth (Case) Knight,
was born in Goshen, Orange county, New York, December 10, 1797, died in
1892, aged ninety-five years. He spent his early life in Goshen and Monroe,
New York, and in 1832, at the age of thirty-five years, removed to North
Abington, Pennsylvania, at that time in Luzerne county, where he settled on
a large tract of land, mostly new land, located near W'allsville, where he re-
sided until 1856, when he moved to a smaller fann near Waverly, selling his
farm to his son, Jeremiah D., and in 1888 he retired from active pursuits and
removed to Waverly borough, where with his second wife he quietly spent the
remainder of his long and useful life. With Benjamin Knight came various
other families from Orange county. New York, and they being mostly Metho-
dists they formed what was called "The Orange County Class," which con-
vened in the Aylesworth school house in North Abington, and this was the
foundation of the Methodist Episcopal church of Wallsville. Benjamin Knight
retained his faculties to an advanced age, being able to hear very quickly when
spoken to in a loud voice in his ninety-fourth year. He was a constant reader
of the Christian Advocate of New York, and the Scranton Republican, these
papers representing his church and politics. Mr. Knight married (first) Mr,^.
White, who was the mother of three children by her first marriage : Mrs.
Mary A. Sherman, William and John White. By her marriage to Mr. Knight
she became the mother of four children: Jeremiah D., of whom further;
George B., Mrs. Elizabeth King, Mrs. Emeline Grififin. Mr. Knight married
(second) .
(III) Jeremiah D. Knight, eldest son of Benjamin and (White)
Knight, was born in Orange county. New York, July 15, 1826, died April 25,
1906, aged seventy-nine years. He came to Pennsylvania with his father,
the latter settling on a farm adjoining the Benton township line, and about
the age of twenty-one years Jeremiah D. purchased this farm from his father
for the sum of twelve thousand dollars. In the spring of 1869 he moved to
Clarks Green, Pennsylvania, and was there engaged in the cattle business, ship-
ping five to six car loads of cattle per month from Buffalo and selling to the
butchers of Scranton. During the panic of 1873 ^^ gave up the cattle business
and turned his attention to the dairy business, operating an extensive dairy
on both his farms. He was a great horse fancier and usually had from twenty
320 CITY OF SCRANTON
to thirty head of horses and colts. At the death of his second wife, in 1884.
he sold most of his horses, keeping only three or four driving horses, in which
he took the greatest pride, and rented his farms. Within a year of his deatli
he drove a pair of registered geldings that could step together in 2 130, and
it was a source of great irritation to him if any one passed him on the road,
which very rarely occurred. He married (first) Delilah Ann Parker, born
June 10, 1836, died November 23, 1865, aged twenty-nine years, of pneumonia.
She traced her ancestry to John Parker, born September 18, 1747, and his
wife, Tabitha Parker, born December 17, 1747; among their offspring were:
Charles, born July 27, 1777, died March 25, 1872, and Stephen, born October
27, 1779, and the line is traced through Stephen Parker, son of the above
named Charles, who was born May 10, 1810, died July 21, 1893; he married
Asenath Parker, his cousin, and daughter of the above named Stephen Parker,
born August 30, 1814, died June 20, 1890, and they were the parents of Delilah
Ann, above mentioned. Mr. and Airs. Knight were the parents of three chil
dren : Elmer Wilmot, born in 1858, died July, 1906, after an operation for
appendicitis; Myron Stephen, of whom further; Charles B., born in 1864,
manager for the Union Central Life Insurance Company for Greater New
York. Mr. Knight married (second) in 1868, Emily A. Clark, of Clarks
Green, Pennsylvania.
(IV) Myron Stephen Knight, son of Jeremiah D. and Delilah Ann (Park-
er) Knight, was born in North Abington township, Lackawanna county, Penn-
sylvania, June 3, 1861. He was educated in the public schools and at Keystone
Academy, later thoroughly qualifying for the profession of civil engineer.
In i88i he began his business career in the mine department of the Delaware,
Lackawanna & Western Railroad, continuing until 1882, and from then until
1889 was connected as civil engineer with the construction of the Erie Rail-
road branch, from Hawley to Pittston, Pennsylvania. From 1889 to 1891
he was engaged on the construction of the Scranton branch of the New York,
Ontario & Western Railroad. In the latter named year he established an office
in Scranton as consulting engineer, and in 1892-93 was employed in building
the Wilkes-Barre and Eastern Railroad. From 1894 to 1904 he was engineer
of the borough of Dunmore. During the years 1895-96-97 he was also en-
gaged in surveying the road from Fort Plain to Richfield Springs. New York,
and in the mining department of the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Companv.
On April i, 1897, he entered into partnership with George E. Stevenson, of
Waverly, Pennsylvania, an association that still exists. The finn is Steven-
son & Knight, Civil and Mining Engineers, 725-26-27-28 Connell Building.
Scranton. They are well established in business and have an enviable reputa-
tion for ability, skill and integrity. Mr. Knight is a member of the Presby-
terian church, of Dunmore, King Solomon's Lodge, Free and Accepted Ma-
sons, all bodies of Keystone Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, in
which he holds the thirty-second degree, and Irem Temple. Nobles of the
Mystic Shrine, of Wilkes-Barre. He is also a member of Scranton Club,
Scranton Country Club, Green Ridge Club, Temple Club, Engineers' Club of
Northeastern Pennsylvania, and American Institute of Mining Engineers.
Mr. Knight married, January 23. 1889. Linda S. Fowler, born September
I, 1868, daughter of Professor Leroy R. and Lamira Fowler. Children: Lerov
F., born August 26, 1895; Gladys D., born August 18, 1901.
^^^^^ ^.^^^l^^-
CITY OF SCRANTON 321
JOHN A. MEARS
JOHN F. MEARS
Much of the best in American hfe, customs and civilization has come to
this country from the British Islands. Not only have the benefits of their old-
er civilization come to us, not only have we learned from them in a few de-
cades what it took the people of those lands centuries to learn, not only have
they paved the way for a greater intellectual and material advance on this
side of the ocean, but these countries are constantly sending to us the strength
and sinew of their lives, their young men. By this heroic transfusion of the
only power that can give a nation permanence and vigor we are strengthening
ourselves at their expense. Scotland is one of the countries to whom we owe
a great debt for service of this kind, for from her shores have come hundreds
of youths who have given fully of their vigor and strength to their adopted
country.
(I) Among those of Scotch ancestry who have come to the United States
from their homes in that land was Sidney C. Mears, who emigrated at about
the same time as the Linen and Bryden families, settling at Greenfield, near
Carbondale, Pennsylvania. In 1856 he moved to Hyde Park and became a
general contractor in the employ of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western
Railroad, specializing in the planning and construction of bridges. This one
of his talents he willingly offered to the federal government at the time of the
Civil War, and he was in Sherman's army in the capacity of bridge builder
when it made the historic march from "Atlanta to the Sea." In that cam-
paign some of the finest and most difficult work of his career was performed,
since to construct a temporary structure of sufficient strength to bear up the
marching hosts with the limited materials at hand meant a triumph of en-
gineering and constructive skill. At the close of the war he returned to his
position with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company, con-
tinuing with that road until a few years prior to his death. He was an earnest,
devout member of the Presbyterian church, as was his wife, Janet (Affleck)
Mears, whom he had married as a widow, and who bore him seven children.
(II) John A. Mears, third child of Sidney C. and Janet (Affleck) Mears,
was born at Greenfield, Pennsylvania, April 11, 1849, ^^id there died April 24,
1905. He was educated in the public schools, and early in life learned the
trade of carpenter, at which, however, he did not long continue, obtaining a
position with the concern that had formerly employed his father, the Delaware,
Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company. He became superintendent of
stone construction between Scranton and New York, remaining in this posi-
tion for many years. For a time he was contractor on the Binghamton division
of the road with John Flynn, with whom he afterward organized the Old
Forge Coal Company, miners and shippers of coal at Pittston, Pennsylvania.
In 1893 Mr. Mears severed his connection with this company by the sale of his
stock, then began his operations in and about Scranton. He attained wide
prominence in the city and held interests in many of the local business and in-
dustrial institutions, also having position upon the directorates of the Moscow
Water Company, the Fairview Park Land Company, the Honesdale Water
Company, the Nicholson Water Company, the Halstead Water Company, the
Great Bend Water Company, and was president of the Ale.x Car Replacer
Manufacturing Company, also for a time being president of the People's Coal
Company. In 1896 the Mears Building, the first ten-story office building to
be erected in Scranton, was competed, a structure that will long stand as a
monument to his business achievements and constructive ability and as a
memorial to one of Scranton's most progressive, energetic and successful men
21
322 CITY OF SCRANTON
of affairs. He was identified with the Masonic Order, and passed all of the
chairs of Hyde Park Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons.
Mr. Mears, in business foresight and sagacity, stood without peer in the
business world of Scranton. In his wisdom and judgment he prospered, and
seizing upon the opportunities that lay at his feet, made each a link in his splen-
didly formed chain of success. Those who were associated with him in busi-
ness and those who were acquainted with the moves of his active life are
aware of the high moral force that predominated in his character, which, trans-
lated into spotless integrity, made uprightness and honor the principles that
governed his every transaction.
John A. Mears married, November 12, 1888, Eva V. Farnham, born
in Taylor, Pennsylvania, daughter of Alpheus Farnham, a lumber dealer and
mill owner of Benton, Pennsylvania, afterward connected with the Delaware,
Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company. Of the children of John A. and
Eva V. (Farnham) Mears, but two survive, John F., of whom further, and
Frances, married Warren Acker and has one child, Marion F., her husband
engaged in insurance dealing in Scranton. Mrs. Mears is a member of the
Presbyterian church, her husband having been a believer in the Presbyterian
faith.
(Ill) John F. Mears, son of John A. and Eva V. (Farnham) Mears,
was born August 6, 1883, and was educated in the Scranton public schools and
at Cornell LIniversity. Charge of his father's estate supplies him with re-
sponsible business duties, and he has become vice-president of the Anthracite
Traction Company. To him has descended much of his father's business
talent and surety of judgment, and in him will be found a worthy successor
to his honored sire. He fraternizes with the Masonic Order, in which he ha?
held ofiice. His church is the Second Presbyterian. He married Ruth C.,
daughter of O. H. Loomis, of Meshoppen, Pennsylvania, and is the father of
two sons, John F. Jr. and Theodore L.
JAMES H. RITTENHOUSE
In the world in which James H. Rittenhouse has cast his lot and has
made the impression always left by true worth and merit, in a community
where men are judged and take place with their fellows each according to
his ability, there is little time and less attention given to ancestry. In the
myriad activities of a large manufacturing centre, in the midst of construc-
tive operations of stupendous size, surrounded on all sides by the roar of in-
dustry, and enveloped in the rush of progress, a man may be of royal blood and
yet, if in the contest he is found wanting, he is cast aside with no more con-
sideration than is given a piece of machinery in which a flaw has been detected.
Nevertheless, to one who has been a part in the vast enterprises that have
centered in Scranton, and has acquitted himself in a manner highly creditable,
it is fitting that space be given to his honored forbears.
The family of James H. Rittenhouse traces with perfect authenticity to
Mathias Rittenhouse, of Holland, the surname originating when in 1591 he
was knighted. The third generation following Mathias, Wilhelm Rittenhouse,
came to America in 1688, founding the family that has since become so strong,
both in numbers and in achievements, the descent to the present generation
being through William, Nicholas, Mathias, Benjamin, David and Benjamin
Franklin.
The father of James H. Rittenhouse, Benjamin Franklin Rittenhouse, was
born at Milton, Pennsylvania, August 7, 1805, died in 1883. When a young
man he received an appointment in the register's office of the treasury de-
CITY OF SCRANTON 323
partment from his uncle. Michael Noiirse, who was placed in the govern-
ment service by appointment of President George Washington. For sixty-
two years he was employed in that office as chief clerk, a record of constancy,
lo)alty and fidelity seldom equalled. He married (first) in 1829, Isabel,
daughter of Dr. James and Elizabeth Scott Laurie, both natives of Scotland
and residents of Washington. She died in February, 1833. He married
(second) Henrietta Waring, daughter of James and Mary ( Higginbotham)
Davidson, the marriage ceremony being performed by the Rev. Hawley, an
Episcopalian minister, of Washington, D. C. Children of Benjamin Franklin
Rittenhouse by his first marriage : Elizabeth Scott, married William Henry
Fitzhugh Gurley ; S. Emily ; Isabel Laurie, married Joseph Harvey Nourse.
Children of his second marriage: Mary Davidson, married A. Miller Woods;
Henrietta Waring, married Captain Thomas Wilson, United States army ;
Benjamin Franklin, brevet major LInited States army, married Elizabeth
Shapter ; David Rittenhouse, married Mary Tilghman Earle ; Clementinea
Crawford, married Dr. Richard S. T. Cissel ; James Delozier, married Dolores
Casillas ; Helen Murray ; James Hall, of whom further ; Charles Edwin, mar-
ried Helen S. Good; John D., died in infancy.
James Hall Rittenhouse was born in Washington, D. C, February 13,
1851, and was there educated in the public schools, later attending Lafayette
College, whence he was graduated in the class of 1872. He soon after es-
tablished in Scranton as a civil and mining engineer and there continues at
the present time in partnership with his son, Leonard Cole. In the pursuit of
his profession of civil engineer he has been employed by several railroad com-
panies in laying new road, among them the Ontario & Western Railroad Com-
pany, also performing all of the engineering work on the Laurel Line Railroad.
He has also made surveys of many iron mines in the Adirondacks and in New
Jersey, as well as of the zinc mines in the latter state. In 1892 he was en-
gineer in charge of the construction of the Winton dam and has also sunk
many coal shafts. In both branches of his profession his work has been ably
and thoroughly performed, to the satisfaction of the numerous corporations
and companies that have engaged his services.
Mr. Rittenhouse married, in 1878, Ida Cole. Children : Lucia, born May
3, 1879, married Dr. Charles G. Shoemaker, of Washington, D. C. ; Rulp, died
in 1903; Leonard Cole, born October 31, 1884. associated with his father in
business ; Karl David, born March 2, 1888, an employee of the Lehigh Valley
Coal Company.
JOHN LINCOLN LUTSEY
When the commanders of the English army which was striving to quench
the flames of liberty that were raging in the heart of every American during
that terrible revolutionary period called upon their ruler for reinforcements
and the paid hosts of the Germany army were pressed into service in answer
to their call, little did they imagine the ultimate consequences. To them the
Hessian troops were but instruments of war, to be used and returned to the
government from which they were obtained, instead, many remained in Amer-
ica when the conflict was over and became the heads of families that are today
among the proudest in the LInited States. When an army leaves conquered
territory there are always stragglers who remain behind in the hope of ac-
quiring spoils and booty, but such was not the case with those who deserted
from the departing English army, for two reasons, the victory of the colonies
and the impoverished condition of the land after the ravages of seven years'
warfare. Those who left their regiments to take a part in the erection of a
324 CITY OF SCRANTON
government they had fought desperately to prevent did so because the undying
spirit with which the colonists had striven for a principle by which they were
determined to stand or fall had inspired their enemies with respect and honor,
and had given birth to a desire to share in the greatness and prosperity of a
nation with a foundation of so sturdy and so enduring a fabric.
(I) Such an one was John Lutsey, and the ship that carried away his former
comrades carried with it all the allegiance he owed by pledge to England, or
by birth to his mother country, and left him, in spirit, sympathy and fact, an
American. He soon after married, in Connecticut, a widow, Mrs. Elizabeth
Gilbert, and settled in Slocum township. Luzerne county, Pennsylvania. Al-
though war had formerly been his trade, and despite the fact that he had held
membership in the most dreaded of military bodies, the German Hessians, he
made one of the gentlest arts of peace, farming, his occupation, and was so
engaged at his death.
(H) William Lutsey. son of John and Elizabeth (Gilbert) Lutsey, was
born in Slocum township, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, and there followed
the same occupation as his father, the tilling of the soil. The larder of the
families of those days was more often dependent upon the rifle of the master
of the house than upon a local butcher, and William Lutsey gained a local
reputation for his accuracy of aim and his skill as a hunter. He married
Rachel Payne.
(HI) Edward Lutsey, son of William and Rachel (Payne) Lutsey, was
born in Slocum township, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, April 7, 1826. He
was educated in the place of his birth, and in early life followed agriculture
as a livelihood, abandoning this to establish as a merchant in Wilkes-Barre,
Pennsylvania. Not finding mercantile life to his liking he sold his business
and moved to Clarks Green, once more becoming a farmer and so remaining
until his death. He was held in high regard by his townsmen and neighbors,
and was by them placed in many positions of public responsibility, among them
the offices of supervisor and town clerk. His religion was the Methodist, and
of the services of this church he was a regular attendant. He married
Amanda, daughter of Stephen and Jane (Lines) Lee. Stephen Lee was a
son of James Lee, one of the pioneer settlers of Newport township, Luzerne
county, Pennsylvania. After his marriage. February 10. 1834, Stephen Lee
moved to Delaware county, Ohio, where he purchased land, and as rapidly
as the forest retreated before the swing of his axe, cultivated the cleared area.
As other houses were built in the locality he was given opportunity to work at
his trade, that of plasterer, at the same time giving needed attention to his
farm. Six years later he returned to Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, locating
in Wright township, where he erected a saw mill and purchased a farm, for
twenty-two years engaging in the joint operation of his property. At the ex-
piration of this time he moved to Wilkes-Barre and became the owner of a
planing mill at the corner of Canal and North streets. He was the proprietor
of this establishment at his death, June 12, 1874, aged sixty-two years. His
wife's death occurred September 25, 1881, at her home on North street, where
she had lived since her husband's death. Children of Stephen and Jane (Lines)
Lee: Conrad, John R., Mary, Priscilla, Amanda, of previous mention, mar-
ried Edward Lutsey. Children of Edward and Amanda (Lee) Lutsey: Nel-
son; Walter; Ida, married F. F. Sprague; Mary P.; Millie, died in infancy:
John Lincoln, of whom further.
(IV) John Lincoln Lutsey, youngest child of Edward and Amanda (Lee)
Lutsey, was bom in Wright township, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania. He
obtained an excellent education in the public schools of his native township,
a Commercial College, and Wyoming Seminary, in which latter institution his
CITY OF SCRANTON 325
studies were completed. His first business experience was received in Jermyn
in the employ of C. L. Bell as bookkeeper, in which capacity he served for
four years. He next secured an interest in the Eureka Coffin Company and
became treasurer of that concern, selling his interest after a connection cov-
ering a period of two years, and returning to his early occupation of book-
keeper, this time with the Glove Warehouse in Scranton, with whom he re-
mained for two and a half years. In the five following years he was em-
ployed by W. A. McConnell and the International Correspondence Schools,
holding a position with the latter corporation for four years. The Lackawanna
Dairy Company was the ne.xt firm by which he was employed, and in that
service he rose from a position as bookkeeper to the general managership of
the business, discharging the duties of the latter position until April, 191 1,
when he resigned to take charge of a business he had recently purchased, and
of which he is now president and treasurer under the name of J. L. Lutsey
Company, manufacturers of ice cream and dealers in dairy products. This
business, of which Mr. Lutsey is the able head, is located at No. 216 Adams
street, and at Nos. 414-416 Kressler court is located his factory in which he
has installed all of the latest and most improved machinery. As the leader of
this enterprise and as tlie custodian of its funds Mr. Lutsey has proved him-
self the possessor of business ability of no small merit, and the company bear-
ing his name reflects credit upon him from whom it derived its title. He is
a Methodist in religious conviction and belongs to the Elm Park Church of that
faith. Fraternally he affiliates with Electric Star Lodge, No. 290, I. O. O. F.,
of Clarks Green, and the Masonic order, belonging to Union Lodge, No. 291,
F. and A. M. ; Lackawanna Chapter, No. 185, R. A. M. ; Scranton Council,
No. 44, R. and S. M. : Coeur de Lion Commandery, Knights Templar.
Mr. Lutsey married, September 2, 1890, Georgianna Mary, daughter of
Frank Gill, of Jermyn, Pennsylvania. They are the parents of one son,
Samuel Francis, born May i, 1894, was a student in the Scranton Technical
High School, now with his father in business, also interested in electricity and
wireless telegraphy.
WILLIAM A. HARVEY
Scotch ancestry and in the L'nited States residence in New York and
Pennsylvania has been the part of the family of Harvey of which William
A. Harvey, for seventeen years an electrical contractor of the city of Scran-
ton, is a member. For more than fifty years Scranton has been the home of
the family founded in the LTnited States by James Harvey, a native of Ruth-
erglen, Scotland. James Harvey came to the LInited States when a boy and
made his home in New York state, where he resided until his death, working
for the greater part of his life at his trade of millwright. He married Janet
Arbuckle, and they had children: John A., of whom further; William, de-
ceased ; Marion, deceased, married James Cartwright and is the mother of
Janet, Helen, James ; Susan, married James Seaman, and has children, Janet,
James, Helen ; Elizabeth, deceased, married John Blackwood, and had John
H. and Harvey J. ; James, deceased, unmarried.
(II) John A. Harvey, son of James and Janet (Arbuckle) Harvey, was
born in Newburgh, New York, February 11, 1846, and when he was fifteen
years of age came to Scranton, becoming a car-builder in the employ of the
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, afterward rising to the position
of engineer with that road. Subsequently he became superintendent of repairs
for the Scranton school board, being so engaged for fifteen years, and at
this time is a carpenter employed by that board. He is a Republican in politics.
326 CITY OF SCRANTON
and a member of Union Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is
past master. He married Alice J., daughter of Charles Holstead, and has
children: Harriet A., married Rev. W. J. Ford, a minister of the Baptist
church who for several years held a charge in Scranton, and is the mother of
Ruth and Helen; William A., of whom further: Alice V., married William
J. Revell.
(HI) William A. Harvey, son of John A. and Alice J. (Holstead) Harvey,
was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, March 28, 1874, and as a boy attended
the public schools of Scranton and Dunmore. After a course in the Lacka-
wanna Business College, he became associated with the Lackawanna Power
Company, later forming connections with the Scranton Street Railway Com-
pany and the Wightman Electric Company. Then entering the Pennsylvania
State College, he took a course in electrical engineering in that institution, and
after his graduation accepted a position as superintendent of the electrical de-
partment of the New Jersey Magnetic Construction Company. After resigning
from his position with this concern, Mr. Harvey established himself in an inde-
pendent business in his native city as an electrical contractor, and in this he
has since continued. The seventeen years that have elapsed since the founding
of his business have witnessed its steady and vigorous growth, the vast amount
of electrical work that has been done in the locality under Mr. Harvey's di-
rection showing well the confidence that is placed in his knowledge and ability.
So well was Mr. Harvey prepared by practical experience for the study of his
profession that he was able to complete his course in the electrical engineering
department of Pennsylvania State College in three years, the responsible posi-
tion that he occupied immediately after his graduation having been offered
him largely on the strength of the work he accomplished in that college. His
study of his profession has been deep and scientific, and in the application of
the knowledge thus gained he has put to excellent and practical use his mas-
tery of that strange and powerful force that has so revolutionized the con-
ditions of modern life.
Mr. Harvey is a member of the Scranton Builders' Exchange, the Scranton
Electrical Contractors' Association, the Scranton Engineers' Club, the Temple
Club, the Modern Woodmen of America, and holds the thirty-second degree in
the Masonic Order, in that society belonging to Lodge, Chapter. Consistory and
Shrine. His political faith is Republican. He married Rose E., daughter of
John W. and Helen (Chase) Riley.
CHARLES BENJAMIN NOECKER, M. D.
To be a successful physician one must possess not only exceptional ability
and skill in the diagnosis and treatment of disease of every form, but a genial
and kindly disposition and tender and sympathetic heart, an acute sense of
honor and integrity of a high order, all of which attributes are possessed in
large degree by Dr. Charles Benjamin Noecker, a member of the surgical staff
of the State Hospital at Scranton, Pennsylvania.
(I) John Noecker, grandfather of Dr. Charles B. Noecker, was born
at Schuylkill Haven, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, there passed his entire
life, following the occupation of agriculture, in which he was highly suc-
cessful, and his death occurred there at the age of fifty-five years. He was a
member of the Lutheran church, as was also his wife, and he was a staunch
adherent of the principles of the Democratic party. His wife, Sarah (Reed)
Noecker, who died at Schuylkill Haven, in 1897, aged eighty-eight years, bore
him the following named children : Lewis, of whom further : Sarah, widow of
Hiram Berger, of South Bend, Indiana; Mary, widow of William Reber;
CITY OF SCRANTON 327
Emma, wife of Samuel Dewalt, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; Fayette; Katherine,
wife of Adam Schwenk, of Fort Wayne, Indiana.
(II) Lewis Noecker. son of John Noecker, was born in Schuylkill Haven,
Pennsylvania, September, 1839. He grew to maturity on his father's farm,
gaining health and strength from the out-door labor, and his education was
obtained in the common schools of that day and place. Being inured to farm
labor he chose that occupation for his life work upon attaining suitable age,
and has successfully conducted operations on a farm located near Schuyl-
kill Haven, his land being devoted to the raising of general produce. He
followed the example of his father in politics, casting his vote for the candi-
dates of the Democratic party, and he has filled one public office, that of
school director, in which he served capably and efficiently. During the Civil
War he displayed his patriotism by enlisting in the One Hundred and Forty-
eighth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, participating in all the battles and
engagements in which it took part. He and his wife are members of the Luth-
eran church, in the work of which they have always taken an active interest.
Lewis Noecker married Mary Moyer, born at Schuylkill Haven, Penn-
sylvania, daughter of Philip Moyer, a prosperous agriculturist of near Schuyl-
kill Haven, whose death occurred on his farm at the age of seventy-two
years. He was the father of seven children, three of whom are living at the
present time (1914): Mary, aforementioned as the wife of Lewis Noecker;
Cornelius Moyer, a resident of Schuylkill Haven ; William Moyer, a resident
of Schuylkill Haven ; Philip Moyer, who died at age of seventy-three ; Mrs.
Katherine Weaver, who died at age of seventy ; Mrs. Matilda Kneer, who died
at age of sixty-six; Mrs. Fayette Reber, who died at age of sixty-five. Ten
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Noecker: i. Kate, a resident of Schuylkill
Haven. 2. William, married Anna Koch ; resides in Schuylkill Haven. 3.
Frank M., married Cornie Hall ; resides in Renovo. 4. James, an attorney-at-
law ; married Ethel Hancock ; resides in Schuylkill Haven. 5. Sallie, became
the wife of Frank Matz ; resides in Harrisburg. 6. Charles Benjamin, of
whom further. 7. George Alfred, a railway mail clerk; married Anna Berger ;
resides in Pottsville. 8. Carrie Ann, became the wife of Harry Nissley; re-
sides in Hummelstown. 9. Lewis, a railway mail clerk ; married Minnie Cram-
er; resides in Schuylkill Haven. 10. Mame Ida, became the wife of William
Repp, an assistant manager of a typewriter concern ; resides in Harrisburg.
(Ill) Dr. Charles Benjamin Noecker, son of Lewis Noecker, was born in
Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania, February 8, 1874. He was reared on a farm
located two and a half miles outside of Schuylkill Haven. He obtained an
excellent education by attendance at the Schuylkill Haven High School, Kutz-
town State Normal School, and he prepared for the medical profession by a
course in the University of Pennsylvania, graduating from the medical de-
partment in 1902. He began his active career at the age of seventeen by
teaching in the public schools, serving in the capacity of teacher, a vocation
for which he was well qualified, for a period of five years, during the summer
months attending Kutztown State Normal School. The year following his
graduation as Doctor of Medicine he spent in the State Hospital at Scranton.
thereby adding greatly to the knowledge gained during his University course,
and at the present time ( 1914) is a member of the surgical stafif of the same
institution. His devotion to his chosen calling is deep and abiding, and his
success has been worthily achieved. He has acquired a high reputation among
his professional brethren, and he is equally prominent in social circles. He
keeps in touch with the advanced thought of the day by membership in the
American Medical Association, the State Medical Association, and the Lacka-
328 CITY OF SCRANTON
wanna County Medical Society. Dr. Noecker is a Republican in politics.
He married Victoria Connell.
The career of Dr. Noecker affords a most interesting example of the
achievements of one who may be regarded as a worthy representative of a
class of Americans whose versatile talent would command success in almost
any field which they might choose to enter, and who rise to high place in that
which ultimately claims their effort. Dr. Noecker is interested in all that pertair,>
to the welfare of his adopted city, Scranton, is charitable and benevolent, and
worthy demands of the needy are seldom made in vain. He has a large circle
of appreciative friends, and in his professional capacity is well known through-
out his section of the state, an honor to the profession by which he has been
especially distinguished.
DR. WILLIAM E. ALLEN
Of all the professions that of medicine and surgery is perhaps the shortest-
lived, and yet the most glorious and honored. There are many to criticize the
enormous fees received by some physicians from the wealthy classes for im-
portant operations, yet they do not stop to consider how frequently the same
physician will give his services entirely without remuneration of any kind,
when the patient to be attended is one of the poorer class, and it is not of in-
frequent occurrence that a goodly share of the fee obtained from some
wealthy patient is utilized to relieve the sufferings of one less fortunately
situated. There is never a thought on the part of the physician that the time
he spends in attendance on a patient who is unable to pay for such service
might be better employed in looking after some rich patient ; there is never a
moment's thought of his own physical discomfort, when the physician is
called out in all sorts of inclement weather ; and many a brave man of this
profession has knowingly gone to his own death in order to save another's
life by his skill. A well known member of this noble profession, and one to
whom the foregoing remarks are particularly applicable, was the late Dr.
William E. Allen, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, one of the oldest and best be-
loved physicians of that city.
(I) Gabriel Allen, grandfather of Dr. Allen, was a sea captain by oc-
cupation, making his home, when on land, in Connecticut, where he was born.
He married Churchill, and they became the parents of six sons and
four daughters.
(II) Rev. Edward Allen, son of Captain Gabriel and (Church-
ill) Allen, and father of Dr. Allen, was born in Saugatuck, now Westport,
Connecticut, June 8, 1792, died at Harford, August i, 1877. His native town
furnished the educational advantages which prepared him for entrance to
college, and he then entered the junior class at Princeton College, from which
he was graduated in the class of 181 5. He became principal of the academy at
Elizabethtown, New Jersey, and at Trenton, in the same state, continuing for
three years, and during this time made an exhaustive study of the Hebrew
language, in preparation for entrance into the ministry. Early in 1818 the
Presbytery of New Jersey conferred upon him the license to preach, and
toward the end of the same year he was ordained by the same body. He re-
tired from the ministry in 1874, and for some years prior to his death con-
ducted a family school for boys at Harford. He married Elizabeth .
(III) Dr. William E. Allen, son of Rev. Edward and Elizabeth Allen,
was born in Wantage, Sussex county. New Jersey, October 8. 1836, died
at his home on North Washington avenue, Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1903.
His earlier educational training was received at the Belvidere Academv, and
CITY OF SCRANTON 329
he studied Latin and Greek with his father; taking up the study of medicine
with his brother, Dr. J. Linn Allen, of Branchville, Sussex county, New Jer-
sey, he continued his studies at the Albany Medical College, and was grad-
uated from that institution in the class of 1856, the degree of Doctor of Medi-
cine being conferred upon him. One year was spent in the active practice of
his profession at Milford, Pike county, Pennsylvania, and then failing health
obliged him to abandon medical practice for two years. He purchased a drug
store in Hyde Park, now West Scranton, and conducted this until 1859, when
he opened an office there for the practice of medicine, and was identified with
this for about forty years. The only interruption to this was the period he
spent in military service during the Civil War. In July, 1862, he went to
Fortress Monroe, as assistant surgeon, LTnited States army, in the Chesapeake
General Hospital. One and a half years were spent there, during the last
third of this period Dr. Allen was the executive officer of the hospital. Ill
health again gained the upper hand, and he was compelled to resign his posi-
tion and return to his home. He re-entered the service in June, 1864, and
his services were invaluable as an officer of the Christian Street Hospital,
Philadelphia, until this institution was discontinued. Upon returning to his
home he was appointed examining surgeon for the provost marshal of the
Scranton district and filled this office until the close of the war.
Until ten years prior to his death Dr. Allen lived in West Scranton, in
the old homestead at Price street and North Main avenue, which has since
been destroyed by fire. There he built up his practice, which was the largest
in the city, and no better reason can be given for his change of residence, than
his own words, in speaking to a friend. They were :
I'm getting on in years, I can't expect to have many more years of hard work. I
have given my best to the public ; I have got to get out of this rut ; I believe I can do
better financially and not work so hard in the Central City ; I love Hyde Park ; I came
here a boy, without health or money, almost gone with consumption ; I have improved
in health ; grown up with the place ; feel I have a father's care over hundreds of peo-
ple ; have unnumbered friends ; have tried to do the square thing, but I am a comparative-
ly poor man; I have an immense practice; keeps me going day and night, but I must
shut down some time. Well, don't feel bad, if I do go over town. I'll come just the same
to my old friends, but yon see there are advantages over there I can't have here, and
I must make a break, and I feel as bad as you do over the matter. I have been thinking
a good deal about it. My best friends urge me to make the change. What to do about
my accounts puzzled me a good deal. I had a man go over my books and make out 3
list of those who owe me. I looked them over. I made out four piles. One was
marked good: the second, doubtful; third, bad; the fourth, charity. I looked over
the second and third piles three or four times. I thought of the condition of each
family, of their troubles and hardships, for your doctor knows a good deal of family
secrets and a good many skeletons hidden away from others, and I got near to the stove,
and threw in one bill after another, until the three piles were gone. They footed up
thirty thousand dollars. Then I got new ledgers, transferred the good accounts,
burned my old books, and have let all they contained that was unpleasant pass from
my memory.
This line of conduct was in keeping with his actions throiisho"*^ his life.
Always alleviate suffering, was his watchword.
Dr. Allen was appointed health officer in 1886, by Colonel Ezra H. Ripple,
then mayor of the city, and filled this office uninterruptedly until a bureau of
health was created, when he was appointed superintendent of that body, and
served throughout the administration of Recorder W. L. Connell, displaying
extraordinary executive ability in the discharge of the duties of this office.
Dr. Allen married, June 6, 1865, Amelia B. Clapp, born at Athens, Penn-
sylvania, July 5, 1842, died at Clifton Springs Sanitarium, Clifton Springs,
New York, in July, 1912, a daughter of Nathaniel and Cynthia Clapp, and they
had one child, Julia, who survived her mother. Rich and poor alike sincerely
330 CITY OF SCRANTON
mourned the death of Dr. Allen, and we cannot show the high esteem in which
he was held better than by giving a few extracts from the daily papers at the
time of his death.
Thousands can testify to his faithfulness and skill as a physician and surgeon, ann
those thousands and other thousands counted him as friend and counsellor, and will
mourn his passing. He has come as a bright star of hope to the bed of sickness, and
when science could no longer avail, he eased the pain until the last sleep came. In the
homes of the poor, at all hours, in all kinds of weather, without a thought or hope of
remuneration, the good doctor responded as cheerfully and as faithfully as to the call
from the mansions of the wealth. Not only free services, but medicines and tinancial
aid, nursing and help cnme to many homes where sickness and poverty had laid their
hands. Not ostentatious, but in so quiet a way, that the recipients did not know the
donors, has the generous doctor come to homes. No friend could be truer or stauncher.
Always ready to believe the good, censuring and condemning calumny and suspicion,
broad and liberal in thought and deed, a nobleman, in the true sense of the word, was
Dr. Allen. Gifted and learned, a fine conversationalist, with fund of anecdote and wide
experience with men and things, he was a delightful companion.
Dr. Allen's reputation as a physician and surgeon was early established. It was of a
high order and was so recognized by the medical fraternity. He was naturally a man of
decided ability and strong individuality, such as would have won him distinction in
any walk of life. He was more than a physician to hundreds of families. He was a
friend and counsellor to them, always sympathetic, and ever ready to aid them. Those
who knew Dr. Allen find no difficulty in accounting for the deep feeling of sorrow that
followed the announcement of his death. His interesting personality, his philosophy,
common sense and good cheer, make his loss wide spread in its influence.
He never wronged anyone in his whole, long, kindly life. He never did an in-
justice that was known to his gentle heart. He followed the Golden Rule if ever a
man followed it in this age of the world, and the world is poorer since he left it. He
might have made his life very different ; he might have been grasping — have held much
of the world's goods in his hands, but those hands were ever open and never closed to
humanity's needs. There are many who are richer in health and richer in wealth be-
cause Dr. Allen lived.
LEONIDAS WILLIAM MORSS
It seldom occurs that remarkable capability for the conduct of large indus-
trial afifairs is found in the same individual, associated with highly cultivated
literary tastes and such habits of life as permit of their enjoyment. A marked
exception to the general rule was to be found in the person of the late Leonidas
William Morss, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, whose business activities extended
to numerous of the most important and exacting industrial interests of the
Lackawanna \'alley, yet who found abundant time for those mental pursuits
which find their epitomization in the words of one of the deepest thinkers of
old: "My mind to me a kingdom is." Coming from an excellent ancestry, his
character aflforded evidence of the stock whence he came, and there was wit-
ness to it in his physiognomy, showing, as it did, great strength of character,
reserve energy and kindliness of disposition. He was fortunate in his for-
bears, both in the land of their origin rnd that of their adoption ; there and
here they were men of intelligence and conscience, and led him into that avoca-
tion in which he conquered the largest measure of success. He was a son
of Burton Gilbert and Caroline ( Kirtland ) Morss.
Mr. Morss was born at Red Falls, Greene county, New York, January
17, 1838, died suddenly, of heart trouble, at his home, No. 21 15 North MaiiT
avenue, Scranton, Pennsylvania, Novetnber 20, 1912. He stud'ed at the dis-
trict schools near his home and under private tuition in preparation for his
entrance to college, matriculating at Williams College in 1856, and being grad-
uated from this institution with honor in the class of i860. After graduation
he returned to his native town, where he was employed in the cotton mills of
his father until 1864, and then went to Ledgedale, Wayne county, Pennsyl-
CITY OF SCRANTON 331
vania, in which place his father was the owner of a large tannery, as well as
of about twenty thousand acres of timber and bark land. This was a very
important and profitable industry, and was managed by jMr. Morss with con-
summate ability for twenty years, until the death of his father, when he be-
came the owner of this property. He disposed of it in 1893 to the United
States Leather Company, and at that time removed to Scranton, Pennsylvania,
where he made his home from that time forth. He was a man of many sided
ability, and had he chosen to devote his talents to financial matters exclusively,
would undoubtedly have become one of the "Napoleons of finance," of his
generation. As it was, he was a leading spirit in the directorates of several
banks, and he was also active in developing the interests of slate quarries.
Some years prior to his death his health had become greatly impaired, and he
was a frequent sufferer, but he bore his sufferings with the patience which
characterized him in all the conditions of life.
Mr. Morss married, October 18, 1866, Merrilla E. Morss, a native of Car-
bondale, Pennsylvania, and they had children : George L., Louis R., Minnie
E., Julian S., Mabel B., died June 17, 1877; Clarence R., Leigh ]\L, Burton G.
Mrs. Morss is a woman of high intelligence and cultivated mind and was in
complete harmony with her husband in disposition, tastes and love for good
works, and they were as one in thoughtfulness for the welfare of others,
particularly for the needy and distressed, and counselled fully together in the
disposal of their means in all charitable ways. It is pleasurable to note that she
continues to bestow her benevolence with the same graciousness and liberal-
ity, and in the same unostentatious manner, many of her gifts reaching the
beneficiaries so quietly that none others know of them. The conduct of Mr.
Morss combined with a pleasing personality all that was dignified and courtly.
Unassuming in manner, he was free from obtrusive self-assertion, and in hi.s
intercourse with his friends and familiars was delightful in conversation;
fond of anecdote, possessing a rare store of information, a gentle humor that
always bore testimony to his kindliness of disposition, he was in his social
life a most interesting and attractive companion. By such manners and qual-
ities, by such a life, he made for himself an honorable career, and dying,
left no stain nor tarnish upon the imperishable monument which he himself,
while living, erected to the memory of a just man.
WILLIAM H. HAGEN
Henry Hagen, father of William H. Hagen, was born in Hagen, Ger-
many, and when eight years of age came with his parents to the United States,
settling at Honesdale, Pennsylvania, where he attended the public schools. As
a young man he learned the trades of blacksmith and carriage builder, and was
employed, soon after completing his apprenticeship, by the Delaware, Lacka
wanna & Western Railroad as tool dresser. He became a resident of Scranton,
and was one of the first to enlist in the Thirteenth Regiment Pennsylvania
National Guard, of which he was for many years a member. He affiliated
with the Masonic fraternity. He married Marion, daughter of William Walsh,
of Honesdale. Children: Louise, married George B. Carson, of Scranton;
Ella, married Andrew Johnson, of Brooklyn; William H., of whom further;
Frank, married Alice Deppen, of Scranton; Lillian, married Fred Wicks, a
resident of Scranton. Mr. and Mrs. Hagen were members of the Simpson
Methodist Episcopal Church.
William H. Hagen, son of Henry and Marion (Walsh) Hagen, was born
in Scranton, Pennsylvania, September 27, 1861. He obtained his early edu-
cation in the public schools of Scranton, and when a lad spent several years
332 CITY OF SCRANTON
in Newark \'alley, New York, whither his family had moved and where they
remained until 1873, when they returned to Scranton. In the latter named
city Mr. Hagen entered the employ of Moore & Finley, merchants, and ob-
tained considerable valuable experience in and knowledge of the mercantile
business, training of the greatest benefit to him in his later life. In 1894
he and Joseph A. Mears established the business which has since become the
Hagen & Wagner Company, as i\Iears & Hagen, their line being then, as now,
dry goods and furnishings for men and women. From a concern employing
six persons, their sales force now numbers seventy-five, and in September, 1914,
they moved into their newly remodeled store on Washington avenue, now oc-
cupied by the Prendergast firm and the Jones' Tea Company. Mr. Hagen
serves the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church as a member of the official
board and as trustee, also as superintendent of the Sunday school. He is a
director of the local branch of the Young Men's Christian Association. His
only fraternal connection is with the Masonic order, in which he holds the
thirty-second degree, and is a member of Irem Temple. Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine. He is president of the Scranton Rotary Club.
Mr. Hagen married Carrie Munson, daughter of \\'illiam Munson. Children:
Helen, married Leland Marsh, a resident of Scranton ; Hoadley, a graduate
of the University of Pennsylvania, class of 1912.
STEPHEN M. CONGER
Representative of his English family in Scranton, Stephen M. Conger is a
native of Connecticut, his family old in New Jersey. In this latter state his
grandfather, whose name he bears, Stephen M. Conger, was born, Newark
the city of his birth, and there he was long a well-known carriage builder, a line
in which his son, W^illiam H., continued during his active career. Stephen M.
Conger was the father of: William H., of whom further; David M., Charles
A., Stephen M., Charlotte M.
(II) William H. Conger, son of Stephen M. Conger, was born in New-
ark, New Jersey, and in manhood followed the calling that had previously
claimed his father, carriage manufacturing. He was a loyal supporter of
the Republican party. He and his wife, Charlotte E Conger, she a native of
Bridgeport, Connecticut, were the parents of; William A., born December 12,
1856; George H., September 16, 1857; Stephen M., of whom further; Frank
W., October 12, 1863; Charlotte E., October i, 1874.
(III) Stephen M. (2) Conger, son of \Mlliam H. and Charlotte E. Con-
ger, was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, March 3, 1859. He was prepared
for college in the puhlic schools of New York City, and was later graduated
from the University of the City of New York. His active business life has
been passed in successful mercantile dealing, his present line in the city of
Scranton, and he is highly regarded in this place as a business man of stand-
ing and reputation, his association with the business world of Scranton having
been both pleasant and profitable. Mr. Conger's club is the Green Ridge, and
he is a member of the Green Ridge Presbyterian Church. Politically a Re-
publican, he is a member of the Royal Arcanum.
Mr. Conger married (first) January 7, 1887, ^t Bridgeport. Connecticut,
Evelyn A. Holly, one child, Evelyn, born January 24, 1890, married L. A.
Hamilton, and has one son, James Conger; (second) December 4, 1894,
Morna M., bom in Lockport, New York, daughter of George Perrigo ; one
child, Marcia, born December 29, 1897. George Perrigo was a journalist, and
during the Civil War a lieutenant in the United States navy ; he was the father
of two daughters, Morna M., of previous mention, married Stephen M. Con-
ger, and Meta E., married Thomas F. Kennedy, of Highland, Wisconsin.
CITY OF SCRANTON
PHINNY D. CLANCY
333
For more than half of a century Scranton has known Phinny D. Clancy as
a contractor and builder, and in the city that line, which has been the starting
point of the growth of some of Scranton's most prosperous fortunes, has
known no name to which more honorable record, in regard to excellence of
work and fairness of dealing, attaches. This line of the family came to Penn-
sylvania from Maryland, Baltimore having been the place of birth of David
Nelson, father of Phinny D. Clancy. David Nelson Clancy was a blacksmith
in calling, and followed that occupation in Bradford and Susquehanna coun-
ties, his death occurring when he had attained the age of four score years,
his wife, Mary (Stevens) Clancy, born in Dundaff, Pennsylvania, dying aged
eighty-five years. They were the parents of thirteen children, Phinny D. the
fourth of those.
Phinny D. Clancy was born near Raysville, Bradford county, Pennsyl-
vania, June 29, 1840. In his youth he was a student in the public schools,
principally in Susquehanna county, whither his father's business took the
family, and upon the completion of his education he apprenticed himself to and
mastered the trade of carpenter. This he did in Susquehanna county, Penn-
sylvania, and in i860 moved to Scranton, where he at once established as a
contractor and builder. The contracts that he has fulfilled in that time and
the homes and other buildings that he has erected are almost without number,
and he gained a reputation as a builder of reliability, one to whom the wishes
of him for whom work was being done was of paramount importance and one
whose judgment might be safely trusted. No inconvenience did he consider
too great if by its incurrence the satisfaction of the future owner of the house
or building upon which he worked might be heightened, and by the observance
of such a policy of accommodation he grew in public favor. During his
greatest activity in contracting and building, Mr. Clancy employed twenty-five
men in his working force, but of late years he has gradually lessened his busi-
ness dealings until most of his work is jobbing and repairing. For this he
employs men trained in their trade, so that even in a day of modern methods,
when rapidity of operation and showy architecture have superseded fineness
and substantiality of labor, his name in connection with carpentering work
will be sufficient guarantee of its quality. IMr. Clancy is a Republican in
politics, and is identified with the North Main Avenue Baptist Church.
Mr. Clancv married, in Greenfield, Pennsylvania. Arminda Dann, a na-
tive of that place, daughter of Jonathan Dann. her father a pioneer of Green-
field, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Clancy died May 21, 1914, aged about seventy years.
Children of Phinnv D. and Arminda (Dann) Clancy: Etta, married Russell
Emery, and has two children ; Mary, married John Finnity ; Bertha, married
Burton Clease, and has two children ; Alma, married A. J. ATorgan, and has
three children : Flora, died unmarried, aged twenty-four years ; and two sons,
who died in infancv.
WALTER A. McCONNELL
Canadian born and bred, it has been as a citizen of the United States and
as a merchant of Scranton that Walter A. McConnell has achieved business
success, having come to that city in his youth and there, after a short term as
an employee, established in independent mercantile dealings. He is a son of
Joseph McConnell, a retired hotel proprietor of Kingston, Ontario, Canada,
where he was born. Joseph McConnell left home as a lad of twelve years, his
first employment being as a driver on the Welland Canal, after which he moved
334 CITY OF SCRANTON
to New York City. Here, through his unaided efforts, he accumulated suffi-
cient funds to embark in the hotel business, and after so engaging in New
York for a time, returned to the place of his birth, purchasing a building three
houses removed from that in which he was born and there opening a hotel.
Of this hotel he was owner and manager until his retirement from active
business, and attained prominent position in the community. Although no
longer an extensive participant in local affairs, he bore with him to private
life a record of upright integrity, a reputation of lifelong adherence to straight-
forward principles from which he has never been known to deviate ever so
slightly, and the good-will and friendship of all who know him in any walk
of life. Such is the regard in which, after years of acquaintance, his fellow-
citizens hold Joseph McConnell. He is of Scotch-Irish descent, his father, a
resident of Kingston, his mother having died at the age of eighty-six years, af-
ter bearing nineteen children, five of whom survive to the present time :
Joseph, of previous mention ; John ; Mary, married John Newlands, and has a
daughter, Jennie; Margaret, married William Hamilton, and is the mother of
William and Harold ; Elizabeth, married William Adair. Joseph McConnell
married Elizabeth White, and has children: Robert J., deceased; Joseph A.,
deceased ; John G., of whom further ; Walter A., of whom further.
Walter A. McConnell, son of Joseph and Elizabeth (White) McConnell.
was born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, October 28, 1874, and was there
educated. After his graduation from the public schools he was employed as
parcel boy in a grocery store, soon afterward becoming cashier in the same
store, leaving there after two years to come to Scran ton to accept a position
under his brother, John G., at that time manager of the Globe Warehouse. He
remained with his brother for one year, then became associated with W. E.
Smith, a merchant of the South Side, and after two years he decided to enter
the mercantile field as the proprietor of an establishment, and purchased the
business of G. A. Pyle & Company, at No. 1004 South Washington avenue.
The business that he built up soon outgrew these quarters and Mr. McConnell
bought the adjoining building, No. loio, formerly occupied by his previous
employer, W. E. Smith. Here Mr. McConnell has since conducted a general
merchandise business, the expansion that made necessary larger quarters con-
tinuing in gratifying measure, his patrons numerous and regidar. The strict-
est business principles prevail throughout the establishment, which is known
for the uniformly high grade of goods handled and the unfailing courtesy
accorded all customers. Mr. McConnell is a thirty-second degree Mason,
also belonging to Irem Temple, Nobles of the ]\Iystic Shrine, besides his
Masonic associations affiliating with the Temple Club and the James Council
Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His political party is the Republi-
can, and he attends the First Presbyterian Church.
Mr. McConnell married Lydia, daughter of ex-County Commissioner Wil-
liam Franz, deceased, and has children : Robert, born November 5, 1898, a
student in the Scranton High School, class of 1916; Lillian, born April 25,
1903.
JOHN G. McCONNELL
Schooled in business in Scranton, John G. McConnell has in that city
put into practice that which he was there taught, his high position in the mer-
cantile world of that place showing him to have been an apt pupil and one
who could indeed "better the example" of his instructors. During his resi-
dence in Scranton success and prosperity as a business man are not all that
he has achieved, for he has taken a firm stand for all of the best in the life
CITY OF SCRANTON 335
and activity of the city and is universally esteemed as a citizen of high mo-
tives and beneficent influence.
John G. McConnell, son of Joseph and Elizabeth Jane (White) McCon-
nell, was born in New York City, January 27, 1873. In his boyhood his father
returned to Kingston, Ontario, and there he attended the public schools,
leaving that place when fifteen years of age and proceeding to Rochester,
New York. He was here identified in business with Sibley, Lindsay & Curr,
and A. S. Mann, one year afterward moving to Scranton, Pennsylvania, and
becoming connected with Clelland, Simpson & Taylor. His first position was
as salesman on the retail floor, after which he succeeded H. C. Wallace in the
wholesale department, a short time later, when twenty years of age, assuming
the management of the entire store, filling this position with able satisfaction
for seven years. At the expiration of this time Mr. McConnell made his entry
into business independently, establishing at No. 402 Lackawanna avenue, a site
now occupied by the Lackawanna Trust Company. Five years later he lo-
cated at his present place of business. No. 427 Lackawanna avenue, making
women's ready to wear garments his specialty, his store carrying the most
complete line of such apparel and equalling in accommodations and capacity
for trade any emporium of a similar nature throughout the state. Mr. Mc-
Connell has been not so entirely absorbed in the upbuilding of his present flour-
ishing trade that all else has been excluded from his daily life, but in the
numerous trade movements aiming at better condition and relations of busi-
ness he has been an enthusiastic worker. He has for many years been a mem-
ber of the Scranton Board of Trade ; was one of the organizers and first presi-
dent of the Commercial Association, one of the most powerful of Scranton's
business men's organizations ; and is a member of the Boosters' Club, which is
now in the process of organization.
Prominent as has been Mr. McConnell's position in the mercantile world
of the city, his standmg in that line of Scranton life has been equalled by his
conspicuous connection with every project having as its goal the uplift of the
standard of civic morality and the promotion of righteousness, and of these
may be mentioned, "The Boy Scouts," of which he is one of the council. He
has long been identified with the Elm Park Methodist Episcopal Church, and
has been the leader of the largest Bible classes, mixed and men's, that have
ever congregated in the city. His testimony carries the more weight because
those whom he teaches have the realization that in the practice of the principles
that he expounds he has risen to the hightest level of public esteem : that he
does not advocate impracticalities ; that he teaches possibilities after accom-
plishment ; and that his words are deep sincerities spoken in love for his
fellows.
In national issues Mr. McConnell adheres to the Republican party. He
is a member of the Press and Temple clubs, and holds the thirty-second degree
in the Masonic Order, belonging to Green Ridge Lodge, Free and Accepted
Masons; Lackawanna Chapter. Royal Arch Masons; Scranton Council, Royal
and Select Masters; Melita Commandery, Knights Templar; and Keystone
Consistory, also holding membership in Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. His other fraternal order is the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks. In these organizations Mr. McConnell finds con-
genial intercourse with his fellows, while he and his wife are socially prominent
in Scranton.
Mr. McConnell married Sally M., daughter of Samuel and Rosanna Se-
ward, her father for many years superintendent of construction for the Lack-
awanna Coal and Iron Company. They are the parents of Ruth S., Florence
E., Rosanna, Edith Evelyn.
336 CITY OF SCRANTON
SAMUEL N. CALLENDER
The history of the Callender family dates back to before the Revolution-
ary War period, in which one of its members actively participated, and in the
various communities in which the family have resided they have taken an
active and prominent part, wielding an influence for good.
(I) The ancestry of Samuel N. Callender on the paternal side is traced
to Samuel Callender, a resident of Virginia, whose son, Samuel (2) Callender.
was born in that state, and who served as a Revolutionary soldier, attached to
the personal guard of General Washington; after the conclusion of hostilities
he went to Connecticut, where he married the sister of an old comrade, and
later moved to New York state, and from there to the state of Pennsylvania,
being among the pioneers. His son, Samuel (3) Callender, born in New York
state, removed with his parents to Pennsylvania, the locality in which they
settled being known as "Callender's Corners," now Green Grove. Two sons of
the family remained in Green Grove, but Samuel removed to Blakely, Penn-
sylvania, and there married Elizabeth London, daughter of a pioneer family.
He purchased and cleared up a farm, and in due course of time became pros-
perous, being among the prominent men of the community. He served as
deacon of the church, and a Baptist Memorial Chapel was erected in his
memory. The maternal ancestry of Samuel N. Callender dates to Captain
Daniel Kelley, an officer of the Revolution, who after that war ended settled
in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
(H) Rev. Newell Callender, son of Samuel (3) Callender, was born at
Blakely Center, Pennsylvania, February 27, 1821, died August 13, 191 1, aged
ninety years. He received an excellent education, and began his active career
as teacher in a public school and was also an instructor in music. Later he
was ordained to the ministry of the Baptist church, continuing active minister-
ial work for many years. He was a strong temperance worker and identified
with the Washingtonian movement of many years ago. He married Harriet
Ferris, born in Blakely, Pennsylvania, April 11, 1823, died in 1902. Seven
of the ten children of Rev. Newell Callender are living at the present time
(1914) and of these Samuel N. is the second eldest.
(HI) Samuel N. Callender was born in Blakely, Pennsylvania, Februar)'
28, 1847. He attended public school in Blakely until eight years of age, when
the family moved to Wayne county, Pennsylvania, where he also attended
school, and later the family returned to Luzerne (now Lackawanna) county.
At the age of seventeen he enlisted in the Second Regiment Pennsylvania
Heavy Artillery, mustered in March 8, 1864, honorably discharged and mus-
tered out January 29, 1866. He returned to Blakely where he established a
mercantile business which he continued until 1888. He then rented his store
and opened an office in Scranton for the transaction of the insurance and real
estate business, in which he was then and is now successfully engaged. About
1898 he moved his residence to Scranton and now resides at No. 414 Ouincy
avenue. Mr. Callender is a member of Immanuel Baptist Church, and in
political faith is a Progressive, known as the Washington party in Pennsyl-
vania. He is also a member of the Grand Anny of the Republic, past com-
mander of W. W. Walters Post, No. 414, at Olyphant, senior vice-commander
of Lieutenant Ezra Griffin Post, No. 139. at Scranton, in 1913, also served as
chief of staff of the Department of Pennsylvania under State Commander Cap-
tain P. DeLacy.
Mr. Callender married Margaret J. Jones, daughter of Edward Jones, of
Blakely, Pennsylvania. Children : Mabel C. : Grace H. ; Edward J., died aged
twenty- four years; Jessie, married Edward A. Harmes, of Great Bend, Penn-
CITY OF SCRANTON 337
sylvania ; Clarence N., who is a member of the law firm of Graham & Cal-
lender, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Margaret; Gordon S.
JAMES J. O'MALLEY
Born and reared in the Lackawanna Valley, Mr. 0"Malley has by force
of character and assiduous attention to his profession gained a leading posi-
tion among her sons. He is a grandson of Michael and a son of Michael D.
O'Malley, both born in Ireland, as was his mother.
James J. O'Malley, son of Michael and Annie O'Malley, was born in
Olyphant, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, November 27, 1870. He was
educated in the public schools of that borough and in The School of the Lacka-
wanna, at Scranton. He began business life as a telegraph operator at Oly-
phant, later prepared for the legal profession, and was admitted to the Lacka-
wanna county bar, February 22, 1896. He has practiced in Scranton continu-
ously since his admission and has a large and influential clientele. He has
been admitted to all state and federal courts of the district, his practice ex-
tending to all. In 1900 he was the Democratic candidate for district attorney
and is the present attorney for the Olyphant Bank. He served two terms on
the school board of his native borough, and in all things is the public-spirited
and progressive citizen. He has confined himself closely to his practice, but
has outside interests of importance, holding, among other positions, a director-
ship on the Olyphant Bank board. He is a member of the Roman Catholic
church and of the Heptasophs.
Mr. O'Malley married, November 28, 1901, Margaret Murphy, born in
Scranton, daughter cf Michael and Anna Murphy, the former a foreman for
the Scranton Gas and Water Company, holding that position at the time the
mains were first laid in Scranton. The following children have been born to
Mr. and Mrs. Murphy: Thomas P., Michael (2), James Philip, William,
Nellie, Mira, Dorothy M., married George Palmer; Margaret, married James
J. O'Malley. Children of Mr. and Mrs. O'Malley: Girard, Russell, Willard,
Robert, Margaret, Anna.
JAMES B. SCHRIEVER
Probably no science has ofifered a wider expanse for exploration and unique
discovery than photography. In the appliances invented, methods devised
and processes discovered, a new art has been given to the world, an art of
fact, not of fancy, beautiful with the beauty of nature, not of the imagination,
a portrayer of things as they are, not as they might be. A leader in the revo-
lution that has brought all this to pass, one of the most active workers for
perfect photography, and a successful artist in every branch of his profession
is James B. Schrievei.
He is a son of German parents, his father, Jacob Schriever, having been
born in Berlin, Germany, in 18 14, whence he came to Baltimore, Maryland,
later moving to Emporium, Pennsylvania. In the latter place he engaged in
wholesale grocery dealing, and was so busied at the time of his death in 1877.
He married Veronica Schmondt. They had : Maria, Elizabeth, Gertrude,
James B., of whom further ; Julia.
James B. Schriever was born in Brookville, JeiTerson county, Pennsylvania,
April 30, 1868. His education was obtained in the public schools and com-
pleted by a course in a business college, after which, at the age of ninetee
years, he entered the photograph business in Kane, Pennsylvania, later moving
to Emporium, in the same state, where he still conducted his operations, and
338 CITY OF SCRANTON
in which place he married. In 1900 he came to Scranton and opened a studio
at No. no Wyoming avenue, where he has continued to the present time, and
conducts a business far in advance of any of a like nature in this city. In the
equipment of this studio nothing has been left undone to make it the most com-
plete possible. This, combined with Mr. Schriever's artistic ability, has drawn
to him a well merited class of trade from the best people of the city. The
negatives he has been able to make under the conditions include nearly every
person of prominence in the city of Scranton, and also those in the surrounding
country, and the reputation which he enjoys justly places him at the head of
his profession in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Mr. Schriever has not confined his interests and works in photography to
his studio, but has compiled and published a complete photographic encyclo-
pedia of ten volumes, endorsed and approved by testimonials from the gov-
ernment and from universities. The only practical work on every thing
photographic ever published. Realizing that associations are one of the best
means for the dissemination of knowledge and information in any line of en-
deavor, he has ever supported such institutions as would advance his art,
and is at the present time ( 1914) president of the Professional Photographers
Society of Pennsylvania, members thereof representing three states, Penn-
sylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia. In March, 1913,
this organization numbered sixty-six members, and while only a beginning was
of little practical value. Since Mr. Schriever became connected with it new
life has been infused into its arteries, and largely through his eiTorts the mem-
ship has been increased until the total list numbers over eight hundred.
Through this association he has probably done more to further the hi^b.er
possibilities of photography than any other exponent of the art in this locality,
and has begun to make possible great achievements in the way of public ex-
hibitions and other demonstrations of like nature. That he is striving in a
good cause, and that there is a wonderful future for advanced photography
is shown by its introduction into many educational institutions and other or-
ganizations of a social and instructive nature. In the coalition of photograph-
ers and a sympathetic union for the common good lies the true hope of the
most potent results, while in the education of the public tastes will the seed of
future popularity be planted. It is along both these lines that Mr. Schrieve:
has been active, and although his relation with such movements covers a
period of but fourteen years, in that time he has accomplished much of real
value and perpetual efifect. Besides holding membership in several social or-
ganizations and in those whose members are restricted to those of his pro-
fession, he belongs to the Business Men's Commercial Association.
Mr. Schriever married, at Emporium, Pennsylvania, Katie, daughter of
Charles Zarps. Mr. and INIrs. Schriever are the parents of one daughter, Irene.
WILLIS A. KEMMERER
When in 1910 the Bittenbender Hardware Company was incorporated there
appeared the name of Willis A. Kemmerer as vice-president. This marked
the remarkable rise of Air. Kemmerer during his then eighteen years' connec-
tion with the firm, he having begun as office boy in 1892, reaching the vice-
presidency in 1910, and so continues at the present time, 1914.
He is a grandson of \\^illiam Kemmerer, a farmer near Stroudsburg, Penn-
sylvania, who had children, John M., Jacob E., Joseph, Mary, Elizabeth, Jen-
nie. John M. Kemmerer was born near Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1846,
and during his early life was a farmer. When twenty-one years of age, in
1867, he came to Scranton where he engaged in the grocery business and was
CITY OF SCRANTON 339
a resident until his death in 1908. He married Marilla, daughter of Jacob E.
Bittenbender, who bore him : WilHs A., Joseph, Jake, Charles, Jerome, Peter,
Frank, Kate, Mary, Ida. Ella, Anna.
Willis A. Kemmerer was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, March 21, 1872.
He was educated in public and private schools of the city, and at the age of
twenty years entered the employ of the Bittenbender Hardware Company of
Scranton, beginning at the foot of the ladder. He rose steadily in position, and
when the firm was incorporated in 1910 he was chosen vice-president. He is
thorough master of his business and has been one of the strong factors in
the upbuilding of the business. He has fairly won his present position, and
has gained at the same time the respect and confidence of his business asso-
ciates. He is a member of Union Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Lacka-
wanna Chapter, Royal Arch Masons-; Coeur de Lion Commandery, Knights
Templar; Keystone Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Thirty-second
Degree, and a Noble of Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, the lat-
ter body of Wilkes-Barre, the others all of Scranton. He has other fra-
ternal relations, notably, the Heptasophs and the Scranton Engineers' Associa-
tion. He attends the First Presbyterian Church. In political faith he is a
Republican. Mr. Kemmerer, married Mary A., daughter of William Scott,
of Binghamton, New York.
ALLAN LAWRENCE
Bearing a name honored in American history, Mr. Lawrence has in his
own right earned a place in the annals of his adopted city, Scranton. He is one
of the well known musicians of the city, and during his twenty-two years as
leader of the orchestra of Elm Park Methodist Episcopal Church and his
twenty years leadership of Lawrence's Band and Orchestra, he became thoi-
oughly well known and appreciated among music-loving people, whom he has
entertained and instructed.
(I) He descends from the Connecticut Lawrence family, is a son of Mil-
ton and a grandson of John Lawrence, the latter born in New York state in
1808. He was a blacksmith, and in 1830 moved to Bethany, Pennsylvania,
where he followed his trade until death. He married, June 26, 1829, Marie
E. Stoat, and had issue : Horatio N., now living at Elk Lake, Pennsylvania ;
Milton, of whom further ; Harriet, deceased.
(II) Milton Lawrence, son of John and Marie E. (Stoat) Lawrence, was
born in 1835, died in May, 1912. He learned the blacksmith's trade with his
father and followed it during his active years. He married Charlotte, daugh-
ter of Abraham and Julia Brink, of Syracuse, New York. Children : Allan,
of whom further ; Daisy, married Wallace Hacker.
(III) Allan Lawrence, only son of INIilton and Charlotte (Brink) Law-
rence, was born in Bethany, Pennsylvania, August 23, 1864. He attended the
public schools of Bethany and Honesdale, finishing in the high school at the
latter town. His father, a capable musician, taught him instrumental music
to the extent of his ability, then he studied under private teachers, finishing
with musical courses at Saginaw and Grand Rapids, Michigan. When he
came to Scranton in 1891, he was a finished musician and soon attracted the at-
tention of music lovers. He was employed for two years in the music store of
J. W. Guernsey and there formed a wide acquaintance. In 1892 he was
chosen leader of the orchestra connected with Elm Park Methodist Episcopal
Church and in 1894 organized the band and orchestra that bears his name. He
is also a composer, a popular conductor, and the services of band and or-
chestra under his leadership are in constant demand. There are few occasions
340 CITY OF SCRANTON
of note where their appearance is not one of the features and not only is this
true in Scranton, but in a wide extent of territory. Mr. Lawrence is a mem-
ber of Lodge and Consistory, holding the thirty-second degree, Ancient Ac-
cepted Scottish Rite; is a noble of Irem Temple; member of the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks; Scranton Press Association; the German Al-
liance ; the Episcopal church, and is chief musician of the Thirteenth Regiment
Band Pennsylvania National Guard. In political faith he is a Republican.
Mr. Lawrence married, February 8, 1888, Louisa, daughter of David Man-
ning, of Bethany, and has children : Isabel, born May 22, 1893 ; Karl, Jan-
uary 30, 1900; Harriet, May 25, 1901 ; Gertrude, July, 1902.
THOMAS J. PRICE
Thomas J. Price, alderman of the Thirteenth Ward of Scranton, is a
descendant of Welsh ancestry, Wales having been the birth-place of his father,
David Price. As a young man, the elder Price came to the United States and
became an employee of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Coal Com-
pany in Lackawanna county, holding, at his death, the position of a fire boss.
David Price held membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He
married and was the father of Mary, Elizabeth, William, Thomas J., of whom
further, Matilda, John.
Thomas J. Price was born in Minersville, Pennsylvania, November 27,
1856. When he was twelve years of age he came to Scranton with his par-
ents and until he was seventeen was employed in the coal mines. At that age
he renounced the miners' life and learned- the barber's trade, following that
occupation for thirteen years, during most of which time he used his evenings
for study, obtaining through his own efforts a generous education. He entered
political life as deputy sheriff under Frank Clemmons and Frank Becker,
and on July 12, 1909, was appointed alderman from the Thirteenth Ward by
Governor Stuart, the appointment being confirmed by election in the spring of
the following year. Mr. Price has been an efficient and faithful servant,
capably filling the positions to which he has been elected. His fraternal rela-
tions are with the Masonic Order and the Royal Arcanum. He married, in
1880, Margaret, daughter of Professor Robert Jones, of Scranton. Children:
Palmer, born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1881 ; Olive J., married F. G.
Hamilton. The Price home is at No. 131 1 Capouse avenue.
CHARLES S. SEAMANS
Descendant of English ancestors who were among the disciples of Roger
Williams in the founding of the first settlement of Rhode Island, Providence,
the Seamans were residents of that state until the founding of the line in
Pennsylvania, when John Seamans, a native of Rhode Island, settled in Fac-
toryville, Pennsylvania. The maternal grandfather of Charles S. Seamans was
William Green, likewise a native of Rhode Island, who came to Pennsylvania
in young manhood and became a pioneer farmer of Benton township, Lacka-
wanna (then Luzerne) county, where the mother of Charles S. Seamans was
born.
(II) Hon. John M. Seamans, son of John Seamans, was born in Factory-
ville, Pennsylvania, and for more than forty years engaged in the mercantile
business at Wallsville, Pennsylvania. He attained a prominence in business
life that soon won him recognition as available material for public service, and
in 1887 he was elected to represent the seventh district of Luzerne county
(now the third district of Lackawanna county) in the state legislature. His
CITY OF SCRANTON 341
action as a member of this body did not disappoint those who had persuaded
him to announce his candidacy, and his share in the legislation that was en-
acted during his tenure of office was one to which no shame could be at-
tached, and on the contrary, reflected happily upon the maturity and sound-
ness of his judgment. In the midst of exciting debate or sharp party contest he
ever maintained his mental poise, striving to see none of the trivial issues but
ever the ultimate good of the commonwealth.
(Ill) Charles S. Seamans, son of the Hon. John M. Seamans, was born
in Benton township, Lackawanna (then Luzerne) county, Pennsylvania, Feb-
ruary 3, 1856. He was reared in Wallsville, Pennsylvania, where his father
was engaged in business, and was educated in the district school of that lo-
cality and at Keystone Academy, Factoryville, Pennsylvania. In November,
1 88 1, he established in the grocery business, his store being at No. 317 Penn
avenue, and for eighteen years he successfully conducted a retail trade of
generous dimensions. Ever since taking up his residence in Scranton Mr.
Seamans has manifested a genuine and active interest in all phases of city
life, and has always been a sincere worker for its betterment and advance-
ment. This interest found expression in a manner that redounded decidedly to
the benefit of Scranton during the seven years in which he was secretary of the
Scranton Board of Trade, when besides securing the city several important
industries he strove indirectly to raise its standard and to increase its at-'
tractions. He was elected to the common council for a two years' term and
staunchly supported all measures that appealed to him as being designed only
with the city's welfare at heart, and himself fathered the fender ordinance,
relating to the equipment of the rolling stock of local traction companies, which
was adopted and is in etifect at the present day, a most worthy measure in safe-
guarding the Scranton public. Mr. Seamans' present business activities are
largely confined to Sprague & Henwood, an incorporated company, the Eureka
Specialty Printing Company, and the Scranton Savings and Dime Bank. In
the officiary of the two first named concerns he holds the position of vice-
president, while of the latter he has been a director for a period covering
twenty years. His fraternal society is the Masonic Order and he is a past
master of Union Lodge, No. 291, F. and A. M., a charter member and first
master of Green Ridge Lodge, No. 597, past high priest of Lackawanna Chap
ter, Royal Arch Masons, and past commander of Melita Commandery, No.
68, K. T.
Mr. Seamans married, at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Emma A., daughter
of Peter Raeder, an early inhabitant of that city. The Seamans' home i=. at
No. 1528 Wyoming avenue.
JAMES B. DOYLE
A merchant of West Scranton of more than thirty years' standing. James
B. Doyle has there achieved material success and prosperity in his line, hard-
ware dealing, in which he has been engaged independently for the past ten
years, his present location being at No. 212 North Main avenue. He is a
native of county Westmeath, province of Leinster, Ireland, son of Michael
and Anna (Bray) Doyle, his father having died in the homeland. Children
of Michael and Anna (Bray) Doyle: Christopher, deceased; Thomas, lives
in British Columbia, Canada ; Michael, a resident of New York City ; John,
resides in Scranton ; James B., of whom further.
James B. Doyle, son of Michael and Anna (Bray) Doyle, was born May
13, 1854. He was educated in the public schools of his native land, coming
to the United States when a youth of seventeen years, entering the machine
342 CITY OF SCRANTON
shops of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. After a short
term of employment in these shops he was for three and one-half years ap-
prenticed to the plumber's and tinner's trade with C. H. and W. G. Dowd.
spending some time thereafter in New York City and some time in the vicin-
ity of Scranton. In 1882 he returned to Scranton, whither he had come im-
mediately upon landing in this country, and established in hardware dealing,
in partnership with C. A. Foss, also conducting plumbing and tinning opera-
tions, his place of business being at No. 224 North Main street, and later
their location was changed to No. 124 North Main avenue, where it remained
until 1902 when Mr. Doyle bought the property at No. 212 North Main ave-
nue, there building the large store which his business now occupies, and
at which advantageous place he conducts a generous and lucrative business.
His partnership was dissolved in 1893 and since that time he has continued his
business alone. His trade is probably the largest of its nature in West Scran-
ton, for with all outward conditions of the best, such as favorable location
and attractive store, the excellent stock of standard materials carried and the
uniformly careful consideration tendered each patron causes the most de-
sired impression to remain with each customer visiting the store. Mr. Doyle
is a member of the Scranton Board of Trade, the Master Plumbers' Associa-
tion, and the Master Tinners' Association. He affiliates with the Democratic
party, and belongs to St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church. Mr. Doyle mar-
ried, in 1898, Anna Wymbs, of Scranton.
JOHN E. ROCHE
As a member of the Scranton council and as representative of that district
in the Pennsylvania legislature, John E. Roche has performed services of
signal value to his community. In other branches of the city's activities and
in all things that pertain to the conduct of a good and loyal citizen his part
has been as nobly borne and as capably executed. He was born on June 12.
1850, at Cecilstown, county Cork, Ireland, eldest son of Cornelius and Mary
(O'Connor) Roche. In the year of his birth his parents immigrated to Canada
and it was there, in the Province of Ontario, that his youth was spent. He
obtained a meagre education in a school at a Mohawk settlement, near Deser-
onto, most of his classmates being Mohawk Indians. In perception and in-
telligence he was far superior to his aboriginal comrades, and his ambitious
spirit chafed under the slow advance made necessary. He did not, however,
confine his study to school hours, but read a prodigious amount of the best
of literature. Throughout his entire life he has pursued this course and,
though he has never been within the confines of college walls, he has acquired
a vast and diversified fund of general and accurate information and culture
that has served him well, enabling him to come into contact with men of
academic learning far in advance of the ordinary individual and feel no loss
of prestige or embarrassment because of imperfect scholastic attainments.
In i860 his parents moved to Pennsylvania settling near Middle Valley, Wayne
county, where his father, he lending boyish assistance, cleared a place in the
wilderness to erect a home. Three years later they moved to Hawley and
here Mr. Roche engaged in various kinds of labor, picking slate on the coal
docks, driving mules on the Delaware and Hudson Canal, peeling bark, cut-
ting lumber, and finally acting in the capacity of brakeman on the Pennsyl-
vania Coal Company's Gravity Railroad, until 1872, when he came to Scran-
ton, his present home. He engaged in the grocery and provision business in
1876 and as a merchant of the city became well known to a large proportion
of its inhabitants. Six years later he was compelled to retire, owing to failing
CITY OF SCRANTON 343
health, and in that year was the Democratic nominee for assembly, being,
elected to represent the city from 1883-1884 inclusive. He immediately en-
tered into the affairs of that body with enthusiastic energy and was an ardent
supporter of the ballot reform bill and the appropriation bill for the Lacka-
wanna State Hospital, at Scranton, for whose support and maintenance the
legislature appropriated $40,000, the largest amount ever granted by the state
to any public institution of Northeastern Pennsylvania up to that time. With
his past record so strongly in his favor, in 1884 he was a candidate for re-
election, but owing to the large Democratic defection to James G. Blaine,
presidential candidate for that year, he was defeated, as was all the rest of
the ticket. After the inauguration of President Grover Cleveland he received
an appointment as cashier of the Scranton post office, but in February 1889,
resigned that position to become the local representative of a wholesale hard-
ware and mine supply house, known as the Hunt & Connell Company, a posi-
tion he held until January i, 1901. This house went out of business at this
time; but in 1899 the stockholders had disagreed and the business was placed
in the hands of three trustees of which Mr. Roche was one. He held this
position and gave his undivided attention to the business conducting it so
successfully that when it was closed up the trustees received three dollars for
every dollar they had invested in the business. In 1892 he began his connection
with local politics as a member of the Scranton select council, and in 1896
was re-elected without opposition. On several occasions he was the candi-
date of his party for the presidency of that body. While a member of the
council he was the principal promoter of many municipal improvements,
among them the Linden street and Roaring brook bridges, both substantial and
beautiful structures, erected at an aggregate cost of $275,000. His wise fore-
sight and energetic promotion have achieved for the city many needed im-
provements, that have tended toward its transformation from a mere manu-
facturing centre to one of residential use as well, because of the activity of the
city administrations in raising the municipal standard. For several years he
was a member of the Democratic county committee, being chairman of that
body in 1894-1895, was for two years a member of the Democratic state cen
tral committee of Pennsylvania, was a delegate to several state conventions,
and was acting delegate to the national convention of 1896, at which W. J.
Bryan was nominated. These attest his prominence in the political matters
of the day outside of his city and demonstrate the confidence placed in his
judgment and deliberative ability, as it is in the gatherings above mentioned
that the party policy is formed and a line of action determined upon. When
the city of Scranton was added to those of the second class he was the un-
successful candidate for mayor against Captain Mair. It was evidently the
opinion of Captain Mair that Mr. Roche was too valuable a man to be outside
of the administration and immediately after Captain Mair's inauguration he
appointed Mr. Roche director of public works, and while in this office Mr.
Roche did much of the work in laying and building Nay Aug Park. So
conscientiously and sc ably did he officiate in this capacity and so many were
the benefits accruing from his well directed efforts that upon his retirement
from the office he was lauded by the press, commended by the administration,
and congratulated by his wide circle of friends. Among his other public acts
he was the promoter of the viaduct on West Lackawanna avenue, and one
of the principal promoters of the opening of Wyoming avenue. Since then
he has been again elected councilman and held that office until it was abolished.
In his business pursuits Mr. Roche has been no less successful than in
his public and political life. For a time he was manager of the business of
A. J. and P. J. Casey, and at present is manager of the Wilkes-Barre branch
344 CITY OF SCRANTON
of the wholesale flour and grain business of C. P. Matthews & Sons (Incor-
porated). In the organization of the Pine Brook Bank and at the first meet-
ing of its directorate he was elected vice-president : still serving the institution
as the incumbent of that office, he has declined the presidency of this bank,
although urged to accept it. In May, 1908, he was appointed receiver of the
New Equitable Building and Loan Association, of Scranton, and continues to
discharge the duties of the receivership.
Soon after Mr. Roche's arrival in Scranton he affiliated with the Father
Matthew Abstinence Society, and, becoming interested in the movement, gave
to it his hearty support. He was one of the foremost organizers of the Catho-
lic Total Abstinence Union of the diocese of Scranton, and in compliment to
his useful services was elected its first president. The magnitude of the work
was not apparent at the time of its inception, but the fact that the union now
numbers ten thousand members proves that it founders builded better than they
knew, and they built strongly, firmly, and well, else on their foundation could
never have been raised the splendid superstructure that the years have brought
forth. He is also a member and has been the president of the St. Vincent
de Paul Society of the Cathedral parish and has always taken an active part in
this and all church matters. To summarize the life of ]\Ir. Roche it can only
be said that in his wake have followed the love of friends, the gratitude of
his city, and praise for faithful service, nobly conceived and masterfully exe-
cuted.
John E. Roche married. May 27, 1877, Mary L. Campbell, of Carbondale,
daughter of Henry C'ampbell, an engineer. His wife died January 3, 1912. A
daughter, Mary Louise, died in infancy. They adopted by law, two daugh-
ters, at ten months and five months of age, now (1914) twenty and eighteen
years of age, Genevieve and Esther.
WILLIAM THOMAS HACKETT
The history of this branch of the Hackett family begins in the United
States with Richard Miller Hackett, who came in early life, finally settling in
Carbon county, Pennsylvania, where his son, William T. Hackett, was born.
Richard M. Hackett was born in Warwickshire, England, in ]VIarch 1807,
died in 1885 at Scranton, Pennsylvania. He became an e.xpert miner, being
for many years, and at time of his death, a mine foreman in the employ of the
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company. He was a member
of the Episcopal church and a man of strong character. He married Susan
Cooper, also of English parentage, who died in 1895, aged eighty-six years.
Children: Hannah H., married Casper Weissenflue ; Sarah H., married Colonel
E. H. Ripple ; William Thomas.
William Thomas Hackett, only son of Richard Miller and Susan (Cooper)
Hackett, was born at Buck Mountain, Carbon county, Pennsylvania, July 26,
1851. He attended public schools until fifteen years of age, then began busi-
ness life as office boy for the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company. He con-
tinued his business life as clerk in the employ of Coursen Hitchcock & Com-
pany for one year, then became clerk in the purchasing department of the
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, following with a short period
as bookkeeper for L. B. Powell. He later returned to the employ of the Dela-
ware, Lackawanna & Western, entering the coal department offices as clerk.
After a satisfactory term of general clerical service he was promoted to the
position of private clerk to William F. Halstead. general manager of the road.
Finally leaving the railroad service he became chief accountant for the Stowers
Packing Company, continuing until 1883. In the latter year he became cashier
CITY OF SCRANTON
345
of the Scranton Republican, continuing three years. In 1888 he estabHshed a
real estate and fire insurance business in Scranton in which he is still success-
fully engaged. He has during this period been connected with many im-
portant real estate activities that tended to promote the prosperity and improve-
ment of his city, also with enterprises that have proven advantageous to his
community. He was one of the charter members of Grace Reformed Episco-
pal Church, was chosen a member of the first vestry of which he has been con-
tinuously a member. He has for many years been interested in the Young
Men's Christian Association, is a director of the Scranton branch and present
recording secretary cf the board. He is an active member of the Board of
Trade and useful in the operations of that body in promoting Scranton's wel-
fare. In political faith Mr. Hackett is a Progressive.
Mr. Hackett married Mary M., daughter of George and Amanda Mayer,
of Scranton. Pennsylvania, her father a leading merchant of that city. Chil-
dren: Mary, married Dr. W. H. Philip, of Cape May; Emily, a violinist of
high reputation.
DAVID SPRUKS
Not only as the proprietor of one of the largest wholesale grocery houses
in the city of Scranton is David Spruks known to the business world of the
city, but likewise as an officer of several companies engaged in the working of
the natural resources of the region.
(I) The family of which David Spruks is a member is of German origin,
John Spruks being the first of the name to leave the homeland and to embaik
upon a career in the United States. He settled near St. Louis, Missouri,
where he pursued agricultural operations until his death.
(II) John (2) Spruks, son of John (i) Spruks, was born in Germany m
1824, and came to the United States when about eighteen years of age. He
was a carpenter by trade, and as he gradually acquired sufficient capital he
branched out into contracting, in which he met with more than moderate
success. He was a tireless worker and in his unflagging energy lay the secret
of his success. He died in August, 1903, aged seventy-nine years. He married
Hannah Fenne, a native of Germany. Children : Thomas, deceased ; Jo-
sephine, married Huber, of Scranton ; John, deceased ; Henry J., a
resident of Scranton; Stephen S., lives in Scranton; Annie, married
Huber, of Scranton ; Bertha, married Muller ; Dena. deceased ;
David, of whom further; Charles, of Scranton.
(III) David Spruks, son of John (2) Spruks, was born in Wayne count).
Pennsylvania, August 21, i860. Although never possessed of the opportunity
to attend college, he obtained a thorough education in the public schools of
his birth-place and in the high school at West Brighton, Staten Island, New
York, also in the academy at Beech Lake. For four years he taught school
in Wayne county, Pennsylvania, and from 1882 until 1888 he was engaged in
business at Honesdale, coming to Scranton in the latter year, and identifying
himself permanently with that city. Soon after his arrival he began in the
wholesale grocery business at No. 23 Lackawanna avenue, and, as in the
growth of his business larger quarters became necessary, he erected a fine
structure at the corner of Spruce street and Lackawanna avenue, the present
home of his business. In this line, the first in which he engaged in Scranton,
he has established a reputation for fairness and honor in all dealings, and has
prospered in large measure. His other business connections are with the
Scranton Tobacco Company, of which he was an organizer and of which he is
president, a position he has held since the first election of the board of di-
346 CITY OF SCRANTON
rectors; the Scranton Cold Storage Company, of which he is president ; the
Bulls Head Coal Company, whose treasurer he has been since 1906; the Bright
Coal Company, of which he was made treasurer in 1909, still holding these
offices ; and the Scranton Savings and Dime Bank, of which he is director
and secretary. Mr. Spruks' wise counsel and sound advice are large factors
in the control of these organizations, his experience in business matters and
his safe and conservative judgment making him a valuable advisor. He is a
member of the Masonic order, and in political issues supports the Democratic
party. He married Ada, a daughter of George Baties, of Philadelphia.
MAXWELL CHAPMAN
The career of Maxwell Chapman that has led up to his successful establish-
ment in business in the city of Scranton is one that holds a story of pro-
fessional achievement, of attainment, and of commissions efficiently executed,
the recital filled, not only with interesting narration, but, upon closer reading,
an example of an opportunity profitably seized. He is the third of his family
in direct line to follow engineering professions, his grandfather, Isaac A. Chair-
man, having in 1822 built the first railroad from Summit Hill to Slack Water
Navigation at Mauch Chunk, and was the first civil engineer to undertake the
problem of slack water navigation on the Lehigh river.
(II) Charles I. A. Chapman, son of Isaac A. Chapman, was born in
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania ; and after graduation from Lafayette College and
the Philadelphia Law School, was admitted to practice at the Luzerne county
bar. The wearing nature of his profession and its confinement telling upon
his health, he withdrew from legal associations and turned to civil engineer-
ing, being employed by the Pennsylvania Coal Company in the construction of
the gravity railroad from Pittston to Hawley, later entering the state service
on the North Branch canal. He married Martha S. Blanchard, and had chil-
dren: Maxwell, of whom further; Blanchard; May Elizabeth, married Wil-
liam Dean, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
(III) Maxwell Chapman, son of Charles I. A. and Martha S. (Blanchard)
Chapman, was born at Port Blanchard, Pennsylvania, January i, 1856. His
preparatory education was obtained in the public schools, and his first busi-
ness experience was as a clerk in the employ of J. H. Swoyer, after which
he became a mining engineer with the Lehigh Valley Coal Company, being
attached to a corps at Hazleton. The three following years he was on the
Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, his connection with state work
ceasing when the final report of that commission was submitted to the author-
ities. The Mexican government having granted the concession for the con-
struction of the Mexico National and Central railroads, he made a contract
with the Mexican government and went to that country as division engineer,
running the first preliminary line from Alexico City to Vera Cruz by way of
Jalapa, his connection with the railroad company enduring for two years.
At the end of that time he organized the Mequeta Gold and Copper Alining
Company in Mexico City, the capital for this enterprise being advanced by
Mexico City financiers. It was necessary to send to Chicago for machinery
to operate on the property of the company, a ten stamp goldmill, made in
Chicago, being shipped to Vera Cruz by water, via New York, from there
hauled sixty miles to Jalapa in mule carts and carried down into the mines by
Indians. In Rhode Island he engaged a mechanical engineer to assemble the
mill, and after the entire plant was in regular operation he was active manager
for three years, installing numerous contrivances to facilitate the workings in
the dififerent departments, among them a telephone line connecting the mine
9)ujmajl^
CITY OF SCRANTON 347
and the mill, a tramway bringing the ore from the first to the latter for mill-
ing. He was then engaged by the Mexican Central Railroad to explore the
state of Jalisco for coal, and after a year's prospecting came north to Laredo,
Texas, and made report of territory rich in the deposits of this mineral, at
that time being county surveyor of Grant county. New Mexico. Cattle raising
then attracted his notice as a profitable field of endeavor apd he purchased a
large ranch in the \'ictoria Valley in New Mexico, at that time being the only
settler in the valley. The discovery of water on his property removed the
only difficulty that had confronted an enterprise ofifering otherwise excellent
possibilities, and he immediately purchased five hundred head of the best breed-
ing cattle obtainable, later securing Ohio capital and incorporating the Buck
Eye Land and Live Stock Company. This concern in 1887 owned six thousand
head of cattle, grazing over territory seventy-two square miles in extent, wind
mills and steam pumps at convenient locations supplying the stock with water,
cattle being shipped to eastern and western markets. Mr. Chapman sold his
interest in the live stock company in 1891 and came east in the interest of the
Swartzschild and Sulzberger Beef Company, at that time in the thick of con-
flict with the Chicago beef trust, thus ending his connection with western life
as a resident. Part of his work in Grant county. New Mexico, had been the
laying-out of the present school districts, and he had built the first six miles
of railroad grade south of the international line, on the Mexican Southern
Railroad. For eight years he was manager of the business of the Swartzschild
and Sulzberger Beef Company in Scranton, selling the first dressed beef in the
coal region and erecting three beef houses in their interest. Roosevelt's war on
the beef trust introducd conditions whereby an individual possessed as great
opportunities in shipping and dealing in beef as those enjoyed by the cor-
porations, and Mr. Chapman, perceiving the advantages open, resigned his
position with the corporation employing him and in 1904 established in inde-
pendent dealing. Journeying to Iowa he there made a personal contract with
a small packing-house of reliable reputation and has since conducted his
business in Scranton, Forest City, and Wilkes-Barre, his venture being ac-
corded a favorable leception in the regions that he has invaded, the domina-
tion of trusts, corporations, and syndicates having become exceedingly irk-
some to retailers and small dealers. He is also a director of the Lincoln Trust
Company, of Scranton.
Political and public afifairs have not been omitted from Mr. Chapman's
scheme of existence, and as chairman of the county committee of the Pro-
gressive party he has been so stalwart a supportr of Progressive principles
that he is his party's candidate for state senator. He will carry to the polls
the good-will and b.".cking of a wide circle of admirers and friends, whose
respect he holds for the fearless and upright manner in which he states his
convictions, having the courage with them to stand or fall. His fraternal
society is the Masonic order, in which he belongs to lodge, consistory and
shrine.
Mr. Chapman married, in 1886, Kate A., daughter of Charles A. Ryon, of
Tioga county, Pennsylvania. They are the parents of one son, Charles L.,
born in New Mexico in 1888, a graduate of State College, at the present time
a mining engineer at Big Stone Gap, West Virginia, the fourth of his line to
devote his life to engineering.
JOHN ZIMMER
First as a shoe merchant and later as furniture dealer John Zimmer has
been engaged in business independently in the city of Scranton, although prior
348 CITY OF SCRANTON
to entering these fields he had been employed in different capacities by various
firms in the city. His father, John Zimmer, was likewise a merchant of Scran-
ton until his death. John Zimmer was a son of George A. Zimmer, a black-
smith by trade, who came to the United States from Germany, which country
had been the family home for many generations. George A. Zimmer was the
father of: John, of whom further; Kate, Emma, Nellie, Elizabeth, George, de-
ceased ; Jacob.
John Zimmer, son of George A. Zimmer, was born September 5, 1866, met
an accidental death, July 4, 1912. His business career was begun in the Green-
wood Pottery Works in Trenton, New Jersey, and when he was fifteen years
of age he was there employed as a potter and later as a china decorator, after
some years becoming associated with the Lehigh Valley Decorating Company as
assistant foreman in the china decorating department. In 1896 he was com-
missioned to open a store for this company at No. 140 North Main avenue,
Scranton, and of this store he was manager until the dissolution of the com-
pany employing him. This occurred in 1900, in which year he purchased the
store of which he had formerly been in charge and continued in business in
that place, decorating his wares in a shop of his own and transacting his affairs
independently. His patronage increased and his quarters became cramped, sO
that he moved into a larger and more conveniently planned store. This perform-
ance was repeated several times and he finally located permanently at Xo. 121
North Main Avenue, where he gradually withdrew from china decorating and
dealing, in its stead handling furniture, until in time he dealt exclusively in the
latter line, in which his former success was duplicated, his new business at-
taining even greater dimensions than his old. Mr. Zimmer belonged to the
Knights of the Maccabees. He married Theresa, daughter of John Pirola, a
notary public of Trenton, New Jersey, and had two sons, John, of whom fur-
ther, and William.
John (2) Zimmer, son of John ( i ) and Theresa (Pirola) Zimmer, was born
in Trenton, New Jersey, March 8, 1889. He obtained his education in the public
schools of Allentown and Scranton, Pennsylvania, Keystone Academy, and
Pennington Seminary, at Pennington, New Jersey. His studies completed he
entered the Star Line Messenger Service, and was then assistant bookkeeper
in the employ of the McClave Brooks Company, afterward becoming a surveyor
for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company. His next posi-
tions were in a clerical capacity with A. P. Brown and the Young Men's Chris-
tian Association, after which he entered the journalistic field as advertising
representative of the New York World, later becoming a member of the
reportorial staff of the Hudson County Observer, of Hoboken, New Jersey.
In 1912, in partnership with L. Fred Hayes, of Newark, New Jersey, Mr.
Zimmer began shoe dealing in the city of Scranton, a relation which was dis-
continued upon the death of his father when he became the head of the busi-
ness formerly conducted by the elder Mr. Zimmer. In the two years that have
passed since that time he has enlarged his place of business, making improve-
ments to the value of fifteen thousand dollars, and has so increased its breadth
and scope that he is the proprietor of one of the most extensive furniture
businesses in West Scranton, from which he realizes a generous revenue. Mr.
Zimmer is a charter member and the first president of the Ad-Crafters' Asso-
ciation of New York City, holds independent political opinions, and attends the
Washburn Street Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Zimmer married, November 12, 1912, Esther Louise, daughter of Leo-
pold Lutz, and they have one son, John Jr.. born January 24, 1914.
CITY OF SCRANTON 349
JAMES B. GARVEY, M. D.
There is no truer index to the impression made by a man's life than the
breadth of grief felt when he is called from this to his eternal home. Truly,
then, was the life of Dr. James B. Garvey one in which each of his many natures
was allowed full play, for from the children who were his devoted friends to his
bereaved family many were the classes and manners of people to whom his
death came as a distinct and personal loss. His friends reached from the At-
lantic to the Pacific, and the inspiration of his manly, Christian life, the nobility
of his splendid spirit and courage, will endure even though he, in the flesh, has
departed to claim his fairly-won reward.
To trace the career of Dr. James B. Garvey is to follow a most unusual
line, for while it was in the medical profession that he was pre-eminently noted,
he did not enter that field until he had started himself well upon the highway
to prominence and success in educational fields. He was a son of Michael and
Catherine ( Boylan ) Garvey, the parents of five children, three of whom survive :
Right Rev. Eugene A., of Altoona, Pennsylvania ; Catherine, who married
Timothy Curtin ; Mary A., who married Patrick J. Horan.
Dr. James B. Garvey was born in Carbondale, Lackawanna county, Penn-
sylvania, November 5, 1843. his parents making their home in Dunmore, Penn-
sylvania, from the time he was seven years of age. He here attended the pub-
lic schools, and continued his studies in St. Mary's College, of Wilmingtou.
Delaware. When a young man of twenty years he journeyed to California, and
became a school teacher in Calaveras county, his eiiforts in that place being so
cordially received that he was elected county superintendent of schools, an
office he filled with signal ability for two terms. Remaining in that part of the
country, he was subsequently elected to the sherifif's office, and for four years
held this position upon the executive branch of the county government, his
administration a satisfactory one in every respect. In 1878 the confidence re-
posed in him by his fellows was evidenced by his election to the state constitu-
tional convention, and in this body he represented Calaveras county, serving
on the legislative committee of which General Terry was chairman. Two years
afterward Mr. Garvey returned east, beginning the study of medicine in the
Baltimore College of Physicians and Surgeons, receiving his M. D. from that
institution in 1884, and then returning for one year of post-graduate work
Active work in his profession, begun in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, was here con-
tinued until his death, which occurred August 23, 1914, and few physicians
are there who may boast of a prouder record or a professional career that has
adhered more closely to the highest ideals and traditions of medical practitioners.
While gaining prominence in the medical world he also gained the regard and
favor of all whom he met, whether in a social, business or professional
capacity, and it is especially significant of his tender sympathy and all-em-
bracing good fellowship that his most loyal and devoted friends were the chil-
dren of the neighborhood in which he resided.
During the seventy-one years of his life he gradually accumulated a library
in which he took a natural pride and great comfort. Herein he had gathered,
besides his professional works, the masterpieces of the world's literature, with
which he was as familiar as with old friends, as, indeed, the volumes were.
From a well-stored mind he drew upon solid information in conversation, and
his pleasant manner made his fluent speech the delight of those privileged to
know him intimately. In reasoning temperate, in judgment calm, and in outlook
upon life well balanced and clear, he filled his career to overflowing with acts
of usefulness, kindness and charity, so living that his death caused a void that
can be bridged, but never filled.
3SO CITY OF SCRANTON
Dr. Garvey married, August 31, 1881, Mary A., daughter of Judge Thomas
Conins, of Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, and sister of Hon. Frank D. Collins,
of whom further. Mrs. Garvey was formerly a school teacher, a woman of
education, culture and refinement. She is the mother of two sons : Dr. Frank
C, of Scranton, and Eugene A., of Bufifalo. Dr. Garvey was buried from St.
Mary's Church, of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, his brother. Right Rev. Eugene A.
Garvey, being the celebrant at the solemn high mass of requiem which was
held on the day of his burial.
Judge Thomas Collins was born in Ireland, June 24, 181 1. He came to the
United States in 1839 and located in Ulster county. New York. In 1845 he
removed to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where he secured a position as ham-
mer man in the iron works, and being a powerful man as well as prompt in the
discharge of his duties, he soon rose in favor. In 1849, when the Pennsylvania
Coal Company began the survey of their railroad between Pittston and Hawley,
he took a contract for the construction of two miles of the road, and removed
his family to Dunmore where he erected a large store building and conducted
an extensive mercantile business until 185 1, when his property was destroyed
by fire sustaining a heavy loss. Nothing daunted he rebuilt and continued busi-
ness until 1866, when he was elected associate judge of Luzerne county, a posi-
tion he filled with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents.
About a year prior to his death he was stricken with paralysis and died Jan-
uary 9, 1878. His widow, Catharine (Dolan) Collins, and two children, Hon.
Frank D. Collins and Mary A. Collins, survived him.
Hon. Frank D. Collins, son of Judge Thomas and Catharine (Dolan) Col-
lins, was born in Saugerties, LTlster county. New York, March 5, 1841. In
early boyhood his parents removed to Dunmore, Pennsylvania, and his educa-
tion was acquired at St. Joseph's School, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania,
and Wyoming Seminary. He began the study of law in the year 1866, and
three years later w.is elected district attorney of Scranton. In 1872 he was
elected state senator; in 1874 was elected to Congress from the eleventh dis-
trict known as the "Shoestring District," embracing the counties of Monroe,
Pike, Carbon, Columbia, Northumberland and a part of Luzerne. He was re-
elected in 1876, representing his district in the forty-fourth and forty-fifth Con-
gresses. He continued the practice of law in Scranton until he was called to his
final rest, November 21, 1891. He married Mary McNichols, who died about
eighteen months prior to his death, leaving two children who found a pleasant
home with Dr. Gar^'ey and wife.
MICHAEL J. MURRAY
This is the life story of a poor Irish boy, who at seven years of age came
to the L^nited States, began working in a coal mine at the age of twelve years,
in middle life was a successful coal operator and now at the age of sixty-seven
years is president of the First National Bank of Dunmore, one of the solid and
substantial business men of his adopted state. There is more than one useful
lesson that may be learned from Mr. Murray's successful life, the greater, per-
haps, being his belief in himself. This does not imply that he is engrossed in
self or that self importance is a characteristic, for a more modest and retiring
man never lived. It does mean that he has a supreme confidence in his own
ability to overcome difficulties by preseverence, hard work and good judgment.
Utterly unaffected, plain in speech and apparel, tall with shoulders bowed by his
years of labor in low roofed mines, big hearted, generous and neighborly, he
is the same in manner to-day in his beautiful banking offices as he was, not
many years ago, when with pick and drill he wrought in the mines. No story
CITY OF SCRANTON 35c
of sudden riches, luck investment or of fortune's favor can here be told; Mr.
Murray's success came after years of toil, after successfully achieving where
others feared to venture, and there is no taint upon his wealth. It has been
honestly and fairly earned and better still it is being honestly used. No man
stands higher in the respect of his fellowmen, nor is there one to cavil at his
success. He fought a good fight, played well his part and all honor is his.
Michael J. Murray was born in Ireland, March 10, 1846, son of Peter
Murray, who emigrated from Ireland in 1853, settled in Dunmore, Pennsylvania,
and there died in 1889. He married Bridget Walsh, who bore him children:
Patrick, Mary, John, Michael J., Anthony.
Michael J. Murray was seven years of age when his parents left Ireland and
came to Dunmore. He attended school until he was twelve years of age, then
began working in the mines. For twenty years he continued a miner, filling all
the different positions from breaker boy upward until he was rated a capable
miner. He worked in the mines of the Pennsylvania Coal Company and
established his own humble home in Dunmore. He lived the life of the aver-
age miner, earned a good living for his family, but was ever on the lookout
for opportunities to better his condition. He thoroughly understood mines
and mining, but having little capital, did not start independent operations until
about 1883, when he saw his chance. The Pennsylvania Coal Company had an
upper vein of coal that their engineers could not plan to handle profitably, the
vein being near the surface and the roof bad. Rlr. Murray learned that the
company would gladly sell their rights in this vein, deeming it of no value.
He believed that there was a great deal more coal in the vein than was sup-
posed, and further believed in his ability to work it safely and profitably.
He formed a partnership with his brother, Anthony J. Murray, Thomas Brown
and John Carney, secured a ten years' lease from the Throop and Parker
estates and on the strength of his lease and his demonstration of its value ob-
tained a loan of $20,000, and began operations in a small way. They met
with discouragements in plenty during the early operations and at times failure
seemed sure. To less detemiined men than the Murray Brothers failure
would have followed, but they had faith in the mine, faith in themselves, and
each discouragement but nerved them to greater efforts. At last the day broke
and the black night of doubt and gloom was dispelled. The small plant was
enlarged, and a breaker with a daily capacity of 350 tons erected. All the ex-
pectations of Mr. Murray were realized, and in eighteen months the borrowed
$20,000 was repaid and capital began accumulating in the bank. Prosperity
continued, more coal area was leased and operations continued until October.
1905, when Messrs. Brown and Carney purchased the interest of the Murray
Brothers, paying them, therefore, in cash $152,000. With his half of the
amount, M. J. Murray purchased and leased 464 acres of coal land at Bernice,
Sullivan county, Pennsylvania. He then organized the Northern Anthracite
Coal Company which operates the mines, which proved valuable and very profit-
able from the very beginning. Mr. Murray was the first president of the com-
pany and continues its capable and efficient head. He has other important
business interests and continues as ever, the earnest worker.
Mr. Murray was for some years a director of the Fidelity, Deposit and Dis-
count Bank of Dunmore, but resigned upon the organization of the First
National Bank of Dunmore, of which he was elected president. This bank
opened for business, November i, 1910, in its own building at Dunmore,
"Four Corners," its opening being marked with conspicuous success. Ten
thousand people are estimated to have visited the beautiful building during
the day and two thousand depositors were entered on the books of the bank,
their deposits amounting to $144,000. The bank has since the opening day
352 CITY OF SCRANTON
steadily advanced in public favor and in material prosperity. This record
covers a half a century of the business life of Mr. Murray from breaker boy
to bank president. View him as you will, he is one of the remarkable men of a
remarkable age, and has won distinction in a community of strong men, not
weaklings. The doctrine of the "survival of the fittest" prevails in the coal
region perhaps with greater force than anywhere else — hence the only in-
ference is that Mr. Murray is a "strong" man in every sense of the word.
Mr. Murray married (first) Bridget Carney, who died in 1875, th^ mothei
of ten children; those living are: Peter J., general manager of the Northern
Anthracite Coal Company ; Lydia, a graduate from Providence Hospital, Dis-
trict of Columbia; Bridget, married James McDade ; Michael J., a lawyer;
Loretta, wife of W. J. Dooley ; Agnes, a sister of the Immaculate Conception,
connected with the Convent of the Immaculate Conception. Mr. Murray mar-
ried (second) Bridget McAndrew ; children: Anthony, a graduate of Bucknell
University, now a law student of the University of Pennsylvania ; Catherine,
a teacher; Elizabeth, now Mrs. E. Mongan ; Margaret. One of the features
of the furnishing of the First National Bank Building is an oil painting of the
president, Michael J. Murray, a gift to the bank from the children above enum-
erated, in honor of their father.
MICHAEL J. MURRAY JR.
A son of Michael J. Murray, president of the First National Bank of Dun-
more, and grandson of Peter Murray, the founder of this branch of the Mur-
ray family in the United States, Michael J. Murray Jr. has achieved prominence
in his community in his own right. The settlement of his forbears in Dunmore,
Pennsylvania, dates from 1853, and in the more than half century of residence,
no name has become more favorably or better known.
Michael J. (2) Murray, son of Michael J. (i) Murray and his first wife.
Bridget (Carney) Murray, was born in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, January 20,
1878. His youth was spent in acquiring a public school education, and after
passing through the Dunmore schools he took a full course at Stroudsburg
State Normal School, there fitting himself for the profession of teacher. After
his graduation from Normal School he taught for two years in the Dunmore
schools, first as assistant and second as principal. He then decided to pre-
pare for the legal profession and entered the law department of the University
of Pennsylvania. He was graduated LL. B., class of 1902, and in the samt
year was admitted to the Lackawanna county bar, beginning practice the same
year. He was in due season admitted to the state and federal courts of the
district and is now well established in practice. In October, 1904, he was ap-
pointed justice of the peace to fill a vacancy, and at the election in 1905 wai
duly elected for a full term. In February, 1910, he was re-elected and is yet
in office. He is also attorney for the Dunmore School District ; attorney for
the First National Bank of Dunmore ; attorney for and a director of the
Northern Anthracite Coal Company, of Murray, Sullivan county, Pennsyl-
vania. He is a member of the State and County Bar associations, and is highly
regarded by his professional brethren. Although one of the younger members
of the Lackawanna bar, he has won distinction as a learned and able lawyer,
and one in whom all confidence may safely be placed.
He married, in 1904, Alice M., daughter of James and Cecelia Gilmartin.
Children: Clare, born August 20, 1906; Agnes, November 28, 1907; Alice,
July 30, 191 1 ; James Francis, November 9, 1912.
O ^.^^ypi^
'^
CITY OF SCRANTON
ADELBERT E. ROGERS
353
Although a native born Pennsylvanian, Mr. Rogers spent a part of his early
life in Binghamton, New York, and there learned the trade and business he
now is engaged in at Scranton. He is the son of George W. Rogers, born in
Wayne county, Pennsylvania, in 1833, died in 1887. He was a conductor on
the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad and during his long term of
service resided in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Binghamton, New York, Honesdale,
Pennsylvania, and Waymart, Pennsylvania. He married Eliza Harris, of
Honesdale, who survived him twenty-four years dying in 191 1. Children:
Alvadora, Theodore, Adelbert E., of whom further, and William W.
Adelbert E. Rogers, son of George W. and Eliza (Harris) Rogers, was
born in Waymart, Pennsylvania, December 12, 1862. He was educated in the
public schools of Scranton and of Binghamton, New York, finishing his studies
in the high school of the latter city. He there became a jeweler's apprentice
and thoroughly mastered the watchmaker's trade. He continued work at his
trade in Binghamton until 1885, when he located in Scranton, working for
C. W. Freeman until 1889, when he started in business for himself. He built
up a good business along conventional jewelers' lines, continuing until 191 1,
when the corporation, A. E. Rogers Company, was formed with Adelbert E.
Rogers, president, E. M. Rogers, vice-president, J. W. McAuric, secretary and
treasurer. The firm is well known to the trade as manufacturing jewelers
and silversmiths, located at No. 425 Lackawanna avenue. Mr. Rogers is thor-
oughly practical in his knowledge of the jewelry business in its manufacturing,
wholesale and retail branches and conducts the large business of his company
with judgment and success. He is a member of Union Lodge, No. 291, Scran-
ton, F. and A. M., holds the thirty-second degree in Scottish Rite Masonry and
is a Noble of the Mystic Shrine.
He married, in 1893, Eva M., daughter of Dr. H. M. Kelly, of Nicholson,
Pennsylvania. Children: Florence E., born May 28, 1894; Geraldine K., born
May 12, 1896; Grace M., born March 17, 1898.
GEORGE C. BROWN, M. D.
Scion of a New England family and a native of the state of New York,
George C. Brown, of this chronicle, has achieved prominence and honorable
position in the medical profession and for more than twenty years has given
of his services to the Dunmore community, where he is held in general likin.g
and universal high regard. He is a grandson of Asa Brown, born in Vermont,
April 25, 1795. He was a farmer in calling and moved with his family to
Wyoming county. New York, where he resided until his death, August 8,
i860. He married Susan Mosher, born in Vermont, August 24, 1782, died
October 6, 1881. both being buried in Wyoming county. New York.
Milton R. Brown, son of Asa and Susan ( Mosher ) Brown, was born in
Vermont, December 29, 1824, died in Gainesville, New York, April 3, 1900.
He moved with his parents to New York, and in that state engaged in the
publishing business, also owning and operating a farm. He married Caroline
Hardin, born in New York state, September 8, 1824, died in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, May 21, 1883, while in search of relief from the poor health
from which she had suffered. They were the parents of five sons and three
daughters.
Dr. George C. Brown, son of Milton R. and Caroline (Hardin) Brown,
was bom in Wethersfield, Wyoming county. New York, April 23, 1858, and
was there reared. He attended the Gainesville and the Pike seminaries, obtain-
23
354 CITY OF SCRANTON
ing his professional education in the University of Pennsylvania, at Philadal-
phia, whence he was graduated in the class of 1880. After making a European
tour he was for four months ship's physician in the employ of the Red Star
Steamship Company, serving on vessels on the transatlantic passenger trade.
He then entered upon the practice of his profession in Gainesville, New York,
and was there located for ten years, spending the two following years in
Avoca, Pennsylvania, and then moved to Dunmore, Pennsylvania, in which
place he is now a successful practitioner. Outside of a large general practice,
Mr. Brown serves as medical examiner for numerous insurance companies, and
holds membership in the County, State, and American Medical associations,
at one time having held the office of district censor for several years. He holds
membership in the Royal Arcanum, and in political action is a Democrat.
As a physician Dr Brown stands in the front rank of his profession, and
during his Dunmore residence has become a worthy member of that calling in
the borough. In private and professional life his actions are directed by a
lofty sense of honor, and the generous instincts of his nature have caused him
to give liberally of his professional services to those in need. A wide circle
of friends testify to his many agreeable and lovable traits of character.
He married Florence Rowland, born in Pike county, Pennsylvania, daugh-
ter of George Rowland, who moved from Syracuse, New York, to Pike
county, Pennsylvania, in young manhood, and was at different times a repre-
sentative to the Pennsylvania Legislature from Pike county.
JUDGE JAMES J. O'NEILL
For five years a judge of the court of common pleas in the Scranton dis-
trict, the capable manner in which James J. O'Neill has filled the judicial
position to which he was elected in 1909 has brought him into prominent
notice as a jurist of fine and discriminating judgment and as a student of the
law who has delved deep into his subject, his earnest study productive of a
knowledge wide and certain. Temperate reasoning and integrity incorruptible
complete his full qualifications for his high office, in which under his present
ten-year term he remains until 1919. The presidency of such a jvidge has
given to the attorneys appearing before Judge O'Neill assurance and con-
fidence that merit and soundly based legal argument alone will avail, and to
litigants that justice and the right will be unfailingly upheld.
Judge James J. O'Neill, son of Hugh and Ann (Henry) O'Neill, was
born in Carbondale, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, April 27, 1854. He
was reared in the place of his birth, there attending the public schools, com
pleting his education in an institution maintained by the Christian Brothers in
New York. Subsequently he became a student at law in the office of Judgi:
P. P. Smith, of Honesdale, and in 1882 was admitted to the bar of Wayne
county, two years later gaining entrance to the bar of Lackawanna count}.
While building up a large private practice he was assistant district attorney
under Judge Kelly, and at the same time became prominent in political mat-
ters, for several years serving as chairman of the Democratic county committee.
He served two years as mayor of Carbondale, and was city solicitor of that
city for one term. In 1909 he was the Democratic candidate for the judgeship
he now occupies, and has served half of a ten-year term. Judge O'Neill is a
lawyer of established reputation, and the high legal ability and wise perspicac-
ity he has displayed while upon the bench has given added lustre to the fame
achieved as an advocate.
Judge James J. O'Neill is a member of the Sportsmen of America, the
Knights of Columbus, and the Catholic ^Mutual Benefit Association. His club
is the Scranton, and he is a communicant of St. Rose Roman Catholic Church.
CITY OF SCRANTON 355
LEONARD G. REDDING, M. D.
A physician of five years' standing, Leonard G. Redding, M. D., of Dun-
more, Pennsylvania, has in that brief period attained a position in his profes-
sion that is at once worthy and responsible, one to the arduous duties of
which he ably measures up and in which he has gained favorable recognition.
Dr. Leonard G. Redding is the only child of William and Catherine (Con-
roy) Redding, and was born on Jefferson avenue, Scranton, Pennsylvania,
July 27, 1885. His public school education was obtained in the public institu-
tions of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, after which he became a student in St.
Thomas' College, the medical profession then attracting him to its study.
Matriculating in Medico-Chirurgical College, of Philadelphia, he was grad-
uated therefrom in the class of 1908. passing the following year in the Scran-
ton State Hospital, and in igog began general practice in Dunmore. There he
continues to the present time, having been elected a member of the local board
of health, caring for the needs of the large clientele that he has gradually
acquired, living a busy and useful professional life. For the past three year's
he has been on the staff of the Scranton State Hospital, the institution with
which he was formerly connected, and during 1913-1914 served as chairman of
the public policy committee of Lackawanna county. The County, State and
American Medical associations held his name upon their rolls, and thus,
as in numerous other ways, he keeps in touch with the newest developments
in his ever advancing, ever changing calling. His church is St. Mary's Roman
Catholic, and he is an. adherent to Republican principles. Dr. Redding's home
is at No. 106 Blakely street, Dunmore, Pennsylvania, where he lives with his
widowed mother.
REV. JOHN J. RUDDY
In Rev. John J. Ruddy the priesthood of the Roman Catholic church has
a member who for nearly four decades has devoted his life to the service of
the church. He is a native of Pennsylvania, has made that state the field of h's
labors and has produced therefrom wonderful fruits for Christianity and hi?
church. He was born in Hawley, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, November
24, 1850, and was reared in Scranton. Educated for the ministry of the Ro-
man Catholic church, he was ordained in 1877. From that time until the
present the story of his life is one of continuous service, first for twenty years
in the western part of Pennsylvania, and since 1899 '" Scranton, Hyde Park,
Ashley, Parson and Dunmore, in which last-named place he is now located.
His pastorates have all been successful ones, marked by an increase in
spiritual and material welfare in the congregations to which he has ministered,
and in his service in Dimmore a past of achievement leads to a future of
promise, to be fulfilled under his leadership.
FRANK S. BENEDICT
Sufficient time will never elapse for those who knew Frank S. Benedict to
forget the manliness of his character and the purity of the motives that filled
his life. To few men it is given to hold so universally the respect and regard
of so large a number of friends during life, and to the memory of a smaller
number is accorded the reverent love that follows him even after his departure
from his daily path. At his death he was past the allotted three score years
and ten, and for twenty-five years had lived retired from the mercantile opera-
tions that had filled his active years and in which he achieved success and
356 CITY OF SCRANTON
fortune. His disposition was sunshiny, and his cheerfulness and humor t.u
infective as to brighten the Hves of those with whom he came in contact.
Unselfish, he was always considerate of the feelings of others. He was noted
for his sterling integrity and his whole life was noble.
Of old Massachusetts, New England, stock, Frank S. Benedict was born
at Starrucca, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, February 6, 1836, died February
9, 1913. He was the son of David Benedict, who came from Massachusetts,
and who died in April, 1875, aged seventy-five years, and Sarah Benedict, who
died August 6, 1871, aged sixty-four years, and of a family of eight children:
Nelson M. ; Truman ; Ruth, widow of Nelson Callendar ; Frank S. ; Albert
H. ; Delia, widow of Samuel Clark; Mira, widow of Columbus H. Hubbard;
Olive, wife of T. K. Laidler. Frank S. Benedict is survived by one brother,
Albert H., of Green Grove, Pennsylvania, and two sisters, Olive, wife of T. K.
Laidler, of Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, and Mira Hubbard, of Scranton,
widow of Columbus H. Hubbard. Frank S. Benedict was reared in the county
of his birth, and in boyhood was a student in the village school, later at-
tending Madison University. He afterwards went to Poughkeepsie, New
York, studied under Professor Stoddard, and graduated from one of the best
business colleges in the land. Then becoming a clerk in Major Strong's mer-
cantile establishment, he was so employed until the beginning of active war-
fare between the North and South, when he enlisted August 5, 1861, in Com-
pany F, First Regiment of Light Artillery, recruited in Wayne county, Penn-
sylvania. Prior to the battle of Antietam he was raised to the rank of corporal,
and in that conflict received a severe wound in the hand, as a result of which
he was for several months confined in the hospital, subsequently receiving
honorable discharge from the service. Returning from the front, he came
to Scranton, then followed an active mercantile life at Green Grove near
Scranton, during which time he was also postmaster, a combination of duties
frequently found in rural districts. He then retired from trade, took a trip
through the west, and for about ten years resided at Clarks Green, Pennsyl-
vania, whence he moved to Scranton where he remained for twelve years,
afterwards making his home at No. 1712 Madison avenue. During the last
quarter of his life he purchased a considerable amount of property in Scranton,
Dunmore and vicinity. Fraternally Mr. Benedict was a member of the Ma-
sonic Order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In religion he and
his family were regular attendants of the Methodist Episcopal church, Mr.
Benedict participating in the services as choir leader, for which position a
strong and musical voice well fitted him. Music was his delight, and in its
enjoyment he and his friends spent many happy hours. He was a logical
thinker and careful reader ; and as he was a staunch supporter of the right
and naturally refined his influence was always ennobling and helpful. Tem-
perance ruled his life in word and action as well as in matters of physical
import. His political party was the Republican. As a sportsman he was an
enthusiast in hunting and fishing, and took advantage whenever opportunity
ofifered for recreation.
Mr. Benedict married Katherine Smith, born in Green Grove, Pennsyl-
vania, daughter of Valentine and Eliza (Fellers) Smith, and had one daugh-
ter, Cora Mae, a graduate of the Scranton High and Training Schools, having
taken a special course in music and art and specialized in vocal culture at
Wyoming Seminary, and for two and one-half years a teacher in Scranton
Public School, No. 27 ; married H. Earle Morgan, a government employee
in the Scranton post office, and has two sons, Frank Benedict and Robert
Earle. Her home is with her mother at No. 171 2 Madison avenue.
Born of Christian parents, in youth Mr. Benedict dedicated his life to God.
CITY OF SCRANTON 357
The teachings of His Holy Word he followed in precept and example all the
days of his life. The Sabbath day always found him in church, weighing the
thought of the sermon and assisting in singing or leading the choir. He at-
tended Sabbath school and for many years was Sunday school superintendent.
His home influence was ideal and his loss is keenly felt. He loved his home
and family devotedly and was a most thoughtful and tender husband and
father. As he was ever of a kind and jovial disposition and optimistic in all
his views of life, his genial nature won for him a host of friends. Broad-
minded, even-tempered at all times and deeply sympathetic, he was an interest-
ing conversationalist and companion. It was his desire to serve others, and he
was the special friend of the strugglling and deserving young man, the coun-
sellor and confidant of many such. He is gone! Yes, but he still lives; his
friends will never forget the sweetness of his disposition. Kindness and good
cheer radiated from his spirit as perennially as sunshine and warmth radiate
from the orb of day. His faith was in the Son of God, and he abides with
those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb.
MARION D. SNYDER, M. D.
One of the two sons of David N. Snyder who have chosen the medical pro-
fession as the field of their careers. Dr. Marion D. Snyder, of Dunmore, Penn-
sylvania, has in the seventeen years that have elapsed since his entrance into
that calling achieved worthy position and made an honorable record.
David N. Snyder was born in Scott township, Lackawanna county, Penn-
sylvania, and there passed his early life, the beginning of the Civil War finding
him a soldier in the volunteer ranks of the Union. He served throughout
the four years of the war, and although his company was numerously en-
gaged and saw some severe fighting, he was neither wounded nor taken prisoner
during that time. y\fter the war he made his home in Susquehanna county,
Pennsylvania, and there his wife, Mary J. Snyder (not a relative) died, aged
forty-five years. Mr. Snyder owned land one mile east of Dundaff, Pennsyl-
vania, and there since resided. He is a member of the Baptist church, as was
also his wife. David N. Snyder is a loyal Republican in political sympathy
and action, having been elected to several local offices as the candidate of that
party, and is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and the
Masonic Order. David N. and Mary J. (Snyder) Snyder were the parents
of five children, their eldest child, a daughter, dying in infancy. Those who
attained mature age are: Abram E., a physician of New Milford. Susquehanna
county, Pennsylvania; Ella M., a trained nurse, educated for her profession
in the New York Training School ; Myrtle B., now deceased, was a trained
nurse of New York City, married Charles Marvin, an attorney of New York
City ; Marion D., of whom further.
Dr. Marion D. Snyder, youngest of the five children of David N. and Mary
J. (Snyder) Snyder, was born in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, May
27, 1870. After obtaining an elementary and preparatory education in the pub-
lic schools and Keystone Academy he entered Jefferson Medical College, of
Philadelphia, whence he was graduated in 1896. January i, of the following
year, found him established in "the practice of his profession in Dimmore, Penn-
sylvania, where he has since been located. His work has been general in
character and he has frequently found his surgical training of use and benefit,
while the passing years have steadily raised him to positions of greater in-
fluence among his professional brethren. He is recognized as a physician of
upright and manly attributes, a thorough master of his profession, and those
358 CITY OF SCRANTON
whom he serves in a professional capacity place in him the most absolute trust
and confidence. Dr. Snyder is medical examiner for the local Brotherhood of
Railroad Engineers and Firemen, the Mutual Life Insurance Company, also
serving numerous other organizations in a similar capacity. He is a member
of the Lackawanna County Medical Association.
Dr. Snyder married Kathryn Birdsall, a native of Susquehanna county,
Pennsylvania, daughter of William Birdsall, and they have two children,
Marion David and Gordon.
EDWARD W. OSTERHOUT
For many years one of the representative business men of Scranton and
vicinity, and one who made his influence felt in business circles and many
other lines, was the late Edward W. Osterhout. He was born June 9, 1864,
in Nicholson, Pennsylvania, died June 20, 1912, buried in Dunmore Cemetery.
He was brought by his parents to Dunmore, aged seven years, where he
grew up, and after finishing the course in the public schools of the place he
attended Eastman's Business College, at Poughkeepsie, New York, leaving
that institution in 1884 with the foundations well laid for beginning a business
career. At first he was associated with his father in the building, contracting
and lumber business and the business through his initiative and energy be-
came imbued with new strength and vigor; the firm of W. D. Osterhout &
Son which continued as such up to 1905, the year of death of the elder Mr.
Osterhout, was in the forefront of firms of its line, second to none in poinc
of excellence of workmanship and satisfaction to its patrons. Edward W.
Osterhout had fraternal connections with King Solomon Lodge. No. 584,
F. and A. M., of Dunmore; K. of P., Lodge No. 167, and while in business
was also a member of the Builders' Exchange of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Mr.
Osterhout was an ardent believer in the principles and policies of the Demo-
cratic party, but in no sense a politician, finding that he could best express his
opinion at the ballot box in favor of those candidates who in his best judg-
ment ministered to the public good and not bosses with only personal end'^
and aims in view.
Edward W. Osterhout married, September 15, 1885, Mary E. Herold,
daughter of Charles and Ann M. (Finkler) Herold, of North Main avenue,
Scranton. Children: i. Cora, born June, 1887, died at the age of two and a
half years. 2. William J., born February 13, 1890; educated at Dunmore
school, and is now engaged as a printer at I. C. S. ; past chancellor of Dunmore
Lodge, No. 167. K. of P., and member of Camp No. 795, P. O. S. of A., Peters-
burg. 3. Ralph E., born February 28, 1893 ; educated at Dunmore school ; now
engaged in the operation of a private auto garage ; member of Dunmore Lodge,
No. 167, K. of P., and Junior Order LTnited American Mechanics. 4. and 5.
Twins, Beth and Ruth, born August 30, 1894; at home. 6. Helen, born August
21, 1896; at home. The family home is at No. 159 East Grove street, Dun-
more, where Mrs. Osterhout is favorably known for the generous hospitality
which she extends to all who come within the circle of her acquaintance. She
is a member of the Eastern Star, Martha Washington Chapter, No. 3, and also
attends the Methodist Episcopal church.
FRANCIS LEO MURPHY, M. D.
A graduate of the Dunmore High School, educated for the medical pro-
fession in a southern university. Dr. Francis Leo Murphy is one of the latest
additions to Dunmore's competent corps of medical men, and has before him
CITY OF SCRANTON 359.
every prospect for a life of professional usefulness and good. His ancestry is
Irish, his father, John C. Murphy, having been born in Ireland, and after im-
migrating to the United States became a jobber. He married Mary McMunn,
of Carbondale, Pennsylvania, and had seven children, four sons and three
daughters.
Dr. Francis Leo Murphy, youngest of the seven children of John C. and
Mary ( McAlunn ) ^lurphy, was born in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, May 20.
1890. He received his scholastic training in the public schools of that place,
graduating from the high school in the class of 1909. Strongly attracted to
the medical profession he entered the medical department of Georgetown
University, at Washington, District of Columbia, completing his course in
that institution in 1913. Since that time he has been engaged in practice in the
borough of his birth, and is now connected with the State Hospital at Scran-
ton. He is examiner for Erie Railroad, Brotherhood of Trainmen, and Pro-
tected Home Circle. He is a member of Washington Council, Washington,
D. C. Knights of Columbus, and the Phi Beta Phi fraternity, to which he was
elected while at Georgetown University. His church is St. Mary's Roman
Catholic.
JOHN J. GILLIGAN
The arrival of the year 1914 ushered from the office of burgess of the
borough of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, John J. Gilligan, the incumbent of that
office since March i, 1909. Born in Dunmore, he has ever since lived in that
borough, and has there built up a business in fire insurance and real estate deal-
ing, a business founded on the same trustworthiness and stability of characte-
that placed him in the office of chief executive and that has given him prom-
inent position in local afifairs.
He is of Irish descent, his father, John Gilligan, born in Ireland. He
was there reared and educated, in young manhood coming to the United
States, where he married. His occupation was that of miner, and he was so
employed throughout his active years, dying aged seventy-one years. He
was a Democrat in politics, and with his wife held membership in the Roman
Catholic church. He married Anna Cunnion, a native of Scotland, who now
resides with her daughter, Mrs. Edward Cawley, at No. 224 West Drinker
street, Dunmore, Pennsylvania. They were the parents of si.x daughters and
two sons, all now living with the exception of one daughter.
John J. Gilligan, third child of John and Anna (Cunnion) Gilligan, wa^
born in Dunmore, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, July 21, 1877. As a
youth he attended the public educational institutions of that place. His first
employment was in tl'.e coal breaker of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, after
which he was for fourteen years a clerk in the general store conducted by
F. T. Mongan. In the meantime he had secured an agency for a reliable fire
insurance company, and as his dealings in this line increased in volume he
devoted his entire time thereto, adding real estate dealing, in which he now
continues. He is a member of the Scranton Council, Knights of Columbus,
Dunmore Council, Young Men's Institute, Dunmore Lodge, Woodmen of the
World, Scranton Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Scran-
ton Bicycle Club, the Old Girard Club, of Scranton, the Eclipse Hose Com-
pany, and St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church. His political beliefs are Demo-
cratic and it was as the candidate of this party that he was elected burgess of
Dunmore, in which office he achieved a splendid record. During the course
of his administration many municipal improvements were inaugurated and
carried to a successful conclusion, among them the laying of pavements
36o CITY OF SCRANTON
throughout the borough ; the signing of a new lease with an electric lighting
company with more efficient service at a reduced rate : the equipment of the
fire company with a motor truck, the installation of which reduced insurance
rates twenty-five per cent. ; the organization of adequate police protection ; and
the completion of the sewer system, which is now the equal of that of any
borough of the size of Dunmore. This is but part of the benefits he ad-
vocated and secured for the borough through immediate legislation, and Dun-
more gratefully remembers an administration productive of so much good.
Mr. Gilligan married Susan M. Kennedy, a native of Binghamton, New
York, and had one child, deceased. Their home is at No. 1531 Electric
street, Dunmore.
MARCUS L. DEUBLER
Marcus L. Deubler, a contractor of Scranton, is a descendant of Fred-
erick Deubler, a native of Germany, who upon coming to the United States
made his home in Barrett township, Monroe county, Pennsylvania. In this
locality he conducted agricultural operations during his active career, and was
twice married. By his first marriage he was the father of: i. Frederick, mar-
ried a Miss Smith ; children : Jane, Charlotte, Emily, Delilah, James, Watson,
Frank, Newton. 2. John, married Lydia Mann ; children : Ellen, Amy, Wil-
liam, George, Annie. 3. Alexander, married a Miss Rockerfeller ; children :
Henry and Eliza. 4. Edward, married Hannah Lunnex ; children : Charles,
Robert, Sophia, Katie, Maud, Mena. 5. George, married and was the
father of fourteen children. 6. Christian, married and had children:
James, Nathan, Levi, Alfred, Ella. 7. Henry, of whom further. 8. Nathan,
a resident of Wisconsin ; married and had six children. 9. Catherine, mar-
ried Nicholas Lisk ; children : Lizzie, Ellen, Ida. 10. Lizzie, married Adam
Hensler; children: Conrad, Adam, Kate, Lizzie, Maggie. Children of second
marriage of Frederick Deubler: 11. Martin. 12. Otto, married and had
children : Dora, Rowen, Nelson. 13. Dora.
(II) Henry Deubler, son of the first marriage of Frederick Deubler, was
born in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1836. He married Luretta Boyer, and
had children: i. Charles W., a farmer and school teacher, married Annie
Starner; fifteen children, two of his children deceased. 2. Horace E., a farme*'
until he attained mature age, then a stenographer, at the present time cashier
of the Pine Bush Bank of New York ; married Mary Mann ; three children.
3. Marcus L., of whom further. 4. Lewis R., died October 15, 1891. 5. Flora
C, married Chester Staples ; children : Clara, Belle, Ella, Francis, Marvin,
Arthur. 6. William K., a contracting builder of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania,
owner of much real estate in that place and a member of the common council.
7. Edward, deceased ; married Anna Price. 8. Ida, married Grove Gilpin ;
one daughter, Etta. 9. Harry, married Jennie Whittaker ; two children. 10.
Daisy.
(III) Marcus L. Deubler, son of Henry and Luretta (Boyer) Deubler,
was born at Factory ville, Pennsylvania, April 22, 1862. Until he was four-
teen years of age he was a student in the public schools at Canadensis, then
working on his father's farm. After mastering the mason's trade he studied
civil engineering under the tutelage of George S. Schafer, at one time sur-
veyor of Monroe county. Upon attaining his majority he began to follow his
trade, that of mason, working at all of its branches, stone masonry, brick
laying, and plastering, also doing considerable stone cutting. He became super-
intendent of construction on buildings in New York City, Scranton, Pennsyl-
vania, and Newark, New Jersey, in 1883 being engaged in work on the Vosburg
^^^Qy\ 6AyU)^^ Js)^i.,,..<J^Cf^
CITY OF SCRANTON 361
Tunnel. In 1886 Mr. Deubler moved to Scranton and for three years was there
employed ; among the numerous buildings upon whose erection he was en-
gaged were the Moses Taylor Hospital and the Lackawanna County Jail, and
in 1889 he went to New York. While working on the Prudential Insurance
Building in Newark, New Jersey, he formed a connection with Crowell Mundy
that endured for four years, and which was followed by three years of as-
sociation with the Standard Oil Company, at Bayonne, New Jersey. Then,
after a four years' relation with Norcross Brothers, of New York City, Mr.
Deubler returned to Scranton, where he has since remained. While em-
ployed as erecting engineer for Edwin S. Williams, of Scranton, he superin-
tended the building of the State Hospital, the Manual Training School, the
building of the Young Men's Christian Association and that of the Railroad
Young Men's Christian Association, and the Delaware Water Gap Station, his
association with Mr. Williams ending in 1907, when Mr. Deubler established
in independent contracting operations. Since that time he has erected under
his own name some of the finest residences in the city, and has created a favor-
able impression by the excellent specimens of his work that adorn Scranton.
Among these may be mentioned Charles Schrader's residence, one of the finest
in the city ; rebuilding James Connell's residence, also George H. Catlin's resi-
dence and many others. In no way could he have been better fitted for the
work he has undertaken and in which he has been so uniformly successful,
since his employers have long entrusted all practical arrangements to his wist
and experienced judgment. In his work, since in business for himself, Mr.
Deubler has secured able assistants, men whose knowledge of the business and
whose ability conforms to the high standard he has reared, which is evidenced
in the many edifices beautifying the city, erected under his direction.
Mr. Deubler is a member of the Immanuel Baptist Church, an Independent
in politics, fraternizes with the Masonic Order and the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, in the former society belonging to Union Lodge, Free and
Accepted Masons, and in the latter to Friendship Lodge, No. 11, of New
Jersey, and to Providence Encampment.
Mr. Deubler married, in 1885, Linda, daughter of Julius Gorman, of Wayne
county, Pennsylvania, and has an adopted daughter, Frances.
ROY EUGENE COBB
The Electric City Throwing Mills, one of the largest throwing mills of the
city of Scranton, is served at the present time by representatives of two genera-
tions of the Cobb family. William Jasper, treasurer, and his son. Roy Eugene,
secretary and manager. The name Cobb has long been a familiar one in
Scranton, the family having early settled in Slocum Hollow from its New
York home.
(I) Mount Cobb, Pennsylvania, bears the family name, and in this place
Asa Cobb, grandfather of Roy E. Cobb, was minister of the Methodist church
nearly all of his life. Asa Cobb married Elizabeth Enslin and they had eight
children : Mary Elizabeth, who married W. G. Doud, a well known hardware
merchant in Scranton ; Ida, a musician : Lillian, a missionary in China, mar-
ried Henry Ferguson and had four children ; Jennie, married George Rozelle,
a fruit grower in California; Lulu; Eugene, farmer, in 1867 journeyed to tlie
gold fields of California, and after returning married Adelaide Snyder; John
G., farmer and lumberman of Maple Lake, married Frances Wilson, sister of
John Wilson, a well known Scranton attorney, and they have two children;
William Jasper, of whom further.
(II) William Jasper Cobb, son of Asa Cobb, was born in Mount Cobb.
362 CITY OF SCRANTON
Pennsylvania, in 1857, and lived on his father's farm until he was seventeen
years old. In that time he acquired a good education in the public schools.
He supplemented this training with a course in Wyoming Seminary. His
first business venture was as a lumberman at Marshwood. For seven years
he served as justice of the peace of Jefferson township, Lackawanna county,
Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Alasonic Order and the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows. In March, 1885, he married Harriet Almeda Kizer,
daughter of John D. Kizer, a well known lumberman of Kizers, Pennsylvania.
This union was blessed with five children: Roy Eugene, of whom further;
Grace, Wyoming Seminary graduate ; Leila, an accomplished musician ; Isa-
belle, Wilson College graduate and violinist ; Willard, still in the gramma:
schools.
(Ill) Roy Eugene Cobb, oldest son of William Jasper Cobb, was born at
Marshwood, Pennsylvania, January 26. 1886. He studied for a time in the
public schools, then went to Bellefonte Academy, and later went to Wyoming
Seminary. After completing a business course at Wyoming Seminary, he be-
came secretary of the Ashley Silk Company. Later he was elected manager
of that company. When the Electric City Throwing Mills was organized, he
was elected secretary-manager of that company. His capable administration
of this position is full of promise and future time will record his deeds anci
accomplishments in the business and industrial world. He is a member of the
Second Presbyterian Church. Politically he is affiliated with the Republican
party. On April 15, 1914, he married Marguerite Weeks, youngest sister of
Ralph E. Weeks.
EDWIN S. WILLIAMS
As father and son, the name has been intimately connected with large
building operations in Scranton ever since 1862, when Jeremiah Williams
located in this city, where hardly a street but some building stands as a monu-
ment to skill of either father or son. Not only has Edwin S. Williams demon-
strated his ability in actual construction, but in the founding of builders' ex-
changes perhaps no man in this country has been more active or useful.
While neither streets nor buildings constitute a city, but its inhabitants, so to
the building of this human side of Scranton Mr. Williams has also con-
tributed valuable service. As a citizen he has been allied with the forces of
good working through church and social organizations for all that concerns
the public welfare.
Jeremiah Williams was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, iir
1830, died in Scranton in 1892. He spent his early life in Stroudsburg and
there learned the mason's trade, beginning contracting when quite a young man
and continuing until 1862, when he moved to Scranton. He at once began
business as a contractor and builder, continuing in successful operation until
his death. In connection with his building operations he had a stone quarry
at Nicholson for about eight years and another at West Mountain from which
flagging and cut stone was produced. A few of his largest operations were
the erection of the Second National Pjank. now used as offices by the Scranton
Railway Company ; the McCann Building on Lackawanna avenue ; the Handley
Building and several for Richard McHugh, which have since b-cn remodeled;
the brick work on the old Penn Avenue Baptist Church, now the Columb-'a
Theatre ; the Hunt and Connell Building at the corner of Lackawanna and
Wyoming avenues. He also built the Roman Catholic church at Susquehanna
and a great many other buildings outside of Scranton. He was not only a
reliable builder but a man of straightforward manner and upright life, hold-
CITY OF SCRANTON 363
ing the esteem and confidence of all who had dealings with him. He was a
Republican in politics, a member of the Masonic Order, and attended the
Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife was a member.
He married ( first ) Mary Diehl, born in Stroudsburg, who bore him three
children: Ellen, married C. H. Chandler; Edwin S. ; and one who died in child-
hood. Mrs. Mary Williams died in 1869, aged thirty-seven years. Jeremiah
Williams married ( second ) Mildred Leary, born in Canada by whom he had ;
Frederick, now of Kansas; George W., now of Schenectady, New York;
Bessie.
Edwin S. Williams, only son of Jeremiah and Mary (Diehl) Williams, was
born in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, October 27, 1862. He attended public
school No. I, in Scranton, until he was fourteen years of age, then entered the
business of life by beginning work with his father, then worked in the planing
mill of Hull & Parker, receiving as wages twenty-five cents per day. In the
morning before going to work he delivered the Times over a route in the
city, which increased his weekly earnings considerably. After a year in the
planing mill, he began learning the stone cutter's trade, continuing until he
was nineteen years of age. He was then placed in charge of his father's stone
quarry at Nicholson, but soon after leased a quarry which he operated on his
own account, continuing quarrying there and in other places for about ten
years. In the meantime he established a cut stone yard in Scranton and later
began contracting the stone for buildings and then added building construction.
His first large contract was to cut the stone used in the erection of the new
County Jail and a little later he furnished the cut stone for the City Hall,
erected in 1888. He also obtained the contract to lay the sidewalks around
Court House Square, and then began figuring on contracts for an entire build-
ing. He secured a number of small contracts, one of the first being the re-
modeling of N. Morton's store after a fire had partially destroyed it. About
the same time he did the mason and steel work on what is now known as the
Weeks Building. This was in 1892 and he was yet running his stone yard, in
fact, did so until 1898, when he began devoting himself exclusively to the erec-
tion of buildings. He has built a number of fine private residences including
the Jordan house on North Park, the Barryman and C. P. Matthews residences.
The notable public and business buildings he has erected include the Scranton
Savings Bank, the Young Men's Christian Association, the Railway Young
Men's Christian Association, Immanuel Baptist Church, the State Hospital,
Hahnemann Hospital, the brick work on the Karser \'alley Shops and on build-
ing and round house at Taylor for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western ;
depots for the same company at Harrison, New Jersey ; Moscow, Clarks Sum-
mit, Delaware Water Gap, Bangor, Pennsylvania ; Norwich, New York ; a
round house at Utica, New York ; coal pocket at Syracuse, New York, and the
brick works on the company shops at Ampere and Kingsland, New Jersey.
He did the interior mason work on the Church of the Nativity, Scranton. re-
modeled the Williams and McAnulty Building for the Globe Warehouse Com-
pany, erected public school buildings Nos. 9, 13 and 23, an addition to No. 33.
and many others. He bears a high reputation as an honorable and capable
builder, and an upright man and a good citizen. He has the courage of his
strong convictions, is tenacious of purpose, an untiring worker and fully alive
to the responsibilities of life. He early in life embraced the cause of prohibi-
tion and has steadfastly maintained that principle. He has sufifered himself
to be placed at the head of their ticket as candidate for mayor and city con-
troller, not in the expectation or hope of election but to show his devotion
to an unpopular cause, in which he firmly believes as the correct and only
solution of the liquor problem. For twelve years he was president of the
364 CITY OF SCRANTON
Builders' Exchange of Scranton and has been instrumental in the organization
of many similar bodies in other places. In 1903 he aided in the forming of a
State Association of Builders' Exchanges, and in 1907 in forming a National
Association of the same. He is a member of Peter Williamson Lodge, Free
and Accepted Masons, and of Immanuel Baptist Church, of which he is a
deacon. He also served ten years as assistant superintendent and teacher m
the Sunday school and two years as superintendent. For nineteen years he was
a member of the Vesper Literary Society, three terms its president, and is
now president of Vesper League of Immanuel Church. Just now in the full
vigor of his manhood, Mr. Williams' opportunities of usefulness are full of
promise.
Mr. Williams married Grace H. White, in Plantsville, Connecticut, Decem-
ber 18, 1893. Children : Louise M., Marjorie O., Francis E.
CHARLES L. MERCEREAU
For forty years Charles L. Mercereau was active in the business world
of Scranton as a jewelry dealer, and for the past eight years he has lived
retired in that city. Mr. Mercereau may look back over a career that em-
bodies not only success in business, but which includes two and a half years of
service that sounded the greatest depths of patriotism and the firmest founda-
tions of manhood, these being spent in the Union army during the Civil War.
He is a descendant of a family of French origin, which was founded in the
United States by Huguenot ancestors who fled their native country upon the
revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Their first place of refuge was England,
but James the Second having just ascended the throne, they feared further
persecution, and continued their migration to America. Captain Lawrence
Mercereau, an ancestor of the Mr. Mercereau of this sketch, was in Paris
at the time of the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, escaped with his family to
England, later immigrating to America, where he arrived at the time of the
arrival of William Penn. New York became the home of the branch of the
family of which Charles L. Mercereau is a member.
(III) John Mercereau, son of Joshua Mercereau, and grandson of Joshua
Mercereau, was born on Staten Island, New York, March 2, 1732, died at
Union, New York, February 21, 1820. He served with his brother Joshua
during the Revolution, the latter being a member of the New York house of
assembly from 1777 to 1786. John Mercereau was instrumental in saving the
retreat of General Washington's army after crossing the Delaware river, by
discovering a sunken boat and destroying it. He drove the post coach from
New York to Philadelphia, and at the outbreak of the war turned his horses
over to the American army. L^pon the conclusion of the war he removed with
his family, that of his brother Joshua, and many others, to the wilderness on
the banks of the Susquehanna river, and founded the village of LInion, New
York. September 25, 1804, he wrote a letter from this village to his brothei
Cornelius, residing on Staten Island, condoling upon the recent death of
their brother Jacob. In this letter he copies the record and mentions the old
Dutch Bible. The letter is now in the possession of Dr. George B. Mercereau.
of New York City. John Mercereau married (first) November i, 1756,
Maria Prawn or Prall, who died in 1770. He married (second) Barbary
Van Pelt, born October 19, 1752, died March 10, 1847. Children by first mar-
riage : Maria ; Joshua, of further mention ; Mary ; Abram and John, twins ;
Allada. Children by second marriage : David, Israel and Peter. John Mer-
cereau was also a brother to David, Mary, Caroline, Paul and Rachel.
(IV) Joshua Mercereau, son of John and Maria (Prawn or Prall) Mer-
CITY OF SCRANTON 3^5
cereau, was born on Staten Island, October 4, 1762, died December 4, 1804.
He married, December 17. 1784, Keziah Drake, born May 6, 1769-70, died
August 2, 1843, snc' after marriage removed to Union, New York. She was
a daughter of Colonel Drake, an officer under General Washington, and a
descendant of Sir Francis Drake, the famous English navigator and hero.
Children : Jane, married Elias Morse ; John D., married Sallie Skillman, and
had: Aletta, James S., Joshua, Eliza, Eliza, the second, Sarah [ane, Lydia,
Nancy, John D., Abby and Hannah; James; Barbary, married Elias Skillman,
Mary, married Kernochan ; Henry, married Catherine Bartholomew ;
Joshua, of further mention.
(V) Joshua (2) Mercereau, son of Joshua ( i ) and Keziah (Drake) Mer-
cereau, was born in Union, New York, September 25, 1804, died July 28, 1882.
He was a farmer on an extensive scale, held in high repute in the community
in which he lived for the exacting honesty and ujirightness that directed his
daily life. He was a member of the Presbyterian church. He married, March
20, 1834. Julia Lamonte, born November 8, 1814, died March 26, i860. Chil-
dren : James, a brilliant scholar and ministerial student, was born February
14, 1836, died in 1861; Keziah, born February 4, 1838, died in infancy;
Charles L., whose name heads this sketch ; Caroline L., born September 23,
1842, married Nathan Chandler, deceased; Henry C, born March 7, 1845,
married Mary Gumaer; Jane L., born April 6, 1847; Mary, born July 25,
1849, married Wallace W. Duncan; John D., born November 6, 1851, married
Geraldine Wagner: Clara, born March 20, 1854, married J. H. Nicholson.
(VI) Charles L. Mercereau, son of Joshua (2) and Julia (Lamonte) Mer-
cereau, was born in Union, New York, May 14, 1840. He attended the public
schools there until he was sixteen years of age, finishing his studies in Owego
and Athens academies. April 23, 1861, he enlisted in a regiment of volunteer
infantry, recruited in Illinois for a short term of service, in the Union army,
and was mustered out, August 31, 1861. He then became a clerk in his
brother's store, and upon the death of his brother, re-enlisted in the
Union army, this time becoming a soldier in a company of Pennsyl-
vania cavalry, which he joined August 23, 1863. In February, 1864,
this company and others were united to form the Twenty-second Regi-
ment of Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. In May, 1865, the Twenty-second
and the Eighteenth regiments of Pennsylvania cavalry were consolidated as the
Third Regiment Provisional Pennsylvania Cavalry, which was mustered out
of service, October 31, 1865, at which time Mr. Mercereau held the rank of
first lieutenant. He was actively engaged in nearly all of the battles of the
Shenandoah \'allev, and in the engagement at Mount Vernon Forge was
taken captive by the Confederate force, and sent to Libby Prison. From this
place they were transferred to Salisbury Prison, where almost unbelievable
hardships were endured, twelve thousand prisoners dying in this place of con-
finement within one year. Lieutenant Mercereau was also held prisoner at
Danville, Virginia, returning to his home just prior to the evacuation of Rich-
mond.
In 1866 he came to the city of Scranton, establishing himself at once in
the jewelry trade, was in this business forty years, retiring from active partici-
pation therein in 1906, after having built up a well patronized and flourishing
business. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and has all
his life upheld Republican principles. During his residence in Scranton, Mr.
Mercereau has formed numerous associations outside of those required by
business and, a gentleman of culture and refinement, represents a high type
of citizenship.
Mr. Mercereau married Caroline, daughter of William and Caroline Olm-
366 CITY OF SCRANTON
stead, of Union, New York. Children: Josephine, married Franl< Littell, and
has : Marion and Charles ; Burton, married Hilda Goodman and has one son,
Wayne.
ARTHUR A. WEINSCHENK
The past fourteen years have witnessed the professional labors in the
city of Scranton of Arthur A. Weinschenk, who in 1900 opened an architect's
office in this city, his training having been received under special instruction
in the University of Pennsylvania and in offices in New York City. That
space of time has been sufficient for him to gain recognition as a master of his
profession, an architect of bold and original ideas, and his work has found favor
with his professional brethren and persons of discerning taste, for whose ap-
proval he has submitted plans and drawings.
Mr. Weinschenk is a son of Anton Weinschenk, born in Wasser Alfingen.
Wittenberg, Germany, July 7, 1829. Anton Weinschenk was educated in the
schools of his native land, and there learned the trade of moulder, as a youth
of twenty years coming to Pennsylvania and locating in Carbondale, where
he was employed at his trade. Two years after his arrival in this place he
moved to Slocum Hollow (Scranton) and there entered the service of the
Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company. From the rank of moulder, in which
capacity he was first engaged, he advanced through various promotions to the
position of superintendent of the foundry, filling this important place until
his retirement in 1896. He was a trusted employee, vested with full authority
in the foundry of the company, and organized an efficient and industrious
working force, which he headed in an able manner. Mr. Weinschenk was a
musician of no mean talent, and was a member of the Burger Band, later
Diller's Band, the first organization of its kind in the city of Scranton. From
1878 to 1886 he was a member of the school board of the city, elected as an
independent, faithful in his discharge of the responsibilities and duties such
membership carried. His wife was a member of the German Lutheran Church,
which the family attended. He was president of the German Building and
Loan Association No. 9, having been a member of the boards of directors of
associations Nos. i to 8, and his son, Arthur A., succeeded him in the presi-
dency of Association No. 8. Anton Weinschenk died in 1905; his wife died
in 1909, and both are buried in Dunmore Cemetery.
He married, in 1851, Maria Christman, born in Monroe county, Pennsyl-
vania, November 25, 1834. Children: i. Elizabeth, married George F. Kellow ;
a member of the board of aldermen, representing the fourteenth ward : re-
sides in Scranton. 2. Delilah, a teacher in Scranton Public School No. 3. 3.
Delphine, married Dr. A. Kolb; resides in Scranton. 4. Arthur A., of whom
further.
Arthur A. Weinschenk was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, June 20, 1871.
He obtained his general education in the public schools of this city. After
a special course in architecture in the L^niversity of Pennsylvania, at Phila-
delphia, he was emploved in several architects' offices in New York, after
which, in 1900, he returned to Scranton and there began work in his pro-
fession. He has been successful to an unusual degree, work designed by him
apoearing in abundance throughout the locality, many of the most attractive
residences of the region executed after his plans. To a complete and thorough
knowledge of the technique of his calling he has added an individuality of
expression that distinguishes his work, and has won him praise and reputation.
Mr. Weinschenk is a Republican in political sympathy, and was at one time a
member of Company A, Thirteenth Regiment Pennsylvania National Guard.
C^jT^. (^^^l.A.i^'^^
CITY OF SCRANTON 367
He is a communicant of the Green Ridge Presbyterian Church, of which his
wife is also a member, Mrs. Weinschenk active in the work of the societies of
that organization. His fraternal order is the Masonic, in which he holds the
thirty-second degree, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, and he is also a member
of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
Mr. Weinschenk married, June 20, 1898, Helen, daughter of Dr. William
and Lydia (Wade) Barnes, her parents natives of Connecticut. They have
children, both born in Scranton : Carl A., born in 1904; Arthur A. Jr., born in
1909.
HON. HENRY M. EDWARDS
Hon. Henry M. Edwards, a lawyer of exceptional ability, president judge
of the courts of Lackawanna county, by his own honorable exertions and moral
attributes has carved out for himself friends, affluence and position. By the
strength and force of his own character, he has overcome obstacles which to
some would seem unsurmountable, and his mind has ever been occupied with
enterprises for the advancement and welfare of Scranton, the city of his adop-
tion. Scrupulously honorable in all his dealings with mankind, he bears a repu-
tation for public and private integrity, and being sociable and genial, his friends
are legion, composed of all classes of society, who estimate him at his true
worth.
He was born in Monmouthshire, South Wales, February 12, 1844, son
of John M. and Margaret (Morgans) Edwards, who emigrated to the United
States in 1864, locating in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where the father engaged
in mining, and his death occurred there in July, 1884; the death of his wife
occurred in September, 1874, while on a visit to Wales.
The educational advantages enjoyed by Henry M. Edwards were obtained
in the public schools of his native place, and in London University, which he
entered at the age of sixteen and from which he received the degree of Bache-
lor of Arts in 1863. In the following year he accompanied his parents to the
United States, locating in Hyde Park, Scranton, and being well educated and
unusually intelligent, soon attracted the attention of the Welsh literary circle
that was then a prominent feature in West Side life. A year after his arrival
in this country, his fluent pen won for him a position on the New York Tribune,
the attention of the staff of that paper being attracted to him by articles that he
had written for the metropolitan journals, touching on important doings in
the everyday world in Scranton. In the following year, 1866, he returned
to Scranton to edit the Banner of America, a newspaper devoted to the in-
terests of Welsh-Americans, which attained a large circulation and wielded
considerable influence in its day, and for two years he remained at the helm of
this publication.
At this period of his career, his thoughts turned to the study of what be-
came his life work, the law, and in 1870 he entered as a student the law office
of the late Hon. Fred W. Gunster, who afterwards became judge, and with
whom he was later a colleague on the bench. In 1871 he was admitted to
practice at the bar of Luzerne county. Later he former a partnership with the
late Judge William Ward, which connection continued for three years, when
Mr. Edwards withdrew and opened offices of his own, and enjoyed a large and
lucrative general practice, rising to the forerank of the younger member of the
bar.
While a hard w'orker as a lawyer, Mr. Edwards was also active in politics,
and his ability as a speaker becoming widely known, his services on the stump
were in great demand, always in the interests of the Republican party, and he
368 CITY OF SCRANTON
spoke in various parts of Pennsylvania, in Ohio, Maryland, New York and
Vermont. His work in behalf of his party won for him the nomination for
district attorney of Lackawanna county in 1885. and his election followed, he
receiving a handsome majority. As public prosecutor he earned an excellent
reputation for fairness and good judginent, while his legal ability won favor-
able comment from the profession. In 1888 he was re-elected to that office,
proof positive of his popularity and efficiency. In 1891, upon his retirement
from the district attorney's office, he resumed the practice of law, only to again
enter the political arena in 1893, in the fall of which year he was elected
additional law judge. In 1901 he became president judge upon the retirement
of Judge Robert W. Archbakl, and in 1903 he was re-elected without opposi-
tion for a second term of ten years. In the fall of 1913 he was again elected
to the same high office, being the sole nominee. Although Judge Edwards has
passed the three score and ten mark, he has lost none of his keenness or capacity
for work, and time has not dimmed his talents in the slightest degree.
For the past three or four decades Judge Edwards has been a familiar
figure at every large Welsh gathering of local and international prominence.
He has filled the position of either adjudicator or conductor at all of the large
Eisteddfods that have been held this side of the Mississippi in recent years.
He is an Elk, a Mason, a Druid, member of the Scranton Club and of several
other organizations. On the eve of his seventieth birthday, Judge Edwards
was tendered a testimonial dinner by the county officials, and on his birthday'
was tendered a dinner by the members of the Lackawanna County Bar. A
pleasing feature of the former named dinner was the presentation of a large
portrait of Judge Edwards to himself, his colleague on the bench, Hon. Ed-
ward C. Newcomb, making the presentation. The portrait, done in oil on
canvas, is the work of J. B. Schriever, and it is enclosed in a large gilt frame.
Judge Edwards married, November 3, 1870, Jennie Richards, daughter of
Thomas Richards, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, the ceremony being performed
in the city of Scranton. Children : John R., of whom further ; Margaret, mar-
ried Edward W. Thayer ; May, married Edgar A. Jones, attorney and trust
officer of the Lackawanna Savings & Trust Company; Anna, married Pro-
fessor Eugene H. Fellows, teacher in the Scranton High School: Henry M.
Jr., resides at home.
John R. Edwards was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, October 15, 1875.
After a course in the public schools he entered Lawrenceville Preparatory
School (New Jersey) later matriculating at Princeton L'niversity. Returning
to Scranton he prepared for the practice of law under the direction of his
father, and in 1897 was admitted to the Lackawanna county bar. He formed a
partnership with J- Alton Davis, with whom he was associated until the death
of Mr. Davis. He has been admitted to all the state and federal courts of
the district, is a member of the State and County Bar Association and has
obtained a secure position among the leading practitioners of the Lackawanna
bar. In 1900 he was appointed supervisor of the twelfth federal census for
the counties of Lackawanna, Monroe and Pike : in 1904 and 1905 was col-
lector of poor taxes and in 1910 was supervisor of the thirteenth federal censu'^
for Lackawanna county.
WALTER H. TONES
From Wales came Daniel Jones, grandfather of Walter H. Jones, one of
the organizers and present cashier of the Electric City Bank, Scranton. Daniel
Jones reached American shores in a highly dramatic but perilous manner. The
ship in which he crossed the ocean was wrecked on the New Foundland rocks.
Jm^2fir0trjJ^^
CITY OF SCRANTON 369
he and two companions reaching the shore on bits of wreckage. After re-
gaining their strength, the three men secured work in a slate quarry and when
again in funds proceeded to Boston. Later Daniel Jones settled in Carbondale,
Pennsylvania. He was a practical miner and after moving to Newcastle opened
the first coal mine in that district. He married and was the father of the fol-
lowing children: i. Annie, married David Jones, born in Wales, and before
coming to the United States served in the British navy; he enlisted in the
United States navy during the Civil War and was one of the crew of the war-
ship "Congress" and escaped from her by swimming when the "Merrimac'
destroyed the Cumberland and created such dire havoc ere sufifering defeat
from the "Monitor;" he later joined the army and served until the war closed.
2. Roderick. 3. James. 4. William. 5. Henry D., of whom further. 6.
Ebenezer, his father's clerk, then with Dale & Company on Lackawanna ave-
nue, Scranton, until his death. During the Civil War Daniel Jones, with three
of his sons, Roderick, James and William, enlisted in the Union army and saw
hard service, Roderick losing an arm in battle. When shot, his friend and
comrade, Thomas Allen, now living on North Hyde Park avenue, saw him
fall and at once bore him to the rear, where his arm was amputated. James
contracted fever and returned home. David Jones and William continued in
the service without serious mishap until the war closed. William and Roderick
yet reside in Scranton, the former a member of Griffin Post, Grand Army of
the Republic.
(H) Henry D. Jones, son of Daniel Jones, was born in Newcastle, a suburb
of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, in 1852. He began work in a coal breaker when but
six years of age, being so small at the time that, when snow was deep on the
ground his father would carry him to the breakers. He worked as breaker-
boy until he was fourteen years of age. The family then moved to a place
called Sandy Bank, a suburb of Scranton, now in the city, where he was em-
ployed as a clerk by the Richards & Howell Company, on South Main ave-
nue. Later he engaged in the grocery and provision business at 105 South
Main avenue. After one year there he bought the building at 1109 Jackson
street, where he continued in business until 1898. From that year until his
death he was engaged in the real estate business. He married (first) in 1871,
Mary, daughter of John L. and Elizabeth Lewis, and they are the parents of:
Lewis, now a meat merchant on North Main avenue, married Annie Broad-
bent, and they have Lois, Wright V., Helen, Mary; Walter H., of whom
further; Mina, deceased. He married (second) Mary Jane Lowry, who bore
him a son, Oscar Stanley, now in the employ of Rogers & Company, of Scran-
ton. Henry D. Jones was a member of Hyde Park Lodge, No. 339, F. and
A. M. He was a Republican in politics, and at one time city assessor. In
religious faith he was a Methodist.
(Ill) Walter H. Jones, second son of Henry D. and Mary (Lewis) Jones,
was bom in Scranton, December 27, 1873. He was educated in the public
schools of the city, which he attended until his sixteenth year. He then
entered his father's employ as clerk, remaining until he was twenty-one years
of age. He then entered the State Normal School at Bloomsburg, Pennsyl-
vania, remaining until his graduation in June, 1900. The following year he en-
tered the employ of the West Side Bank, remaining until 1904. In that year
he entered the newly organized Keystone Bank as teller. Later he resigned
and for eight months was associated with the Dime Deposit Bank, now the
Scranton Savings and Dime Bank. He then began the organization of the
Electric City Bank, which was chartered June, 1910, and opened its doors for
business, July i, 1910, with Mr. Jones as cashier. He brings to this position a
well-trained mind, years of banking experience, and an earnestness of purpose
24
370 CITY OF SCRANTON
that eminently qualifies him for so important a trust. The bank is a suc-
cessful one and has already gained a strong position in financial affairs. Mr.
Jones is a member of Hyde Park Lodge, Free and Accepted IMasons ; Wash-
ington Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; West Scranton Council, No. 497, R. and
S. M. ; Lackawanna Council, No. 1143, R- ^- ! Junior Order of United Amer-
ican Mechanics, Scranton Board of Trade, and Simpson Methodist Episcopal
Church. In politics he is a Republican, deeply interested in all that pertains
to public progress, but never an office-seeker. His career has been an honorable
and successful one, and the future holds for him bright promise.
Mr. Jones married, August, 1907, Rachel Jones, daughter of the late
Thomas H. Jones, the pioneer stone cutter and marble worker of this section.
His wife taught school in No. 14 for twelve years. She is also a member of the
Simpson Methodist Episcopal Church.
DANIEL W. EVANS, M. D.
The city of Scranton lays a great deal of claim to Dr. Daniel W. Evans
for the splendid benefit that has been derived from his useful activities in that
place. While a native of Wales and educated in western institutions, all but
six years of his professional career has been passed in Scranton; here he has
carved for himself a niche high in the medical wall, in addition to holding as
sincere a regard for the welfare of the city of his adoption as though his entire
life had been passed therein.
His family is an old one in Wales, their residence in the south of that
country having been built about 1600, since which time it has been continuously
owned and occupied by the descendants of the Evans who caused its erection,
it now being the home of a cousin of Daniel W. Evans. Many recruits from
the family have seen service in the army and navy of the king, several partici-
pating in Napoleon's down-fall at \\'aterloo, while James Lewis, a great-
uncle of Mr. Evans, was distinguished for his bravery in the War of the
Crimea. David, grandfather of Daniel W. Evans, was born in Carmarthen-
shire, South Wales, in 1800, one of seven brothers and two sisters all of whom,
excepting him, engaging in farming, his occupation being that of shoemaker.
He married Mary Thomas and had children : Margaret E., Elizabeth, and Mor-
gan L., of whom further.
Morgan L. Evans, son of David and Mary (Thomas) Evans, was born in
Tascon, South Wales, in 1837, and in that country grew to maturity and mar-
ried. He immigrated to the United States in 1868, accompanied by his wife
and five children, settling in Iowa City, Iowa, where he resided until 1881. His
trade is that of shoemaker, and in the latter year he moved to the western
part of the state of Iowa and after engaging in farming for a short time he
retired, his present home being in Adair, Iowa. He married Jane, born in
1840, daughter of James and Jane Lewis, of Pennywren, South Wales, and
has children: Jane, deceased; David, a physician of Iowa; James, engaged in
business in Garfield, Washington; Mary, died in 1879; Daniel W., of whom
further ; Margaret, resides in North Dakota ; William, deceased ; Ann, lives
in Silver Park, Saskatchewan, Canada; Harriet, resides in Adair, Iowa; Flor-
ence, lives in Adair, Iowa ; Ruth, lives in Kimball, Nebraska.
Daniel W. Evans, son of Morgan L. and Jane (Lewis) Evans, was bom
in Tascon, South Wales, June 14, 1866, being brought to the United States
by his parents when he was a child of two years. He obtained his early edu-
cation in the public schools of Iowa City, in 1891, after a four years' course,
graduating from the high school at Panora, Iowa. Enrolling in the medical de-
partment of the University of Iowa he continued studies there for one year.
CITY OF SCRANTON 371
subsequently matriculating in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, an in-
stitution which has since joined forces with the University of Illinois, receiving
his M. D. in the class of 1894. His first field was in South Dakota, where he
established in practice the year of his graduation, continuing there until 1900,
when he came to Scranton and began the association that has endured with
pleasure and advantage for fourteen years. In April of that year he opened
an office at No. 217 North Main avenue, remaining in that place until 1909.
when he took up his present favorable location at No. 157-159 South Main
avenue, where he has attracted and whence he has visited a generous and select
patronage. Not long after his arrival in Scranton Dr. Evans opened an in-
stitution known as the Scranton Sanitarium and Medical Baths, its present
name being the Dr. Evans' Hospital. The hospital has a capacity of fifteen
patients, and during its existence Dr. Evans has there treated cases with baflling
complications requiring the highest of the surgeon's and physician's art. Aside
from the success that has come to him through its agency Dr. Evans is a lover
of his profession, an enthusiastic student and worker, and, if the human qual-
ities ab»ound in him a« strongly as in most men, he should rejoice and be glad
in the power that has been given him and which he has used so wisely and
well. There has been an up-hill feature to Dr. Evans' life, for the obtaining of
his wide and complete education came through his personal labor, not only in
the difficult study but in securing funds to defray his tuition. Since becoming
an active practitioner he has at dififerent times left his practice to take post-
graduate courses in the leading institutions of Chicago, New York, and Phila-
delphia, study which has raised him to the height of efficiency. His medical so-
cieties are the County, State, and American, and besides having been pension
examiner and medical examiner for numerous insurance companies, he was
health officer in Dell Rapids, South Dakota.
It is one of Dr. Evans' greatest enjoyments to serve his city in any man-
ner, and as a private citizen has worked earnestly to propagate civic pride
and to aid in the establishment of a more strict moral code in the city. In
other departments he has also labored for the best interests of Scranton, and
on February 19, 1913, he was one of a committee of three appointed by the
Scranton West Side Board of Trade to devise some means of protection for
the citizens of Scranton against the frequent "cave-ins" that have caused so
much expense to the property owners of the city. These accidents are caused
by miners cutting away the pillars supporting the roof of the tunnels which
ramify under the city from the main shafts outside of its borders, the only
excuse for their occurrence being the greed of the owners for the supporting
column of coal. Dr. Evans and his committee have given this lawless practice
wide publicity, all of the newspapers having taken up the subject, with the
result that two hundred and twenty articles dealing therewith have appeared
in reputable periodicals. Whatever of benefit shall result from the work of this
commission, which has been truly faithful to the trust reposed in it, will bear
with it credit to Dr. Evans as a loyal and energetic member of the committee
that brought the atrocity forth to the criticism of a suflfering public. His
political convictions are progressive and he is a member of the Washington
party. Dr. Evans organized the Tuesday Club, and is president at the present
time, the object of the club being for the betterment of national, state and local
civic government, making a special effort towards keeping officials in the line
of duty.
On November 11, 1898, Dr. Evans married Rachel, daughter of Daniel
and Janet (Williams) Williams, of Scranton, and has three children: Jeannette,
a freshman member of the class of 1914, Scranton High School, and Bayard
and Aubrey, both students in the Scranton public schools.
372 CITY OF SCRANTON
WILLIAM JOSEPH DOUGLAS
It is eminently fitting and proper that as preface to a recital of the life of a
member of the ancient Douglas family of Scotland there should be a descrip-
tion of the coat-of-arms of that race, whose part in the glorious and ofttimes
bloody history of Scotland was as glorious as the history itself. It is, in
heraldric terms, "Argent, a man's heart gules, ensigned with an imperial crown
proper ; on a chief azure, three stars of the first." This, in ordinary language
would be: L^pon a field of silver, a man's heart, red, beneath an imperial crown
in its proper colors ; above the dividing line, upon a blue ground, three stars of
silver. Burke's Heraldry names this as "the Paternal arms of the name of
Douglas," and quoting Sir Walter Scott's "Alarmion," is "the cognizance of
Douglas blood wherever found and with whatever arms combined." In Great
Britain the several branches of the Douglas family bear different crests and
mottoes in addition to the Douglas anns which are common to all the race.
Thus some bear above the shield a winged heart, a hand grasping a broken
spear, a wild boar, or other device ; while there are several mottoes used, as
Lock Sicker, Forward, Audax, Jamais Arricrc, Nuiiquam Post Remits, and
Never Behind, most of them having a meaning similar to the latter. While it
is believed that the three stars in the arms imply relation to the Murrays of
Scotland, from the fact that their arms also contained three stars, nothing more
definite is known, but of the crowned beast an interesting story is told. It
was assumed by the family as a memorial of the fate of the Good Sir James
of Douglas who perished in Spain in 1330, while on a journey to the Holy
Land with the heart of Robert Bruce. The dying king had bequeathed his
heart to the Good Sir James, who had been his greatest captain, with the re-
quest that he would carry it to Jerusalem and there bury it before the High
Altar. It is some times stated that Sir James died on his way to the Holy
Land and that he had the heart with him at the time in a silver box, but of this
Hume, the historian of the family, says: "He carried with him to Jerusalem
the King's Heart, embalmed and put into a Box of Gold, which he solemnly-
buried before the high Altar there ; and this is the Reason why the Douglas
bear the crowned Heart in their Arms ever since." Truly a beautiful de-
rivation and one well worthy of honor and belief.
The descent of the American members of the family is from Deacon Wil-
liam Douglas, born in Scotland in 1610, who settled in New London, Con-
necticut, in 1659. There are many interesting points in connection with the
generations between this emigrant ancestor and William Joseph Douglas, of
this narrative, but space does not permit of their full mention and will only
allow the bare outline. For two hundred years the estate of Deacon Douglas
remained in the family, his lineal descendants being Deacon William (2)
Douglas, born in Boston, Massachusetts, 1645 < Richard Douglas, bora in New
London, Connecticut, 1682 ; Deacon William Douglas, born in New London,
Connecticut, 1708; William Douglas, born in New London, 1731-32; William
Douglas, born in New London, 1753; Samuel Douglas, born in Richmond, Ver-
mont, 1784; Samuel Douglas, born in Richmond, Vermont, 1821 ; William Jo-
seph Douglas. In the immediate families of the direct line from Deacon Wil-
liam Douglas to William Joseph Douglas, there have been sixty-six members,
a number which has been mulitplied many times by the marriages of children.
Samuel Douglas, father of William Joseph Douglas, was born in Richmond,
Vermont. He made agriculture his life pursuit and became a man of prom-
inence in his community, holding numerous local offices, among them that of
supervisor of roads. He married Harriet, daughter of Levi and Hannah Ban-
croft, members of the family embracing the famous historian of that name.
CITY OF SCRANTON 373
Children of Samuel and Harriet Douglas : John J., a commission merchant of
Worcester, Massachusetts; Clara, deceased; Bertha, married William A. Doug-
las, of Syracuse, New York; William Joseph, of whom further; Henry B., a
merchant of New York; George C, a lawyer, practicing in Worcester, Massa-
chusetts.
William Joseph Douglas was born in Louisville, New York, March 9, 1865.
He obtained his education in the public schools of Louisville and the Potsdam
Nomial School, and then entered Middlebury College, receiving the degree of
B. S. from the latter institution in 1893, ^"d subsequently held the chair of
natural science in Williamsport Seminary for four years. He forsook a
pedagogical for a legal career and began the study of law in the office of W.
D. Crocker, at Williamsport. In 1897 he was granted admission to the bar of
Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, and the following year the same privilege was
extended to him by the bar of Lackawanna county. Since his admission to
the bar he has engaged in continuous practice, his patronage growing to a large
and prosperous clientele. His success has been due largely to the honorable
and open course he has pursued in every business relation. Mr. Douglas'
place of business is at No. 216 Miller Building. Mr. Douglas is a member of
the Elm Park Methodist Episcopal Church, and in politics acts independently.
In 191 1 he was appointed vice-president of the Delta Kappa Alumni Associa-
tion and Eastern Pennsylvania Association. In 191 3 he was a candidate for
judge of the orphans' court, his opponent being Judge Sando.
Mr. Douglas married Mary, daughter of Warren and Nicena (Derby)
Dunshee, who had been a member of his class at college. Children : Stewart
D., born September 2, 1897; Dorothy, born January 24, 1899; Harriet Bedford,
born November 19, 1910.
WILLIAM G. VAN DE WATER
The early history of the Dutch settlement of Long Island and New York
City contains frequent mention of the Van De Water family, they having been
among the pioneer emigrants who laid the foundation for the present great-
ness and prominence of that section.
Peter Van De Water emigrated from Holland in 1644 and was the pro-
genitor of the Van De Waters in America. His son Jacobus was a prominent
man and was appointed by Governor Colvey in 1660 town major of New
Amsterdam in charge of the Dutch forces at the Battery. Hendrick Van De
Water, great-grandson of Jacobus, was an officer in the Continental army
under General George Washington. Edwin Van De Water, son of Hendrick was
a farmer, married and left issue : John, William C, Edwin, Emily, Elizabeth.
William Curtis Van De Water was born at Hempstead, Long Island, October
2, 1804. His boyhood was spent on the farm, but later he learned the trade
of locksmith. He located in that district of New York City known as Green-
wich Village, now that populous portion of the city lying between Canal and
Fourteenth streets. Mr. Van De Water there engaged in business, becoming
well known and prosperous. He married Sarah A. Norris, daughter of Israel
and Mary Norris; children: Mary, born in 1853, died in infancy; Mary (2),
born in 1856, died September 21, 1903; William G., of whom further.
William G. Van De Water, only son of William Curtis and Sarah A.
(Norris) Van De Water, was born in New York City and there educated. He
began business life in 1873 as errand boy for Calhoun, Robbins & Company, of
that city, remaining three years. In 1876 he entered the employ of the Dela-
ware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad under R. F. Westcott, at that time
general transportation agent of the company, and manager of the old Dela-
374 CITY OF SCRANTON
ware, Lackawanna & Western Express. His initial duties were the carrying
of mail and communication to the office of President Sloan in New York, and
shortly thereafter Air. Westcott obtained control of the Long Island Express
Company, and the young man was transferred to that line as express messen-
ger, baggage master and solicitor between Bushwick and Rockaway. After
three months' service in these capacities he was returned to the general offices
of the company at Hoboken, where he remained until 1886 in the service of
the Express Company, passing through many grades, including messenger,
bill clerk, cashier, agent and auditor of express accounts. He was employinl
in Hoboken during the great railroad strike of 1877 and had a full share in
the exciting occurrences of those weeks of disaster to both sides of the con-
troversy. In 1886 he was transferred to the Lackawanna's general office in
New York City, where until 1906 he was connected with the auditing depart-
ment in various responsible capacities. In 1906 he was appointed auditor of
disbursements, and on December 7, 1908, auditor of the coal department, suc-
ceeding A. S. Baker, and assigned to headcjuarters in Scranton. This responsi-
ble position, which his long years of experience so eminently fit him to
fill, Mr. Van De Water now occupies, making Scranton his home. His term
of service covers a period of thirty-seven years and during this time his rise
has been continuous, a wide gap now separating him from the messenger boy
of 1876. He has not only won his way to the confidence of his superior
officers but has the love and respect of every man along the line with whom
he comes in contact. He is a member of several societies and organizations,
professional and otherwise, is a Republican in his political faith, and a mem-
ber of the Baptist church. His Scranton club is the Green Ridge ; his resi-
dence No. 533 Madison avenue.
Mr. Van De Water married Charlotte M. Cook, daughter of George and
Charlotte (Day) Cook, of English birth, who came with her parents to the
United States when two years of age. Their only child, Helen, died in 1893
aged seven months. While this review of the career of Mr. Van De Water
marks him as a man of ability and integrity, it would be incomplete without
mention of his standing as a citizen, friend and neighbor. While he is best
known among the men to whom his business relations are mainly confined, he
has many friends beyond the railroad world. He is most genial, kindly-
hearted and sympathetic; lives not to himself alone and delights to lend the
helping hand to the boys traveling the same road over which he has passed.
In rising from the ranks a man often encounters the jealousies of meaner
minds, but in Mr. Van De Water's rise it is safe to assert there was no man
who did not rejoice as his worth was recognized by the corporation to which
he has given so many of his best years.
REESE HARVEY HARRIS
Reese Harvey Harris is the son of Dr. John Howard and Lucy (Bailey)
Harris. The Harris family is of Welsh origin, but a century old in this country,
Reese Harris, the emigrant ancestor of the line, having come from Wales about
1800, when but a lad three years of age. He settled in Indiana county, Penn-
sylvania, and there married Isabel Coleman, a native of that county; children:
Elizabeth, married John Stilts ; Reese ; John Howard, of whom further ; Har-
riet; William.
Dr. John Howard Harris was born in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, in
1847. As a lad he engaged in the Civil War and was among the Union troops
who entered Richmond, April 3, 1865. A student of great capacity and con-
CITY OF SCRANTON 375
centration, he acquired a broad and thorough education. Matriculating a)
Bucknell College in 1865 he there received the degree of A. B. in 1869, and
of A. M. in 1872. In 1885 he was given the honorary degree of Ph. D. by
Lafayette College. In 1889 Dickinson College honored him with the degree
of LL. D., Colgate University conferring a like title upon him in the same year.
His active educational work, after leaving college, began in 1869, when ht
founded the Keystone Academy at Factoryville, Pennsylvania, and for twenty
years was the efficient, able and honored head of that institution. In i88q
he was called to a higher and more useful field of service, bdcommg president
of Bucknell university. Here for a quarter of a centuiy the influence of
his character, personality and teaching has been felt by thouoands of students.
For the past ten years. Dr. Harris has been a member of the College and Uni-
versity Council of Petmsylvania. Dr. Harris' first wife was Mary Ellen Mace,
who died in 1879, leaving two children surviving: i. Mary Belle, who re-
ceived the degree of Ph. D. from the University of Chicago in 1899, and is at
present studying at the University of Berlin. Germany. 2. Herbert F., a
lawyer, practicing in Philadelphia. In 1881 Dr. Harris married Lucy A.
Bailey, daughter of Harvey H. and Harriet (Tillinghast) Bailey, members of
the Bailey and Tillinghast families of Connecticut and Rhode Island, which
settled in Lackawanna county in 1816. Children of John Howard and Lucy A
(Bailey) Harris: 3. Reese Harvey, of whom further. 4. George Bailey, of
Detroit, Michigan. 5. Spencer T., an instructor in the Wilkes-Barre High.
School. 6. Coleman L, an instructor in the Keystone Academy. 7. Jame?
P., a student in the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor. 8. Walter W., a
student at Bucknell University, class of 1914. 9. Stanley N., a student in
Bucknell Academy.
Reese Harvey Hams .vas born at Factoryville, Wyoming county, Penn-
sylvania, July 3, 1883. His preparatory education was obtained in the public
schools at Lewisburg and at Bucknell Academy, from which latter institution
he was graduated in 1899 from the classical and scientific courses. In the same
year he matriculated at Bucknell College and was graduated four years later,
in 1903, with the degree of A. B. For an additional year's work in political
science he received the degree of A. M. After leaving college he was for two
years in charge of the department of history of the State Norma! School
at Mansfield, Pennsylvania, resigning at the end of the second year to enter the
law school of Harvard University, from which in 1908 he was graduated
LL. B., "Cuin Laudc." In March, 1909, he was admitted to the bar of Penn-
sylvania and became associated in legal business with the well-known Scran-
ton law firm of Warren. Knapp & O'Malley, of which firm he became a mem-
ber on January i, 1914. Mr. Harris is a member of the college fraternity. Phi
Gamma Delta, is a Republican in political affiliations and belongs to the Bap-
tist church. He is also a member of Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Ac-
cepted Masons.
On June i, 1910, Mr. Harris married Christine A. Richards, daughter of
Dr. William C. and Elizabeth (Graham) Richards. Her father, Dr. William
C. Richards, who was a prominent physician of Bristol, Connecticut, died in
1909. Children of Reese Harvey and Christine A. Harris: i. Reese Harvey
Jr., born April 28, 191 1. 2. Elizabeth Graham, born February 9, 1913. The
family residence is at La Plume, Pennsylvania, Mr. Harris' place of business
being No. 602 Connell Building, Scranton.
376 CITY OF SCRANTON
HENRY J. SCHUBERT
With a record of twenty-eight years of continuous service in the employ
of the Prudential Insurance Company of America, Henry J. Schubert, super-
intendent of the company's interests in the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania,
has filled this office for a longer period of consecutive time than any of liis
co-workers. Pennsylvania and New Jersey are the only fields in which he has
represented this great organization, and for the past twenty-three years he
l.as been located in Scranton, where his record of service and his able nandlinj^
of the company's affairs have won him high favor.
William Schubert, his father, was born in Arnst Hank, near Neustadt.
Germany, February 19, 1815, died at Allentown, Pennsylvania, July 31, 189S.
He received an excellent education, especial attention being paid to the lan-
guages and music, and after his graduation from college, was employed in
stores in Weimar, Saxony. While in that city he heard many accounts of
America which inspired him with the desire to go to that country, and there
seek his fortune. He accordingly sailed in 1836, on the ship, "Vesta," and
after a voyage of ninety-six days arrived at New York. After a short time
spent in that city he left for Philadelphia, in which city his money was stolen,
and he then made his way to Easton, Pennsylvania, where he found em-
ployment in assisting the farmers in threshing, etc., later taking up the work
of a millwright. His progress toward wealth was not a satisfactory one,
and he journeyed to Weisenburg, Lehigh county, and from there to Sumney-
town, Montgomery county, where he worked in a powder mill, and accumulated
a considerable capital. He then removed to Ziegle's Church, where he be-
came the friend of the German school teacher and Rev. John Helflfrich,
pastor of the congregation. Through the latter's offices Mr. Schubert be-
came the organist at Dankel's Church, in Greenwich township, and remained
there almost five years. During this time he became one of the proprietors of
The Hamburg Schnell Post, a paper having a large circulation for that time
and place. He made the trip to Hamburg from his home daily, on foot, the dis-
tance being six miles. He was finally elected organist of the Longswamp
Church, moved into the house belonging to that congregation, and occupied
this for a period of fifty-two years. He was also organist of Lehigh Church
for twenty-two years, and at Mertztown for fifteen years. He had charge of
the choir and taught the school connected with the church. At times he
had as many as one hundred pupils, each paying at the rate of two cents per
day, and he taught them reading, writing, arithmetic and the study of the Bible.
In addition to these labors he taught a number of adults Latin and French,
many of his scholars in later years becoming distinguished in the professions,
and ascribing much of their success to the thorough training they had re-
ceived at the hands of Mr. Schubert. He gave instruction in vocal music and
on the organ, piano, violin and flute, had charge of a large class of singers, and
was the conductor of an orchestra for some time. To a certain extent he fol-
lowed the profession of civil engineering, which he had studied in his native
land. He was notary public five years ; revenue assessor for the districts of
Longswamp, Maxatawny, Kutztown and Rockland, five years ; and for forty
years a justice of the peace. His counsel was sought by many persons coming
from great distances, and his influence was felt for good throughout the com-
munity. He was a member of Reading Lodge, No. 62, F. and A. M. His
parents were John Gottlieb and Christianna (Roersch) Schubert, and he had
a brother Lewis, of Allentown ; Gustave, of Reading ; and a sister who lived in
Springfield, Illinois.
Mr. Schubert married (first) December 9, 1838, Sarah, born in Marl-
CITY OF SCRANTON 377
borough township, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, April 29, 1820, died
January 31, 1856, a daughter of John and Eva Zepp. He married (second)
October 8, 1857, Matilda Zepp, born in Marlborough township, April 4, 1835,
died January 20, 1905, a sister of his first wife. Children by first marriage:
I. Amelia, born in Marlborough township, April 6, 1839, died September 28,
1884; married Edwin Bortz, and had children: Edwin, VVilliam, Ida, Alavesta,
Ellen, Mary. 2. John, born in Greenwich township, Berks county, Pennsyl-
vania, May 19, 1840. 3. William, born in Greenwich township, August 26.
1841 ; married Caroline Fegely, and had children : Ellen, Frederick, Herbert,
Charles, John H., Harry F., Lovenia, Sarah, all of whom are deceased with
the exception of Harry F. 4. Sarah, born in Longswamp township. May 15,
1843; married William H. Keyser, of Springfield, Illinois, and had children:
Ida, Mamie, Frank, William. 5. Eliza, born in Longswamp township, Febru-
ary 19, 1845, died there. May 31, 1909; married Henry Wendling, and had
children : Maggie, William, Frederick, Eva. 6. Alfred, born in Longswamp
township, June 30, 1847, died there, December 20, 1847. 7- Martha, born in
Longswamp township, November 11, 1849; married Charles Walbert. 8.
Henry J., of further mention. 9. Mary, bom in Longswamp township. Jan-
uary 25, 1853, now deceased ; she married Frederick Bermelin, and had children :
John, Jennie, Edwin. Children by second marriage : 10. James, born in Long-
swamp township, September 11, 1858, died October i, of the same year. 11. Mil-
ton Z., born in Longswamp township, November i, 1859: married Annie Fred-
erick, and has had children: Gertrude, Raleigh M. 12. Harvey Franklin, born
in Longswamp township, October 11, 1861 ; now lives in Pittsburgh; unmar-
ried. 13. Edwin Lewis, born in Longswamp township. May 6, 1864; married
Louisa , and has had children : Paul, Maude, Grace, Mildred, Harold,
Edward. 14. Annie Matilda, born in Longswamp township, December 18,
1865 ; married Charles Neese, of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, and has children :
Frances and John. 15. Ellen Jane, born in Longswamp township, December
10, 1867 ; married Frank Davenport, of Pitman, New Jersey, and has child,
Harry. 16. Rosa Emma, born in Longswamp township, February 14, 1870;
married Samuel Biery, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, and has children: Erma,
Mary. Ellen, James, Woodrow.
Henry J. Schubert was bom in Longswamp township, Berks county, Penn-
sylvania, January 17, 1851. He obtained his education in the public schools
there. Upon the completion of his studies he assisted his father for a time in
the marble yard owned by the latter, then became a clerk in a store conducted
by one of his brothers, at that time associated with John Landes. After a
term of service with Dives, Pomeroy & Stuart, Mr. Schubert formed a part-
nership with a Mr. Schweyer, the two conducting a store under the firm
name of Schweyer & Schubert. Retiring from mercantile pursuits. May 4,
1886, Mr. Schubert became an agent for the Prudential Insurance Company of
America, in Reading, Pennsylvania, in January of the following year being
advanced to the post of assistant superintendent at Phillipsburg, New Jersey.
Soon afterward he returned to Reading in a similar capacity, in May, 1889,
being stationed at Allentown, Pennsylvania, as assistant superintendent, and
on February i, 1891, was promoted to the office of superintendent. He wa,<
then transferred to Oil City, Pennsylvania, and on May 22, 1891, assumed
the duties of superintendent in the city of Scranton, where he has remained
up to the present time. It has been Mr. Schubert's care that the business of
bis company in the Scranton region should show the increase that the rapidly
growing population of the city would justify and to keep the ratio between
the business and industrial expansion and his business an even one. The pros-
perity that has attended the affairs of the Prudential Insurance Company dur-
378 CITY OF SCRANTON
ing his incumbency of his responsible office is ample proof that in this he has
been successful, and that through his wise direction the company has been a
full sharer in the wonderful progress that has attended Scranton in the past
quarter of a century.
Mr. Schubert is a thirty-second degree Mason, belonging to lodge, chapter,
commandery, consistory and shrine, and is trustee of the Scranton Council
His club is the Temple, and he is a member of the Scranton Board of Trade.
The Republican party receives his loyal support, and he is a communicant of
the English Trinity Lutheran Church. He married Maria H., a daughter of
William Mertz, and has had children: Sallie E., deceased; Susie M.; Mayme
J., married K. H. Landt ; Ruth E.
FRANCIS SCHEINFELTER PAULI
Francis Scheinfelter Pauli was one of those energetic and sagacious men
of business whose presence in any community imparts a healthy impetus to
the current of financial and commercial affairs. He was a man of great force
of character and personal magnetism, and it was owing to these qualities which
he infused into all he did that his success was in a great measure due. He
was of the third generation of his family in America, and of the tenth genera-
tion of the family in Europe, it having been prominent in the early days of the
Reformation. In the maternal line he is descended from the \"an der Sloats.
an ancient family of Virginia. The Pauli family has especially distinguished
itself in professional lines.
Adrian Pauli was pastor of St. Peter's Church, in Leipsic, Germany, and
died in 1611.
George Pauli, second son of Adrian Pauli, studied in the Reformed Gym-
nasium at Dantzic, then at Heidelberg University, and became professor ot
ethics in the first named institution, and the successor of Fabricius as preacher
in Trinity church. After the death of Fabricius in 1631, a Lutheran was called
to the rectorship of the Gymnasium, with whom he had often to combat in
polemics for the Reformed faith. He died in 1650.
Reinhold Pauli, younger son of Adrian Pauli, was a student at the Bremen
Gymnasium under Professor Martinius. He then studied three years at Groen-
tengen, and also at the L'niversity of Leyden, under the celebrated Professor
Coccius. In 1663 he went to Heidelberg University, where the degree of
Doctor of Theology was conferred upon him, and he was then called to the
Gymnasium in Berzstein, as professor of theology. He married into the fam-
ily of the renowned Reformed minister, Tossamus (or Toussaint), whose an-
cestor, Peter, had been the friend of Calvin and the reformed of Monpelzard.
He then became professor extraordinary at the Marburg LJniversity, and was
appointed a regular professor in 1674. One of his daughters married Pro-
fessor Lewis Christian Meig, of Heidelberg; the other married Professor J. H.
Hottinger.
Rev. Herman Reinhold Pauli, son of Reinhold Pauli, was bom in 1682,
the year his father died, and studied at Marburg and Bremen. He was scarcely
twenty years of age when he became court preacher, or chaplain, to the widow
of Count Adolph, of Nassau-Dilleinberg, and in 1705 went to Brunswick as
the first pastor of the Reformed congregation there. He married (first) Eliza-
beth Meig, and (second) in 1709, a daughter of the Bremen Professor Yungst.
In 1723 he was called to Frankenthal, in the Palatinate, where his mother had
been born, and he was then called to Halle, to the cathedral built by the colon-
ists from the Palatinate. January 20, 1728, the King of Prussia named him
the second minister there, as a pious and learned man "of great gifts of
0''CirhC-i<)
^ /•
CITY OF SCRANTON 371^
preaching." While at Frankenthal he had published, in 1726, a collection of his
sermons, "Die Pfalzische Erstling," also an edition of the Heidelberg Cate-
chism, and a translation of Placette's "The Death of the Righteous," and these
works had spread his fame. May 23, 1728, he was installed at Halle, and also
became the first professor of theology in the Academic Gymnasium, which
had been established in 1709. When the consistorial scharden died, in 1734,
he was made the head minister of the cathedral at Halle, and because of the
increased responsibilities and duties, resigned the professorship of theology.
In 1736 he was appointed an inspector of the Reformed churches and schools
at Halle, Wettin, Calve and Aken. November 28, 1727, King Frederick
William of Prussia wrote a letter showing his high regard for Mr. Pauli, and
this was followed by thirteen other letters from this august hand. Mr. Pauli
published twelve doctrinal letters to the students after the style of Professor
Frank, of the Halle Orphans' Homes. In 1740 he published an edition of the
Heidelberg Catechism; in 1745 he presented the congregation with a hymn
book he had compiled, and which contained a hymn of eight stanzas written by
himself, "Lobe, lobe, mein Herr Zebaoth." The greatest men of the time were
attracted by his sermons, and the king made earnest endeavor to have him as
court preacher at the palace in Berlin, but he consistently declined. He died
February 5, 1750. His eldest son, Ernest L., became court preacher at Brens-
berg, and the youngest, George Jacob, became his successor at the cathedral
at Halle.
Rev Philip Reinhold Pauli, was born at Magdeburg, and received his edu-
cation at the Gymnasium in Berlin and the University of Halle. He traveled
extensively in Europe with a wealthy uncle, and came to America in 1783 as a
teacher in the Academy at Philadelphia, where he received his degree as Mas-
ter of Arts. He was a preacher in Reading, Pennsylvania. He married Miss
Musch, of Easton, Pennsylvania.
Rev. Johannes Pauli, a native of Magdeburg, Germany, came to this coun-
try in young manhood, made his home in Philadelphia, and there became a pro-
fessor in a college. He was an excellent classical scholar and linguist, and a
preacher in the German Reformed church. He went to the front in defense
of American interests during the War of 1812, and died in Reading, where his
later years were spent.
Lewis J. Pauli, son of Rev. Johannes Pauli, was born in Reading, Penn-
sylvania, and died in Easton, in the same state, at the age of sixty-four years.
In association with several others, he owned the present site of Pottsville.
where they located a number of coal mines. For a time he lived in Philadel-
phia, then removed to Easton. He married Sarah Scheinfelter, bom in Read-
ing, died in Philadelphia, who was a member of the Lutheran church, but her
four children were reared in the faith of the German Reformed church.
Francis Scheinfelter Pauli, son of Lewis J. and Sarah (Scheinfelter) Pauli.
was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, March 28, 1823, died in Green Ridge,
Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, April 20, 1899. The earlier years of his
life were spent in Reading, Pottsville and Philadelphia, and his education was
acquired in private schools in these cities. When he was about twenty years
of age he established himself in the mercantile business near Pottsville, con-
ducted this a few years, when he went to Philadelphia for a time, and then
to New York, being in the employ of Alexander T. Stewart, in the last men-
tioned city, for one year. He removed to Scranton. in 1857, starting a store
on Lackawanna avenue, subsequently building the block at Nos. 225-227, on
the same street, and personally conducted his business there until 1881. His
methods were progressive, and he kept well abreast of the times in every detail,
and as a result amassed a considerable fortune by this enterprise. Indeed, his
38o CITY OF SCRANTON
fortune increased to such an extent that after 1881 his entire time was occupied
in looking after his various and numerous investments. His old home where
his daughter Margaret now resides, is a beautiful dwelling at No. 1554 Sander-
son avenue, and was one of the first buildings erected in Green Ridge. In his
earlier years Mr. Pauli gave his political support to the Democratic party, but
upon the outbreak of the Civil War he joined the ranks of the Republicans,
and affiliated with that party until his death. He was a member of Union
Lodge, No. 291, F. and A. M., of Scranton, and while living in Easton be-
came a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a connection he
severed when he took up his residence in Scranton. In his youth he was
brought up in the creed of the German Reformed church, but as there was no
church of this denomination when he came to Scranton, he joined the First
Presbyterian Church, and remained a member of that until the Green Ridge
Presbyterian Church was ready for services, when he joined that, and was
one of its most liberal supporters. He also continually and consistently gave
support to the Calvary Reformed Church, in memory of his early training.
Mr. Pauli married Martha Young, of Easton, and they had one child:
Margaret F. He was a cheerful and liberal supporter of various benevolent
and charitable institutions, and his private benefactions were numerous. His
philanthropy was ever tempered with that wise judginent which seeks such
means of relieving the necessitous as will tend to the elevation rather than the
degradation of the beneficiary, and he aided many to an honorable establish-
ment in life.
MARTIN RYERSON KAYS
The late Martin Ryerson Kays, of Scranton, whose early death, April 29,
"iSgi, was a great loss to the community, was a great-grandson of John Kays,
lieutenant in the Continental army and aide to General Washington, grandson
of Benjamin Kays, and son of James Hopkins and Martha Jane (Slocum)
Kays, the latter named a daughter of Sidney Slocum, and granddaughter of
Ebenezer Slocum, the founder of Slocum Hollow.
Martin Ryerson Kays was born in Providence, Pennsylvania, July 8, 1858.
He studied law in the office of Edward B. Sturgis and afterward matriculated
in Columbia Law School, graduating in the class of 1883, and was admitted
to the bar in January, 1884. A short time afterward he became a member of
the firm of McAskie, Kays & Bradbury. He was a lawyer of much promise.
He was treasurer of the People's Printing and Publishing Company which
published the Prohibition newspaper entitled The People, also secretary of
the Wilson Lumber Company, and a director of the Eureka Laundry Com-
pany. Like his father-in-law, Mr. Fordham, he was an ardent Prohibitionist
and devoted considerable time and energy to fighting the saloon evil. In 1888
he was elected and ordained a ruling elder in the Green Ridge Presbyterian
Church, one of the youngest men to be thus honored in that church, being only
thirty-two years of age. He married, June 26, 1884, Mary Augusta Fordham,
daughter of John R. and Isabel Linen (Dickson) Fordham, the latter named a
daughter of James Dickson. Four children were bom to Mr. and Mrs. Kays,
two of whom died in infancy, and the two who survive are George Dickson
and Mary Isabel Ryerson.
JOHN R. FORDHAM
Among the men who came to Scranton in the middle fifties, there was no
more forceful character than John R. Fordham. He was born in Montrose,
CITY OF SCRANTON 381
Pennsylvania, December 6, 1821. Arriving at the age of manhood in the
forties he moved to Carbondale and there met and on October 30, 1851, mar-
ried Isabel L. Dickson, daughter of James Dickson, and sister of the late
Thomas Dickson, George L. Dickson, John A. Dickson, and Mary Helen
Dickson, who became the wife of Andrew Watt, and later the wife of Hon.
Joseph Van Bergen, all deceased excepting George L. Dickson. He came to
Scranton with the Dicksons, father and son, in 1855, on the establishment of the
Dickson Works, later the Dickson Manufacturing Company, making his resi-
dence in Providence. For many years he was outside superintendent of that
company, later, on the increase of that great business, he was made superin-
tendent of the shipping department, a position which he filled until his death.
Mr. Fordham was a man fearless moral courage, of most exemplary habits,
and an earnest Christian. He had radical convictions against the institution
of slavery during the antebellum days, and was therefore an outspoken mem-
ber of the Abolition party, when to be such was to be called a "crank," and he
was very unpopular. He was an active member of the "Underground Rail-
road," by means of which many fleeing slaves were assisted on their way to
Canada and freedom. He lived to rejoice in the abolition of slavery for
which he had long worked and prayed. He was equally pronounced in opposi-
tion, not only to the use of intoxicating liquors of any kind, but to the (to him)
abomination of all abominations, the saloon. He was therefore one of the or-
ganizers of the Prohibition party in this country, and of the Prohibition paper,
that was for some time published as its organ, entitled The People. With nc
hope of election, and at much trouble and considerable expense, Mr. Fordham
several times suffered the use of his name as a candidate for public office on the
Prohibition ticket for the purpose of aiding the cause. His name was therefore
thoroughly familiar throughout the country as an uncompromising fighter
against the liquor traffic. Whilst not permitted to live to see it, he fully be-
lieved the time would come when the liquor traffic and the use of liquors as a
beverage, with their unmitigated evils, like the curse of slavery, would be
done away. Mr. Fordham's hostility to saloons was made practical in his
sturdy fighting against any licensed saloons in the thirteenth ward, where he
lived, and he had the satisfaction of maintaining a "dry" ward so long as he
lived. He was no less outspoken against the use of tobacco and all other vicious
narcotics. The following tribute is from the pen of one of the friends and
intimates of his family life: "Mr. Fordham will live in the memories of his
friends as a man of great activity and ceaseless energy, of clear and decided
views, and the utmost courage of his convictions. But the inner circle who
knew him best will dwell upon the thought of his sweet and loving home life,
which in all these years God rendered so precious and restful to his own fam-
ily." In 1871 Mr. Fordham moved to Green Ridge and built a handsome resi-
dence on the southeast corner of Sanderson avenue and Delaware street, which.
is now occupied by his daughter, Mrs. Martin R. Kays. Mr. Fordham died
February 10, 1891. There were born to Mr. and Mrs. Fordham five daughters,
all of whom passed away in infancy save one, Mary A., who married Martin
R. Kays. Mr. Fordham was one of the organizers and supporters of the Green
Ridge Presbyterian Church, superintendent of the Sunday school and a trustee
for many years.
DR. JOSEPH VILLONE
Two generations of Villones have fostered two exponents of the medical
profession, who, although the width of the Atlantic Ocean separated the fields
in which they lived and worked, nevertheless each gave to the locality contain
382 CITY OF SCRANTON
ing them the fullest fruits of lives passed in constant practice and the greatest
benefits of years of study and of experience. The first has gone to claim the
reward of a life of devoted and unselfish service; the second, strong and vigor-
ous in his work, spends his days in healing and curing the physically infirm
The first stood in the foremost rank of his profession in Italy, his native land,
and there mingled with his people in the performance of his duty ; the second,
in a land far from that of his birth, is intent upon a like mission.
Vitale Villone, father of Dr. Joseph V'illone, was born in the province of
Pokenza, Italy, in 1820. He was educated for the medical profession in the
gymnasium, the Lyceum, and in the University of Naples, immediately after his
graduation from the latter institution establishing in practice at Cirigliano, and
was there for half a century actively engaged in professional work. He was
among the most learned practitioners of that locality, and was moreover a
sympathetic and skillful physician. He married Rosa Fanelli, and was the
father of ten children.
Dr. Joseph Villone, son of Vitale Villone, was born in the province of Pok-
enza, Italy, November 12, 1859. His education was obtained in the same insti-
tutions that had furnished instruction to his father, although his decision for the
medical profession had not been made as early in life as that of his parent,
and he was graduated M. D. from the University of Naples, December 28
1888. His career further resembles that of his father in that he first established
in practice at Cirigliano, where for three years he was an officer of the public
health department, and in which city he was professionally engaged for seven
years. Realizing that in his profession, as in all other walks of life, America
and the United States meant opportunity, he engaged passage for New York,
landing in that city in 1895. He immediately proceeded to Scranton, where he
became a medical practitioner with an office at No. 425 Sixth street. He was
here located for three years, then moved to Hyde Park avenue, and after a
two years' residence in that place purchased the property at No. 206 Chestnut
avenue, whither he moved his office and where he maintains the same at the
present time. On December 26, 1904, Dr. Villone took and successfully passed
the examination of the state medical board at Harrisburg. and holds member-
ship in Lackawanna County Medical Society. He has lately received an ap-
pointment from the government of his native land as medical examiner of the
applicants for admission into the Italian army. To Dr. Villone belongs the dis-
tinction of being the first Italian physician in the Lackawanna \'alley and it
has been great good fortune for the residents of that locality that the first
doctor of that nationality to come into their midst should have been one not
only of learning and wisdom in medical and surgical lore, but a gentleman in
instincts and deportment, one who graces the profession in the county and
state. An Independent in politics. Dr. Villone holds membership in Lodge No.
339, F. and A. M., the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Victor
Alfieri Club.
JOHN BENORE
There are in Scranton to-day a small number of men who have been inti-
mately connected with its growth from a small forest settlement to a large,
prosperous manufacturing center with a population running well up into its
second hundred thousand. One of the members of this Old Guard is John
Benore, a Canadian, whose association with the business enterprises of the
city has covered a period of fifty-five years, although for part of that time
New York state claimed his private and business residence.
John Benore was born in Montreal, Canada, September 15. 1832, son of
CITY OF SCRANTON 383
John and Sarah Benore. In his youth his parents moved to Ogdensburg, New
York, where his early Hfe was spent and where he obtained his education. His
first employment was in the United States revenue service on Lake Ontario, in
which he continued for three years, when he was twenty-two years of age.
After a two years' residence in Sacket Harbor, New York, he moved to Red-
field, New York, where he purchased fifty acres of land and built thereon a log
house. He soon sold his property and moved to Oswego, New York, for a time
conducting a market as well as participating in other business ventures, final-
ly coming to Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1858. Here he entered the service of
the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, passing through various condi-
tions of service, finally becoming a railroad contractor. While holding this
position he was actively engaged in the construction of the tunnel used by the
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western road. About the beginning of the Civil
War, he returned to New York state and was there engaged in business until
the close of that conflict, when he once more located in Scranton and has there
ever since resided. He was one of the first building contractors in the city,
erecting many houses for the accommodation of the rapidly incoming settlers,
to whom the vast industrial advantages of the region were just becoming ap-
parent. In connection with his contracting operations, Mr. Benore opened a
mill and lumber yard, conducting a thriving business. As the contractor who
houses the population of a growing city is always indispensable, Mr. Benore's
services at this time were particularly valuable, since without houses the new
arrivals could not remain in the locality, and upon them depended the develop-
ment of the rich natural resources of the country round about. His work was
done upon a large scale, one hundred and sixty men being employed by him at
one time. As soon as the future expansion and growth of Scranton became a
certainty, other contractors flocked in and the task of building the city was
divided among many hands. At the present time Mr. Benore employs about
sixty-five men in his contracting work, which is managed largely by his sons.
A new line of activity was opened about twenty-eight years ago when he be-
gan the manufacture of coffins for T. N. Miller, which he still continues.
Not only in his chosen line of endeavor has Mr. Benore been active, but he
is an enthusiastic supporter of anything that promises for the benefit of his
city. He is a member of the Board of Trade and played a prominent part in
the organization of the Scranton Fire Insurance Company. In the Builders'
Exchange he is a director, in which capacity he is also associated with the
Master Carpenters' Association. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights
of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of which latter
he is a charter member and for many years was trustee.
Mr. Benore married Sarah Haywood, a native of England, and of their
children three sons reached maturity: i. George H., deceased. 2. William
A., born November 14, 1871 ; was educated at XVyoming Seminary; married
Sarah, daughter of Joseph B. Morgan, of Scranton, who died March 26, 1909.
3. Frank C, born September 9, 1875; he is a member of the Fraternal Order
of Eagles and the Firemen's Relief Association ; married Jessie W., daughter
of Thomas Jefifrey, of Scranton ; he has two children : George J. and Frank.
At the age "of eighty-one Mr. Benore retains all of his youthful business
acumen and keenness, withstanding the attack of approaching age through the
strength of well preserved vitality and the vigor of a fresh, active mind. In
his sons he has able assistants and the assurance of the continuance of the
business which he founded and brought to a condition of useful prosperity.
384 CITY OF SCRANTON
PATRICK F. CALPIN
As a member of the council of the city of Scranton, as sheriff of Lacka-
wanna county, and as a member of the state senate from Lackawanna coun-
ty, that district has been well and faithfully served by Patrick F. Calpin.
He is a son of Patrick Calpin, a native of Ireland, who came to Scrati-
ton in 1865, being employed in the coal mines of the locality. He was ever
active in public affairs and was elected assessor of his ward in 1880. He was
killed while working at his daily tasks, a mine accident, the terror of such a life
and such a community, causing his death. He married Mary Conway, and
had children: Kate, married John Flinn ; Patrick F., of whom further; James
A., married Clara Griffith; Margaret, married M. J. Noon; Thomas F., mar-
ried Margaret Joyce.
Patrick F. Calpin, son of Patrick and Mary (Conway) Calpin, was born
in Scranton, Pennsylvania, March 25, 1872. After attending the public schools
and there obtaining a general education, he completed his studies in Wood's
Business College. Ufntil 1890 he was employed in the mines, in that year ap-
prenticing himself to the carpenter's trade, four years later engaging in con-
tracting and building, which has been his line for the past twenty years, and in
which he has prospered in a satisfactory degree. He was elected to the com-
mon council of Scranton in 1898, meeting with no opposition in the two follow-
ing elections, serving as president of that body during 1900 and 1901, and in
1902 he was the successful Democratic candidate for the state senate, serving
in the sessions of 1903, 1905, and 1906, in July of the latter year receiving the
nomination of the Democratic party for sheriff of Lackawanna county, an
office to which he was elected and which he filled with able constancy for three
years, his term expiring in 1909. Mr. Calpin then returned to private life and
now is occupied by his many business relations, that of building and real estate,
being the principal. He is a director of the Keystone Bank. His political
record is one that has done him credit and that has been beneficial to the dis-
tricts he represented. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order
of Elks and the Board of Trade.
Mr. Calpin married, January 22, 1902, Jennie Clark, daughter of Miles
and Mary (Conway) Clark, both of Scranton, and resides at No. 1616 Mul-
berry street.
WESLEY J. WEBBER
Wesley J. Webber, of Dunmore, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, is a
fine type of that English character which has contributed so largely to the
development of the splendid industrial enterprises of the state of Pennsylvania.
Richard Webber, his father, was born in England, and was twelve years
of age when he arrived in this country. He found employment on the old
"Gravity Road," and later became a stationary engineer. He was a Repub-
lican in political allegiance, and is a member of the Episcopal church. He mar-
ried Elizabeth, a daughter of John Powell, and had seven children, of whon.
five are living.
Wesley J. Webber, the fifth child of Richard and Elizabeth (Powell)
Webber, was born on Harper street, Dunmore, Pennsylvania, in July i, 1884.
He received such educational advantages as the public schools afforded. From
his earliest years he displayed mechanical and inventive ability of a high order,
and the years of his attendance at school were shortened so that he might
devote all his time to the calling for which he was so evidently fitted by nature
and by inclination. He found employment with the Scranton Steam Pump
CITY OF SCRANTON 385
Company, and after a time with the Sprague & Henwood Diamond Drill
Company, with whom he remained for some years. He then established him-
self in business, and has been eminently successful from the very outset. He
is a mechanical engineer and the proprietor of a garage at No. 107 North
Apple street, and has three men and one boy in his employ constantly. He is a
member of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, of Dunmore,
tlie Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Dunmore, and holds membership in
the Presbyterian church. He takes no active part in politics.
Mr. Webber married, June 29, 191 1, Jennetta, a daughter of John Mac-
Millan, born in Scotland, August 18, 1862, came to America in 1884, lived
in Scranton three years, then removed to Dunmore. He is a carpenter, having
learned the trade in Scotland. He married Ellen Jeffrey, also a native of
Scotland, and they have had six children : Jennetta, mentioned above ; Thomas,
John Jr., Alexander J., two who died in infancy. Mr. MacMillan is a Repub-
lican, a member of the Presbyterian church, and a member of Robert Burns
Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of King Solomon Lodge,,
Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. and Mrs. Webber reside at No. 208 Andrew
street, Dunmore, where they have a beautiful and commodious house where
their child, Jessie, was born September 2, 1914.
WALTER J. DEVEREAUX
Educated in Scranton institutions for the joint calling of civil and mining
engineer, Walter J. Devereaux has followed that profession in the Scranton
locality all of his active life. He is a son of John and Annie Devereaux, and
was bom in South Wales, September 9, 1878, being brought by his parents to
the LInited States when two years of age. He was educated in the public
schools of Scranton, and after finishing his general studies took a corres-
pendence course under the direction of Professor Buckhart in civil and min-
ing engineering. In addition to this preparation Mr. Devereaux successfully
took the state examinations for mine foreman and superintendent, passing them
with a wide margin. He has been extensively employed with the Delaware.
Lackawanna & Western Company and the Delaware & Hudson Company, and
has also been connected with the state department of highways. For nine
years he was assistant to M. P. Mitchell, county surveyor, and at the last elec-
tion was candidate for the county surveyorship. The past two years have wit-
nessed Mr. Devereaux's independent establishment in his profession in Dun-
more, his advent into this field having been favorably received. His political
faith is the Republican, with which party he has ever taken his stand.
HERBERT L. TAYLOR
Representative of one of the oldest families of Providence township (now
Scranton), Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, Herbert L. Taylor, an eminent
lawyer of Scranton, descends from an ancestry among the earliest in New
England. The Taylor family is one of great antiquity in England, tracing to
the Norman Knight Taillerfer, who fought at Hastings, 1066, there meet-
ing his death at the hands of Leofinine, brother of the Saxon king. The fam-
ily of the dead knight was liberally endowed with lands in England by Wil-
liam the Conqueror, who held the slain knight in high regard, publicly lament-
ing his death. The estates in Kent, England, descended to Hanger Taylefer.
1256. and from him sprang John Taylor, who came to America with Governor
Winthrop in 1630, founding a family now widely dispersed among the states of
25
386 CITY OF SCRANTON
the Union. The name has passed through many orthographical changes to its
present form Taylor, but through them all the line can be traced as indicated.
In Pennsylvania the family trace to Reuben W. Taylor, a Revolutionary
soldier, an early settler and miller, owning the first grist mill in his section,
Providence township. This mill was built by James Abbott and sold by him
to his brother, Philip Abbott, and Reuben W. Taylor, his brother-in-law. John
Abbott Taylor was born in Providence township, but spent the greater part of
his life in Scott township, Lackawanna county, where he owned a farm of
several hundred acres. He died in 1866, aged seventy-six years. He married
Gartry Ackley, born in New Jersey, whose father was slain by the Indians at
Wyoming. Their son, Silas A. Taylor, was born in Scott township, Lacka-
wanna county, October 31, 1818, died aged about eighty years. He was a
farmer of Scott township all his life. He married Louise Carpenter, of
Abingdon. Their son, Reuben W. Taylor, was born in Scott township, April
II, 1842. He was educated in the public schools, grew to manhood at the home
farm and passed the active years of his life engaged in agriculture and kindred
pursuits. He is now living in Hyde Park, a well preserved and vigorous gentle-
man of seventy years. He was justice of the peace and tax collector of Scott
township for several years ; is a member of the Masonic Order. He married
Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph Wheeler, of Greenfield township, a native of
Rhode Island, who died in 1844. Mrs. Elizabeth Taylor is living. Children:
Dr. Claude E., a physician of Hyde Park ; Herbert L., of further mention ;
George L., of Forest City; Harry E., of Scranton.
Herbert L. Taylor, son of Reuben W. and Elizabeth (Wheeler) Taylor,
was born in Scott township, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, October 5,
1865. He was educated in the public schools and Keystone Academy, en-
gaging as a teacher after finishing his years of study. Later he began the
study of law as a student under Judge Edwards, an eminent lawyer and jurist.
He was admitted to the Lackawanna county bar, October 5, 1886, and at once
began practice in Scranton. He was assistant district attorney under Judge
Edward with whom he was associated until 1894, when he became a member
of the law firm of Taylor & Lewis, with which he is yet connected. Mr. Tay-
lor has been admitted to all state and federal courts of the district and has a
well established general practice. He is a member of the State and County Bar
associations, Scranton Board of Trade and other organizations and societies.
He has always been an active Republican, was chairman of the Lackawanna
county central committee for several years, was county solicitor three years and
is now collector of poor taxes for Providence township, of Scranton city poor
district.
Mr. Taylor married, July 20, 1892, Minnie, daughter of William B. and
Annie Phillips. Children : William W., Herbert L. Jr., Annie R., Elizabeth
W., John A., deceased, Reuben W.
ALEXANDER BRYDEN.
There are few Pennsylvania families which have been so continuously and
so honorably connected with one industry or calling as has the Scotch family
of Bryden with the development of coal properties and mining in general, a
connection that began in the homeland, Scotland, and has been continued
through three generations in this country. The first of these three generations
was represented by Alexander Bryden, born in Dailly Parish, Ayrshire, Scot-
land, March 6, 1799. His home was among the coal mines of that district
and soon after he finished school he began work as a miner, later becoming
a shaft sinker and mine foreman, qualifying in experience and ability for the
/C^&r^
CITY OF SCRANTON 387
higher grades of mine employment. In 1836 he leased some coal property
on the Polquhirter estate, at New Cumnock, Ayrshire, and also began opera-
tions on a lease on the Downiestown estate at Patna, work on his mine at the
latter place being discontinued because of an inflow of water from the river
Doon, the stream immortalized by the poet Burns.
Alexander Bryden and one of his sons came to the United States in 1842,
proceeding directly to Carbondale, Pennsylvania, where they arrived in July.
Mining operations were at low ebb at that time and Mr. Bryden accepted the
first employment that came to his notice, which was with Hugh Brown, fore-
man of day laborers for the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company. He was
afterward placed in charge of the mine pumps, and in March, 1843, was ap-
pointed mine foreman to succeed Archibald Law, who was permanently dis-
abled, caused by a fall of roof slate. Mr. Bryden continued in this position
until 1852, when he moved to Pittston, Pennsylvania, there to assume charge
of the operations of the Pittston Coal Company. On January i, 1854, he be-
came the mining superintendent for the Delaware & Hudson Coal Company,
which position he held at death. His death occurred in Carbondale, Penn-
sylvania, August 20, 1854. He was a member of the Presbyterian church.
He married (first) Margaret Dick, a native of Scotland, (second) Janet Bell,
also a native of Scotland. At his death he left a widow and twelve surviving
children.
Andrew Bryden, son of Alexander and Margaret (Dick) Bryden, was
born in Dailly Parish, Ayrshire, Scotland, January 10, 1827, and there resided
until he was sixteen years of age, when he and his mother and some of his
brothers and sisters immigrated to the United States, arriving in Carbondale,
Pennsylvania, May 31, 1843, there to join the husband and father, who had
preceded them to this country. His trade learned in Scotland was that of
blacksmith, but after coming to this country he engaged as a miner at Carbon-
dale, working thus until October i, 1850, then becoming mine superintendent
at Pittston, Pennsylvania, in the employ of the Pennsylvania Coal Company.
On April i, 185 1, he was transferred to Dunmore, Pennsylvania. He re-
mained there for about one year in charge of the Dunmore mines of the com-
pany, in 1853 returning to Pittston. In May, 1853, he resigned from the em-
ploy of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, and for one year was mine superin-
tendent for the Baltimore Coal Company, at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, at
the expiration of that time, June, 1854, resuming his former relation with the
Pennsylvania Coal Company as mine superintendent at Pittston. In July,
1895, he became consulting superintendent of mines for the same company
and this was the capacity in which he served until his resignation from the
company's employ and his retirement to private life, which took place in May,
1901, his death occurring at Pittston, Pennsylvania, August 29, 1901. He was
a member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, and was a prom-
inent man of afifairs, being president of the Pittston Water Company, which
was afterward sold to the Spring Brook Water Supply Company, president
of the Pittston Gas Company, and one of the original stockholders and board
of directors of the Miners' Savings Bank, of Pittston, an institution that from
its founding in 1869 was a marked success. He held membership for several
terms on the school board of Jenkins township, Luzerne county, Pennsyl-
vania, and was a member of the Presbyterian church. He affiliated with the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, joining Cambria Lodge, No. i, of Car-
bondale ; when he took up his residence in Pittston he transferred his mem-
bership to Thistle Lodge of that place.
Mr. Bryden married (first) Ann Law, born in Scotland, daughter of Archi-
bald Law; after her death at the early age of twenty-eight years he married
388 CITY OF SCR ANTON
Isabella Young, likewise a native of Scotland. His third wife was Elizabeth
MacDougall, who was also born in Scotland, who survived him. By his first
marriage he was the father of six children : Alexander, deceased ; Archibald
L., of whom further ; Alexander, of whom further ; Robert, deceased ; Mary,
deceased ; Ann, deceased. The children of his second marriage were five in
number: Margaret, deceased; James, deceased; James Y., of whom further;
Mary ; Elizabeth, deceased. There was no issue from his third union.
Archibald L. Bryden, son of Andrew and Ann (Law) Bryden, was born
in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, March 3, 1848. He was educated in the schools
of Jenkins township, and Wyoming Seminary, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania,
and in young manhood moved to New York City, there becoming a clerk
and salesman in the employ of a dry goods house. Gaining experience in this
establishment he moved to Pittston, Pennsylvania, and there began independent
dealings in the same line, so continuing for thirteen years. He was for a time
treasurer and collector of the Pittston Water Company, and after a venture
in insurance dealing became chief clerk in the mining department of the Penn-
sylvania Coal Company, where he remained until the purchase of that con-
cern by the Erie Company in 1901. Mr. Bryden then returned to the insurance
business, which he followed until a protracted illness in 191 1 made imperative
his retirement from active employment. He married, in October, 1876, Anna,
born in \\'est Pittston, Pennsylvania, daughter of La Grange and Mary
(Brown) Daman, and is the father of: Andrew Clinton, married Elizabeth
Nance, of Texas; and Marion Daman, who lives at home. He is a member and
elder of the Dunmore Presbyterian Church. The family home is at No. 500
North Blakely street, Dunmore, Pennsylvania.
Alexander Bryden, son of Andrew and Ann (Law) Bryden, was bom in
Carbondale, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, July 2, 1850, and when a boy
attended the common schools of Jenkins township, Luzerne county, after which
he matriculated at Lafayette College, whence he received his degree in mining
engineering in the class of 1871. Prior to his college entrance he had served
in the engineer corps in the employ of the Pennsylvania Coal Company. After
graduation he renewed his association with this corporation in the capacity
of mining engineer. In November, 1878, he went to Central City, Colorado, a«
assistant superintendent of a gold mine, in the interest of some of the directors
of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, the president of that company being a
member of the party. Returning to Pennsylvania, Ostober i, 1879, he was
once more, in April, 1880, sent west as superintendent of the Colorado Prince
Gold Mining Company, with which also some of the officers of the Pennsyl-
vania Coal Company were financially interested, and was located at Leadville,
Colorado, for a period of two and one-half years. He once more returned east
and became mine foreman for the Pennsylvania Coal Company at Pittston,
Pennsylvania. December i, 1882, five months later, in April, 1883, journeyed
to Arizona to accept the superintendency of the Detroit Copper Mining Com-
pany, of Morenci, Arizona. For fourteen months he remained in the service
of that concern in Graham county, Arizona ; in June, 1884, returning east be-
coming assistant mine superintendent at Pittston for the Pennsylvania Coal
Company. In July, 1895, he was promoted to the superintendency of the mines of
the company in both Pittston and Dunmore districts, an office he held until the
purchase of these interests by the Erie Company in 1901. For one year there-
after Mr. Bryden was their mining engineer ; in October. 1902, becoming con-
sulting engineer for the Pennsylvania Coal Company, the Hillside Coal and
Iron Company, and the New York, Susquehanna & Western Coal Company,
offices he holds at this time (1914).
Mr. Bryden is a member and past president of the Engineering Society of
CITY OF SCRANTON 389
Northeastern Pennsylvania, member of the American Institute of Mining En-
gineers, and the Geographical Society of Washington, District of Columbia,
while aside from his scientific connections, he affiliates with the societies of
Knights of Honor and the Royal Arcanum. He is a member and trustee of the
Dunmore Presbyterian Church, and as a Republican was at one time a member
of the school board of Pittston, Pennsylvania. His only outside business
relation is as a director of the Miners' Saving Bank of Pittston, a position,
which, like so many of his offices, his father held before him. Mr. Bryden's
achievements in his profession have been far removed from the ordinary, and
are the works of a man trained and proficient in a difficult calling, one in which,
as in everything worth while, the battle goes only to the strong.
Mr. Bryden married, October 18, 1872, Margaret, daughter of William and
Catherine Law, her parents natives of Scotland. To Mr. and Mrs. Bryden.
whose home is at Fifth and Dudley streets, Dunmore, Pennsylvania, the fol-
lowing children were born: Annie, Katherine, William L., Andrew D., Helen,
deceased, and Margaret. Mrs. Bryden died July 31, 1905.
James Y. Bryden, son of Andrew and Isabella (Young) Bryden, was
born in Jenkins township, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, May 26, 1866, and
in his youth attended educational institutions in Pittston and Wilkes-Barre,
Pennsylvania, also spending one year in Lafayette College, at Easton, Penn-
sylvania. He then entered the engineering department of the Pennsylvania
Coal Company and was assigned to duty at Pittston, Pennsylvania, afterward
becoming engineer in the employ of the Scranton Gas and Water Company.
Since 1910 Mr. Bryden has been superintendent of the Dunmore Cemeterj'
Association, whose aiifairs he capably directs (1914). His political creed is
Republican, and he is a communicant of the Presbyterian church. He mar-
ried Florence, born in Pittston, Pennsylvania, daughter of Alexander Robert-
son, and has one daughter, Isabell. He resides at No. 511 Elm street, Dun-
more, Pennsylvania.
GEORGE W. B. ALLEN
Mr. Allen's activities since becoming a resident of the Scranton district
have been varied in nature and include mercantile dealing, employment with
the Pennsylvania Coal Company, and finally insurance dealing, in which he
engages at this time, being city manager and special agent of the Prudential
Life Insurance Company, his office No. 824 Connell Building, Scranton.
Mingled with these business connections have been several terms of public
service in Dunmore, of which borough he has been a resident for twenty-
eight years, so that his life has been one of busy interests, to all of which he
has attended with constant fidelity.
George W. B. Allen was the first of his line to move to Pennsylvania, the
family being of New England ancestry, his parents, Jabez and Olive (Barnum)
Allen, moving from that region to New York state, where they died, he in 1886.
aged eighty-two years, she in 1868, aged fifty-eight years. Jabez Allen was a
farmer and carpentei, at ditiferent times operating a sawmill and managing
a wheelwright shop. Jabez and Olive (Barnum) Allen were the parents of
five children, of whom but two survive, George W. B., of whom further, and
William.
George W. B. Allen was born in Monticello. New York, October 16, 1848,
and was there educated, in young manhood teaching school for three years.
Prior to moving to Pennsylvania he was for two years a clerk in a general
store. In 1871 he began an association with the Pennsylvania Coal Company
that endured for twenty-two years, all of which were spent in the shipping
390 CITY OF SCRANTON
department, sixteen years being passed in Hawley. For the past twelve years
he has been handhng fire and life insurance, and has been connected with the
Insurance Title Guaranty Company, being now city manager and special agent
for the Prudential Life Insurance Company. In 1887 he engaged in mer-
cantile dealings in Dunmore. He is a Republican in politics and has been thrice
elected for three-year terms as assessor of Dunmore, resigning in the latter half
of his third term to devote his entire time to his business relations, and has.
at different times, furnished bond for the borough treasurer and collector of
Dunmore. Mr. Allen is a member of King Solomon Lodge, Free and Accepted
Masons, and the local lodge of the Knights of Malta, in the latter having been
recorder for nine years and treasurer for two years, his membership therein
covering a period of seventeen years.
As a Presbyterian, Mr. Allen has been exceptionally active in church work,
holding position in the session for twenty years and the superintendency of
the Sunday school for the past fifteen years. In these capacities he has been
the instrument of great good in the Dunmore community, accepting his duties
in a spirit of reverence and discharging them to the fullest extent of his ability
for the advancement of Christianity and the benefit of his people in church and
Sabbath school.
He married Harriet E., daughter of David J. Smith, an early settler of
Dunmore, Pennsylvania, superintendent of the water works at that place.
Mrs. Allen is the eldest of five children, three of whom are living: Andrew C,
of Pittston ; Mrs. Edward Gogel. of New Haven, Connecticut, whose hus-
band is chief engineer of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad"
and Mrs. Allen. She has taken an active part in church work and has been
secretary of the Ladies' Aid Society for twenty-five years.
PATRICK T. KORAN
If there is one business concern in the Scranton district whose strength
and prosperity justly reflects the efforts that have been put forth to raise it
to the head of institutions of its kind, that one is the LTnion Cash Stores
Company, conceived and founded by Patrick J. Horan, one of the leading mer-
chants and financiers of the locality. Patrick J. Horan is a son of Patrick
Horan who moved to Carbondale, Pennsylvania, in 1845, entering the mines of
the Delaware & Hudson Company. He was afterward appointed tipstaff under
Judge Handley, and at the expiration of his term of service retired to private
life, his death occurring in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, at the age of eighty-nine
years. He married Catherine Ford, who died July i, 1896. They were the
parents of : Anthony, one of the superintendents of the coal department of the
Pennsylvania Coal Company, died September 30, 1896 ; Patrick J., of whom
further ; Bridget, died in Dunmore ; Meche J., senior partner of the firm of
Horan & Merrill, of Scranton ; Catherine and Annie.
Patrick J. Horan was born in Ireland, and was brought to Carbondale by
his parents when he was one year old. He was there reared and educated, at
the age of thirteen years beginning his business career as a driver in the coal
mines in Dunmore. Later becoming a practical miner, he was thus employed
for several years, afterward accepting a position as weighmaster, serving thus
for ten years. At the close of that time he made his entry into the mercantile
world, his success and prosperity dating from that period, for two years be-
ing associated with the firm of Bryden Brothers & Cooper, later forming a
partnership with Williamson & Company. They established in business on
Chestnut street, for two years conducting profitable general mercantile dealing.
In 1870 the firm of Horan & Healy was fonned, and in 1881 Mr. Horan
CITY OF SCRANTON
391
purchased the stock and store of Hinsdell clothing house in Scranton, manag-
ing the same for three years. Retiring from this line, Mr. Horan organized
the wholesale grocery firm of T. J. Kelley & Company which operated until
1905. After the death of Mr. Healey who was at the head of the company, the
firm went out of business. While under the firm name of Horan & Healey,
Mr. Horan continued in general trade on Chestnut street, Dunmore. In 1896
in conjunction with Messrs. Manley and Swift, two prominent merchants of
Dunmore, he incorporated the Union Cash Stores of Dunmore, the duties ot
the partners being scj divided that the responsibility of the grocery department
rests with Mr. Swift, that of the general store with Mr. Manley, and the weiglit
of the whole upon Mr. Horan, the president. He was also president of the
Scranton Packing Company, which is now out of business; director of the
Economy Light and Heating Company, now controlled by the Scranton Electric
Company; has been president of the Fidelity Deposit and Discount Bank of
Dunmore from its organization in 1903 ; director of the Lackawanna Trust
and Safe Deposit Company. Some of the other organizations with which Mr.
Horan is connected are : Eureka Specialty Company ; Consumers' Ice Com-
pany, of which he was one of the organizers, the company controlling Lake
Henry and Lake Poyntelle, on which bodies of water vast storage houses are
built. He was interested in the Mississippi Central Railroad Company; was
one of the incorporators of the Lackawanna Lumber Company, later changed
to the United States Lumber Company, and is now holding large interests in
that company, and at the present time holds wide interests in real estate and
building operations. He was president of the Dunmore Board of Trade, and
in this position did much to publish the attractions of the city and to place
the attractions of the city, its desirability and advantages before those whose
presence would benefit Dunmore. For three years he served as a member
of the borough council, there, as everywhere, gladly giving his best advice in
earnest suggestion, and after the adoption of a plan, placing his shoulder to
the wheel and laboring tirelessly to realize the goal to which the body aspired.
The even, attractive sidewalks of Dunmore are largely due to Mr. Horan's
agitation of the subject of improving the borough's walks, which at the begin-
ning of his campaign were in a disfiguring condition, Dunmore now having
more miles of this kind of sidewalk than any other place of its size in the state.
It would be too great a task to enumerate the virtues and qualities that
have induced the above record. Let it suffice to say that from a lowly posi-
tion to recognizance in the mercantile world and a high position in other lines
of endeavor he has striven earnestly, relentlessly, and cheerfully, accepting
his triumphs without undue ostentation, learning wisdom and caution from
each reverse. The strictest honor and the most upright integrity have per-
meated his slightest dealing, and progress has been the watchword of his up-
ward course.
Mr. Horan married Mary A., daughter of Michael and Catharine Garvey,
of Dunmore, and a sister of Bishop Garvey, of Altoona, Dr. James B. Garvey,
of Dunmore, and Catharine Garvey Curtin, of Dunmore.
MICHAEL J. SWIFT
Michael J. Swift, senior member of the firm of Swift, McCrindle & Com-
pany, wholesale merchants, of No. 440 Sixth avenue, Scranton, has been all
his life connected with mercantile dealings. He is a son of Michael and
Honora (O'Boyle) Swift, both deceased, and was born in Dimmore, Penn-
sylvania, January 24, 1859, there attending the public schools, his scholastic
training including high school instruction. In 1882 he began his association
392 CITY OF SCRANTON
with mercantile firms as a clerk in the store of T. H. Watts, later becoming
a road salesman and so continuing for twenty years, during the last five years
of that time being a member of the firm of T. H. Watts & Company. At the
end of that time he formed a partnership with John McCrindle as Swift,
McCrindle & Company, wholesale merchants, their line including flour, cheese,
butter and eggs. The firm's business is one of generous proportions, and is
conducted on safe and conservative business lines, both partners merchants
of long standing, men of sound and honorable principles which they apply to
all of their dealings. Mr. Swift is a Democrat in politics and has held public
office as the candidate of that party. He is a member of the Scranton Board
of Trade, the Knights of Columbus, and belongs to St. ]\Iary"s Roman Catholic
Church.
Mr. Swift married Etta, daughter of Cormick Cummings, of Honesdale,
Pennsylvania, and has children : Harold, Horace, Regina, Laura. The family
home is at No. 1739 Quincy avenue, Dunmore, Pennsylvania.
HARRY M. SPENCER
The history of the development of the natural resources of the Scranton
district, and particularly of the locality now known as Providence, contains
prominently the name Spencer, the connection extending over three genera-
tions. It is now, in the person of Harry M. Spencer, associated with the
manufacturing interests which the development of the natural riches of the
region made possible, Mr. Spencer president of the Perpetual Spark Plug Com-
pany, of Dunmore, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Spencer is a great-grandson of Sylvester Spencer, a victim of the
Wyoming Massacre, grandson of Edward Spencer, and son of Andrew D.
Spencer. Edward Spencer, soon after making his home in the Lackawanna
Valley, became owner of all the land between East and West Mountains, the
greater part of which he retained, mining coal and operating in timber. A
small part he sold, and some he leased to the Roaring Brook Coal Company, his
sons, F. M. and Andrew D., later assuming the conditions of the lease, and
with their nine brothers and sisters forming the Spencer Coal Company.
Harry M. Spencer, son of Andrew D. and Emma (Albright) Spencer, was
born in Dunmore, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania. June 21, 1867. He ob-
tained his education in the Dunmore public schools, the Keystone Academy,
and the University of New York, graduating from the last-named institution
in the class of 1886. After a course in Rogers' Business College, of New
York, he was instrumental in the organization of the Spencer Coal Company,
previously mentioned, and for seven years was connected with the direction
of its business. At the end of this time he organized the Perpetual Spark
Plug Company, of Dunmore, and has since devoted himself to its interests, al-
though retaining his one-fourth ownership in the Spencer Coal Company.
The Perpetual Spark Plug Company, H. M. Spencer, president, H. E.
Twaddle, secretary and treasurer, and J. Warfel, superintendent, has been
engaged in the manufacture of spark plugs for the past two years, having been
established in 1912. On April i, 1914, the company placed upon the market
the "Ezekleen," a plug for which its manufacturers claim superiority above
all other makes, claims substantiated by its many users. Permanence is only
one of its points of difference, for it is not known ever to have been short-
circuited by oil or carbon, a most unusual record. The plant of the Perpetual
Spark Plug Company is at No. 330 East Drinker street, Dunmore, and al-
though the parts of the plug are manufactured elsewhere, assembly is made at
this place, where the thirteen persons employed complete the assembly of three
CITY OF SCRANTON 393
■hundred plugs daily. Mr. Spencer is the sole owner of this business, which
is but in its infancy, and with the perfection of the marketing system of the
company's product, which already is widely handled, the Perpetual Spark
Plug Company should experience almost unprecedented growth and expansion.
Mr. Spencer's other business relations are as director of the First National
Bank, of Dunmore, of which he was the first vice-president and an organizer,
as executor of the A. D. Spencer Estate, and as trustee of the A. O. Spencer
Trust, of Philadelphia. He was formerly president of the Roxbury Distilling
Company, of Roxbury, Maryland. Mr. Spencer fraternizes with the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks, is an Independent in politics, and was at one
time a member of the Dunmore school board.
Mr. Spencer married Callie P.. daughter of the late D. Frank and Clarissa
(Pratt) Hayes, her father born in Tariff ville, Connecticut, her mother in North
Middleboro, Connecticut. Mr. and Mrs. Spencer have one daughter, Cath-
erine, aged eleven, attending the School of the Lackawanna ; two of their
children died in infancy.
JOHN F. McGUIRE
John F. McGuire, a native of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, has there passed
his entire life, in his youth attending the public schools of that place, now an
undertaker and funeral director there. He was born May 24. 1878, son of
Stephen and Bridget McGuire, and after finishing school formed a partner-
ship with a Mr. Kane, opening an office at No. 312 Chestnut street. This
association was begun in August, 1900. and later dissolved, Mr. McGuire
establishing in independent business on January 16, 191 1. In 1913 he moved
to his present location at No. 319 Chestnut street, where he has since been
successfully engaged in business. He holds membership in the Liverymeti
and Undertakers Association, Nine County Funeral Directors Association, the
Fraternal Order of Eagles, the ]\Iodern Woodmen of the World, the Knights
of Columbus, the Young Men's Institute, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Home
Circle, and the Young Men's Temperance Literary and Benevolent Association.
His political party is the Democratic.
FRANK J. SEDLAK. M. D.
A native of Austria Hungary and since seven years of age a resident of the
United States, Dr. Frank J. Sedlak has devoted his life to medical work, all
of his active practice having been confined to the city of Scranton. He was
born October 16, 1873, son of John and Anna Sedlak. His general education
was obtained in the schools of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and his prepara-
tory course for the medical college under A. C. Staley of Chicago. He then
entered the Illinois Medical College of Chicago, whence he was graduated
M. D. in the class of 1906. Since that year he has been a practitioner of Scran-
ton, his office at No. 950 Prescott avenue, where he has attracted a considerablc
patronage. He holds membership in the County and American Medical so-
cieties. He belongs to Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church. Politically he is
independent, clinging to no one system of party action nor adhering to one
political creed. Dr. Sedlak married Mar}' Joseph, daughter of Michael and
Mary Joseph, a native of Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania.
394 CITY OF SCRANTON
PATRICK D. MANLEY
First as a merchant, later as a lumber dealer, and finally as a dealer in
real estate, Patrick D. Manley has been connected with the business interests
of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, continuing in the last-named line as the largest
individual real estate dealer in the borough. Patrick D. Alanley, born in
Ireland, is a son of Dominick and Bridget Manley, both natives of that country,
who came to the United States with a family of nine children in 1863, his
father dying at Hawley, Pennsylvania, his mother in Dunmore, Pennsylvania,
both members of the Roman Catholic church.
Patrick D. Manley was born in Ireland, May i, 1843, tli^^re being educated
and coming to the United States with his parents when twenty years of age.
He remained in Hawley, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, from June 21 until
November i, 1863, at the latter date proceeding to Dunmore, Pennsylvania,
where he has since resided with the exception of two years passed in Wilkes-
Barre, Pennsylvania. While living at home he assisted his father on the farm,
later opening a small mercantile establishment on Chestnut street, Dunmore,
where he remained until 1876. In this place he gained some invaluable ex-
perience in methods of operating a store, knowledge which was secured in
rather a costly and unpleasant manner but which he well remembered and
made use of at future dates. The lesson referred to was the extension of
credit to irresponsible persons, bills accumulating upon which he was never
able to collect. In 1876 he moved to a large brick store one block below hi>
former place of business, his new location being No. 213 Chestnut street, ad-
mitting to partnership Thomas F. Cawley and John E. Swift, the establishment
now known as the Union Cash Store. Mr. Manley later sold his interest in
this business and for fourteen years was a lumber dealer under the name of
the Dunmore Lumber Company, selling the business that he had built up on
February 28, 1912. Since that time he has applied himself entirely to real
estate transactions, and at the present time holds title to more real estate in
the vicinity of Dunmore than any one other man, and since making that his
chief concern has been involved in the transference of a great deal of prop-
erty. His only other business association is as a director of the Fidelity Bank.
Mr. Manley is a member of the Catholic Mutual Beneficial Association, the
Temperance Society, and belongs to St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church.
A Republican in politics, he has for seven years served Dunmore in the capacity
of borough treasurer, holding that office for six consecutive years.
Mr. Manley married ( first ) in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, Margaret Eliza-
beth Harrison, born in Hawley, Pennsylvania, daughter of Patrick Harrison.
a native of Ireland, who immigrated to the United States, settling in Hawley,
Pennsylvania. Mrs. Manley died in 1885. Mr. Manley married (second)
Mary, daughter of Patrick Seery, of Dunmore, Pennsylvania. Children of
Mr. Manley's first marriage : John, Frank, Elizabeth, Alary, Genevieve, de-
ceased. Children of second marriage : Catherine ; Josephine, deceased ; Joseph,
deceased.
JAMES RUSSELL MURPHY, M. D.
A decade is the space of time that has elapsed since there was taken from
his earthly walk Dr. James Russell Murphy, who for nearly a quarter of a
century prior to that time had been a familiar figure in Dunmore as he went
about on his errands of mercy. More than another decade, and still another,
will be necessary to blot from the minds and hearts of those who knew him
the sweetness of his character, the kind consideration of his nature, the warmth
CITY OF SCRANTON 395
and cordiality of his presence. It is the hves of such as he that give vakie
to a look into the past pages of life, and make otherwise melancholy retrospect
worth while.
Dr. James Russell Murphy, born in Ireland, was a son of Columbus and
Eleanor (Russell) Murphy, his mother dying in Ireland, his father in Rhode
Island, whither the family had immigrated when James Russell was a boy of
thirteen years. After obtaining a general education, he attended the Medical
University of Louisville, Kentucky, receiving his M. D. from that institution
in the class of 1882. In November of the year of his graduation he moved to
Dunmore, Pennsylvania, Vi'here he was continuously engaged in practice until
his death, March 27, 1905. Usefulness was the keynote that sounded through-
out his entire career, and the sacrifices that he made in the line of duty moulded
his life and character into radiant beauty that endeared him to the hearts of
many. He was a member of several medical societies. He belonged to St.
Mary's Roman Catholic Church, and affiliated with the Improved Order of
Heptasophs.
Dr. Murphy married, April 24, 1884, Sarah A., daughter of Michael and
Sarah (Ferguson) O'Neill, a native of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, where she
was reared. She was for sixteen years a teacher in the schools of Dunmore,
resigning her position prior to her marriage. Michael O'Neill was a son of
John O'Neill, who in Ireland, the homeland, was a butcher, living retired after
settling in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, where he was a pioneer settler. Michael
O'Neill met an accidental death in the coal mines of Dunmore, in 1852. His
wife was a daughter of Robert Ferguson, of Ireland. Children of James
Russell and Sarah A. (O'Neill) Murphy: Joseph R., ex-borough engineer of
Dunmore, Pennsylvania ; Eleanor, Bessie, Mary, Sallie.
FRANK V. MATTHEWS
Since 1904 an employee of the Erie Railroad, Frank V. Matthews is now
associated with that road as store-keeper of the Wyoming Division, and is
located at Dunmore, Pennsylvania, in which borough he also holds residence.
He is a son of Sidney and Sophia (Vaughn) Matthews, and was born in
Scranton, Pennsylvania, June 8, 1881.
Sidney Matthews was born in England, where he also received his school-
ing, coming to the United States at the age of thirty years. He took up his
residence in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and was employed for a great many
years by the Delaware & Hudson Railroad as locomotive engineer. He is an
Independent in politics, and a member of the Episcopal church. He resides in
Dunmore, Pennsylvania. He retired some twenty years ago from the rail-
road business. He married, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Sophia Vaughn, a
native of Manchester, England, a daughter of Thomas Vaughn. She came to
Scranton at about the age of twenty-five years. She knew her future hus-
band in England. She became the mother of eight children: i. Edith S.,
wife of William R. Wilson, deceased, of Dunmore. 2. Eva, died at age of
one year. 3. Stella A., deceased, was the wife of Homer Miller, of Ancran,
Columbia county, New York. 4. Annie E., wife of G. E. Card, of Ancran,
Columbia county, New York. 5. Maude, wife of W. H. Williams, of Sala-
manca, New York. 6. Gertrude M., wife of Captain L. G. Adams, of Greens-
burg, Pennsylvania. 7. Frank V., of whom further. 8. Stanley W., unmar-
ried, of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Frank V. Matthews received his school training in the institutions of the
city of his birth and of Dunmore. Leaving school, he was for a short time
connected with the Scranton Bolt and Nut Company, leaving that company
396 CITY OF SCRANTON
to accept a clerkship with the Erie Railroad, being first time-keeper in the
Dunmore shops of that company. In 1910 he was raised to the position he
now occupies, that of division store-keeper, discharging the duties of his place
in a capable and reliable manner that has won him favor and approbation from
his employers. Mr. Matthews fraternizes with the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows and the Masonic Order, in the latter society belonging to King Solo-
mon's Lodge. He is also a member of the Railway Storekeepers' Association,
and is a communicant of St. Mark's Episcopal Church. He is a stockholder in
the Fidelity Deposit Bank, of Dunmore, and a staunch Republican. He has
held the office of borough auditor since 1908, having been first elected in that
year and re-elected three years later.
Mr. Matthews married Grace, daughter of John and Margaret Devine, her
father, who was a son of Albert and Grace Devine, was superintendent of the
Dickson Works for thirty years, now deceased, of Scranton. Mr. and Mrs.
Matthews, whose home is at No. 316 North Blakely street, are the parents
of: Margaret Romaine, born in 1906; Donald V., born in 1909.
EDWIN M. BEYEA
For over a quarter of a century Edwin M. Beyea, of Dunmore, Pennsyl-
vania, was associated in different capacities with the Pennsylvania Coal Com-
pany, Hillside Coal & Iron Company, and Erie & Wyoming Valley Railroad
Company, a connection he was obliged to discontinue recently owing to ill
health to accept a position as special agent with the same companies requiring
less responsibility. He is the proprietor of the Nay Aug Stone Company,
and is connected with other business interests in the Lackawanna Valley.
He is a son of the late Henry Beyea, who was treasurer and paymaster of
the old Erie & Wyoming Valley Railroad Company, and cashier of the Penn-
sylvania Coal Company up to the time it was taken over by the Erie Railroad.
Previous to his illness in 1913, Mr. Beyea was regarded as an expert with gun
and rod and there is no one more familiar with the forests of Wayne and Pike
counties than he. Mr. Beyea is a fancier of Jersey blooded cattle and has
most valuable stock under one roof in Pennsylvania, on farm at Maplewood,
which was left by his father. He is secretary and treasurer of the Taxpayers
Association of Lackawanna Valley, holds membership in the Presbyterian
church, and a Republican in politics. His present residence is at 1630 Monroe
avenue, Dunmore, Pennsylvania. Air. Beyea married Ida May Slullen, of
New Jersey, and has one son, Frank Darns.
PATRICK H. CAWLEY
Appointed justice of the peace in 19 12 to fill out the unexpired term of
B. J. Kelly, and on November 21, 1913, elected to that office for a term of six
years, five years must still pass before Patrick H. Cawley will have completed
the duties of justice of the peace, which he has for two years discharged with
competent ability. He is a native of Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, his
birthplace Gouldsboro, the date of his birth February 28, 1869. He was
reared in Pittston, Pennsylvania, and there attended school, afterwards be-
coming associated with F. J. Johnston, of Scranton, painter and paper-hanger,
a business in which Mr. Cawley embarked independently in 1903, adding to his
activities in this line a collection agency, which he still maintains. Hi,->
responsibilities to himself in the care of his business and to Dunmore in the
conscientious filling of his office are met on a fair footing, both receiving his
undivided attention in their own proper time and place. He is a member of
CITY OF SCRANTON 397
Scranton Lodge, No. 123, B. P. O. E., the Temperance Lodge, and the Ancient
Order of Hibernians. Politically a Democrat, he is a member of St. Mary's
Roman Catholic Church.
Mr. Cawley married Millie Corcoran, born in Olyphant, Lackawanna
county, Pennsylvania, and has children : Julietta, born in Pittston, Pennsyl-
vania ; John, born in Olyphant, Pennsylvania ; Edward and Regina, born in
Olyphant ; Mary, Harry, Willard, and Helen, all born in Dunmore, Pennsyl-
vania.
Mr. Cawley's office is at No. 214 East Drinker street, Dunmore, Pennsyl-
vania, while his residence is No. 332 Blakely street.
JOHN CARNEY
The president of the Carney and Brown Coal Company, of Dunmore.
Pennsylvania, is John Carney, with whose life this brief account will concern
itself. Son of Michael and Winifred ( Connell ) Carney, he was born in Ire-
land, January 29, 1843, ^"^1 when he was five years of age was brought to the
United States and to Dunmore, Pennsylvania, by his parents. In this latter
locality he was educated, after the completion of his schooling entering the
employ of the Delaware & Lackawanna Railroad Company, later becoming
identified with the service of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, and following
that the Gravity Railroad. For mor? than twenty years he was then a railroad
engineer, in 1888 resigning from the railroad service and associating himself
with coal dealing, in which he now engages as the president of Carney and
Brown Coal Company, of which he has been the head since its organization.
His entire active life has been passed in Dunmore, which has been his home
for sixty-five years, and there he has been connected with numerous enter-
prises and movements for the advancement and welfare of that place. School
improvement is a form of municipal responsibility in which he has worthily
borne his part, having served as school director and for three years as school
controller. He holds membership in St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, and
belongs to the Knights of Columbus.
Mr. Carney married ( first ) Mary Caveny, a native of Ohio, and had two
children, Mary and Sara; (second) Catherine Fitzpatrick, of Jefferson town-
ship, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, and has one daughter, Helen.
GEORGE E. STEVENSON
Among the ranks of civil and mining engineers in the city of Scranton.
George E. Stevenson holds a conspicuous position, both because of his high
standing in his profession and the prominence of the firm of which he is a
member, Stevenson & Knight, and because of his wide experience in his chosen
calling. His parents were both natives of Pennsylvania, his maternal great-
grandfather, Stephen Parker, having been one of the first settlers in the town-
ship of Abington, Lackawanna county. His mother is still the possessor of a
portion of the land that formed the original homestead, and there lives.
George E. Stevenson was born at Danville, Montour county, Pennsylvania,
March 30, i860, and spent his boyhood on the old farm in Abington. He
obtained his early education, preparatory to his entrance of Cornell University,
in the public school at Clarks Green. His father was a civil and mining en-
gineer, having been employed in the construction of the original line of the
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, and by acting as his assistai.t
in his youth, Mr. Stevenson acquired a vast fund of practical knowledge that
has been of the greatest value to him in his business life. In this manner he
398 CITY OF SCRANTON
received instruction that it would have been almost impossible to have ob
tained elsewhere, as the patience and interest of a father's instruction cannot
be matched by a paid teacher. He then entered Cornell University and re-
mained in that institution for two years, a student of the agricultural course.
His first employment as an engineer did not come until he had attained his
majority, although so proficient had he become that at different times he was
placed in full charge of an operation by his father. This was in the coal min-
ing department of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, then engaged in
the building of the Storrs branch and the construction of the Pancoast Colliery
at Throop. He was next engaged by the Pennsylvania Coal Company when
the old Pennsylvania Gravity Railroad from Scranton to Hawley was replaced
by the present steam railroad, the Erie and Wyoming Valley. At the com-
pletion of this operation Mr. Stevenson journeyed to Arkansas to supervise
some engineering work in that locality, and upon his return from the West
devoted a portion of his time to conducting operations on his farm at Abing-
ton, making, as well, local land surveys and acting as engineer in the building
of highways in the vicinity. It was not long, however, before he was once
more entirely engaged in engineering, being employed at Hancock, New York,
as resident engineer for the Ontario & Western Railroad, later entering the
service of the Lackawanna Lumber Company in Potter county, Pennsylvania.
About 1892 Mr. Stevenson made Scranton his permanent home and there
opened an office, his services being so greatly in demand that in a short time
the pressure of work became too great for him to conduct the business single-
handed with any degree of satisfaction, in consequence of which he formed a
partnership with M. S. Knight. This connection continues to the present
time, the firm of Stevenson & Knight having offices at 725-26-27 Connell
Building, where they transact a large and lucrative business. The firm has
gained a reputation for honorable and upright dealing, its name in connection
with any operation being ample assurance that the work will be carried to
completion with conscientious and able supervision. The other capacities in
which Mr. Stevenson has been engaged in the practice of his profession are
as engineer for the laying out of timber lands for the Almogordo Lumber
Company in the Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico, and for a time he was
in charge of the development of the tract owned by that company. Besides
being one of the promoters, he was engineer in charge of the construction of
the Northern Electric Street Railway, an enterprise he carried to a most suc-
cessful close. While serving a term as surveyor of Lackawanna county, he in-
troduced throughout the locality over which he had supervision the use of
solid concrete floor bridges, which have been substituted for those of more
ancient design all over the county, and also advocated reinforced concrete
arch bridges, together with the low-riveted truss bridge with a solid concrete
fioor, of which manv have been built in Lackawanna county. During his term
of office there was no effective method of sprinkling the large court-house lawn
until he installed the present system of stationary sprinklers all draining to one
outlet.
Quite aside from his professional activities, Mr. Stevenson has become
one of the leading agriculturalists along scientific lines in the county, a call-
ing for which he was prepared by a course at Cornell University. One of
the departments of his farm that has created country wide attention is that
devoted to the raising of Holstein cattle, his herd being the only natural'y
hornless herd in the world. At his farm in Waverly his sons are conducting
tests and making official records under the supervision of State College and
the herd now hold the world's record for polled cattle of all ages. A junior
three year old heifer has just completed the following records: 7 days, 593 lbs.
CITY OF SCRANTON 399
of milk, 26 lbs. of butter; 30 days, 2,472 lbs. of milk, 108 lbs. of butter; 60
days, 4,800 lbs. of milk, 204 lbs. of butter. These records are the highest ever
produced in Pennsylvania by a junior three year old of any breed, and the
highest in the world for a hornless animal. So wide spread is the interest
demonstrated in this effort to raise blooded cattle devoid of horns that in
October, 1913, W. J. Spillman, connected with the Department of Agriculture
at Washington, visited Mr. Stevenson's farm to inspect the famous herd, and
complimented Mr. Stevenson upon the practical and scientific value of his ex-
periments. Another earnest of Mr. Stevenson's interest in affairs agricultural
is his incumbency of the office of treasurer of the Lackawanna County Farm
Bureau. Mr. Stevenson is a member of the American Institute of Mining
Engineers, and of the Engineers Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania, also a
life member of the Holstein Friesian Association of America, and president
of the Pennsylvania Holstein Friesian Association.
In spite of his professional duties and agricultural experiments Mr. Stev-
enson still finds time to fulfill the many duties of good citizenship, and is
highly esteemed both in business and private life.
GEORGE W. HORNBAKER
As a wholesale commission merchant, George W. Hornbaker has achieved
his greatest success in business in Scranton, having entered that line after a
varied career in other callings, in which he engaged at times as an employee
and at other times independently. His parents were Joseph and Catherine
(Hawk) Hornbaker. His father was a native of Luzerne county and hi.i
mother of Christmantown, New Jersey, a place near Blairstown. After their
marriage they moved to Wayne county, later coming to Lackawanna cpunty,
Pennsylvania.
George W. Hornbaker was born in Luzerne county, now Lackawanna
county, March 23, i860. He was educated in the public schools of Lacka-
wanna and Wayne counties, leaving school when he was fourteen years of
age and engaging in fami labor, being so employed until 1880. In the spring
of this year he came to Scranton in the employ of the Lackawanna Coal and
Iron Company, working as blacksmith for about one year. On April i, 1881,
he began dealing in meat in Green Ridge, Scranton, continuing in this line
of trade for fifteen years, then changing his line to general merchandise,
selling his business at the end of two and one half years. He then became
identified with the Scranton Cold Storage Plant, and there remained for eight
years, when he established in his present business, that of wholesale com-
mission dealer in butter and eggs, his place of business being No. 22 Lacka-
wanna avenue, Scranton. He does a large business in these products, and
has prospered materially. His only other business interest is as a stockholder
in the Scranton Savings and Dime Bank. His political convictions are Repub-
lican, and he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and in the Odd Fellows has passed
all of the chairs. He belongs to the Green Ridge Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Hornbaker married, April 22, 1892, Lulu B., born in Factory ville,
Pennsylvania, daughter of Cyrus B. and Ellen Gardner, of Factoryville, both
deceased. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Hornbaker: Eleanor Catherine and
Marian Virginia, both born in Scranton, the family home being at No. 1660
Adams avenue, Dunmore.
400 CITY OF SCRANTON
THOMAS J. HUGHES
Although now retired from active business, Thomas J. Hughes is well-
remembered in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, and his plumbing establishment at
No. 129 Chestnut street, Dunmore, was one of the borough's institutions that,
now departed, was once most familiar. Thomas J. Hughes is a son of John
Hughes, a native of Ireland, who was reared to manhood and married in his
homeland, afterward immigrating to the United States. Enlisting in the
Union army, he served through the war between the states, his death oc-
curring in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, when he was sixty-eight years of age. He
was a member of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, of that place. He and
his wife were the parents of three children, the only survivor of whom is
Thomas J., of whom further.
Thomas J. Hughes, son of John Hughes, was born in Dunmore, Lacka-
wanna county, Pennsylvania, in March, 1867, and there attended school. .His
education completed, he apprenticed himself to the plumber's trade, and af-
ter learning this was for eight years a gold prospector in the West, then re-
turning to the place of his birth and establishing in the plumbing business.
His beginning was assuredly humble, his cash capital, and he had few other
assets, being eighty cents. The first call that he received after announcing
that he would perform plumbing work of all kinds, was for a water trap. The
market price of this article was seventy-five cents, and it was necessary to
journey to Scranton to procure it. The price of the trap and the car-fare be-
tween Dunmore and Scranton completely exhausted his small funds, and he
was compelled to walk back to Dunmore to install the trap. This was the
starting point of his business, and it would have been difficult to find a lower
place of departure upon a business career, but untiring application and earnest
labor brought their inevitable rewards in patronage and prosperity, so that
from that time until his retirement his business was a most flourishing one,
his service to the ptiblic most excellent. Mr. Hughes is a director of the
Fidelity Bank, of Dunmore ; a charter member of the Smith Fire Company,
and belongs to St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church. His career as a plumber
in Dunmore was twenty-three years in duration, and during that time his
working force ranged from one to four men.
He married Mary Mack, born at Xiagara Falls, New York, their home be-
ing now at No. 228 Chestnut street, Dunmore.
JESSE PALMER
The American life of this line of Palmers begins three years prior to the
birth of Jesse Palmer, when his father, Charles Palmer, emigrated from his
native country, England, and found residence in Hyde Park, Scranton, in
1865. Charles Palmer married Caroline House, and in 1878 moved to Wilkes-
Barre, Pennsylvania, where he was employed in the mines. Charles and
Caroline (House) Palmer were the parents of eight children.
Jesse Palmer, son of Charles and Caroline (House) Palmer, was born in
Hyde Park, Scranton, Pennsylvania, July 29, 1868, and until he was eleven
years of age was a student in the public schools. He then obtained employ-
ment as a slate picker in the colliery of J. H. Swoyer & Company, also W. G.
Payne & Company, later being advanced to more responsible grades of mine
labor. He subsequently became connected with the mining corps of the Le-
high Valley, the Chesapeake & Ohio, and the Wilkes-Barre & Eastern rail-
roads, being engaged on construction work with these roads until September
17, 1894. On this date he became a member of the engineering corps of the
CITY OF SCRANTON 401
Pennsylvania Coal Company, a position that he filled until July, 1906, when
he was promoted to the place of general foreman of the company's Colliery
No. 6, at Pittston, Pennsylvania. He was the incumbent of this position for
four years, in October, 19 10, coming to Dunmore, Pennsylvania, as the dis-
trict superintendent of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, his present status in
the company's employ. He is a member of the Engineering Society of
Northeastern Pennsylvania, and Valley Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, at
Pittston, Pennsylvania. Mr. Palmer's advance in the service of the Pennsyl-
vania Coal Company can be attributed to no other fact than his capacity for
measuring up to the magnitude of the task confronting him, and it has beeii
this constant preparedness, this willingness and ability to face and to overcome
unfamiliar conditions, that has placed him high in the company's esteem.
Mr. Palmer married, September 14, 1892, Bessie Crocker, daughter of Wil-
liam H. Crocker, and is the father of William, Harry, Margaret, Elba, and
Frank, his two eldest sons employed in the engineering corps of the Pennsyl-
vania Coal Company.
JOHN McCRINDLE
At the present time junior member of the mercantile firm of Swift, Mc-
Crindle & Company, John McCrindle has been for thirty years a merchant of
Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, having been engaged in that line in Moosic
and Scranton, the last-named place his present location. His has not always
been a life of trade, for in young manhood he followed the occupation of his
father, coal-mining. Should evidence be sought in his former or his present
business relations, none would be found that would indicate aught but a mer-
chant of principle and honor, one who founded his business upon fair-dealing
and open transactions, and one who, after a career in business stretching over
three decades, is looked up to in genuine regard by associates and friends as a
gentleman of unblemished reputation.
John McCrindle was born in Glasgow, Scotland, January 17, i860, son of
Thomas and Mary McCrindle, who came to the United States when he was a
boy of five years. His father was a coal miner. He died aged seventy years,
his wife dying aged seventy-one years. The second of the eight children of
this marriage was John McCrindle, who in his youth was a student in the
public schools, in those institutions obtaining all of his scholastic training.
Mining offered him his first employment, and he was so engaged until he was
twenty-four years of age, when he formed a partnership with Mr. McMillan
and established in general mercantile dealings in Moosic, the house trading
as McCrindle & McMillan. This firm continued in prosperous circumstances
for eleven years, when Mr. McCrindle became a member of the firm of T. H.
Watts & Company, of Scranton, still retaining his interest in the Stevenson
Hailstone Company the name having been changed to the corporated form of
McCrindle & McAIillan. After five and a half years he was one of the organ-
izers of his present firm. Swift & McCrindle. For twelve and a half years
this firm has been located at No. 440 Sixth avenue, Scranton, the store force
numbering four, including the proprietors, and for a like period of time Mr.
McCrindle has been a resident of Dunmore. Mr. McCrindle is a member of
the local Board of Trade and is president of the Bufifalo Creek Coal and
Lumber Company, of Tennessee, this being his only other business relation.
He fraternizes with the Masonic Order, and in religious belief is a Presby-
terian. His political stand has ever been taken with the Republican party, and
he held the postmastership of Moosic under Presidents Harrison, McKinley
and Roosevelt, retiring from office under the last-named executive. While
26
402 CITY OF SCRANTON
in Moosic he was a member of the school board of that place. His standing
as a merchant, his wide popularity, and his prominence as a government official
of Moosic have made him one of the leading citizens of Dunmore, in whose
welfare and advancement he has anxious interest and to which end he is ever
ready to lend his aid.
Mr. McCrindle married Mary McMillan, and is the father of : Charles
L. ; Thomas W., deceased ; James, deceased ; J. Gordon ; Marion M. ; Jean.
FRANK C. WALLACE
The position of general foreman of the shops of the Wyoming Division
of the Erie Railroad is a place requiring in its occupant an expert knowledge
of mechanics, initiative and executive ability of no mean order, and above all
the gift of managing and dealing with men in a manner that escapes resentment
or friction of any kind. All of the above are found in Frank C. Wallace, the
present incumbent of that position, and to them are added a strict sense of
honor, a loyalty to employers unfailing, and an unrelaxing energy and ap-
plication.
Frank C. Wallace, son of Charles R. and Oranna (Humphrey) Wallace,
was born in Elmira, New York, August 7, 1879, and there lived until he was
ten years of age, his parents then moving to Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, where
his education was completed. He began his career as a bread winner by ap-
prenticing himself to the machinist's trade in the machine shop at Susque-
hanna, where he remained from June, 1897, until September, 1900, passing
the four following years as a draughtsman in Susquehanna and Meadville,
Pennsylvania. From March, 1904, until July, 1905, he was employed by the
Chicago & Alton Railroad at Bloomington, Illinois, and for the next year was
foreman in the roundhouse at that place. In October, 1906, Mr. Wallace was
appointed piece work inspector in the shops of the Erie Railroad at Buffalo,
New York, holding that position until February, 1907, at which latter date
he became assistant general foreman at Jersey City. He came to Dunmore as
general foreman of the Wyoming Division of the same road, and there con-
tinues, ably directing the work of the shops, calling upon his wise judgment
and knowledge to solve the problems, often vital and perplexing, that arise in
the course of the day. He is both liked and respected by his associates, and
between him and them exists a feeling of cordial friendship. Mr. Wallace
married Margaret E. Elston, born in Elmira, New York, and resides at No.
118 Dudley street, Dunmore, Pennsylvania.
THOMAS F. HARRISON
After a varied business career in the Scranton district, Thomas F. Har-
rison, of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, of Irish descent, found his true calling and
sphere of usefulness as master mechanic and foreman in the employ of the
Railway Steel Spring Works, with which he has been connected for almost
a quarter of a century. He is a son of James Harrison, a native of Ireland,
who after his immigration to the United States settled in Hawley, Wayne
county, Pennsylvania, where he was early employed on the canal, later movr
ing to Scranton. In the latter city he was employed for the greater part of his
residence there by the Pennsylvania Coal Company, dying in 1898, aged about
fifty-four years, his wife having died seven years previously. He was a mem-
ber of St. Peter's Cathedral. He married Catherine Clark, a native of Ireland,
and had children, all but the last named born in Hawley, Pennsylvania, he in
CITY OF SCRANTON 403
Scranton : Patrick J., Mary E., Margaret A., Jennie E., Catherine B., James
C, Thomas F., of whom further.
Thomas F. Harrison was born in Pine Brook, Scranton, Pennsylvania,
December 16, 1875, and was reared in that city, there attending school. He
began his business career as a messenger boy in the employ of the Western
Union Telegraph Company, at which he worked for one year and a half, and
after one year as a rivet heater he entered the service of the Boise Car Wheel
Works. This plant was afterward sold and the Railway Steel Spring Works
housed therein, in the employ of which concern Mr. Harrison has since re-
mained, a period of twenty-three years, eight of which have been spent in the
capacity of master mechanic and foreman, positions for which a long ex-
perience and an extensive practical knowledge of mechanics has ably fitted him.
Mr. Harrison is a member of Scranton Council, Modern Woodmen of the
World, Dunmore Commandery, Workers of the World, and Father McManus'
Total Abstinence Beneficial Society, to which he has belonged for the past
eight years. He was treasurer of the local order for three years, vice-presi-
dent for two years, and president for two years, his fellow-members, upon his
retirement from the president's chair, presenting him with a handsome gold
watch in grateful acknowledgment of his competent leadership and as a re-
membrance of their universal esteem. He has been a Democrat all his life,
and is now serving the third year of a six year term as a member of the school
board of Dunmore, having been secretary of that body during his first year of
membership and president during his second year.
Mr. Harrison married Anna T., born in Providence, Pennsylvania, daugh-
ter of Michael and Mary (Harrison) O'Malley, her father a stationary engineer
in calling, for several years a member of the Scranton council. Children of
Thomas F. and Anna T. (O'Malley) Harrison, all bom in Dunmore. Penn-
sylvania : Catherine, Thomas L., Margaret, all attending school. The first
child of Mr. and Mrs. Harrison died in infancy.
WILLIAM W. INGLIS
The record of William W. Inglis is one that, fully narrated, illustrates well
the beneficial results of persistent application and concentration upon one line
of action, the advisability of devotion to one end, the constant presence of that
trait in his business career having placed him in his present important position
as general manager to the Pennsylvania Coal Company, the Hillside Coal and
Iron Company, and the New York, Susquehanna, and Western Coal Company.
As a youth of fourteen years he entered the employ of the Hillside Coal and
Iron Company, having determined upon business of that nature as his life
work, and during the years from 1885 to 19 13 rose in the service of that com-
pany from office boy to general manager. His willing and able performance of
the duties that were entrusted to him in one position constantly led to the re-
posing of still greater responsibility until he has reached the office of general
manager of these allied companies. Energy in labor and force of character
are the agents that have opened for him the door of opportunity through
which he has passed into constantly enlarging fields of service, and increasing
trust and duty.
William W. Inglis was born on Jefferson avenue, Scranton, Pennsylvania,
January 19, 1871, and was educated in the public schools of his native city,
at the age of fourteen years becoming an office boy in the employ of the Hill-
side Coal and Iron Company. He has served through various grades of em-
ployment in the service of this company, and in February, 1913, was elevated
to the general managership of the company, and the same position with the
404 CITY OF SCRANTON
Pennsylvania Coal Company and the New York, Susquehanna, and Western
Coal Company. Mr. Inglis is a member of the board of directors of the
Lincoln Trust Company, holding the same position in the Scranton Young
Men's Christian Association, and belongs to the Scranton Club, of Scranton.
and the Engineers Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania. His lodge is the
Peter Williamson, No. 323, F. and A. M., and he has attained the thirty-second
degree Scottish Rite, belonging to Irem Temple, Mystic Shrine. He is a trustee
of the First Presbyterian Church, and politically is a Republican sympathizer.
Mr. Inglis married Gertrude Jayne, born in Scranton, daughter of John
and Hettie Kennedy, and is the father of John, born in 1895, and Mary,
born in 1898.
WALTER H. DAVIDSON
Coming from his Scotland home after becoming a worker in wood in that
country, Walter H. Davidson has since his twenty-seventh year been a resi-
dent of the United States, living for all but one year of that time in the Scran-
ton district and for the past quarter of a century in Dunmore. He is a son of
James and Joanna (Lainge) Davidson, his parents likewise natives of Scotland,
the parents of five children. James Davidson died aged sixty-seven years, his
wife aged seventy-seven years.
Walter H. Davidson was born in Rocksbury, Scotland, May 3, 1855. He
was reared in Peeblesshire, where he lived from his fourth until his si.xteenth
year, and there learned the trade of carpenter. In 1882 he immigrated to the
United States, settling first in Boston, Massachusetts, where he remained for
one year, at the end of that time coming to Scranton, where he obtained em-
ployment at his trade. He subsequently moved to Dunmore, Pennsylvania, and
was there engaged at his trade until his retirement. In addition to being skilled
in the constructive work of his trade, such as house-building, Mr. Davidson
is master of the cabinet-maker's art and an accomplished worker in hard woods,
specimens of his work showing delicacy and fineness of execution. Mr. David-
son is an Independent in political action, never entering the public service.
While no more loyal citizen of the United States than he could be found, he
retains a deep and reverential love for the country of his birth, and visited
Scotland in 191 1.
Mr. Davidson married, in Scotland, Jane, born in Peeblesshire, Scotland,
daughter of Wildon and Elizabeth (Scott) Whitson, and has children: James,
a resident of Buflfalo, New York ; Frederick, an engineer in the employ of
the Erie Railroad ; Elizabeth Scott, employed by the International Correspon-
dence Schools; Andrew Edgar, a fireman on the Erie Railroad; Benjamin H.,
met an accidental death when sixteen years of age.
ALBERT F. WESTPFAHL
Proprietor of the business conceived and founded by his father, the late
John Westpfahl, Albert F. Westpfahl is one of the popular and prominent
merchants of the city of Scranton. He has fostered the welfare of his con-
cern, and by his assiduous application has increased its prosperity, widened its
scope, and strengthened the firm foundation laid by the elder Westpfahl.
John Westpfahl, father of Albert F. Westpfahl, was born in Germany, and
in 1863 came to the United States. In his native land he had watched with
interest and strong sympathy the civil strife in that country and upon his ar-
rival immediately took steps for enlistment in the LInion army, serving for nine
months until wounded by a bursting shell. He came to Scranton after re-
CITY OF SCRANTON 405
ceiving his discharge and was employed in a blacksmith's shop until 1886,
in that year opening a grocery store at Nos. 629-631 Pittston avenue, and was
actively engaged until his death, November 13, 1903. At his death his business
was established, was of vigorous growth, and gave promise of the prosperity
it has since attained. He married Augusta Rabe. Children : Amelia ; Charles
W., assistant city clerk of the city of Scranton ; Wanda, married Theodore
Bauschman ; Albert F., of whom further.
Albert F. Westpfahl was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, September 25,
1870. He attended the public schools of his native city and at the completion
of his studies entered his father's store. Here he was employed until the
death of his father when he succeeded to the ownership of the business, which
he has conducted since. He is also interested in the Rice Grocery Compan)-.
a concern transacting one of the largest wholesale grocery businesses in the
city, and Mr. Westpfahl is president of this corporation. His pleasing per-
sonal qualities have gained him popularity in his native city, and he is uni-
versally regarded as a citizen of public spirit and one who heads a business
that is a credit to Scranton institutions. Fraternally he is also prominent, be-
longing to Shiller Lodge, No. 345, F. and A. M., holding the thirty-second de-
gree in the Masonic Order and membership in the Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine ; the Knights of Malta ; the Patriotic Order Sons of America ; the
Junger Mannerchor; the Liederkranz; the Saengerbunde ; the Royal Arcanum;
the Scranton Athletic Club ; the South Side Republican Club ; and the Deutsch-
Amerikanicher Bund. His only other business interest, excepting the presi-
dency of the Rice Wholesale Grocery Company, is as a member of the board of
directors of the South Side Bank. His church, of which his wife also is a
member, is the First German Presbyterian.
Mr. Westpfahl married, April 15, 1897, Mary E., daughter of Charles
Shelp, of Hawley, Pennsylvania, and is the father of three children : Fred-
erick, John, Frank.
JOHN H. KEAST
The association begun with the Pennsylvania Coal Company thirty-two
years since by John H. Keast exists at the present time, although the relation
has been broken by a term of service with the Delaware, Lackawanna & West-
ern Railroad Company. In both instances his duties have been connected with
stone-cutting and masonry, his present capacity with the first-named com-
pany being that of superintendent of masonry. Mr. Keast is a native of Corn-
wall, England, and it was there that his father, John Keast, was born. John
Keast was a stone-cutter by trade and for twenty-five years was employed as
foreman on work of that nature in the homeland. He married Jane Polgrean,
who died in 1892, aged seventy-two years, John Keast marrying a second time.
John H. Keast, son of John and Jane (Polgrean) Keast, was born May 11,
i860, and resided in his native country until he was twenty-two years of age,
when, with his wife, he came to the United States. Making Scranton his first
stopping place, he was for a time employed in the Jermyn mines at Priceburg,
now Dickson City. He had been there working for but a short time when an
accident, bringing death to several, occurred, and Mr. Keast, learning of the
frequency of these happenings, which modern engineering has greatly lessened,
abandoned mine labor. LTntil March, 1882, a period of only a month or two,
he engaged in stone cutting on the Lackawanna County Court House then in
the course of construction, afterward working at Winton Bridge until a
strike ended his employment at that place. Returning to work on the Court
House, the construction of that edifice gave him occupation for two seasons,
4o6 CITY OF SCRANTON
after which he was identified with Rice and Warner, contractors, and Burke
Brothers, in the order named, stone cutting being then his principal hne. In
April, 1885, he formed a connection with the Pennsylvania Coal Company, as
stone cutter, which ceased when he engaged under D. Y. Williams as gang
foreman and mason for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Com-
pany. In 1896 Mr. Keast began the association that continues to the present
time with the Pennsylvania Coal Company, becoming a mason under Super-
intendent of Masonry Patrick Blewitt, and worked as a mason until a serious
illness compelled a ten months' retirement. With health and vigor restored
he returned to his work, and until February, 191 1, was employed as gang
foreman, at that date being raised to the position of superintendent of
masonry and concrete construction. His territory covers three counties, and
he has upon an average nine gangs of men engaged on work under his direc-
tion, whose labor he directs, through foremen, with strong ability and the as-
surance of knowledge. Mr. Keast is a member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church,
holding membership in the vestry, and for the past fifteen years has been
superintendent of the Sunday school connected with that church, giving to his
work as its head the devoted service that, in the business world, has gained
him responsible position. He is a member of the Ancient Order of Foresters
has been through all the chairs and for fourteen years served as secretary. Hia
political faith is Republican.
Mr. Keast married, December 18, 1881, Mary Elizabeth Angwin, born in
Cornwall, England, daughter of John and Frances (Toman) Angwin, whose
mother died aged thirty-two years. John Angwin and his children came to the
United States about 1869, after the death of his wife, and engaged in coal
mining in the Jermyn mines. Children of John H. and Mary Elizabeth (Ang-
win ) Keast : Frances Jane, Helen Mabel, Annie, died aged two years ; John
Henry (Harry), Maude Elizabeth, Sarah Mildred, Edward Charles.
THOMAS J. McNULTY
Among those of Dunmore's citizens whose part in the development of the
vast coal deposits which are one of the greatest sources of the locality's wealth
has been a practical one, who has wrought from Nature her valuable treasure
with his muscles and hands, is Thomas J. McNulty, who has been a miner in
that region since he was twelve years of age. A native of Dunmore, that was
the home of his parents, James and Susan (Teevan) AIcNulty, both deceased.
James McNulty was employed at outside work in connection with coal mining,
and for ten years was a member of the borough council of Dunmore, to which
he had been elected as a Democrat. His death occurred when he was sev-
enty-eight years of age, his wife dying in 1866.
Thomas J. McNulty, son of James and Susan (Teevan) McNulty, was
bom in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, March 14, 1864, and there attended the pub-
lic schools until he was twelve years of age, when he obtained mine employ-
ment and has so since continued. He is a member of the Catholic Mutual
Benefit Association, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Workers of the
World, and Emerald Temperance Society. A Roman Catholic in religion, he
belongs to St. Mary's Church, and has always adhered to Democratic principles
in politics. He is now serving in the third year of a six year term as member
of the Dunmore school board. His residence is the place of his birth at No.
1007 East Drinker street, Dunmore. Mr. McNulty married Mary, daughter
of Michael and Sarah Golden, of Dunmore, both deceased, and is the father
of Leo, Florence, Joseph, all living at home.
CITY OF SCRANTON 407
ARTHUR W. CLOSE
The name of Close is one that will be long and lovingly remembered in
Dunmore, Pennsylvania, through the life of Rev. J. Edward Close, deceased,
who was pastor of the Presbyterian church of that place, in which position he
not only endeared himself to the hearts of his parishioners but firmly en-
trenched himself in the memory of the entire community. He was a gentle-
man of all good works, and never did man find happier direction in the choice
of a calling than did he when he entered the minstry, for in service to his
fellows he found the deepest joy.
Arthur W. Close, son of Rev. J. Edward and his wife, Mary E. (Hooperj
Close, was born in Auburn, New York, March 29, 1875. As a boy he obtained
the greater part of his general education in the schools at Pittsford, Monroe
county, New York, at the age of thirteen years accompanying his parents to
Dunmore, Pennsylvania. In this latter place he was for two years a student in
the high school and for two years attended night school in Scranton, without
completing the second term. He entered the business world as private secretary
to the general manager of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, George B. Smith,
an office he held for ten years, during which time he also served under John
Smith. At the expiration of this time he accepted a position as secretary to
Postmaster Ripple, of Scranton, and afterward was associated with the gov-
ernment postal service in the Scranton post office as cashier, an office he
held for five years, assistant postmaster, and after the death of Postmaster
D. W. Powell he became acting assistant postmaster. Resigning from the
government employ Mr. Close was for one year cashier of R. E. Weeks
Company, then being elevated to the office of treasurer, which he now holds,
also being a member of the board of directors of the concern. Mr. Close holds
like positions in the R. E. Weeks Realty Company, and in the management
of the finances of these companies has proven himself reliable, able and trust-
worthy. He is a member of Dunmore Lodge, Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, having filled all the chairs, and in political belief is a Republican.
He has been trustee and treasurer of the Presbyterian church, of Dunmore, of
which his father was a former pastor.
Mr. Close married Edith Wert, born in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, daughter
of Elnathan E. and Jane (McCullough) Wert, her father a veteran of the
Civil War, her mother a sister of John McCullough. the renowned actor. Mr.
and Mrs. Close are the parents of John Edward, Willis, Elizabeth and Jane.
The family home is at No. 418 Elm street.
IRVIN C. MILLER
In business connected with the International Correspondence Schools, of
Scranton, Irvin C. Miller is a resident of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, his birth-
place, and prominent in the public life of that borough through his service in
its civil administration as auditor and controller. He is the first incumbent
of this latter office, which in 191 3 was created from that of auditor. In the
year 1914 he entered upon a four year term in the capacity of controller.
Irvin C. Miller is a son of Orville J. Miller, his father a native of Wayne
county, Pennsylvania, where he was reared. Orville J. Miller has for the
past thirty-five years served the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad
Company in the capacity of conductor, his long record a continuous repetition
of loyalty, fidelity and competence. He married Mary, born in Dunmore,
Pennsylvania, daughter of Archibald McAllister, and had eleven children.
Irvin C. Miller, third of the eleven children of Orville J. and Mary (Me-
4o8 CITY OF SCRANTON
AUister) Miller, was born in Dunmore, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania,
March 29, 1877. He attended the public schools of his birth-place and grad-
uated, then graduated from the Scranton Business College, after which he
obtained a position with the International Correspondence Schools, of Scranton,
as stenographer. He resigned from this employ to accept a similar place
with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company, subsequently
returning to the International Correspondence Schools as clerk in the general
correspondence department, his present capacity. He is a trusted employee,
able and willing, and is thorough master of the efficient routine of his de-
partment.
Mr. Miller's political convictions are Democratic, and it was as the can-
didate of this party that he was elected to the office of borough auditor of
Dunmore, his administration of his duties so entirely satisfactory that upon
the creation of the new office of controller in 1913. Mr. Miller was elected to
fill that place for a term of four years. He is a member of the Dimmore Tem-
perance Society, the Young Men's Institute, the International Correspondence
Schools Association, and St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church.
Mr. Miller married, in September, 1910, Margaret, daughter of Thomas
J. Brown, a contractor of Plymouth, Pennsylvania, and is the father of Marian
and Tom. The family home is at No. 1531 Electric street, Dunmore.
EDWARD P. MOORE
Edward P. Moore, of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, now serving in his third
term as a member of the school board of that borough, is a native of Lacka-
wanna county, having been bom in Scranton, September 30, 1872. He has
been a resident of Dunmore since he was six years old, and in the public
schools of that place obtained the major part of his education, from his eighth
until his thirteenth year being employed in the coal mines of the region during
his vacations from school work. At the latter age he left school and devoted
himself to mine employment, in which he has continued, working in the mines
at this time (1914). He is a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians,
the Young Men's Temperance Institute, the Industrial Workers of the World,
the Miners' Union, and is a charter member of the Eclipse Hose Company.
His church is St. Mary's Roman Catholic. Mr. Moore has been thrice a
member of the Dunmore school board, and in 1912 was elected for a six year
term.
Mr. Moore married Catherine, daughter of John and Mary (McMunn)
Murphy, of Dunmore. Pennsylvania, and has two children, Genevieve and
Edward. The family home is at No. 424 Bloom street, Dunmore.
JOHN MELLODY
The ancestry of this line of Mellodys is Irish, one of the present day
representatives of the family being John Mellody, of Dunmore, Pennsylvania.
He is a son of James Mellody, a native of Ireland, and came to the United
States when a young man, and soon after his arrival settled in the Scranton
district, building the first house erected on "Johnson's Patch" by a private
individual, although the company developing the coal resources of the locality
had previously built numerous dwellings for their employees. James Mellody
was the first to open a chamber for operations in "Johnson's Patch," and was
a miner all of his life, retiring from active labor when sixty years of age, his
death occurring five years afterward. His manner of life was simple and
his savings amounted to a comfortable fortune, from which he frequently drew
CITY OF SCRANTON 409
for the assistance of a neighbor in trouble or less fortunate than he, holding
the universal regard of all and the undying gratitude of the many whom he
was able to help conquer unexpected adversity. He married, in Scranton,
Bridget, born in Ireland, daughter of Dominick Dempsey, and with her was a
member of St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church, he a Democrat in political action.
James and Bridget ( Dempsey ) Mellody were the parents of nine children.
John Mellody, third child of James and Bridget (Dempsey) Mellody, was
torn in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, March 23, 1880. and there passed his youth,
obtaining his education in the public schools, remaining in the family home
until his marriage. He is at the present time a salesman in the employ of the
Atlantic Oil Refining Company, and since his connection with that firm in the
capacity of salesman has been successful, possessing many of the qualities that
make for excellent salesmanship, the greatest of which he has in large measure,
a willingness and desire for hard and persistent effort. In December, 1913, as
a Democratic candidate, he was elected to membership in the Dunmore school
board, and since that time has held a seat in that body. The political party that
has ever claimed his support is the Democratic, and he is a member of the
Modern Woodmen of America, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Total
Abstinence Beneficial Society, and a charter member of O. S. Johnson Hose
Company, No. 7. His church is St. Mary's Roman Catholic.
Mr. Mellody married, June 19, 1907. Mary Ursula Davitt, born in Dun-
more, Pennsylvania, daughter of James H. and Mary (Kane) Davitt. James
H. Davitt, a native of Ireland, was reared in England, and after coming to
the United States was married, his death occurring in 191 1. He was the
proprietor of the first bottling establishment in Dunmore, and prospered in
every business relation. He was a Democrat in politics, and he and his family
were members of the Roman Catholic church. He was the father of eleven
children, seven of whom are now living, his widow residing at the corner of
Webster and Drinker streets. Dunmore. Mr. Mellody, since his marriage, has
lived at No. 437 West Drinker street, Dunmore. They have one son, James.
CARL W. F. NEUFFER
During the two decades that he has been associated with the Pennsylvania
Coal Company, Carl W. F. Neuffer, of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, has risen stead-
ily from a humble situation to a position of responsibility in the mining engineer-
ing department of that concern. He came to the Pennsylvania Coal Company
fully prepared for a career of usefulness, and in that service has found the
reward of application, industry, and fidelity. He is a son of Charles D. and
Anna (Weber) Neufl^er, his father having come to Scranton from New York
in 1857, in the former place accepting a position as clerk with the Lackawanna
Iron Company. In 1862 he established a gentlemen's furnishing store on
Lackawanna avenue, where he was a well-known merchant for forty-two
years, his death occurring when he was sixty-eight years of age. He saw
service in the Union army during the war between the states, and was a mem-
ber of the Grand Army of the Republic. His devotion to business was matched
only by his ceaseless endeavors in church work, his membership being in the
Presbyterian church, and he fraternized with the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows and the Improved Order of Red Men. His wife died aged sixty-three
years, the mother of seven children, of whom Carl W. F. and four sisters
survive.
Carl W. F. NeufTer, son of Charles D. and Anna (Weber) Neuffer, was
born on Lackawanna avenue, Scranton, Pennsylvania, July 29, 1872, and after
study in the public schools which included a high school course he entered Le-
4IO CITY OF SCRANTON
high University, South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, whence he was graduated
C. E. in 1894, four years after his graduation from the Scranton High School.
He immediately became employed by the Pennsylvania Coal Company, and
after spending considerable time in minor positions, familiarizing himself with
the work of the company and the methods used, he was promoted, in June,
1901, to the rank of mining engineer. From this time his rise was rapid,
and in June, 1906, he was made district superintendent, one year later mining
inspector, and in July, 1909, a member of the mining engineering department,
his present rank. Mr. Neuffer holds a similar position with the Hillside Coal
and Iron Company. Since 1902 he has been a member of the Engineering
Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania ; a Republican in politics, belongs to the
Episcopal church, and also the Lackawanna Historical Society.
He married Almira, born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, daughter of
Francis A. and Julia (Lathrop) Ramsay, both deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Neuf-
fer's children are : Louise and Julia. Mrs. Neuffer, tracing her ancestry to
colonial days, holds membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution.
CHARLES H. STEVENS
Both of the line of Stevens mentioned in this record are natives of Dun-
more, Pennsylvania, they being Charles H. and his father, Fred D. Stevens.
The former is at the present time connected with the coal mining industry
of the locality as weigh master and coal inspector for the Nay Aug Coal Com-
pany, while the latter was a produce dealer of Scranton. Fred D. Stevens was
born February 26. 1858, died January 7, 1902. Politically a staunch adherent
to Republican principles, his church was the Methodist Episcopal. He married,
in Newton, New Jersey, Elsie J. Space, who after his death married a second
time, her husband bemg C. H. Biesecker, her residence at Newton, New Jersey.
Mr. and Mrs. Stevens were the parents of but one child, Charles H.
Charles H. Stevens was born October 20, 1881. and until he was fifteen
years of age attended the public schools of his birth-place. His first position
in the business world was as shipping clerk in the employ of G. B. Miller &
Company, after which he was a clerk in his father's produce establishment on
Lackawanna avenue. He then became associated with the Pennsylvania Coal
Company as inspector of coal and e.xtra weigh master, remaining with that
concern until June, 1913, when he resigned to accept the positions of weigh
master and coal inspector with the Nay Aug Coal Company, his present em-
ployers, in which company he holds a position of importance and responsibility,
and enjoys the confidence and favor of his employers. Mr. Stevens' home is
at No. 125 West Drinker street, Dunmore. He fraternizes with the Masonic
Order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Knights of Pythias.
In politics he is a Republican, and he holds membership in the Methodist
Episcopal church.
Mr. Stevens married, September 26, 1907, Elizabeth Winters, born in Dun-
more, Pennsylvania, daughter of John Winters, a conductor on the Delaware,
Lackawanna & Western Railroad, in which employment he met an accidental
death. Mr. and Airs. Stevens are the parents of one daughter, Jane Elizabeth.
HAROLD S. BRIGGS
Musical interests in the city of Scranton have an accomplished and able ex-
ponent in the person of Harold S. Briggs. Trained by the most renowned
teachers of this and European countries, a teacher whose skill and talent make
him the admiration of his pupils, an artist with a reputation of national scope.
m:
CITY OF SCRANTON 411
Scranton's musical coterie has received a valuable addition through his eight
years of residence in the city. His family is an old one in this country, his
grandfather, Nathan Briggs, having been a nephew of George Nathan Briggs,
a former governor of the state of Massachusetts. Nathan Briggs had three
sons: William P., of whom further; Oscar; George.
(II) William P. Briggs, son of Nathan Briggs, was born in 1851, died in
1910. He was vice-president and general manager of a firm manufacturing and
selling farm implements, an occupation in which he continued until just prior
to his death. He married Ella Stewart, and had children: Rae, deceased;
Clare, a cartoonist on the staff of the New York Tribune ; George Nathan,
managing editor of Efficiency, a business magazine published in Chicago,
Illinois ; Glen William, a mid-shipman in the United States navy, stationed at
Annapolis.
(III) Harold S. Briggs, son of William P. and Ella (Stewart) Briggs,
was born at Reedsburg, Wisconsin, October 3, 1882. He was educated in the
public schools of Lincoln, Nebraska, attending the high school of that city.
Akiopting music as his life work he studied in this country and abroad, taking
a special course at Columbia University and supplementing this with two years
in Berlin, Germany. Since engaging in professional work in the United States
Mr. Briggs has thrice traveled to the musical and art centres of the Old World
in order to pursue his studies under the direction of the best masters. For
six years he was in New York City, and during that time "coached" for the
celebrated Francis Fischer Powers of that city, also teaching in Carnegie
Music Hall, and for four years conducted a summer music school in Kansas
City. In 1906 Mr. Briggs took up his residence in Scranton, and for some time
was a piano teacher in The Allen-Freeman Studios, since which time he has
given instructions privately in a studio maintained by himself. Mr. Briggs
is a no less skillful performer upon the pipe-organ than upon the piano, and
at the present time is organist in the Elm Park Methodist Episcopal Church.
He is frequently heard at concerts and recitals and his name upon a programme
is an assurance of at least one number enjoyable to those taking pleasure in
the work of a proficient artist. He holds the works of the greatest composers
at his fingers' ends, his faultless rendition of the most difficult compositions
revealing the beauty placed therein by the masters, which would be lost in a
less sympathetic interpretation. Of him all has been said when it is stated
that up to this period he has devoted himself solely to his art, that to it he
has given the best of himself, his talent, and his time, receiving in return for
this complete surrender to his muse the gratification and deep satisfaction that
can only come to those who have sounded the wells of the works of master
musicians, have imbibed their sweetness and charm, and have led others to
these discoveries, always old yet ever new.
CHARLES E. WENZEL
Among the merchants of Scranton, whose business is to provide for the
comfort and convenience of the residents of the city the firm of Wolf &
Wenzel, plumbers, tinners and heating contractors, holds a prominent place.
Engaged in the line of business indispensable in modern days, their admini-,-
tration of their affairs and their strict application of principles of fair deal-
ing has been such as to gain the confidence and support of a generous patronage.
Conrad Wenzel, father of Charles E. Wenzel, was born in Germany, June
29, 1835, died in Scranton, Pennsylvania, September 25, 1905. He resided
in Grossallmerode, Hessen-Cassel, from whence he emigrated to this country.
April 25, 1 87 1, arriving in New York, May 13, 1871, and took up his residence
412 CITY OF SCRANTON
in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he spent the remainder of his days. For the
first three months after his arrival in that city he was employed in a black-
smith's shop. Gathering in this time a knowledge of American ways of trans-
acting business, he established a hardware store and continued in successful
operation until 1877, when he moved to a building on Lackawanna avenue, the
site now occupied by the freight house of the Central Railroad of New Jersey.
Here he opened a hotel and was proprietor of the same until 1881, in that
year establishing a brewery at Dunmore, discontinuing its operation after two
years. In 1883 he returned to the scene of his initial business venture and
opened a tinner's shop in the basement of a building occupied by the Independ-
ent Order of Odd Fellows, and was there engaged in business for two years,
then moved to No. 712 West Lackawanna avenue, building up a sound and
sturdy business by his indefatigable energy and untiring industry. In 1896
he retired from active business pursuits and so lived until his death. His
fraternal order was the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he was a mem-
ber of and for some years president of the Scranton Liederkranz. He mar-
ried Louise C. Rueppel, born January 4, 1835, died January 14, 1908. Their
children were : Ida, Ifmma, Charles E., of whom further ; Gustave, \'ictor A.,
Siebert E., Emilia and Wilhelmina, who died in infancy.
Charles E. Wenzel, son of Conrad and Louise C. (Rueppel) Wenzel, was
born in Germany, December 2, 1866. He was brought to this country by his
parents when five years of age, and attended the public schools of Scranton
until he was fourteen years of age. He then worked about a year in the Ever-
hart Brass Works, at the brass finishing trade, and then worked with his father
at the tinsmith trade. Although not having the advantage of serving an ap-
prenticeship, after working with his father for the short period of five months,
the elder Air. Wenzel fell from a ladder and broke his leg, and Charles E.
being the eldest of four boys, he was compelled to assume charge of the busi-
ness, in which capacity he was quite successful, although owing to lack of ex-
perience he was compelled to work night and day, also on Sundays, in order
to keep abreast of his work. Fortunately for him the instruction he had re-
ceived up to that time had been much more interested and thorough than that
ordinarily accorded a tyro at a trade, and he was enabled to assume the burden
of responsibility thus laid upon him, making estimates, ordering material,
employing assistants, and attending to all the minute details falling to the lot
of"^ proprietor. For several years Charles E. Wenzel worked every night until
midnight, and with a portion of the money received therefrom he took a course
in Hinman's Business College, and this he always considered one of his great-
est assets. He continued to work and assist in managing his father's business
until his father's retirement, and on April i, 1896, he formed a partnership
with Joseph Wolf under the name of Wolf & Wenzel, and succeeded the elder
Mr. Wenzel in the business, which has been a decided success owing to the
fact that both are practical workmen, always cater to high grade work, using
the best material, and give each and every contract their own personal attention.
Among the many plumbing jobs performed in the city of Scranton, installed
and superintended by Mr. Wenzel are the following: The First National Bank,
the Dime Deposit Bank, the Scranton Textile Company, the Derry Silk Mill,
E. Robinson's Sons, the T. M. Miller Casket Company, Schools Nos. 14, 15,
42, the Scranton House, Century Club, the beautiful residences of Miss Helen
Winton, August Robinson, Samuel Frank, J. G. Hufnagel, Frank Becker,
Thomas E. Jones, the Jermyn and Carter Apartment Houses, German Presby-
terian Church and many others too numerous to mention.
Mr. Wenzel, as well as his parents and family, have alwavs borne the
best reputation and have been considered among the prominent and foremost
CITY OF SCRANTON 4115
Germans in the city of Scranton, always taking an active part in all German
undertakings. Mr. Wenzel is a thirty-second degree Mason, being a member
of Schiller Lodge, No. 345, F. and A. M.; Keystone Consistory, Sovereign
Princes of the Royal Secret, and Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of
the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of Schlaraffia Scrantonia and the
Scranton Liederkranz. in the latter organization having been a prominent mem-
ber for the past twenty-seven years, qnd has held every position of trnst and
honor within the gift of its members repeatedly.
Mr. Wenzel married, in 1889, Frances Laderer, born November 26, 1868.
Their children : Ida G., born February 18, 1890, and Carl Victor, born October
4, 1891. Mrs. Wenzel died April 9, 1913.
SAMUEL J. FUHRMAN
Three generations of this branch of the Fuhrman family have resided U,
the United States, coming from Germany, where the family had long been
seated in comfortable circumstances. Among the heirlooms brought from the
fatherland is a massive mahogany table, now the property of Samuel J. Fuhr-
man, once the cherished possession of his great-grandfather, one hundred and
seventy-one years ago. Another memento, highly prized, of a later day but
dramatic in significance is the gun and sword of a Confederate soldier with
whom Jacob S. Fuhrman, father of Samuel J., engaged in a death struggle,
resulting in the death of one and the severe wounding of the victor. Two
generations of the family have resided in Scranton, Jacob S. Fuhrman com
ing in 1866; a skilled worker in copper and other metals, he left many monu-
ments of his handicraft, notably the copper crosses on the Cathedral, corner
of Wyoming avenue and Linden street, Scranton, and the spire ornaments on
the chapel of the Archbald Church. Probably no two men of the city have
had a more varied or useful connection with its lesser activities than Jacob S.
and Samuel J. Fuhrman, father and son, both artisans and capable business
men.
Samuel J. Fuhrman was born in New York City, October 21, 1849, son
of Jacob S. Fuhrman, and grandson of Jacob Henry Fuhrman, both of German
birth. Jacob Henry Fuhrman with his wife Mary came from Germany to the
United States at about the same time as their son, Jacob S., located in New
York, where both died, leaving issue : Jacob S., Bertha, Jeanette, Hannah, all
deceased.
Jacob S. Fuhrman was born in Germany, in 1828, and in youth came to the
United States. He settled in New York City where he followed his trade of
tin and coppersmith, owning a hardware store and shop on Houston street.
He continued in business successfully until the Civil War broke out, then with
a patriotic zeal unlooked for in an alien he gave up his business and offered his
services as a soldier. He was commissioned first lieutenant. Sixth Regiment
New York Militia, and spent his first term of enlistment, four months, prin-
cipally at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. After being mustered out in February, he
re-enlisted in the Sixty-sixth New York Regiment Volunteers, recruited by
Colonel Pinckney in New York City, and again went to the front as captain
of Company E, the flag company, then numbering one hundred and thirty-two
men and officers. He was a participant in many of the hard fought battles of
the war preceding Gettysburg. Bull Run, Antietam, Seven Days and others.
In an encounter with the Confederates on the day before the battle of Gettys-
burg began, he was savagely attacked and wounded by a bayonet thrust but
came off victorious, with his enemy's weapons as souvenirs. After recovering
from his injuries. Captain Fuhrman was honorably discharged and returned
414 CITY OF SCRANTON
to New York, entering the employ of Walker & Connor on Water street. Heri-
he made the acquaintance of Joseph Scranton, at whose solicitation he came to
Scranton, November 7, 1866. He was engaged at his trade, tin and copper-
smith, and in merchandising until his death, May 5, 1877. On first coming to
the city he was manager of the tinning department of the Lackawanna Iron
and Coal Company, continuing three years. He was then with the firm of
Connell & Batten on Lackawanna avenue two years, then with Lynott Broth-
ers (now T. F. Lynott & Company), later with Hunt & Connell for five years.
During these years he erected many enduring monuments to his skill as a
coppersmith and installed the copper and tinwork in many large buildings and
breweries where copper pipes and fixtures were a necessity. After five years
with Hunt & Connell he engaged in business for himself, opening a store for
the wholesale and retail sale of notions, tents, awnings and kindred goods, con-
tinuing until his death. He married Eliza, daughter of Seligman Bideman, and
had issue: Samuel J., see forward; Hannah, deceased; Mary, deceased; Caro-
line, married Herman Abrams, of Brooklyn; Solomon, a resident of Scranton;
David ; Jennie, a resident of Brooklyn, New York.
Samuel J. Fuhrman obtained his early education in the public schools of
New York City, which he attended until thirteen years of age. Since then his
education has progressed in the great university of experience, from which
the real man never graduates until he lies down for his long sleep. At age of
thirteen he became a wage earner and from that day has made his own path in
the world, through storm and sunshine, often hard buffeted by adverse fortune,
but now at age of sixty-four years can safely rest in the consciousness that he
has fought well life's battle and gained a well earned success. His first em-
ployment was in the printing house of Fair, White & Ross, New York. There
he worked during the regular hours, then until 12 o'clock at night on the New
York Weekly. When the firm of Fair, White & Ross dissolved some years later,
Mr. Ross and Mr. Fuhrman became employees of the lithographing and print-
ing firm of Gray & Green, with whom he remained until 1863, when he was
appointed to a clerkship in the office of the provost marshal at Washington.
D. C, remaining until December 23, 1865. The following year he joined his
father in Scranton and was there first employed by J. A. Scranton on The
Republican, then published at No. 324 Lackawanna avenue. Two years later
he abandoned the printer's trade, spending the ensuing three years in the em-
ploy of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The next threi
years were spent with Slockbower & Son in the market, then he joined his
father in his tent and awning business, continuing his father's assistant until
the latter's death in 1877, then succeeded him as proprietor, conducting his
operations in the same loft for thirty-four years. To the business as originally
conducted he has added many features that have brought him unusual prom-
inence far and near. In the line of electrical display, signs and decorations he
is unsurpassed. In proof thereof is the result of the competition in building
decoration at Buffalo, July 10-15, 1905, in honor of the convention of the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Seven prizes were ofifered, of
which Mr. Fuhrman won four: first $150, third $100, sixth $30, seventh $20.
The winning buildings he decorated were: The D. S. Morgan block, the Ohio
Hotel, the Desbecker & Company store and the C. A. Weed & Son store. A
further evidence of his genius is the fact that since 1900 he has annually
decorated Cornell University building for the celebration of "Commencement
Week." He has patented camp, awning and automobile devices that have met
with great favor ; a camp and automobile water bucket ; a roll awning and
one that requires no frame. With his decorative special and regular lines, Mr.
Fuhrman has built up a large and profitable business, all over the LTnited States
CITY OF SCRANTON
415
and other countries, of which he is the active and capable head. Mr. Fuhrman
is a member of tlie Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; Knights of the
Maccabees, Scranton Athletic Association ; Junger Mannerchor ; Leiderkranz,
Electricians Union. He was an active member of Scranton Volunteer Fire
Department and for many years was a member of the Nay Aug Hose Com-
pany. He is a Republican in politics, and a member of St. Luke's Episcopal
Church.
Mr. Fuhrman married (first) Ida, daughter of Whitney Westcott ; children:
Jacob Raymond, Mary, George. He married (second) Gertrude, daughter of
Willett Gearhart, the latter a veteran of Company G., One Hundred and Seven-
teenth Regiment Pennsylvania Cavalry, died in 1901.
JOHN S. DUCKWORTH
The Duckworth family is of English ancestry, descending from Admiral
Duckworth, of the English navy, and Canon Duckworth, whose monumental
flag may be seen in Westminster Abbey.
(I) The Duckworths, on coming to America, settled in New Jersey,
where John Duckworth, grandfather of John S. Duckworth, of Scranton, was
a Revolutionary soldier, and bore a full share in the gaining of independence.
John Duckworth was a sculptor of more than local fame, but later engaged in
monumental decorative plaster work in Paterson, his native city. In 1856 he
moved to Toronto, Canada, where he remained, engaged in contracting until
his death in 1881, his wife also dying in that city. She was Maria M., daughter
of Thomas Nightingale, of New York City, also of English descent. The
Nightingale home later was for many years in Brooklyn. John and Maria
M. Duckworth were the parents of fourteen children, John A. being the fifth.
(II) John A. Duckworth, son of John Duckworth, was born in Toronto,
Canada, in 1869, died November 9, 1912. He was a graduate of Upper Canada
College, class of 1877, then took a special course in architecture at Mechanics
Institute, completing his studies with credit and graduating therefrom. For
more perfect instruction in his profession he enrolled as a student under the
celebrated Scotch architect, William Trouig, remaining under his capable teach-
ing for five years, designing the Parliament Buildings in Toronto and many
other important buildings. He gained fame in his profession and in 1880
moved to New York City, where he was associated with D. and J. Jardine, a
noted firm of architects in that city. Later Mr. Duckworth was professionally
engaged for short periods in San Francisco, Chicago and Buffalo, then spent
another year in New York City. In 1882 he located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsyl-
vania, and became a member of the firm of Neier & Duckworth, but in 1883
came to Scranton. After a year spent in the employ of others he opened an
office and began his long career in Scranton, attaining eminence in his pro-
fession and prominence as a citizen. His work was not confined to Scranton,
but in every part of the Lackawanna Valley specimens of his ability as an
architect and builder are found. He designed the Coal Exchange Building, at
the time of its erection the largest building in the city ; the Wells Building in
Wilkes-Barre ; the Hotel Jermyn in Scranton ; public school buildings Nos. 7,
13, and 25, Scranton; the high school building and schools Nos. i, 2, and 3,
at Dunmore ; the Home for Poor and Insane, at Ransom ; St. Mary's Church,
of Mt. Carmel ; St. Rose Church, Carbondale ; St. Thomas Aquinas Church,
Archbald ; Carbondale Public Hospital ; the W. W. Watts Bank and "Leader"
buildings at Carbondale ; and over six hundred other prominent buildings and
residences erected in Scranton and vicinity at a cost of over ten million dollars.
His offices in the Coal Exchange were veritable "hives of industry," and from
4i6 CITY OF SCRANTON
them went out the plans and specifications that resulted in the beautifying of the
city and in the employment of thousands of workmen in their execution. He
was a recognized leader in his profession and in every way was a man worthy
of the high position he occupied. He was a member of professional and
scientific societies, was an Odd Fellow, and Elk, a member of the Scranton
Rowing Club, a Republican in politics, and in religious faith a Presbyterian.
He married Elizabeth De \'ede, daughter of A. D. Spencer, and granddaughter
of Edward Spencer, of the early Spencer family of Pennsylvania. His city
residence is No. 607 Webster avenue, Scranton. Children : John S., Harry
A., Emily M.
(HI) John S. Duckworth, son of John A. Duckworth, was born in Scran-
ton, 1889, and after passing through the public schools of that city, including
the entire high school course, entered Cornell University, whence he was grad-
uated, class of 191 2, having specialized in the study of architecture and ob-
tained his degree, B. Arch. After graduation he went abroad, visiting the noted
countries, and studying the architecture of Greece, Italy, Switzerland, France,
England and Scotland. This extended, interesting and valuable journey was
taken with seven companions, forming a party under the personal direction of
Professor Phelphs, of Cornell University. From the study of the famous mas-
terpieces of the genius of the Old World Mr. Duckworth returned to the United
States and spent one year with Welch, Steurtevant & Pogge, architects of
Wilkes-Barre, then returned to Scranton, where he was associated in business
with his honored father until the death of the latter in 1912. He then suc-
ceeded to full control and conducts the large and prosperous business along
the same lines of loyalty and efficiency upon which it was originally founded.
During the past year he has planned many new buildings, including banks at
Archbald and Dunmore, three schools for the borough of Old Forge, altera-
tions to the Coal Exchange, and Parochial Hall, at Archbald, comfort station,
city of Scranton. He is a member of L'Agrie Architectural Society, the Country
and Canoe clubs, of Scranton, and of the Board of Trade. He is a Republican
in politics, and a member of the Presbyterian church.
J. MOULTON WALKER
Sabinus Walker, grandfather of J. Moulton Walker, of Scranton, was a
farmer of South Gibson, Pennsylvania, where his son, George A. Walker,
was born February 21, 1828. The early life of George A. Walker was the
usual one of a farmer's boy until he was sixteen years of age when he left
the farm and apprenticed himself to the blacksmith's trade in Honesdale. After
completing his apprenticeship years he became a journeyman smith, settling in
Warren, Pennsylvania, where he became foreman for the Struthers- Wells
Company. He embarked in mercantile life in 1870 by establishing a retail hard-
ware store at St. Marys, Pennsylvania, removing four years later to Emporium.
Pennsylvania, where he continued in business until his death. He became
prominent in the business world and at the time of his death, November 3,
1905, was president of the First National Bank of Emporium and of the Em-
porium Water Company. He married, in January, 1853, Amanda Inglesby,
who died in January, 1904; children: Stella L., married William L. Sykes ;
William S., Gertrude A., Grace A., George A. Jr., J. Moulton, of whom further.
J. Moulton Walker was born at St. Marys, Elk county, Pennsylvania.
October 17, 1870. He prepared for college in the public schools of Emporium,
later entering Pennsylvania State College, whence he was graduated class of
1890. He pursued the study of law under able preceptorship until May, 1893,
when he was admitted to the Cameron county bar. He practiced in Emporium
CITY OF SCRANTON
417
for two years, coming to Scranton in June, 1895, where he has a well estab-
lished practice in the state and federal courts of the district. Mr. Walker is
senior member of the law firm of Walker & Capwell, Nos. 808-811 Peoples
Bank Building, his residence No. 1715 Penn avenue. He is a member of the
State and County Bar associations, the Masonic Order, the Presbyterian church.,
and in political faith he is a Republican.
Mr. Walker married, October 18, 1892, Elizabeth C, daughter of Robert
W. and Ella Hanna, of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. Children : Helen Louise,
bom July 8, 1894; James Edward, March 25, 1898; Robert Hanna, July 27,
1901.
JOHN J. BRENNAN, M. D.
Three quarters of a century covers the American life of this family, founded
in the United States by the immigration of John Brennan, of Ireland, grand-
father of Dr. John J. Brennan, of Scranton, and his family, which consisted
of one son and one daughter. Leaving his two children with relatives in New
York, John Brennan joined the rush for the California gold fields in 1849,
after which time nothing is known concerning his fate or whereabouts. The
two children who accompanied him to the United States in 1845 were Edward
C, of whom further, and Nellie, married a Mr. Nash.
(II) Edward C. Brennan, son of John Brennan, was born in Ireland, and
when a child was brought to the United States by his father. He was reared
in the home of relatives, and after attending school for a time became em-
ployed at mine labor, meeting an accidental death while so engaged in 1890.
He married, in 1868, Margaret Purcell, member of a family founded in the
United States by three brothers, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts, two
of them, neither of whom married, moved to New Orleans and became whole-
sale merchants, the other settled in Pennsylvania and became the progenitor
of the branch of the family of which Margaret (Purcell) Brennan, now a
resident of Providence, Pennsylvania, is a member. Children of Edward C.
and Margaret (Purcell) Brennan: Jennie, married Cornelius O'Donnell, of
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and has Helen and Stella ; Mary, married a Mr.
Grines, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and has a son, Gerald ; Nellie, mar-
ried John Maher, of Plymouth, Pennsylvania, and is the mother of Bernardine,
Alberta, Eleanor; John J., of whom further; Joseph, deceased; Edward, a
druggist, of Providence, Pennsylvania; James, deceased; Margaret, a trained
nurse ; Lillian ; Joseph, deceased.
(HI) Dr. John J. Brennan, son of Edward C. and Margaret (Purcell)
Brennan, was born in Heckscherville, Pennsylvania, September 14, 1874. Af-
ter attending the public schools of Plymouth he completed his general studies
in the Wyoming Seminary and St. Thomas' College. Making his decision for
the medical profession he entered the Medico-Chirurgical College, of Phila-
delphia, whence he was graduated M. D. in 1898. He was for a short time a
practitioner of Shamokin, Pennsylvania, on June 6, 1899, establishing in the
practice of his profession in Scranton, where he continues to the present time.
His patronage has m.aintained a steady rate of increase until its present pro-
portions cause him close confinement and steady application to his professional
tasks, and he has become well-known as a physician, capable, reliable and
upright, his standing in the ranks of those associated with him in medical pur-
suits being full assurance of his professional worth. The demands of his pro-
fessional duties have left Dr. Brennan little time for participation in activities
along other lines, and practically none for business relations, although he is a
director of the Keystone Bank. Dr. Brennan affiliates with no political party,
27
4i8 CITY OF SCRANTON
his action along this Hne being governed entirely by circumstances and issues,
his choice of candidates predicated solely upon their records and tlieir ability
for service. He is identified with the County and State Medical societies and
the American Medical Association, and belongs to the Modern Woodmen of
the World, the Knights of St. George, and the Knights of Columbus. His
church is St. Patrick's Roman Catholic.
Dr. Brennan married Loretta, daughter of Patrick F. and Henrietta
(Musky) Cannon, and has children: John, born September 27, 1904; Robert,
born June 6, 1912.
ANDREW H. DOWNING
Andrew H. Downing, president of the Scranton Engraving and Electrotyp-
ing Company, operating at Nos. 1138-1144 Capouse avenue, founded in this
city a business with which he had become familiar in Philadelphia, and which
he had followed with profit in that place. He is of Irish descent, Ireland
having been the birth-place of his father, Thomas Downing, in 1845.
Thomas Downing left Londonderry, his home, when he was but three
years of age and accompanied an uncle, a shoemaker by trade, to the United
States. When war between the states broke out he enlisted in Company A,
Twelfth Regiment Pennsylvania Reserves, his regiment being attached during
the early part of the war to the Army of the Potomac. He participated in all
the battles and movements engaging his regiment, fighting in the Wilderness
campaign and the battle of Gettysburg. The rigors of warfare seriously under-
mined his health, although he remained with his company, and he never entirely
recovered from illness contracted during that period, his death resulting from
that cause in 1869. He married Mary T., daughter of James and Elizabeth
(Rusk) Gibson, her mother a grand-niece of Lydia Darrah, of historical fame.
James Gibson was born in Savannah, Georgia, died in 1864. He fought under
Commodore Decatur in the war with the pirates of Tripoli and was at one
time a sailor on the "Alligator," an American privateer. James and Elizabeth
(Rusk) Gibson were the parents of: George, killed in the battle of the Wilder-
ness; Samuel; William; Walter; Mary T., of previous mention, married
Thomas Downing ; Anna ; Kate, married Charles Hankins, who fought in
Company A, Twelfth Regiment Pennsylvania Reserves. Thomas and Mary T.
(Gibson) Downing had children: Andrew H., of whom further; Elizabeth,
married a Mr. Thompson, of Scranton, and is the mother of Edna, Marie,
Lillian.
Andrew H. Downing, son of Thomas and Mary T. (Gibson) Downing,
was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 17. 1866. For eight years he
was a student in the public schools of his native city, later becoming associated
with an electrotyping concern. Having learned the business he followed it for
three years in Philadelphia and then came to Scranton, forming a partnership
with Edwin G. Walford and establishing the Scranton Engraving and Electro-
typing Company, a connection and a firm that endures to the present time,
the relation having been filled with mutual satisfaction, congenial dealings and
profit. Mr. Downing holds the thirty-second degree in the Masonic Order,
also belonging to Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and holds mem-
bership in the Sons of Veterans, United Sportsmen's Association of Pennsyl-
vania, and the Electrotypers' Union. Politically he is a Progressive Repub-
lican, and he holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church.
CITY OF SCRANTON
IRWIN W. SEVERSON, M. D.
419
Of the three generations of the Severson family with whom this chronicle
is concerned, two have been members of the ministry of the Methodist Episco-
pal church, the third a medical practitioner. The family is of Holland descent,
tracing a direct ancestry to William the Silent, prince of Nassau, New York
state being the first American home of the family, which was afterwards
founded in Pennsylvania. Rev. George Severson, grandfather of Irwin W.
Severson, was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, and during his
active life held pastorates in numerous places in Pennsylvania, including Wav-
erly and Dunmore. He married Helen Hogan, and had children : Oscar L.,
of whom further; Wesley, married, and is the father of Howard and William;
Nelson, died in 1914; Selina, married a Mr. Bleaksley, and lives in Binghamton,
New York, the mother of Frank, George, Harry, Minnie, and Ida ; Ursula,
lives in Binghamton, New York.
(II) Rev. Oscar L. Severson, son of George and Helen (Hogan) Severson,
was born in Binghamton, New York, and followed his father into the ministry
of the Methodist Episcopal church. The majority of his charges were in New
York state, where he is affectionately remembered as a minister of sincere
devotion and good works and a preacher of earnest eloquence. Despite his
ministerial position he found little difficulty in reconciling his principles with
his sense of patriotic duty, feeling that the liberation of a people from bondage
would justify man killing man, and early in the conflict between the north and
the south he enlisted in the Union army. He was a soldier in Company E,
One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Regiment New York Volunteer Infantry,
and participated in many of the most memorable battles of the war, including
Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, and Lookout Mountain, at which last place he was
wounded. Rev. Oscar L. Severson married Ella Sanders, his wife a promin-
ent member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, being entitled to
membership therein through four ancestral lines. Children of Oscar L. and
Ella (Sanders) Severson: Mabel, married a Mr. Page, a bank examiner, and
resides in Erie, Pennsylvania, the mother of Ellen, Dorothy, and Eunice ;
Malvern, a graduate, C. E., of Cornell University, class of 1899, married Mar-
garet Saunders, of Belfast, New York, and is the father of Malvern, Paul,
and Philip ; Irwin W., of whom further.
(III) Dr. Irwin W. Severson, son of Rev. Oscar L. and Ella (Sanders)
Severson, was born in Smyrna, New York, May 10, 1880, there attending
the public schools, later entering Wyoming Seminary, whence he was grad-
uated in the class of 1900. For one year he was a student in Wesleyan Semin-
ary, then beginning the study of medicine, he became a student in the medical
department of the University of Columbia. From this institution he received
his M. D. jr) 1906, in June of that year being admitted to practice in the state
of Pennsylvania ; on September 28, 1906, being granted his practitioner's
rights in New York state. Dr. Severson has been identified with the pro-
fessional life of Scranton since January i, 1907, and at the present time is
both well established in practice and the estimation of his professional brethren.
He is a member of the medical staff of the West Side Hospital and belongs
to the County, State, and National Medical associations. His church is that
with which the name Severson has been so long and so honorably connected,
the Methodist Episcopal, and in political faith he is a Progressive Republican.
His club is the Craftsman, of Hyde Park, and he belongs to Hyde Park Lodge,
No. 339, F. and A. M.
Dr. Severson married Sophia Jane, daughter of Frank H. Kyte, of West
Pittston, Pennsylvania, and is the father of Wendell and Dorothy.
420 CITY OF SCRANTON
JOHN L. JENKINS
Mr. Jenkins is a native of Glamorgan county, Wales, that locality the home
of many previous generations of his family, where it is identified with the
families of Davis, Evans, Lewis, many of whose members have achieved
honorable reputation in America, where they were founded at an early date.
John L. Jenkins is a grandson of Thomas Jenkins, who married Sarah Davis,
and had children : David, of whom further ; Edward, deceased ; Thomas, de-
ceased ; Richard, deceased ; Jenkins, deceased ; Sarah, deceased. All of the son.>
of Thomas Jenkins followed agriculture as their life-long occupation.
(II) David Jenkins, son of Thomas and Sarah (Davis) Jenkins, was born
in Glamorgan county. Wales, died there about 1888. His calling was that
which claimed all of his brothers, farming, and in this line he met with favor-
able results. He married Jane, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Davis) Lewis.
Mary a sister of Sarah Davis, who married Thomas Jenkins. Children of
David and Jane (Lewis) Jenkins: Thomas, married Jane Miller; John L., of
whom further ; Sarah, married Thomas Evans, and has four daughters and two
sons, all residents of Wales; William, married Lydia Williams, and has David,
Jane, John.
I (III ) John L. Jenkins, son of David and Jane (Lewis) Jenkins, was born
in Glamorgan county, Wales, December 15, 1840, and was there educated in
the public schools. When he was seventeen years of age he established in
drug dealings in his native land, so continuing until his immigration to the
United States in 1879. In April, 1882, he moved to Scranton, and became a.s-
sociated with B. G. Morgan & Company, at the corner of Jackson and Main
avenues, the present site of the West Side Bank, thus beginning an arrange-
ment that existed for sixteen years with mutual profit and satisfaction. At the
expiration of his time Mr. Jenkins started independent drug dealings, his form-
er business, at No. 1528 Jackson street, where he has since been proprietor of
a drug store. He has been successful in business, and is known as one of the
most exacting and scrupulous of druggists, observing the letter of the regula-
tions governing his business and in all things acting with honor and integrity.
Mr. Jenkins has been a member of the First Welsh Baptist Church since his
arrival in Scranton thirty-two years ago, while for thirty-one years of that
time he has served on the board of deacons. His political party is the Repub-
lican.
Mr. Jenkins married Ann, daughter of Thomas Williams, of Tredegar,
county of Monmouth, England, the ceremony being solemnized, October 4,
1864. Their children : Jane, unmarried ; Margaret A., unmarried ; Thomas W.,
married Mary Jane Davis, daughter of Evan J. Davis, of South Main avenue,
Scranton ; David J., married Anna, daughter of Rev. Edmund Probert, a
minister of the Congregational church at Olyphant, Pennsylvania, and is the
father of John Probert, David Gwynn, Edmund Lewis, Mary Evelyn.
JOHN D. JONES
As assistant to the head of the International Correspondence Schools, of
Scranton, John D. Jones occupies a position in the affairs of that organiza-
tion well suited to his talents and abilities. His worth having been proven as a
field representative of the school, his present high place is the evidence of
worth realized and merit rewarded.
In 1897 he began his connection with the International Correspondence
Schools, as manager of the field force, a position that necessitated travel in al!
parts of the United States and Canada. At the present time he is in the
^■f/^
CITY OF SCRANTON 421
Scranton office as assistant to Thomas J. Foster, president of the company, and
discharges his manifold duties in a manner that in itself explains his rise to
his responsible position. Many of the managerial details of the vast system o£
the schools are left in his care, and in no case has the confidence of Mr. Foster
been misplaced. Mr. Jones is prominent in two fraternities, the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks, in which he is past exalted ruler of the Scran-
ton Lodge, and past grand esteemed lecturing knight of the Grand Lodge of
the L^nited States ; and the Masonic, in which he holds the thirty-second degree,
belonging to Otseningo Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Binghamton Chap-
ter, Royal Arch Masons ; Malta Commandery, Knights Templar, Otseningo
Consistory, Sovereign Princes of the Royal Secret ; Kalurah Temple, Nobles ot
the Mystic Shrine, all of Binghamton, New York. He is a member of the
Board of Trade, Scranton Country Club, the Scranton Club and the Engineers'
Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Mr. Jones married, February 6, 1899, Erma, daughter of Angus and
Christie (Smith) Bethune, both of Worcester, Massachusetts. Children: Ken-
neth B. and Erma H. Both Mr. Jones and his wife are communicants of St
Luke's Episcopal Church.
MILTON ROBLEE
Into his less than half century of life Milton Roblee, the well known and
popular manager of the Casey Hotel, has crowded an amount of action, ex-
perience, fortune and misfortune that woven together by the skilled pen of
the novelist would make a drama of real life equal to any of those of the stage
in which Mr. Roblee has portrayed other characters than his own. His path
has led him into what the majority of people consider the enchanted region
beyond the foot lights, and his name is not unknown to histrionic fame. But
to connect the incidents of his life chronologically.
Milton Roblee was born at Saratoga Springs, New York, June i, 1864.
Until he was fourteen years of age he attended the public schools, completing
his preliminary studies and entering Warrensburg Academy where he took the
four year preparatory course for Cornell LTniversity. Although he had al-
ways anticipated with pleasure a college career, instead of entering college he
accepted a position as clerk in the Woodruff House at Watertown, New York,
this being his first connection in the business to which he afterward devoted
so much of his time and talents. While at this place he became actively inter-
ested in amateur theatricals, and displayed abilities of such high order that
upon attaining his twenty-first year he was offered an engagement in profes-
sional ranks. From 1885 until 1892 he successfully executed leading roles in
many of the favorite plays of the day, including "Siberia," "The White Slave."
"Lights o'London," "Silver King." "James O'Neill," "Mme. Jamescheck," and
was featured as Phileas Fogg in the gigantic production of "Around the World
in Eighty Days." Between seasons he made profitable use of his knowledge of
the hotel business by accepting positions as steward, clerk and manager of hotels
at summer resorts. In 1892 he retired from the stage to accept a position ai
clerk in the Hotel Bartholdi, at that time one of the most exclusive of the large
New York hotels, and when the Hotel Imperial was opened joined the office
force of that house. He resigned his latter place to become manager of the
Barrett House, later named the Cadillac, now known to the public as Wallick's.
His next business venture was in Jersey City, where he leased Taylor's Hotel,
and after conducting that hotel for two years he leased and managed the Hotel
Bartholdi, Broadway and Twenty-third street, where he achieved the greatest
success of his career up to that point. He enlarged his field and the Hotel
422 CITY OF SCRANTON
Belleclaire, Broadway and Seventy-seventh street, a magnificnt three hundred
room hotel, erected at a cost of more than a milhon dollars, was built at his
direction. For four years he fought a losing fight against what appeared to be
doomed failure, and at the end of that time was abliged to retire from business
with a loss of nearly half a milion dollars, having fought desperately to avert
this issue and to make his establishment a paying investment. When Casey
Brothers of Scranton planned and erected the stately and imposing Hotel
Casey, a matter that gave them no little concern was the selection of a man to
place in charge of their costly and valuable establishment. From a thousand
applicants for the position, the past records of all of whom were searched with
minute care to determine their responsibility, Mr. Roblee was chosen. More
than once have the owners of the establishment found cause to congratulate
themselves upon the excellence of their judgment; more than once have the
patrons of the Hotel Casey felt themselves fortunate in having their com-
fort and convenience guarded by so solicitous a host ; and more than once has
Mr. Roblee found pleasure in the favor his efforts have received, in the increas-
ingly wide reputation of his hotel and the commanding position it holds among
houses of a like nature in Scranton.
In Scranton, as in New York, Mr. Roblee has become prominent socially
and fraternally, although in the former city he was more closely identified
with political situations. In later years, too, he has withdrawn entirely from
theatrical connections, but while manager of the Hotel Bartholdi leased and
managed several productions, among them "A Temperance Town," "The Alid-
night Bell," "Haverly's Mastodon Minstrels," and "Two Nights in Rome."
While in this city he was general director of what was probably, from a finan-
cial point of view, the most successful fair ever given. The Actor' Fund Fair,
given at the Metropolitan Opera House the week of May 4, 1907, more than
one hundred thousand dollars being realized for the fund in one week. Mr.
Roblee is a gentleman of dignity and courtesy, agreeable and affable to every on<:
at all times. He is a virtuoso in gems and paintings and has a lapidary's
knowledge of the value and desirability of diamonds,, and has advised many
of his friends in the purchase of such stones, besides owning many fine speci-
mens. He is familiar with all the master pieces of the world's greatest artists
of all schools and finds in them a source of much enjoyment. These are the
diversions with which he relieves the tedium of business, for even with the
varied experiences one meets in his line such occupation is found restful and
refreshing, besides its cultural benefits and the place it affords among art con-
noisseurs.
Mr. Roblee married, October 25, 1909, Margaret A. Gould, of Poultney,
Vermont.
GEORGE W. 'W ATKINS
Born in England and there educated, Mr. Watkins has so thoroughly fallen
into accord with his surroundings and so ably availed himself of his oppor-
tunities in his adopted country that he stands at the head of his especial busi-
ness, interior decoration of all kinds. The originality and beauty of his designs
and the high quality of all his furniture and decorations have not alone won
the regard and patronage of Scranton's best people, but in thirty-eight states
of the Union are his customers found. This recognition of merit, while pleas-
ing to the recipient, is not undeserved, but has been won by thorough prepara-
tion, close attention to detail, and constant search for new designs, better
materials, and more skillful workmen. To this end he has traversed Mexico,
Canada, and the United States in search of ideas ; four times has he toured
CITY OF SCRANTON 423
Europe for designs and study of the furniture and decoration of the different
periods. His American automobile that he took with liim on his last trip car-
ried him everywhere that he wished to go and greatly added to the pleasure
and success of his journeying. As head of his own business, Mr. Watkins
can review his career with satisfaction, trace his course from clerk steadily
upward, and know that success has been honorably won. Mr. Watkins traces
his descent from a long line of English ancestors, his grandfather, a mine-
owner, having inherited ancestral lands. He is a son of Celia Watkins and
Elizabeth W'hislance, who were married in England. When his son, George
W., was four years of age, Celia Watkins, the father was accidentally killed.
His widow yet survives him, a resident of England.
George W. Watkins was born in Abergavenny, England, January 6, 1864,
and obtained his education in the public schools. He began business life as
clerk in the office of his uncle, who was superintendent of an important steel
plant. He remained in that position for two years, then suddenly decided to
come to the United States in company with a young man who was an engineer
in the same plant. His decision was made Thursday, and on Saturday he left
his native land, arriving in due time in New York City. This was in the year
1885, and after a short time spent in Pittston, Pennsylvania, he located in
Scranton. He here obtained employment with S. G. Kerr, at 406 Lackawanna
avenue, carpet and drapery store. While this business was entirely new to him,
Mr. Watkins, beginning at the bottom, mastered its every detail. In an
emergency his knowledge of machinery, gained in the steel plant in England,
was of service to his firm, and for a short time was in charge of the carpet
cleaning and manufacturing plant. He later was a member of the firm S. G.
Kerr & Company, and of the succeeding firm, Kerr, Siebecker & Company, he
representing the company in Kerr, Siebecker & Company. He developed an
unusual selling ability, and gained the reputation of being "the best salesman in
the Lackawanna \'alley" among those who were qualified to judge. In 1894 Mr.
Kerr retired from the firm, which continued as Siebecker & Watkins. In 1899
Mr. Watkins became sole owner and has so continued. His business is manu-
facturing and retailing interior decorations of all kinds, including fine furniture
and hangings. He has attracted the attention of people of means and ap-
preciation, resulting in calls for his services in decorating and furnishing many
fine homes. An instance may be quoted that will illustrate the extent of his
operations. During the summer of 1913 he employed fourteen men in the city
of Brooklyn alone. His entire force in all departments numbers 125. Tlic
specially designed furniture. While his designs are all original and the work-
fabrics used in his hangings are imported, as is much of the wood used in his
manship the best, the mainspring of his success is quality and a high sense of
business honor. To him profit is not a matter that outweighs all else, but is
secondary to a faithful execution of all his contracts. His business has stead-
ily grown until he is head of the largest interior decorative business in this
section, and one not surpassed in volume by any retail house outside of the large
cities. He moved to his present location at the corner of Jefferson avenue and
Spruce street in 1910, and there has attracted the liberal patronage of people
of wealth and taste in thirty-eight states.
Mr. Watkins is a member of the Scranton Board of Trade, the Commercial
Association, the Scranton and Temple clubs, and the Navy League, the latter
a body of patriotic citizens interested in the American navy, meeting annually
in March, when they entertain and are entertained by the highest government
officials and representatives. He belongs to all Masonic bodies in both York
and Scottish rites, holding in the latter the thirty-second degree. These bodies
are : Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Lackawanna Chap-
424 CITY OF SCRANTON
ter, Royal Arch Masons ; Scranton Council, Royal and Select Masters ; Melita
Commandery, Knights Templar; Keystone Lodge of Perfection; Keystone
Council, Princes of Jerusalem ; Keystone Chapter, of Rose Croix ; Keystone
Consistory, Sovereign Princes of the Royal Secret, all of Scranton ; and Irem
Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Wilkes-Barre.
Mr. Watkins married, in 1885, Hannah E. Evans, of Merthga. Children:
Marian, married Harry D. Justin ; Emily, married Charles Watres ; Florence,
single and at home with her parents. The family residence is No. 235 Jeffer-
son avenue.
JAMES A. HANNON
As yet a tyro in the business world, Mr. Hannon, by his ability and special
courses of preparatory study, has gained a position that promises well for his
future. Born and educated in Scranton he has availed himself of the best
of her school advantages and so far as possible has fitted himself for positions
of honor and trust. To this, years of experience must be added, but as the law
of supply and demand will govern in the future as in the past, and the doctrine
of the "survival of the fittest" will always prevail, there is no doubt that the
biographer of the future will find a great deal more to record of the business
rise of Mr. Hannon than is possible at this early stage of his career.
He is the son of James J. Hannon, born in county Mayo, Ireland, coming
to the United States a lad of seventeen years. He located in Scranton where he
was an iron mill worker in employ of Connolly & Wallace. He married Ellen
Cawley, who bore him : Joseph T., a resident of Scranton ; Mary, married M.
F. Reardon, of Scranton ; Helen ; Elizabeth ; Theresa ; .Ann ; Agnes ; Loretta ;
James A. and William.
James A. Hannon, was born in Scranton, September 12, 1891. He attended
the public schools and Saint Cecelia Academy and after a three years" course
at the latter, entered Scranton Central High School, whence he was graduated
class of 1909. He began business life with the Delaware, Lackawanna &
Western Railroad Company, later becoming bookkeeper with the Merchants
and Mechanics Bank of Scranton, a position he now fills. To his years of
general study, Mr. Hannon has added the courses prescribed by the Wharton
School of Finance, an extension of the University of Pennsylvania. He is also
a member of the Scranton Chapter, American Institution of Banking, supple-
menting his practical work in the bank by means of instruction and method
gained by connection with these valuable institutions. He is a member of
Saint John's Total Abstinence Society and interested in the healthy athletic
sports and diversions of the clean minded, enthusiastic American young man.
JOHN G. HUGHES
Born and educated in Scranton, Mr. Hughes here began his business life
and has ever been connected with the house of which he is now an honored
member, The Pierce Company. His father, Evan D. Hughes, was born in
Butler, Pennsylvania, in 1837, later becoming a merchant of Scranton. He
served in the Civil War in the Sixth Regiment Pennsylvania Cavalry, attached
to the Army of the Potomac. At the battle of Beverly Ford he was wounded
and fell into the hands of the enemy, but before the day ended was recaptured
by the Federal troops. After the war ended he returned to Scranton and be-
came a conductor on the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Railroad, a position he
held until his death in 1908. He was a prominent member of the Masonic
order, was a past eminent commander of Crusader Commandery, Knights.
CITY OF SCRANTON 425
Templar, and held the thirty-second degree Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite.
He married Ahna M., daughter of John Grover, of Hicks Ferry, Pennsyl-
vania. Children: Thomas R., Carl S., John G., Ida B., Emory, Elizabeth,
married Dr. Charles Hoose, of Albany, New York.
John G. Hughes was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, March 9, 1870. He
was educated in the public schools and at Wyoming Seminary, beginning busi-
ness life in 1888 with the firm of Pierce & Holgate. He continued with that
firm until 1894, vi'hen The Pierce Company was incorporated as its successor.
Mr. Hughes becoming a member of the corporation. Until 191 1 he was vice-
president and manager of the wholesale department, in the latter year becoming
president and general manager of both stores operated by The Pierce Com-
pany. He is a member of Green Ridge Lodge, No. 597, F. and A. M. ; Lacka-
wanna Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, Melita Commandery, Knights Templar,
Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, the Heptasophs, the Modern Wood-
men, and the Fraternal Mystic Circle. In politics Mr. Hughes is an inde-
pendent Republican, holding principles and men above party allegiance. He
married, May 23, 1894, Bertha C, daughter of Dr. A. B. Longshore, of Scran-
ton, Pennsylvania.
ALFRED MILTON BAKER JR.
Although the search of Alfred Milton Baker for a vocation carried him to
far away New Mexico, where he was not content to remain, it appears that
as the agent and distributor of the Hupp Motor Car Company, manufacturers
of the Hupmobile, in northeastern Pennsylvania, he has found a field of en-
deavor both to his liking and for which he is peculiarly well fitted.
Mr. Baker's birthplace is Michigan, but in spite of this fact he is justly
claimed as a Pennsylvania product, inasmuch as that state was the birthplace
of the two generations of his family preceding him, Vermont being the birth-
place of his great-grandfather. His grandfather, John Baker, was in his early
life a resident of Clififord, Pennsylvania, but in later years moved to Scran
ton, engaging in the livery business and for several years running a stage from
Factoryville to Tunkhannock, long before the days of electric roads. He mar-
ried Nancy Callander, a member of the family whose part in the struggle for
independence was so conspicuous and glorious. His children were: Alfred
Milton, of whom further ; Herbert L., an attorney of Detroit ; Julietta ; Ade-
laide; Boyman ; Emma. The two latter are deceased.
Alfred Milton Baker was born in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, July
20, 1835. For several years he was engaged in business in partnership with
W. S. Courtright, and after the dissolution of that connection became a com-
mercial traveler in the employ of a Detroit shoe manufactory. He then purchased
a farm in Michigan and resided thereon for fifteen years, coming to Penn-
sylvania in 1884, where he resided up to his death, March 15, 1914, at seventy-
nine years. He married Josephine, daughter of John Milton Witherbee. Chil-
dren of Alfred Milton and Josephine Baker: John E., secretary of the Hupp
Motor Car Company, of Detroit ; Helen J. ; Alfred Milton, of whom further.
Alfred Milton Baker Jr. was born at Clarkstown, Michigan, October 26,
1879. In his early youth his parents moved to Scranton, and in the public
schools and Central high school of that city he received the major part of hi>
education, completing his studies at the Keystone Academy. His first business
experience was in the employ of the Alomogordo Lumber Company, in New
Mexico. After a year's service with this company he entered the employ of the
International Correspondence Schools, of Scranton, and in 1908 entered the
employ of the Hupp Motor Car Company. As the history of Mr. Baker's
426 CITY OF SCRANTON
connection with this company is, to a great extent, the story of that company's
extension and development, a short outline of the company's existence will
be given. In the spring of 1908, with the modest capital of twenty-five thous-
and dollars, a company was formed in Detroit to build a motor car of grace-
ful and pleasing design, built on the same principles of construction and with
as finished workmanship as found in the highest priced cars on the market.
By November of that year the first experimental car was in operation and a
factory had been rented to produce the first output of five hundred cars. As
the car found favor with the public, both in appearance and endurance, the
factory was deluged with orders far beyond its small capacity and a large
factory with every modern equipment of machinery for the special require-
ments of the Hupmobile was biiilt on Jefferson and Concord avenues. In the
beginning of the 1910 season the company was prepared to meet a demand for
five thousand cars, but during the next two seasons even that provision proved
entirely inadequate, and the company was compelled to conduct many of its
operations in shops and factories separate from the main plant and scattered
throughout the city. In November, 191 1, plans were drawn up and ground
broken for a five acre plant. One of the most interesting points about the
erection of the factory was the manner in which the handicap of severe cold
was overcome. At one time, with the temperature below zero, the contractors
raised a large circus tent, two hundred feet in length, over the site of the
administration building, then under way, and under this protecting canvas a
boiler and salamanders were installed. By this method the bricklayers and
ironworkers were able to resume operations at the comfortable temperature
of sixty-five degrees, although bitter cold prevailed without. The buildings
were finally completed in March, 1912. The plant comprising three main in-
dustrial buildings, two stories in height, covering factory floor space of several
hundred thousand square feet, is erected in parallel, with road trackage and
avenues between each pair of structures. These buildings are connected on the
upper floors by means of communicating bridges, and are bounded on the
rear by belt line tracks, along which is an immense shipping platform. An
administration building, two stories in height, which includes a floor space of
nearly thirty thousand square feet, extends completely across the front of the
industrial buildings. Since March, 1912, two additional buildings, one for the
final assembly, and the other a storage warehouse for parts, have been erected.
To provide for the Canadian trade, a factory was begun, simultaneous with
the erection of the Detroit plant, at Windsor, Ontario, with a capacity of
three thousand cars per year, so constructed that additions may be made at
any time to increase the capacity. Because so many of the parts can be manu-
factured from material obtainable in Canada, a substantial reduction in price
can be made to Canadian purchasers.
In 1909 Mr. Baker was appointed distributing agent for northeastern,
Pennsylvania, and in the four years of his incumbency of that position has
persistently and energetically labored to keep his car in the front rank of
automobile trade, an endeavor in which he has been very successful. The
agent for a car of quality, at a price not prohibitive, and with recorded tests
proving its superiority in many departments, he is backed by an argument more
powerful and convincing than words, a machine of beauty and grace of design,
strength of construction, and moderateness of price. Mr. Baktr is a Republi-
can in political belief, belongs to the Automobile Association, and is a member
of Waverly Lodge, No. 301, F. and A. M.
CITY OF SCRANTON 427
JOHN T. CORLEY
County Mayo, Ireland, was the original home of the ancestors of John T.
Corley, one of Scranton's most enterprising and active real estate dealers.
It was in this part of Ireland that his grandfather, Michael Corley, and his
father, Andrew Corley, were born. Andrew Corley followed the sea all his
life and for many years was first officer on a transatlantic liner. He married
Mary, daughter of Edward McCormick, a native of Ireland. Among his
children was John T.
John T. Corley was born near Boston, Massachusetts, in 1863, where he
made his home during the absence of his father on his many voyages. When he
was seven years of age his family moved to Ireland and there he obtained an
education in the public schools, attending the same until he was si.xteen years
of age. He then went to England, apprenticed himself to the landscape gard-
ener's trade, and for five years was employed in that business at Yorkshire.
He then determined to come to the United States, and engaged passage on the
"Baltic," of the White Star Line. After an uneventful voyage of ten days,
the vessel docked at Castle Garden, New York. Mr. Corley came at once to
Pennsylvania, and obtained his first employment as a laborer in Avoca, three
months later entering the mines. Three years of this labor left him with a
decided distaste for any more of the same, and he moved to Scranton, en-
gaging in landscape gardening, the trade he had learned in England. In con-
nection with this work he began to conduct real estate operations, and on
April 4, 1904, was appointed general manager of the Globe Real Estate Com-
pany, of Scranton. After a year's service with that corporation he decided to
begin operations independently and resigned his position, confident in his own
business ability and with faith in his future success, a confidence and faith
that the passing years have proved to be founded upon the keenest introspective
observation. In 1907, his real estate dealings having assumed dimensions
that made it imperative that more time be given thereto, he withdrew from
landscape work and has since concentrated all of his attention and time to the
former business. Mr. Corley is a member of St. John's Church, and belongs
to St. Paul's Pioneer Corps. His political stand is made according to the
dictates of no party, his action in political matters depending entirely upon
his judginent in regard to the situation.
Rlr. Corley has in his business life shown resourcefulness and determination
that has led to his ultimate success, a spirit that to those who credit heredity
must have descended to him from his sailor father who, often, when in com-
mand of the vessel of which he was first mate, was forced to pit his brain
and nautical knowledge against the power and strength of the elements, witii
a far greater prize at stake than his own fortune. Many times the fate of the
entire ship was in his hands and with the courage of decision and quick re-
sourcefulness that he developed he preserved the safety of his precious freight
of human lives, and this trait has descended in full force to his son, so that, in
overcoming the obstacles of business, he has made for himself a reputation
as a clever, able, albeit fair and honorable, business man.
Mr. Corley married, in 1878, Sarah, daughter of John and Bessie (Finn)
Murphy. Children : Margaret, John, Bessie, Andrew, Rhoda, Mary, deceased ;
Mary, Sarah.
WILLIAM CARL SCHOENFELD
Scranton has known two generations of Schoenfelds in connection with the
undertaking business, and it is probable that the same name, identified with
428 CITY OF SCRANTON
that occupation, will continue for at least one more generation. The relation
began with Reinhard Schoenfeld, born in Weisbaden, Nassau, Germany, Jan-
uary 13. 1835, son of George William Schoenfeld, who was a native of the
same locality, a farmer by occupation, owning the fertile acres that he tilleci,
and in addition to agricultural operations was also a boot and shoemaker, his
death occurring in 1849, when he was fifty-three years of age. He was the
parent of six children who survived childhood. The form of the name as it
is spelled at the present time is not that which was used in the homeland, but
because of the difficulty experienced by foreigners and those unversed in the
German tongue in acquiring a correct pronunciation of vowels marked with an
umlaut, "oe" was substituted for "o" with this modifying designation.
Reinhard Schoenfeld's mother died when he was two years of age, and
twelve years later he was left an orphan, being apprenticed to the wheelwright's
trade when he was fifteen years of age. In 1853, the ties of home having been
most efifectually sundered by the death of his parents, he engaged passage in a
sailing vessel leaving Antwerp and two months later landed in New York City.
He at once proceeded to Honesdale, Pennsylvania, there being employed for a
short time at the coal docks of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, for
the next two years following the trade he had learned in Germany in a wagon
shop. Coming to Scranton in 1855, he entered the car shops of the Delaware,
Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company, and was there employed for
about thirteen years, in 1868 establishing an independent business as the pro-
prietor of a general provision store on Cedar avenue. Dissatisfied with the re-
turns from this venture in proportion to the capital and labor expended, at
the end of a year he retired therefrom and engaged in carpentering. In 1869
he embarked in the undertaking business, managing in connection therewith for
several years a furniture store, his first location being on Penn avenue. He
afterward moved to Lackawanna avenue, later returning to Penn avenue, and
subsequently locating at No. 318 Franklin avenue, his present place of busi-
ness. No branch of his business has been neglected and excellent service of
high grade has won for the house a creditable reputation. Funeral directing
is a line to which he has given particular attention, and through his office
complete arrangements for such a ceremony can be made. Since 1910 Mr.
Schoenfeld has lived retired from active participation in the business that he
founded, his son, William C, managing its affairs.
Mr. Schoenfeld and his wife are members of the Zion Lutheran Church,
regular attendants and active workers in its sub-organizations. Mrs. Schoen-
feld having been for two years president of the Ladies' Society, for six years
its treasurer, and four years secretary. Mr. Schoenfeld was formerly a mem-
ber of the German Presbyterian Church, to which he lent his devoted sup-
port, being a member of the choir of that organization, a trustee of the satne,
and suj^erintendent of the Sunday school. He is identified with no political
party, and at one time afliliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
He married, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1857, Barbara Schwartz, born
near Stuttgart, Wurtemberg, Germany, daughter of Andrew and Barbara
(Housman) Schwartz. Her father was a farmer in the homeland, and after
her parents' death Barbara Schwartz, in 1854, immigrated to the United States,
making her home in ^^'ashington, two years later moving to Scranton. Rein-
hard and Barbara Schoenfeld are the parents of William C, of whom further ;
Amelia, married a Mi. Wenzel, and died aged twenty-seven years; Mary, died
aged twenty-six years.
William Carl Schoenfeld. son of Reinhard and Barbara (Schwartz)
Schoenfeld, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, October 7, 1858. After ob-
taining his education in the public schools of the city he entered his father's
CITY OF SCRANTON 429
business, which he learned under the painstaking instruction of the elder
Schoenfeld. He was his father's competent assistant until Mr. Schoenfeld"'-
retirement in 1910, since which year he has managed the business in a manner
no less able than that under which it was brought to its present high plane
of prosperity. William C. Schoenfeld is a member of the Lutheran church.
He married, September 15, 1891, Elizabeth Catherine Koch, born April
16, 1867, daughter of John Henry and Anna E. Koch. John Henry Koch wa.s
born in Rotenburg, Prussia, Germany, October 18, 1835, immigrating to the
United States and settling in Hyde Park about 1855, where he followed hJs
trade, that of carpenter. In i860 he was employed in the car shops, three
years later becoming proprietor of a hotel on F'ranklin avenue, which he con-
ducted for about three years, for the following eighteen years being host of a
hotel at Olyphant. After residing in Green Ridge for two years he moved
to Scranton and for two years owned and managed a hotel at the corner of
Penn avenue and Center street, at the end of which time he sold the property
and obtained a mercantile agency for Simon Rice, building his present honii
on Capouse avenue. Children of William Carl and Elizabeth Catherine (Koch)
Schoenfeld: i. Reinliard Karl, born April 18, 1893: after leaving the city's
high school in the third year, he began to take an active part in the undertak-
ing profession, and in February, 1914, he graduated from the Renouard Train-
ing School for Embalmers of New York City, after which he successfully
passed the state e.xaminations at Philadelphia, and is now active in the pro-
fession. 2. Karl William. 3. Kenneth Koch, born January 7, 1900, a student
in grammar school.
JAY MILLER FAHRINGER
There are many men in the mercantile and financial world of Scranton
who will testify to the worth of Jay Miller Fahringer as a merchant, and
those who know him outside of his business connections are unanimous in
their praise of his daily deportment and sincere in their appreciation of the
influence he has wielded in the city of his adoption, Scranton. His position
among the foremost merchants of the city is one that he owes to a proper and
legitimate exercise of the strong faculties with which he was endowed by
bountiful Nature, not the least of which has been an unyielding determination
to succeed, not only in material affairs, but to make his life a true success in
service to his fellow men. In what measure this has been realized the following
recital will show.
The ancestry of the Fahringers of Pennsylvania is Dutch. Holland having
been the land whence came the immigrant of this line. The first of this record
is Jonas Fahringer, by trade a blacksmith, who married a Miss Marks, and
had children: Reuben: Jeremiah, of whom further; Hilda, married a Mr.
Blass ; Caroline, married a Mr. Bird ; Mary, married a Mr. Murray, and re-
sides in Danville, Pennsylvania. Jeremiah, son of Jonas Fahringer, was born in
Pennsylvania, December 14, 1834, died in October, 1912. Learning the car-
penter's trade, he advanced beyond journeyman's estate and became a builder,
later for many years being employed as foreman in the Pancoast Coal Mines
at Throop, Pennsylvania. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Mahlon Kase,
and was the father of : Melissa, married S. R. Stanton, and lives in New Jer-
sey; Jonas, employed as foreman in a manufactory at Port Henry, New York;
Millie, married William H. Crookshanks ; Charles, a hardware merchant, en-
gaged in business at Ashland, Pennsylvania; San ford, an engineer at Louis-
ville, Kentucky ; Jay Miller, of whom further ; Bessie, deceased ; Frank, a
430 CITY OF SCRANTON
bookkeeper, employed by a firm in Pottstown, Pennsylvania ; Archibald, re-
sides at Peckville, Pei^nsylvania ; Lulu, deceased.
Jay Miller Fahringer, son of Jeremiah and Elizabeth ( Kase ) Fahringer,
was born at Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, December 7, 1869. For four years of
his youth he attended the public schools at West Pittston, at the expiration
of that time entering the mines as slate picker. When he was fourteen years
of age he became a clerk in the store of a coal company at Throop, and was
similarly engaged in the stores of various companies until 1901. In this year
he moved to Providence, Pennsylvania, opening a store under his own name
at No. 2901 North Main avenue. The rental of this establishment and the pur-
chase of his stock required the expenditure of all of his slender capital, and
being prepared to stand or fall as a merchant, the decision resting upon the
fate of this store, he threw himself, mind and body, into the task of making his
first investment a profitable one. The store weathered the uncertainty and lack
of confidence felt in a new institution, and soon became a thriving establish-
ment, marking Mr. Fahringer's first conquest in the mercantile world. He was
in Providence at this location for four years, later moving to No. 2456 Nortli
Main avenue, where his present store is now located. Mr. Fahringer is a
member of Hiram Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Celestial Lodge, In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows ; the Junior Order of United American
Mechanics; and the Modern Woodmen of America. His church is the First
Christian Church of Providence, and in this organization he holds the position
of superintendent of the Sunday school. In connection with his duties as the
head of the Sunday school he is the teacher of a Men's Bible Class whose
membership numbers one hundred and twenty-five, one of the largest men's
classes in the state. Mr. Fahringer, because of his admirable facility of ex-
pression, his ease in conversation, and his graceful manner of presiding over
such a gathering, is particularly well fitted to hold such a place, and the meet-
ings of this class are inspiring in the earnestness that governs all discussion
and the spirit that animates its members. That Mr. Fahringer is popular with
the members of his class is shown by its constant increase in membership and
the regularity of attendance. An organization of such strength and so
definitely connected with Christian work is a powerful feature in the moral
and religious welfare of a city, and Providence is well in the lead in the move-
ment for men in religion.
Jay Miller Fahrmger married Maggie, daughter of William Birtley, of
Belleville, Illinois. They are the parents of: William, married Bernice Oakley;
Susie, Marjorie, Jay, Mahlon.
THOMAS HENRY MEAD
Born in New Jersey, Mr. Mead was brought to Pittston, Pennsylvania,
when but an infant, his entire life from that time having been spent in the
Lackawanna and Wyoming Valleys, where he has long been connected with
important business firms and corporations. He is of English ancestry descend-
ing from Dr. William Mead, who on coming to the United States located in
New York City, where William Mead, grandfather of Thomas Henry Mead,
was born. William Mead became a New Jersey farmer, married and reared a
family.
Thomas Henry Mead, son of William Mead, was born in Newark, New
Jersey, and there was educated in the public schools. He is a veteran of the
Civil War, serving from Bull Run through many other bloody battles fought
by the Army of the Potomac. He was honorably discharged at the close of
the war, after which he returned to Newark, where he was connected with
CITY OF SCRANTON
431
the Springfield Avenue Street Car Company. He later moved to Pittston and
was there employed in a paper mill for a time, then becoming a partner with
his brother-in-law, A. B. Rommel, and engaged in farming. He married Mary
A., daughter of John Christian Frederick Rommel, a grandson of the great
botanist, who was sent by the King of the Netherlands to this country on a
scientific mission, but becoming so enraptured with the United States and its
institutions that he refused to return to Holland, thereby forfeiting his inheri-
tance. He died in Hampton, Virginia. Children of Thomas Henry and Mary
A. (Rommel) Mead: i. Thomas Henry, of whom further. 2. George B.,
born October 24, 1868; educated in the public schools; married Mary L. Evans,
of Throop, Pennsylvania ; is now engaged as shipper for the collieries of the
Temple Iron Company, in Scranton, Pennsylvania; children, George B., Mar-
garet, Lois Eva Lena ; he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and
the order of Heptasophs.
Thomas Henry (2) Mead, son of Thomas Henry (i) Mead, was born in
Dover, New Jeresy, January 23, 1863. During the same year his parents moved
to Pittston, Pennsylvania, where he was educated in the public schools and
resided during his entire minority. He began business life early, as a clerk
in the grocery store owned by his uncle, Frank Rommel, later becoming a
finisher in the paper mills of G. B. Rommel, going from there to the meat
merchants, Ross & Company. In 1886 he began his connection with the coal
business, starting as paymaster and superintendent of shipments for the Enter-
prise Coal Company, then conducted by Andrew Langdon, of Buffalo, New
York. In 1890 the Enterprise mines were sold to the Lehigh Valley Railroad
Company, Mr. Mead transferring his allegiance to the Babylon Coal Company,
then conducted by Simpson and Watkins. He was first paymaster and shipper,
then was promoted to the position of foreman. He continued with the Babylon
Company until their plant was consumed by fire, then became payroll clerk for
the Mount Lookout Coal Company, of Wyoming, continuing until 1901, when
he was transferred to Scranton as voucher clerk for the Temple Iron Company,
purchasers of the Simpson and Watkins properties. He was made bookkeeper
in 1903 and continued as such until 1909, when he was promoted to his present
position as auditor and paymaster of the company, a vacancy having been
caused by the death of George L. Houser. In 1910 the Temple Iron Company
was dissolved, the constituent companies returning to their original form. By
these companies Mr. IMead was retained as auditor, now serving them individ-
ually instead of as the amalgamated Temple Iron Company. These are the:
Northwest Coal Company, Edgeton Coal Company, Sterrick Creek Coal Com-
pany, Lackawanna Coal Company, Mount Lookout Coal Company, Babylon
Coal Company, and the Forty Foot Coal Company. His record is one of
honorable service and the fact that he was the choice of all the subsidiary
companies is a high tribute to his efficiency. Mr. Mead is a deacon of the
First Baptist Church of Scranton, a Master Mason of Hyde Park Lodge, No.
339, F. and A. M., a member of Roaring Brook Lodge, No. 401, K. of P., the
Royal Arcanum, and of the Craftsmen Club. In political faith he is a Repub-
lican.
Mr. Mead married, June 10, 1885, Marie A. Lewis, of Swansea, Wales,
one child, Marjorie B., born at Watkins Glen, New York, June 20, 1897.
The family residence is at No. 825 West Elm street.
GEORGE WAHL
The Wahls were an old family of Germany, where Matthias Wahl, father
of George Wahl, of Scranton, filled a government official position for half a
432 CITY OF SCRANTON
century, retiring with honor and receiving a substantial token of appreciation
on the occasion of the celebration of his fifty years of honorable service.
Matthias Wahl was born in Flornheim, Germany, in 1805, married Gertrude
Kretschmar, and haa twelve children, all now deceased, except George and
Theresia Sendler, a sister.
George Wahl was born in Germany in 1848. He was educated in one of the
noted gymnasiums of Germany, intending to fit himself for the profession of
teaching. His elder brother, John, emigrated and came to the United States,
and when on a visit to Germany had so glowing a story to tell of his American
home that on his return to the United States he was accompanied by his young-
er brother, George. In December, 1864, they arrived in Scranton, where John
Wahl was proprietor of a barber shop. The young man, in order to get a start
and to meet expenses during the first months, when all was new and strange,
decided to work for his brother, and making excellent progress he continued
until he became proficient. In a few years he became proprietor a^ a barber
shop and baths in the Lackawanna Valley House, then Scranton's leading
hotel. In 1890 he entered into partnership with Frank Humler, they becoming
owners of the Scranton Journal Printing Company, then issuing a small
weekly newspaper in the German language. The partners enlarged the weekly
from an eight page to a twenty- four page weekly, and greatly increased both
the subscription list and the advertising accounts. Leaving the principal burden
of the newspaper to Mr. Humler, Mr. Wahl entered the life insurance field,
and he met with such success that in 1904 he retired entirely from the news-
paper to devote himself exclusively to the insurance business. He is now
district agent for that sterling institution. The Penn Mutual Life Insurance
Company, of Philadelphia. Mr. Wahl is one of the pioneers in the insurance
business in Scranton, and has fairly earned honorable standing among the
business men of merit in the city. He is still actively engaged in the business,
and though the immediate need of revenue has long since passed away, he
finds the greatest enjoyment in the field and among his long-time associates.
His genial personality has won him many warm friends, and as a citizen he
has always been public-spirited and active. He has promoted to the full extent
of his ability the interests of his adopted city, has served as a member of
important committees of the Board of Trade, and is interested in several of
Scranton's industries and in her financial institutions. During the half century
of his residence in Scranton he has several times laid aside the cares of business
to revisit his native land and the scenes of his youth. He was one of the or-
ganizers of the popular German singing society, the Scranton Liederkranz, has
always taken a deep interest in its welfare and is now the only surviving
charter member of the body of young men who about forty-six years ago met
and formed the society. He has never aspired to political honors, although,
they have been easily within his reach. He is a member of the Knights of
Columbus, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Younger Maennerchor
and several other societies.
Mr. Wahl married Katherine, daughter of Henry and Cornelia (Werthem-
mer) Dimler. Her mother, Cornelia (Werthemmer) Dimler, came from Ger-
many with her father and sister about 1854, settling in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Their first home was a log cabin, situated near the present site of the Church
of the Nativity. This carries back to pioneer days in Scranton. Mr. Wahl
resides at No. 523 Taylor avenue, his offices being Nos. 307-08 Board of Trade
Building.
CITY OF SCRANTON 433
THOMAS FRANKLIN EYNON
The Eynons came to Pennsylvania from Wales, the emigrant, Thomas
Eynon, son of John Eynon, settling in Carbondale in 1831. He is credited with
having sunk the first coal mining shaft in the valley of the Lackawanna and
was later interested in the manufacture of iron and steel. He came from Car-
bondale to Scranton a few years after his first settlement, and was for several
years a merchant on South Main street. Later he became interested in Ohio
steel and iron mills, but during the Civil War was obliged to relinquish his
interest. He then became superintendent of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation
Company's colliery at Lanford, later returning to Scranton and again en-
gaging in business as a general merchant. He married Jane Leyshone. Chil-
dren: I. Albert B., cashier of the West Side Bank, Scranton; married Annie
Hughes; children: Thomas A., Benjamin G., Howard. 2. Paul. 3. Thomas,
deceased. 4. George Franklin, of whom further. 5. Jennie, married Dr. B
G. Beddoe, of Scranton ; children : Ruth, Arthur, Allen.
George Franklin Eynon, son of Thomas Eynon, was born September 15,
1855, and is now a resident of Scranton, and a successful general merchant
of that city. He married Kate Kramer, and has children: i. Charles Augus-
tus, married Bertha Davis ; children : Helen May, George Franklin, Anna
Louise. 2. Thomas Franklin, of whom further. 3. Jennie May, married H.
S. McGarrah, of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Thomas Franklin Eynon was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, October 22,
1881. He obtained his preparatory education in the public schools of the
city, then entered Lafayette College, whence he was graduated, class of 1905.
with the degree of electrical engineer. After leaving college he entered the em-
ploy of the Westinghouse Electrical and Manufacturing Company, of Pitts-
burgh, going from that company to the General Electrical Company, at Lynn,
Massachusetts. Returning later to Scranton, he entered the employ of the
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company, as electrical engineer,
then formed a connection with the Scranton Electric Company. On February
I, 1908, he entered into partnership with G. F. Smith as the Penn Electrical
Engineering Company, the company later incorporating under the same name
with V. A. Decker, president, G. F. Smith, vice-president, T. F. Eynon, treas-
urer, and O. I. Eberhardt, secretary. In connection with their business the
firm are agents of the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company.
The company's offices are No. 214 Traders Bank Building. The company is
a prosperous one and as the name indicates executes all forms of electrical
engineering contracts and mechanical equipment. Mr. Eynon is an Independent
in politics, a member of the Congregational church, Peter Williamson Lodge.
Free and Accepted Masons, and the Royal Arcanum. His college fraternitv
is the Sigma Nu.
He married, June i, 1910, Nora, daughter of George and Sarah Schutter
Child, Thomas Franklin (2), born March 8, 191 1.
GUSTAVE FREDERICK SMITH
Three generations of this branch of the Smith family have resided in
Pennsylvania. The American ancestor, John Frederick Smith, was a resident
of Calw, Wurtemberg, Germany, from whence he came to the United States
with his family in 1854, settling at Port Jervis, New York. Later he moved
to Pleasant Mountain, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, thence to Seelyville, his
home until death. He married Louisa Kermer and she had issue: Gustave, of
whom further; Charles, deceased.
28
434 CITY OF SCRANTON
(II) Gustave Smith, son of John Frederick and Louisa (Kermer) Smith,
was born in Wurtemberg. Germany, in 1838, died in Seelyville, Pennsylvania,
March 3, 1914. He came to the United States with his parents in 1854, Hving
at Port Jervis, New York, and Pleasant Mountain, Pennsylvania, before settUng
at Seelyville, Pennsylvania. There he was manager of the grocery and later
the cheese firm of G. Smith & Sons, and spent his after life in successful
business operations. With the exception of two years spent in New York his
entire life in the United States was spent in Pennsylvania. He married Kath-
erine Miller and she had issue : Charles, now residing in Honesdale ; Katherine,
married Reinhold Schank, of Hancock, New York ; Louisa ; Henry, married
Mabel Reuny ; Fred ; Emma ; Gustave Frederick, of whom further.
(III) Gustave Frederick Smith, youngest of the children of Gustave and
Katherine (Miller) Smith, was born at Seelyville, Pennsylvania, October 18,
1881. His primary, intermediate and preparatory education was obtained in
the public schools of Seelyville and Honesdale high school, he being a grad-
uate of the latter institution, class of 1899. He then entered Lafayette College,
Easton, Pennsylvania, whence he was graduated, electrical engineer, class of
1905. With a thorough technical knowledge of electricity he at once began
its practical application. He spent three years in the "testing" departments
of the General Electric Company at Lynn and Pittsfield, Massachusetts, con-
tinuing until 1908, when he came to Scranton. Here he organized the Penn
Electrical Engineering Company in association with T. F. Eynon. They were
successful in their undertaking, won the confidence of the public whose patron-
age they sought, and so increased their business that in 1910 they admitted
O. I. Eberhardt, formerly with the Westinghouse Company, to the firm. In
1912 they incorporated with V. A. Decker, of the First National Bank of
Holly, Pennsylvania, president ; G. F. Smith, vice-president and general man-
ager ; T. F. Eynon, treasurer, O. I. Eberhardt, secretary and sales manager.
The company's operations include many important contracts for modern elec-
trical equipment, among them being the power plant, light and heating system
installed for the Olyphant Barrel Company ; the plant of the Honesdale Con-
solidated Light, Heat and Power Company and D. G. Derry Silk Mills ; Bliss
Silk Mills ; Punxsutawney Silk Company ; William A. Lush Silk Company ;
Haledon Throwing Company ; Spencer Coal Company ; South Side Coal Com-
pany; and the Washburne Williams Company. These contracts included all
types of electrical motors, generators, engines, switches, etc., as well as the
planning and all electrical engineering necessary to produce the best desired
results. Mr. Smith is a practical electrical engineer, well versed in both theory
and practice, and thoroughly understands the arrangement and installation of
the various engines and devices needed to render a perfect power and light
service for central stations, auxiliaries, mines, or industrial plants. In ad-
dition to their large contracting business, the company are jobbers of all kinds
of electrical apparatus and supplies, also agents for \Yestinghouse Electric ana
Manufacturing Company. Their offices are in the Traders' Bank Building.
Mr. Smith is a member of the Engineers' Society of Northeastern Penn-
sylvania, the Exchange Club, of Honesdale, the Masonic Order, Delta Tan
Delta Fraternity (Lafayette), also the Scranton Board of Trade. He is a Re-
publican in politics, and a Presbyterian in religious faith.
ROSCOE H. KEEPER
While in the person of Roscoe H. Keflfer the Aetna Life Insurance Com-
pany has an agent of but three years' standing, he has in that short time given
ample proof of his merit and ability in that capacity. He is a native of Indiana,
CITY OF SCRANTON
435
a descendant of John Keffer, a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1784. John
Keffer married Lucy, daughter of Isaac Gibbons, one of two brothers who
came to America from Germany prior to the Revohition and took active part in
that conflict as soldiers in the Continental army. From John Keflrer the descent
to Roscoe H. is through George, Harrison K., Monroe C.
Monroe C. Keffer, father of Roscoe H. Keffer, was born in 1856, son of
Harrison K. and Phebe Keffer, who were the parents of three other children;
Oscar, a resident of Missouri ; Emma, married B. W. Bonney, of Washing-
ton, D. C. ; Karl, a resident of Three Springs, Pennsylvania.
He spent his life in the pursuit of fanning and school-teaching, the latter
being his prosession for twenty years of his life. He was a resident of Cot-
tage Grove, Indiana. He married Ida, daughter of William Crume, who was
a veteran of the Civil War
Roscoe H. Keffer was born at Cottage Grove, Indiana, May 20, 1882. His
early life was that of most youths, spent in attendance at grammar and high
school, from which latter he was graduated at the early age of sixteen years
He began his business career in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the same business
as that in which he now engages, insurance, although the intermediate years
have been spent as a commercial traveler, first in the employ of the Van Camp
Packing Company and next with the Black Diamond Manufacturing Company.
His terms of service with these corporations were two and eight years, respec-
tively, and in 191 1 he resigned his position with the latter company, coming
to Scranton to accept the office of manager for the firm of Pursell & Dodd.
In January, 1913, he purchased the interests of this firm and accepted the gen-
eral agency of the Aetna Life Insurance Company, of Hartford, Connecticut,
which he still retains. With his youthful experience in the insurance busi-
ness as a firm foundation, Mr. Keffer is thoroughly familiar with all of the
many branches of the insurance business, and has had remarkable success in
selling the same. While, because of the lack of immediate and tangible benefits
insurance selling is always a difficult undertaking, Mr. Keffer handles his
proposition with graceful ease and ability, and has added greatly to the prestige
of his company in that region. Mr. Keffer affiliates with the Masonic order,
in which he holds the thirty-second degree, and is a member of the Knights
Templar and the Shrine. His social connections are with the Temple Club,
of which he is secretary, the Country Club, the Green Ridge Club, Scranton
Club, and the Young Men's Christian Association. He is also a member of the
Scranton Board of Trade. In religious belief a Methodist, he attends the
services of that church, and politically he supports the Republican party. He
married, July i, 1905, Olive Eustice, granddaughter of John Eustice.
ALBERT N. KRAMER
The firm of Kramer Brothers, the largest and also the oldest men's and
boys' outfitters in Lackawanna county, having been established by Nathan
Kramer in 1849 '" Dunmore. is now located at No. 325 Lackawanna avenue,
Scranton, where they have successfully conducted business for more than half
a century.
Nathan Kramer, the father of the Kramer brothers, and founder of the
store by that name, came to the United States in boyhood, and became prom-
inent and influential in commercial circles. At the time of his death, in 1875,
the management of the business was taken up by his sons, one of whom,
Louis N., now a resident of New York City, was active in Scranton affairs,
serving in the capacity of vice-president of the Board of Trade, director of
436 CITY OF SCRANTON
Dime and Savings Bank, member of the Scranton Park Commission, and one
of the early supporters and promoters of the PubHc Library of that city.
Albert N. Kramer, son of Nathan Kramer, was born in Scranton, Penn-
sylvania, August 24, 1864. He attended the public schools, thus acquiring a
practical education, and in early life he entered his father's employ, there
gaining a thorough knowledge of all departments of the business, of which
firm he is now the senior member. Inheriting a strong, vigorous and flourish-
ing business, he directs its management with a far-sighted, progressive policy,
holding true to the standard of fair dealing established iDy his father. Mr.
Kramer is a thirty-second degree Mason, belonging to Peter Williamson Lodge,
Free and Accepted Masons ; Keystone Consistory, and Irem Temple, Ancient
Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Wilkes-Barre. His only other
fraternal relation is with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of which
he is a life member.
Samuel N. Kramer, son of Nathan Kramer, who was the junior member
of the firm, died April 2, 1913. He was well known and respected by all
who had the honor of his acquaintance. He was connected with several prom-
inent financial institutions, and in his memory several institutions have bene-
fitted, the principal one being the West Mountain Consumptive Home of Scran-
ton.
L. H. Kramer, son of Nathan Kramer, a member of the firm of Kramer
Brothers, is active in the business and social life of the city of Scranton, a
member of Scranton Commercial Club and Excelsior Club.
JAMES D. JORDAN
Among the lawyers of Scranton who have but recently joined the ranks
of the legal profession is James D. Jordan, whose admission into the fra-
ternity dates back but to 191 1. He is a descendant of an old Irish family whose
members are numerous in this country, and particularly in Pennsylvania, where
many of the name have achieved noteworthy prominence in literary, scientific,
professional and busmess life.
His grandfather, Richard Jordan, was born in the city of Ballina, county
Mayo, Ireland, and came to the United States in 1849. He settled in Arch-
bald, Pennsylvania, where he became a mine worker. Here he resided unti'
1890 when he changed his residence to Scranton, his death occurring in that
city two days later. He married Bridget Hosie ; children: i. Thomas H., of
whom further. 2. James, deceased, one of the proprietors of The Truth. 3.
Richard W., until 1912 was manager of The Truth. 4. John H., manager of
Lake Lodore Improvement Company. 5. Ella, deceased. 6. Mary, married
John T. Swift, of Archbald. 7. Elizabeth. 8. Rose.
Thomas H. Jordan was born at Archbald, Pennsylvania, in 185 1. During
his early life he followed the occupation of miner. In 1874 he made his first
residence in Parsons and there married Honora, daughter of Martin and Mar-
garet (Kearney) Golden. Children of Martin and Margaret Golden: i.
Patrick, a merchant of Parsons, Pennsylvania. 2. Bridget, married Alartin J.
Walsh ; children : Dr. James J., dean of the medical school of Fordham Uni-
versity and author of several works on Catholic themes, among his best known
articles being "The Thirteenth the Greatest of Centuries" and "Popes and
Sciences;" Dr. Joseph, a specialist in tubercular diseases, assistant to Dr.
Flick at the White Haven Sanitarium, Pennsylvania ; Martin P., a real estate
dealer ; Mary, married P. J. Jordan, of Scranton ; Margaret, married John W.
Jordan, of Olyphant, Pennsylvania ; Josephine, a student at the Boston Con-
servatory of Music. 3. Mary, married Patrick Coxe, and died in 1901 leaving
^^11^^
CITY OF SCRANTON 437
several children, among them Rev. John J., assistant rector of St. Patrick's
Church, of Olyphant. 4. John, of Scranton. 5. Michael, a resident of Scran-
ton. 6. Edward, lives in Parsons, Pennsylvania ; his son, Rev. James J., is
rector of St. Mary's Church of Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania. 7. William. 8.
Catherine, married Michael Ruddy, of Parsons, Pennsylvania. 9. Honora, of
previous mention, married Thomas H. Jordan. Children of Thomas H. and
Honora (Golden) Jordan: i. Rev. Richard D., pastor of St. Peter's Roman
Catholic Church at Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. 2. Joseph P., an insurance brok-
er of Scranton. 3. Martin J., pursuing theological studies at Mount St. Mary's
Theological College, having already received the degree of A. B. from that
institution, in 1913. 4. Mary E. 5. James D., of whom further. 6. Margaret
M., a teacher in Scranton public school. No. 34. 7. Rose M., a teacher in Scran-
ton public school, No. 12.
James D. Jordan was born at Parsons, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania,
March 11, 1887. He attended the public schools of Parsons and Scranton, also
the high school of the latter city, and there obtained his preliminary education,
completing his studies at the University of Notre Dame, there receiving his
classical instruction. On June 13, 1907, he received his A. B. from that institu-
tion and entered the Law School at the University of Pennsylvania. Here he
studied until 1910 when he was registered as a student at law in the office of
Mr. Warren, a lawyer of established reputation in Scranton, to whom Mr.
Jordan owes much for his friendly interest and expert advice. On February
13, 191 1, he was admitted to the bar of Lackawanna county and at once opened
an office in the Connell Building, where he is still situated.
Although comparatively new to the profession, Mr. Jordan is a lawyer
carefully prepared and well equipped for the heaviest of legal burdens and in
the days to come should make good the promise of a brilliant future. In no
other profession is honor and strength of character so certain to triumph over
difficulties set for unwary feet, and with a past record beyond reproach the
way to prominence and achievement looms bright and fair for Mr. Jordan. He
is a Democrat in political affiliation, and a member of the congregation of St.
Paul's Roman Catholic Church. He is president of the Young Men's Institute
of the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland.
MARCUS K. BISHOP
To Marcus K. Bishop, of Dunmore, has been accorded the honor of serving
as postmaster under two presidents whose terms of office were as widely
separated as were those of Andrew Johnson and William McKinley, both of
which dignitaries appointed Mr. Bishop to that position in the government
postal service, the former placing him in charge of the office at Hawley, Wayne
county, Pennsylvania, the latter appointing him to the postmastership at Dun-
more, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania.
Marcus K. Bishop is of New England stock, son of David Bishop and
grandson of Henry Bishop, his father a native of Albany, New York, his
grandfather born in Connecticut. In 1812 David Bishop, accompanied by his
five brothers, Henry, Harvey, Jacob, Hiram and William, made settlement in
Wayne county, Pennsylvania, where he became the owner of considerable
property, farming and conducting lumbering operations thereon, at one time
disposing of two thousand acres of his property to the Pennsylvania Coal Com-
pany. His line is of Revolutionary ancestry, his great-grandfather, John
Bishop, father of Henry Bishop, having fought in the Colonial army in that
conflict. David Bishop was a member of the Universalist church, and a life-
long Democrat. He married Maria Thurston, of Esopus-on-the-Hudson.
438 CITY OF SCRANTON
New York. Seven children resulted from this union, three of whom survive
to the present time.
Marcus K. Bishop, son of David and Maria (Thurston) Bishop, was born
in Hawley, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, August 19, 1839. He was educated
in the Wyoming Seminary. His studies completed, he accepted the position of
assistant postmaster at Hawley, Pennsylvania, which he held from the fall of
i860 until April 21, 1861, when he resigned to take up arms in defence of the
Union. He became a sergeant in Company D, Fifteenth Regiment Pennsyl-
vania Volunteer Infantry, and upon re-enlistment in the Union ranks became a
member of the Ninth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry, serving in that
regiment until mustered out in Lexington, North Carolina, at the close of the
war. From the front he returned to his home in Hawley, receiving from Presi-
dent Andrew Johnson the appointment as postmaster at Hawley, an office that
he filled for two years. At the expiration of this time he resigned in favor of a
war-time comrade who had lost a leg in the service of his country, Mr. Bishop
accepting a position with the Pennsylvania Coal Company as a weigher. In
1869 he moved to Dunmore, being placed in charge of the Dunmore breaker
owned by that company, and after serving for thirteen years in that capacity
entered the office of the company as a clerk. In April, 1898, he was appointed
postmaster of Dunmore by President William McKinley, an appointment that
has since been confirmed by Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard
Taft and Woodrow Wilson, so that the span of years between Mr. Bishop's
first and latest appointment as postmaster has been extended from President
McKinley to President Wilson. During Mr. Bishop's term of office Dunmore
has received city delivery, the increasing population and the growing importance
of Dunmore as a business center making necessary this arrangement, which
was accomplished solely through the efforts of Mr. Bishop. Mr. Bishop is a
member of Ezra Griffin Post, No. 139, G. A. R., and is a charter member of
King Solomon Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Dunmore. He and his
family worship with the Presbyterian church, while he has been a life-long
Republican.
Mr. Bishop married Janet Thomson, born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania,
daughter of Samuel Thompson, her parents deceased. Children of Alarcus
K. Bishop and his wife: Edward, of Davenport, Iowa; Julia, married George
LIsk, a postal clerk of Port Richmond, Staten Island, New York, now de-
ceased ; Anna, married Charles Penny, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, associated
with the Daily News. The family residence is at No. 514 Fifth street, Dun-
more, Pennsylvania.
ADOLF BLAU
One of the most interesting banking houses in northeastern Pennsylvania is
that of the Blau Banking House, No. 218 Lackawanna avenue, Scranton.
It is unique in more ways than one, its chief peculiarity being that on every
week day the bank is open for business from 8 A. M. to 9 P. M., in pur-
suance of the motto of the institution, "Always convenient." Then, too, the
departments of the bank distinguish it from any other of the financial houses
of the city, or, indeed, of the state. A booking office is maintained, where
passage in all three classes can be obtained on any one of the fifty-six steam-
ship lines, many of them transatlantic and others following coastwise routes.
The foreign exchange is also a department of special interest, inasmuch as
foreign money may be exchanged for that of United States coinage or vice
versa. A legal department, for the preparation of papers in the transaction of
business abroad, is another distinctive feature of the Blau Banking House.
CITY OF SCRANTON 439
Because of the large number of foreigners patronizing the bank, there are
clerks employed able to converse in every continental language, so that the
foreigner, ignorant of English speech, can nevertheless be possessed of all the
conveniences that would be open to him with a conversing knowledge of our
tongue. Having given this brief outline of the workings of the Blau system,
its originator and founder, Adolf Blau, known as one of the most progressive
bankers of the state, must needs be mentioned.
Born in Ungvar, Austria-Hungary, on September 13, 1869, son of Joseph
M. and Julia F. ( Freidenberg ) Blau, Adolf Blau was endowed with none ot
the gracious blessings of Providence. His father dying when Adolf was but
ten months old, the lad was early thrown upon his own resources, and at the
age of twelve years obtained a position in a store at Munkacs, where he re-
mained for four years. On June 11, 1885, he sailed for the United States.
After a few months" stay in New York, he came to Wilkes-Barre, where he
was, for a time, identified with a firm conducting an installment business. He
later engaged in the manufacture of hats and caps and while in this business
started a small banking house. Finding the latter field to his liking, in 1898
he came to Scranton, and on October i, 1898, opened a branch bank in Scran-
ton. With the introduction of his new departures, the popularity of the institu-
tion grew by leaps and bounds, until the present three-story building, with a
basement, was necessary to house it properly, the edifice being completed April
I, 191 2. The entire building is used for the accommodation of the business,
nineteen clerks being employed in its many departments. Taught by the
difficulties he himself had to overcome when a stranger in the land, he has
endeavored to bring the advantages of our banking system to all those of
foreign tongue and has succeeded in an admirable manner.
Mr. Blau is a member of Centennial Lodge, Independent Order of Odd
Fellows ; Wyoming Valley Encampment ; Wilkes-Barre Canton ; the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks, of Scranton; and Schiller Lodge, Free and Ac-
cepted Masons. He is also a director and president of the Brains Corpora-
tion and fills the same office on the board of directors of Luna Park.
Mr. Blau's story is that of many other ambitious youths, told in an entirely
new way. Tireless perseverance and the ability to profit by experience, coupled
with originality and self-confidence, have raised him far above the level of
most of his countrymen as well as above that of many, in fact, of the majority,
of Americans native born. Sending in advance his challenge, he has come to
play on our grounds and has proven himself the superior of his opponents.
His are the laurels, his the victor's wreath.
WILLIAM W. WATKINS
Patrons of music in the city of Scranton owe much to those bearing the
name Watkins, a large share of the credit for the lofty position Scranton holds
in the musical world being due to the eliforts of the Watkins brothers, John
T. and William W. It is with the latter of the two that this record deals, his
career being of interest not only as one of Scranton's musical artists but as
one of her business men, his pharmacy at No. 1213 Providence road being one
well patronized, its proprietor a recognized master of his profession.
William W. Watkins, son of William W. and Jane (Jones) Watkins, was
born in Merthyr-Tydfil, South Wales, May 20, 1865. His father was a rail-
road employee in that land and was the father of : Thomas W., a druggist of
Olyphant, Pennsylvania, married Maria Evans and has children — Natalia and
Vivien ; Morgan J., a minister of the Baptist church in Pennsylvania, married
Sarah Jane Neiger, and has children — Sarah, Jennie, Melissa, and William ;
440 CITY OF SCRANTON
Sarah, married John W. Reese, a druggist of Taylor, Pennsylvania, and has —
Eugene, Spencer, Chester, Everett, Leslie, and John ; John T., a noted musician
of Scranton, married Margaret Lloyd and had one son, Harold, deceased :
William W., of whom further; James E., prominent in public life, married
Mary Davis and has — Mercedes, Jean, and Dorothy, deceased ; Charles, a
druggist of Olyphant, Pennsylvania, married Jennie Davis ; Annie ; Richard,
married Annie Beisecker, and is the father of Marion and Lois; Edith, mar-
ried and is the mother of Dorothy and Edith ; Gertrude, married and has one
son, Ronald.
William W. Watkins vi^as brought to the United States when he was four
years of age, his family settling in Taylorville, three miles south of Scranton.
where he was employed in the breakers and the mines. He continued in this
form of labor until 1885, when he left the mines and entered the drug store
maintained by Reese and Watkins. His general education had not been long
continued or regular, obtained mainly when the mines were idle and at night,
so he improved this and studied pharmacy under the tutelage of his brother,
Thomas W. In 1888 Mr. Watkins opened a small drug store in Peckville,
Pennsylvania, there remaining in business until the destructive fire of 1902,
which completely wiped out the business section of the town. His present
business location is at No. 1213 Providence road, Scranton, where he has
erected a building designed for a pharmacy with dwelling accommodations
above, where he and his family reside. His patronage is generous and he there
attends to its needs with profitably gratifying results. His store is attractively
furnished for its purpose, and he carries a generous stock of the numerous
articles that have come to be inseparably connected with a pharmacy, the old
drug store of other days being known no more.
Mr. Watkins is a musician of talent and a devoted follower of all of the
important musical festivals, particularly of the Eisteddfod, and being the
possessor of a rich and melodious baritone voice, has frequently compete'!
in contest, his last appearance as a solo contestant being with the Scran-
ton Choral Society at Brooklyn, New York, the society being under the
leadership of his brother, John T. Watkins. This took place in 1902, Mr.
Watkins being awarded the prize in the baritone contest. The only great con-
test at which he has not been present in the past thirty years was that recently
held at Pittsburgh, which he was unable to attend. Mr. Watkins is a member
of the Junger Mannerchor and is director of the chorus in the Court Street
Methodist Church. The musical endowments that have so distinguished the
family will find perpetuation in the two sons of Mr. Watkins, both of whom
possess unusually sweet voices, and, Mrs. Watkins being a pianist of accom-
plished ability, the family comprises a quartette of remarkable musical talent.
William W. Watkins is a member of the Scranton Choral Society ; Union
Lodge, No. 291, F. and A. M. ; the Lackawanna County Druggists' Association ;
the American Druggists' Association, and St. Luke's Episcopal Church.
He married, in 1896. Gertrude, daughter of John Morris, for many years
auditor of Lackawanna county. They are the parents of two sons, Morris,
born in 1897, ^ graduate of the Scranton Technical High School, June, 1914:
Torrington, born in 1902, a student in Public School No. 40, of Scranton.
ALFRED TENNYSON HUNT
Alfred Tennyson Hunt, an able banker of Scranton, Pennsylvania, is a
descendant of a family which has been resident in America for a number of
generations. Six brothers of the Hunt family came over with Cromwell's
party from England, and one of these brothers was the forefather of Alfred
CITY OF SCRANTON 441
Tennyson Hunt. The name of Hunt is derived from the Saxon word, Hunti,
meaning wolf.
(I) George Hunt, grandfather of Alfred Tennyson Hunt, as a wheelwright
and general store keeper, was a most successful business man, and the qualities
which contributed to his success appear to have been transmitted to his descen-
dant in rich measure. He married (first) Dollie More, who bore him two
children: James More and Elizabeth M. He married (second) Betty More,
twin of Dollie More, his first wife, who bore him two children: Dollie, and
Emma, deceased.
(H) James More Hunt, son of George and Dollie (More) Hunt, was born
at Prattsville, New York, in 1841. In 1869 he removed to Scranton, Pennsyl-
vania, where, having found employment, he brought his family and resided
until his death in 1897. For a year or so he was engaged as clerk in the
Continental Mine Store. Subsequently he formed a partnership with T. J.
Megargel under the firm name of Megargel & Hunt, and opened a grocery store
at the corner of Lackawanna and Washington avenues, which was conducted
successfully for a period of ten years. He then engaged in business inde-
pendently, and retired from active business pursuits in 1884. He married
Mary Ellen Brandow, of Prattsville, New York, who bore him three children :
Alice M., deceased; Bessie M. : Alfred Tennyson.
(HI) Alfred Tennyson Hunt, only son of James More and Mary Ellen
(Brandow) Hunt, was born at Prattsville, Greene county. New York, July
25, 1866. He was educated in the public schools of Scranton and graduated
from the high school in the class of 1884. and during the last three years of
his school life was employed as clerk in a grocery. After graduation he entered
the local office of Dun & Company's Mercantile Agency as a clerk, advancing
to the position of reporter, in which capacity he studied local credits and be-
came familiar with the financial standing of the various business houses of
Scranton, and remained with this company for a period of about three and
one-half years, at the end of which time he decided to devote himself to bank-
ing and secured a position with the First National Bank of Scranton, December
I, 1887. During the first ten years of his employment with the bank Mr. Hunt
filled various positions, and at the expiration of this period was appointed
chief bookkeeper, in charge of the savings department, in connection with
which he acted as substitute receiving teller, thus obtaining a general knowledge
of practical banking. On April 4. 1908, he was appointed assistant cashier in
charge of the credit department, in which capacity he is still serving and has
the entire confidence of the officers of the bank and the esteem of his fellow
workers. He is a member and trustee of the Green Ridge Presbyterian Church ;
member of the manufacturers committee of the Scranton Board of Trade,
secretary and treasurer of the Electric City Land Improvement Company, and
secretary and treasurer of the Scranton Land Company, a New York state
corporation.
Mr. Hunt married, November 18, 1890, Jennie S. Durand, in Addison,
New York. Their only child, Adelaide Durand, was born September 24, 1892.
J. EDWIN WEISSENFLUH
While historians glibly assert that the path and course of civilization,
culture and achievement moves westward, certainly for Mr. Weissenfluh, the
course of all three has taken an eastward trend, although to a youth possessing
to such a marked degree the qualities that he has displayed in school and busi-
ness life, rules of historians or savants must needs lose the greater part of their
eflfect. Born in Kansas, as a young man he came to the East, where all of
442 CITY OF SCRANTON
his advanced education was obtained and his business career passed. He is a
son of a Swiss father, the third of a hne of Johns, the first John, the great-
grandfather of J. Edwin, having been a guide for Emperor Napoleon of France
when, Hke Hannibal, he crossed the Alps and descended into the fertile plains of
Italy. John, father of J. Edwin Weissenfluh, was born in Berne, Switzerland,
and came to the United States in boyhood. The passage of events carried him
to the West and for many years he engaged in the mercantile business. He
married Emma Bosiey, and had two children : Hilda, J. Edwin, of whom
further.
J. Edwin Weissenfluh, only son of John and Emma (Bosiey) Weissenfluh,
was born in Wichita, Kansas, October ii, 1881, and there attended the public
schools until he was seventeen years of age. From that time his education was
earned solely through his own unaided efforts, the methods he employed to gain
funds to enable him to secure adequate instruction along lines that he felt
would be beneficial and the entire story of his winning fight for an education
providing a story interesting in the extreme and one that arouses sincere respect
for him who had the courage, fortitude and will power to pursue such a course
to the successful end. In 1898 he moved to Scranton, there attending the high
school, supporting himself by performing garden work in the summer and by
caring for furnaces in the winter, on the grounds and in the homes of some of
Scranton's prominent citizens. He was regular in his attendance at the Scran-
ton High School, his outside duties being performed outside of school hours,
and graduated from two of the courses offered by the curriculum, viz., com-
mercial and English, completing seven years' work in four years, the first
student ever to have accomplished this feat. His preparatory education suc-
cessfully acquired, he then entered the University of Pennsylvania, enrolling in
the Wharton School, a student in commerce and finance, completing in three
years the work prescribed for four. His expenses at the University during
this period were paid by the profits from a boarding club he established, and
the second case in which his originality and initiative brought him concrete-
results. Thus fitted for a business career he returned to Scranton. entering
the employ of the Scranton Dime Bank and later that of R. G. Dun & Com-
pany, mercantile agency, for the purpose of preparing himself for a brokerage
business. On January i, 1906, he accepted a position with Brooks & Company,
investment bankers, as bond salesman, Mr. Brooks having an intimate ac-
quaintance with his career. Air. Weissenfluh three years previously having"
tended his garden. For five years he was employed in the office of this com-
pany, and at the expiration of that time was admitted to a partnership in the
firm. There is little doubt that, endowed with the qualities that have made his
career thus far one of brilliant success, Mr. Weissenfluh will not lower the-
ideals that he has set up as a standard, and that future years should bring him
a goodly yield of prosperity and happiness, richly deserved.
Mr. Weissenfluh is a member of Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, to which he-
was elected while at College, the Scranton Club, the Scranton Country Club,
the Green Ridge Club, the Westmoreland Club and the Franklin Club, of
Wilkes-Barre, the University of Pennsylvania Club of New York City and the
Manufacturers' Club of Philadelphia. In all of these organizations he is an
active member, retaining a love of athletics and outdoor life from his college
days, when, besides loyally supporting all of the college teams, he was a mem-
ber of the varsity football team and wrestling teams. He was also instrumenta'
in the organization of the Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. Mr. Weissen-
fluh is also connected in an official way with many corporations, being president
of the North Michigan Water Company, and also of the Cochocten Light ano-
Power Company, and vice-president of the Central Realty Company.
CITY OF SCRANTON 443
]Mr. Weissenfluh married, in April, 1906, Mary L. Greeley, a relative of
Horace Greeley, of editorial and political fame. They are the parents of a
daughter, Hilda, born in 1907.
WILLIAAl E. GILHOOL
Ever since the arrival in the United States of Timothy Gilhool, the name
has been connected with manufacturing interests in Pennsylvania, William
E. Gilhool continuing in Scranton a business founded by his father. This
branch of the name is of short residence in the United States, Timothy Gilhool
having been born in Ireland, whence he came to Susquehanna county, Pennsyl-
vania, there obtaining work in a shop. He later moved to Wilkes-Barre and
was there employed until 1870, in which year he came, to Scranton and opened
a wagon and blacksmith shop on Lackawanna avenue, at first in a small way,
but being industrious and gaining a reputation for square dealing the business
grew to large proportions. To Timothy Gilhool belongs the distinction of having
built the first hose wagon used by a fire-fighting force in the city of Scranton,
a vehicle manufactured in his shops on Lackawanna avenue, a site now oc-
cupied by the Delaware & Hudson Depot. Timothy Gilhool married Mary
Murray, and had children : William E., of whom further ; John H. ; Thomas
F. ; Anna, deceased; Edith. Mr. Gilhool died in 1883, and Mrs. Gilhool diea
in 1904.
William E. Gilhool, son of Timothy Gilhool, was born in Wilkes-Barre,
Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, October 23, 1858. He was brought to Scranton
by his parents, in which place he attended the public schools, completing his
studies with a high school course. He then entered his father's wagon and
blacksmith shop, later learning wagon-making, and in 1890 became proprietor
of the business, manufacturing wagons and auto trucks, having to his credit
the manufacture of the first auto bus made in Scranton. His present factoiy
is at the corner of Walnut street and Washington avenue, the home of an in-
dustry, one of the oldest of its kind in the city and one of the most flourishing.
The name Gilhool on wagon, truck, carriage or fire apparatus stands for quality,
forty-four years of success telling the story better than words. The designing
of automobile busses and automobile bodies are specialties with Mr. Gilhool,
also painting. Mr. Gilhool and his brother. John H. Gilhool, were members
of the Nay Aug Fire Company, which at its organization was unable to obtain
money from the municipal government for the purchase of equipment and
consequently was compelled to buy its own engine and horses to draw it.
Mr. Gilhool married Catherine Gearns, and has one son, Joseph. Residence,
No. 1 53 1 Capouse avenue.
EDGAR A. FENSTERMACHER
A musician of innate talent, Edgar A. Fenstermacher is known to
Scranton not only as a talented performer upon several musical instruments,
but as a dealer in such instalments. He is a noted pipe organist and has played
in several churches for the past fifteen years. Thus he is acquainted in the
artistic world of Scranton, for the city has many patrons of the arts, and in
the commercial world of the same city, and holds high reputation in each.
Mr. Fenstermacher was born in Wapwallopen, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania,
son of Michael W. and Josephine (Everard) Fenstermacher, grandson of Wil-
liam and Rebecca (Hess) Fenstermacher, and great-grandson of Philip ai'd
Rachel (Harter) Fenstermacher. William and Rebecca (Hess) Fenstermacher
were the parents of: Michael W., of whom further; Pauline, married Daniel
444 CITY OF SCRANTON
Snyder ; Catherine, married Peter Good ; Saville, married Jacob Hippenstel ;
Parmelia, married Philip Peters; Marie, married Philip F. Peters; Sarah,
married Aaron Bittenbender.
(II) Michael W. Fenstermacher, son of William and Rebecca (Hess)
Fenstermacher, was bom in Wapwallopen, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, and
was engaged in mercantile pursuits throughout his active life, retiring from
business in 1907. His wife, Josephine, was a daughter of George Everard, of
Robbie, Pennsylvania, and they were the parents of children : Edgar A., of
whom further; Scott E.. a jewelry and automobile dealer of Berwick, Penn-
sylvania, married Laura Snyder and has two children, Leroy and Loletta;
Carrie, married Charles Andres and has one son. Dale.
(III) Edgar A. Fenstermacher, son of Michael W. and Josephine (Ever-
ard) Fenstermacher, was born April 5, 1871. He obtained a general educa-
tion in the public schools of Luzerne county. As a youth he began the study
of music, pursuing the same under private direction for nine years, after
which he was for one year a student in the Philadelphia Musical Academy.
Until 1892 he was a teacher of music, his pupils residents of his native
town and neighboring villages. In that year he moved to Nescopeck, con-
tinuing as an instructor in music and at the same time holding position as
choir director and organist in the Methodist Episcopal church at Berwick,
Pennsylvania. Six years later, in 1898, Mr. Fenstermacher came to Scranton,
and was for three years associated with N. A. Hulbert. a piano dealer of the
city, at the end of that time becoming connected with J. W. Guernsey, pro-
prietor of one of the largest musical instrument stores in the city. In 1907
he entered this line as an independent dealer, and the seven years that separate
that time and the present have witnessed the upbuilding of a flourishing and
substantial trade, to which Mr. Fenstermacher has applied himself with ener-
getic enthusiasm. His line includes pianos, mechanical players, all styles of
talking machines, and varied wind and string instruments too numerous for
mention, while the best musical scores and shorter compositions are a part of
the stock carried.
Mr. Fenstermacher, for the past nine years, has been organist and choir
director of the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church. Not only is he an ac-
complished entertainer, but is skilled in the choice of vocal performers and
their training, the musical programs of the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church
making the service one most beautiful and impressive. He is also one of the
members of the official board. His artistic prominence and his business suc-
cess have advanced hand in hand, the one furthering the other, he and his
patrons finding a common interest in their musical tastes, a means of inter-
course being thus established that would be impossible to the majority of
proprietors or salesmen, however excellent their ability.
He is a Republican in political choice, and holds membership in the Asbury
Methodist Episcopal Church. He fraternizes with the Benevolent and Protec-
tive Order of Elks, Green Ridge Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
the Patriotic Order Sons of America, and holds the thirty-second degree in
the Masonic Order, his lodge being Union, No. 291, F. and A. M., and in
this society he belongs to Keystone Consistory, thirty-second degree, Ancient
Accepted Scottish Rite, and to Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of
the Mystic Shrine.
Mr. Fenstermacher married, at Lee, Pennsylvania, Alvert A., daughter of
William F. McQuown. of Warrior Run, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Fenster-
macher are the parents of: Marqueene A., born in 1897; Arline A., twin of
Marqueene A., Edgar A. Jr., born July 11, 191 1.
CITY OF SCRANTON 445
GEORGE FELTON
A Scrantonian by birth and almost constant residence, Mr. Felton, one
of the successful business men of the city, has achieved that success by an
energy and ability that stamps him as a citizen of whom his native city may
well be proud to acknowledge as one of her sons.
George Felton was born in Scranton, at No. 129 Penn avenue. May 27,
1868, son of Peter Felton, and maternal grandson of George Keller, the latter
a native of Alsace-Lorraine, then under French rule. George Keller came to the
United States in 1840, located at Utica, New York, where he followed the trade
of stone cutter the remainder of his life. He married, in 1842, Margaret Schug,
of St. Johnsville, New York, born there in 1826. Children: ]Mary, who be-
came the wife of Peter Felton; George (2), deceased; Margaret, deceased;
Sophia, married N. Albicker ; John, a resident of Scranton ; Anna, married a
Mr. Werthman, of Utica, New York.
Peter Felton, born in Cologne, Germany, in 1831, came to the United States
in 1850. Soon after his arrival he learned of the discoveries of precious metal
in the West and joined a company of "gold seekers" bound for California. He
spent several years in the gold fields with varying success, then joined a govern-
ment surveying expedition bound for Alaska. He spent ten years in that, then
little known, northern land, finally returning to the United States and settling
on a farm in the state of Wisconsin. In 1866 he moved to Utica, New York,
where he engaged in teaming and draying in partnership with his wife's uncle,
Nicholas Schug, and continued there until 1867. In 1868 he came to Scranton.
entered into partnership with George Keller and was associated with him for
one year, when he returned to Utica and engaged in the same line of business
which he conducted successfully up to 1895, when he retired and so lived until
his death in 1902. He married Mary, daughter of George Keller, and had is-
sue: George, of whom further; Margaret, married Henry Hofifman, of Utica,
New York; Anthony P., a merchant of Madison, Wisconsin; Sophia, a resi-
dent of Utica; Gertrude, also a resident of Utica.
George Felton was educated in a private school at Utica. New York, and
at the Academy of the Assumption, of the same city, from which latter institu-
tion he was graduated in 1882. After completing his studies he came to Scran-
ton, Pennsylvania, where he learned the trade of locksmith, engaged in the
cutlery business as clerk, working for George Keller until 1889, when he be-
gan business for himself at No. 226 Spruce street, dealing in all kinds of
cutlery and sporting goods, also continuing locksmithing. His store became
very popular and his trade so large that he sought a location where he could
accommodate his rapidly increasing trade. This he found at No. 136 Penn
avenue, but eight months after occupying his new and enlarged store, it proved
wholly inadequate, and he again sought larger quarters. This he found at
the corner of Penn avenue and Spruce street, where he remained until 1899,
when he purchased the store and business of George Keller at No. 119 Penn
avenue, where he yet remains. While he has been engaged in business since
1889 and has made the several moves in locations noted, his stores have all
been in the same city block. George Keller and Peter Felton were in business
as partners at the present location from 1868 to 1869, George Keller continuing
until succeeded by George Felton. The present business is a most prosperous
one, Mr. Felton having made his store wherever located, headquarters for the
cutlery and sporting goods trade. Himself an expert lock and gunsmith, this
has ever been an important department of his business and one that he has
built up to large proportions. He is popular with his trade and by practicing
the "square deal" in all things has become a recognized leader in his line of
446 CITY OF SCRANTON
business. He is a member of the Scranton Bicycle Club ; the Scranton Lieder-
kranz ; treasurer of Camp No. 63, United Sportsmen of Pennsylvania ; mem-
ber of the congregation of St. Peter's Cathedral (Roman Catholic) and an
Independent in politics.
Mr. Felton married, in 1892, Catherine, a daughter of William Servatius,
the latter a druggist at Utica, New York, now in his seventy-fourth year.
Children: Mary Antoinetta, born April 4, 1893; Theodore G., May 15, 1894,
now deceased; William P., February 2, 1897; Ruth Catherine, July 14, 1901 ;
Carl Robert, August 27, 1908.
PETER STIPP
A story of real attainment, of steady progress from humble circumstances
to an important, honorable and commanding position, a height gained not by
a meteoric rise, but by gradual, constant advance, is that of Peter Stipp, on^
of the leading contractors of Scranton. An industrious, hard working Teuton,
the secret of his success is an open one, and based upon the gospel of labor.
a religion never deserting its followers, but ever leading them on across the
Jordan of adversity into the Canaan of reward.
Peter Stipp, son of Ludwig and Mary Anna (Diedrich) Stipp, was born
in Rheinpfalz, Germany, September 30, 1858. His father was a contractor,
conducting operations in a small way, and Peter Stipp learned the trade of
mason and brick-layer, following this while he was a young man. In accor-
dance with the regulations of the German government, he served in the army,
attaining the highest rank open to first enlistment men, that of corporal. About
1881 he came to the United States and settled in Oxford, New Jersey, coming
to Scranton a year later. Here he established in business for himself, applying
himself to his occupation with the undivided concentration that characterizes
his race, gradually acquiring larger and more profitable interests. Prosperity
seemed to come to him in such an unpretentious manner that to define the
different periods in the accumulation of his fortune and the formation of his
varied connections is most difficult. Soon after starting upon building opera-
tions, he opened a quarry near Olive and Colfax streets, from which he pro-
cured much of the stone used in building as well as a large amount of broken
stone for use in concrete work, which, in view of its newly demonstrated effi-
ciency, is becoming extremely popular as a building material. He sells part of
the quarry's output of local trade, employing about forty-five men in the quarry-
ing of the product. In his different operations throughout the city, Mr. Stipp
employs a force of about fifty-five men. Some of the Scranton buildings
erected by him are the First Presbyterian Church, the Guernsey Building,
the Petersburg Presbyterian Church, the Myrtle Street Methodist Episcopal
Church, and the office building of the International Correspondence Schools,
generally recognized as one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. In
1910 he purchased the Scranton Vitrified Brick Company, manufacturers of
paving brick, a concern employing about sixty people. A trait that has char-
acterized Mr. Stipp'.- business career is that he has never been contented with
the more modest forms of his contracting operations, but has ever reached
upward and gained control of the very fountain heads of his business.
Mr. Stipp is prominent in Masonic circles, holding the thirty-second degree,
and is a member and past master of Schiller Lodge, Free and Accepted
Masons ; Lackawanna Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; Melita Commandery.
Knights Templar, of which he is captain general; Keystone Consistory, Sov-
ereign Princes of the Royal Secret, and is a noble of Irem Temple. Nobles of
the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Krieger-Verein, an organiza-
CITY OF SCRANTON 447
tion composed of soldiers who have seen service in the Kaiser's army ; the
the Liederkranz ; the German American National Alliance, of which he is a
life member, and of the Lackawanna branch of the German American Al-
liance, of which he is president. He is a director of the Builder's Exchange.
His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, and for six years he
has served on the Scranton Select Council, and is now a member of the City
Planning Commission. He and his family are all allied with the German
Lutheran church.
He married Lena Wehrung, a native of Scranton. His two sons, Harry
and Peter Jr., are associated with him in business. Mr. Stipp's career has been
one of usefulness to the city of Scranton. With her best interests he has be-
come permanently identified and his part in her growth has been well and
manfully borne. His fine social qualities, genial disposition and unswerving
loyalty to his friends have gone far towards assisting in placing him among
the foremost of Scranton's reputable business men. The courteous manner in
which he receives every one, be they strangers or old friends, make it a pleas-
ure to be in his society.
LUDWIG T. STIPP
Ludwig Theobald Stipp is the third member of the Stipp family who has
attained prominence in the field of contracting and building in the city of
Scranton, the others being his brothers, Peter and Matthias.
Ludwig T. Stipp, son of Ludwig and Mary Anna (Diedrich) Stipp, was
born in Rheinpfalz, Germany, October 23, 1870. His father conducted a
small contracting business, and under his preceptorship Ludwig T. laid the
foundation for his trade when only a youth. When he was but thirteen years
of age he spent eighteen months in England, Ireland and Scotland with the
German Band, and in the spring of 1886 came to New York and later to
Scranton, Pennsylvania. He came to this country also with the German Band.
At Scranton he was employed and finished his trade. Being then seized by a
wandering spirit and a desire to see more of the new land to which he had
come, he traveled for a time, following his occupation up to twenty years of
age, when he was made foreman. In 1890 he returned to Scranton and for
fifteen years was foreman and general superintendent in the employ of his
brother, Peter Stipp, discontinuing his connection in that capacity in 1905,
when he established in independent business. In this enterprise he has met
with a great deal of success, and has erected many public buildings as well
as private dwellings in the city. Some of the edifices whose construction he
supervised are Hyde Park School No. 41, School No. 42 at Colfax and Mul-
berry streets, the Administration Building, the Pennsylvania Baking Company
Building, the Duryea High School Building, the Keystone Bank Building, the
city stables, the electric sub-station at Carbondale and the store-house and
office building of the Scranton Electrical Company. He now has in process of
building the illuminating plant of the Scranton Electrical Company, the large
boiler plant of the Electrical Company, the cooling tower plant of the Electrical
Company, which is the largest in the state, the Van Dyke Piano factory, the
Keller-Dunham Piano factory, and in addition numerous other buildings.
Mr. Stipp is a thirty-second degree Mason, and is past master of Schiller
Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; also belonging to Lackawanna Chapter,
Royal Arch Masons; Coeur de Lion Commandery, Knights Templar; Keystone
Consistory, Sovereign Princes of the Royal Secret; and is a noble of Irem
Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks, the German American Alliance, the Builders' Ex-
448 CITY OF SCRANTON
change, the Scranton Club, the Board of Trade, the Liederkranz, of which he
has for four years been president. With his wife he is a member of the Ger-
man Lutheran church.
Mr. Stipp married (first) Carrie, daughter of Charles Raffeld, who died in
1900, a daughter, Annie E., surviving her. He married (second) Kathrina,
daughter of Heinrich Falk, of Hessen Darmstadt, Germany; children: George
L., who died at five years of age ; Elizabeth, Louisa.
Ludwig T. Stipp has gained a high position in the society of Scranton, and
is honored and respected for his uprightness of character. His success has
been through the same medium that characterized the progress of his brothers,
intelligently and conscientiously applied effort.
JACOB BESSMER
The earliest ancestor of this branch in America is John D. Bessmer, born
in Germany, who came to the United States, landing in New Yor'- City, and in
1849 joined the gold-seekers in their California journey. Since then all trace
of him is lost.
(II) Christopher D. Bessmer, son of John D. Bessmer, was born in Ger-
many and came to this country when young. He became a contractor and
with his uncle contracted the erection of portions of both the Second and
Third avenue elevated lines in New York City. Later he located in Scran-
ton, becoming superintendent in charge of the rolling mill of the Lackawanna
Iron and Steel Company. He retired from the steel business several years ago
and purchased the farm upon which he now resides. He married Charlotte
Schmidt, and has issue: John C, Christian B., Jacob, of whom further, Chris-
tina C, Frederick D., Anna.
(III) Jacob Bessmer, son of Christopher D. and Charlotte (Schmidt)
Bessmer, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, November 13, 1882. He ob-
tained his education in Scranton and New York schools. He served a three
years' apprenticeship at the trade of machinist, working in Scranton. From
here he went to Bridgeport, Connecticut, entering the employ of the Locomo-
bile Company, and spending two years with that company as traveling sales-
man. Returning to Scranton, he organized the Economy Automobile Company
and the Lackawanna Vulcanizing Company, being president of both companies
since August, 1907. Mr. Bessmer thoroughly understands his business and has
been uniformly successful. He is a member of the Masonic order and of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He married, June 12, 1907, Mary Eliza-
beth, daughter of David Seal. Child, Edward D., born September 22, 1909.
GEORGE HOWELL WINANS
For more than half a century one line of business has been followed by two
generations of the Winans family in Scranton, sign-painting, George Green
Winans, father of George Howell Winans, being the first artisan in Scranton
to follow that craft. Since 1886 that has been the calling of his son, George
Howell Winans, the scope of his business a wide one, extending throughout the
entire Scranton district. For years the name Winans has appeared as the
executor of striking and attractive advertising features, and the business con-
ducted by Mr. Winans at the present time holds prominent position among other
concerns engaged in the same line.
(I) New Jersey residence was owned by this family prior to its settlement
in Pennsylvania, Elihu Winans, grandfather of George Howell Winans, hav-
ing been a native of Elizabeth, in that state. He moved to Scranton, there mar-
CITY OF SCRANTON 449
ried, and for nearly all of his active life was connected with the Delaware,
Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company in the capacity of tinsmith. He
married Charlotte Randolph, one of his sons being George Green, of whom
further.
(II) George Green Winans, son of Elihu and Charlotte (Randolph) Wi-
nans, was born at Belvidere, New Jersey, in 1839, died in Scranton, Pennsyl-
vania, in 1907. His occupation was that of sign painter, as has been previous-
ly stated, and this he followed for a time in Philadelphia, in i860 moving to
Scranton. He was the first of his calling in the city and in conection with sign
painting conducted paper hanging and general painting operations, his working
force frequently numbering thirty men. He was the owner of a slate quarry,
which was operated under his direction and from which he realized a generous
revenue, and became the owner of a tract of land known now as the "Wi-
nans Addition," the site of numerous dwellings, the extension of the city limits
having included that within Scranton's boundaries. Mr. Winans was of a
mechanical and inventive turn of mind, and secured patents upon a ladder
and a window jack, both of which he had been perfecting when he found a
few leisure moments^ free from the press of business. He married Hannah
(Hughes) Howell, widow of Thomas Howell, who was, with her brother,
owner of the Mount Pleasant mines. By her previous marriage she was the
mother of: Henry T., died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1913, married Jessie
Frink and had one son, Albert W. ; Lizzie, married William H. Schliffer, of
Brooklyn, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Winans were the parents of: Minnie,
married W. K. Richart, of Scranton, and has two children, Howard and Mary;
George Howell, of whom further.
(III) George Howell Winans, son of George Green and Hannah
(Hughes-Howell) Winans, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, March 26,
1867, and was a student in the public schools of the city of his birth until he
was fourteen years of age. He then became employed in the bookkeeping de-
partment of the concern maintained by O. S. Johnson, a coal operator of Dun •
more, where he remained for one year. The following year he passed with
the Scranton Supply and Machine Company, his next employment being with
the Hunt and Council Company, with which he was connected until 1886. In
that year Mr. Winans became a sign painter of Scranton, in which he con-
tinues with eminent success to the present time, his business being located at
No. 430 Lackawanna avenue. During his career in this business sign board
advertising has attained high popularity, and because of the excellence of the
work performed by his house and the ability of the artists employed Mr. Wi-
nans has been awarded a large share of the commissions of this nature given
in the Scranton region, work bearing his name greeting the eye of the observer
over a wide expanse of territory.
Mr. Winans is a member of the Court Street Methodist Episcopal Church,
and affiliates with the Democratic party. As a citizen he has a keen realization
of the duties of the word implies, and in sympathy and effort is always allied
with projects for the advancement of Scranton's interests along any line. By
his business associates he is respected as a man who has accomplished much
without ostentation and who has ever edhered to strict and upright principles
in dealing with his fellows. He married Sadie E. Ruch and has one son,
Reginald, born February 21, 1903.
HERMAN F. STENDER
The family of Stender is one of comparatively recent arrival in the city of
Scranton, founded in this city by Ferdinand John Stender, father of Herman
29
4SO CITY OF SCRANTON
F. Stender, of the firm of Hower & Stender, lumber merchants of Scranton,
in 1886. The family is of German lineage, Schoefliesz, Kreis Bernt Reg. Danzig,
West Prussia, having been its home in that country. Ferdinand John Stender
was a son of Gottlieb Stender, who married Rahl Karnath and had children:
Ferdinand John, of whom further ; Wilhelmina, Augusta, Amalia, Frederick.
Ferdinand John Stender was born in Schoefliesz, Kreis Bernt Reg. Danzig,
West Prussia, December 27, 1837, and there he was reared to the life of a
farmer, in 1866 bringing his family to the United States and settling in Scran-
ton, there obtaining railroad employment. He married Augusta, daughter of
Ludwig and Caroline Zielke. Children of Ludwig and Caroline Zielke : Hen-
rietta, Karl, Ferdinand, Amalia, Augusta, of previous mention, married Ferd-
inand John Stender, and Herman. Children of Ferdinand John and Augusta
(Zielke) Stender: Hulda, married William Steinbrugge, and is the mother of
Ida, Frederick, Karl, Marie; Herman F., of whom further; Bertha, married
Edward J. Freis, and has children, Hilda, John, Albert, Lailas ; Ida, married
Leverne B. Loyn, and has Mildred, deceased, and Jack Jerome ; Augusta, mar-
ried George Yonker, and is the mother of Marjorie, Dorothy, Robert, de-
ceased ; Marie, married Albert Motiska, and has Alice and Ruth ; Selma, died
on ship-board while journeying from Germany to the United States, aged five
years, and was buried at sea ; Ferdinand G. ; Karl W.
Herman F. Stender, son of Ferdinand John and Augusta (Zielke) Stender,
was bom in Schoefliesz Kreis Bernt Reg. Danzig, West Prussia, April 17, 1872.
and was educated in the schools of his native land, at the age of fourteen years
accompanying his parents to the United States. His first six months' employ-
ment was as a slate-picker in a breaker, after which he was for one year em-
ployed in a glass factory, then accepted a situation as private coachman in the
establishment of Herman Werrum, superintendent of the Lackawanna Iron
and Steel Company. He subsequently became associated with John D. Kohl,
of Scranton, under him learning the trade of carpenter, after three years be-
coming Air. Kohl's foreman, a position he retained when the latter gentleman
became general superintendent of the Peck Lumber Manufacturing Company.
On April i, 1896, John D. Kohl and Mr. Hower formed a lumber dealing
partnership, Mr. Stender being engaged as foreman, and upon Mr. Kohl's
death, February 3, 1897, Mr. Stender purchased his interest in the business,
under the firm name of Hower & Stender, as general contractors and builders,
two years later entered into the general lumber business and manufacturers of
building material. The firm's trade is a large and lucrative one, and although
competition in that line is keen, the firm has more tlian retained its share of the
business throughout the Eastern states.
Mr. Stender is president of the Builders' Exchange, of Scranton, and is a
director of the Anthracite Trust Company and the German Building and Loan
Association No. 10. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, belonging to Schiller
Lodge, No. 345, F. and A. M., Fairview Lodge, No. 369, K. of P. ; and holds
membership in the German Alliance and the LiederkTanz. His church is the
German Presbyterian, and in matters political he takes an independent stand.
Mr. Stender married Wilhelmina, daughter of Peter and Louise (Engel;
Schafer, and has children: Bertha, bom May i, 1898; Helen, January 21,
1906; H. Gilbert, August 9, 1910.
ROBERT C. RUTHVEN
Robert E. Ruthven, who was at one time a member of the Massachusetts
state legislature, came to Baltimore from Scotland, the family home, and later
settled in Boston. He became well known because of his political achieve-
CITY OF SCRANTON 451
merits and was a member of the most select social circles of that city. His son,
Robert E. Riithven, was troubled throughout his early life by an extremely
weak constitution. Sea air seeming particularly beneficial to him, he spent
three years as purser of the mercantile vessel, "Jonathan," one of his several
long and perilous voyages being around Cape Horn. Much improved in health
by the exposure to natural elements that the life necessitated, he once more
took up residence ashore and obtained a position on the engineering staff of
the New York Central Railroad. His first home was in Carbondale, but about
twenty years before his death he moved to Scranton, spending his later years
in the coal department of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Com-
pany. With his wife he was a member of the Presbyterian church. He mar-
ried Sarah, daughter of Parley Goddard, of Worcester, Massachusetts. She
was a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, died
19 1 2, aged eighty-two years.
Robert C. Ruthven, son of Robert E. and Sarah (Goddard) Ruthven, was
born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, March 31, 1862. He was educated in the
public schools of the city, also attending "Daddy" Merrill's School. The pro
fession of civil engineering was the field that appealed to him more than other
callings, and after his technical training was completed he obtained a position
on the engineering corps of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad,
his connection with that company ending with the completion of the Buffalo,
Binghamton branch. He was then for twenty years associated with the Barber
Asphalt Paving Company, until 1904, when he began independent paving opera-
tions. Pennsylvania and New York comprise his territory, and througliout
those states he has done a great deal of work which bears mute testimony to
the skill of the contractor by the excellent condition of the roads several years
after their completion Mr. Ruthven ha'; become one of tlic leaders in his
chosen occupation, success predicated entirely upon popular approval of the
quality of his work. There is probably no line of activity in which the work-
man is judged more purely upon his merits than his and his attainment there is
the result of superiority in the science and practice of road paving. He is sec-
retary and treasurer of the Ariel Sand Company of Scranton, in the organiza-
tion of which he played an important part. With his wife he is a member of
the First Presbyterian Church of Buft'alo.
Mr. Ruthven married Anna, daughter of Stephen Hopkins, of Waverly,
New York; children: Robert Stanley, an attorney of Buffalo, New York; Hen-
rietta, a graduate of Wellesley College, class of 1913.
OTTO P. MILLER
The two members of the Miller family, the story of whose lives enters into
this chronicle, were both of German birth, Otto P. and his father, C. August
Miller, having been born in Leipsic, Saxony, Germany. C. August Miller was
born December 28, 1805, and in 1848 he immigrated to the L^nited States with
his family, landing on the American shore on October 30, He at once made
settlement in Archbald, Pennsylvania, where he resided until his death, April
9, 1878. His trade was that of carpenter, and during the thirty years that
he lived in Archbald he gained a deserved reputation as a man of upright life
and a citizen strong in all the obligations carried with the word. He married
Caroline Muer, and had children: i. Pauline, married Valentine Gerbig. 2.
Herman C, a soldier of the Union army in the Civil War, company color cor-
poral in Company H, Fifty-second Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer In-
fantry, serving from 1861 to 1864; secretary and treasurer of the Fifty-second
Regimental Association since its organization in 1888; married Anna, daughter
452 CITY OF SCRANTON
of Captain McLeod, of Carbondale, Pennsylvania, and has sons, Albert, an
undertaker of Kingston, Pennsylvania, and Willis, a plumber of the same place-.
3. Elizabeth, deceased; married John Ulmer, a veteran of the Civil War, and
had a daughter, Annie, married William Morgan, of Carbondale, Pennsylvania.
4. Elvina, married Henry Neymier ; children : Charles, an instructor in the
Scranton High School, Fred, Helen, Clara, a school teacher. 5. Theodore M.,
married and had a daughter, Gertrude, who married John, son of Colonel
Hitchcock. 6. Otto P., of whom further. 7. Emma, married Charles Mill-
house, deceased, of Archbald, Pennsylvania ; three children. 8. Amelia, the
first American-born daughter of her parents, married Captain C. C. Batten-
burg. 9. Carrie, married Richard Callaway. 10. August, resides in Strouds-
burg, Pennsylvania.
Otto P. Miller, son of C. August and Caroline (Muer) Miller, was born
in Leipsic, Saxony, Germany, November 5, 1845, ^nd when five years of age
was sent to the United States with friends to his parents who had come in 1848.
When he was sixteen years of age he became a trade apprentice in Carbon-
dale, Pennsylvania, after three years moving to Philadelphia, there being em-
ployed as a journeyman. In 1865 he moved to Harrisburg, remaining there
for a short time, then returned to Philadelphia, and for two years engaged in
the barber trade, moving to Scranton in 1867, entering the barber shop of
Charles Spiker. Not long after arriving in Scranton he established in that
business independently, opening a shop in Providence, where he has been con-
tinuously engaged until the present time (1914). Mr. Miller took out his
naturalization papers soon after coming to Scranton, these documents bearing
the signature of the city clerk, Daniel Ranker, and the date of September,
1868. He has been active in the life of the city, and on November 10, 1868,
was one of the organizers of the Liberty Hose Company, a project in which he
was encouraged and aided by T. V. Powderly, at that time mayor of the
city, Mr. Miller later, under the administration of the later Ezra Ripple, be-
coming district engineer of the fire department. In the year 1883 he was a
member of the school board, and in 1890 became a member of the select
council, holding a seat therein for four years. His career has been a busy
and a useful one, and in all departments of the municipal life to which he has
been called he has rendered willing and efficient service, giving to each position
that he has held the best of his ability. He is prominent fraternally, being
treasurer of the Improved Order of Heptasophs, and is the only living charter
member of Celestial Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having held
nearly all of the offices of the lodge, now past grand. Through virtue of his
long membership he holds the Veteran Jewel of the order, and is a member of
the Scranton Encampment of the same order. His political sympathies are
Democratic.
Mr. Miller married Jeanetta, daughter of Alexander Bryden, the first
mine foreman of Carbondale, and a sister of the late Andrew Bryden. Mr.
and Mrs. Miller are the parents of five children: i. Carrie, married George
Pyle, a resident of Yonders, New York. 2. Jessie, married George A. Dick-
erson ; lives on Madison avenue, Scranton ; has a daughter, Evelyn. 3. Frank,
a resident of Berwick, Pennsylvania. 4. Ernest, associated in business with his
father. 5. Harry, engaged in automobile dealing in Chicago, Illinois; married
Susie Fisher, and has one daughter, Janet.
MATTHEW A. COAR
Educated and trained for his business in Philadelphia, Matthew A. Coar
has since his independent establishment in stock and bond dealing been a broker
CITY OF SCRANTON 453
of Scranton, his birthplace. He is a son of John P. Coar and a grandson of
Thomas Coar, his grandfather a merchant of Scranton, also for a time em-
ployed in the shops of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. He
was at one time member of Scranton council from the twenty-first ward, elected
as the Democratic candidate, and was a communicant of the Roman CathoHc
church. John P. Coar was born in Scranton, and there died August 7, 1907,
aged forty-two years. He was educated in the public schools of the place of
his birth, and in later life was a merchant and hotel proprietor. He mar-
ried Hannah (O'Connor) Reedy, widow of John Reedy, and had two sons,
Matthew A., of whom further, and Stanley F. By her first marriage Hannah
O'Connor was the mother of: David J., ex-district attorney of Lackawanna
county; Walter M., a physician; John J.; William; Mary E., married M. J.
Walsh.
Matthew A. Coar, son of John P. and Hannah (O'Connor-Reedy) Coar,
was born in Scranton, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, September 20, 1888.
He was educated in his native city, his scholastic training including a course
in the Scranton Technical High School. After a two-year course in the Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania, Mr. Coar was for six months employed by a com-
mercial paper and a bonding house of Philadelphia. He then returned to
Scranton, and in the fall of 191 1 opened an office in the Miller Building and
began business as M. A. Coar & Company. Stocks and bonds are his line, and
since April i, 1914, he has been located in the Mears Building, where he has
extended his operations until his business has attained generous dimensions.
Mr. Coar is a member of the younger fraternity of Scranton business men, and
has successfully entered upon a career of much promise, his reliability and
uprightness being important factors in the confidence he has earned among his
numerous clients. Mr. Coar is a member of the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, a Democrat in politics, and belongs to the Roman Catholic
church.
JOSEPH H. JONES
The establishment on the corner of Adams avenue and Linden street, the
pharmacy of Joseph H. Jones, is one of the most generously patronized of the
city, and is conducted by a gentleman who is no less favorably regarded in the
business fraternity of the city than his store among others catering to the
same needs of the people. Mr. Jones, American by birth, is of English descent,
England having been the land of his fathers, Leicestershire, in that country,
having been the place of birth of his father, John Boals Jones, born September
13, 1821.
John Boals Jones made his home with foster parents, in his youth attending
the schools of the shire, whence he was graduated at the age of sixteen years,
soon afterward coming to the United States. In this country he was legally
adopted by his grandfather, who took him into a business partnership, after
which he moved to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and engaged in mercantile
dealings with W. J. Landmesser, remaining in this place for twelve years. He
then received an appointment as superintendent of the Delaware and Hudson
Coal Company at Carbondale, his superior in office being Edward Weston, and
this office he held until his death from an attack of pneumonia in 1870. He
married Elizabeth L., daughter of Philip J. Myers, of Slocum, Luzerne county,
Pennsylvania. Philip J. Myers, of German descent, was born in eastern Penn-
sylvania, and purchased one square mile of land in Luzerne county, upon which
has grown up the town of Slocum, a place of about one thousand inhabitants.
Children of John Boals and Ehzabeth L. (Myers) Jones: i. Wilham Lewis, a
454 CITY OF SCRANTON
resident of Buffalo ; married and has a son, Franklin, who is associated with
the New York Telephone Company, of Albany, New York. 2. Esther S..
married E. J. Shepherd, a member of the firm of Matthews Brothers, and has
one daughter, Mabel, their son, Frank, deceased. 3. Elmer B., an employee
of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad ; married a Miss Ogden ;
children : Calendar, George, Harry, Esther, deceased. 4. George S., a drug-
gist of Scranton. 5. Joseph H., of whom further. 6. M. Elizabeth.
Joseph H. Jones, son of John Boals and Elizabeth L. (Myers) Jones, was
born in Carbondale, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, and obtained his edu-
cational training in the public schools. He came to Scranton in 1882 and re-
ceived his first business e.xperience as a newsboy, later entering the service
of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company. In 1884 he left
railroad service, having been convinced that if there were opportunity in such
a line his entrance had not been made in the department in which room fot
advancement was to be found. He was employed in the drug store of Mat-
thews Brothers on Lackawanna avenue, in that year beginning as associa-
tion that continued for more than twenty years, during which time he came
to be known as one of the most popular and obliging members of the sales
force of this concern, his courteous and gentlemanly manners making business
contact with him a pleasure. Retiring from the service of Matthews Brothers.
Mr. Jones abandoned business for two years and took a much needed rest,
in 1907 purchasing the drug store on the comer of Adams avenue and Linden
street that had formerly been conducted by Frank Beavers, the establishment
opening under its new ownership on May 27, of that year. In the seven years
that have passed since the business came under the control of Mr. Jones vast
improvements and long forward strides have taken place in its condition, the
qualities that made Mr. Jones valuable as an employee now bringing their
returns to him as the proprietor of this establishment, which ranks among
the leading pharmacies of the city. It is thoroughly and excellently equipped,
has at its head a gentleman of knowledge and experience in his line, and is a
worthy institution in a city boasting many such. Mr. Jones is a member of
the Scranton Board of Trade, and holds place on the directory of the Anthra-
cite Trust Company, this latter being his only business connection outside of
the ownership of his pharmacy. Mr. Jones is a holder of much valuable real
estate.
Mr. Jones married (first) June 18. 1894, Madie J. Ellis, of New Berlin,
New York, who died in 1901. He married (^second) Anna, daughter of George
N. Myers, of Slocum, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania. Her father was an
agriculturist and stock raiser, and a director of the People's Bank, of Wilkes-
Barre.
PATRICK JOSEPH CASEY
Long life and prosperity are attending handmaidens of those fortunate
enough to be born Casey. In Scranton the name is well known in financial
and business circles, while towering high above its surroundings is the Hotel
Casey, a monument to the enterprise and public spirit of the Casey Brothers,
Patrick J. and Andrew J., also one of the most noted of Pennsylvania hotels.
Timothy Casey, grandfather of Patrick J. Casey, died in Ireland, his life-
time home, aged one hundred years. He left issue : Patrick, John, Lawrence,
James T., Mary and Winifred. The line of descent is through James T.
James T. Casey was born in county Sligo, Ireland, died January 10, 1907,
aged eighty-five years. He married Catherine Giblin, who died March i,
1903, aged seventy-nine years. Children: Lawrence, Timothy, Andrew Jo-
3^< ^--^^
CITY OF SCRANTON 455
seph, James J., Catherine, (who is Mrs. James J. Fleming, of 337 Jefferson
avenue, Scranton, Pennsylvania), Mary, (now Alother Edan, Convent of Mercy,
Ballymote, county Sligo, Ireland), Bridget, (who was Mrs. B. Mulligan, died
at Scranton, Pennsylvania, October 20, 1909), Winifred, (who is Mrs. B. Can-
don, identified with a large export business at Ballaghadereen, county Ros-
common, Ireland), Patrick Joseph.
Patrick Joseph Casey was born in county Sligo, Ireland, March 11, 1868.
He attended the public schools until 1883, then accompanied his father to the
United States, arriving at New York, on the steamship "Urania," on May 30th
of that year. His father had made several trips previously and his elder broth-
ers, Lawrence, Timothy, Andrew J. and James J., were established in busi-
ness in Scranton. After his arrival Patrick J. was employed as office boy by
his brothers, advanced rapidly, and on attaining suitable age was admitted to a
partnership, the fimi trading as Casey Brothers, wholesale liquors, importers,
distillers and rectifiers, 214-216 Lackawanna avenue. In 1907 the surviving
members, A. J. Casey and P. J. Casey, became an incorporated company, An-
drew J. Casey, president, Patrick J. Casey, secretary and treasurer. The firm
is a leading one in their line and transacts a large business in all departments.
In 1910 they erected the Hotel Casey at a cost of $1,000,000. The hotel was
formally opened, January 21, 191 1, by a banquet attended by a large number
of invited guests, and was an event long to be remembered. Large and com-
modious as is this important addition to the hotel enterprises of Pennsyl-
vania, it has proved inadequate to meet the demands of the traveling public
in point of size, and will be enlarged during the coming year. In addition to
his large interests in Casey Brothers, Patrick J. Casey is president of the Lib-
erty Discount and Savings Bank of Carbondale, Pennsylvania, and manager
and director of the Pennsylvania Central Brewing Company. Mr. Casey is a
member of the Scranton Club, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks,
the Royal Arcanum, and the Improved Order of Heptasophs. He is a Demo-
crat in politics, and a member of the congregation of St. Peter's Cathedral
(Roman Catholic).
Mr. Casey married Bridget Angela, daughter of O. T. O'Malley, and sister
of Rev. D. J. O'Malley, pastor at Honesdale for many years until his death
in 1891. O. T. O'Malley was a lifelong resident of Scranton, and a trusted
employee of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company until
his death in 1890. Children of Patrick J. and Bridget A. (O'Malley) Casey:
Joseph, Eugene, Cyril, Jerome, Aloysius, Lawrence, Adrian, Marian, Angela.
The family residence is at No. 330 Clay avenue.
ANDREW JOSEPH CASEY
Andrew Joseph Casey was born in county Sligo, Ireland, April 25, 1856.
He received his education in schools in the vicinity of his birthplace, and at
the age of fourteen years emigrated to America, arriving here, June 29, 1872.
His elder brothers, Lawrence and Timothy, were already located in Scranton,
Pennsylvania, and he joined them there. He found employment in the Clitl'
Works, running a drill press for the Dickson Manufacturing Company, remain-
ing with this concern one and a half years. He then became associated with
his elder brothers, who were conducting a wholesale liquor business on Penn
avenue, and after the death of both he took charge of the business alone.
After a short time, in 1887, he associated with himself his younger brother,
Patrick Joseph, and continued the business a further two years on Penn avenue.
He then removed to No. 220 Lackawanna avenue, removing to No. 218 on the
same street at the end of three years, and, having improved Nos. 214-216, and
456 CITY OF SCRANTON
altered them to suit the scope of his business, moved into these quarters at the
end of another eighteen months, and is conducting an exckisively wholesale
business there at the present time. He is also one of the proprietors of the
Hotel Casey, one of the finest hotels in this section of the country. It con-
tains two hundred and fifty bedrooms, and at the present time one hundred
more are being added. It is conducted along the most modern and up-to-
date style, the service and cuisine are unexceptionable, and it enjoys a well
deserved popularity. As a financier Mr. Casey has also shown marked ability
and is the treasurer of the Pennsylvania Central Brewing Company; president
of the Merchants' and Mechanics' Bank of Scranton ; and a stockholder in
several other institutions of equal importance. He resides in a palatial mansion
at No. 612 Clay avenue, which is furnished in the most sumptuous and luxur-
ious manner. He is a life member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks, the Holy Name Society and the Catholic Club. Mr. Casey married Mary
O'Brien, of New York, who died February 22, 1904. They have had children :
Pauline, born April 29, 1899; Andrew Joseph Jr., born February 17, 1904.
HOMER NICHOLSON
Wayne county, Pennsylvania, was the early home of the family of Nichol-
son in Pennsylvania, that having been the place of residence of Fitch Nichol-
son, grandfather of Homer Nicholson, treasurer of the American Brick Com-
pany, of Scranton.
(I) Fitch Nicholson was a follower of the carpenter's trade. He married
Lucia Saunders and had children: Addison A., of whom further; Homer, a
cabinetmaker, enlisted in the Union army in the Civil War and served through-
out the greater part of that struggle, his death caused by fever and occurring
in the field hospital ; Mahlon, a cabinetmaker.
(II) Addison A. Nicholson, son of Fitch and Lucia (Saunders) Nichol-
son, was born in Wayne county, Pennsylvania, in August, 1848. He is a car-
penter by trade and has conducted building operations for the greater part of
his life, being also one of the first oil prospectors to operate at Oil City, Penn-
sylvania. During" the last eleven months of the Civil War he was a soldier in
the LTnion army. He married Matilda, daughter of Lee Phillips. The father
of Lee Phillips was early a resident of the Scranton district, and was the owner
of two hundred acres of land now occupied by the city. Children of Addison
A. and Matilda (Phillips) Nicholson: Malvina, deceased; Homer, of whom
further ; Carrie, unmarried ; Lee, a farmer, married Martha Harrison ; Edna,
a graduate of the Bloomsburg Normal School.
(III) Homer Nicholson, son of Addison A. and Matilda (Phillips) Nich-
olson, was born in Harveyville, Pennsylvania, June 9, 1871. After a course in
the public schools of his native county, Luzerne, he became a student in the
Huntingdon Mills Academy. His education completed, in December, 1893,
he became associated with the Prudential Life Insurance Company of America
in Scranton, afterward accepting a position as manager of agents for north-
eastern Pennsylvania with the Bankers' Life Insurance Company, of New
York City. Mr. Nicholson subsequently became treasurer of the Salem Hill
Company, an office he filled for five years, then assumed the duties of the
treasurership of the American Brick Company, his present position. His
handling of the finances of the two last-named companies has been marked by
competent management and unfailing ability, the scrupulous care with which
he discharges these duties with the American Brick Company claiming and
receiving the appreciation of those associated with him in the direction of the
business. Aside from his connection with the American Brick Company, Mr.
CITY OF SCRANTON 457
Nicholson is interested in the manufacture of cuhii into bricquettes. He has
been for seventeen years a member of James Connell Lodge, Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has held high official position, and belong?
to the Elm Park Methodist Episcopal Church. His political party is the Re
publican. He married Susie, daughter of Rufus Burritt, and has children:
Myrtle Edna, Matilda, Rufus, Hazel, Homer, Walter.
FREDERICK VICTOR HARTZELL
A leader in his line of business, prominent in social and fraternal circles,
and well known in the district in which he lives, Frederick Victor Hartzell is
distinctively a Pennsylvanian, all of his family having resided in this state
since the establishment of the line in America.
Hendrick Hartzell, a native of Switzerland, in 1732 left his homeland and
came to America, making his home in the province of Pennsylvania, near Phila-
delphia. His son, Jonas, was born in 1744, and from him the descent to Fred-
erick Victor is through Solomon, Reuben, and Edward. The spelling of the
name, originally Hertzel, was changed by Solomon to Hartzell, which latter
form has been used by all succeeding generations. Edward, son of Reuben
Hartzell, was born at Wind Gap, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, in 1850,
died June 8, 1910. His trade was that of machinist and in this capacity he
was employed by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company for a period of
thirty-five years, during which time he became one of the most trusted of the
company's employees, on all occasions impressing those above him in office
with his fidelity and dependability. He married Louisa Maire, of French
descent. They were the parents of: i. Frederick Victor, of whom further. 2.
Daniel Edward, foreman in the shops of the Delaware and Hudson Company.
3. Leona, married A. Ridgeway, and resides in Scranton. 4. Louisa, twin of
Leona, married William Clegg, of Green Ridge, Pennsylvania.
Frederick Victor Hartzell, son of Edward and Louisa (Maire) Hartzell,
was born in Scranton, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, February 21, 1874.
He obtained his general education in the public schools, finishing his studies
with a practical course at Wood's Business College, whence he was graduated
in 1894. He immediately entered the employ of G. R. Clark, a florist, with
whom he remained for two and a half years, then pledging his services to
George W. Hornbaker, after five years purchasing Mr. Hornbaker's business.
Soon after this transaction he contracted a partnership with Emmett Simons,
of Green Ridge, Pennsylvania, the dissolution of this association occurring
four and a half years later, Mr. Hartzell receiving the appointment of district
deputy of the Modern Woodmen of America. In 1902 Mr. Hartzell accepted a
position with J. B. Fish, whose offices were in the Auditorium Building at
Providence, Pennsylvania, at about the same time beginning in fire insurance
and real estate dealing independently, and at the present time conducts his
enterprises with lucrative and pleasing results. He became the owner in 1913
of the Auditorium Building in Providence, a desirable office building and a
valuable property. Mr. Hartzell is a stockholder in various financial and in-
dustrial institutions in Scranton and the Lackawanna Valley, is regarded as a
most able financier and business man, and was made treasurer of the Old
Home Week Association. Fraternally he is connected with many lodges and
orders, holding membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being
past grand of Celestial Lodge, and of Post Grand Association ; the Masonic
Order, in which he holds the thirty-second degree ; the Patriotic Order Sons
of America, being financial secretary of Washington Camp, No. 1770, and a
member of the Past Presidents Association ; the Independent Order of Forest-
458 CITY OF SCRANTON
ers ; the Modern Woodmen of America, in which he is a clerk of Providence
Camp, No. 9155. He is also a member of the Underwriters Association, and
is one of the members of the advisory committee of the Young Women's
Christian Association. The Methodist Episcopal is the faith of which he is
a communicant, and he is steward of the organization of that denomination
at Providence. Mr. Hartzell's political allegiance has ever been accorded the
Republican party, and in 1914 he was the candidate of that party for the state
legislature from the second legislative district.
Mr. Hartzell married, November 15, 1898, Alice M., daughter of William
and Mary (Meredith) Guest, and has children: Helen L., Edward P., Rutli
R., William Edward, and Ruth. He and his two sons are the only living
male descendants of Solomon Hartzell, his great-grandfather. The family
home is at No. 439 I'^st Market street, Green Ridge, Pennsylvania.
HENRY WILLIAM MULHOLLAND
That the farm has furnished the city and nations with many of its best
citizens and greatest men in business, professional and military life, is a fact
no one controverts. The reason may be harder to find, but the fact that co: n-
try life throws a lad upon his own resources, which develops confidence and
self reliance, is one cause. The progenitors of Mr. Mulholland were farmers
in Ireland, Canada and Pennsylvania; men of strong body and keen min<ls
developed under conditions that try the soul but make the man.
His father, Bernard Mulholland, was born in county Down, Ireland, Jan
uary 28, 1834. In the spring of the same year, the family left their native land,
settling near Brockville on the St. Lawrence river, in Canada, where the family
lived on a farm until 1849, ^t which time they moved to Archbald, Pennsyl-
vania, thence in 1865 to Jermyn, thence in 1884 to the farm in Scott township,
Lackawanna county, which Bernard Mulholland owns and on which he yet re-
sides. He married Ann Gardner, born in county Mayo, Ireland ; children, all
living : Henry William, of whom further ; Catherine, married C. E. Taylor ;
John B., a farmer of Lackawanna county; Ellen, a school teacher; Edward J. ;
Susan ; Nora ; Rosanna ; Thomas J. ; Margaret, married R. H. Kervin ; Martin
D.
Henry William Mulholland, son of Bernard and Ann (Gardner) Mul-
holland, was born in Archbald, Pennsylvania, September 8, 1859. He ob-
tained his education in the public schools of Jermyn. Deciding upon the legal
profession he studied under the preceptorship of D. W. Connoly, of Scranton.
1879-82, and in the spring of the latter year was admitted to the Lackawanna
county bar. He began practice shortly afterward and in due course has been
admitted to all state and federal courts of the district. He has practiced
continuously in Scranton for thirty years and is one of the strong men of the
Lackawanna bar. He is a member of the bar associations of county and state,
and holds the esteem of his professional brethren to a high degree. His prac-
tice has kept pace with his growing powers of mind and learning and is of
generous proportions. In political faith he is a Democrat.
PETER FOLEY LALLEY
For ten years an established pharmacist of the city of Scranton and for
several years prior to that time connected with the drug business of this city
and Rendham, Pennsylvania, Peter F. Lalley holds a position in his profession
worthy of a longer record of service and eloquently testifying to his merit and
worth.
CITY OF SCRANTON 459
He is of Irish descent, his grandfather, Patrick Lalley, having been a native
of county Mayo, Ireland, a land owner and farmer of Dereveney, where he
passed his entire life. He was twice married, having by his first wife one son,
Michael, and by his second, Martin, Thomas, Mary, Nora. Michael Lalley,
father of Peter Foley Lalley, was born at Dereveney, county Mayo, Ireland,
July 4, 1838, and in that country lived until his sixteenth year, at which early
age he went to England, later enlisting as a private in the English army. Most
of his service was in China, and while in the army he passed through many
experiences that were in themselves a liberal education, and provided him with
a fund of knowledge and reminiscence that in later years made him an ex-
ceedingly interesting conversationalist and raconteur. In 1867 he moved to
the United States and settled at Rendham, Pennsylvania, where he engaged
in different branches of mining until his death, which occurred April 10, 1906.
He married Catherine Foley, and had one daughter, Mary F., and one son
Peter Foley, of whom further.
Peter Foley Lalley, only son of Michael and Catherine (Foley) Lalley,
was born at Rendham, Pennsylvania, March 11, 1870, and until he was nineteen
years of age continuously attended the public schools of Old Forge, Penn-
sylvania, with the exception of a short time spent in the breaker of a nearby
mine. At that age he obtained his first experience in the business in which
he is now engaged in the drug store of his uncle, James Foley, proprietor of a
pharmacy in Rendham. In 1889 he moved to Scranton and entered the drug
store of D. S. Ryan, of Hyde Park, his employer for three months, after
which he became employed by Dr. J. A. Manley, proprietor of a drug store now
owned and conducted by Andrew Brown. Mr. Lalley, in August, 1892, went
to New York City and entered the College of Pharmacy now connected with
the University of Columbia, and after a two-years' course was graduated in
1894. He immediately took the examination before the State Pharmaceutical
Examining Board and at that time took examination in New York state ano
successfully passed both examinations and registered under the laws of Penn-
sylvania and New York states. After receiving his diploma he returned to
Rendham and once more entered the drug store of his uncle, after eighteen
months purchasing the establishment from its original owner. For the ten
following years he conducted the store, for the same length of time holding
the office of postmaster of Rendham, and on December 23, 1904, moved to
Scranton. Purchasing the property at No. 328 Pittston avenue, he there in-
stalled all the equipment of a modern drug store which he has since improved
from time to time and now conducts a pharmacy complete in appointment, ex-
cellent in reputation, and generously patronized.
An exponent of a delicate profession, one in which the slightest trace of
carelessness may spell disaster to some unfortunate, he has so conducted his
large business that he holds the confidence of many of the city's physicians who
feel that in placing a prescription in his hands they are assured of the watch-
ful care and vigilant caution that the profession demands. His prescription
files contain papers given by the most eminent lights of the medical profession
in Scranton, and his reputation as a gentleman of honor, one who observe.-
strictly the legal regulations justly imposed upon his business, is known to all.
Mr. Lalley is a Democrat, and holds membership in the Knights of Columbus,
Sons of St. George, and the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
JOSEPH FREY GILROY
Although a successful practicing attorney of the Lackawanna county bar,
Mr. Gilroy is a native born son of Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, and there
46o CITY OF SCRANTON
spent his early life. He was born in Williamsport, November 3, 1872, the sec-
ond son of John G. and Frances Seybert Gilroy. After passing through the
public school of his native city, he entered Dickinson College, at Carlisle, Penn-
sylvania, there completing his classical education, graduating with the class of
1895. He studied law under Henry C. McCormick, of Williamsport, and grad-
uated from the Dickinson Law School, at Carlisle, in 1896; was admitted to
the bar of Cumberland county in June, 1896. He entered upon the practice
of his profession at Scranton, in September, 1896, having been admitted to the
Lackawanna county bar. He has been in active practice of the law at Scran-
ton since that time.
Mr. Gilroy married, September 4, 1902, Virginia T. Mclntyre, of Carlisle,
and has two children, Elliott Kisner and Eleanor Mclntyre. Mr. Gilroy is
interested in commercial pursuits and is a director of the Peck Lumber Manu-
facturing Company, and a director of the First National Bank, of Jessup,
Pennsylvania. He resides on Main street, Peckville.
EDWARD HERBERT DAVIS
The record of this ancient New England family is related to the city of
Scranton through Edward Herbert Davis, an architect of the city, who has
made Scranton the scene for the practice of his profession and has risen
therein to a leading position, his practice firmly founded upon architectural
achievements of unusual order. The line of Davis, a Massachusetts family
resident in Barnstable, was moved to Gorham, Maine, at about the beginning
of the Revolutionary War by Josiah Davis. His son, Silvanus, married Han-
nah Gorham, a member of the family from whom the afore-mentioned town
took its name, and had a son, Abner, born in Buxton, Maine, in March, 181 1.
Abner Davis was a flour merchant and shipper, a Republican in politics, and
a member of the Congregational Church. He was twice married (first) about
1836, to Dorothy Abbott. By his first marriage he was the father of Edward
Hotchkiss, of whom further, and Emilie D., born at Stow, Maine, in 1840.
The children of his second marriage were: Marshall Wheelock, principal of the
Roxbury Latin School at Boston, Massachusetts, and Catherine, married
William Skillings, deceased, lumber merchant of Boston.
Edward Hotchkiss Davis, son of Abner and Dorothy (Abbott) Davis,
was born in Brownfield, Maine, in 1839. For several years he was connected
with the treasury department at Washington, D. C, as deputy sixth auditor,
and was also collector of the port of Portland. His political party was the Re-
publican. He married, January 14, 1865, Francena Helen Freeman, born in
Windham, Maine, April 14, 1840, daughter of Benjamin, born in Windham,
Maine, October 8, 1818, and Martha Anne (Ingersoll) Freeman, born in the
same place in 1823. Benjamin was a son of Josiah and Betsy (Webb) Free-
man. Edward Hotchkiss and Francena Helen Davis were the parents of one
son, Edward Herbert, of whom further.
Edward Herbert Davis, son of Edward Hotchkiss and Francena Helen
(Freeman) Davis, was born in Washington, D. C, February 14, 1867, and
after attending the high school of that city obtained his professional educa-
tion in the \\'ashington School of Arts in the same city. His studies com-
pleted he passed three years in gaining practical professional experience in the
offices of C. A. Didden, Harvey L. Page, and Hornblower and Marshall, of
W^ashington, and for the four following years was associated with M. B.
Houpt, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Then fully fitted to cope with the most
difficult problems of his profession in competition with the most able, on
June 23, 1892, he opened an office in Scranton. speedily gaining prestige in
CITY OF SCRANTON 4O1
the fraternity of architects until at the present time he holds a prominent place
among the foremost of his profession. A Republican in politics, the desire foi
office has never been felt by Mr. Davis, and it has been as a private citizen
that he has supported his party. He is a stockholder in several financial and
industrial institutions in the locality, and affiliates with the Masonic order, be-
longing to Lodge, Chapter, Commandery, and Shrine. His club is the Scran-
ton, and he holds membership in the Church of the Good Shepherd (Episco-
pal).
He married, in St. Stephen s Church, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, June
21, 1888, Regina Amanda, born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, June 23, 1867,
daughter of Byron and Alice M. Shoemaker. Byron and Alice M. Shoemaker
had children: Regina A., of previous mention, married Edward H. Davis;
George M., Ethel E., Byron C, William V., and Alice C. Mr. and Mrs.
Davis had one son, Edward H. Jr., born August 10, 1891, died October 31,
1898.
JOSEPH J. CURT JR.
The Curt family is of English lineage and traces back many generations
in which a son bore the name Joseph, the family in Scranton, father and son,
bearing that name as did the two preceeding generations here mentioned.
Joseph Curt, great-grandfather of Joseph J. Curt, of Scranton, was an ac-
complished linquist ?nd skillful musician, brought through these gifts to a
close personal friendship with the then ruling monarch, King Emanuel of Italy.
His son, Joseph (2) Curt, was manager of the large, fashionable and exclusive
catering establishment, Joseph Gunter & Sons, of London, England. Joseph
J. Curt, son of Joseph (2) Curt, was born in London, England, in 1853.
He married, in 1877, Annie M., daughter of Joseph Smith, a veterinary surgeon
of Framlingham, England, and in the same year came to the United States.
He was employed for several years in a company store of Jermyn, Pennsyl-
vania, and is now a resident of Scranton, engaged as foreman. Children :
Joseph J., of whom further, and Howard, deceased.
Joseph J. (2) Curt, son of Joseph J. (i) and Annie M. (Smith) Curt, was
bom in Jermyn, Pennsylvania, August 25, 1880. He obtained his education in
the public schools of Scranton, and attending school No. 33, and School of
Lackawanna, beginning business life in 1897 as supply clerk for the Marion
Coal Company, of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, his father being at that time out-
side superintendent of that company. In 1899, the father having been placed
in charge of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western mine at Taylor, Pennsyl-
vania, the son moved to that place and was appointed supply clerk at the mine,
serving as such for two years, then was promoted office clerk and later assistant
foreman of the Taylor Mine. He was then selected to oversee the construction
of the Taylor Washery, a plant completed and placed in operation during the
great coal strike of 1902. He was foreman of the plant after its being placed
in commission and was then the youngest foreman in the employ of his com-
pany. In igo6, despairing of further advancement, he resigned his position
with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western and formed a partnership with
Harry Rheinhart, purchasing a sporting store of George Schlaeger on Wash-
ington avenue, Scranton, and nine months later he sold out to his partner and
bought an interest in the firm of Robinson & Adams, sporting goods dealers,
succeeding Mr. Robinson in the firm. It was at this time that Mr. Curt became
identified with the auto business and sold the first Maxwell automobiles in 1906
and 1907. In 1908 he sold out to his partner, Mr. Adams, to accept the man-
agement of the Scranton Garage & Motor Car Company, then the largest con-
462 CITY OF SCRANTON
cern of its kind in the city. This firm was agent for the "Franklin" and
"Buick" cars, Mr. Curt continuing until the firm sold out to the Scranton
Automobile Company in September, 1908, and with the latter firm until the
spring of 1909, when he entered the employ of Edward Conrad, as salesman.
In September, 1909, Mr. Curt organized the Anthracite Motor Car Company,
with F. A. Clark. They began business as agents for the "Overland" and
"Corbin" cars, their garage located at No. 625 Lackawanna avenue. Within
a year they found tlieir floor space entirely too small to accommodate their
growing business, which fact caused them to take on the adjoining store which
was soon remodeled as to form an important addition to their plant. In
January, 1913, Mr. Curt purchased the interest of Mr. Clark, and is now sole
owner of a very prosperous business. He is agent for the Overland and Willys
Utility Truck, the Chase Truck and has a good garage and repair trade. Since
November, 1909, he has sold two hundred and twenty-five autos and trucks,
and his repair department only receives cars of the make for which he is agent.
This feature is unusual, but to the fact that he only sells one car and one
truck and devotes his entire repair department to these cars, Mr. Curt attributes
his success. He is very fond of out-door life, and is an enthusiastic automo-
bilist. He is a member of the Automobile Association of Scranton, the United
Sportsmen of Pennsylvania, the Scranton Rod and Gun Club and the Rotary
Club. He is a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, his mother and her
ancestors having been members of the Established Church of England for four
centuries. He is a Republican in politics, and while living at Taylor served as
councilman, being elected by a plurality of one vote.
^Ir. Curt married Edith Allen, daughter of Dr. J. W. and Sophia (Ma-
honey) Houser, of Taylor, Pennsylvania. Child, Christine Houser, born April
14, 1913.
JOHN ZEIDLER
The foreign-born citizens of this country have ever been noted for the
patriotic spirit they display and for the interest they manifest in the develop-
ment of the communities in which they locate, and these characteristics were
fully marked in the case of the Zeidler family, and especially so in the case
of the late John Zeidler, who for many years was an honored and respected
resident of Scranton.
John Zeidler was born in Selb, Bavaria, January 15, 1828. He was reared
and educated in his native place, remaining there until he attained the age ol
eighteen years, when he emigrated to the United States, believing that the op-
portunities for advancement and progress were greater in the new than the
old world. In 1854, after eight years' residence in Haller, he removed to
Scranton, Pennsylvania, and there spent the remainder of his days. He es-
tablished a bakery business at No. 217 Lackawanna avenue, removing later
to Franklin avenue, and this proved a most remunerative means of livelihood,
he conducting it in a thoroughly business-like manner, using nothing but the
best materials, hence his products were the best. He continued the active
management of the business up to the time of his decease, the business then
passing to the control of his daughter. Miss IMaggie Zeidler, who has since
proven herself a competent and efficient manager. In addition to this enter-
prise, Mr. Zeidler conducted what was known as Zeidler's Restaurant, located in
the Germania block on Lackawanna avenue, which was erected by Mr. Zeidler,
and subsequently he erected the Zeidler or Valley Home block, also on Lacka-
wanna avenue, which at that time was the most extensive block in the city of
Scranton. From these he derived a goodly income, they being conducted along
^o/tn Aelf/leK
CITY OF SCRANTON 463
practical lines. Mr. Zeidler went as endorser on many notes, and during the
panic of 1873, when so many business men failed, he was compelled to honor
these notes, consequently he was oblidged to lose the property that he had ac-
cumulated by years of hard toil and persistent effort. This calamity, which
would have discouraged men of less strength and force of character, only
served to make him redouble his efforts, and in due course of time he suc-
ceeded in accumulating considerable capital and property, being enabled to leave
to his family at his death an extensive and valuable estate, a fact which elo-
quently testified to the character of the man. Mr. Zeidler was an active and
earnest member of Zion Lutheran Church, as was also his wife, contributing
generously toward its support and maintenance. He was hospitable, charit-
able, generous, with a ready sympathy for these in affliction or need.
Mr. Zeidler married, in 1857, at Pittston, Pennsylvania, Mary Bechtold,
a native of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, her birth occurring in 1834, and in
1848, at the age of fourteen years, she accompanied her parents to this country,
they locating in Pittston, Pennsylvania, where they spent the remainder of their
days. Mr. and Mrs. Zeidler were the parents of six children, namely: Mrs.
Rudolph Bloeser, Mrs. F. G. Diem, John L. Zeidler, Miss Maggie Zeidler, Mrs.
Louis Linder, and Mrs. Harry S. Poust.
Mr. Zeidler passed away at his home in Scranton, January 23, 1892, and
his widow passed away September 15, 1897. Their funeral services were con-
ducted in Zion Lutheran Church, being attended by representative gatherings,
and the interments were in Washington Avenue Cemetery. The pastor of the
church, Rev. P. H. Zizelmann, delivered an eloquent tribute to the many excel-
lent characteristics displayed in the life of Mrs. Zeidler, who was an active
factor in the work of the various societies connected with the church for many
years.
THOMAS MORTIMER VOYLE
Of an old Olyphant, Lackawanna county family, Mr. Voyle descends from
a family of successful merchants. His grandfather, Thomas Voyle, was a
highly respected merchant of Carbondale and Olyphant, and was succeeded in
business by his son, David M. Voyle, who became owner of the Olyphant store.
Thomas Voyle served several terms as mayor of Carbondale, and was a man
of influence and high standing, both in the business world and in official life.
He married Anna Davenport and had issue : Frances, Louise, Ella, Anna,
Uriah, David M.
(II) David M. Voyle, father of Thomas M. Voyle, inherited his father's
mercantile ability, and during the lifetime of the latter was his business asso-
ciate, later his successor. He married Jane, daughter of John Price. Chil-
dren : Anna, Cora, Thomas Mortimer, Gertrude, David, Jennie.
(III) Thomas Mortimer Voyle was born at Olyphant, Lackawanna county,
Pennsylvania, August 13, 1872. He was educated in the public schools of
Olyphant, which he attended until 1889, then was a student for one year in a
private school in Scranton. He then became associated with the Scranton
Supply and Machine Company, continuing until August i, 1906, when he
was promoted to the position of manager to succeed W. S. Boyd, deceased.
He still fills this important position, his company being the leading mill and
mine supply house of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Mr. Voyle is prominent in
the Masonic Order, belonging to Keystone Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ;
Lackawanna Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; Coeur de Lion Commandery,
Knights Templar; Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic
464 CITY OF SCRANTON
Shrine. He is a member of St. Luke's Protestant Episcopal Church, Engineers'
Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania, and the Scranton Club.
Mr. Voyle married, October 8, 1908, Grace E. Lawrence, daughter of
Philip Lawrence, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Children: Two daughters.
Jane L. and Grace T. The family residence is at No. 317 Wheeler avenue,
Scranton.
FLETCHER C. STACKHOUSE
Inheriting the adventurous blood of his pioneer grandfather and his honored
father, who gave up his life on the field of battle, Mr. Stackhouse saw life in
its many phases in many states of the Union before coming to Scranton where
he is rated one of the capable business men of the city. He is a grandson of
Joseph Stackhouse, of New Jersey, who early came to Shickshinny, Luzerne
county, Pennsylvania, where he acquired large holdings of timber land, owned
two saw mills and became an extensive lumber dealer.
(II) Jesse B. Stackhouse, son of Joseph Stackhouse, was born in New
Jersey and came with his parents to Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, at an
early day. He became a foundryman, his plants being devoted to the manu-
facture of cook stoves and plows. Early in the conflicts between the states,
he enlisted in the Forty-third Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry and
met his death at the battle of Hatcher's Run. He married Margaret Hazlett.
(III) Fletcher C. Stackhouse, son of Jesse B. and Margaret (Hazlett)
Stackhouse, was born at Shickshinny, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, October
II, 1856. He was educated in the Hartford School for Soldiers' Orphans, re-
maining there until he was fifteen years of age, then returned home, finishing
his studies at the school of his native town, taking a business course. He then
spent several years in the states of Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and New
Mexico (then a territory), mostly being employed in railroad offices. He
remained in the West until 1883 when he returned to his home town in Penn-
sylvania. He spent two years there in business for himself, coming to Scran-
ton in 1885. He entered the employ of the Hunt & Connell Company as book-
keeper, continuing with them twelve years. In 1897 he came with the Scran-
ton Button Company in the same capacity, and thirteen years later, in 1910,
was elected secretary of the company, a position he yet efficiently fills. His
experience in the business world, obtained in many states, is a particularly
valuable one, and not bound by tradition or precedent he adopts progressive
methods and in so doing has kept his department abreast of the modem methods
that prevail in the other departments of the company's business.
Air. Stackhouse married, in Sterling, Kansas, Laura A., daughter of David
Seltzer, of that city. Children : Grace Bell, married Joseph E. Elliot Jr. ;
Elizabeth, married James H. Neele ; Helen ; David Keith. The family are
members of Elm Park Methodist Episcopal Church.
CHRISTIAN SCHILLINGER
A German by birth, and now holding a position in the industrial world
of Scranton, Christian Schillinger's residence in the United States is through
the course of fortune rather than because of any plans for which he is respon-
sible. Had he remained in the homeland until he had attained mature years
it is highly probable that the ambition and desire for improvement that led his
father. Christian Schillinger, to immigrate to this country, would have im-
pelled him to seek an American home, but the need of such a decision was
CITY OF SCRANTON 465
spared him, and he grew to manhood in the place that has since known his
activities.
His father, Cliristian Schillinger, was born in Emmendingen, Baden, Ger-
many, and was tliere reared and educated. He was the owner of land and there
he conducted farming and fruit-growing operations, later adding lumber dealing
to his business and so continuing until his immigration in May, 1893. He was
accompanied to this country by his entire family, and settled in Scranton, being
employed as teamster at the Hampton Colliery until his death in September,
1901, aged about fifty years. A Republican sympathizer, he belonged to the
German Presbyterian Church, and for several years was a member of the
official board of that organization. He is buried in the Washburn Cemetery,
Scranton. Christian Schillinger married Barbara Woehrle, born in Hornberg
Black Forest, Germany, daughter of Conrad Woehrle, a native of the same
place, a farmer. Children of Christian and Barbara (Woehrle) Schillinger:
Christian, of whom further ; Otto, Fred, Anna.
Christian (2) Schillinger, son of Christian (i) and Barbara (Woehrle)
Schillinger, was born in Baden, Germany, September 10, 1876. His general
education completed in his native land, he passed two years in a technical
school, and then served a like time as apprentice in a mechanical art. After
accompanying his parents to the United States he took courses in English and
mechanical engineering in the International Correspondence Schools, and then
obtained a position in the Hampton Colliery of the Delaware, Lackawanna &
Western Railroad Company. He passed through various grades of service to
the position of coal inspector, then to that of gang foreman in construction,
foreman of the boiler and power plant, and finally to his present important
place, superintendent of the boiler and power plants of the coal department of
the road. Capability and efficiency mark his execution of the duties of his
position, and his incumbency thereof has been a satisfaction to his employers
and a pleasure to those associated with him. While associated with the Dela-
ware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company, Mr. Schillinger was active
in the formation of the Schillinger Brothers Company, dealers in tile, of which
prosperous concern he is president. Schillinger Brothers Company handles tile
for all purposes, flooring and interior and exterior decoration, and has built up
a flourishing trade in this line, the material used by them of the best. Not
active in political circles, Mr. Schillinger yields allegiance to the Republican
party, and is a member of the First German Methodist Episcopal Church. He
is a thirty-second degree Mason, and belongs to the Engineers' Society of
Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Mr. Schillinger married, October 31, 1900, Ella Henrietta, born in Scran-
ton, daughter of Frank and Albertina Heinen, her parents natives of Germany,
residents of Scranton during nearly their entire lives. Mr. and Mrs. Schil-
linger have one son, Harold Otto, born November 28, 1903, attends school.
JAMES M. POWELL
Representatives of two generations of the family founded the line ol
Powell in the United States, Reese C. and Howell Powell, father and grand-
father of James M. Powell. James M. Powell, the present day representative
of his line in the city of Scranton, whither the two pioneers previously men-
tioned settled after their immigration to this land, has attained prominence
and reputation through his activity in many phases of the city life, political,
fraternal, industrial, business, and social. As president and later as secretary
of the West Scranton Board of Trade he has been at the head of an organiza-
tion whose object is the fostering of the city's industries and the establish-
30
466 CITY OF SCRANTON
ment of trade conditions that will still further increase the advantages of the
locality as an industrial center, while through many other connections he is
allied with the strongest forces working for the benefit and credit of the city
of his birth.
Howell Powell, grandfather of James M. Powell, was born in Wales, and
in 1869 came to the United States, becoming a resident of Scranton. After a
few years he returned to his native land, where his death occurred. Reese C.
Powell, eldest son of Howell Powell, was born in Wales, died in Scranton,
Pennsylvania, in 1907. He came to this city in 1869, his father making the
journey with him. He was for fifteen years tax collector for the fifteenth
ward of the city, and was long a member of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist
Church, in the work of which he was active. He married, in 1869, Mary
James, and had children : Anna, married E. M. Eshleman, of Atlantic City, New
Jersey; James M., of whom further; Margaret.
James M. Powell, son of Reese C. and Mary (James) Powell, was born in
Scranton, Pennsylvania, January 24, 1875. He was a student in the public
schools of his native city until he was a lad of thirteen years, when he en-
tered business life in the employ of R. M. Lindsay, a dry goods merchant of
Scranton, remaining in his establishment for three years, then spending half
of that time with Joseph A. Mears. The following three years he passed in
the service of the Rice, Levy Company, and was connected for a like period
with Clarke Brothers, beginning his connection with that firm at the time of
its organization. In 1897 Mr. Powell became associated with the Scranton
Gas and Water Company, a relation that continues to this time, Mr. Powell
having been raised to his present position, that of manager of the gas appli-
ances department, in 1901. His name stands high upon the list of the com-
pany's trusted employees, and he directs the work of his department with de-
cisive ability.
Mr. Powell is a member of the West Scranton Board of Trade, and in
1911 was its president, and secretary of the same organization since 1912.
His fraternal associations are with Hyde Park Lodge, No. 306, K. of P. ;
Lackawanna Council, Royal Arcanum, to which he has belonged since 1893 ,
Hyde Park Lodge, No. 339, F. and A. M.. having been worshipful master in
1906 and secretary since 1907, and holds the Knights Templar degree, being a
member of Coeur de Lion Commandery, No. 17, K. T., in 1912 succeeding the
late Edward Buck as recorder. In this order he also holds membership in
Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. His
political party is the Republican, and he was the representative of the fourth
ward in select council in 1910 and 191 1, in the latter year becoming the can-
didate of his party for county commissioner.
Mr. Powell married, June 12, 1901. Gwennie M., daughter of William M.
and Ann Thomas, of West Scranton, Pennsylvania. William M. Thomas was
an engineer in the employ of the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company, and
moved from Catasauqua to Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1865, his wife still
living in the latter city, aged eighty-one years. Children of James M. ami
Gwennie M. (Thomas) Powell: William, died in 1910, aged eight years; Theo-
dore, born May 3, 1903 ; Marjorie, died in 1912, aged one year.
WILLIAM LINCOLN NASH
Entering the service of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad
Company as a boy of ten years, William Lincoln Nash has remained con-
tinuously in that employ until the present time. He has truly served but one
master, and if the following recital does not show plainly the fidelity, constancy
CITY OF SCRANTON 467
and whole-heartedness with which he has done this, then it has failed pitiably
in its purpose.
He is a descendant of an English family, his grandfather having come from
Bilston, Stali'ordshire, England, to the United States as a young man, settling
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In that city he established in the hardware
business, continuing in such dealings until his death. He married Mary Ann
Morgan, and had children: i. Ellen, born October 5, 1821, deceased; married
George Stephenson; resided in Scranton. 2. Catherine, born September 16,
1823, deceased ; married Ephraim Kellam, who after her death married a
second time. 3. John, born July 21, 1825, deceased. 4. Thomas, born De-
cember 2, 1827, deceased. 5. Sarah A. M., born January 3, 1830, deceased.
6. Mary, born July 16, 1832; married Nathaniel Gray; resides in Worcester,
Massachusetts. 7. Joseph, of whom further. 8. Maria C, born February 11,
1837. 9. Martha, born July 28, 1838; second wife of Ephraim Kellam; lives
in Hawley, Pennsylvania. 10. Emelina, born November 16, 1840; married
Anson Boles, of Scranton.
Joseph Nash, father of William Lincoln Nash, was born in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, September 15, 1834, died at Hyde Park, Pennsylvania, July 18,
1898. As a young man he engaged in farming, and when war between the
North and South broke out he enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and
Thirty-seventh Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, his regiment being
immediately forwarded to the front. He had been in the service but a shore
time when he was stricken with typhoid fever, a malady which so sapped
his strength that it was necessary for him to return home to recuperate, al-
though he returned to the army long before his physician considered it advis-
able. In 1864 he became a member of Company H, Fifty-second Regiment
Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and was engaged in all the battles of that
regiment until peace was declared. Among the battles in which he took part
were Antietam and South Mountain, and he fought in all the other campaigns
and battles engaging his regiment. Receiving his honorable discharge from the
service, he made his home at Hyde Park, Pennsylvania, engaging in carpenter-
ing, a trade he followed during his remaining active years. He married Anna
E., daughter of Richard Evans, an undertaker and cabinetmaker. Richard
Evans was a native of England, and came to the United States from Liverpool
when his daughter, Anna E., was a girl of four years. He went to Wayne
county about 1853 and nine years later moved to Scranton, where he was a
carpenter until his death. Qiildren of Joseph and Anna E. (Evans) Nash:
I. Helen M. 2. Edith J., married A. B. Mayo. 3. William Lincoln, of whom
further. 4. Arthur L., a resident of Scranton. 5. Herbert E., an architect,
engaged in business in Albany, Georgia. 6. George E., lives in Scranton.
7. Daisy H., married William Bahr.
William Lincoln Nash was born in Salem, Wayne county, Pennsylvania,
August 10, 1864, and until he was ten years of age attended what was then
known as the Brick School-house, now School No. 14, of Scranton. At that
age he obtained employment in the Hampton Breaker, and from that time
until the present day has served the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Rail-
road Company, passing through various grades of service, each more respon-
sible and more remunerative than the last, to the position of chief clerk in the
auditing department. It would be difficult to give to Mr. Nash too great credit
for the advance he has made in the confidence of his employers and superiors
in office, confidence that has been expressed by the bestowal of more im-
portant duties and in entrusting to his care commissions of importance. At
the beginning of his career he was handicapped by a lack of educational ad-
vantages. Deprived of the pleasures and benefits of even ordinary school
468 CITY OF SCRANTON
training he resolutely set himself to the task of overcoming these obstacles and
made his work his study, applying himself to this task with such persistence
and pertinacity that he was steadily raised to his present important place.
None of his fellow employees with whom he has been associated during this
time grudge him the advance he has made, though he has left many of them
far in the rear, for all recognized the sincerity of his purpose and the earnest-
ness with which he has labored. His friends in the company are many, as are
those he has made outside of his business connections, and his genial, hearty
and afifable nature makes him one under whom it is a pleasure to work and
with whom social intercourse is a privilege. Mr. Nash holds membership in
Peter Williamson Lodge, No. 323, F. and A. M. ; Camp No. 8, S. of V., and
is secretary and treasurer of the Memorial Association of the Grand Army
of the Republic of this city. He and his family belong to the Elm Park
Methodist Episcopal Church, of which they are regular attendants, while
politically his actions are guided solely by the occasion and the candidate.
Air. Nash married Emma, daughter of Martin C. Birtley, of Scranton,
and has children: Meltha, born April 12, 1893; Carlton, born March 29, 1898;
Ronald, born January 2, 1901 ; Janet, born June 18, 1907.
WILLIAM OLIVER JENKINS
During the years from April, 1906, to June i, 1914, as city assessor, Mr.
Jenkins proved his ability as a public official and one who in the discharge of a
public duty is upright, fearless and just. A resident of Scranton since 1868,
he has passed through many forms of employment peculiar to this section and
in mill and mine has proved his right to be considered a man of superior
mettle. Descendant of an old Welsh family and himself of Welsh birth he
possesses the manly characteristics of that race to which has been added the
American, that blend so well with the foreign character. He is a son of Jabez
and a grandson of Thomas Jenkins, the latter a life-time resident of Cardiff,
Wales, never leaving his native land.
Jabez Jenkins was born in Cardiff, Wales, January 11, 1822, there residing
until 1867, when he came to the LTnited States, locating in Baltimore, Mary-
land, locating a year later in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He married in his native
city, Ann Evans, born in Carmarthen, Wales, February 14, 1825. Children:
Ann, born February 15, 1846. deceased; Elizabeth, February 15, 1848, de-
ceased ; Isabella, December 2, 1850, deceased ; John D., August 29, 1852,
manager of Schaffer Brothers, Erie, Pennsylvania ; William Oliver, of whom
further; Elvira, August 16, 1856, deceased; Amelia, July 10, 1863, married
Paul Scirefligh, of Scranton; Jabez (2), February 13, 1865, of St. Louis.
Missouri; Taliesen, February 16, 1867, deceased. Ann (Evans) Jenkins, the
mother of these children, was the daughter of John and Ann Evans, of Car-
marthen, later of Cardiff, Wales, where both lived and died. On arriving at
Baltimore with his family. Jabez Jenkins secured employment as foreman in
a copper smelting plant, but in Scranton engaged as a mechanic. He was a
member of the Welsh Baptist Church, and in politics a Prohibitionist.
William Oliver Jenkins was bom at Merthyr, South Wales, and for two
years attended the public schools. At age of nine years he was working in an
iron mill, later went to the coal mines as driver boy. In 1867 he came to the
United States with his parents, coming to Scranton in 1868. Here he fol-
lowed coal mining until 1904, advancing to the position of foreman. In 1901
he was elected a member of the Scranton common council and was re-elected
successively until 1906 when he was appointed by Mayor J. B. Dimmick city as-
sessor, an office he held until January i, 1914. In all his dealings Mr. Jenkins
CITY OF SCRANTON 469
displayed a keen sense of business honor and gained the confidence of his
fellowmen. He is a Republican in politics, member of Scranton Board of
Trade, and of the the K. of P., Lodge No. 306, of which he is past chancellor
commander. He is deacon and trustee of the Jackson Street Baptist Church,
also serving as treasurer and superintendent of the Sunday school. Mr.
Jenkins is an active member of the Surface Protection Association of Scranton.
This organization's efforts have been instrumental in doing much good towards
the protection of life and limb and for the safety and benefit of the city at large.
Mr. Jenkins married, February 9, 1878, at Olyphant, Pennsylvania, Eliza-
beth Davis, born in Swansea, Wales, January 11, 1852, eldest daughter of Wil-
liam S. and Elizabeth (Jones) Davis. She had brothers and sisters: Benjamin,
deceased ; Margaret, deceased ; Mary ; Matilda, married W. O. Adair ; Wil-
liam, of Scranton; George, of Scranton. Children of William O. and Eliza-
beth (Davis) Jenkins: i. Benjamin, educated in public schools, graduate of
Wood's Business College, cashier and accountant for the Armour Packing
Company, Washington, D. C. ; member of the Masonic Order ; he married
Anna Davis and has a son William Edward. 2. Cora, a teacher. 3. Alfred
Arthur, graduate of Harvard University, 1909, Harvard Law School, 1912,
LL. B., now a practicing lawyer of Boston, Massachusetts ; member of the
Masonic Order. 4. Mabel, a stenographer. 5. Alice Elizabeth, a graduate of
Goucher College, 1913, a teacher and assistant principal.
RUDOLPH M. GOLDSMITH
In 1864 there came to Scranton a young Bavarian, Morris Goldsmith,
thirty-one years of age, having been a resident of Pennsylvania twelve years.
He was seeking a location for a retail shoe store and decided, in spite of the
advice of others, to open his store on the south side of Lackawanna avenue.
This would now seem to have been a wise selection, when the five-story build-
ing that is necessary to house the business of Goldsmith Brothers, which he
founded, is considered, and the solidly built business block covering every lot.
But in that day that side of the avenue was vacant, save for a lumber yard,
a house that stood on the present site of the Scranton House and perhaps a
small shop or two. Lackawanna avenue had plank walks, was unpaved and
badly lighted. Mr. Goldsmith's store at the corner of the Alley, directly op-
posite the present Western Union office, was the first store of any consequence
on the south side and an early failure was predicted for the young man by
the merchants of the north side of the avenue. But he believed that if he
had the goods that the people would come to him regardless of which side of
the street he was on. In one year he moved to the present location of Gold-
smith Brothers, No. 304 Lackawanna avenue, the oldest shoe business in
Scranton, soon to celebrate its semi-centennial. Within four years after it
started in business, or in 1868, the south side of the avenue was rapidly build-
ing up, and the wise ones, who predicted that business could not be diverted
from the north side were taught a lesson by the plucky young foreigner to
whom the honor of being the pioneer merchant of Lackawanna avenue south
side must ever belong. The business he founded in 1864 was carried on as a
retail enterprise for several years, later a wholesale department was added
and is so continued. The firm name of Goldsmith Brothers is somewhat mis-
leading, as the founder's only living son, Rudolph M. Goldsmith, is sole owner
and proprietor.
Morris Goldsmith was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1833. In 1852 he
came to the United States, making his own way to the coast and there em-
barking for New York, the voyage being of seventy days' duration. Thence
470 CITY OF SCRANTON
by stage and canal he reached Honesdale, Pennsylvania, and there opened a
shoe store. Two years later he married, and for several years continued in
business at Honesdale, then for a short time lived in Wilkes-Barre, later re-
turning to Honesdale and in 1864 came to Scranton. Here he won his way
to prominence and wealth by industry, perseverance, thorough acquaintance
with the shoe business and a wonderful knowledge of human nature. He was
a born leader and in a successful business career of over a half a century
demonstrated that public support will always be given a courageous and pro-
gressive leader. He won where failure was freely predicted and not only ob-
tained the needed patronage, but set an example that was followed even by
business rivals. His judgment was sound; his foresight keen; his integrity
unquestioned.
Morris Goldsmith married, in 1854, Regina Friend, of Albany, New York,
who preceded him to the grave. He died March 8, 1910, the last survivor of a
family of three sons and three daughters, only one of whom remained in
Bavaria, the land of their birth. He was survived by his son, Rudolph M.,
and five daughters : Isabella, married J. R. Cohen ; Hannah, married T. A.
Stein ; Minnie, married Alfred Rice ; Pauline, a resident of Scranton ; Eva,
married Felix T. Levy, of Wilkes-Barre. In addition to these, eleven grand-
children were living at the time of Mr. Goldsmith's death.
Rudolph M. Goldsmith, last surviving son of Morris and Regina ( Friend ,»
Goldsmith, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, June 4, 1866. The building
he now occupies as a store, No. 304 Lackawanna avenue, stands on the site
of the then Goldsmith home and is especially dear to him, not only as the
scene of his father's wonderful business life, but as his own birth-place, busi-
ness training school and life-long scene of business activity. He was educated
in the city schools and at Easthampton, Massachusetts, leaving the latter school
at age of sixteen years. He began business life at that age with his father
and has literally grown up with the business of which he is now the honored
and capable head and sole owner. This oldest shoe business in Scranton was
originally a retail one, but grew into a wholesale and retail one, Rudolph M.
having charge of the wholesale department, also acting as traveling salesman
until 1890, when he took complete charge of both departments. The entire
five stories of No. 304 Lackawanna avenue are devoted to the needs of the
business which is a very large and prosperous one, capably managed by the
younger man, who has not only maintained its high character, but has so ex-
tended and broadened it that Goldsmith Brothers ranks not only among the
oldest of Scranton's mercantile houses, but as one of the most reliable and
prosperous. Inheriting the virtues and business ability of his honored father,
he has improved the additional opportunities afforded him until he takes place
among the most progressive and successful men of the city.
Mr. Goldsmith married, 1896, Alice, daughter of Raphael Levy, of San
Francisco, California. Children: Morris (2); Madeline; Ralph M.
KENNETH R. BURNETT
The emigrant ancestor of Kenneth R. Burnett, in the Burnett line is Peter
Burnett, his grandfather, who was born in Ireland. He came to Pennsylvania
at an early day, settled in Wayne county, Pennsylvania, and there engaged in
farming.
(II) Dr. John Burnett, son of Peter Burnett, the founder, was born in
Canaan, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, May 13, 1849, died in Scranton, Sep-
tember 30, 1898. He was reared on the farm, obtained a good preparatory edu-
cation, and prepared for the practice of medicine at the College of Physicians
CITY OF SCRANTON 471
and Surgeons, New York City, now the medical department of Columbia
University, whence he was graduated M. D., March i, 1876. He began prac-
tice at Carbondale, Pennsylvania, March 10, 1876, and continued there in suc-
cessful and lucrative professional work until 1884, when he disposed of his
practice. He then spent six months at the Post-Graduate School of Medicine
and Surgery, of Bellevue Hospital, after which he located in Scranton, April
I, 1885. He became one of the leading surgeons of the city, held posts of
responsibility in the hospitals of the city, and from January i, 1887, to Jan-
uary 1, 1890, was coroner of Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania. He was
held in high esteem by his medical brethren and his fellow citizens generally.
Dr. Burnett married Margaret Hart, born in New York City, daughter of
Patrick Hart, born in Ireland, later a wagon manufacturer of New York City.
Children : Kenneth R., of whom further ; Marguerite, Vivian, John.
(Ill) Kenneth R. Burnett, son of Dr. John and Margaret (Hart) Bur-
nett, was born at Carbondale, Pennsylvania, November 16, 1882. He was
educated at Saint Cecelia Academy and Saint Thomas College, beginning busi-
ness life as messenger in the Merchants' and Mechanics' Bank of Scranton.
He received several promotions, finally becoming teller, retaining that posi-
tion until elected cashier of the Pine Brook Bank, of Scranton, December,
1910, which position he now efficiently fills. He is a member of the Knights
of Columbus, and of a number of clubs among which are the Catholic, Scran-
ton, Canoe, American and Institute of Banking.
WILLIAM HENRY COLLINS
A descendant of Irish ancestry, Scranton is the birthplace of William
Henry Collins of this record ; and that city has witnessed all of his busines;^
activity, his position being that of district plant chief for the Western Union
Telegraph Company.
( I ) The American founder of this line was Bernard Collins, born in
Queens county, Ireland, who settled in the Scranton district in 1848, where he
became well known, taking an active part in the local politics of the day. His
faith was the Roman Catholic, while he was a Democrat in politics ; his
death occurred in 1850. He married Mary Kennedy, and was the father ct
Thomas, of whom further ; Patrick J., Michael M., Bernard M., Margaret,
Catherine, Mary, all deceased.
(II) Thomas Collins, son of Bernard and Mary (Kennedy) Collins, was
bom in Queens county, Ireland, in 1824, and was a resident of Scranton
from 1849, ''nd nearly all of his active life was identified with the firm of Hunt
Brothers, who were pioneer dealers in hardware, on Lackawanna avenue, at
the corner of Washington avenue. Politically he was a Democrat: his religious
belief, Roman Catholic. Thomas Collins married Julia Maloney, a native of
Ennistymon, Clare county, Ireland. They were married in Scranton, May
28, i860; Rev. Moses Whitty officiating. Julia Maloney came to Scranton in
girlhood and has lived here ever since ; her present home being at 733 Quincy
avenue. Children of Thomas and Julia (Maloney) Collins: William Henry,
of whom further; Edward Bernard, deseased ; Thomas Francis; John Michael,
deceased ; Austin Charles, deceased ; Anna L. ; John Austin ; Joseph, deceased ;
Mary Agnes ; Julia Regina.
(III) William Henry Collins, son of Thomas and Julia (Maloney) Collin=
was born on Spruce street, Scranton, and he has always lived in the Central
City. He was educated in the Scranton high schools. The Western Union
Telegraph Company is practically the only employment he has ever known,
and he has been associated with that concern since 1877 when he entered their
472 CITY OF SCRANTON
service as a messenger. He has risen from that position, through the grades
of operator, chief operator and manager to his present important office of dis-
trict plant chief for the Scranton district, a district comprising Northeastern
and Western Pennsylvania, extending westward to Clearfield county and a part
of New York state. His fidelity to the company has been proved through long
years of service, during which his responsibilities have increased rapidly and
the thoroughness of his training makes him an employee of value. He is a
recognized authority on telegraph electrical work in his district, being an expert
electrician and his duties are along the line of telegraph engineering.
Mr. Collins is financially interested in the Scranton Dime and Savings Bank.
His political principles are Democratic, and although he is loyal in his support
of that party and an active worker for its advancement, he has never sought
the rewards of public office. He was one of the organizers of Company A.
Engineers' Battalion, National Guard of Pennsylvania, the first engineer com-
pany formed in that organization in the state, and for three years served as
telegraph engineer. His club is the Morse, of New York City, and he is a
member of the National Geographic Society, the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, also being a charter member of the local organization of the
Knights of Columbus. His church is the Roman Catholic, in which he belongs
to the Cathedral Parish.
Mr. Collins married, in Scranton, October 27, 1891, Sarah M. Gorman,
born on Scranton West Side, daughter of Charles Gorman, who journeyed to
California in 1849, tl^^ time of the gold excitement. Mr. and Mrs. Collins are
the parents of : Paul Gregory, a graduate of the Central High School, of Scran-
ton, class of 1912, and at present a student at Harvard University; Albert
Joseph, and Frances Marie, both students in the Scranton high schools.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN FRINK
Of New England ancestry, his father a native of Connecticut, but himself
a son of Scranton, Abraham Lincoln Frink has ever been a resident of and in
business in the city of his birth. His grandfather, Benajah Frink, had among
his children four sons, Isaac and Tracy, both farmers at Auburn ; Orrin, of
whom further; William, for forty years a freight agent in the employ of the
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. Orrin, father of Abraham Lin-
coln Frink, was born in Connecticut, in 1807. He and his wife, Edith (Smith)
Frink, were the parents of : Harriett, married Jonas Washburne ; Mary, mar-
ried Albert S. Whittaker, of Scranton, Pennsylvania; Cornelia, married George
N. Stark; Henry Clay, married Hester Kemmins, of New York; Jessie, mar-
ried Henry T. Howell; Ida, married (first) Harry G. Fuller, (second) Ellis
W. Moore ; Luella, married Eugene Grout, of Colorado ; Abraham Lincoln, of
whom further.
Abraham Lincoln Frink, son of Orrin and Edith (Smith) Frink, was
born in Scranton, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, September 26, 1864.
He obtained his education in this city, attending the public schools, also being
a student in the private school of Miss Hattie Slocum, held in a building that
stood on the site of the old store of O. P. Clark. One of his teachers in the
old brick school house was Professor Hawker, father of James Howell Hawk-
er, a member of the present faculty of the Scranton High School. After the old
brick school-house was destroyed by fire, classes, taught by Professor J. Elliott
Ross, were held in the Fellow's Building. Mr. Frink began his business career
at the age of thirteen years, when he left school and entered the employ of
William Watkins, a printer, with whom he learned type-setting and press
running, and all the other details of the printer's trade. He gave up his
CITY OF SCRANTON 473
position with Mr. Watkins to enter the service of H. D. Jones, a grocer with
a store on Jackson street, and was next identified with the 99c store of C. B.
Nash, at 501 Lackawanna avenue, after which he became associated with Mr.
Courtright, a shoe merchant. His next position was with the Delaware, Lacka-
wanna & Western Railroad Company, and after a short term with this road he
became connected with L F. McGargle and J. L. Connell, wholesale grocers,
with whom he remained for two years. Timmes & Hecht, manufactureres of
railroad spikes and bar iron, then engaged his services, and upon the dis-
solution of this company he became an accountant in the office of the Gold-
smith Bazaar. The year 1905 he passed in the employ of the General Metals
Manufacturing Company, and in November, 1906, he was employed as ac-
countant by C. S. Woolworth, of Scranton, and so continued until 1912. A
change in the business affairs of that gentleman taking effect on January i, of
that year, Mr. Frink became his private secretary, still continuing in that posi-
tion. Of Mr. Frink's fitness for the position in which he has been placed it
can only be said that his fidelity and loyalty to his employer is unswerving, and
that in the administration of the myriad details entrusted to him he has ex-
ercised judgment that has brought satisfactory and favorable results to Mr.
Woolworth. His wide experience in several lines of business makes him
peculiarly valuable in his present place and the arrangement between him and
Mr. Woolworth has been eminently gratifying to both of the principals.
No political party counts Mr. Frink as a supporter, his action in such matters
being entirely independent of such association, based solely upon the merits of
candidate for platform. He affiliates with the First Church of Christ, and is
a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
Mr. Frink married (first) in August, 1889, Julia A., daughter of George
Harrington ; (second) Lillian Hall, daughter of John Morris, of Scranton.
By his first marriage he is the father of two children, Dorothy H., born Feb-
ruary 7, 1899; James Clayton, born December, 1900.
HERMAN HAGEN
The Hagen Lumber Company of Scranton, one of the prosperous business
concerns of the city, represents the efi^orts of Herman Hagen, who founded
that company in 1906. John P. Hagen, the father of Herman Hagen, was a
native of Baden-Baden, Germany, and throughout his entire life was a vet-
erinary surgeon, dying in his native land at the age of seventy-three years.
He was a participant in the revolution of 1848, and bore a pround reputation
as a brave and valiant soldier. He married Marie Ann, daughter of Nepenick
Foster, magistrate in the town of Galmansville, and a prominent man of that
locality. They were the parents of : Ferdinand ; Carl ; Albert, married, in
February, 1908, Margaret North, and bad children, Albert Jr. and Dorothy
M. : Herman, of whom further.
Herman Hagen was born in Baden-Baden, Germany, February 2, 1852,
and was there educated in the public schools. After the completion of his
studies and his graduation he immigrated to the LTnited States, landing in
New York City and proceeding up the river to Hudson, New York, where
be engaged in truck gardening. In 1870 he moved to the city of Scranton,
Pennsylvania, and for two years he was in the employ of the Iron Coal Com-
pany, for the two following years executing contracts with the city for the
grading of streets. He then entered upon a sixteen years' relation with the
Simon Rice Grocery Company, at the end of that time purchasing land on
Washington avenue and beginning work at his early occupation, gardening, in
1880 joining his brother Ferdinand in the lumber business, on the present site
474 CITY OF SCRANTON
of the Hagen Lumber Company. For eight years he was a director of the
German Building and Loan Association, holding the same position in the
Harmony Building and Loan Association for twenty years, also with the
Schiller Loan Association. Mr. Hagen has conducted several private busi-
ness ventures, independent of those in which he is interested as a member of
the Hagen Lumber Company, and during 1881 and 1882 purchased eleven lots,
erecting modern dwellings thereon. In 1896 he purchased four hundred acres
of land near Bear Lake, which he cleared, and in 1897 bought one acre of
land and built six houses. In 1906 he founded the Hagen Lumber Company,
owning an absolutely fire-proof mill, operating the first planing mill in the
city, with individual motors on each machine. He manufactures white pin-;
columns, interior finishings, general builders' and contractors' work, and mill
work of all kinds, a busy and prosperous concern. He also assisted in organiz-
ing the Pine Brook Bank and is director of this. Mr. Hagen holds member-
ship in the Liederkranz and the German Alliance, beneficial societies, and be-
longs to the German Catholic Church.
Mr. Hagen married, in 1875, Sophia, daughter of Ferdinand Frey. Chil-
dren: I. Frederick C, born September 15, 1878; foreman of the Hagen
Lumber Company. 2. Alfred P.. born January 25, 1880. 3. George, born
July 5, 1882; married, October 14, 1908. Nellie Harte and their children are:
Hortense, George Jr., Grace Sophia, Mary and Louise. 4. August. 5. Rosa,
married Edward Eisele, city controller for the past fifteen years. 6. Carl.
7. Augusta. 8. Helena.
WILLIAM EWART NAPIER
Having devoted nearly all of his active career to the insurance business,
William Ewart Napier, secretary of the Scranton Life Insurance Company,
came to that organization in 1908, recommended by a record of efficient service
with the companies of repute, and now holds a responsible position with this
institution, and one of corresponding height in the business world of his city.
His father, John Napier, was born in London, England, 1850. For twelve
years he was engaged in military service, from sixteen to twenty-eight years of
age, and since then until his death in 1914 was engaged in the insurance busi-
ness. He married Isabella Colyer, likewise a native of England, and had
children, among whom was William Ewart, of whom further.
William Ewart Napier, son of John and Isabella (Colyer) Napier, was
born in Dulwich, a suburb of London, England, January 17, 1881. As a
boy he was brought to Portland, Maine, and there attended the public school?,
completing his education in the institutions of London, England, and Berlin,
Germany. In his youth he was engaged in journalistic pursuits in New York
City, and at the age of sixteen years entered his father's field, life insurance,
and has since continued therein, with the exception of the years spent abroad
while finishing his education. On December 16, igo8, he completed negotia-
tions with the Scranton Life Insurance Company and accepted a position as
actuary, coming to the home office in Scranton. With the recognition of his-
worth to the company he was advanced to the office of secretary, of which he
is the present imcumbent. In 19 14 he was elected a director of that company,
succeeding John R. Williams. He without doubt inherits a large portion
of his father's aptitude for the insurance business, and in the six years of
his connection with his present company has ably met every difficulty that
has arisen in the company's affairs. Mr. Napier for some years found enjoy-
able relaxation from business cares in chess, and in 1904 held the open and
amateur chess championship of Great Britain, so hopelessly beyond the under-
CITY OF SCRANTON
475
standing of some, but which furnishes recreation to many whose business is of
so weighty a character and requiring such great mental activity that lighter
amusements fail in effectiveness, and to this class belongs Mr. Napier. He
is a fellow of the American Institute of Actuaries, member of the Scranton
Club, the Press Club, Canoe Club, New York Press Club, Brooklyn Chess
Club, City of London Chess Club, and the Scranton Board of Trade. Mr.
Napier married, in 1906, Florence Holley Gillespie. Children: Muriel Victoria
and Ruth Alexandra.
HERBERT ROBERT HICHAM
Scion of an old English family, seated in Sulifolkshire, England, Mr.
Higham is the first of his line to settle in the United States, his father and
grandfather both dying in England at a ripe age. William Higham, the grand
father, was a farmer on the old Higham homestead, married and had children .
Samuel Robert ; Edward, a dry goods merchant at Gloucester, England, and
later manager of Denton & Holbrook, Gloucester, England, and proprietor
of a variety store; John, died in Australia; Thomas; William, of further men-
tion ; Isabel ; Amy.
(II) William (2) Higham, son of William (i) Higham, was born in
Branfield, England, June i, 1827, died there January 7, 1905. He was a malt-
ster, engaging in that business all his active life. He married (first) a Miss
Saunders, who bore him a son, Henry. He married ( second ) Elizabeth
Clow, of Branfield ; children : Florence Elizabeth, deceased : Charlotte, mar-
ried and resides in England ; Isabel, married and resides in England ; Herbert
Robert, of whom further ; Richard : Ernest, first engineer in the British navy ;
George, a resident of Scranton. Elizabeth (Clow) Higham, the mother, died
February 11, 1910, aged seventy-two years. She had a sister who died in 1913,
aged eighty-one years.
(III) Herbert Robert Higham, son of William (2) Higham, was bom in
Branfield. county of Sufi^olk. England, March 9, 1872. He was educated in
public schools, and at an early age indentured to a grocer for three years. At
the end of his apprenticeship he continued in the same business, but in the
town of Lafield, in the employ of Samuel Samson, being then seventeen years
of age. At the age of nineteen he was a grocer's clerk at Gloucester, England,
remaining until of legal age. Later he decided to come to the United States,
and on April 15, 1903, he left Gloucester for Liverpool, sailing from the latter
port April 28, on the steamship "LTmbria" and arriving at New York, May 5,
following. He continued his journey westward, arriving in Buffalo, New
York, May 6, there found employment in a grocery store, remaining a month,
then on June 7, 1903, came to Scranton. Six days after his arrival in the
city he entered the employ of W. H. Pierce, as a clerk, and won his way up-
ward until on the incorporation of The Pierce Company, May 15, 1912, he
was chosen secretary of the company, a position he fills most capably. His
associates in the company were : W. H. Pierce, president ; John Hughes, vice •
president : M. M. Bennett, treasurer ; and D. S. Stone ; the present officials are :
M. M. Bennett, president: W. H. Pierce, vice-president: H. R. Higham, sec-
retary and treasurer. Mr. Higham is a member of the Elm Park Methodist
Episcopal Church and the Modern Woodmen, and in politics is an Independent.
He married Nora L., daughter of George Wellington Sherwood, of Falls,
Pennsylvania: child: Bessie Eleanor, born October 26, 1901.
476 CITY OF SCRANTOX
BENJAMIN L. LATHROP
As secretary of the general cantracting corporation, Lathrop, Shea &
Henwood Company, and treasurer of The Lathrop & Shea Company, con-
tractors, Mr. Lathrop is in charge of the office business of two of the large
contracting corporations of Scranton.
Benjamin L. Lathrop is a descendant of the Rev. John Lathrop, who set-
tled in Scituate, Massachusetts, in the year 1630 A. D. James Lathrop, a
descendant of Rev. John Lathrop, was a man of prominence and wealth of
Brooklyn, New York, and at one time served as vice-counsul to Canada. Ed-
ward Flint Lathrop, son of James Lathrop, was born in South Hadley Falls,
Massachusetts, died in October, 1910, aged sixty-one years. He was one of
the contractors engaged in the construction of the Lake Ariel Section of the
Erie & Wyoming Valley Railroad. He was extensively engaged in railroad
and general contracting as a member of the firm of Lathrop & Shea, of New
Haven, Connecticut. This firm did a vast amount of heavy work throughout
the country, one of their contracts in Pennsylvania being the improvement of
the Avoca yards of the Erie «& Wyoming Valley Railroad. Mr. Lathrop mar-
ried Nancy Lane and among their children was Benjamin L., of whom further.
Benjamin L. Lathrop, eldest son of the late Edward Flint and Nancy
(Lane) Lathrop, was born at Gravesend, Long Island, New York, December
7, 1877. He was educated in the public schools of Brooklyn, graduating from
high school, class of 1896. In that year he began business life, going to Pitts
field, Massachusetts, with his father, and entering the employ of Lathrop &
Shea. Later he was with them at East Hampton, Connecticut, and for four
years was in charge of the firm's office at New Haven, Connecticut. In 1902 he
came to Scranton, Pennsylvania, as secretary of Lathrop, Shea & Henwood
Company, a corporation succeeding the firm of Lathrop, Shea & Henwood.
He is also treasurer of The Lathrop & Shea Company, contractors. These
companies conduct large operations in dififerent parts of the country, one of
their present contracts being for a large section of the Erie Canal in New
York state, widening and deepening it and building entirely new sections.
Their work is varied in character ; they have recently completed three build-
ings and a reservoir for the Farview Hospital for the Criminal Insane, and a
filtration plant for Hillside Home. They excavated for and placed the con-
crete foundations for the new Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Sta-
tion in Scranton. They have an entensive plant in constant use and a force
of about three thousand men is employed by the two companies. Mr. Lathrop
was one of the organizers and the first secretary of the Scranton Playground
Association, and is deeply interested in this form of philanthropy. He belongs
to Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; the Royal Arcanum,
and the Improved Order of Heptasophs. He is a member of the Green Ridge
Club, the Alpha Sigma and the Scranton Canoe Club. He is a communicant
of St. Luke's (Episcopal) Parish. In political faith he is a Republican.
Mr. Lathrop married, June i, 1909, Elsie Ruth Deubler, daughter of Otto
and Frances (Jones) Deubler, of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Lathrop is a
member of the Century Club and of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
ANGELO COMINELLI
An artist of recognized ability before coming to the United States, Mr.
Cominelli has added to his fame in decorating and beautifying with his art
many of the Holy places of his adopted state. As an ecclesiastical artist he has
acquired much more than local fame and has also won the patronage of many
■^if/tafr/ G^jMrie/t
CITY OK SCRANTON 477
persons of wealth, who have availed themselves of his artistic excellence to
beautify their homes in some especially desired particular. An artist by in-
born talent and years of study and with a reputation in his own land as an
instructor in art and as an artist, he has maintained studios in Philadelphia,
New York and Scranton with successful results. His immediate forbears were
not artists, but men of mechanical and business ability. His grandfather,
Faustino Cominelli, was manager of a large landed estate in Italy, and had
children : Louis, Antonio, John, Catherine, Mary, Leander and Stephano.
Louis Cominelli married Annunciate Rossini and had issue : Angelo, of whom
further ; Mary ; Ermenia ; Peter, deceased ; Gildo ; Faustino ; Catherine, de-
ceased ; Joseph ; John ; Julia, deceased ; Louisa, deceased.
Angelo Cominelli was born in Milzanello, Province of Brescia, Italy, Jan-
uary 21, 1857, and three years afterward was brought by his parents to Man-
orbio, same province. He attended the public schools and began special study
as a student of architecture under Professor Archieno. He did not pursue
this course to its end, but abandoning it went to Milan, taking lessons in paint-
ing under a capable instructor at the academy of Brera. He continued his art
studies until he was of legal age, then in accordance with Italian law he joined
the army and rendered his three years of military service. After leaving the
army he was appointed professor in the art school of Brescia. Later he opened
a private studio in Brescia, and from then until his departure for the United
States was engaged m different forms of interior decoration, chiefly the adorn-
ment of churches or church institutions. He rose to fame in his art and speci-
mens of his handiwork in his native land are notably, the ceiling of the FeraioH
palace at Seuigo, the St. Lawrence church, Verolanuorg, and the Church of
Saint Gregory at Cane. He was a member of the Artists' Society of Brescia,
a city of great antiquity and the former seat of school painting of great merit,
to which many eminent artists belonged. From such an art centre and with a
reputation well established, Mr. Cominelli came to the LTnited States influenced
by the general feeling existing that this was the land of great opportunity.
He arrived at New York City, December 24, 1901, and at once proceeded to
his intended destination, Philadelphia. He spent two and a half years in that
city, then was in New York City two years in the employ of a large contracting
firm who utilized his talents as a designer and interior decorator in allegorical
painting, relief, figures and purely ornamental work. He came to Scranton
in 1905 and at once opened a studio at rooms Nos. 9, 10 and 11, No. 134
Wyoming avenue, devoting himself to different forms of ecclesiastical art,
and has successfully established a business and reputation that has brought
him fame as well as remuneration. Among the many enduring monuments to
his artistic skill, the more notable are : The Mortuary Chapel in Cathedral
Cemetery, Scranton ; Mount Saint Mary's Chapel, Scranton ; Saint Mary's
Church, Avoca, Pennsylvania ; Poli theatres at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania,
and Meridan, Connecticut; Mortuary Chapel in Cathedral Cemetery, Syracuse,
New York ; Saint Lawrence Church, Old Forge, Pennsylvania ; Holy Rosary
Church, Wilkes-Barre, and the entire interior decoration of Saint Paul's Con-
vent Chapel, Scranton.
RICHARD O'BRIEN
Richard O'Brien, assistant superintendent of the Western Union Telegraph
Company, has been a prominent citizen of Scranton for many years. Born in
Ireland in 1839, he came to Philadelphia in 1852. He has been identified with
the telegraph and telephone from the beginning of those great inventions, hav-
ing worked on Morse's first wire between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and on
478 CITY OF SCRANTON
the Pennsylvania Railroad lines in the same region until the outbreak of the
Civil War which found him as division operator of the middle division of that
road at Harrisburg.
With Andrew Carnegie and three other young men from the Pennsylvania
Railroad, Mr. O'Brien became one of the pioneers in military telegraphy, and
as that service for the first time in history demonstrated the strategic im-
portance of the telegraph in war, one of its most successful officers in the field
and front was Richard O'Brien. As chief operator. Department of Virginia
and North Carolina, he built and managed lines about Fort Monroe, Norfolk
and Suffolk before and during MeClellan's campaign on the Peninsula, on the
James river and in front of Richmond and Petersburg during Grant's cam-
paign, and in North Carolina for Shemian's campaign of the Carolinas. In
aiding to connect up these armies by telegraph Mr. O'Brien received the com-
mendation of the War Department and of the commanders of the field, in-
cluding Generals Sherman and Grant.
At the close of the war Mr. O'Brien was placed in charge of the com-
mercial lines in Virginia and North Carolina by the American Telegraph
Company, and after reconstructing and putting them in good order was trans-
ferred to New York. When that company was merged in the Western Union,
Mr. O'Brien was placed in charge of lines in New Jersey and Pennsylvania on
the routes of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, the Lehigh Valley, the
Central Railroad of New Jersey and other roads, with headquarters at Scran-
ton. Mr. O'Brien constructed the first telephone lines here in 1877, and built up
the first telephone system in Northeastern Pennsylvania. He is a director of
the Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania, a director of the Peoples Na-
tional Bank, first vice-president of the Scranton Real Estate Company, and
has been and still is active in the business life of Scranton.
In 1868, Mr. O'Brien married Sarah Harrison Marks, of Petersburg. Vir-
ginia, who was a descendant on the maternal side, of General William Henry
Harrison, ninth president. This estimable lady died in Scranton in 1896. They
had three sons : Richard Marks O'Brien, John Harrison O'Brien, and Albert
Chandler O'Brien, the first of whom alone survives. Richard Marks O'Brien
married, January 14, 1891, Mary Agnes O'Malley of Wilkes-Barre, and has
an interesting family: Marjorie, who died greatly beloved, in 1898; Helen,
Mary; Alice; Grace and Richard.
It would be a very inadequate synopsis of Richard O'Brien's career that
would fail to mention the potent influence for good that his life and example
have impressed on hundreds of young men and women who have worked and
progressed under his direction in military and civil telegraphy and with the
telephone ; his kindly sympathy, cheerful encouragement and high intelligence
have always evoked the steady loyalty and best efficiency of these worthy young
people. Few men of Scranton have been more widely known or more highlj.
respected than Richard O'Brien.
JOHN EMMET O'BRIEN, M. D.
The subject of this sketch was born in Ireland, in 1848, and came with his
parents and older brothers, Richard and James, and sisters, Mary and Eliza-
beth, to Philadelphia, in 1852. His early education was less in the schools than
in the telegraph profession, in which he was the youngest operator of his time,
in both commercial and military service. With his elder brother Richard he
served as operator and cipher-operator in the army of the United States
throughout the Civil War.
At the close of the war young O'Brien, yet only seventeen, began the study
^oU(§.&-^,ien,^lM
CITY OF SCRANTON 479
of medicine in the medical department of Georgetown University, continuing
his course at Rush Medical College, Chicago, and graduating in 1869. After
some practice east and west, he was appointed a lecturer in Rush College, and
was in the great Chicago fire in 1871, after which he located in Scranton, Penn-
sylvania. Dr. O'Brien was one of the first surgeons of Lackawanna Hospital,
now the State Hospital, and made the first amputation in it, in 1872. He
served on the hospital staff seven years. He was the second health officer of
Scranton, was surgeon of the Thirteenth Regiment three years, and is a mem-
ber of the National, State and County Medical societies, and an ex-president
of the latter. Dr. O'Brien has been a contributor to medical and general litera-
ture in journals of worldwide circulation, and is the author of "Telegraphing
in Battle," a book of reminiscences of the Civil War. The chapter on the
medical profession in this "History of Scranton," (Lewis Historical Publish-
ing Company. New York), was prepared and written by him.
In 1877 Dr. O'Brien was married to Miss Clara B. Keyes, of Beech Creek,
Pennsylvania. They have one daughter, Fannie May O'Brien. Dr. O'Brien
is still in active practice.
JAATES JEROME BELDEN
The Spencer Heater Company, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, has as its sec-
retary and treasurer James Jerome Belden, one of the younger members of
the industrial and business world of this city. He is a member of a New
York family, grandson of Augustus Caldwell Belden, a banker and con-
tractor, who married Roselia Jackson. Children of Augustus Caldwell and
Roselia (Jackson) Belden: James Mead; Alvin, married Augusta Pharis:
Charles Gilbert, deceased, married Mary Bevan, and had children, Arthur Be-
van, Roselia, Charles Gilbert Jr. James Mead Belden, son of Augustus Cald-
well and Roselia (Jackson) Belden, was born in Syracuse, New York, married,
and has children: i. Mead Van Zile, born in 1879; associated with the Iro-
quois Pottery Company, of Syracuse, New York ; married Nellie Blanchard, jf
East Orange, New Jersey, and has children, Augustus Caldwell and Mary
Elizabeth. 2. James Jerome, of whom further. 3. Augustus Caldwell, born
in 1883 ; married Ethel Butler, and has children. 4. James Mead Jr. 5. Perry,
born in 1885 '• secretary of the American Legation at Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Central America, formerly private secretary to Charles S. Francis, ambassador
to Australia, and secretary to the ambassador to Germany.
James Jerome Belden, son of James Mead Belden, was born at Syracuse.
New York, December 5, 1881. His preparatory education was obtained in the
public schools of his native city and Preparatory School of Lawrenceville, New
Jersey, after which he matriculated at Princeton L^niversity, Princeton, New
Jersey. In 1907 Mr. Belden received his B. S. from this institution, and after
his graduation embarked upon a trip around the world, in the course of which
he visited the many places of scenic and historic interest with which the Old
World abounds, the tour one of value and enjoyment. After his return from
abroad Mr. Belden resided in Troy, New York, for one year, in January.
1908, coming to Scranton to accept the joint office of secretary and treasurer of
the Spencer Heating Company. The six years during which he has been the
incumbent of this position have been years of prosperity and advancement for
his company, the burden of added responsibility and duty that has been laid
upon him through this expansion having been assumed in an able manner and
welded into his plan of operation easily and with energetic competence. Should
Mr. Belden make Scranton the permanent scene of his business life, the years
immediately at hand must witness a broader application of his talents, a wider
48o CITY OF SCRANTON
field for his useful efforts. He is a member of the Scranton, Country and
Princeton clubs, and belongs to the Second Presbyterian Church. His political
faith is Republican.
Mr. Belden married Helen Elizabeth, daughter of Colonel H. M. Boies.
of Scranton, and has one daughter. Elizabeth Boies, born August 12, 191 1.
HUGH JENNINGS
Familiarly known as "Hughey," Mr. Jennings, although educated and
trained for the legal profession, is not unknown to fame as the expert ball
player and successful manager of the strong Detroit Base Ball Team, thrice
champions of the American League. Always an ardent devotee of all athletic
sports, he was early led into the ranks of professionals, and himself a living
argument, he is also one of the most ardent advocates of their value, and in
public gatherings, loses no opportunity to impress upon young men the need of
clean living and of trained muscles to supplement and give power to brain and
mind.
He is the son of James and Norah (Feehan) Jennings, the former born
in Westport, Ireland, coming to the United States when young and locating
in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, where he was a mine carpenter. Children :
Thomas, Frank, Nellie, Hugh, of whom further ; Joseph, a practicing physi-
cian of Pittston, Pennsylvania ; William A., a lawyer of Scranton ; Alice.
Hugh Jennings was born in Pittston, Pennsylvania, April 8. 1870. His
early education was obtained in the public schools of Moosic, Lackawanna
county, Pennsylvania, Wood's Business College, Scranton, after which he pur-
sued a course of study at Saint Bonaventure College, Allegany, New York.
When he decided upon the law as a profession, he entered the law department
of Cornell University, whence he was graduated LL. B., class of 1904. He
was admitted to the Maryland bar, at Baltimore, in 1905, and in 1907 to the
Pennsylvania bar, becoming law partner with his brother, an association that
still continues, although it is only between seasons that he engages in the active
work of the firm, and then as an assistant to his able brother, William A. Jen-
nings. The offices of the firm are Nos. 703-704 Mears Building, Scranton,
where a lucrative law business is transacted. In 1890 Mr. Jennings first be-
came a professional ball player, his first engagements being with the Allentown
and Harrisburg clubs. In 1891 he was with the Louisville Club of the Ameri-
can Association, remaining until 1893, when he joined the Baltimore Club, of
the then National League. For six years he remained with that club, being
one of the number who was conspicuous in its success and who have in other
fields gained national fame. From 1899 until 1901 he was a member of the
Brooklyn Club of the National League, then with the Philadelphia Club until
1904, becoming in the latter year manager of the Baltimore Club of the Eastern
League, remaining until 1907, when he was chosen manager of the Detroit
Club of the American League, leading that team to victory as champions in
1907-1908 and 1909. During his professional ball career he has been a member
of eight championship and of fourteen second place teams. The Blue Ribbon
of the Base Ball world has, however, been as yet denied him. the Detroits
having failed of securing victory in a "World's Series" over their National
League opponents, Chicago and Pittsburgh. As a player "Hughey" was one
of the most reliable, ranking with the leading men of his generation, as a
manager he is most capable and popular with the base ball public, always re-
ceiving a royal welcome when appearing at the ball parks of the league cities.
He is genial, generous and joyful, fair and honorable in his methods of con-
ducting a game, not cast down by defeat or unduly elated over a victory, a good
winner and better still a good loser. During the winter season of 1912-1913 he
CITY OF SCRANTON 481
filled an engagement in vaudeville over the Keith circuit, presenting a pleasing
act in company with an assistant.
It must not be supposed that Mr. Jennings holds the profession of law
lightly or that base ball is his ruling passion. Brain and muscle have developed
side by side and while known only as the ball player to the world at large, to
his friends and acquaintances he is known as the educated lawyer, the flueni
and pleasing speaker, and earnest advocate of education and good citizenship.
He keeps in close touch with the legal profession and his ultimate ambition is
to make for himself a name among the leaders of that profession. He is a
member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of
Columbus and the Loyal Order of Moose. His college fraternities are Phi
Delta Theta, Phi Delta Phi, his college society, Sphinx Head, all of Cornell
University.
Mr. Jennings married (first) in 1898, Elizabeth Dixon, of Avoca, Penn-
sylvania, who died in 1899, leaving a daughter, Grace, born September 4,
1899. He married (second) in 1910, Xorah O'Boyle, of Scranton ; a daughter
died in infancy.
ALFRED GUTHEINZ
One of the youngest of the business men of Scranton, Alfred Gutheinz
has still identified himself with so many of the institutions of that city that he
holds a position of more prominence than that of many whose lifelong home
has been in Scranton.
Mr. Gutheinz was born in New York City, New York, in 1875, and there at-
tended the public schools. When he was sixteen years of age his parents moved
to Scranton and soon after his arrival he entered Wood's Business College in
order to prepare for his future career. His first business experience was in
the employ of the Wightman Electric Company, with which concern he re-
mained for two years, afterwards being identified with the Scranton Supply
and Machinery Company for a period of three years. In 1899 h^ made his
entry into the banking field of the city as bookkeeper in the Scranton Savings
Bank, later being promoted to paying teller. This position he held until June
20, 1912, when he was elected cashier of the South Side Bank, resigning his
place with the Scranton Savings Bank to enter the service of the former
institution. He still serves the South Side Bank in this capacity, his performance
of the duties of his office giving satisfaction to all concerned. Mr. Gutheinz
is a Democrat in political faith and has always been foremost in the affairs of
his party, having been a member of the Democratic county committee, of
which he had the honor to be treasurer. He is a trustee of the Scranton
Public Library, and played a prominent part in the organization of an associa-
tion for which Scranton is noted, the Junger Mannerchor, having been presi-
dent of that body. He also takes great interest in the choir of the First Ger-
man Presbyterian Church, of which he is a member. Mr. Gutheinz fraternizes
with the Masonic Order and the Patriotic Order Sons of America. He is a
member of the Associated Board of Charities.
Mr. Gutheinz married, in 1902, Lydia F., daughter of John and Caroline
Sailer, of South Scranton. Children of Alfred and Lydia F. Gutheinz:
Stephen A., born February 26, 1907; Carl William, born September 29, 1911.
The varied natures of Mr. Gutheinz's relations to Scranton's interest stamp
him at once as a man of exceptional versatility, as well as one whose sympathy-
is wide and all-embracing. He is the type of citizen that tends to make the
development of a city uniform in all departments, not uneven and dispropor-
tionate, and his further activity will surely be productive of good results.
31
482 CITY OF SCRANTON
MAX FREDERICK HENKELMAN
Born in Germany, but a resident of Scranton since- 1893, Mr. Henkelman
has, through merit and agreeable personaHty, won both position and friends
in this city. He is a son of Frederick and Ernestine (Sonntag) Henkelman.
His father died July i, 1909.
Max F. Henkelman was bom at Breslau, Germany, February 28, 1887.
At six years of age he was brought to Scranton by his parents and here ob-
tained his education, being graduated from the Scranton High School in the
class of 1902. In September of that year he entered the employ of the legal
firm of Willard, Warren & Knapp, now Warren, Knapp, O'Malley & Hill, a?
clerk, and has since continued with them and at the present date (1914) has
charge of their title work. He is a director in the Economy Building and Loan
Association. Mr. Henkelman is also active in fraternal organizations, and is
a member of Schiller Lodge, No. 345, F. and A. M. ; Scranton Aerie, No. 314,
F. O. E. ; Pocono Tribe, No. 230, I. O. R. M. ; and the Junger Mannerchor,
of Scranton. In politics he is a staunch Republican ; is ex-president of the
South Side Republican Club, and secretary of the Republican County Com-
mittee (1914). In religious faith he is a Presbyterian, belonging to the First
German Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Henkelman married, September 3, 1913, Emilie C, daughter of Peter
P. and Emilie (Art) Neuls, and granddaughter of Adam Neuls, one of the
early settlers in Scranton. One son, Willard Max Henkelman, has been born
to them.
ROBERT LEO HUBER
For fourteen years Mr. Huber has been associated with the Jermyn Estate
in Scranton, rising from office boy to the position of private secretary to Jo-
seph Jermyn, one of the executors. Mr. Huber has been a worker since his
thirteenth year and is untiring in his devotion to the interests of his chief.
During the recent mayoralty campaign in Scranton, he acted as manager of
important details connected therewith, rendering valuable and well appreciated
service in behalf of the successful candidate, Edmund B. Jermyn.
Mr. Huber was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, March 9, 1884. He ob-
tained his early education in the public schools of the city, supplementing this
by several tenns in the night school at Scranton Business College. At age
of thirteen he became cash boy at the "Globe Store," continuing two years,
then attracting the attention of Mr. Jermyn he was ofifered a position in his
office. He began as office boy, and so won the confidence of his employers
that he is now secretary to the executors of the estate and private secretary to
Joseph Jermyn. Mr. Huber is a thirty-second degree Mason, belonging to all
constituent bodies of Keystone Consistory, Ancient Scottish Rite ; is a noble
of Irem Temple; financial secretary of the Temple Club; member of the Scran-
ton Canoe Club, of which he has been secretary and treasurer. He is well
known in this city and held in favorable esteem by his wide circle of friends.
RALPH AMHERST GREGORY
For more than fifteen years connected with financial institutions of the
city of Scranton, including the Title Guarantee and Trust Company, the Coun-
ty Savings Bank, and the Third National Bank, of which last he is now credit
manager and assistant cashier, Ralph Amherst Gregory had previous business
connections in Scranton, associations which were discontinued to form others
CITY OF SCRANTON 483
in the city of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. These were broken to permit Mr.
Gregory to enhst in the army in the war with Spain, and since the close of that
conflict he has resided in Scranton.
He is a member of a family old in Pennsylvania, great-grandson of Israel
and Polly (Lindsay) Gregory. His grandfather, Amherst Lindsay Gregory,
■was born in Bridgewater, Pennsylvania, March 15, 1821, and during his active
life was a farmer. He married (first) at Deposit, New York, in January,
1851, Clarissa Mary Hollister, (second) August 31, 1875, Elizabeth Hitchcock.
Marion Albert Gregory, son of Amherst Lindsay Gregory, was born in
Hollisterville, Pennsylvania, September 20, 1854, and has always followed the
mechanic's trade. His political party is the Republican. He married, October
9, 1876, Lillian, born in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, April 25, 1854, daughter
of Harrison and Sarah Ann (Hollister) Stevens. They are the parents of
children: Ralph Amherst, of whom further; Leona, born June 15, 1879, mar-
ried Gustav Dogelsberger.
Ralph Amherst Gregory, son of Marion Albert and Lillian (Stevens)
Gregory, was born in Hollisterville, Pennsylvania, August 17, 1877. After at-
tending the public schook of Scranton he became a student in the School of
the Lackawanna, where he finished his education. He then began his business
career with the stationery firm of Price & Rose, well known in the city, and
after three years passed with this concern was employed in the office of Colonel
Watres. Moving to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, he became associated with
the Spring Brook Water Supply Company, of that city, and when war with
Spain was declared he enlisted in the Thirteenth Regiment Pennsylvania Volun-
teer Infantry. When his company was mustered out of service in Georgia he
held the rank of corporal. Returning to Scranton he was for three and one-
half years connected with the Title Guarantee and Trust Company, then enter-
ing the County Savings Bank, where he was employed for four years. In
1907 he was appointed to the position of credit manager and later assistant
cashier in the Third National I5ank of the city, the duties of which he now
capably performs. His offices are those of trust and responsibility, and in their
administration he has exercised initiative and judgment that have won for him
the approval of his superiors in office, his intelligent solving of the problems
that daily confront him redounding to the benefit of the institution by which he
is employed.
Mr. Gregory has been interested in matters military since his service at
the time of the Spanish War, and is now captain of Company D, Thirteenth
Regiment National Guard of Pennsylvania, his company the equal of any in
the regiment in discipline and training. He fraternizes with the Masonic
Order, belonging to Peter Williamson Lodge, No. 323, F. and A. M., and
holds membership in the Scranton Canoe Club. His church is the Elm Park
Methodist Episcopal, and he is a supporter of the Republican party.
Mr. Gregory married Grace A., daughter of William H. and Arminda
(Kyte) Peck, of Scranton. Mr. and Mrs. Peck are the parents of: William
J., Nelson, Alice, married a Mr. Kaiser, and Grace A., of previous mention,
married Ralph Amherst Gregory.
ARTHUR CLARK LeMONTE
The three generations of the LeMonte family who find particular mention
in this record have divided their activities between New York and Pennsyl-
vania, coming to the latter state from the former. Professional prestige,
medical and pedagogical, belongs to the name in the first two generations
through the distinguished service of Professor Wellington LeMonte, prominent
484 CITY OF SCRANTON
in educational circles in Pennsylvania and New York, and Dr. William Le-
Monte, a physician of New York, member of the state assembly and for many
years president of a theological seminary. The Scranton representative of
the present day is Arthur Clark LeAlonte, chief engineer of the coal depart-
ment of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, and since 1889
connected with the industrial world of Scranton as an employee of that com-
pany.
(I) The American history of the LeMonte family began in the seventeenth
century when members thereof tied from France, their native land, at the
revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and settlement was made in the American
colonies, New York being the home of the branch to which Arthur Clark Le-
Monte belongs. William LeMonte, grandfather of Arthur Clark LeMonte,
was a medical practitioner of Charlotteville, New York, and was called from
his practice to serve a term in the New York legislature. He also for many
years held the presidency of a theological seminary in that state, a man of wide
influence and high standing throughout the state. He married Anna Van
Roman and they had twelve children, among them Wellington, of whom furth-
er ; George, Samuel, Thomas.
(H) Wellington LeMonte, son of William and Anna (Van Roman) Le-
Monte, was born in Charlotteville, New York, December 20, 1833, and was
educated in Union College. After graduating he became professor of mathe-
matics in Wyoming Seminary of Kingston, Pennsylvania, but later resigned
from that institution to accept the superintendency of schools in Wyoming
county, Pennsylvania, an office he held for two terms. He then became prin-
cipal of a school in Scranton where he remained one year. Then he retired to
his native state where he became the head of Canisteo Academy and there spent
the remainder of his life. He was ever a deep student and a scholar of broad
culture, and in imparting his knowledge to others was most successful. His
ideas and ideals of education were liberal and exalted, but withal practical, and
as head of various educational institutions he secured results valuable and far-
reaching. He married Frances M., daughter of Stephen Clark, one of the first
coal operators in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, promoter of the Bell Mont Coal
Mine. Stephen was a brother of Judson Clark, one of the earliest coal opera-
tors in Scranton who opened the Clark vein at the "Notch." Children of
Wellington and Frances M. (Clark) LeMonte: Bertha, deceased; Anna, de-
ceased ; Wellington, secretary of the Tintem Manor Water Supply Company,
of Long Branch, New Jersey, married Natalie Kirk; William, deceased, an
early employee of the International Correspondence Schools of Scranton ;
Arthur Clark, of whom further.
(Ill) Arthur Clark LeMonte, son of Wellington and Frances M. (Clark)
LeMonte, was born in East Worcester, New York. October 31, 1869. He was
educated in the public schools of Scranton, graduating from the high school
in 1888, then becoming attached to the engineering department of the Delaware,
Lackawanna & \\'estern Railroad. This corporation has since been his em-
ployer, his present rank being that of chief engineer of the coal department.
Faithful and competent service has characterized Mr. LeMonte's connection
with this concern, the reward of which has been his steady elevation to the
important place he now fills. He has left behind him a record of
which he may well be proud, and in so doing has gained many firm friends
among his fellowworkers, whether they have been his superiors or his in-
feriors in station. Mr. LeMonte is president of the Railroad Young Men"s
Christian Association of Scranton, and ex-president of the Engineers' Society
of Northeastern Pennsylvania. His church is the First Presbyterian, in which
he is a ruling elder, and he fraternizes with the Masonic Order, belonging to
C^ . i^ /^S:^ ^-i^<y-^^^C^
CITY OF SCRANTON 485
Peter Williamson Lodge, No. 323, and the Modern Woodmen of America.
His political stand is independent of party alliance. Mr. LeMonte is a
gentleman of extensive influence, always justly exercised, and bears among
a large circle of friends a reputation for sterling worth and merit.
Mr. LeMonte married, in October, 1899, Luella, daughter of W. S. Frace,
postmaster of Clarks Green and Clarks Summit. W. S. Frace died in 1912.
Mr. and Mrs. LeMonte have one son, William Frace, born March 9, 1906.
REV. VICTOR GURISATTI
Educated and trained for the priesthood of the Roman Catholic church
in Italy, his native land, Rev. Victor Gurisatti has for the past seven years
been identified with the church of his faith in the United States, the last six
years of that time as pastor of St. Lucia's Church. He is a son of Dominick
Gurisatti, born in Gemona, province of L^ndine, Italy, about 1813, died in 1871.
He married Catherine Lepore, and had children : Anna ; Pius, entered the
priesthood of the Roman Catholic church and for twenty years has been Gen-
eral Superior ; Esther, a sister in a convent at Milan ; Antonio, a printer and
stationer of Verona, Italy; Victor, of whom further; Adele, a sister in a
Verona convent ; Eustachio, professor of Belle Art in Florence, Italy.
Victor Gurisatti, son of Dominick and Catherine (Lepore) Gurisatti, was
born in Gemona, province of LTndine, Italy, July 25, 1866. For eleven years he
was a student in the Stimatini Institute of Verona, at the end of that time
engaged in business in that city, at the same time studying and performing
missionary work in preparation for the priesthood. He was ordained on No-
vember 23, 1890, by Cardinal Aloysius Di Cannosa, and from that time until
1907 was engaged in priestly duties in his native land, in that year immigrat-
ing to the United States, arriving in New York City on November 2. For six
months he was connected with mission work in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, at
the expiration of that time going to North Adams, Massachusetts, and on
September 3, 1908, becoming parish priest of St. Lucia's Church, Scranton,
Pennsylvania, and has ministered to the needs of that congregation to the
present time. On October 24, 191 3, work was begun on the foundation of a
new house of worship for the St. Lucia congregation, and so rapidly did
operations progress that at midnight on Christmas the first mass was cele-
brated in the new building, the congregation taking formal possession on
January 26, 1914. When the finishing touches have been made upon this
edifice a house of worship will stand of which the people and the city may well
be proud, and especial gratification should come to Rev. Gurisatti for the part
of leadership he has been permitted to play. At the present time a mission
church, under the care of St. Lucia's, is in the course of construction at No.
621 Janet street, and will be ready for dedication and occupancy by Easter of
the present year (1914).
Father Gurisatti is assisted in his work at St. Lucia's by Rev. Joseph
Nardon, a native of Lesignago, Trent, Italy. He is a son of Armadio Nardon,
who married Eugenia Ferretti, and had children: Jerome, John Baptist,
Michael, Joseph, Eugenio, Nicholas, Theresa, Oliva, Rosa, Caroline. Joseph
Nardon spent eleven years as a student in the Stimatini Institute of Verona,
as did Rev. Gurisatti, and after participating in the missionary work of the
church in his native land was ordained into the ministry and came to the LTnited
States, June 3, 1907. For a year and a half he engaged in missionary work in
Hazleton, Pennsylvania, and for the following fifteen months was in North
Adams, Massachusetts, later spending three and a half years in Springfield,
486 CITY OF SCRANTON
Massachusetts. In August, 1913, he was appointed assistant priest at Sc.
Lucia's Church in Scranton, where he has since remained, ably seconding the
work of Rev. Gurisatti.
JOHN NELSON GARRETT
This name has various forms in the early records of New England, such
as Garrad, Garrard, which might indicate German or French origin. The
name may have originated from the baptismal name Garret or Gerrit, but its
origin is now lost in uncertainty. There were many of the name in early New
England. Deacon Richard Garrett, sometimes written Gannett, first town
clerk of Scituate, Massachusetts, being located there as early as 1636. James
Garrett was in Chariestown, Massachusetts, in 1637, and Hugh and Herman
Garrett are found of record the following year.
(I) Daniel Garrett, born in 1612, was one of the original proprietors of
Hartford and appears in the records as early as 1640. For many years he was
prison keeper there and was living as late as 1687. He had sons, Daniel,
born 1647, 3nd Joseph, of whom further.
(II) Joseph Garrett, son of Daniel Garrett, born 1650, was a sergeant in
the French War, and was residing in Hartford in 1696. He bought property
in Wethersfield, Connecticut, in 1705, possibly in that portion of the town which
became Glastonbury as he became a resident of that town in 1729. He mar-
ried (first) about 1678, Mary, daughter of Edward Elmer, and (second) June
2, 1702, Sarah, daughter of Jacob Johnson. His only child found of record
was Prudence, born September 27, 171 1, and Francis, of whom further.
(III) Tradition says that Francis Garrett, a resident of the present town of
Canton, Connecticut, formerly known as West Simsbury, was of French
origin but it seems extremely probable that he was a son of Joseph Garrett,
of Hartford and Wethersfield. He married, about 1722, Sarah, daughter 0+
Sarah (Pettibone) Mills and widow of Samuel Tuller, of Simsbury, born
1696, died 1797 in her one hundred and first year. Children: Samuel, born
January 22, 1724; Susan, October 2, 1725; John, of whom further; Francis.
October 4, 1729; Anna, September 15, 1731 ; all recorded in Simsbury.
(IV) Major John Garrett, eldest son of Francis and Sarah Garrett, was
born August 15, 1727, in Simsbury. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary
War, slain by Indians in Pennsylvania, July 3, 1778. His wife and children,
having been previously instructed, escaped the Wyoming Massacre, and made
their way through the woods into southern New York, where Mrs. Garrett
supported her children by working in the harvest fields and finally made her
way back to Connecticut. Their sons were: Wait. Mills, John, Francis, the
latter born after the return of the mother to Connecticut.
(V) Wait Garrett, probably eldest son of Major John Garrett, resided in
Wyoming Valley where he was taxed in 1775-77. Very little can be learned
about him except that he had sons: Amasa, born 1778, died in Southbury,
Connecticut, June i, 1792; another child unnamed, died March 25, 1781. He
was probably the father of the next mentioned John Samuel, about whom
little can be learned.
(VI) John Samuel Garrett, son of Wait Garrett, resided in Indian Orchard,
in the township of Berlin, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, where he was a
farmer and lumberman. He married Patience Content Albro, a native of
Connecticut. Children : John Samuel, mentioned below ; Sheppard, died at
Beach Lake, 191 1 ; Lyman Raymond, a farmer now residing on the old home-
stead at Indian Orchard: Eunice, wife of William Noble, deceased; Patience,
Mrs. Mark Compton, of Indian Orchard, deceased.
CITY OF SCRANTON 487
(VII) John Samuel (2) Garrett, son of John Samuel (i) and Patience
C. (Albro) Garrett, was born December 19, 1831, at Indian Orchard, died at
Indian Orchard, 1894. He was there engaged in farming. He married Eliza-
beth Braman, born in 1830 in Cooperstown, New York, daughter of Rhodes
Braman, who removed from Cooperstown to Indian Orchard about 1842.
Children: I. Catharine Sarah, born March 19, 1862; married William Henry
Treverton, of Scranton, and died March 22, 1907, leaving a son, Rexford
Eugene. 2. Effie Viola, born February 21, 1864; married William H. Hall, of
Indian Orchard, and has children, Nellie and Harold. 3. Henry William,
bom July 8, 1868; now residing at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 4. Elizabeth
Jane, born June 16, 1871 ; wife of James R. Wrenn, of Hawley, Pennsylvania,
and has daughters ; Melva and Catharine. 5. John Nelson, of whom further.
(VIII) John Nelson Garrett, youngest child of John Samuel (2) and
Elizabeth (Braman) Garrett, was born May 6, 1874, at Indian Orchard.
Pennsylvania. He was educated in the public schools at that place and Wood's
Business College, Scranton, Pennsylvania. He began his business life as a
bookkeeper for the Elkhill Coal & Iron Company, in which capacity he served
fifteen years. In 1908 he became associated with the Valley Supply Company
of Scranton, which deals in mine, mill and railroad supplies, with offices in the
Coal Exchange Building at Scranton. Mr. Garrett fills the responsible position
of manager and treasurer for this concern ; he is also treasurer and manager
for the Impervious Paper Company of Stillwater, Pennsylvania. He is actively
identified with the Masonic fraternity, affiliating with Green Ridge Lodge. No.
597, F. and A. M. ; Chapter No. 185, R. A. M., of Scranton; Melita Com-
mandery. No. 68, K. T., of the same place. He has taken all the Scottish Rito
degrees up to and including the thirty-second. He has served as senior and
junior warden of the Green Ridge Lodge ; is a member of the Mystic Shrine
of Wilkes-Barre and of the Keystone Bodies of the Valley of Scranton. He
is also a member of the Green Ridge Lodge, No. 603, I. O. O. F., of Scran-
ton ; of the Green Ridge Club ; of the New England Society of Northeastern
Pennsylvania ; and the Green Ridge Baptist Church of Scranton.
Mr. Garrett married, October 20, 1897, Ella, daughter of Andrew B. and
Caroline (Ellis) Lidstone.
ANDREW M. FINE
Prior to 1872 Martin L. Fine, father of Andrew M. Fine, was a resident
of New Jersey, the state of his birth. He was born in Hunterdon county,
New Jersey, February 26. 185 1. died August i. 1908. He was educated in
public and private schools, beginning his business life as clerk in the postoffice
at Belvidere, New Jersey. In 1872 he came to Scranton, entering the employ
of the Delaware & Hudson Company in the coal sales department, and con-
tinuing until his death. In 1891 he was appointed shipping agent, and filled
that position during the last seventeen years of his life. In 1873 'i^ married
Limella Chambers, of Belvidere, New Jersey. She was bom at Polkville, New
Jersey, July 31, 1849, died October 7, 1912. During their entire life in Scran-
ton, Mr. and Mrs. Fine resided in the Green Ridge section.
Andrew M. Fine, only child of Martin L. and Limella (Chambers) Fine,
was born in Scranton. Pennsylvania. June 27. 1875. He was educated in the
city public schools, a graduate of the high school, class of 1891, and of the
School of the Lackawanna in 1892. His first position was with the Delaware
& Hudson Company in the coal sales department, beginning in August, 1892,
his service with the company having been continuous since that date. In May,
1903, he was appointed auditor of the coal sales department. On November i.
488 CITY OF SCRANTON
1907, he was appointed to the office of auditor of the coal department. Mr.
Fine married, November 2, 1905, Helen, daughter of Valentine Bliss, of
Scranton. They iiave one child, Valentine Luther Fine. The family residence
is at No. 1607 Sanderson avenue.
GEORGE BECK DIMMICK
The ancestral line of Mr. Dimmick traces to England, whence came Thomas
Dimocke, the emigrant ancestor. The name is spelled in New England
records Dimocke, Dimmock and Demmock. The present spelling also varies,
but the Scranton branch spells, and has for several generations spelled, the
name Dimmick. The American records began at Barnstable, Massachusetts,
where to Elder Thomas Dimocke and Rev. Joseph Hall was granted a patent
of that town in 1639. In his nuncupative will, dated June 4, 1658, recorded in
vol. 2, page 75, Probate Records, Plymouth, Massachusetts, Elder Thomas
spelled his name Dimocke.
(II) He had but one son who reached years of maturity. Ensign Shuabel
Dimocke, who was a man of importance in his town. He married, before he
was nineteen years of age, Joanna Bursley, aged seventeen years. "At her
death they had lived in the married state sixty-four years." Children: Thomas,
born in April, 1664; John, January, 1666; Timothy, March. 1668; Shuabel,
February, 1673; Joseph, September, 1675; Mehitabel, 1677: Benjamin, March,
1680; Joanna, March, 1682; Thankful, November, 1684.
(HI) Timothy Dimmock, third son of "Ensign" Shuabel Dimocke, mar-
ried Abigail , and had issue, among whom was a son, Shuabel.
(IV) Shuabel (2) Dimmock, son of Timothy Dimmock, was born May
27, 1707. He married, January 25, 1739, Esther Pierce, "daughter of Samuel
Pierce, of Mansfield" (Connecticut).
(V) Captain Edward Dimmick (as we shall now write the name), son of
Shuabel (2) and Esther (Pierce) Dimmock, was born June 5, 1748. He served
in the Revolutionary War and is said to have remained in New York until the
very last minute when the American troops evacuated that city, only leaving
with the last boat-load of soldiers. He married (first) Peninah Hinckley,
whose six children all died in infancy. Her tombstone bears this inscription:
"In memory of Mrs. Peninah, wife of Captain Edward Dimock, who de-
parted this life, July I, 1878, in ye 44 year of her age." Captain Dimmick
married (second) Esther, daughter of Joshua Tilden, of the same family
from which sprang Governor Samuel J. Tilden, the famous New York states-
man and lawyer. By his second wife there were eleven children, including
two sets of twins.
(VI) Eber Dimmick, son of Captain Edward Dimmick and his second
wife, Esther (Tilden) Dimmick, was born December 31, 1792. He married
Roxy Mum ford, and had eight children.
(VII) Eber (2) Dimmick, youngest son of Eber (i) and Roxy (Mum-
ford) Dimmick, was born May 25, 1834. He married, October 10, 1861,
Eleanor Mary, daughter of George Beck, and they had the following children
George Beck, of whom further; Eugene Eber, born September 3, 1864, died
October 28, 1870; James Orville, born December 19, 1866; Sarah Amelia,
born May 30, 1869; Jesse, born October 15, 1871 ; Edgar Allen, born November
6, 1873; Henry Laurens, born August i, 1876: Eleanor Lorencie, born January
2, 1880. During the Civil War Eber Dimmick, father of the above children,
enlisted in Company D, Thirtieth Regiment Pennsylvania Militia, as a second
lieutenant, and was honorably discharged and mustered out, June 15, 1863.
(VIII) George Beck Dimmick, eldest son of Eber (2) and Eleanor Mary
CITY OF SCRANTON 489
(Beck) Dimmick, was born at Clarks Green (then Luzerne county), Pennsyl-
vania, August 10, 1862. His childhood was spent in various Pennsylvania
towns in which his father resided, and his education was obtained in the pub-
lic schools. About 1877 the family moved to a large plantation in Virginia,
where they resided until the autumn of 1879, then returned to Pennsylvania,
locating in Scranton. In December, 1887, George B. Dimmick entered the
employ of the First National Bank of Scranton, has passed through various
promotions, and is now (1913) teller. He is a member of the Free and
Accepted Masons, a Republican in politics, and a man of both ability and
character.
Mr. Dimmick married, September 15, 1903, Elizabeth Fuller, daughter
of Colonel Frederick L. Hitchcock, of Scranton. Children : Caroline Eleanor,
born August 28, 1904; George Beck (2), born March i, 1906; Elizabeth Kings-
bury, born August 6, 1913.
EDWARD JAMES CONNERTON
A native of the city of Scranton, son of a father who was for thirty-five
years identified with the steel industry in this city, and himself a product of the
educational institutions thereof, Edward J. Connerton has been connected with
Sauquoitt Silk Mills, of Scranton, throughout his entire business career, and
at the present time serves that organization in the capacity of cashier.
His father, Edward Connerton, was born in county Sligo, Ireland, in 1845,
and when twenty-three years of age left that land and came to the United
States, immediately upon his arrival settling in Scranton where he was em-
ployed in the Scranton Steel Works until his retirement in 1903. He married
Ann, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Larkin) Morrow, of Dublin, Ireland,
and had children : Patrick, deceased ; Sarah, married a Mr. Farrell and lives
in Scranton, Pennsylvania ; Michael, engaged in steel manufacturing in Buffalo,
New York ; Edward James, of whom further ; Anna J., entered educational
fields and is now principal of Scranton public school No. y]. Edward Con-
nerton was the second of his line to come to the United States, his father,
Bartholomew Connerton, a native of Ireland, having come thither in 1870,
dying in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1885. He was the father of Michael and
Edward, the latter of previous mention.
Edward James Connerton, son of Edward and Ann (Morrow) Conner-
ton, was born in Scranton, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, May 31, 1876.
He completed the course in the public schools, graduating from the high school
in the class of 1891, immediately entering Wood's Business College, from
which he received a diploma in the following year. A position as bookkeeper
being offered him in the Sauquoitt Silk Mills, he accepted the same and has
since been associated with that concern, in 1899 being promoted to the office
of cashier, and as such now serves the company. His scrupulously careful
habits and his high sense of personal integrity make him a trusted employee,
and the fidelity of his services have been a complete vindication of the judg-
ment exercised in his choice. He is competent in the discharge of his duties,
loyal to his employers, an energetic worker for the welfare of the company,
and the lists of those connected with the Sauquoitt Silk Mills contain no name
that embodies greater capacity or willingness for service than that of Mr.
Connerton. A Democrat in politics, he is a member of St. Mary's Club of
Dunmore and the Knights of Columbus. Mr. Connerton married, June 4, 1913,
Ella G. Council, of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
490 CITY OF SCRANTON
ARTHUR W. CORNELL
Identified with Scranton's business interests since 1908, Arthur W. Cornell
has, since 191 1, been known as the secretary of the Nicholson Lumber Com-
pany, one of the thriving and substantial concerns of the city. His father.
Jerome B. Cornell, was born, in Lemon township, Wyoming county, Pennsyl-
vania, July 15, 1855. His grandfather, George, was a native of Lemon, Penn-
sylvania, and there married a Miss Sterling, and their children were: Jerome
B., of whom further, Calvin, Sterling, and Lou, all deceased. Jerome B. Cor-
nell was a farmer and for fifteen years the well known driver of a stage be-
tween Nicholson and Tunkhannock. In October, 1906, he came to Scranton,.
and there lived retired until his death, which occurred November 14, 1912.
He married Eunice, daughter of Francis Patterson, her father an early settler
of Lemon township, Wyoming county, who died aged ninety-two years. Jerome
B. and Eunice (Patterson) Cornell were the parents of the following chil-
dren: I. Frank C, a railroad employee at Allentown, Pennsylvania, married
Stella Welch and is the father of : Rhoda, Jerome, Arthur, Bernard, and Elhs.
2. Harlan P., a farmer of Lemon township, Wyoming county, married Alice
Hunt. They have one daughter, Eunice. 3. Emery A., a clerk in the employ
of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, married Helen Gilpin.
4. Benjamin H., a locomotive engineer. 5. Arthur W., of whom further.
6. Leo M., married Harriet Reynolds, and resides in Scranton. They have
one son, Robert. 7. Lou Emma, a teacher in the New York public schools.
8. Niles J., deceased. 9. Bernard James, deceased. 10. Ruth, deceased.
Arthur W. Cornell, son of Jerome B. and Eunice (Patterson) Cornell,
was born in Nicholson, Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, April 16, 1889. After
spending eleven years in the public schools of Nicholson, he became a student
in the Scranton Business College. His studies completed, for the following
fifteen months he was employed by the American Locomotive Works, then
came to Scranton passing the four following months in the employ of the
Scranton Stove Works. On August 6, 1906 he became identified with the
Nicholson Lumber Company, and upon the incorporation of this concern in
191 1, with William W. LeRoy as president, Mr. Cornell became a member
of the firm, holding the office of secretary. This is the position he has since'
held in the company's organization, its affairs at the present time being in a
most prosperous and flourishing condition, due to the careful and conservative
management of those at its head and responsible for its successful continuance.
Mr. Cornell's political belief is Republican, and he is a member of the
Fraternal Order of Eagles.
DUDLEY RAY ATHERTON
Atherton is a name early connected with the history of Luzerne county,
Pennsylvania, particularly in that part now Lackawanna county. The family
was a large and important one, having many branches and is yet numerous
and prominent in the state.
Dudley R. Atherton was born in South Montrose, Pennsylvania, December
3, 1878, son of Bicknell B. and grandson of Jonathan Atherton. Bickne'l
B. Atherton was born in Hyde Park, Scranton, May 30, 1842. He was con-
nected with the Delaware and Hudson Coal Company all his active years,
and is a veteran of the Civil War. He enlisted in Company H, One Hundred
and Forty-first Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry, as a private. He rose to the
rank of first lieutenant and after a service of three and a half years was
honorably discharged. He is a member of Griffin Post, Grand Army of the
CITY OF SCRANTON 49,
Republic. He married Amanda SaiTord, of Lathrop, Pennsylvania, and has
children: Dudley R,, mentioned further; Grace, married J- E. Adamson Jr.;
Fred B.
Dudley Ray Atherton was educated in the public schools and in 1895
began business life as bookkeeper for the Providence Gas and Water Company,
continuing until May i, 1898, when he resigned his position. He then entered
the employ of the Third National Bank of Scranton as bookkeeper, remaining
with that bank until 1905, advancing and for the last three years being credit
clerk. In 1905 he became associated with the brokerage firm of Hollingshead
and Campbell of New York City, dealers in commercial paper. He remained
in the employ of the latter firm until July i, 1908, when he was appointed to
his present position, cashier of the North Scranton Bank. His years of
experience have given him a knowledge and confidence in his own powers of
judgment, and in each position he has filled, it will be noted, he has advanced
to one of greater responsibility. He is well regarded in business and banking
circles and is held in high esteem by his many friends. He is also secretary
and treasurer of Group 3, Pennsylvania Bankers Association. He was former-
ly trustee and treasurer of the Providence Presbyterian Church, but is now
connected in membership with the Green Ridge Presbyterian.
Mr. Atherton married, April 21, 1906, Annie, daughter of Edwin F. and
Barbara Miscally, of Charleston, South Carolina; child: Dudley Ray (2),
born July 22, 1908.
PETER FELIX CARLUCCI, M. D.
Highly educated for the medical profession, trained by hospital service
and six years of general practice, Dr. Peter Felix Carlucci, one of the younger
of Scranton's medical fraternity, holds high position and is rapidly rising to
still greater honors in his profession. He is of Italian birth and parentage,
Italy having been the home of the previous generations of his family. His
grandfather was John Angelo Carlucci, a stone-cutter, who passed his entire
life in Italy. His children: Mary, still living in Italy at an advanced age;
Vincenzo, deceased ; Antonetta, lives in South America ; Carlo, of whom furth-
er ; Peter, a resident of New York City.
Carlo Carlucci, son of John Angelo Carlucci, was born in Italy in 1832,
removed to Scranton 1888, died there in May, 1909. He became a contracting
builder and so continued until a few years before his death. He married
Grace, daughter of Frank Napoliello, and had children : Frank, a contractor
of Scranton ; Mary, married Joseph Calabrese, and resides in Scranton ;
Nicholas, a contractor of Scranton ; Rose, married J. Cassesse, and lived in
Scranton until his death, December, 1913; Pasqualena, deceased; John, a
scupltor ; Antonetta, a resident of Detroit, Michigan ; Ermenia, married Mr.
Chevalier, Italian Consul at Detroit, Michigan ; Peter Felix, of whom further.
Dr. Peter Felix Carlucci, son of Carlo and Grace (Napoliello) Carlucci,
was born at Santomenna, province of Salerno, Italy, January 15, 1883, and when
five years old was brought to the United States, attending parochial schools for
six years, then entering the public schools of Scranton, and was graduated
from the high school in the class of 1903. Strongly attracted by the medical
profession, he entered the medical department of the University of Pennsyl-
vania to prepare therefor, being awarded his M. D. in 1907. For one year
after his graduation he was connected with St. Francis Hospital, in Pittsburgh,
then came to Scranton, and in July, 1908, established as a practitioner in that
city. During his connection with the medical profession of Scranton he has
received several appointments significant of the trust and confidence placed
492 CITY OF SCRANTON
in him as a physician, and is examiner for the New Zngland ^lutual Life
Insurance Company, medical inspector of pubHc schools of the city, member
of the medical staff of the West Side Hospital, and on January 5, 1914, was
appointed police surgeon for the city of Scranton, all testimonials to hi?
eminence in surgery and medicine. He is a member of the County, State and
American Aledical associations, the West Side Republican Club, and Christo-
pher Columbus Lodge, No. 1160, I. O. O. F. His religion is the Roman Catho-
lic, and he is a communicant of St. Lucia Catholic Church.
Dr. Carlucci's career may only be termed brilliant, for his attainments
would well grace one who had grown old in the practice of medicine. His op-
portunities are practically boundless and the most conservative judgment would
counsel that his attainments will press hard against their limits.
JOHN ROE ATHERTON
The residence of this branch of the Atherton family in Pennsylvania dates
from 1835, although it is one of the oldest of New England family names and
one long settled in Ixlassachusetts as colony and state. Through his mother,
Abbie Foster (Roe) Atherton, daughter of John F. Roe, of a New York fam-
ily, he traces through colonial forbears to the "Mayflower," she being eligible
in maternal and paternal lines to membership in the following patriotic and
colonial societies: General Society of Colonial Wars, the Daughters of the
Revolution and the American Revolution, the Society of Mayflower Descen-
dants, and that of Descendants of Colonial Governors, and the National Society
of Colonial Dames.
Born at Bernardston, Massachusetts, July 30, 1834, Henry F. Atherton
was brought by his parents to the Wyoming V^alley in 1835, when only one
year old, the long journey being made by team and in a covered wagon. In
1838 the family moved to Hyde Park. After finishing his education Mr.
Atherton engaged in business in Montrose, and Honesdale where he remained
until March, 1864, when he came to Scranton as accountant and assistant
paymaster with the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company. In 1869 he was
made paymaster of the company and this position he filled with greatest
efficiency until his death in 1899. He married Abbie Foster, daughter of John
F. Roe, of Honesdale, and to them were born the following children : Caroline
F"., Annie R., John Roe, of further mention; Thomas S., assistant paymaster
of the Delaware & Hudson Company, and Henry F. Jr., treasurer of the
L^nited Traction Lines, in Albany, New York.
John Roe Atherton was bom in Providence, Pennsylvania, January 14.,
1872. He was educated in the public schools of Scranton and under private
instruction, beginning his long term of service with the Delaware & Hudson
Company in 1889 as clerk in the office of his father, then paymaster of the
road. He so won the regard of his superiors in office that he was promoted
to the position of assistant paymaster, and continued as such until the death
of his father, April 3, 1899, when he was elected to the office of paymaster of
the road. This position he most ably and honorably filled for a quarter of a
century, and in addition has been a leading spirit in the management of the
North Scranton Bank, since he first became interested in its organization, in
1901. He was chosen a member of the first board of directors, was for several
years vice-president, and in 1910 became its honored president. His long
years of training in financial operations as paymaster of a great corporation
eminently fitted him for the responsible position he now holds, while his
years of attentive service on the board of bank directors gave him the special
knowledge of the laws governing banks and banking. Hardly yet in the prime
CITY OF SCRANTON 493
of his manhood, Mr. Atherton has in every field of endeavor entered proved
his sterhng ability and life holds for him only promise of a still more suc-
cessful future. He is a member of the Scranton Club, Country Club, and
Presbyterian church.
ERNEST W. DOLPH
Coming to Pennsylvania from New York, the family of which Ernest W.
Dolph is a member is one of French origin, the present form and spelling being
a contraction of the name de Wolf. Isaac Dolph, a native of New York
state, was the Pennsylvania founder of the line, settling at Dunmore and be-
coming the owner of a vast tract of land including a section upon which the
present borough of Dunmore is located and extending well toward Providence.
He was the first justice of the peace. Isaac Dolph married a Miss Griffin
and had children : William, a soldier of the Union army during the Civil War,
servmg throughout the entire four years of the conflict and participating in
numerous of the most important battles of the war, his death occurring soon
after its close; Hiram, deceased, lived at Lake Winola, married and had two
daughters, one married W. J. Northrop, of Scranton ; Samuel, of whom further.
(II) Samuel Dolph, son of Isaac and (Griffin) Dolph, was born
in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1829, died in 1905. He was for several years
engaged in lumber dealings in his native city and was afterward in charge of
the lumber department of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company. In 1865
he caused a house to be erected on Clay avenue, near Linden street, the first
structure to be reared on Clay avenue, having previously dwelt opposite t le
present station of the Laurel Line Railroad and on the site of the Sprviks
Brothers Lumber yard. He married Mindwell, daughter of Daniel Ward, her
father being one of the early settlers of this locality, having moved here from
New York state. Children : Ella, married Wickham Jackson, of Utica, New
York, and has Herbert, Eva, Lulu, Frank ; Ada, married E. O. Voris. of
Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, and has Roy, Anna, Charlotte, Mar-
jory, E. Oakley; Richard, died aged fifteen years; Berlingame, died in infancy,
Charlotte, married A. C. Angel, of New York City, and has May Belle and
Amy ; Mary, married Marshall E. Everett, of Scranton, and has Adeline and
Lois ; Ernest W., of whom further.
(III) Ernest W. Dolph, son of Samuel and Mindwell (Ward) Dolph.
was born in .Scranton, Pennsylvania, June 28, 1873. He was a student in the
public schools of Scranton until he was seventeen years of age, in the fal!
of 1890 becoming librarian of the Young Men's Christian Association, th"
building of that organization being then located on the present site of the Poli
Theatre. In December, 1891, Mr. Dolph became messenger for the Traders'
National Bank, then located on Lackawanna avenue, and has been in the
service of that institution since that time, being now employed as assistant
cashier, to which office he was raised in 1902. For nearly a quarter of a century
this bank has received his devoted service, during which time he has gained
the trusting confidence of his superiors in office and has become known as an
employee of the Traders' National than whom none is more conversant with
the intricate details of its business. Mr. Dolph is a Republican in political
con- 'ction, and a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Scranton, Penn-
sylvania. He married Myrtle Bolton, daughter of Jesse and Augusta Thank-
ful (Coon) Hughes. Mr. and Mrs. Hughes have children: Harry J., James
Percy, Myrtle Bolton, of previous mention. Child of Ernest W. and My.tle
Bolton (Hughes) Dolph: Kenneth Wilson, born April 9, 1898.
494 CITY OF SCRANTON
WALTER LIDDELL HILL
Walter Liddell Hill was born in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, August 7,
1875. He was admitted to practice law in North Caroline in 1898, but i --
turned to Pennsylvania and settled in Scranton where he was admitted to
practice in 1900, and where he has resided ever since. He is now a member
of the firm of Warren, Knapp, O'Malley & Hill.
M. J. MURPHY
The city of Scranton has many representative citizens and the foremost
of these is M. J. Murphy, who was elected, August 11, 1914, one of the three
Class A directors of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank.
Mr. Murphy was born on a farm near Towanda, Bradford county, Penn-
sylvania, June 18, 1868. After proper preparatory study at the district schools,
he entered the Susquehanna Collegiate Institute at Towanda, from which he
was graduated in the class of 1888. He became a teacher, for which position
he was well qualified, and in 1891 was appointed principal in the schools of
Ulster, Bradford county, Pennsylvania. In the spring of 1891 he accepted a
position as messenger and bookkeeper in the First National Bank of Towanda,
serving for a period of two years, and then accepted the position of teller in
the Citizens National Bank of Towanda, where he served until 1899. At that
time the Athens National Bank, of Athens, was organized, and Mr. Murphy
was tendered the cashiership, which position he accepted, and notwithstanding
the fact that the new bank had well established competition, Mr. Murphy
succeeded in raising it to such a standard that he was tendered the cashiership
of the Keystone Bank of Scranton, which was organized at that time. In
April, 1907, Mr. Murphy was tendered the cashiership of the Traders' National
Bank of Scranton, whose deposits at that time were less than two million dol-
lars, and they now average about three and a half millions. The directors of
this bank ascribe this very satisfactory result, in a great measure, to the per-
sonal efforts of Mr, Murphy, and freely give him credit for it. During the
years of his connection with banking institutions, he has been active in the
interest of the same in every direction and in every class. He has served as
chairman of the local Group of the Pennsylvania Bankers' Association, and
has performed effective work in the legal and educational phases.
Scranton's position as the financial metropolis of the anthracite coal region
and the entire northeastern section of Pennsylvania was never more clearly
indicated than when two of her citizens, W. H. Peck and M. J. Murphy, were
elected Class A directors of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank. So far
as known Scranton now occupies the unique position of being the only city in
the country, outside of the headquarters of a regional bank, to produce from
its banks two Class A directors.
CYRUS O. SUTTON
Cyrus O. Sutton is one of the comparatively few residents of Scranton
whose family boasts of an American ancestry of worthy length, the Suttons
being of English descent and early settlers of Connecticut, whence came George
Sutton, who settled in Bradford county, on Towanda creek, and was drowned
in its waters a few years later. He was the father of Silas S. Sutton, who
purchased a tract of land in Newton township and conducted thereon farm-
ing operations, his son, Peter, and grandson, Cyrus O., both owning that as
their birth-place. He married Harriett Gardner. Children of Silas S. and Har-
CITY OF SCRANTON 495
riet Sutton: i. Peter, of whom further. 2. Lydia, married George Beisicker;
they were the parents of a daughter, Anna, who married Davis Nafus. 3.
Eliza, married William Callender ; she is still living, the mother of Hattie. 4.
Ira G., deceased ; was a soldier of the Civil War ; married Elmira Hettesham-
mer; children: Bruce S., Sarah, Victor. 5. Ann S., married John Shelley;
their son, Richard, is an employee of the International Correspondence Schools,
of Scranton.
Peter Sutton was born in Newton township, Lackawanna county, Pennsyl-
vania, in 1 83 1. He attended the public schools, and has followed agriculture
throughout his entire life, making the raising of fine grades of fruit and vege-
tables his especial field of endeavor. He is still living, aged eighty-three years.
He married Caroline, daughter of John and Catherine Bumgardner. Childrer::
I. Cyrus O., of whom further. 2. Ida, married Joseph E. Marcy. 3. Harry
John, auditor of the Connell Anthracite Mining Company ; married Minnie,
daughter of James Sutton, of West Pittston, Pennsylvania.
Cyrus O. Sutton was born in Newton township, Lackawanna county, Penn-
sylvania, October 10, 1858. He obtained his early education in the public
schools, later supplementing this with a course at Bloomsburg State Normal
Scliool. For one year thereafter he attended LTnion Seminary, discontinuing
his studies at that institution in 1878 to enroll as a student in the Bryant and
Stratton Commercial College, L^tica, New York, the following year becoming a
teacher in the Institution. He spent the next three years as a teacher in
Newark, New Jersey. His next position was as a teacher in Johnstown, and
with his wife he was a resident of that city when the breaking of the Cone-
maugh dam brought upon the inhabitants of that place the flood that made
thousands homeless and claimed as many more in the terrible toll of death.
After the disaster, from which he and his wife were saved, he made his home
in Scranton and has since been a resident of that city. His first business ven-
ture in Scranton was in partnership with ^Augustus M. Atherton, the enter-
prise being a general store. So successful was this business that soon after they
opened a branch store in Olyphant. About the end of the 1902 coal strike the
Olyijhant store was destroyed by fire and Mr. Sutton retired from the business.
On April 20, 1903, he entered the employ of W. L. Connell as bookkeeper and
paymaster for the Connell Anthracite Mining Company, a position he held
for eight years. Since May, 191 1, he has been engaged in the capacity of
auditor for the following companies, in all of which Mr. Connell holds inter-
ests : Connell Anthracite Mining Company, Lackawanna Coal and Lumber
Company, Paint Creek Collieries Company, Mucklow Supply Company, Coal
Lands Securities Companv and Highland Lumber Company. He is also treas-
urer of the Bernice Stone Company.
Mr. Sutton married, October 26, 1886, Ida May, daughter of Thomas L.
and Mary Jane (Millard) Hughes. He is a member of Providence Conclave,
Independent Order of Heptasophs, and in politics supports the Republican
party. His religious belief is Alethodist and he is a member of the Asbury
Methodist Episcopal Church, holding a position upon its official board.
EVAN S. JONES JR.
There is little in the career of Evan S. Jones but is worthy of imitation
by the young of to-day. Born in far away England, and early bred to habits
of industry and thrift, Mr. Jones has seized every opportunity for advance-
ment offered by his adopted country and stands to-day, at the head of one of
Scranton's successful industrial corporations. The Washburn Williams Com-
pany, leading lumber dealers and contractors.
496 CITY OF SCRANTON
Evan S. Jones Sr. was born in 1838, in Brecon, Wales, and there grew to.
manhood. After a residence in England, he and his brother, Thomas H.,
came to the United States in 1869, locating in Scranton, where as Jones
Brothers they established the first cut stone business in the city. They were
both practical stone cutters and continued in successful business until 1888,
when Evan S. retired. He was a member of Hyde Park Lodge, No. 339, F.
and A. M., and a man of high standing in his community.
He married (first) Deborah Powell, January 25, 1859, i" Lanelly, Wales,
Evan S. Jr. being the only surviving child of that marriage. On December
8, 1875, in the city of Scranton, he married (second) Catherine Harrison,
born in September, 1838, in the city of Carbondale, and had two sons: Wil-
liam G., of Hutchinson, Kansas, and Robert D., of Scranton. The family in
Scranton were members of the Simpson Methodist Episcopal Church.
Evan S. Jones Jr. was born in Liverpool, England, July 17, 1862, and at
the age of seven years was brought to this country by his parents. He was
educated in the public schools and Wyoming Seminary, whence he was grad-
uated class of 1886. He began business life as an apprentice with his honored
father, continuing until he was master of the stone cutter's trade. Later he
abandoned his trade and became bookkeeper for John Benore & Company,
continuing with that firm for twelve years. He then became a member of The
Washburn Williams Company, which was incorporated in 1898 with Frank W.
Washburn, president, William R. Williams, treasurer, Evan S. Jones, secretary
and general manager. This company began business by purchasing the lumber
yard and business of Washburn & Zearfoss, established in Scranton about the
year 1880. The business in 1898 was a small one but with the infusion of the Wil-
liams-Jones blood a change was at once apparent. New avenues of trade were
opened, branch yards established, a continuous period of prosperity following
the well timed energetic activities of the company. The yards, mill and office
of The Washburn Williams Company are located at Nos. 119-131 Meridian
avenue, where a lumber, contracting and manufacturing business, amounting to
one-half million dollars annually, is transacted. The manufacturing of interior
finish, show cases and store fixtures, is a specialty of their business, while in
the lumber department all kinds of builders' lumber and fancy veneers are
carried in plentiful supply. Glass of the highest grades, domestic and imported,
in an endless variety, now used in building and decorating, is carried in quan-
tity. The working force employed by the company numbers about one hun-
dred and fifty people, their product going to all parts of the Middle and East-
ern States. A reorganization of the executive stafif was effected, Mr. Jones
being elected president and general manager : William R. Williams, treasurer ;
Robert D. Jones, secretary. While all these gentlemen are business men of high
standing, the success of the company has been rendered doubly sure through
the wise management of Evan S. Jones, the general manager since incorpora-
tion and present executive head of the company. He has employed every
approved modern method and mechanical device in the manufacturing de-
partment, while in the selling and operating departments efficiency and true
economy are everywhere apparent. Now in the prime of life, the ambition and
enthusiasm of Mr. Jones carry him along at full speed and greater distinction
in the business world surely awaits him. Already he has been called to other
responsibilities of importance, being the present honored vice-president of the
Electric City Bank of Scranton.
Mr. Jones is prominent in the Masonic Order, belonging to Hyde Park
Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Nobles of the Mystic Shrine ; Keystone
Lodge of Perfection, fourteenth degree ; Keystone Council, Princes of Jerusa-
lem, sixteenth degree; Keystone Chapter of Rose Croix, eighteenth degree;
CITY OF SCRANTON 497
Keystone Consistory, Sovereign Princes of the Royal Secret, thirty-second
degree; Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Jurisdiction United States
of America.
Evan S. Jones, married, August 11, 1890, Myra, daughter of Clark Har-
rison, of Scranton. His two sons : Warren H. and Marshall C, are both as-
sociated with their father in business.
FLOYD D. BEEMER
Four generations of Beemers have been residents of what is now Scran-
ton, the pioneer coming earlier than the men who first gave Slocum's Hollow
its importance. The first saw mill in the section was built, owned and oper-
ated by Henry Beemer, who came from New Jersey to Slocum's Hollow in
1819, and for many years carried on farming and lumbering. He was a son
of John Beemer, of New Jersey, a soldier of the Revolution. Henry Beemer
was an ardent Whig and his house was the rallying point for those of that
party who came in later. He had married and had ten children.
(H) Elias Beemer, son of Henry Beemer, was born in Beemersville, New
Jersey, in 1806. He came to what is now Scranton with his father in 1819,
and became a successful farmer. He married Phoebe Allbright and had issue:
Allen, a veteran of the Civil War, a member of the state Republican commit-
tee, later settling in the state of Nebraska; Jennie, married O. D. Hollister;
George, of further mention ; Horace D., now a banker of the state of Wyoming;
Ella, married W. H. Hollister; Samuel and Oakley, both merchants.
(HI) George Beemer, son of Elias and Phoebe (Allbright) Beemer, was
bom in Luzerne, now Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, April 14, 1848, and
is now superintendent of Hillside park. His life has covered the period of
Scranton's entire existence as a municipality, and in the growth and develop-
ment of the city he has had a part. He was educated in public schools and
Madison Academy, his earlier life being spent on the farm. In 1878 he gave
up farming to accept an appointment as steward of the Lake View poor dis-
trict, continuing until 1883, when he resigned, having been appointed to his
present position, superintendent of Hillside. He is a prominent member of
the Masonic Order; past master of Waverly Lodge, No. 301, F. and A. M., and
a thirty-second degree Mason of the Scottish Rite. He is also a past noble
grand of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and a Knight of Malta. He
married, in 1876, Jennie Young, of Ulster county. New York; children:
Horace, born in 1878, died 1879; Floyd D.
(IV) Floyd D. Beemer, youngest and only living son of George and Jen-
nie (Young) Beemer, was born in Newton township, Lackawanna county,
Pennsylvania, August 5, 1888. His early and preparatory education was ob-
tained in the public schools. Keystone and Mercersburg academies. He next
entered Bucknell LTniversity, whence he was graduated class of 1910. He be-
gan, business life as a lumber dealer at Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, con-
tinuing until January I, 191 1, when he became associated with the Providence
Bank, Scranton, as clerk. He continued as such until March i, 1913, when
he was appointed cashier, which responsible position he now holds. Al-
though a young man, Mr. Beemer is highly regarded in financial circles, has
fully gratified the wisdom of his appointment, and with a career but fairly
begun, future biographers will surely have higher and greater deeds to chron-
icle concerning him. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and Shriner.
32
498 CITY OF SCRANTON
HON. WILLIAM CONNELL
It is characteristic of our twentieth century era that no matter how in-
disputable a statement, or how clear a result, the desire for the reason is con-
tinually uppermost in the minds of every one. To this quality of our people
we owe our extremely intricate knowledge of chemical and physical properties,
since in all lines of scientific research nothing is accepted as a fact until all
the causes contributing to the effect are known, and an invariable rule estab-
lished. Nor do we confine our inquisitiveness and love of fundamentals to
our professions and sciences, but in considering the lives of our most prominent
and important citizens, we closely scan the generations that have gone before
(to find here and there evidences of certain traits that characterize the present
generation.
To define the causes that have participated in making the life of William
Connell one of such glorious usefulness, one must, after searching the pages
of history, conclude that the success and honor crowning his years of labor
are due, more than to anything else, to splendidly balanced intellect and per-
sonality, the outgrowth of the conditions in which he was placed and the
adversities with which he had to contend. But, lest we seem to scorn heredity
and to ignore ancestry, it must be admitted that many of his personal traits
are shared in common with other descendants of the races from which he
sprang. From his Scotch forefathers he inherited his habits of economy and
frugality in the days when every dollar was needed, and his calm and clear
foresight, while from his warmer blooded Irish forbears came his quick and
friendly sympathy, and charming geniality, and to the strain of French blood
in his veins he undoubtedly owes his sensitive emotion, so easily touched by
misfortune, yet so tempered by his less impulsive Scotch blood that in his
various charities there was no sentimental and indiscriminate giving, but only
relief and aid for the really worthy. Yet it is indisputable that the very na-
ture of the man himself so entwined and welded his different characteristics
that to his closest and most familiar friends no strain appeared more strong
than another, all uniting in William Connell, than whom there was no citizen
of Scranton held in more sincere respect and regard, or none whose absence
from the place he had filled so long could cause more genuine regret and
sorrow.
James Connell, father of William Connell. was born in Aberdeenshire,
Scotland, and there lived until the death of his father. His mother's second
husband being a person entirely uncongenial to him, he decided to leave a
home from which, for him, most of the happiness and joy had departed,
and to seek his fortunes under diff'erent skies. He shipped as cabin boy upon
an English merchant vessel, and sailed for many years, visiting nearly every
foreign country on the seacoast and traversing every sea. At length he settled
in Nova Scotia, where he entered the employ of a farmer, and where he mar-
ried. In 1844 he and his wife, with their family, moved to Luzerne county,
Pennsylvania, and late in life made Scranton their home, in which city their
deaths occurred.
From the foregoing paragraph it is plain that William Connell was, at
birth, neither fed with a silver spoon, nor rocked in the lap of luxury. From
his father he received nothing but the example of an honest and upright
character. He was placed at the foot of the ladder of achievement, blessed
with two strong hands and a clean and healthy mind. A glance of the dizzy
heights above did not impress him with the futility of an attempt to ascend,
but nerved him to place his foot upon the bottom rung and begin the climb
which he never ceased to do until, reaching upward for the next step, he
? I 1 iai(Z£ ^^y>2y>i^'
U
CITY OF SCRANTON 499
found that he occupied the topmost position, that from below had seemed so
unattainable.
William Connell was born at Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, September 10,
1827, son of James and Susan (Melville) Connell. Nearly all of his early
life, after his school-days, was spent in the employ of companies engaged in
mining of coal, one of the natural resources of the section which seemed prac-
tically inexhaustible. Throughout his youth, as indeed in later life, he was
an indefatigable worker, bending his every energy to the task at hand, and
brightening the most commonplace of occupations by the active manner in
which it was dispatched. Imbued with the desire for better things and realiz-
ing that the opportunity for the gratification of such desire lay only in im-
proving his financial condition, he lived frugally and saved a large part of his
weekly wage. The first material advancement came to him in 1856, when he
was placed in charge of a mine at Scranton, owned by the Susquehanna and
Wyoming Valley Railroad and Coal Company. His nominal position was as
mine foreman, but as his exceptional ability became more and more apparent,
added details of the business were placed upon his shoulders until, in 1872,
when the charter of the corporation expired, Mr. Connell had entire super-
vision of the operation of the mine and was the trusted advisor of the di-
rectors in all matters relating to the practical side of the business. Although
he did not realize it at the time, Mr. Connell's change of fortune began with
his entrance into the employ of this company. While many times during
his continuation in its service he was ofifered salaries greatly in advance of
the four thousand dollars he was then receiving, to go with other companies,
he steadfastly refused them all. Asked for his reasons for so doing, he re-
plied, "In the light of subsequent development, I am inclined to attribute it
to Providence. At the time, my reasons were that my employers, the Susque-
hanna and W^yoming Valley Company had always treated me fairly, that I
had faith in their promises of continued fair treatment, and that I then foresaw
and desired to participate in the marvelous growth which has since come to
the city of Scranton." At the expiration of the company's charter in 1872
he, with his savings, purchased the property. For the greater part of the
purchase price he was compelled to give his note, which was willingly accepted
by the directors of the former company, an eloquent tribute to the years of
service in their employ. Their confidence was entirely justified, inasmuch as,
within a few years, he was enabled to pay off his entire debt and had placed
moreover the firm of William Connell & Company upon a solid and sub
stantial working basis.
The first business transaction in which Mr. Connell ever engaged whereby
he received recompense not in the form of wages or interest was in the case
of the Nay Aug Colliery. Just previous to the Civil War a company com-
posed of eight of Scranton's business men, of which Mr. Connell was one,
purchased the Nay Aug Colliery for a sum amounting to about fifty thousand
dollars. Mr. Connell's share was his savings of the years before. The wis-
dom of the venture was soon apparent, for with the outbreak of the war
the price of coal soared as did likewise the price of many other commodities.
A syndicate of capitalists with funds to enlarge the colliery and largely in-
crease its earning capacity offered the company a sum greatly in advance of
the original price paid for the colliery, a proposition which was accepted.
Mr. Connell's share of the profits from this deal amounted to thirteen thous-
and dollars. This formed the nucleus about which he constructed his sub-
sequently generous fortune and was the first of the many wise and carefully
planned investments, of which he made so many in later years.
To give an exhaustive account of Mr. Connell's varied business activities
500 CITY OF SCRANTON
would carry one into many of the large concerns of Scranton. In 1872 he
assisted in the organization of the Third National Bank of Scranton, which
he first served as director and of which he was chosen president in 1879,
which office he held for twenty-five consecutive years, and in 1887 he was
active in the formation of the Scranton Safe Deposit and Trust Company
capitalized at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, of which he became
director. In 1890 he organized the Council Coal Company, purchasing and
leasing large holdings of coal land in Lackawanna, Old Forge and Ransom
township. The daily capacity of the two model breakers erected upon this
tract was three thousand tons. Besides his connection with these organi-
zations, Mr. Connell was president of the Lackawanna Knitting Mills Com
pany ; president of the Scranton Button Manufacturing Company; president
of the Weston Mill Company and president of the Meadowbrook Land Com-
pany. His name also appeared upon the directorates of the Lackawanna Iron
and Steel Company; Dickson Manufacturing Company; Clark & Snover Com-
pany; Scranton Bolt and Nut Company; Scranton Packing Company; Scran-
ton Forging Company ; Lackawanna Lumber Company ; Consumers Ice Com-
pany and the Scranton Tribune. In the many institutions in which he was
not publicly interested, being only a stockholder, his advice and counsel was
frequently sought and as frequently accepted, his wide experience and recog-
nized superior financial sense giving him great prestige even among the ablest
of Scranton's financiers. In the countless business transactions he has backed
and in the long list of companies where his name has appeared in a responsi-
ble position, there is not to be found a single instance in which the results did
not live up to the expectations and no name in Scranton's financial history
is more free from contamination by "wild-cat" schemes and from the curse
of cheated investors, than that of William Connell. His figure stood out
clear and strong, no matter what the difficulty or how frenzied the gather-
ing around about him, inspiring in others the thought that here, at least, was
one to whom the lure of gold and the greed of gain could make no appeal
and to whom they might with safety entrust their all.
With his prominence in Scranton and in the northeastern part of the
commonwealth of Pennsylvania, it was almost impossible that he should not
be led into the public service. Although a long while before accepting office,
he had been a constant advisor and confident of the leaders of the Republican
party in his section and had, in large measure, dominated political affairs
in the locality. His name as a candidate for public political preference was
first presented in 1896, when in November he was elected to Congress. For
three terms following he was returned to this august legislative assembly,
ably representing his district and proving his worth among the best Ameri-
can statesmen. His popularity was shown by his large plurality in the elec-
tion, eight thousand, four times as large as that accorded any previous candi-
date of the party in that district.
Still another phase of Mr. Connell's extremely versatile personality is
shown in his deeply interested activity in the Methodist Episcopal church,
his connection with that denomination being with the Elm Park congregation.
The chimes in Elm Park Church : ten bells with names of Mr. Connell and
wife, and two oldest children on large bell, and each of the other bells is
named for each of the children ; they are called the Connell Memorial Chimes,
the best in the country, and invalids and others wrote him their appre-
ciation; he gave them in 1894. Although the church was burned twice the
chimes were not injured either time. As proof of his work in the church
organization is the fact of his delegation to the Methodist Episcopal con-
ference, held at Philadelphia in 1884, at which gathering he represented hi'i
CITY OF SCRANTON 501
home church. In the educational institutions of tlie denomination he was also
numbered as an enthusiastic supporter and sympathizer, as he was a trustee
of Syracuse and Wesleyan universities, Drew Theological Seminary and
Wyoming Seminary.
To his innermost circle of friends Mr. Connell was known as a close
student, enjoying to the full an evening's communion with the best of classic
and modern authors. Possessing a fine discriminating taste, he would have
been a masterly scholar had the opportunity for higher education come to him
early in life. From his literary likes he obtained much of the pleasurable
relaxation that came to him in the course of an exceedingly busy life.
To the city of Scranton, Mr. Connell has left two lasting memorials of his
name, one of the Connell Building, a stately office structure in the heart of
the business section, the other, Connell Park, which will in the greater ex-
pansion of the city, certain to come, prove to be a valuable addition to the
municipal property and a spot which will delight lovers of natural beauty.
But the real medium through which the name of William Connell will be
preserved in the region, to which he dedicated so much of his toil and talents
is not the building or the park which bears his name, but in the high place
accorded to social, financial and industrial Scranton among the other cities
of the state. Much of the best and finest in Scranton's history has been the
result of his patient and earnest labors in its behalf, his civic pride and his
untiring zeal for the advancement of the city, the scene of his success-crowned
struggle.
Mr. Connell married, January 2, 1852, Annie Lawrence, of Llewellyn,
Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, bom August 4, 1835. To this union was
born eleven children, of whom six are living: i. Emma, born October 5,
1852, died in infancy. 2. Mattie, born April 25, 1854 ; married Samuel W.
Edgar; died April 10, 1888. 3. James L., of whom further. 4. Mary E., born
August 4, 1858; married Edward J. Dimmick ; died June 15, 1891. 5. Wil-
liam A., born September 9, i860, died November 21, 1899. 6. Jessie A.,
born July 18, 1862; married J. S. McAnulty. 7. Charles R., of whom further.
8. Alfred E., of whom further. 9. Annie A., born May 29, 1869; married
C. W. Fulton. 10. Theodore E., born July 8, 1871, died June 15, 1903. 11.
Ezra Hoyt, of whom further.
Mr. and Mrs. Connell, rising by prudence and thrift from poverty to
affluence, were not forgetful of their early days and associations, but bore
their prosperity with becoming gentleness and kindliness. They were ever
considerate and benevolent though to the last degree unostentatious. Few
knew of the amount or character of their large benevolencies. The home life
of Mr. and Mrs. Connell was ideal. Never were husband and wife more
devoted and until her death, their home was a rendezvous for hosts of their
admiring friends. On January 2, 1902, they celebrated their golden wedding,
an occasion without ostentation, yet memorable for the multitude which in-
cluded practically all the city, besides a host from other places, who came to
present their congratulations. Mrs. Connell passed away June 24, 1902.
Mr. Connell, March 21, 1909.
JAMES L. CONNELL
James L. Connell, son of William Connell, was born at Crystal Ridge.
Pennsylvania, April 17, 1856. He obtained his early education in the public
schools of Minooka, whither his parents had moved when he was but a youth,
also attending the Wyoming Seminary. When he was sixteen years of age
his parents moved to Scranton and it was here he obtained his first employ-
502 CITY OF SCRANTON
ment in the wholesale grocery business of A. G. Gilmore, later engaging
in the retail grocery business for two years with F. P. Price under the firm
name of Price & Connell. Withdrawing from this partnership in 1877, Mr.
Connell formed another with I. F. Megargel, and journeying to Des Moines,
lowe, established a tea, coffee and spice business. The following year they
returned to Scranton and admitted Alexander Connell into the firm, changing
the name to Megargel, Connell & Company, and engaging in wholesale grocery
dealing until 1882, when upon the death of Alexander Connell, his interest
was purchased by the other two partners, the firm continuing operations as
Megargel & Connell. About 1899 ^^^i"- Connell purchased his partner's interest
and admitted William Connell to the firm, the name becoming J. L. Connell
& Company. In 1902 their place of business was burned out and the business
closed. Mr. Connell then devoted his entire time to his other business relations
as vice-president of the Clark & Snover Company, as treasurer and director of
the Cherry River Boom and Lumber Company, and as vice-president and
director of the Third National Bank. He is also a director of the Richwood
Store Company, the Hebard Cypress Company, the Hebardville Store Com-
pany, the Lackawanna Mills, Scranton Button Company and the Wyoming
Shovel Works.
Mr. Connell is a member of the Masonic Order, belonging to Peter Wil-
liamson Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Lackawanna Chapter, Royal Arch
Masons ; Coeur de Lion Commandery, Knights Templar ; Keystone Consistory,
Sovereign Princes of the Royal Secret; and Irem Temple, Nobles of the
Mystic Shrine. He also holds membership in the Scranton Club, the Country
Club and the Waverly Club. With his wife he is a member of the Elm Park
Methodist Episcopal Qiurch, in which he is a trustee and a member of the
official board. He married Leonora Pratt and has three children : Lawrence
M., Carleton A., Mary Lucile.
CHARLES R. CONNELL
Charles R. Council, son of William Connell, was born in Scranton, Penn-
sylvania, September 22, 1864. He obtained his education in the public and
private schools of Scranton, completing his studies in Williston Seminary at
Easthampton, Massachusetts. Since 1888 he has had complete charge of the
Scranton Button Company, and the Lackawanna Mills, both of Scranton,
positions he filled after preliminary instruction in the varied details of both
processes. The Lackawanna mills is a corporation capitalized at five hundred
thousand dollars, with an annual output valued at one million dollars, employs
eight hundred persons and is one of the most prosperous of the city's in-
dustries ; while the Scranton Button Company, capitalized at three hundred
thousand dollars, employs five hundred persons, and is likewise numbered
among the best paying of Scranton's many manufactories. In the responsible
positions he fills, Mr. Connell shows much native ability, and so wisely governs
the large number of employees under his direct supervision that strikes are
unheard of. Various attractions, such as an annual excursion, are furnished
for the enjoyment of the employees, while many devices for their comfort
and safety are installed in both plants. Mr. Connell, besides his immediate
business attachments, is a director of the Third National Bank, the South
Side Bank of Scranton, and the United Button Company, of New York.
His fraternal connection is with the Masonic Order, in which society he
belongs to Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Lackawanna
Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; Coeur de Lion Commandery, Knights Templar ;
Keystone Consistory, Sovereign Princes of the Royal Secret ; and Irem Tern-
A
CITY OF SCRANTON 503
pit, Ancient Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Scranton Club, and the Manu-
facturers' Club of Philadelphia. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Charles
Shafer, of Scranton, and has two children : Gladys S. and Bernard L.
ALFRED E. CONNELL
Alfred E. Connell, son of William Connell, was born in Scranton, Penn-
sylvania, June 24, 1867. He obtained his early education in the public schools
of his native city and later attended the School of Lackawanna. His first
position was held with the Hunt & Connell Company in the hardware busi-
ness, a line in which he continued for five years, later entering the office 01
the Scranton Button Company, where he remained for several years. Until
1905 he was a store manager for a coal company, then entering the Meadow
Brook Land Company, as general manager, an office he held from 1906 to
1909, in which latter year he became president. His other business interests
are as director in the Scranton Button Company, the Lackawanna Mills and
the Anthracite Trust Company. His public service is testified by his presence
upon the board of trustees of the Pennsylvania Oral School for the Deaf,
as well as his presidency of the Board of Charities and Humane Society of
Lackawanna Company. In the Masonic Order he is past master of Peter
Williamson Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Lackawanna Chapter, Royal
Arch Masons ; Scranton Council, Royal and Select Masters ; past eminent
commander of Coeur de Lion Commandery, Knights Templar ; Irem Temi'le
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine ; Keystone Consistory, Sovereign Princes of the
Royal Secret, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. He is also a member of the
Scranton Club and the Country Club.
Mr. Connell married Jane, daughter of Job and Ann Harris, of Scran-
ton ; children : Edwin, a student at Yale University ; Janet, attends the Emma
Willard School at Troy, New York; Eleanor and Alfred H., Mr. Connell
and his wife are members of the Elm Park Methodist Episcopal Church.
EZRA HOYT CONNELL
Youngest of the eleven children of William Connell, Ezra Hoyt is the
only one born in the old historic Connell mansion on the corner of Clay
avenue and \'ine street. He was born May 9, 1873. and obtained his early
education at the kindergarten then located in the old Jermyn residence on the
corner of Jefferson avenue and Vine street. He later attended the School of the
Lackawanna, the school of H. H. Merrill, and during the years 1888-90 was
a student at Pennington Seminary, at Pennington, New Jersey. He entered
Yale University in the fall of 1890, and in the spring of 1895 was thence grad-
uated with the degree of A. B., having lost one year at the university through
the typhoid epidemic. In 1895 he entered the law department of the University
of Pennsylvania, whence he was graduated LL. B., class of 1898. Returning
to Scranton he was admitted to the Lackawanna bar in 1899, and at once
established in general practice with offices in the Connell Building. The
same year he was admitted to the state Supreme Court and since then to all
state and federal courts of the district, to all of which his practice extends.
He is a member of the American, Pennsylvania State, and Lackawanna County
Bar associations, and is a lawyer of ability, a man of high standing, and a
good citizen. He is a member of the Elm Park Methodist Episcopal Church,
and a Republican in politics.
Mr. Connell married, February 18, 1892, Elizabeth, daughter of Llewell)n
Thomas, and resides at No. 436 Clay avenue.
504 CITY OF SCRANTON
JAMES SHAFFER McANULTY
James Shaffer McAnulty, a well known business man of the city of Scran-
ton, Pennsylvania, is the son of James and Anna (Shaffer) McAnulty. Both
were born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, where they were married, and came
to Scranton in 1854. Mr. McAnulty was in the employ of the Delaware,
Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company, and was killed near Henryville.
in 1856, on the first excursion given to the employes of this road. He was
thirty-three years of age at the time. Mrs. McAnulty went to the McAnulty
farm near Reading, where her mother-in-law lived, and there James Shaft'er
McAnulty was born, January 7, 1857, and when he was three months old
his mother returned to Scranton, where she died in 1907 at the age of eighty-
two years. She was a remarkable woman in many respects, and was a mem-
ber of the First Methodist Episcopal Church, to which denomination both
belonged.
James Shaffer McAnulty received a substantial education in public and
private schools of Scranton, and in 1872 entered the employ of the Scranton
Trust Company and Savings Bank as a clerk, and remained there until 1879
when the bank liquidated. In 1881 he entered into a partnership with L. J.
Williams, under the firm name of Williams & McAnulty. dealers in stationerv
and wall papers, on Lackawanna avenue. At the end of one year they re-
moved to Wyoming avenue, discontinued the stationery, and added carpets
and furniture, and made this the largest store in the city. Mr. IMcAnuIty
is president of the Scranton Life Insurance Company, organized in 1907;
secretary and treasurer of the Connell Anthracite Mining Company ; president
of the National Limestone Company ; and a director in the Lackawanna Millr.
and other corporations. He was elected a member of the Scranton school
board in 1903, and served a period of six years. He is a Republican in political
opinion, and a member of the Scranton Club, Country Club, Art Club of
Philadelphia, the Masonic Fraternity, having attained the thirty-second degree,
and of Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Mr. McAnulty married, February 14, 1883, Jessie, daughter of William
amd Annie E. Connell, and they have one daughter, Anna, who married,
April II, 1912, Walter Phelps Stevens, and resides in Scranton.
HON. JOHN R. FARR
Whenever the question of the fitness for public position of the Hon.
John R. Farr has been left for the decision at the polls, the verdict has in-
variably been in his favor. On numerous occasions and under varied cir-
cumstances has this verdict been rendered, each time with greater enthusiasm,
and the positions of honor and responsibility to which he has been elected have
been equally numerous and varied. He is a true son of the Scranton dis-
trict, and his identification of himself with the interests of this section has
been a most thorough one. Ever the firm friend of progress and developmen*^
in every direction, he has been a foremost factor in the passage of a number
of bills in the legislature, which have benefited the city and state immeasurably.
Hon. John R. Farr was born in Scranton. Pennsylvania. He acquired a
sound, practical education in the public schools of Scranton, School of Lacka-
wanna, Keystone Academy, Phillips Academy and Lafayette College. Upon
the completion of his early studies he was apprenticed to learn the type set-
ting trade. From his earliest years he had displayed literary ability, and upon
leaving college he entered the field of journalism, and rose through successive
^^^^^^^^^^y^^^
CITY OF SCRANTON
505
grades until he had attained the position of the city editor of the Scranton
Repiibhcan. In 1890 he was the successful nominee of the RepubHcan party
for representative in the legislature, was re-elected to that office five times,
serving during the sessions of 1891, 1893, 1895, 1897 and 1899. He was
chosen speaker of the house, January 3, 1899. Among the bills which he was
the author of while in the legislature were the following: For free text book,
for the public school, 1893; compulsory education, 1895, this bill having been
presented ui 1890 and 1891 by Mr. Farr. Later he was called to a still
higher position in the service of his state, being elected to Congress from
the tenth congressional district, an office he still holds by re-election, and for
which he was re-nominated. May 19, 1914. While in Congress he has pursued
a continuation of his services. During his first term he secured a public build-
ing for Olyphant, established rural free deliveries in various parts of the
county, and was heard on the house floor on all important measures. In his
first year he served on the committee of education and on the claims and
mining committee ; in his second term he had the honor of being placed on
the naval committee. He brought about the legislation which restored the
revenue district to Scranton. Mr. Farr has always been a forceful factor
in the advancement of city improvements. He established the West Side Hos-
pital and West Side Board of Trade.
ROBERT VANDENBERG WHITE, M. D.
In order to be successful in the medical profession a man must possess,
in addition to a good general and professional education, tact, and a training
which comes through knowledge of human nature. It is hardly necessary
to say that this is applicable to Dr. Robert Vandenberg White, whose name
introduces this article, and who has made a reputation for himself in the
city of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
(I) Dr. Stephen White, his great-grandfather, was a physician and sur-
geon in Ireland, his native land. He came to Prattsville, New York, where
he lived for a quarter of a century. He married in Ireland, and was the
father of two sons and one daughter.
(II) James B. White, son of Dr. Stephen White, was born in Ireland, and
was a young man when he came to this country with his father and made
his home in the state of New York, where it is probable that he completed his
education. He was a tanner by trade, and the owner of the White Hotel at
Wymark, New York, which he conducted until his death at the age of seventy-
three years. He married Julia Vandenberg, of Dutch descent, born in Lex-
ington, New York, died at the age of fifty-three years, and they are both buried
at Lexington. They had children : Arthur, Robert Emmet, of further men-
iton ; John, Charles.
(III) Robert Emmet White, son of James B. and Julia (Vandenberg)
White, was born in Prattsville, New York, died at the age of sixty years.
He attended school at Wymark, New York, until he was fifteen years of age,
then entered the employ of the Delaware & Hudson Gravity Road, was ad-
vanced to the position of operator, and then became station agent at Scranton,
a position he held thirty-nine years. He was a Republican in his political
opinions, and a devout member of the Episcopal church. His remains are
interred in the Dunmore Cemetery, which is in the suburbs of Scranton. Mr.
White married, at Scranton, Mary Bell Talley, now living with her son, Dr.
Robert V. White, a daughter of Blythe and Mary (Heilner) Talley, who were
among the early settlers of Scranton. Mr. and Mrs. White had children :
So6 CITY OF SCRANTON
Robert \'andenberg, of further mention ; Blytlie R., a dentist, residing and
practicing in Pittston.
(IV) Dr. Robert Vandenberg White, son of Robert Emmet and Mary-
Bell (Talley) White, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, August 28, 1876.
He acquired his elementary and preparatory education in the public schools of
Scranton and the Lackawanna School of that city. He then matriculated at
the Hahnemann Medical College, in Philadelphia, from which he was grad-
uated with honor in the class of 1900. He spent some time in general prac-
tice in the St. Luke's Children's and Hahnemann hospitals, of Philadelphia,
after which he returned to Scranton, in November, 1902, and opened offices
for the practice of his profession at No. 212 South Alain avenue, where he
is still located, and where he now has an excellent patronage. He was as-
sistant surgeon at the Hahnemann Hospital for a period of two years, became
surgeon of this institution in 1906, and has discharged the duties of this office .
since that time. He has been consulting surgeon of the Wyoming Homeopathic
Hospital of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, for the past five years. He is a
member of the Graduates' Council of the Hahnemann Medical College of
Philadelphia; a member of the State Institution; of the American Institute of
Homeopathy ; of the County Medical Society ; has been president and secre-
tary of the local medical society ; and chairman of the Surgical Bureau of the
State Medical Society. He is a staunch supporter of the Republican party,
and a member of the Episcopal church. Dr. White married, December 7,
1904, Ella Emily Walter, born in Scranton, a daughter of Alichael and Rosine
( Steinele ) Walter, who were Germans by birth and settled in Scranton at an
early date. Children of Dr. and Mrs. White : Robert E., Eleanor Elizabeth.
Walter Kent.
GUY WEBSTER OSTERHOUT
Of ancient Holland lineage, Mr. Osterhout descends from that branch ot
the family long settled in Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, Nicholson being the
family seat. There Webster Osterhout, a well known and prosperous farmer,
lived and died, leaving issue, including a son, Milo D.
Milo D. Osterhout was born in Nicholson, Pennsylvania, in 1840, and
spent his early life on the paternal farm. On attaining manhood he became a
merchant, settling in Providence ( now Scranton ) , a partner in a general
store business, but later becoming sole owner, continuing in successful opera-
tion until his death in 1890. He married Janet, daughter of Oiarles Gillespie,
who came to this country from Dumfriesshire, Scotland. Children: Joseph
G. ; Guy W., of whom further ; Meta Remington ; Alice, married Herbert W.
Goodridge ; Burton, tax agent for the real estate department of the Delaware
& Hudson Company.
Guy W. Osterhout was born in Scranton, February 16, 1876. His early
and preparatory education was obtained in the School of the Lackawanna,
and Rugby Academy, Philadelphia, he being a member of the class graduated
from the latter institution in 1893. He then entered the LTniversity of Penn-
sylvania, class of 1899, and after completing his course, began active work
in the profession in which he is now so firmly established. He spent one
year with Mr. Corcoran, the well known Philadelphia architect, then went
to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, with A. H. Kipp, remaining with him two
years. The next year he spent with McCormick & French, then for nine
years was with E. H. Davis, of Scranton. as draughtsman. All these years,
preparatory to establishing in business for himself, gave him needed experience
and perfected him in the detail of design and construction, the latter now a
CITY OF SCRANTON
507
most important part of an architect's business. On January i, 191 1, Mr.
Osterhout formed a partnership with C. P. Krieg, and worked in association
with him until October, 1912, when they dissolved, Mr. Osterhout continuing
the business under his own name, with offices at 519 Connell Building. He
has had a successful professional career and has designed and supervised the
erection of many fine residences and buildings. Among these may be named
the store and apartment building of A. M. Storr ; store and apartment build-
ing of T. A. Eynon ; residence of Mrs. Mina Robinson; residence of Otto 11.
Robinson; residence of C. H. Miller, on Webster avenue; residence of John
H. Williams; and the moving picture theatre and apartment building for Dr.
J. J. Brennan at Wilkes-Barre. Mr. Osterhout is a member of the Engineers'
Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Scranton Board of Trade, Provi-
dence Presgyterian Church, and in political faith is a Republican. His college
fraternity is Alpha Tau Omega (University of Pennsylvania).
Mr. Osterhout married Phoebe E., daughter of David Smith, of Scranton.
Children: Ronald, born January 11, 1902; Charles Gillespie, born October 4,
1906.
CHARLES G. ROSAR
The story of the immigration of the first American resident of the Ger-
man family of Rosar, Peter Rosar, is one filled with interest because of its
unusual features. Peter Rosar, son of George and Elizabeth (Hartmann)
Rosar, and grandson of George Rosar, a farmer of Prussia, was born in
Trannenweir, Prussia, October 5, 1835. The eldest child of his parents, he
was offered every advantage within their power, and obtained an excellent
education in the German schools. When he was about seventeen years of
age he journeyed to London, England, there engaging passage on an American-
bound sailing vessel. Through unfavorable weather the vessel was so delayed
that the voyage consumed seventy-eight days, during the latter part of which
time there was intense suffering among both passengers and crew through the
failure of provisions and water, an accident that at first caused discomfort
and afterward the most severe distress. When Peter Rosar arrived at the
home of an uncle in Scranton he was in such a weakened condition because
of insufficient nourishment that for a time his recovery was despaired of,
but a constitution naturally vigorous and expert medical care and nursing
restored him to health within two months. Peter Rosar was followed to the
United States within the year by his father, George Rosar, who settled in
Scranton and there resided until his death. George and Elizabeth ( Hartmann j
Rosar were the parents of eight children, four sons and four daughters, all
of whom lived in the city of Scranton with the exception of one daughter,
Anna Elizabeth, who lived in Elmira, New York.
As soon as he was physically fit for labor after his recovery from his
illness, Peter Rosar obtained employment in the mines of the Lackawanna
Coal and Iron Company, where he remained for three years, the ten following
years finding him associated with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western
Railroad in the boiler shops. He was then for one year employed in the
yards of the Lackawanna Coal and Iron Company, becoming foreman of the
outside works, a position he held for ten years. His long and satisfactory
association with this company was terminated by his resignation, and after its
acceptance he established in independent business dealings. In 1866 he had
started a grocery store, which his wife managed for a few years, when its
growing dimensions brought to Mr. Rosar an appreciation of the possibilities
that were contained in that line of trade, to which he afterward devoted all
5o8 CITY OF SCRANTON
of his time and attention. His first stock was, by the limits of his resources,
small, but he immediately inaugurated a policy of expansion and found little
difficulty in securing trade to warrant this course, building up at No. 724-726
Cedar avenue a grocery business large and remunerative. To his line of
groceries he added coal, wood, hay, straw and feed, becoming one of the
city's prosperous merchants, also acquiring title to the Washington Hotel, on
Cedar avenue, Scranton, which he maintained as a first-class house of enter-
taimnent. The material prosperity that became his and the prominence that
he acquired were the results of deep-seated determination, tireless application,
and adherence to principles of honesty and uprightness that never knew a
more devoted disciple. Mr. Rosar was a Democrat in matters of national
concern, but in local affairs used his influence and cast his vote for the man
with representative qualifications and honorable reputation. His only political
office was as the representative of the eleventh ward in common council, after
which he steadfastly refused nomination for any position. His church was
St. Mary's Roman Catholic, in which he was identified with St. Joseph's
Society, his fraternal connections being with the Deutsches Selskof.
Peter Rosar married Caroline Zang, born in Altenbach, Prussia, and had
children: I. Elizabeth, at home. 2. Charles G., of whom further. 3. Jo-
seph, a contractor of Scranton, married Mary Phillips, and is the father of:
Joseph M. ; Frances, cashier in Woolworth's Scranton store ; Alma, employed
in a Scranton woolen mill : Louise, and the following attending school. Otto,
Edna, Mary, Carl, Esther, Ruth. 4. Lena, married Andrew J. Best, proprietor
of the Best Hotel on Cedar avenue, and has one son, Andrew J. Jr. 5. William,
married Catherine Gard, and is the father of : Romaine, Caroline, and Peter,
he is associated in business with his brother, Charles G. 6. Peter J., assistant
chief of the Scranton Fire Department : married Charlotte Phillips and has
children, Howard and Elsie.
Charles G. Rosar, son of Peter and Caroline (Zang) Rosar, was born in
Scranton, Pennsylvania, December 22, 1866. He was educated in the public
schools and St. Mary's Parochial School. After leaving school he gained
his first business experience as conductor on the street cars, when the South
Scranton lines were first opened, after which he spent one year as clerk in the
office of the recorder of deeds, three years in the office of the city comptroller,
under Edwin J. Robinson, and three years in charge of marriage licenses
in the office of the register of wills. After leaving the city comptroller's office
Mr. Rosar was elected to the city council from the eleventh ward, on the
Democratic ticket, that being the party with which he is affiliated, and at the
expiration of his term was re-elected, making four years altogether. He was
nominated for recorder of deeds, but was defeated, and about one year later,
in 1904, was appointed deputy county treasurer under P. F. Connor, an office
he retained for five years, to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned. In
1909 Mr. Rosar was a prominent candidate for the nomination for county
treasurer, and made a good run, meeting defeat by only a small margin. He
is now, 1914, engaged in the grocery business, with which he has been success-
fully occupied for several years. He is a director of the South Side Bank,
and has other financial interests, including a large coffee company of Buffalo,
New York. His fraternal orders are: Scranton Lodge, No. 123, B. P. O. E. :
South Scranton Lodge, No. 1145, R. A. He also belongs to the Retail Mer-
chants' Association ; Yunger Mannechoir and Scranton Sanger Bunde ; Scran-
ton Athletic Club; Knights of St. George; and St. Mary's Bund. He is a
member of St. Mary's Catholic Church.
Mr. Rosar married, September 6, 1905, Clara Ross, daughter of Peter and
Elizabeth (Hailstone) Ross, of No. 902 West Lackawanna avenue, Scranton.
The residence of Mr. and Mrs. Rosar is at No. 726 Cedar avenue, Scranton.
CITY OF SCRANTON 509
J. NORMAN WHITE, M. D.
Dr. J. Norman White, a physician and surgeon of abiUty and skill, of
Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he enjoys the patronage of a large number
of the most select families, is descended from good old New England stocl^-
in paternal and maternal lines, his great-grandfather in the paternal line hav-
ing come from Connecticut.
(I) Sidney White, grandfather of Dr. J. Norman White, married Bessie
Scutt, and they Iiad children: i. Charity, married Henry Rivenberg, of
Clifford, Pennsylvania, and has children : Professor Romaine Rivenberg, of
Heightstown, New Jersey ; Mrs. Dr. Evans, of Crozier Theological Seminary :
Dr. S. T. Rivenberg, a missionary to India. 2. Josephine, married Madison
Watson, and had children : Dr. S. S. Watson, of Moosic, Pennsylvania ; Bes-
sie, married Nathan Slator ; Dr. Evelyn Watson, now deceased. 3. Lyman,
married Elizabeth Rivenberg, and has one child : Peter. 4. Sidney, married
Elizabeth Mackey and has children : Luthur S., of New York ; Mark White,
of New York ; Bessie ; Ida : Sidney Jr. ; George. 5. Joseph, of further men-
tion.
(II) Joseph White, son of Sidney and Bessie (Scutt) White, was born
in Albany, New York, in 1838. He was a farmer. He was a member of the
Baptist church. He married Sarah, a daughter of Norman Ford, also of New
England stock, and they had children: i. Augusta, married B. C. Hagadon ;
children : Ford. Ferris, Raymond. 2. Lillian, married S. M. Stratton, of
Los Angeles, California. 3. Elizabeth, now deceased, married B. D. Arnold.
4. Dr. J. Norman, of further mention. 5. Sarah, married George Hamden, of
Long Island.
(III) Dr. J. Norman White, son of Joseph and Sarah (Ford) White,
was born at Albany, New York, April 12, 1877. He received his elementary
education in the public schools of New York state. After graduating from
the State Normal School, he was engaged in the profession of teaching for a
period of five years, and then matriculated at the Jefferson Medical College, in
Philadelphia, from which institution he graduated in the class of 1904, with
the degree of Doctor of Medicine. One year was spent as an interne in the
State Hospital at Scranton, and he then opened an office for the general practice
of medicine in Scranton, and has since been located there. In the short period
of ten years he has won high commendation for his ability and for his con-
scientious devotion to his patients. He has made a specialty of surgical
research work, and is visiting surgeon to the West Side Hospital and the Taylor
Hospital ; and consulting surgeon to the A-Iid Valley Hospital and the State
Hospital for the Criminally Insane. He is Republican in his political opinions,
and a member of the First Welsh Baptist Church. His affiliation with various
organizations is as follows : County, State and American Medical societies ;
Hyde Park Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Keystone Consistory, Ancient
and Accepted Scottish Rite; Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In 1912
Dr. White was appointed deputy county coroner. He married Margaret,
daughter of Thomas Jones, of Scranton.
REV. PETER C. WINTERS, LL. D.
Prominent and influential in the ministry of the Roman Catholic church
in the city of Scranton is Rev. Peter C. Winters, LL. D., rector of St. Paul's
Roman Catholic Church, the congregation of which he has served since Jan-
uary I, 1910, having previously been connected with religious work in the
city of Scranton as assistant rector at St. Peter's Cathedral, a position to
5IO CITY OF SCRANTON
which he was appointed immediately after his ordination. His parentage
and ancestry are Irish, that country having been the birthplace of his grand-
father, Peter Winters, who had two children : Robert, of whom further, and
Mary, deceased, who married William Crawford.
Robert Winters, son of Peter Winters and father of Rev. Dr. Peter C.
Winters, was born in Ireland. During his youth he attended school, and later
was a clerk in a store in Strabane, county Tyrone, Ireland. He came to the
United States when he was twenty-one years of age, and entered mercantile
life in Binghamton, New York, in the capacity of clerk, later establishing in-
dependently in the same line in Friendsville, Pennsylvania, where for three
terms he held the office of postmaster, and where his death occurred August
3, 1889. Friendsville was named by Caleb Carmalt, who in the early days
of the nineteenth century brought a number of Quakers from Philadelphia,
establishing a Quaker settlement in Susquehanna county. About the same
time there came to the place several Catholic families, all well-to-do people
who purchased farms in the neighborhood. Mr. Winters married Mary,
daughter of Christopher Heavey, of Edenderry, Kings county, Ireland, the
ceremony being perfomied in Narrowsburg, New York. Children of Mr. and
Mrs. Winters, eight of whom are living at the present time ( 1914) : i. Mary,
became the wife of William O'Keefe, of Endicott, New York. 2. Robert,
deceased. 3. Ellen, became the wife of Patrick Kinney, of St. Joseph, Penn-
sylvania, and has children : Frank, John, Annie, Margaret, Thomas. 4. James
F., deceased. 5. John, a merchant of Binghamton, New York. 6. Rev. Dr.
Peter C, of whom further. 7. Joseph, residing near Binghamton, New York.
8. Julia, deceased. 9. James C, engaged in military work, and became ser-
geant of Battery C, Fifth Artillery United States army; died at Fort Hamilton,
January 29, 1 900. 10. Sarah, now Sister Superior Anastasia in St. An-
drew's Convent, Portland, Oregon. 11. Thomas, resides in Binghamton, Nev/
York. 12. Cecelia, married Thomas F. Mangan, of Hawley, Pennsylvania.
Rev. Dr. Peter C. Winters was born in Friendsville, Susquehanna county.
Pennsylvania, March 30, 1863. He obtained a general education in the public
schools of that locality. His early studies completed, he became a clerk in
his father's mercantile establishment, and later taught school at Apolacon and
Forest Lake, Pennsylvania. He then entered the Binghamton High School,
completing his studies there in 1883. after which he matriculated at Niagara
University, and three years later he was graduated with the degree of Bache-
lor of x\rts, receiving the degree of Master of Arts from the same institution
in 1904. Immediately after graduation he enrolled in St. Mary's Seminary.
at Baltimore, Maryland, as a student of theology, and there received the
minor orders and deacon and sub-deacon from Cardinal Gibbons in 1888.
He completed the prescribed course in three years, and was ordained into the
priesthood of the Roman Catholic church, July 25, 1889, at St. Peter's
Cathedral, Scranton, by the late Right Rev. William O'Hara, D. D., Father
Coiifey, of Carbondale. and Father Connelly, of Scranton, assisting at the
ordination. Father Winters was assigned to the Cathedral parish, in Scran-
ton, where he immediately won distinction as a speaker, and he fulfilled the
duties of this office for about two years. He ne.xt served St. Vincent's con-
gregation, at Plymouth, Pennsylvania, for eight years, being assistant to Rev.
T. J. Donohoe. He then became rector of St. Philomena's Church, at Hawley,
Pennsylvania, and immediately began to raise funds for a new church. The
old church had been erected in 1850 and was dedicated by the late Bishop
Neuman, of Philadelphia. The new church was erected at a cost of $50,000.
which sum had nearly all been paid to the contractors when the dedicati-in
services were held on June 30. 1901, Bishop Hoban conducting the exercise'.
(7^. O? <2-^?i^i^^^^/(vC/ch
CITY OF SCRANTON 511
Father Winters was a faithful pastor in Hawley for eleven years, and on
January i, 1910, he was appointed rector of St. Paurs Church, of Scranton,
to take the place of Rev. P. J. McManus, founder of the parish. If the in-
stitutions within its borders are considered no parish, in or outside the Catho-
lic church, has grown faster, so wealthy and so influential is St. Paul's. The
work done in St. Paul's parish the past twenty-seven years is phenomenal, a
wonder in church development. The first was a tabernacle, near the corner
of Penn and Marion streets, where for a time the few Catholics worshiped;
the next was the church edifice with a parochial school on the second story ; the
next was St. Joseph's Foundling Home ; the next St. Paul's Convent ; the next
Mt. St. Mary's Seminary; the next the Maloney Home, and the latest, the
rectory of St. Paul's, the work of Father Winters, which stands as a credit
to the parish, the cost of which was $30,000, a building fit for the church to
which it belongs, comparing favorably with tlie other church property of the
city and now entirely free of debt.
Father Winters is the second rector to have served St. Paul's since the
creation of the parish in 1887, the parish having been made up of portions of
St. Peter's Cathedral, Dunmore and Providence. His predecessor in office.
Rev. P. J. McManus, is now rector of St. Mary's Church, Wilkes-Barre ; he
ministered to St. Paul's congregation for a period of twenty-three years.
Rev. Dr. Winters is faithful to his duties, constant to the trust placed in him,
devoted to the welfare of his parishioners. During his career as a priest he has
baptized fifteen hundred persons, married four hundred couples, and officiated
at the burial of seven hundred. He is best known by his works, which speak
eloquently in his praise, and he is a gentleman of scholarly talents and erudite
training, so constituted that, confronted with stern realities and obstacles,
he rises to the height of his strength and power in their conquest, a valuable
attribute for a leader in the army of Christianity.
In recognition of his scholarship and notable career of twenty-five years
in the ministry, his alma mater, Niagara University, at the commencement ex-
ercises, June 16, 1914, conferred upon him the honorary degree of "Doctor
of Laws." The silver jubilee of Rev. Dr. Winters' ordination to the priest-
hood was also elaborately commemorated by the Sisters and children of the
Parochial School, by the members of his congregation and by his fellow priests.
Right Rev. Bishop Hoban, D. D., extending the felicitations of the occasion
and Rev. T. J. Comerford, of Archbald, preaching the sermon at the celebration
of the event in St. Paul's Church, Sunday, July 26, 1914.
FRANCIS MATTHEW MONAGHAN
Among the numerous attorneys of Scranton, Francis M. Monaghan is
well known by his legal associations and respected for the ability and prowess
he has displayed in his profession, with the respect accorded one able man by
another. In his ancestry there is much that is interesting, the salient features
of which follow.
He is the son of Richard Monaghan, who was born in county Westmeath,
province of Leinster, Ireland, a wholesale cattle dealer, who came to the United
States in 1846, settling in Honesdale, Wayne county, Pennsylvania. He mar-
ried Elizabeth Kelley, daughter of James and Elizabeth (McCourt) Kelley.
James Kelley, who was a highly skillful weaver of fancy linens, was a son
of John Kelley, born in Kilmore Parish, county Monaghan, Ireland. James
Kelley came to this country late in life, and died at Honesdale at an advanced
age. The children of James and Elizabeth (McCourt) Kelley were: i. John,
married Ann Hazel, and had two children. 2. Frank, married Bridget Jones,
512 CITY OF SCRANTON
and had one son, James. 3. James. 4. Mary, married Felix Connolly. 5.
Margaret, deceased. 6. Owen, married Isabel Brown; their daughter, Ann
Jane, married Thomas Canivan ; these are the parents of Rev. Francis J.
Canivan, deceased, late of the Scranton diocese ; Rev. Charles J. Canivan, at
present pastor of Saint Dominic's Church, Oyster Bay, New York, in the
diocese of Brooklyn ; Thomas, John, Eugene and Ann Canivan, of Honesdale.
7. Elizabeth, of previous mention. 8. Grace. 9. Ellen, deceased. Elizabeth
came to this country in 1845, married Richard Monaghan. Children of Rich-
ard and Elizabeth ( Kelley ) Monaghan : Daniel, of Scranton, Thomas, of Car-
bondale, and Francis Matthew, of whom further.
Francis Matthew Monaghan was born at Honesdale, Wayne county, Penn-
sylvania, May 10, 1857. He attended the public schools of his native town
and was graduated from the Honesdale High School, later pursuing his studies
under a private tutor for a period of tliree years and upwards. He then
began teaching school at Honesdale, which he continued for six years, at the
expiration of that time engaging in the study of law. His preceptor was
Hon. William H. Dimmick, and in the four years that he studied in this office he
gained a knowledge of the law wide and comprehensive and at the same time
accurate and e.xact. He was admitted to the Wayne county bar in Octobe;,
1882, and attained such prominence that two years later he was elected district
attorney of Wayne county, serving for three years. In 1901 he opened an
office in Carbondale and four years later came to Scranton, where he could
more conveniently handle his wide and growing practice. A large practice
is the result of the diligent and careful service rendered his clients, and he
bears a reputation untainted by any suspicion of irregular or unfair dealings.
Mr. Monaghan married, in 1883, Ellen A., daughter of Richard and Esthei
(Fitzsimmons) Harnan. Children: Daniel; Ruth; Richard Harnan. married
Mary Trager, to whom has been born a daughter, Ruth ; Francis ; Robert ;
Marcella. Mr. Monaghan and his family are communicants of St. Peter's
Cathedral.
MICHAEL J. COSTELLO
Both of the two generations of the Costello family of Ireland, who have
made the United States their field of labor, have made educational pursuits
their life work, and in the case of the junior generation literary distinction
and scholarly attainment has been added to that of the teacher. John J.
Costello was born in Ireland, and in 1866 came to the United States, settling
in Scranton, there following the teacher's profession until the present time.
He married Mary, daughter of John Aulker; children: Michael J., of whom
further ; Mary, married Charles Robinson, of Scranton ; Catherine, Rose,
Florence, Anna.
Michael J. Costello was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, March 12, 1880.
He obtained his early education in the public schools of Scranton, later at-
tending St. Thomas' College. He then matriculated at Holy Cross College,
Worcester, Massachusetts, receiving the degree of A. B. at his graduation in
1900, the same institution honoring him with his Master's degree in 191 1. He
began his relations with educational work as vice-principal of the Dunmore
School, a position he held for five years, resigning to become professor of
English in the School of Technology. From 1907 to 1908 he was principal of
the Carbondale High School, in the latter year accepting the vice-principalship
of the Scranton Technical High School, a position which, by education, train-
ing and experience, he was eminently qualified to fill. He still serves that
institution in that capacity and has played no unimportant part in the develop-
CITY OF SCRANTON
513
ment, improvement and progress of that institution, which now holds high
rank among schools of a similar nature and in points of equipment and faculty
lowers its colors to none in its class.
Mr. Costello has not, however, become so deeply immersed in his work
that he has neglected the exercise of the other liberal talents with which he ha^
been endowed. The possessor of a magnificent education, the result of
studious application in his college years and indefatigable study and research
after academic instruction had ceased, has made him a scholar of breadth of
knowledge and depth of appreciation. Literature and its history, its causes
and effects, have been prominent features of his study, and as a result of his
clear insight into and understanding of this subject he has published several
essays instructive for their content and delightful for the purity of their
expression, among his best known compositions being, "Minor Poets of the
Nineteenth Century," "Poetry of Tennyson," "Women of Shakespeare,"
"Pennsylvania in Literature," and "The Irish in Literature." Mr. Costello
does not confine the expression of the results of his studies to written compo-
sitions, but is a lecturer of fluency and eloquence, possessing the indescribable
quality that enables a public speaker to throw not only his sentences, but hi3
personality, from the platform whereon he speaks. A quick thinker and
ready speaker, the nature of his audience rarely troubles him, and he adapts
himself to circumstances with an ease and grace wholly natural.
Mr. Castello married, in 1905, Mary Dunleavy, and with his wife is a mem-
ber of St. John's Church. He is a member of the Teachers' Mutual Benefit As-
sociation, of Scranton, and is vice-president of the Teachers' Retirement
Board. His residence is No. 1418 Pittston avenue, Scranton.
WILLIAM HAGGERTY
There is always respect accorded the man who, unprepared by experience
and untaught, enters a strange field of endeavor and there carves out a worthy
record. Impractical in business, impossible in professions, such a performance
is almost as difficult in public life and politics, so that the achievements of
William Haggerty as a member of the lower house of the state legislature,
to which he was elected from the ranks of private citizenship, assume more
striking dimensions than those created by consideration of their conspicuous
merits.
Mr. Haggerty is a public servant of four years' standing, having ad-
vanced to such station from practical mining, pharmaceutical pursuits, and
scientific work in connection with the department of bacteriology of Scranton.
He was placed in the state legislature in 1910 and re-elected to the same office
two years later, and during that time has championed valiantly legislation of
estimable value designed to serve excellent ends, a more particular account
of his activities as a legislator following.
His ancestry is Irish, his father, Daniel Haggerty, son of James and Mary
Haggerty, having been born in Ireland, where he passed his youth. His
immigration to the United States was in company with his mother, the family
home being in Dunmore, where Daniel Haggerty was employed in the mines.
While following this calling, at the age of forty-six years, he met an accidental
death, being crushed by a heavy fall of slate. He married Ann, daughter of
Richard and Catherine Walsh, a native of Ireland, and was the father of
ten children, seven surviving to this time (1914)- He was a Republican in
politics, and with his wife belonged to St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church.
William Haggerty, son of Daniel and Ann (Walsh) Haggerty, was born in
Dunmore, Pennsylvania, October 16, 1870. After attending the public schools
33
514 CITY OF SCRANTON
of his birth-place he completed his studies with a course in the Scranton
Business College. He was for a few years a miner, in 1899 studying pharmacy
in connection with hospital work, later passing the examinations of the State
Board in that profession. On April i, 1907, he was made assistant bacteriologist
of the city of Scranton, an office he held until January, 1914, when he retired
from his relations with that department. Mr. Haggerty's public career began
in 1910, when he was the successful Republican candidate from his district
for the legislature, to which he was returned the following election, and on
November 3, 1914, he was again elected to the same position. That the
fourth district chose well its representative his record shows, for not only
did he staunchly support measures of deserving aspects, but was responsible
for the introduction of eleven bills, eight of which, receiving the approval
of both houses of the legislature, were signed by the governor and became laws
of the state of Pennsylvania. These laws cover a wide range of responsibility.
the diversity of their nature showing their author to be a man recognizing the
obligations of the state to her people as well as one in whom the elements
of human sympathy, love of fellow-men, and desire for justice hold strong
sway. Among the legislation of which he might justly be called the father
were the following bills : To require fire drills in public schools ; to require
fire drills in factories, and industrial establishments where women or girls are
employed ; fixing the width of public highways, where such highways are
crossed above or below grade by the tracks of any railroad, except in cities
or boroughs ; providing a system whereby boroughs may build sewers ; grade
and sub-grade, and pave streets and alleys ; pay the costs thereof by the issue
of bonds, and collect the same from the property benefited, by installments :
making an appropriation to the West Mountain Sanatorium (Consumptive
Hospital) of Scranton, Pennsylvania, the sum of five thousand dollars ($5,-
000.) ; making an appropriation to the Home for the Friendless, of Dunmore,
Pennsylvania, the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.); making an ap-
propriation to the St. Joseph's Home and Maternity Hospital, of Dunmore,
Pennsylvania, the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.) ; making an aji-
propriation to the Mid-Hospital, of twelve thousand dollars ($12,000.) ; pro-
viding for the election of a borough controller in all boroughs of this common-
wealth; Mine Cave Bill passed the house on I\Iarch 25, 1913.
Able in defence of any measure for which he stands sponsor, Mr. Haggerty
has always been willing to invite and quick to overcome opposition to the causes
he has supported, and has so gained the respectful regard of his colleagues.
So runs the record of his four years of public service, marked by zealous at-
tention to duty and activities wisely directed and forcefully completed. His
ambitions have never been above the service of his constituents, and in his
fulfillment of the trust reposed in him by them he has found pleasure and
satisfaction.
AUGUSTUS CHARLES NETTLETON
Descended from an old New England family, Augustus Charles Nettle-
ton is a native of New York, whither his parents, Edward and Harriet (Clark)
Nettleton, came from Milford, Connecticut, the former named born in Old
Milford, Connecticut, March 17, 1804, died in Fulton, New York, February
19, 1864, buried in Fulton, New York, and the latter named born in Wood-
bury, Connecticut, July 28, 1808, died in Put-in-Bay, August 23, 1878, buried
in Mt. Adner Cemetery, Fulton, New York. They were married September
18, 1833.
After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Nettleton they resided at Milford.
CITY OF SCRANTON 5,5
Connecticut, and removed thence to Plymouth, Connecticut, where two chil-
dren were born, Catherine and Martha, both now deceased. They then re-
moved to Fulton, New York, where four children were bom : Franklyn Ed-
ward, of whom further ; Samuel Wesley ; Augustus Charles, of whom further ;
Albert Eugene, all four sons being now engaged in shoe manufacturing and
dealing, the Nettleton shoes being known throughout the United States and
the world.
Franklyn Edward Nettleton was born in Fulton, New York, December
29, 1838. He attended the schools of Fulton and Williams College, Williams-
town, Massachusetts, and then engaged in the boot and shoe business with his
father, the business eventually coming under the control of the four sons, as
aforementioned. From Fulton, New York, Mr. Nettleton removed to Pitts-
burgh, Pennsylvania, where he remained for one year, and in 1867 took up
his residence in Scranton and has been a resident of that city since that time
with the exception of every winter for the past twenty-nine years which he
has spent in Florida. In 1886 he disposed of his shoe business in Scranton, and
since then has lived retired from active business pursuits. He has served
as president of the State Sunday School Association of Florida, which he
organized, also as president of the Christian Endeavor Association. Served as
president of the Grace Nettleton Home and School, now known as the Grace
Nettleton Foundation of Lincoln Memorial University, of which he is now
the financial secretary. This home is situated on the hillside overlooking a
magnificent view of one of the most beautiful and fertile valleys in this country,
at Harrogate, Tennessee, on the great and only highway for many miles, lead-
ing from the states of Tennessee and Virginia into Kentucky, through Cum-
berland Gap, the scene of seven of the most important conflicts of the great
Civil War. It was opened in December, 1899, by Miss Emily Winters, of
Springfield, Massachusetts, as a home and school for the training and edu-
cation of the destitute and homeless mountain girls of that neglected section
of this country. Three hundred and fifty girls have thus been cared for in the
past fourteen years, and in addition over four hundred boys and girls in that
neighborhood have been taught in the day and Sunday schools. This home
was named in memory of Grace, the deceased daughter of Mr. Nettleton.
For a number of years Mr. Nettleton was secretary and manager of the
Tri-State Association of Sunday Schools ; he was the originator of the Penn-
sylvania State Sunday School Association and an ex-committeeman ; or-
ganized four Sunday schools and served as superintendent of five, opening
Sunday schools in four different states. He called the first meeting for the
organization of the Young Men's Christian Association in Scranton. He is a
trustee of Lincoln Memorial U^niversity in Tennessee, also director of Rollins
College, of Florida, and president of Yellow Cliff Land & Improvement Com-
pany.
Mr. Nettleton married, May i, 1865, Marion F. Smith, a native of Ful-
ton, New York, died January 13, 1913, buried in Forest Hill Cemetery. Child,
Grace, born May 16, 1870, died February 13. 1883, buried in Forest Hill
Cemetery.
Augustus Charles Nettleton was born in Fulton, New York, August 23,
1844. He was there reared and educated, pursuing his advanced studies in
Falley Seminary, of that place. After discontinuing his scholastic activities,
he was for three years a shoe merchant of Fulton, New York, purchasing the
business of his brother, Samuel W. Nettleton, and in 1871 removed to Scran-
ton, Pennsylvania, where he has since resided, and where he has attained not
only success in his operations but reputation as a business man of uprightness
and principle. Since taking up his residence in Scranton Mr. Nettleton has
Si6 CITY OF SCRANTON
had several business locations, having been for twelve years at No. 314 Lacka-
wanna avenue, three years at No. 228 Lackawanna avenue, eight years at No.
411 Lackawanna avenue, nine years in the Commonwealth Building on Lacka-
wanna avenue, seven years in the Burr Building, then moving to his present
place of business. No. 223 Spruce street. He has associated with him his son,
Edward F. Nettleton ; he has a large business in the mining districts of east
central and northeastern Pennsylvania. The prosperity and success that have
come to him have been directly attributable to his close application to his busi-
ness, the wise judgment that has actuated his every dealing, and the fairness
that has governed all of his relations with his fellows. He is a communicant
of the Green Ridge Presbyterian Qiurch. He is a Republican in political
preference.
Mr. Nettleton married, at Syracuse, New York, Emma Chase, born in that
city. Children : Marie, Catherine, Edward F. and Albert, living, Charles and
Cyrus, deceased.
JAMES L. CRAWFORD
James L. Crawford, deceased, for many years president of the Peoples'
Coal Company, Scranton, and one of the widely known coal operators in the
anthracite region, was a striking feature among the truly remarkable men
who have been conspicuous in the coal industry of Pennsylvania during the
past quarter of a century. Of great force of character, broad sympathy and
public-spirited, he was an American of the highest type, in thought, word, deed
and ambition. Without favoritism to aid him, he carved out his own career,
beginning in the humblest walks of severe manual labor, and lifting himself to
a position of wealth and commanding influence quite notable even in these
days of great accomplishments. Through all and to the last he was un-
ashamed of his beginning, and his own experiences but warmfed his sympathy
for working men and made him their friend. He died in the prime- of life,
at a time when he might have determined, had he seen fit, to retire from
active occupation and rest in the enjoyment of the fruits of his labors. His
life in his later years was a contribution to the comfort and happiness of all
about him, and the narrative of his unvaried success and the uses to which
he put his effort and means should serve as an encouragement and inspiration
to the unaided toiler in all this region.
Mr. Crawford was born in Noxen, Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, in
185 1, a son of the late Ira and Elizabeth Crawford, both natives of the
same county, and a grandson of Benjamin Crawford, who during his boy-
hood days removed with his parents from Connecticut to Pennsylvania, in
which state he resided until his death at the extreme old age of ninety-six
years. Ira and Elizabeth Crawford were the parents of four children.
Early thrown upon his own resources, James L. Crawford was afforded
little in the way of school education. Of such opportunities for self infor-
mation as came to him he made the best possible use, and when he entered
upon an independent career his mental equipment proved amply sufficient for
his every need, enabling him to successfully cope with men whose advantages
at the outset, in training and means, far exceeded his own. He was but a
boy when he secured employment in the old Seneca mine of the Pittston and
Elmira Coal Company in Pittston, and he continued to work here for some
years, passing through the various gradations of door-tender, laborer and
miner, at each step demonstrating his efficiency and his capability for more
important tasks. His preparation was so complete that he was called to the
superintendency of the Wyoming Valley Coal Company, which he also served
CITY OF SCRANTON
517
in the capacity of civil engineer. In 1876 and for two years thereafter he
was a contractor for the building of breakers, and there are many of these
structures in the anthracite region to-day which stand as monuments to his
ability in that line. Later he removed to Bradford, where he built derricks
and speculated in oil. In the spring of 1879 he returned to the anthracite
coal belt and for four years served as mine foreman for the Charles Hutchings
collieries. In 1883 he entered the employ of J. H. Swoyer & Company, and
three years later took up his residence in Jermyn, where he remained for
eight years.
In 1884 Mr. Crawford became identified with the collieries in which
Simpson and Watkins were interested, and while serving as superintendent
he had charge of the opening and development of the following collieries :
The Edgerton, Northwest, Grassy Island, Sterrick Creek, Lackawanna, Baby-
lon, Mount Lookout, Forty Fort and Harry E. He was financially interested
in these collieries and remained as general superintendent of the company
until 1899, when Simpson and Watkins sold their interests to the Temple Iron
Company. Mr. Crawford was superintendent of the last named company
for one year, when he resigned on account of ill health.
In 1901 Mr. Crawford became the principal owner of the People's Coal
Company, of which he was also president, with his step-son, James G. Shep-
herd, as secretary and treasurer. It was during this period that Mr. Craw-
ford became a prominent figure in the public view, his management of the
Oxford mine being marked by two distinct successes — a quick accumulation of
great wealth, and his marked victory over the Miners' Union during the
great strike of 1902. During the six months' duration of this great con-
test the Oxford was the only mine in the entire region which was kept in
operation, and his conduct gave exhibition of his strongest traits of character.
His determination to keep the colliery in operation was not due to a spirit
of defiance. As he stated at the time, he held to the conviction that a man
possessed the unrestricted right to work or not to work, at his own election,
without regard to the mandates of any organized body, especially when he
was personally satisfied with his wages and condition. He maintained that
the Oxford miners were satisfied, and were not demanding either increase
of wages or adjustment of any differences, and that under these conditions
if the workmen were content to continue their labor, he was determined that
they should do so without molestation and with full protection. Many of his
friends considered the conditions confronting him as unsurmountable, but his
courage and determination seemed to increase as the obstacles grew, and he
was soon engaged in one of the most gigantic struggles which marked the
great strike. He first gathered about him his old and trusted employees, who
trusted in him so implicitly that they expressed their determination to stand by
him to the last. Keeping the mine at work to its accustomed capacity, he
provided for the safety and comfort of the men by erecting eating and sleeping
quarters at the colliery. He also organized an armed force for patrol duty
about the premises, which he enclosed with a strong barricade, and operated a
large searchlight for the discovery of an attacking force. His preparations
were so complete that the plans of the would-be attackers were set at naught,
and the Oxford mines remained in operation throughout the strike period,
while numerous other collieries were obliged to close down and ultimately
yield to the demands of the LTnion. As a reward Mr. Crawford made a large
fortune as a result of his continuing mining during these fateful times, and
in recognition of the fidelity of his employees he distributed among them some
thirty thousand dollars prorated according to their respective earnings. The
giving of this bonus was remarkable in view of the fact that no mine in the
5i8 CITY OF SCRANTON
region, or probably in the entire country, paid out such large sums in wages
to their miners, one miner earning as much as $2,800 in one year. Mr. Craw-
ford frequently explained, when questioned, that his bonus to his men was m
recognition of their fidelity to him during the strike. His relations with them
were the happiest that could be conceived. One of his friends related that
when the strike was at its height he went with Mr. Crawford to every chamber
in the mine. In each instance Mr. Crawford addressed the miners by name,
and their manner in responding was full assurance that they were prepared
to go much further than they did to aid him in conquering success. It is
further a notable fact that as a result of his effort and success, the Oxford
mine is the only one in the anthracite region where there is no local branch
of the United Mine Worker's Union.
While Mr. Crawford was a large stockholder in various corporations,
he was only identified with one in an official way, the Spring Brook Water
Supply Company, in which he was a director. In all others he was repre-
sented by his step-son, James G. Shepherd. He never sought or held a public
office, being entirely averse to official distinction. He was, however, broadly
public-spirited, and liberally aided every movement tending to benefit the
community. Few if any could estimate the extent of his philanthropy. He
rejoiced in giving without display and frequently made it a condition that his
donation should not be given publicity. Scarcely a church of the Methodist
denomination in the Wyoming \'alley but was materially assisted by him, and
in some instances where a new church building had been erected, he con-
tributed the greater portion of the expense, and asked that his contribution
he unnamed. He was one of the best friends of the Florence Mission, the
Hahnemann Hospital, and other local charitable and humanitarian institutions
which never appealed to him in vain. He was a man with a remarkable
sympathetic heart, afforded aid with counsel and means to many young men,
and rejoiced in their success, while he studiously refrained from displaying the
fact that their good fortune was grounded upon aid which he had extended
to them. He was in all things a practical Christian and an examplary mem-
ber of the Elm Park Methodist Episcopal Church of Scranton.
In 1882 Mr. Crawford married Huldah A. Wilco.x, daughter of James and
Sarah Wilcox. Of this marriage were born two children, Byron and Norma,
both of whom are deceased. Mr. Crawford died February 19, 1905, at In-
dianola, Florida, from heart failure. His sudden demise was a great shock
to the community, to which it was also an irreparable loss. The remains were
interred in the family plot at Dunmore Cemetery, Scranton, Pennsylvania.
The tributes to his memory were many and fervent. It is said of him that
his gospel of work was annotated by a large measure of human interest in
everything that concerned the moral and physical welfare of the community.
He never forgot that he rose from the lowest round of the industrial ladder,
and those who worked under him he regarded and treated as co-laborers. He
earned the gratitude of everyone, who was sufficiently just to see in his ex-
ample the promptings of a kindly heart. Mrs. Crawford, who survives her
husband, possesses in a marked degree the characteristics of a Christian
woman, and in the various capacities of daughter, wife and mother has ever
faithfully and earnestly performed all duties and responsibilities devolving
upon her. She is among the foremost of the charitable and generous women
of Scranton, constantly performing some deed of charity, and all philanthropic
and humane institutions, also private demands, and, in fact everything cal-
culated to uplift mankind and elevate humanity, ever receive from her a
prompt and generous response. She is dispensing her ample means with
the same generous hand which characterized the action of her late husband
CITY OF SCRANTON
519
during the latter years of his useful life and in every way possibk is en-
deavoring to fulfill his wishes and intentions. She is greatly beloved by all
who enjoy a close and intimate acquaintance, and highly respected by all
classes in the community.
REV. JOHN JOSEPH LOUGHRAN
The Catholic diocese of Scranton has within its borders no priest better
prepared, by years of unceasing study and earnest consecration, to give his
life's services to the Roman Catholic church, nor does it boast of one within its
limits more faithful in his devotion to the members of his parish or more dis-
interested in his efforts in their behalf. Trained and educated for his calling
in the leading institutions of the church, as the rector of the Church of the
Nativity of Scranton, he is the leader of a congregation among whom lie
unselfishly labors and whose demands upon him are met in a cheering and
cordial manner that has endeared him to their hearts.
Rev. John Joseph Loughran is a son of Patrick Loughran, who was born
in Ireland, died in Pennsylvania, 1902. He married, Mary O'Hare, who died
in Scranton, 1910, daughter of Anthony O'Hare, who died in Pennsylvania
in 1893. Children of Patrick and Mary (O'Hare) Loughran: i. Elizabeth,
married Charles O'Royle, of Olyphant, Pennsylvania. 2. Rev. John Joseph,
of whom further. 3. Catherine, a stenographer, resides in Scranton. 4.
James, a mechanic, resides in Scranton. 5. Thomas, a salesman. 6. Mary,
a bookkeeper, resides in New York. 7. Francis, deceased. 8. Lucy, a teacher
in school No. 42, of Scranton, Pennsylvania. 9. Theresa, a teacher in School
No. 3, of Scranton, Pennsylvania. 10. Helen.
Among the other members of the Loughran family who entered the
priesthood were Father John Loughran, rector of St. Joseph's Parish, of
Minooka, Pennsylvania, who died in 1899, and Father James Loughran, who
died in Great Bend, Pennsylvania, in 1883, both of whom were cousins of
Rev. John Joseph Loughran.
Rev. John Joseph Loughran was born at Archbald, Pennsylvania, Septem-
ber 26, 1 87 1. He began acquiring his exceptionally fine education in the
public schools of Archbald, and when seventeen years of age entered St.
Bonaventure College, Allegany, Cattaraugus county. New York, whence he was
graduated in 1890. He was then adopted as a clerical student to the diocese of
Scranton by Bishop O'Hara, and was afterward enrolled in St. Mary's Theo-
logical Seminary, at Baltimore, whence he was graduated with the degree oF
S. T. B. in 1895, this making three degrees conferred upon him by this same
institution, that of B. S. being conferred in 1891, and his master's degree in
1892. On June 20, 1895, he was ordained into the priesthood in the cathedral
at Baltimore, and his first charge after his ordination was assistant at Car-
bondale, where he spent his summer vacation in 1895. In the fall of that
year he entered the Catholic LIniversity at Washington, Pennsylvania, and
after two years of hard and unremitting application to his studies was given
the degree of S. T. L., having spent the summer of 1896 as assistant pastor of
Overton, Bradford county, Pennsylvania, thus adding to his practical ac-
quaintance with, as well as his theoretical knowledge of, the priesthood.
After completing his course at the Washington University he was appointed
assistant to Father O'Donnell, rector of the Holy Cross Church of Scranton,
serving in that capacity until his selection by Bishop Hoban to act as his
secretary and as chancellor of the diocese of Scranton. Bishop Hoban granted
him a leave of absence in 1900 and Rev. Dr. Loughran sailed for Rome, there
to enter the world famous Gregorian University, this institution dignifying
520 CITY OF SCRANTON
him with the degree S. T. D. in June, 1902. Returning to the United States
to the Scranton diocese immediately after receiving his degree he was re-
appointed by Bishop Hoban to his former position, as secretary and chan-
cellor of the diocese. He remained in the cathedral until August, 1907, when
he succeeded the late Rev. James A. O'Reilly, in the rectorship of the Nativity
Parish.
In the practical life of church work his fine training has borne much fruit
and his parish has been enriched and strengthened by the noble service he
has rendered. The first building on the site of the present Church of the
Nativity was but a small structure, erected in 1844, and was at that time
the only Catholic church in Scranton. Twelve years later a larger and more
handsome edifice was built in the central city. In 1904 Father O'Reilly began
operations on the present church and carried the basement chapel through
to completion, also laising the stone superstructure, but at this point funds
failed and interest languished. When the Rev. Dr. Loughran succeeded to the
rectorship he took up the loose ends of this uncompleted task, injected fresh
vigor into the work, roused the congregation to renewed efforts, and Septem-
ber 13, 1914, brought the project to a happy and successful conclusion, at an
aggregate cost of $225,000.00. Nor is this the only constructive work of
which he has been the moving spirit, for a beautiful and imposing stone
rectory has been built at a cost of 840,000, the church now possessing build-
ings surpassing any others of a like character in the city. It is this spirit of
accomplishment and the impetus to forward steps that makes Rev. Dr. Lough-
ran the ideal organizer. Nor does his ability to organize thoroughly, efficiently
and effectively comprise his only talent, for he has also the gift of cementing a
congregation into more perfect fellowship and of sustaining interest once
aroused.
To turn from his work to the man, he is found genial, cultured and edu-
cated in the highest sense of the word. His manner is charmingly courteous, his
conversation pleasant and interesting and his whole personality one to which
many are attracted and held. He would grace a college professorship as ably
and as naturally as the priestly habiliments, so thorough and extensive has
been his magnificent education, yet a friend less favored would find no em-
barrassment in the presence of such extraordinary learning. His is the gift,
so indispensable to those thrown much with people, of mingling with all, his
bearing marking him always a scholar and as constantly a gentleman. He is
a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Mutual Beneficial Associa-
tion, and at the present time holds the diocesan office of "Defensor Matrimonii"
(Detender of the Marriage Tie).
The Qiurch of the Nativity of our Lord was begim in the year 1904 by
Rev. James A. O'Reilly, who was appointed first rector of the newly estab-
lished parish on November i, 1903. The basement chapel was opened for
worship in the early part of the year 1905 and continued to be used for that
purpose until November 29, 1914, on which day the completed church was
dedicated with great solemnity by Archbishop Prendergast, of Philadelphia, in
the presence of His Eminence, James Cardinal Gibbons, and of a large gather-
ing of bishops and priests who represented many dioceses in the eastern states.
The new Church of the Nativity awakens many interesting and pleasant
recollections, especially among the oldest residents of Scranton. A few still
survive who can recall the erection of the first Catholic church in this city
in the year 1848 and quite a number remember the days when they frequented
that simple, primitive place of worship. It stood on the ground which is now
graced by the imposing and beautiful structure of Nativity Church. As far
back as 1844 Nativity Place was hallowed by the offering of the Holy Sacri-
CITY OF SCRANTON
5^1
fice of the Mass. Father Cullen of the diocese of Philadelphia was the first
priest to minister to the needs of the faithful in the little hamlet then known
as Slociim Hollow. An humble company house, an adjunct to the Scranton
Iron Works, was the scene of his ministrations.
Owing to the development of the Scranton Iron Works and to the con-
stantly increasing number of Catholic immigrants a regular place of worship
became an urgent necessity. In consequence a plain unpretentious chapel, but
splendid in the sacrifices it involved, was erected by the small Catholic popula ■
tion under the direction of Father Cullen. In 1852 the Rev. Moses Whitty
became pastor of this church and during the incumbency of this pious and
zealous priest the Catholic contingent increased very rapidly both in number
and in fervor.
The pioneer chapel had served its time and its purpose. It responded well
to the humble beginnings of Catholicity in this city but after a few years a
more spacious and more convenient church was demanded by the large and
scattered Catholic population. The church which once occupied the corner
of Franklin avenue and Spruce street was the result. This church in its
turn, owing to inadequacy, gave way to the present Cathedral of this city.
The Cathedral parish grew and expanded with the city of Scranton. It
became unwieldy owing to the number and territory it comprised. Hence
the Rt. Rev. M. J. Hoban, in his zealous and watchful care of the children
committed to his charge, thought it advisable and opportune to cut off the
south section of the Cathedral parish and give to the Catholics of that quartei
another church and another pastor. This he did in 1903 placing in charge the
zealous and beloved Father James A. O'Reilly, then rector of the Cathedral.
"History repeats itself," and Father O'Reilly, looking upon the establish-
ment of the new parish as a happy coincidence and a restoration to primitive
prestige, set out at once to erect a church which would be a fitting monument
to the birthplace of Catholicity in this city and named it "The Nativity." By his
efforts also and the kind co-operation of the city council the locality was called
"Nativity Place." Although Father O'Reilly did not live to see the church, the
cherished object of his heart, brought to completion, yet he impressed upon
the walls reared by him a dignity and a majesty which served as a norm or
standard to his worthy successor. Rev. J. J. Loughran, D. D., who had the
honor of perfecting the work so well begun by his revered and lamented
predecessor. Nativity Church stands to-day a noble and artistic monument
to Catholic faith, the pride of Nativity parish and the boast of the city ot
Scranton.
FRED B. ATHERTON
The Atherton family of Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, founded in that
locality from the original American home in New England, needs here no
introduction. Its members are known in this vicinity by the lasting monuments
of useful lives, activity well-ordered, and service willingly and efficiently
rendered. (A complete line of the Atherton family is found elsewhere in this
work.)
Fred B. Atherton, son of Bicknell B. Atherton and grandson of Jonathan
Atherton, was born in Providence, Scranton, August 11, 1885. His father
was reared in this city, and when the Civil War broke out he enlisted as a
private in the One Hundred and Forty-first Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer
Infantry, was advanced steadily, finally receiving his commission as first lieu-
tenant in Company H of that regiment. During the course of this conflict
he was thrice wounded, at Gettysburg, Chancellorsville and Spottsylvania,
522 CITY OF SCRANTON
participated in eighteen important battles and numberless skirmishes and en-
counters with small detachments of the enemy. His honorable discharge from
the service came at the end of four years of service in the field, during which
time he displayed qualities of the truest manhood, inspired by patriotism ana
supported by gallant bravery. He is a Republican in political sympathy, an
original companion of the first class of the Military Order Loyal Legion of the
United States, Commandery of the State of Pennsylvania, and a member of
the Providence Presbyterian Church, of which he was once a trustee. His
Grand Army of the Republic Post is Ezra Griffin Post, No. 139. Bicknell B
Atherton married Amanda, daughter of J. D. and Jane (Rockwell) Safiforri,
of Lathrop, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, who was reared and edu-
cated in that locality, and who died in 1907, aged forty-eight years. Children
of Bicknell B. and Amanda (Safford) Atherton: Dudley R., cashier of the
North Scranton Bank; Grace, married J. E. Adamson, of Sayre, Pennsylvania:
Fred B., of whom further.
Fred B. Atherton passed his youthful years in the city of his birth, and
there completed courses in the grammar and high schools. After graduating
from Scranton High School he was assistant in chemistry there from 1901
to 1905, afterward matriculating at Lafayette College, where he completed the
course in chemistry m the class of 1909. After leaving college ]\Ir. Atherton
formed his first business association with the Third National Bank in a clerical
capacity, resigning his position in this instituton to enter the employ of Brooks
& Company. After a year's connection with this concern in the position of chief
clerk, Mr. Atherton was, in 1910. appointed manager, his present office in the
employ of Brooks & Company. His relation to the business has been one most
satisfactory in every manner, satisfaction created by his able discharge of his
important duties. Mr. Atherton is a devotee of outdoor recreation, indulging his
liking in this direction through membership in the Scranton Country Club and
Scranton Tennis Club. While a student at Lafayette he lightened the work of
college life by his activity in numerous social, musical and fraternal societies,
among them being elected a member of the Phi Delta Theta National Fraternity,
the Knights of the Round Table, the Upper Classmen's Society, the Chemical
Society, and the Glee and Mandolin clubs. He is a member of the Second Pres-
byterian Church, and a strong Republican supporter. Mr. Atherton is a mem-
ber of the Pennsylvania Society Sons of the Revolution, and the New England
Society of Pennsylvania. He is treasurer of the Scranton Chemical Laboratory
Company and assistant treasurer of the Central Realty Company.
Mr. Atherton married, October 29, 1912. Ruth Lansing, of Scranton,
daughter of James A. and Fannie (Waters) Lansing, and has one son, James
Lansing.
MICHAEL E. McDonald
A resident of Dunmore from 1864 until 1892 and from the latter year a
resident of Scranton, Mr. McDonald has in the character of lawyer, states-
man, business man and editor added to the material prosperity of the districts
named and in his public career been of inestimable value. The legislation wliich
he introduced or aided valiantly while a legislator was most practical and far-
reaching in its benefits, while his work in committee and on the floor of house
and senate was disinterested and peculiarly valuable to those striving to enact
needed legislation.
Mr. McDonald was born in Hawley, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, Sep-
tember 26, 1858. He was six years of age when his parents moved to Dun-
more, where he obtained his education in the public schools, finishing his
CITY OF SCRANTON 523
academic study at Wyoming Seminary. He chose the profession of law
and in 1881 registered as a student with Lemuel Ammerman under whose able
preceptorship he qualified, obtaining admission to the Lackawanna county bar
at the October term of 1883. He at once established an office and begar
practice in Scranton, was admitted to the Supreme Court in 1886, and later
to all state and federal courts in the district. He has since conducted a genera'
law practice, and has obtained high rank as a learned, able, upright lawyer and
counselor. While the law and its pursuits has ever been his ruling passion,
he has not allowed it to absorb his attention to the exclusion of the claim the
state has upon its loyal sons. From early life he was interested in public
affairs and early assumed the responsibilities of a public official. When barely
of legal age he was elected auditor of the borough of Dunmore, and for three
years served in that capacity, developing those traits of character and devotion
to the public interest that characterized his later career. In 1884 he was
elected school director, served for three years as such, two of these years bemg
president of the board. In 1886 he was the nominee of the Democratic county
convention of Luzerne to represent the eighth district in the state legislature,
an office to which he was elected the following November by a most gratifying
majority. In 1888 he was elected from the fourth legislative district of Lacka-
wanna county, which was formed under the appointment act of 1887. In the
house his course had been carefully watched by his constituents and so closely
was he associated with important legislation and so ably had he demonstrated
his value as a legislator that in 1890 he was chosen as the Democratic standatd
bearer of the twentieth senatorial district. After a hard-fought campaign he
was returned the successful candidate for a term of four years, and in the
state senate continued the valuable work begun in the lower body of the legis-
lature. During the four sessions of the legislature in which he sat as repre-
sentative and senator he served with ability and zeal on important committees
and was able to influence much valuable legislation. As a member of com-
mittees, appropriations, railroads, mines and mining, judiciary, general and
special corporations, municipal corporations and elections, his work was tire-
less and persistent. Valuable as was his work in committee it was equalled by
his personal work on the floor in debate and forcing passage of bills. He was
particularly active in securing the passage of a bill increasing the number of
law judges in Lackawanna county from two to three: in securing appropria-
tions for Lackawanna Hospital, the Oral School for Deaf Alutes, Carbondale
Hospital, the Miners Hospital at Pittston and for the public schools of the
state. Largely the result of his personal effort was the passage of the "Me-
chanics Lien Law" that placed the mechanic and laborer on an equality with
those furnishing material in the collection of claims against a building. He
twice introduced an employers' liability bill and several laws of benefit to the
boroughs of Pennsylvania were introduced and championed to a successful
issue. While these were the higher attitudes reached by Mr. McDonald in
his public career there are many other features that show the esteem in which
he is held and of his strength in the councils of his party. In 1882 he was a
delegate to the state convention that nominated Robert E. Pattison as the
Democratic candidate for governor. The following year he was chosen a mem-
ber of the state central committee and later served many years on the Lacka-
wanna county committee. In 1883 he was appointed by the court auditor of
the Scranton poor district, serving three years. He was also for six years
solicitor of the borough of Dunmore, filling all offices with equal zeal and
devotion to the public interest. Nor does his professional and official life
show the full measure of his activity. He has been identified with the in-
dustrial development of Scranton, and with many charitable and philanthropic
524 CITY OF SCRANTON
institutions of the city. He is the pubUsher and editor of the Lackawanna
Jurist, the official legal publication for several courts of the county, and di-
rector in the Laurel Line ( Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Railroad Com-
pany) and many other industrial enterprises. So, from whatever angle he be
viewed, the value of Mr. McDonald as a citizen is strongly apparent. He is
still "in the harness," conducts a lucrative law practice, and has interest in
all that pertains to the public good.
Mr. jMcDonald married, in Scranton, November 23, 1892, Martha I-.,
daughter of Edward Mellson. Children : Randall, Maurice, Janet, Martha.
ARTHUR DUNN
Dating back to a Scotch-Irish pregenitor, John Dunn, a Revolutionary
soldier from the state of Connecticut, Arthur Dunn rightfully inherits the
qualities that have contributed to his present leadership in Lackawanna county.
The Dunn family were intermarried with the Rob Roy family of Scotland.
John Dunn had a son, William Dunn, who also served in the Revolutionar)'
War from Connecticut, later settling in Elmira, New York, where he lived
on Water street, ea.st of Sullivan, there being now no trace of his residence.
John Dunn had four sons killed in the Wyoming massacre. William Dunn
first engaged in merchandising, and later was for several years proprietor of
the "Black Horse" tavern in Elmira, at the comer of Lake and Water streets.
He lived for a time in Bath, Stueben county. New York, where some of his
children were born. Later he settled in Chemung Valley, New York, where
he built the first grist mill in association with Judge Payne. He lived to be
ninety years of age. His widow married (second) John Davis, although
very much his senior. William Dunn was made a Mason in August, 1793.
He had several sons, all of whom became politically prominent. Charles W..
the eldest, is said to have been the first white child born in Bath, but passed
most of his eighty-five years in Chemung county, a merchant and landlord, pro-
prietor for many years of the Franklin House at Horseheads, New York.
Thomas, another son, was a merchant, and married a daughter of Dr. Elias
Satterlee.
William (2) Dunn, another son, was an unusually brilliant young man
and one of the finest of public speakers. He was an ardent Whig and a great
admirer of Henry Clay, whom he greatly resembled in face and figure. He
was born in 1802 ; married, in February, 1825, Murilla Hulburt, of Corn-
wall, Connecticut, and died December, 1856, as result of an injury from a
piece of falling cornice at a fire in Elmira, near the Lake street bridge. He
was collector of customs, and at one time held a department position in Wash-
ington.
Judge James Dunn, the youngest son of William Dunn, gave promise
from early manhood of becoming one of the notable men of the county.
He was educated in the public school and about 1822 began the study of law
with Aaron Konkle. He was admitted to the bar of Chemung county in 1825
and was subsequently a member of the law firms. North & Dunn, Dunn &
Hathaway and Dunn & Patterson. He was the second elected "First Judge"
of Chemung county, serving from 1844 to 1846. In his prime he was looked
upon as possessing a strong legal mind, and was numbered with the ablest
men of his profession. He measured swords with many of the brightest
lawyers of his day and won many notable legal battles. In 1840 he was the
candidate of the Whig party for Congress, but the district being strongly
Democratic, he was defeated. For many years he was the acknowledged leader
of the Whigs in Chemung county, having for his trusted friends such men as
CITY OF SCRANTON 525
Seward, Weed, Greeley, Charles Cook, John C. Clark and others. In 1848
Judge Dunn supported the candidacy of his old time antagonist, Martin Van
Buren, for the presidency, "bolting" his own party ticket in favor of the Free
Soil Democrat. In 1852 he supported General Scott and became an earnest,
active Republican, holding extremely radical views on the slavery question.
During the stormy reconstruction days he acted with the Democratic party, al-
though his last vote was for President Hayes. He died May i, 1877. The
resolutions of respect from the Chemung county bar tell of the high esteem in
which he was held. Said Ariel Thurston at a meeting of the bar held May 3,
1877, "At the time of his death Judge Dunn was with one exception the oldest
member of the bar within the limits of the old county of Tioga. He was too,
I believe, the oldest native born citizen of the city, Elmira, residing within
its limits. He was most genial and companionable in his manners, somewhat
sarcastic; a man of broad humor and quick repartee; always enjoying a joke
and with his friend, James Robinson, was often wont to set the table in a roar.
In the argument of a legal proposition, he was by no means an antagonist to be
trifled with."
Judge Dunn married, April 28, 1827, Eliza Thompson, of Goshen, Con-
necticut. Just three days prior to the death of Judge Dunn, they celebrated
their golden wedding. Eliza Thompson, Arthur Dunn's grandmother, was a
daughter of General David Thompson, of the War of 1812, a lineal descendant
of Anthony Thompson, who commanded the "Good Ship Hector" which
landed at New Haven in 1637. Anthony Thompson was a son of Henry
Thompson, Gentleman, married to Bertha Honeywood, sister of Sir Robert
Honeywood, who left her by his will Lenham Manor, Kent, England. This
branch of the Thompson family traces its lineage back directly to William the
Conqueror and Charlemagne. Among the Thompson Connecticut ancestors
were a chief justice of the state of Connecticut and a chief justice of the
United States. Judge James Dunn was survived by his widow and sons, D.
Thompson, Henry and Isaac B., the two former then residents of the state
of Georgia. He also left two daughters, wives of Frank H. Atkinson, of
Elmira, and Thomas Root, of Philadelphia.
Isaac B. Dunn, son of Judge James Dunn, was born in Elmira, New York,
in 1846. He was educated in the public schools. He entered the public
service of his country, was examiner of pensions and remained in govern-
ment position until his death. He was a member of the Presbyterian church,
and fraternally a member of the Masonic Order. He married Georgianna
Frances Tatham, daughter of John Tatham, of English ancestry, his family
being early settlers in Virginia. Three children grew to years of maturity:
1. John T., bom July 10, 1869, graduate of Princeton University, class of
1892, graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, class of 1896; he subse-
quently read law with his brother, Arthur Dunn, and was admitted to the bar
of Lackawanna county in March, 1900; he is now partner of the law firm.
Dunn & Dimn, vice-president and secretary of the Scranton Real Estate Com-
pany and vice-president of the Fidelity Mortgage and Securities Company.
2. Eliza, married Dr. William Carver Williams, of Chicago. 3. Arthur, of
whom further.
Arthur Dunn, youngest son of Isaac B. and Georgianna Frances (Tatham)
Dunn, was born in Elmira, New York, March 7, 1873. He grew to youthful
manhood in Elmira, obtaining his preparatory education in the public schools.
He then entered Princeton University, whence he was graduated, class of
1895. He then came to Scranton, where for one year he taught school, having
also registered as a law student in the office of Judge Alfred Hand. He
was admitted to the Lackawanna county bar in September, 1897, and has
526 CITY OF SCRANTON
attained high position as a lawyer of learning and skill. For three years he
practiced in Scranton alone, but in 1900 admitted his brother, John T. Dunn,
under the firm name, Dunn & Dunn, with offices in the Scranton Real Estate
Building. Arthur Dunn was counsel in the noted case of Bishop Hoban versus
The Greek Catholic Church, and has participated in many important legal con-
troversies. The firm made a specialty of corporation law, and it has been in-
strumental in the organizing and financing of eleven important corporations
of Scranton and its vicinity, also ten other large corporations in other localities.
These include the People's National Bank, the Anthracite Trust Company, the
Providence Bank, the First National Bank of Factoryville, the Luzerne Na-
tional Bank, the Black Diamond Silk Company, the Scranton Real Estate Com-
pany, the Fidelity Mortgage and Securities Company and others outside of
Scranton. He is also president of both the Scranton Real Estate Company
and of the Fidelity Securities Company, both institutions of high standing and
great usefulness. In addition to his large legal practice and financial activities,
Mr. Dunn has given much time to the duties of a good citizen. A Republican
in politics, he has ever been a leader of the progressive thought of his party, and
an earnest advocate of good government regardless of party preference. In
191 1 he was chairman of the citizen's committee of fifty, formed to effect
needed reforms in the city government. He earnestly advocated the election of
Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, took active part in the primaries, and was one of
the most efi^ective orators of that famous primary campaign. He sat as a
delegate in the Progressive convention at Chicago that nominated Colonel
Roosevelt for the presidency, and in the following campaign rendered valiant
effective service to the "Bull Moose" cause, as treasurer of the state committee,
and "on the stump," being one of the chief orators of that memorable campaign
that swung Pennsylvania from her ancient moorings in the Republican haven,
and fanned into a fierce flame the spark of independence that had long smould-
ered in Pennsylvania politics. His advocacy of the Progressive cause was from
purely patriotic, unselfish reasons, as Mr. Dunn has never sought or accepted
office for himself, although he has been repeatedly urged to accept nomina-
tions for both mayor of Scranton and for Congress. He is an active advocate
of the cause of woman suff'rage, and lent his best effort to secure the passage
of an act of legislature, submitting the question to the voters of Pennsylvania.
In the active campaign made by the Scranton Board of Trade, Mr. Dunn
was a member and chairman of the committee on membership that increased
the roll of members from 267 to 750. Mr. Dunn, as chairman of a committee
of Progressives, helped finance and establish the Scranton Daily News. The
Progressives of Northeastern Pennsylvania had reason to believe that the
editor of the Tribune-Republican was discriminated against in a financial way
on account of his Progressive politics resulting in the loss of the Tribune-
Republican to its editor and the Progressive party. Mr. Dunn, in conjunction
with close friends of Theodore Roosevelt, led a movement of the Progressives
to found another newspaper with the same editor at its head. After a bitter
and spectacular fight lasting over a year with the financial interests and ma-
chine politics on one side and Mr. Dunn and the Progressives on the other,
aided by the powerful moral support of Theodore Roosevelt, the paper was
successfully financed and established. At the conclusion of the fight which
lasted almost a year Mr. Dunn was given a vote of thanks by the Progressive
convention at Harrisburg in the spring of 1914.
In addition to his numerous activities Mr. Dunn has found time to do a
great deal of traveling and hunting. He has traveled throughout the United
States, Canada, West Indies, and has made two trips to Europe. He has
canoed, fished and hunted throughout the Maine wilderness and parts of
CITY OF SCRANTON 52;'
Canada. He has fished and hunted extensively in the Rocky Mountains, and
has at his home many trophies of the chase. He has also presented the Scran-
ton Club, Young Men's Christian Association and others with mounted moose
and elk heads. In religious faith Mr. Dunn is a Presbyterian, belonging I0
the Green Ridge congregation, his family also being communicants of that
church.
Arthur Dunn married, December 21, 1897, Augusta Pratt, daughter of
Dr. Jeremiah L. Fordham, of Scranton ; children : Arthur Jr-, John P'ordham,
Adelaide Augusta, Walter Bruce, Virginia Frances. The family city home is
at the Hotel Casey; their country residence includes a beautiful farm of eighty
acres in Waverly, devoted to fruit culture and poultry raising.
EUGENE SCHIMPFF
A lifelong resident of Scranton, although temporarily residing in other
cities, Mr. Schimpff has since 1880 been one of the active merchants of his
native city, where he is now located at No. 428 Spruce street, one of the
prosperous jewelers of the city. His father, Jacob Schimpff, established the
second bakery in the city in i860, on then Ward street, now Cedar avenue.
(II) Jacob Schimpff, son of Philip Schimpff, was born in Landau, Ger-
many, in 1806, there was educated, learned the baking business, in which he
was engaged until i860, then immigrated to the United States. He settled in
Scranton the same year and at once established a bakery, continuing in business
until his death. He married Caroline, daughter of Phillip Robinson, and had
issue: Leopold, died in 1888; Mina, married Phillip Robinson, of Scranton;
Mary, married Peter Gunster, of Scranton, Mr. Gunster now deceased, Mrs.
Gunster now living in Los Angeles, CaHfornia; Robert, died in 1888; Eugene,
of whom further; Caroline, married George Lohmann, of Wilkes-Barre, Penn-
sylvania ; Elizabeth, deceased ; Jacob, deceased ; August, resides in Scranton ;
Carl, living in Scranton.
(III) Eugene Schimpff, third son of Jacob and Caroline (Robinson)
Schimpff, was born in Lauterecken, Germany, November 27, 1853. He was
seven years of age when the family came to the United States. He was edu-
cated in the public schools and after finishing his studies became his father's
assistant in the bakery. After the death of his mother he entered the employ
of Philip Robinson, his uncle. During this period Mr. Schimpff worked end-
lessly, using every effort to advance himself, and after many hard struggles,
thrown upon his own resources, he started to learn the trade of watchmaker
and jeweler, working without pay for thirteen months, when he went to New
York City and there entered the employ of M. L. Sheehan, jeweler and watch-
maker ; he continued with Mr. Sheehan for a period of four years, becoming a
master in his line, and after another two years in New York, owing to failing
health, Mr. Schimpff' returned to Pennsylvania, locating at Wilkes-Barre,
where' in partnership, he conducted a restaurant for two years, under the firm
name Schimpff' & Lohmann. In 1880 he again returned to Scranton and be-
gan his long connection with the jewelry business in this city. He opened his
first store on Wyoming avenue, near the present Jermyn Hotel. He ne.xt
moved to No. 319 Lackawanna avenue. He was not satisfied with the
location, however, and moved to No. 313 Lackawanna avenue. Here he
prospered exceedingly, and finding his quarters too small moved to his present
location, No. 428 Spruce street, where he has built up a large and prosperous
business along general jewelry store lines. He has been successful in an un-
usual degree, conducting his business personally, dealing with fairness to al),
and holding to the strictest principles of integrity. He has attained honorable
528 CITY OF SCRANTON
position in the business world, not by special favor, but by his own energy,
ability, progressiveness, and thorough knowledge of his business. He owns
a farm of eighty acres where he raises Ayrshire cows imported from Scotland,
also Chester white pigs, and fruits at Mt. Cobb on Moosic Mountain. He if
interested in Soroco Alining and Milling Company, mines located in New
Mexico, owning and operating the Little Fanney Mine, the Pacific Mine, the
Johnson group of claims, and several others which are now in successful opera-
tion, yielding excellent return.
Mr. Schimpff married Margaret, daughter of Casper Tanler. Children :
Leopold, Martha, Eugene, Laura, Walter, Robert, Helen.
FRED C. HANYEN
A lawyer of recognized standing in the city of Scranton, prominent in
fraternal relations throughout the state, and identified in close connection with
religious work in this city, Fred C. Hanyen is a gentleman of widely varied
interests and far-reaching influence. He came to Scranton after an extensive
experience in educational work, and in that city has conducted his legal prac-
tice to which he devotes his entire time. A member of the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, that order has honored him with many of the distinctions
within the gift of the society, and in deed and reputation he is an ornament
to Odd Fellowship, with whose principles he is in such entire accord.
Mr. Hanyen is a native of New York state, and is a son of Cornelius and
Jennie E. (Reynolds) Hanyen. Cornelius Hanyen was born December 8,
1834, died September 23, 1913. His early boyhood was spent upon a farm.
At the age of nine years he began work upon the Delaware & Hudson canal
where he remained for several years. Leaving the canal, he learned the
carpenter's trade, at which he worked until 1855, when he purchased and
operated a boat on the Morris canal between Penn Haven and New York City.
In 1856 he sold this interest in the canal boat and secured a position as master
carpenter in the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad. Later entering the busi-
ness of contractor and builder in the middle west, he subsequently returned
east, and after serving as clerk in the store of B. Turner & Company, of
Eddyville, LUster county. New York, and later in the store of R. C. Lockwood,
of Wellsburg, New York, he opened a grocery store in the city of Elmira.
Subsequently he formed a partnership with Charles Frear under the firm name
of Hanyen & Frear, later the firm became Hevener & Hanyen, and finally Mr.
Hanyen became sole proprietor. His business here flourished to such an extent
that he became tlie leading grocer of the place. Failing health caused him to
move to Mosherville, Pennsylvania, where, purchasing a general store, he
conducted the same for one year, the following year moving to Rutland, and
there in 1880 acquiring title to a general store which he conducted until his
death. Mr. Hanyen prospered as a merchant, despite the fact that twice
during his business career his establishment was burned with a total loss.
He was a justice of the peace and for twenty years held the office of post-
master at Rutland. His church was the Methodist Episcopal, in whose works
he was always active. He held membership in the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, and was also a thirty-second degree Mason. Children of Cornelius
and Jennie E. (Reynolds) Hanyen: Fred C, of whom further; Louise, a teach-
er in the public schools of Elmira, New York ; Cole B., supervising principal
of the public schools of Dorranceton, Pennsylvania ; J. Blanche, married Louis
M. Parker, assistant cashier of the First National Bank of Mansfield, Penn-
sylvania, and has one daughter, Harriet Louis.
Fred C. Hanyen was born in Elmira, New York, December 15, 1864. He
CITY OF SCRANTON
529
was given opportunities for a generous education, which he embraced, grad-
uating from the Mansfield State Nonnal School in i886. He also became a
student in New York University, later attending the Post-Graduate College.
After teaching in Rutland and Jobs Corners, he became in 1888 principal of
the public school at Clarks Green, Pennsylvania, holding that position for two
years and then returning home and entering business with his father. He was
subsequently appointed to the principalship of the Waverly High School, then
Madison Academy, and remained at its head until April 30, 1901. During
the time he was teaching at Waverly he studied law, registering in the office
of Hueslander & Vosburg, of Scranton, and was admitted to the bar of Lacka-
wanna county in September, 1897, since which time he has been in constant
practice in all of the state and federal courts of his district, the superior and
supreme courts. His professional brethren recognize him as an attorney of
honor and integrity, and of ability that has been tested in opposition at the bar,
through which respect for his legal talents has been engendered. Mr. Hanyen
has business as well as professional relations, and is a director of the Abington
National Bank and a director and secretary of the Abington Electric Company.
Mr. Hanyen's fraternal affiliation is with but two orders : The Masonic
and the Odd Fellows. In the former he belongs to Peter Williamson Lodge.
No. 323, F. and A. M., while in the latter society he has won high station. He
is a member of Electric Star Lodge, No. 490, I. O. O. F., and has passed the
chairs of the subordinate lodges as well as those of the Grand Lodge, and is
now a past grand master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, Independent
Order of Odd Fellows. All activities of the order have benefited by his
interest and participation therein, and the honors that have come to him are
the rewards of service, the mark of the esteem of his fellows. For many years
he was the representative of the Grand Lodge to the Odd Fellows' Orphanage,
several miles east of Sunbury, and at the present time he fills the office of
first vice-president of the Home. At this place one hundred and fifty boys
and girls are trained and schooled for honorable station in life, and Mr. Han-
yen's active part in the management of this institution shows the deep sym-
pathy of the humanitarian. His church is the Elm Park Methodist Episcopal,
and for twelve years he has been teacher of an adult Bible class in the Sunday
school of this church, in which capacity he has strengthened his stand as a
champion and supporter of all the best influences and forces whose aim is to
create and maintain a higher plane of civil morals. Mr. Hanyen is a gentle-
man in whom the realization of the duties of citizenship is keenly awake,
and in that line his value to the city of Scranton lies.
Mr. Hanyen married Minnie E., daughter of M. S. and Priscilla (Lee)
Roberts. Mr. and Mrs. Hanyen are the parents of: Mildred L., Jennie M.,
Howard Ray.
DR. ALEXANDER J. CONNELL
Through Dr. Alexander J. Connell, the name has become prominent in the
medical profession of Pennsylvania, as through his cousins, uncle, and father,
it has become synonymous with honor, integrity and ability in the industrial
and financial world of the commonwealth.
James Connell, father of Dr. Alexander J. Connell, was born in Prince
Edward Island, a province of Canada, lying in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. He
died in 1877, aged fifty-six years. James Connell, when a young man, was
employed in the mines at Hazelton, Pennsylvania; in 1855 he came to Scran-
ton and was there placed in charge of the Davis Colliery. Forming a partner-
ship with his brother William, they purchased the Meadowbrook mines, later
34
530 CITY OF SCRAXTON
acquiring the National and Minooka properties. Throughout his entire Hfe
he engaged in mining operations and while the meed of prosperity granted
his brother was withheld from him. he was nevertheless moderately successful.
Being an experienced miner, his duties were always connected with the prac-
tical and not the financial side of the business. He married Jessie, daughter
of John English, and had ten children, of whom four are living.
Dr. Alexander J. Council, born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, September i8,
1856, was one of the first students in old "Daddy Merrill's" school, and later
attended Scranton High School. His academic studies were completed at
Wyoming Seminary, whence he was graduated in 1873. His professional
education was obtained at the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York,
where he obtained his degree of M. D. in 1877. He then served for a time
in Bellevue Hospital. He began the practice of his profession, locating in
Scranton, where his learning and ability received their just reward in the wide
practice which his early efforts attracted. In 1909, feeling that his continued
close attention to the manifold duties of his calling had earned a much needed
vacation, he spent several months touring Europe, visiting the most famous
educational seats of his profession, including Berlin, Paris, Vienna and Lon-
don.
Besides his influential and lucrative private practice he has been the con-
sulting surgeon of the Moses Taylor Hospital ever since its organization, and
for twenty-five years, until his resignation, was surgeon of the Lackawanna
Hospital, later became consulting surgeon and on the board of directors. He
served as trustee of the State Asylum for the Insane at Danville. Dr. Con-
nell's skill in surgical matters equals his knowledge of medical properties
and their administration ; his every action in the operating room suggests a
clear and decisive purpose, and inspires confidence in all his assistants. In the
most critical periods of a trying operation his nerves are as steady as when
he is treating a patient for the slightest ailment, while at the side of a sick
bed his very presence lends hope and comfort to the anxious watchers. He
has been president of the County Medical Association, and a member of the
State and American Medical associations. Dr. Connell is also prominently as-
sociated with many of Scranton's most successful business organizations, be-
ing president of the Northern Electric Railway, vice-president and medical
director of the Scranton Life Insurance Company, director of the Enterprise
Coal Company, director of the Green Ridge Coal Company, and director of the
National Limestone Company.
He joined Company K, Thirteenth Regiment Pennsylvania National
Guard, at the time of its organization and was a member of the same for ten
years, five of which were spent in the medical corps, where he gained the
rank of first lieutenant. Fraternally Dr. Connell is affiliated with the Masonic
Order, belonging to Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons,
Coeur de Lion Commandery, Knights Templar; Keystone Consistory, Sover-
eign Princes of the Royal Secret, thirty-second degree. Ancient Accepted Scot-
tish Rite, and Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Socially and in the
club life of Scranton, Dr. Connell is active and prominent, being president of
the Scranton Club and a member of the Country Club and of the Scranton
Bicycle Club. With his wife he is a member of the Elm Park Methodist
Episcopal Church.
Dr. Connell is a decidedly representative type of our modern physician,
entirely professional, but not to the exclusion of all other interests and activi-
ties. Aside from the fame he has achieved in the healer's art, he would,
among business men, be considered a success, and did his station in life de-
mand nothing but a pleasant passing of time, his social attributes would en-
jr-,y^/:a:fn£t* -
'■^^ .f&ifeietxl /='ttS c'p.
CITY OF SCRANTON 531
able him to do that very enjoyably. He is, however, the alert and forceful
man of affairs, the quietly dignified professional light, and the attractively
graceful clubman, the whole forming a most likeable and engaging American
gentleman.
Dr. Connell married Fannie M., daughter of Norman Norton, of Scran-
ton. Oiildren: Edgar W., superintendent of the Enterprise Coal Company of
Shamokin, and Margaret E., married Benjamin H. Throop.
JOHN IRA RIEGEL
The Riegels, who trace their lineage back to the collapse of the empire
of Charlemagne, when an ancestor from the ancient Saxon duchy of West-
phalia redeemed Rothenburg on the Tauber, Bavaria, from the house of Hohen-
lohe and was given that city as an hereditary fief, date in Pennsylvania from
September 23, 1732, when Alatthias Riegel emigrated from the Palatinate to
Philadelphia and settled at Germantown. Philadelphia remained the family
seat for several generations, through the Revolutionary War, in which his
son Benjamin gave most of his means derived from his estate "Good Intent"
in Bucks county to the colonial army at Valley Forge, and on December i.
1778, gave his life in the cause of American liberty.
The grandson of the latter, Samuel Riegel, who was the grandfather of
John Ira Riegel, after a time spent as a merchant in Philadelphia, moved to
Easton, Pennsylvania, where he resided until his death. His wife was Mary,
daughter of Major Isaac Stout, a veteran of the War of 1812, whose father
served as major in the American army of the Revolution, and whose son was
a surgeon in the Civil War. Children: Isaac M., of further mention; Eliza,
Anna, Dorsey G., Emma, deceased; George S., of Bethlehem; Ada, Charles
H., Kate, of Easton.
Isaac M. Riegel was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, April, 1844. He spent
a large portion of his business life engaged in lumbering and iron-mining,
operating in Pennsylvania and northern Indiana. After retiring from that
business he entered the employ of the Bethlehem Iron Company (now Beth-
lehem Steel Company) under John Fritz as superintendent of construction
forces on the plant. He is yet a resident of Bethlehem. He married Sarah
E., daughter of Peter Hager and Margaret Rapp, the latter a great-grand-
daughter of George Rapp, of Wurtemburg, Gennany, founder with his broth-
er Frederick of the religious sect of "Harmonists," properly the "Economite
Society." Children : John Ira, of whom further ; Samuel Stewart, the me-
chanical engineer of the motive department of the Delaware, Lackawanna &
Western Railroad ; Susan M., married Alvin S. Gruver, principal of the
Bethlehem High School; Marie V., married W. D. Hemmerly, efficiency en-
gineer for the Acme Wire Company of New Haven, Connecticut.
John Ira Riegel was born at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, July i, 1871. He
was educated in the public schools of Bethlehem, Riegelsville Academy, Beth-
lehem Preparatory School and Lehigh LTniversity, being a graduate of the lat-
ter, class of 1892, receiving the degree of Civil Engineer. After leaving the
University he spent one year as statistician for the Lehigh Valley Coal Com-
pany, and then was appointed to the engineering department of the Lehigh
Valley Railroad Company, where in 1897 he was appointed chief designing
engineer in charge of all new construction on the lines. In 1899 he severed
his connection with the Lehigh to become chief designing engineer for the
New York Central Railroad Company, later being promoted to engineer of
construction for all reconstruction and new work on the New York Central
lines between New York and Albany. In 1901 he resigned his position to
532 CITY OF SCRANTON
become division engineer upon half the mileage of the Delaware, Lackawanna
& Western Railroad, originating there many of the plans for the improvement
of that road which have since characterized the "Lackawanna;" and following
that made plans and estimates for the Northern Electric Railway, now the
Scranton & Binghamton Railway Company, a road designed to connect by
interurban railroad the cities of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Binghamton, New
York. In 1903 he became assistant chief engineer of the Delaware & Hudson
Company, holding that position until 1909, and during that incumbency four-
tracked the line between Scranton and Carbondale, practically rebuilding the
entire line, and constructed the new connection with the Pennsylvania Rail-
road in South Wilkes-Barre for the fonner company. He then entered the
employ of the General Electric Company as chief civil engineer, planning and
beginning construction of the new plant at Erie, Pennsylvania, ultimately to
cost $25,000,000. He then retired from active connection with all corpora-
tions and established in Scranton as manager and consulting engineer for
the Scranton Engineering Company, doing work for individuals, municipalities
and corporations. The work he has adopted as his specialty Mr. Riegel is
eminently qualified for, and there is no detail of constructive engineering, esti-
mating, appraising, or planning he is not prepared to satisfactorily perform,
whether it be corporate, municipal or private. In sanitary engineering he is a
specialist, and all phases of modern city needs, sewage disposal, water supply,
parks, streets and town planning, have been the object of special study and ex-
perience. In his capacity as consulting engineer to the Mine Cave Commission
of Scranton he prepared maps showing in complete detail the conditions be-
neath the city, and giving a perfect basis upon which the Commission could
report reliably. In 1912 Mr. Riegel was appointed assistant engmeer in the
State Highway Department with offices in Scranton, and in that capacity has
supervised the betterment of seven hundred miles of miserable roads, placing
them in commendable condition ; and has also surveyed, planned and built
many miles of new roads. He resigned that position in 1914 to resume his
private practice, and now is engaged, among other important work, as con-
sulting and designing engineer for the Delaware & Hudson Company on the
elimination of the grade crossings of that company in Scranton.
Fairly at the head of his profession, Mr. Riegel, still a young man, has
many years of usefulness before him, and it is hoped, abundant opportunity to
exercise his peculiar fitness in the public behalf. As a constructive engineer
he has no superiors in his own field, and in point of actual achievement he
has many monuments extant to his engineering ability. He is a member of the
Western Railroad Club, the American Road Builders' Association, the En-
gineering Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania, the North Eastern Penn-
sylvania Lehigh Club, and the Scranton Board of Trade. Coming of a family
of politicians, preachers and teachers, and knowing the vicissitudes of parties,
he is strictly independent in political action for the common good. For the
past twenty years he has devoted his leisure in searching out the political
history comprising most of the New Testament writings and, with a scholar-
ly Scrantonian as collaborator, has nearly ready for publication a book identi-
fying the makers of that history.
Mr. Riegel married, June 10, 1896, Nellie M., daughter of William B.
Ivins, of Princeton, New Jersey, and since 1901 has made Scranton his
residence. Children : John Kenneth, bom in 1898, and Leda Pauline, born in
1903.
CITY OF SCRANTON
533
J. FOSTER HILL
It has been in pursuance of its unchanging poUcy of securing none but the
best and most able of instructors in its different departments that the Interna-
tional Correspondence Schools, of Scranton, secured the services of J. Foster
Hill, who for the past six years has been identified with that institution, three
years of that time in his present position. A teacher trained for the calling,
rendered efficient by several years of practical experience in the school room,
his capacity enlarged and usefulness heightened by an art and science course in
Harvard L'oiversity, and after that associated with a number of leading edu-
cational enterprises, Mr. Hill was accompanied to the post he now occupies by a
record of successful educational endeavor, the results of his work showing
plainly the thoroughness and ability with which he wrought.
(I) The Hill family was settled in Pennsylvania by natives of Maryland,
representatives thereof settling on Broad Top Mountain, Bedford county.
In 1844 Jacob Hill, grandfather of J. Foster Hill, moved to Indiana county,
Pennsylvania, there purchasing a tract of wooded land, clearing the same and
conducting farming operations during the remainder of his active life. The
homestead has remained in the possession of the family. Jacob Hill married
Rebecca Kelley, of Broad Top Mountain, Pennsylvania. They had children :
Susanna, died in 19 1 3, married William Fleming, of Creek Side, Pennsyl-
vania; Barbara, married Jacob Blough, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, her hus-
band deceased ; Mary, married Jefferson Palmer, of Indiana county, Pennsyl-
vania; Martha, married Findley Carney, of Indiana, Pennsylvania; David,
married Elizabeth Fleming, both deceased ; John, died in 1909 ; Andrew Jack-
son, of whom further.
(II) Andrew Jackson Hill, son of Jacob and Rebecca (Kelley) Hill, was
born November 12, 1833, died January 18, 1887. He married Elizabeth,
daughter of Frederick Stuller, of German descent, and had children : Mary
Magdalene, married John Hancock, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is the
mother of one child, Geraldine ; Rebecca Ann, deceased ; J. Foster, of whom
further ; Frederick Austin, married Mary Pierce, and has children, Elizabeth,
Mary, Foster, Geraldine, Burrell, George Milligan, John Martin.
(III) J. Foster Hill, son of Andrew Jackson and Elizabeth (Stuller) Hill,
was born at Creek Side, Indiana county, Pennsylvania, November 25, 1864.
His public school education was obtained in White township School No. 5,
and West Pike School near Indiana, after which he attended the Indiana
State Normal School, in 1890 entering Clark's Business College, whence he
was graduated, valedictorian of his class. For the four following years Mr.
Hill taught the commercial branches in the same school, one year and a half
of that time holding the principalship of the commercial department, and in the
fall of 1895 matriculated at Harvard University. Although he was unable to
continue his course uninterruptedly, being absent from the university for two
years, he received his A. B. degree in 1902. While a student of Harvard Mr,
Hill organized the night school in the Cambridge Young Men's Christian As-
sociation, and after this enterprise had been successfully inaugurated remained
in the Association as director of the educational department for eight years, in
April, 1903, coming to Scranton. Here he repeated his Cambridge per-
formance in the organization of a night school in the Young Men's Christian
Association, remaining in the school as educational director for three years
after the inception of the undertaking. From 1905 to 1908 Mr. Hill was
instructor in science and mathematics in the School of the Lackawanna, in
October of the latter year accepting the principalship of the School of Mathe-
matics and Mechanics in the International Correspondence Schools of this
534 CITY OF SCRANTON
city. His services as the head of this branch of the International system were
eminently satisfactory, and on January i, 191 1, a broader field for his talent?
and natural endowments opened before him in his appointment to the prin-
cipalship of the Department for the Encouragement and Assistance of Stu-
dents of the institution. The value to a Correspondence School of such a de-
partment, whose name explains its mission, when directed by a man such as
Mr. Hill, who has been the familiar friend and adviser of hundreds of stu-
dents, cannot be over-estimated.
Mr. Hill married, June 22, 1898, Margaret Elizabeth Prater, of Erie,
Pennsylvania, daughter of Robert William and Anna (Baxter) Prater, of
Crewe, England. Mr. and Mrs. Hill are the parents of: Gladys Prater, de-
ceased; Eliot Russell, born October 3, 1900; Mildred Elizabeth, born July 23,
1903; Eleanor Anna, born November 23, 1906. Mr. Hill holds membership in
the Scranton Board of Trade. Politically he is a Prohibitionist, and he is a
member of the Second Presbyterian Church of Scranton.
GEORGE R. CLARK
Por considerably more than a century the Clarks have been residents of the
Abington section of this part of Pennsylvania, and as farmers, horticulturists
and florists have made the soil respond to their skillful manipulation. One of
the benefits resulting from the coming of this, one of the oldest New England
families to Pennsylvania, was the propagation of the Clark apple, which be-
gan with a seed planted near the log cabin of William Qark. This seed he
brought with him from Connecticut in 1798. Prom it sprang the tree from
which the Clark apple was propagated and which survived storm and sun-
shine until 1910, after furnishing fruit and shade for over a century. The
scions which were obtained from this mother tree have been grafted on trees
throughout northeastern Pennsylvania, and as a result thousands of bushels
of these Clark apples have been grown. The variety is still greatly sought after
and is very popular with fruit growers. William Clark, after a visit to this
section of Pennsylvania in 1792 and choosing a location, came in 1798 from
his Connecticut home and settled at x\bington, one of the original pioneers.
He was then a married man with a family whom he housed in a log cabin.
They passed through all the trials and privations ever the lot of the pioneer,
but true to their New England traditions plowed, sowed and reaped, made
maple sugar in the big iron kettle brought from Connecticut, and started an
orchard from the apple seeds brought from the old home. They were of the
true Puritan stock and the first religious meeting held north of the mountains
was at the house of Deacon William Clark, who was a member of the Baptist
church.
(II) George Claik, son of Deacon William Clark, was born in Connecticut,
and came with the family to Abington in 1798. He grew to manhood near
Clarks Green, named in honor of the family, lived at what became later South
Abington, but in comparatively early life moved to Waverly. He was engaged
in the business of an agriculturist all his life, a prosperous man and respected
citizen.
(III) James R. Clark, son of George Clark, was born in Abington town-
ship in 1826, and died in Scranton aged eighty-two years. He was a farmer
for many years until 1880, then moved to Scranton, that city ever afterward
being his home. He was a member of Waverly Lodge, Pree and Accepted
Masons, and of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married Parma La Bar.
(IV) George R. Clark, son of James R. and Parma (La Bar) Clark, was
born at Waverly, Abington township, September 7, 1854. He was educated
CITY OF SCRANTON 535
in the public school and Aladison Academy, the latter a school of high character
in that day. He grew to manhood at the home farm and became thoroughly
imbued with a love of nature and a true spirit of admiration, even veneration,
for the wonders the seasons accomplished on bush, tree, plant and flower. He
was passionately fond of flowers and gave a great deal of time to their culture
and to a study of their individual characteristics. In 1878 he gave himself uf)
entirely to floriculture, forming a partnership with Judson Tinkham, as Tink-
ham & Clark, the first florists to do business in this section of Pennsylvania.
Later Mr. Clark bought his partner out and has since conducted the business
under his own name at No. 124 Washington avenue, Scranton, the oldest
florist in the city. For many years he raised on his own farm the flowers,
nursery stock and seeds he sold, but as trade expanded until it now cover.s
northeastern Pennsylvania, he was obliged to increase his sources of supply.
His seed department added in 1898, is an important one, as is his trade in com-
mercial fertilizers. He has also an aviary and aquarium, singing canaries and
fancy gold fish, being his specialties. He is an artistic and much sought for
decorator, while the quality of his nursery stock has long been acknowledged
by fruit growers. Most successful as a business man and fully immersed
in its cares, Mr. Clark is still the lover of nature and her works and senti-
mentally is fonder of the flowers, plants and trees he handles than of the gain
they may bring him. He is a director of the Scranton Young Men's Christian
Association, director of the City Rescue Mission, member, trustee and school
superintendent of the Court Street Methodist Episcopal Church, a loyal worker
and a man in whom perfect confidence is reposed. He has taken high degree in
the Masonic Order, belonging to Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Accepted
Masons ; Lackawanna Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; Coeur de Lion Com-
mandery. Knights Templar ; Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine and
to the various bodies of Keystone Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite,
in which he holds the thirty-second degree.
Mr. Clark married (first) Clara K. Kennedy, who died, leaving two chil-
dren: Ethel G., wife of Clinton W. Tylee, of Worcester, Massachusetts, and
G. Ronald, formerly of Hartford, Connecticut, now of Portland, Maine. He
married (second) Elizabeth G. Mumford. Children: Francis Ceroid and
La Bar Hastings.
HARRY VAN NUYS LOGAN, M. D.
Harry Van Nuys Logan, M. D., eldest son of Rev. Samuel C. Logan, D. D.,
LL. D., was born in Constantine, Michigan, May 21, 1853. He graduated from
Lafayette College and studied medicine and surgery at the University of Penn-
sylvania, graduating with the degree of M. D. He began the practice of
medicine in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and achieved immediate distinction and
marked success. He joined the Scranton City Guard at its organization in
1877, and in 1880 was appointed assistant surgeon of the Thirteenth Regi-
ment National Guard of Pennsylvania with the rank of first lieutenant. In
1883 he was promoted to be surgeon of that regiment with the rank of major,
which position he held with distinction until 1886, when the demands of his
private practice compelled his resignation.
He married Mary Olmstead, daughter of Richard W. and Sarah S. Olm-
stead, December 29. 1881. There were born to them the following children.
May W., Harry A., Lucie L., Richard W.
Dr. Harry Logan, as he was popularly known, came to Scranton with his
father's family, in 1868, when his father was called to the pastorate of the
First Presbyterian Church. He was a lad in his teens at that time and prat
536 CITY OF SCRANTON
tically grew up with our young city. As a boy and young man he was justly
popular with all classes. His professional attainments were acknowledged by
a large clientele, and he gave freely of his skill and time to hospital work and
attendance among the suffering poor. He was an indefatigable worker, a
slave to his profession, which finally undermined a vigorous constitution and
caused his much lamented demise, while still a young man. He passed away
July 13, 191 1.
GUST A V FRANK RENNER
Gustav F. Renner, superintendent of the weaving department of the Sau-
quoit Silk Mills of Scranton, Pennsylvania, after a varied career, has be-
come the incumbent of a responsible office in that organization, a position for
which he is fitted by inherent talent, specialized education, diverse experience
and natural attraction, his part in the practical management and supervision
of these mills being an important factor in their present prosperity and local
prestige. He is German in descent and in birth, Schoeneck, Saxony, Germany,
having been the place of birth of his father in 1826.
Frank William Renner, father of Gustav F. Renner, was educated in Ger-
many and there learned the weaver's trade, becoming expert in his chosen art,
and when past middle age immigrated to the United States, ten years after
his son had come, and for a time resided in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania ; he
then came to Scranton where he obtained employment in the Sauquoit Silk
Mills, remaining with that concern until his retirement in 1903, his death oc-
curring ten years later. He married Wilhemina Keil, and had one child,
Gustav Frank, of whom further.
Gustav Frank Renner, son of Frank W'illiam and Wilhemina ( Keil ) Ren-
ner, was born at Schoeneck, Saxony, Germany, August 12, 1859, and obtained
a general education in the public and high school of his native city. He then en-
tered the Textile School at Glauchau, Germany, and in the two years that he
was a student in that institution became a learned and skilled operator, and ac-
cepted employment in the textile mills in Germany, there being employed until
his determination to come to the United States, whither he preceded his father,
taking passage on the North German Lloyd liner, "Donau." After landing in
New York he obtained work in a blacksmith shop. After a short time he con-
tinued his journey and stopped in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was
employed in a grocery store for four months at a wage of one dollar a week.
During this time he saved, in some extraordinary manner, fourteen of the
sixteen dollars he received, in 1882 being engaged as a weaver in a Philadel-
phia mill. On March i, 1883, he left Philadelphia and went to Scranton,
there finding employment as a loom fixer in the Sauquoit Silk Mills, and there
remaining for three years. At the end of that time he purchased a horse and
wagon and went into the produce business, buying his truck from the farmers
in the outlying country and disposing of them on the day of purchase, so
that his customers, the list of whom steadily increased, were assured of fresh
goods. After a year passed in this manner he sold his business and returned
to Philadelphia, being there engaged in sewing machine repair work. Still
further retracing his steps, he went to New York, and was there a loom fixer
for a short time, soon crossing over into New Jersey and becoming a weaver
in the mills of Paterson, the center of the silk manufacturing industry in the
United States. Then, after a short term of employment in Wilkes-Barre with
Mr. Goldsmith, he came to Scranton in December, 1889, once more entering
the Sauquoit Silk Mills, with which he has since been connected, having entire
charge of the weaving department of the mills, where his authority is absolute.
CITY OF SCRANTON 537
To his practical and technical knowledge and experience Mr. Renner has added
an innate ability in dealing with men, and the lubricity apparent in the de-
partment of which he is head shows that the utmost harmony and satisfaction
pervade that division of the business. Outside of the path of his business
interests he is accepted in many circles as a genial companion, having an at-
tractive personality, and a gentleman whose presence adds to any gathering.
Fraternally he is a member of Shiller Lodge, No. 345, F. and A. M., also
holding the Knights Templar degree in the Masonic Order, and a member of
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is also a member of Scran-
ton Liederkranz, the Junger Mannerchor, and the German Alliance, his political
stand being an independent one.
Mr. Renner married, in 1887, Emma Mursch, of Scranton. Children: Wil-
liam and Carl, employees of the silk mills in which their father is engaged ;
Minnie ; Gustav, an employee of the Sauquoit Silk Mills ; Fritz, a student in
a military school ; Amelia, deceased.
ASA EVERETT KIEFER
Northampton county, Pennsylvania, has been the home of several genera-
tions of the family of Kiefer claiming Asa Everett Kiefer, of Scranton, as
a member. Casper Kiefer, the American progenitor of this branch of the
Kiefer family, was born in Strassburg, Germany, in 1710, emigrated to
America, and arrived at Philadelphia, September 15, 1748. He came with
his brother, Abram Kiefer Jr., in the ship "Two Brothers," Captain Thomas
Arnott, from Portsmouth, England, having originally started from Rotterdam,
Holland. He removed to Saucon township, Northampton county, Pennsyl-
vania, where he died.
(II) Peter Kiefer, son of Casper Kiefer, was born in Saucon township,
in 1756, died in Lower Mount Bethel township, November 2, 1846. He served
in the American army during the Revolutionary War. He married Catherine
Engleman, and had child, Samuel, of further mention.
(III) Samuel Kiefer, son of Peter and Catherine (Engleman) Kiefer,
was born in Saucon township, in 1790, died in February, 1865. He became a
farmer at Lower Mount Bethel, and followed this calling all his life. In the
second war with Great Britain he became a member of the Northampton
Light Guards, and remained with that company until it was mustered out of
service. His remains are interred near his home at Three Churches. Mr.
Kiefer married Sarah Everett, born at Upper Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania,
died at the age of fifty-five years, a daughter of William Everett, whose
father was an officer in the American army during the Revolutionary War.
Children: i. Catherine Ann, married Azariah Stocker, and had children:
i. Sarah, married Theodore Ackerman, and had children: Eulalie, married
Rev. W. H. Wells, had one child, Esther: Eugene, married Martha Rosen-
berg, had a child, Anna; Lina Stocker. ii. Mary, married John Pursell, and
had one child, William, now a physician, iii. Eliza, married Edmund Steven
Dana, and has children: Herbert Stocker and Edna Kiefer. iv. Herbert.
V, Susan, married Preston Billheimer. vi. Lina. 2. Margaret, married
George Rodenbough, and had children: i. Margaret, married Wdliam Bach-
man, and had children: Walter Ellsworth, Bertram Rodenbough and Lma C.
Kiefer. ii. George, iii. Walter Scott, married Clara Hill. iv. Samuel, v.
Elmer Ellsworth, married Elizabeth McChan, and had one child, Margaret
McChan. 3. William Everett, born in 1825, married Susan Martm, and had
children: i. Sarah Elizabeth, ii. Margaret Rodenbough, married Dr. Fred-
erick Sterling Hewitt, and had one child, Robert Sterling, iii. Joseph Martm,
538 CITY OF SCRANTON
married Rena E. Van Meter, and had children : William Everett Jr. ; Isabel ;
Ralph Van Meter ; Marie, iv. Charles Everett. 4. Caroline, never married.
5. Angeline, twin of Caroline, married Amos Schoonover, of Stroudsburg.
Pennsylvania, and had children : i. Laura Goforth, married Oscar E. Peltzer,
and had children : Oscar Wesley and Laura, ii. Ethel Caroline, married Ar-
thur Briggs, and has one child, Clifford. 6. Asa Everett, of further mention.
(IV) Asa Everett Kiefer, son of Samuel and Sarah (Everett) Kiefer, was
bom at Martin's Creek, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, August 10. 1848.
After attending the public schools of the place of his birth, and Freeland's
Institute, at Collegeville, Pennsylvania, he completed his general studies at
Carversville Institute, in Bucks county. For two years he was a school teacher,
and after being graduated from the Bryant and Stratton Business College
in Philadelphia, he entered the service of the Central Railroad of New Jersey.
and was stationed in the office of that road at Elizabethport, New Jersey.
Two years later he resigned his position and became associated with the
Adams Express Company as extra messenger, remaining with this corporatirm
in dift'erent capacities and in different localities for seven and a half years.
Coming to Scranton, he was for two years connected with the Bittenbender
Company, then spent eleven years in the employ of the Green Ridge Iron
Works as bookkeeper and timekeeper. In April, 1892, Mr. Kiefer accepted
a position with the Scranton Lace Curtain Company, with which concern he
is now associated, his present position being that of superintendent of supplier.
His office is one of importance because its administration determines to such a
great extent the expense of maintenance of the business, and in this modern
day of the highest efficiency in every department of business, sources of di-
rect expenditure are those that are most closely observed. Mr. Kiefer has, for
a period of twenty-two years, rendered faithful and competent service to his
employers, his activity in his present capacity being no exception to this
reputation of long standing.
He is a Republican in politics, and from 1896 to 1902 served as auditor of
Lackawanna county, and for two years was a member of the Scranton common
council. During these two years he rendered important and beneficial service
to the community. He was the first to introduce an ordinance into the common
council calling for the placing of gates at all grade crossings, and after a hard
and prolonged fight he succeeded in having it put in operation. He was also
largely instrumental in having the city hall placed upon its present site, several
others having been strongly advocated, and the contention over this point
lasted more than a year. He is a charter member of Green Ridge Lodge,
No. 603, I. O. O. F., and has been secretary of the lodge. He is a member
of the Second Presbyterian Church of Green Ridge.
Mr. Kiefer married Emma B., a daughter of Charles and Malinda (Col-
bath) Younkin, the former a conductor for the Central Railroad of New
Jersey, and a resident of Easton, Pennsylvania. The only child of Mr. and
Mrs. Kiefer is Marilla Kemmerer, who was graduated from the Scranton
High School in 1897, and married Dr. Ralph H. Spangler, of Philadelphia,,
and has children: Huston Kiefer, born in 1908; Ralph Dixon, born in April,
1913-
CHARLES WHITEHEAD KIRKPATRICK
Watties Neach, Dumfriesshire. Scotland, was the birthplace of the .^rneri-
can ancestor of Charles Whitehead Kirkpatrick, of Scranton, Alexander Kirk-
patrick, who about 1725 emigrated from his native land and found residence
in Ireland. In the spring of 1739 he came to this country, taking up land at the
CZd^^y^^t^j^^ fz^'^^A.^^/ij
CITY OF SCRANTON 53r,
place now known as Mine Brook, New Jersey, and there making his home,
his death occurring in that locaHty, June 3, 1758. He was the father of An-
drew, David, of whom further ; Alexander, Jeannette, Mary.
(II) David Kirkpatrick, son of Alexander Kirkpatrick, was born at Wat-
ties Neach, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, February 17, 1724, died at Mine Brook,
New Jersey, March 19, 1814. He married, March 31, 1748, Mary McEweni
and they had children : Elizabeth. Alexander, of whom further ; Hugh, An-
drew, David, Mary, Anne, Jeannette.
(III) Alexander (2) kirkpatrick, son of David and Mary (McEwen)
Kirkpatrick, was born September 3, 1751, died September 24, 1827. He mar-
ried Sarah, daughter of Judge John Carle, of Long Hill, Morris county, New
Jersey. Of their children these attained mature age: David, Mary, John,
Jacob, of whom further ; Sarah, Elizabeth, Lydia, Ann, Rebecca, Martha,
Jane, Alexander, Robert Finley.
(IV) Rev. Jacob Kirkpatrick, son of Alexander (2) and Sarah (Carle)
Kirkpatrick, was born August 8, 1785. died at Ringos, New Jersey, May 2,
1866. He was for many years a distinugished minister of the Presbyterian
church. He married Mary Burroughs Howell, daughter of John Sutvan.
They had children : John, Alexander, David Bishop, Henry Augustus, a physi-
cian; Calvin, Newton, Lydia, Sarah, Charles Whitehead, of whom further;
Rev. Jacob, Francis J., Anna F., Elizabeth, Mary.
(V) Charles Whitehead Kirkpatrick, son of Rev. Jacob and Mary Bur-
roughs Howell (Sutvan) Kirkpatrick, was born at Ringos, New Jersey, in
1827, died in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in December, 1912. In early life he
engaged in harness making and carriage manufacturing, afterwards moving
to Trenton, New Jersey, and there entered the dry goods business. In 1867 he
came to Scranton and started in business as a manufacturer of spices and
dealer in teas and cofifees. For twenty years or more he continued this business
under the firm name of C. W. Kirkpatrick & Company, in this city, and built
up a strong and popular business. Retiring from this, he became agent for the
Aetna Life Insurance Company, and continued in this until his death, when
it was taken up by his sons, Jacob and Charles Lessey, as Kirkpatrick Brothers.
Mr. Kirkpatrick was a strong Christian business man, and during his long and
active career he held the universal regard of his fellows for the principles of
high honor that guided his entire life. He was a devoted member of the Pres-
byterian denomination, and upon the organization of the Second Presbyterian
Onirch in 1874, he was elected a ruling elder, an office he held until his death,
a period of thirty-eight years. Mr. Kirkpatrick married Martha Bishop, a
daughter, of Bishop Skillman, of Pennington, New Jersey, and they had chil-
dren: I. Augusta, married George B. Foster, and is the mother of Charles
K., Fannie and Marie. 2. Jacob S., associated in business with his brother,
Charles Lessey ; married Mary S. Lewers, and has children : Dixon and Mar-
garet. 3. Clara, married R. B. Cissel, of Elizabeth, New Jersey. 4. Charles
Lessey, of whom further. 5. Henry S., an employe of the County Savings
Bank; married Margaret Hanley, and they had one son, Donald. 6. Willis
B., a resident of Baltimore, Maryland ; married Elizabeth Torrey, and has
children : Catherine, Elizabeth, James B.
(VI) Giarles Lessey Kirkpatrick, son of Charles Whitehead and Martha
Bishop (Skillman) Kirkpatrick, was born at Trenton, New Jersey. Novem-
her 4, 1863. After twenty years in various occupations, Mr. Kirkpatrick,
with his brother Jacob S., succeeded his father in the spice, tea and cofifee
business in this city. The high reputation of the father is capably continued
by the sons, the same policy of strict integrity bringing prosperity to the latter
that gave the former prominence and success. Mr. Kirkpatrick married
540 CITY OF SCRANTON
Myrtle E., daughter of I. H. Burns, of Scranton. They have children : Evelyn
F. and Eleanor S.
JOHN J. TOOHEY
A descendant from an Irish family, John J. Toohey is numbered among
the more recent arrivals in Scranton. In the comparatively short time that he
has made that city his residence, he has, however, established himself firmly
in the legal profession, and has identified himself with all the progressive move-
ments, social and political, that have been inaugurated since his adoption of
Scranton.
Thomas Toohey, father of John J. Toohey, was born in county Clare,
Ireland, and when but a child was brought to the United States in the family
of an uncle, his own parents electing to remain in the homeland, but realizing,
with complete unselfishness of mother and father love, the advantages that
would be open to their son in the United States, and heroically suffering them-
selves to be separated from their boy. His uncle located at Salem, Washington
county, New York, and he there attended the public schools. For a time he
was proprietor of a general store at Schuylerville, New York, where he became
prominent in public affairs and held numerous public offices. He still lives
in this town, retired from business, and spending his later years in quiet rest,
after an active, well-lived life. He married Mary Mulvihill.
John J. Toohey was born in Schuylerville, Saratoga county, New York,
June 23, 1874. His education was obtained in the public schools of his native
place and later at Fordham University. Desiring and deciding to ally himself
with the legal fraternity, he entered the office of the Schuylerville firm of
Ostrander & Salisbury as student at law, completing his legal studies in Scran-
ton, his preceptors in that city being Patterson and Wilcox. Passing a satis-
factory examination he was admitted to practice at the Lackawanna county
bar, March 17, 1901, engaging in general practice for three years, during
which time he gained much valuable experience in the practical side of his
profession, which, coupled with a deep and extensive knowledge of its finer
points, makes him an attorney of no mean ability and one who in a legal
battle may be considered a worthy adversary for the best of his contemporaric'^.
In 1904 he received the election as county solicitor for a term of three years,
and at the expiration of this was elected his own successor for a term of like
length. He now is the incumbent of no public office and devotes his entire
time and attention to his general practice, which is of large proportions and
includes some of the city's proudest families. A forceful and convincing
speaker, Mr. Toohey is a strong advocate. His defences and attacks are
masterpieces of the orator's art, logically planned and masterfully executed.
He is a worthy addition to Scranton's legal fraternity which includes as mem-
bers many of the legal lights of the state, and not a few of the country's best.
He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights
of Columbus and the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
Mr. Toohey married a daughter of the late Thomas Maloney. ex-mayor
of Pittston, Pennsylvania. Children : Thomas M., Alice, Mary, Helen.
T. ARCHER MORGAN
The course of the Morgan family is traced from the parish of Llangattoc.
Carmarthenshire, Wales, to the parish of Llandefeilog in the same shire, where
the pursuit of farming was followed on an estate which passed out of the
family on the death of John Morgan, great-grandfather of T. Archer Morgan.
CITY OF SCRANTON 541
(I) John Morgan, born in 1777, lived his entire life on the farm of Pen-y-
fedw where he died in 1857. He held various ofifices in the parish, married and
among his children was David Thomas.
(II) David Thomas Morgafl, born January 19, 1812, received an extended
education in the town of Carmarthen where he fitted himself for the vocation
of civil and mining engineering. His first work of any importance consisted
of superintending a road-building project with headquarters at St. Clears.
There he met and married Mary Saer, daughter of James Saer. His business as
mining engineer subsequently took him to the counties of Pembroke and Mon-
mouth where the greater part of his life was spent prior to coming to America.
In September, 1869, he came, with his wife, to America and settled in Provi-
dence, Pennsylvania, where they had been preceded by their four children,
Martha, William Saer, David Saer and Thomas Saer. The three sons had
been trained by their father in mining engineering and thus the anthracite coal
fields of Pennsylvania were the family's natural objective.
(III) Thomas Saer Morgan was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales, October
13, 1849. He had scarcely started his pursuit of mine surveying and engineer-
ing, under the direction of his father, when he came to America in Januar\',
1869. He at once took a position at Providence with the Delaware & Hudson
Canal Company, in the mining engineering department. His connection with
this company, now the Delaware & Hudson Company, and in the same de-
partment has been continuous from 1869 to the present time, a term of service,
the efficiency and faithfulness of which is proportionate to its extensive dura-
tion. He married, April 29, 1880, Emma, daughter of Alfred and Elinoi
(Jevons) Pitt, in Scranton. The Pitt family, though for many years resi-
dents of Scranton, are of English extraction. The children of this marriage
are: i. Eleanor Jevons, married William A.- Edgar, of Ashley, Pennsylvania,
parents of one son, Russell William. 2. Thomas Archer, of whom further.
(IV) T. Archer Morgan was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, August 19,
1882. He received his early education in the public schools of this place and
in the School of the Lackawanna and then entered Lehigh University whence
he was graduated A. B., with the class of 1904. A course in the law school at
Harvard followed, with the degree in 1907 of LL. B. After a period of study
in Scranton under the preceptorship of Thomas F. Wells. Esq., he was ad-
mitted in February, 1908, to the bar of Lackawanna county. Commencing ii!
1909 he served as title officer with the Title (niaranty & Surety Company
until July, 1913, when he became affiliated with the Scranton Trust Company
in the capacity of trust officer. On October 15. 1910. he married Ruth, elder
daughter of Dr. Frederick Charles and Georgia ( Post ) Johnson, of Wilkes-
Barre, Pennsylvania. Ruth (Johnson) Morgan is a great-great-granddaughter
of Rev. Jacob Johnson, missionary to the Indians, and first settled minister in
Wilkes-Barre. He was a survivor of the battle of Wyoming, known in history
as the "Wyoming Massacre" of July 3, 1778, and drew up the articles of
capitulation. Mr. Morgan is an officer in the Thirteenth Regiment of the
National Guard of Pennsylvania, a member of Peter Williamson Lodge, No.
323, F. and A. M., and of the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity.
WILLIAM H. CHANDLER
The emigrant ancestor of this line of the Chandler family, of which Wil-
liam H. Chandler is the representative in the business and mercantile world
of Scranton, was George Chandler, who set sail from his English home at
Greathodge, in Wiltshire, in the latter part of the seventeenth century. His-
torians of that period disagree as to whether George Chandler ever reached
542 CITY OF SCRANTON
the American shore, some claiming that he did and others asserting that he
died of the smallpox on the high seas, and because of the deadly nature of his
malady and the length of time that would elapse before land was reached,
was given a sea burial. Be that as it may, his wife or widow, Jane, with
several children, Jane, George, Swithin, William, Thomas, Charity and Ann,
reached America, and founded one branch of that numerous family, which in
1882 celebrated at Brandy wine Springs, Pennsylvania, the two hundredth an-
niversary of the landing of the American emigrant.
(I) William Chandler, the grandfather of William H. Chandler, was born
at Wilmington, Delaware, January 14, 1787, died at the Chandler homestead,
in New Garden township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, March 5, 1878. When
but a child he was taken by his parents to Kentucky, where he spent his youth
and grew to manhood. In the earlier years of his life he engaged in the manu-
facture of hats, retiring from active business life in his later years and de-
voting his time, care and attention to the management of the home estate,
which he superintended with the same thorough methods that had char-
acterized his business career. He married Ruth Anna Davis, born August 11,
1801, died March 22, 1846, daughter of Samuel and Sarah Davis. Children
of William and Ruth Anna Chandler: Sarah D., born August 22, 1819;
Mary M., November 18, 1820; Josephus, November 21, 1822; Edwin A., May
10, 1824; William P., October 22, 1825; John L., August 29, 1827; Anna,
October 26, 1829; Esther L., July 4, 1831 ; Samuel D., September 26, 1835;
Louis B., of whom further.
(II) Louis B. Chandler, son of William Chandler, was born at Kennett
Square, Pennsylvania, in 1841, died in 1908. He was a regularly licensed drug-
gist and conducted a pharmacy, at the same time being proprietor of a hardware
store, both profitable businesses and well-patronized. He married Mary Eliza-
beth, daughter of William Hazzard, of Milton, Delaware. Her grandfather,
David Hazzard, was at one time chief justice and governor of the state of
Delaware. The two children of Louis B. and Mary Elizabeth (Hazzard)
Chandler ; Louis B., of New York, and William H., of whom further.
(III) William H. Chandler, son of Louis B. and Mary Elizabeth (Haz-
zard) Chandler, was born at Milton, Delaware, December i, 1866. He at-
tended the public schools of his birthplace and completed his studies at Swarth-
more, Pennsylvania. For ten years after leaving school he was engaged in the
fruit business in Delaware, a business that he still continues. He came to
Scranton, Pennsylvania, where in 1897 he established in the wholesale fruit,
grocery and general produce line, and in connection with the jobbing business
he also conducts large orchard interests, located near Scranton at Lake Winolo.
Uniform success has marked his business career, resulting from the honorable
and open methods he has pursued in all transactions. There is none of his
business associates who does not have the most secure reliance in his integrity,
and never once has this confidence been abused by a breach of probity. It is
about principles of this nature that he has built up a business at once flourish-
ing and lucrative and strong and vigorous in its growth. He afTfiliates with the
Masonic Order and the Scranton Bicycle Club. His church is the Methodist
Episcopal, while in political action he is entirely independent of party ties.
Mr. Chandler married, in 1888, Sarah R., daughter of William Russel, of
Milton, Delaware. They are the parents of two children, William and Sara,
both of whom reside in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
CITY OF SCRANTON 5,,3
CHARLES CONNELL
A descendant of one of the old families of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Mr.
Connell is of the second generation of this branch in Scranton. He is a gratidson
of James and a son of Alexander Connell, the latter born June 30, 1840, in
Nova Scotia, -at Cape Breton, coming to Pennsylvania when a young man.
He was a man of high business quality and until his death, January 6, 1883, was
an active member of William McConnell and Company, coal operators, and
manager of the company's stores. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity
and of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married Elizabeth Campbell of
Scotch ancestry ; children : Charles, of whom further ; Victoria, married Dr.
Charles B. Noecker, a practicing physician of Scranton, No. 213 Connell
Building.
Charles Connell, only son of Alexander Connell, was born at Minooka,
Pennsylvania, November 12, 1879. After a preparatory course in the public
schools he entered the law department of the University of Pennsylvania,
whence he was graduated class of 1902. He also read law under Ira H. Burns,
of Scranton, and was admitted to the bar of Lackawanna county, December
15, 1902, and at once began practice in Scranton. He is a member of the
Lackawanna County Bar Association, and in political faith is a Republican.
His fraternal relations are with the Masonic Order.
Mr. Connell married, November 15, 1905, Teressa C, daughter of John
Nallin. Children: Charles A., born August 24, 191 1; Robert J., October 17,
1912. The family residence is at No. 738 Webster avenue, Scranton.
J. NELSON DOUGLAS, M. D.
A graduate of Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia, J. Nelson
Douglas, M. D., has been identified with his profession in the city of Scran-
ton for nearly ten years, holding at the end of this time a position strong and
assured, presenting a future view of further conquest and still more lofty
station. The career of Dr. Douglas has been unusual in that prior to beginning
the study of medicine he prepared himself thoroughly for an artisan's life
by mastering the machinist's trade, going from the machine shop to the class
room and from a position of experience and knowledge to a novitiate in medi-
cal science.
(I) His ancestry is Irish, the North of Ireland having been the birth-
place of his father, Samuel Wark Douglas, and his grandfather, James Doug-
las, the former the founder of the line in the LTnited States and a minister of
the Presbyterian Reformed church. Children of James Douglas: James, a
farmer of Ireland ; Samuel Wark, see next paragraph ; Emma, married Wil-
liam Ouigg, and they had children, Nelson, Emily and Edna ; Margaret, mar-
ried (first) James Alcorn, and they had one daughter, Emma, (second) Robert
Lowther, and was the mother of Robert, Maggie, Edwin, Bessie ; Bessie, mar-
ried (first) Dr. Kuhn, of New York, (second) Robert Wark, a native of Ire-
land ; Mary, married Richard Steele, a native of the North of Ireland.
(II) Samuel Wark Douglas, son of James Douglas, was born in the North
of Ireland in 1847. He was there educated and grew to manhood, remaining
in that country until 1870 when he immigrated to the LInited States, and was
for a time employed at the trade of carpenter, afterward becoming a student
of theology at the Philadelphia Theological Seminary of the Reformed Pres-
byterian Church. He was graduated from this seminary and was ordained
into the ministry of the Reformed Presbyterian church, later entering the edu-
cational work of the denomination, and being at the present time corresponding
544 CITY OF SCRANTON
secretary of the Worcester University of Ohio. He married (first) Susan
McCandless ; (second) Sarah Smith. By his first marriage he had: Emma,
married Wilham Quigg Jr., son of Wilham Quigg, who married Emma, sister
of Samuel Wark Douglas; Samuel, died in infancey; J. Nelson, see next para-
graph. By his second marriage he was the father of Edward, William, Rich-
ard and Jean Smith. Edward graduated from the Western University of
Pennsylvania, and is now practicing medicine at Connellsville, Pennsylvania.
William is with the Davy Free Export as a foreman, or to be more explicit,
the tree surgery business, that of properly trimming and sawing trees, which is
located at Mountain Lake, Maryland. Richard graduated from the Worcester
University of Ohio, and is now studying law at Western University Law
School, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; he was for several years professor of Eng-
lish at the Worcester University. Jean Smith graduated with the degree of
M. D. from the same University, and is now practicing at Worcester, Ohio.
(Ill) Dr. J. Nelson Douglas, son of Samuel Wark and Susan ( AlcCanfl-
less) Douglas, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 3. 1875. ^^^
was educated in the public schools of Allegheny City, and in 1893 graduated
from the West Middlesex High School. Soon after his graduation he began
to learn the trade of machinist in the Pittsburgh Locomotive Car Works, of
Allegheny City, and was there employed for four years. In 1901 he abandoned
this occupation and entered Hahnemann Medical College, of Philadelphia, and
four years later graduated M. D., the college also conferring upon him the
special degree of Doctor of Homoeopathic Medicine. He then came to Scran-
ton where he spent a year interneship in the Hahnemann Hospital, the first to
fill this position in the new Hahnemann Hospital. Dr. Douglas established in
the practice of his profession, and from October, 1906. until June, 1908, he
resided in Dunmore, at the latter date moving to Providence, where he con-
tinues in the profession to the present time. Dr. Douglas is a member of the
Northeastern Homoeopathic Society, the Lackawanna Homoeopathic Society,
and the Alumni Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania of the Hahnemann
Medical College. He holds a position on the visiting staff of the Hahnemann
Hospital of Scranton. His political party is the Republican. He is a member
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Independent Order of America,
and with his wife belongs to the First Presbyterian Qiurch of Scranton.
Dr. Douglas married Gertrude Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. George E.
Guild, D. D., who was for thirty-two years pastor of the Providence Presby-
terian Church. Rev. George E. Guild, D. D., is the father of: George Clark,
one of the managers of the Trust Fertilizer Company, of New York, mar-
ried Mary Phelps, of Northampton, Massachusetts, and had one child, de-
teased; Burnham E., cashier of the First National Bank of Walton, Delaware
county, New York, married Frances Hurlburt ; Gertrude Elizabeth, of previous
mention, married Dr. J. Nelson Douglas. Children of Dr. J. Nelson and Ger-
trude Elizabeth (Guild) Douglas: J. Nelson Jr., deceased; Malcolm Guild,
born in February, 191 1.
JOHN LENTES
John Lentes was a fine example of that best type of German character
which contributed so largely to the composite citizenship of the United States,
and provided a leaven for the mass of those virtues peculiarly the possession
of the great Germanic peoples, unswerving pursuit of the practical objective,
painstaking industry, and a strong aesthetic sense, nowhere more clearly shown
than in the wellnigh universal cultivation of the art of music. These character-
istics not inaptly described Mr. Lentes' own personality, who was successful
CITY OF SCRANTON 545
alike in the realms of teaching, business and of the art of music to which he
devoted himself. His father, Peter Lentes, was a native of Germany, where
lie spent his youth also the greater part of his active life, only coming to the
United States in later life. He was a carpenter by trade while in Germany,
following that occupation successfully. He married Christina Schuessler, who
died before his removal to the "New World." His emigration took place in
the year 1890, about nine years after his son, the pioneer of the family had
reached these shores. Mr. and Mrs. Lentes Sr. were the parents of two chil-
dren, John, of whom further, and a daughter, now deceased.
John Lentes, eldest child and only son of Peter and Christina (Schuessler)
Lentes, was born August 7, 1856, in Germany, died November 15, 191 3. He
received the elementary portion of his education in the local volkeschule, and
from the start displayed a great aptitude for his studies, insomuch that at the
age of fifteen years he became an assistant teacher in one of them. To this
profession he concluded to devote his life, and to further himself in his de-
termination he entered the Strasburg Academy, from which he graduated
with distinction in the year 1877, at the age of twenty-one. He then became
the recipient of a certificate from the government constituting him a govern-
ment teacher, and returning to his chosen work he engaged in it for some
time in his native land with a high degree of success. The time was one,
however, when a great tide of migration was setting from Germany to the west-
ern republic, tales of whose democratic institutions, with opportunities open to
all, fired the imaginations of the more enterprising in the "Old World.'' Mr.
Lentes was one of those who heard the call and heeded it. In the month of
March, 1881, he arrived in this country, and made his way at once to the
state of Pennsylvania, where he settled in the city of Scranton. Turning at
once to the profession with which he was already familiar, he opened a Ger-
man school in the First German Presbyterian Church of Scranton, the location
of which was on Hickory street. This school, under the skilled management
of Mr. Lentes, made an excellent beginning, and would doubtless have be-
come a well established institution had it not been for an occurrence whicii
diverted his life from its intended course into another channel. It was a time
when the industries of Pennsylvania were in a very rapid state of development,
to the extent that an almost irresistible demand was made by them for the
service of men of capacity. Ability of any kind within reaching distance wa^
quickly recognized and absorbed by the growing leviathan, and it thus hap-
pened that its notice was quickly directed to Mr. Lentes. His services were
sought by the Scranton Steel Company no later than September of the year
of his arrival in this country, and an ofi^er made him which he did not see
his way to refuse. This was before the actual opening of their great mill,
and in the meantime he was employed as a draughtsman. When the plant
was finally in operation, Mr. Lentes became the first weighmaster of the con-
cern, a position which he held for about two years and a half. He was then
appointed by Mr. W. W. Scranton to be timekeeper for the railmill, carpentry
and foundry departments of the South Works. After remaining at this work
about two years longer, he was promoted to be assistant superintendent of
the South Works, the position directly under Mr. John O. Scranton, then
superintendent of that portion of the company's establishment. Desirable as
such a position was in the great Scranton Steel Works, Mr. Lentes' heart
was set upon an independent business, whereof he would be the master, and
accordingly, after filling his responsible post for a number of years, he
withdrew in 1895, and engaged in an insurance business of his own, becoming
the representative of only the best and most firmly established companies, in
35
546 CITY OF SCRANTON
both the life and fire branches of the business. His enterprise was exceedingly-
successful and was prospering and developing at the time of his death.
Besides the insurance business, Mr. Lentes formed a number of other as-
sociations, financial, social and artistic, which brought him into constant touch
with the life of the community in its various aspects. He was a stockholder
in the South Side Bank, a member of the K. of P., Cornet Lodge, No. 431,
of Scranton, of the Mutual Aid Society of the Delaware, Lackawanna &
Western Shop, and of the Arbeiter Benevolent Association. He was a staunch
member of the Democrat party, always took a keen interest in all questions
of broad significance, and an active part in local politics and the conduct of the
community's affairs. He was elected on his party's ticket as alderman of the
eleventh ward of Scranton, and held that office a number of terms, to the
great satisfaction of his fellow citizens. He was also a member of the sinking
fund commission, and in 1897 was appointed a notary public by Governor
Hastings, of Pennsylvania.
One of the most characteristic facts about Mr. Lentes was his great love
of music, in the matter of which he was extremely active in Scranton, both
in the case of secular music and in connection with the German Presbyterian
Church, of which he was a member. He had been instrumental in encouraging
the love of his art throughout his community, and had organized the "Junger
Maennerchor" and the singing section of the Arbeiter Benevolent Association.
He held for eight years the position of organist in the German Presbyterian
Oiurch and during that time officiated at the laying of the corner stone of the
new church, the dedication of the structure, the dedication of the chimes and
the dedication of the new organ, as well as on many other important anrl
memorable occasions in the history of the church. The new organ, men-
tioned above, was very largely the result of Mr. Lentes' exertions, as it was
chiefly due to him that the three thousand dollars necessary for its purchase
was raised. He was also instrumental in organizing a chorus in connection
with the church, which has devoted itself to the giving of concerts at which
the works of the great choral composers are performed for the public. Mr.
Lentes' association with the German Presbyterian Church was not confined
to its musical activity, however. He was an earnest worker for its interests
in all matters, and served for three years as superintendent of the Sunday
school.
Mr. Lentes married, June 4, 1881, Magdalene Hampel, born in Germany.
To them were born four children, three of whom are now living. They are
as follows : Frederick C. W., a patternmaker by trade, leader of the orchestra
in the Presbyterian church, and a member of the Symphony Society and of
the Patriotic Order Sons of America; Magdalene and George W. All of
Mr. Lentes' children inherit their father's musical gifts. Mr. Lentes was one
of the most public-spirited of citizens and gave generously of his time and
energy in the interest of the community of which he was a member. He was
a conspicuous figure in the life of the town and none deserved more the uni-
versal respect and honor in which he was held.
CHESTER CRAIG SAMPSON
In connection with the multifarious affairs of the Scranton Life Insurance
Company, the secretarial position is necessarily an important one, and more
so that of superintendent of agencies, which is occupied at the present time
by Chester Craig Sampson.
He was born in Peckville, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, November
20, 1888. He obtained his education in the Blakely High School. His
CITY OF SCRANTON 547
business experience has been obtained as agency director for the Northeastern
Pennsylvania Railroad, covering nine counties ; as secretary for six years for
A. G. Thomson, manager of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Car Demurrage
Bureau ; in the real estate business for nearly two years in Scranton ; and
with the Scranton Life Insurance Company, of which he is assistant secretary
and superintendent of agencies, having entire charge of the agency organiza-
tion of the company. One of the youngest of Scranton's business men, the
creditable manner in which he discharges the duties of his office, and the
initiative and the self reliance he has displayed, mark him as one of a rising-
generation to whom the city and state must look for the perpetuation of its
institutions, and the furtherance of its social and political ideals. He is a
man of unusual business capacity and sterling personal qualities, and in the
incredibly brief space of three years, by sheer force of industry and intelligent
application of his talents, he has risen, step by step, from clerical work in
the home office of the Scranton Life Insurance Company to a position, in point
of importance, second to none in the gift of the company. Mr. Sampson's
clubs are the Press and Temple, of Scranton ; and he also holds membership
in the fraternal orders, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Free
and Accepted Masons.
THOMAS AMBROSE DONAHOE
Thomas A. Donahoe was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, January 31.
1878. His mother, Mary Donahoe, is living at the present time (1914) and
he resides with her. He obtained his early and preparatory education in the
public schools, being a graduate of the high school, class of 1894. His pro-
fessional education was obtained at Dickinson College Law School, whence
he was graduated LL. B., in 1902. He at once secured admission to the
Lackawanna county bar and began practice in Scranton. He has a well estab-
lished practice in all state and federal courts of the district, and stands high in
the legal profession. In 1907 he was appointed second assistant district attorney
of Lackawanna county by the able and upright incumbent of the office of dis-
trict attorney, Joseph O'Brien. On January i, 1912, he was advanced to first
assistant, which position he filled until January i, 1914. At the fall con-
vention of the Democratic party of Lackawanna county, he was nominated
for the office of district attorney.
For six years Mr. Donahoe was connected with journalism, being on the
staff of the Scranton Truth. Also prior to his admission to the bar, he
served in the capacity of court reporter and assistant city editor. He is a
member of the Scranton Board of Trade and director of the South Side
Bank. He is a member of St. John's Roman Catholic Church; Knights of
Columbus; Scranton Lodge, of which he is dictator; Loyal Order of Moose;
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; the Junior Maennerchor;
Scranton Country Club ; and the Young Men's Institute, serving several terms
on the board of directors.
CHARLES A. MASUCCI
Two generations of the Masucci family of Italy are now represented in
the city of Scranton in the persons of Peter and Charles A. Masucci. Peter
Masucci, the father, was born near Naples, Italy, in 1845, and was for many
years a policeman in his native land. In 1908 he immigrated to the United
States and resides in Scranton at the present time. He married Jennie De
Matteo, and has children: Charles A., of whom further; Lawrence, a resi-
548 CITY OF SCRANTON
dent of New York, married Antonetta De Matteo and has one daughter,
Clara; Antonetta, married Rocco Nicolo, of Scranton ; John, a tailor of Scran-
ton; Mary, married Paul Caruso, and has Frank, David, and Mary; Anthony
J., unmarried, lives in New York ; Rocco, unmarried, resides in Scranton.
Charles A. Masucci, son of Peter and Jennie (De Matteo) Masucci, was
born near Naples, Italy, October i6, 1872. He obtained his education through
attendance in the public schools of his native land, where he lived until 1896.
In that year he came to the United States, landing in New York, and im-
mediately proceeded to Scranton, where he was employed as a shoemaker
until 1905. In that year he opened a shoe store at No. 201 South Main
avenue, where he has since continued in profitable business. Mr. Masucci
belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Victor Emmanuel So-
ciety, the St. Angelo Society, and the Progressive Club. His church is St.
Lucia's Roman Catholic, and in politics he is an Independent. He is chair-
man of the United Italian Societies Hall Association.
Mr. Masucci married Josephine D'Ettorre, and has children : Jennie, born
April 3, 1901 ; Albert, May 30, 1902; Marguerite, May 12, 1904; Emma, Jan-
uary I, 1906; Edward, December 18, 1907; Flora, June 25, 1909; Louise,
March 27, 191 1.
JAMES LAURENCE GAYNOR
As general manager of the Gaynor Contracting Company, Mr. Gaynor
is the head of one cf the most important firms of its kind in Scranton, and
as its head has placed himself high in the estimation of his fellow workers, an
able and competent business man. He is of Irish descent, son of Patrick J.
and Mary (Hawley) Gaynor.
Patrick J. Gaynor was born in county Tipperary, Ireland, and Mrs.
Gaynor was born at Silver Lake, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania. At the
age of fourteen years Mr. Gaynor came to the United States. About 1852
he entered the employ of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad
and later became purchasing agent of the ties and lumber for the Leggett's
Gap Road. He piloted the first engine run on this road, the "Spitfire," on her
trial trip, and was afterward employed for many years as passenger conductor
on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, retiring from active service a few
years before his death in 1890, aged fifty-five years. He was prominent in
local political affairs, and active as well in those of national concern. During
the Hayes-Tilden campaign he took the stump in behalf of the former. While
a full blooded American in the truest sense of the word, he was prevented
from taking up arms in defence of the Union cause during the Civil War by
severe injuries received in a railroad wreck in the early part of 1861. His
wife, Mary (Hawley) Gaynor, had twin brothers in the war, one of whom,
Michael, was a captain in the Federal army, while the other, Thomas, held
the same commission in the Confederate forces, he having located and mar-
ried in the south several years before the war.
James Laurence Gaynor, third son and sixth child of Patrick J. and Mary
(Hawley) Gaynor, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, April 21, 1872. He
attended the public schools until he was fifteen years of age, and then entered
the employ of the Bell Telephone Company, in whose service he progressed
through the various grades until he was appointed assistant chief engineer.
Desiring knowledge that would serve as equipment for a position of greater
trust, responsibility and remuneration, he used a great deal of his spare time
and his evenings in study, also arranging for and completing a special course
in highway engineering at Columbia University. So well were his efforts
CITY OF SCRANTON
549
directed and so confident was he of his improved and increased ability that in
1907 he resigned from the employ of the Bell Company and entered the field
of road contracting and city paving. His success in this line is eloquently
expressed by the awarding to his firm of the contract for twenty-six miles 01
road, extending from the Luzerne county line to that of Susquehanna county,
the largest road contract ever given in that section. The reputation of the
Gaynor Contracting Company throughout the Lackawanna and Wyoming
valleys is such that the name has become synonymous with reliability and fair
dealing. Specification clauses of contracts are always scrupulously observed
and the best of material used in all construction work.
Mr. Gaynor is a member of Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks,
the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Engineers' Club of North-
eastern Pennsylvania, the American Road Builders' Association, the Permanent
International Association of Road Congresses of France, and the Scranton
Board of Trade. He married Katherine Mitchell, daughter of James J. Mit-
chell, of Scranton ; children : James Laurence Jr., Robert, Paul.
In direct proportion to the increasing importance of the Gaynor Contract-
ing Company among the other firms of its kind has been the rise of Mr.
Gaynor, the moving spirit and acting head of the concern, among his business
associates. A fine business man, with a strong intellect and a comprehension
easily grasping big propositions, he has an accurate prophetic vision and the
dynamic force to carry out large projects. Filling a responsible position and
daily confronted by stupendous problems in his chosen line of work, he has
proven himself the master of them all, the right man in the right place,
capably directing the company "s projects. He is, moreover, the type of man
with whom daily relations are a pleasure. Polite and courteous, he is not
only a business man, but a business gentleman.
JOHN LOHMANN
Although not a native born Scrantonian, John Lohmann has spent the
greater part of his life in this city, coming in 1865 and with the exceptiori of
one year and five months spent in Wilkes-Bar: e, has. been a constant resident
since that date. His father, George Lohmann, was born in the Kingdom of
Bavaria, Germany, April 28, 1812; came to the United States in 1850 and
fifteen years later to Scranton. where he died in March, 1907. He married
Katherine Kleinlin, also a Bavarian, and had issue: George A., deceased;
Philip, deceased; John, of further mention; Mary, deceased; Louis, deceased;
Margaret, deceased ; Philomenia, married George J. Schautz.
John Lohmann was born at Honesdale, Pennsylvania, August 25, 1854.
He attended the German Lutheran School of Honesdale until he was eleven
years of age, then in 1865 came to Scranton with his parents. He here be-
came a slate picker at the Oxford breaker of the Delaware, Lackawanna &
Western Railroad Company, working there until 1868, when he began working
for Charles Tropp, the proprietor of the Lackawanna House. He continued
in Mr. Tropp's employ until 1885, then spent seventeen months in Wilkes-
Barre in the employ of his brother George A. He then returned to Scranton,
and on May i, 1886, became proprietor of a restaurant and cafe at No. 219
Lackawanna avenue, where he still continues in prosperous business. He is a
member of the Hickory Street German Presbyterian Church, the Scranton
Liederkranz, treasure:- of the German Building Association No. 10. an office
he has filled since June, 1886. In politics he is an Independent.
Mr. Lohmann married, Mary A., daughter of Antone Klotz, of Clifton,
Pennsylvania, and has children : Louise, married George C. Schuyer, clerk of
5SO CITY OF SCRAXTON
the United States district court in Scranton ; Mabel, deceased ; John A., and
Robert G.
MEREDITH JONES
In this record Wales is once more the country whence came the immigrant
of the line, that land having been the home of the generations of the family
prior to Thomas M., father of Meredith Jones, who came from there in 1850.
Thomas M. Jones was born in 1825, and when twenty-five years of age came
to the United States, settling at Tamaqua, Schuylkill county. Pennsylvania,
where he was engaged in mining until his death in 1899. He became a lo\;d
Republican, and was a charter member of the Scranton West Side Welsh
Congregationalist Church. One of his brothers, Thomas, also immigrated to
this country and enlisted in the Union army when war between the states was
declared, serving in the army for the four years during which the war con-
tinued, in that time participating in all the engagements of his regiment with-
out serious mishap. Thomas M. Jones married Gwennie Powell and had
fourteen children, among whom were: John P., deceased; Benjamin L., con-
nected with the postal service at Hyde Park, Scranton, Pennsylvania ; Mere-
dith, of whom further ; Robert P., of whom further; Mary Jane, married Tullie
S. Morgan, and resides in Ocean Grove, New Jersey; Elizabeth, deceased.
Meredith Jones, son of Thomas M. and Gwennie (Powell) Jones, was
born at Tamaqua, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, April 9, 1858, and until
he was seven years of age attended the public schools. At this youthful age
he obtained employment in the mines of the locality as a slate picker, re-
maining in the mines in different capacities until he was twenty-seven years of
age. He became a resident of the city of Scranton in 1862, and after for-
saking mine employment established in milk and ice cream dealing which he
continued for twelve years, after which he bought and sold second-hand
furniture until 1913 with profitable success, in which latter year he retired,
his two sons assuming the management of the business he had founded and
nurtured to its present generous dimensions. In 1910, while so engaged, he
built and opened the Park Theatre at No. 201 Main avenue, relinquishing the
direction of its affairs in 1914, his son-in-law succeeding to his position. This
venture also met with success, the theatre being a popular one and one of the
favorite places of amusement in the city, with a seating capacity of seven
hundred. Since his retirement Mr. Jones has found ample time to devote to
study and reading, both of which possess a great attraction for him and both
of which he has indulged to the utmost of his opportunities. This has been a
desire and an instinct purely natural, for his tendencies in that direction had
little opportunity for growth and expansion during his brief school days, so
unfortunately curtailed by the necessities of life. He has the best of the
world's literature stored in his capacious mind, and has the real student's love
of the possession of favorite volumes, his library containing the works of
classic and modern authors in which he finds the most enjoyment, irrespective
of the judgment of critics and savants. Politics has been a field into which
Mr. Jones has never ventured except as a loyal champion of temperance and
an untiring toiler for the cause of temperance, the Prohibition party receiving
the benefit of his influence as well as of his vote.
Mr. Jones married Letitia, daughter of Daniel Hughes. Her father, who
died aged twenty-seven years, was an engineer in the Diamond Mines, and
held membership in the Masonic Order. Children of Meredith and Letitia
(Hughes) Jones: Frank, born in 1879, and Wesley, born in 1880, conduct the
second-hand furniture business established by their father; Jessie, married
CITY OF SCRANTON 551
Horatio Vallance Jones, and has one daughter, Dorothy, born in 1912; Eliza-
beth, married Arthur Luce, and resides in Scranton.
ROBERT P. JONES
Robert P. Jones, tenth of the fourteen children of Thomas M. (q v.) and
Gwennie (Powell) Jones, was born on West Side, Scranton, Pennsylvania.
May 17, 1866. As a youth he attended the public schools, and then became a
slate picker in a nearby colliery, when a lad of seventeen years becoming
associated with the Scranton Stove Works. His first position was in an un-
important capacity, but such eagerness to master the business and such tire-
less industry as he displayed could not be long denied their just reward, and
he was raised through successive promotions to his present important post,
superintendent of the foundry department. Length of service with any one
concern is an unfailing sign of satisfactory and congenial relations between
superiors and subordinates, and in the case of Mr. Jones it holds true in all
force. His other business connections are as a stockholder in the Corno Silk
Mills and in association with Sweeney Brothers, paving and sewer contractors,
this last-named concern having just fulfilled a municipal contract at Forest
City involving twenty-five thousand dollars.
Mr. Jones is a Republican politically, and for nine years was elected as-
sessor of the sixth ward on the ticket of that party. He was the fusion can-
didate for the borough council, and was largely instrumental in securing the
passing of the resolution for paving the sidewalks and installing sewers in
the borough, two improvements that have added much to the beauty of the
borough and to its desirability as a place of residence. Mr. Jones is a thirty-
second degree Mason, and a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church,
being president of its board of trustees.
Mr. Jones married Margaret, daughter of John H. and Rachel (Davis)
Jones, and after theii marriage they resided for a time in Hyde Park, Mrs.
Jones' girlhood home, then moving to Dunmore, their present home being at
No. 1369 Jeliferson avenue. Children of Robert P. and Margaret ( Jones j
Jones: Thomas M., John H., Robert P. Jr.
CHARLES E. TOBEY
The Tobey family is an ancient and reputable one in England. The earliest
mention of the name in this country is found in the records of the Massa-
chusetts Bay Colony, in the year 1634. The Tobey family of which Charles
E. Tobey, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, is a representative, were resident in
Otsego county. New York, but their first American settlement was in Connecti-
cut, where they were early a prominent family. The paternal grandmother
of Mr. Tobey was Celestia Grant, born May 24, 1809, a cousin of General
Ulysses S. Grant, and her line of descent is as follows: Matthew Grant, born
October 27, 1601, embarked from Plymouth, England, March 20, 1630, on the
"Mary and John," and landed at Boston, Massachusetts, May 30, 1630; John,
son of Matthew Grant, was born September 30, 1642 ; Josiah, son of John
Grant, was born May 28, 1682; Ebenezer, son of Josiah Grant, was born
March 2, 1723; Isaac, son of Ebenezer Grant, was born April 3, 1760; Isaac,
son of Isaac Grant, was born February 3, 1785; Celestia, daughter of Isaac
Grant, was married to Edward Tobey.
(II) Albert B. Tobey, son of Edward and Celestia (Grant) Tobey, was
born in Otsego county. New York, September 22, 1831, was there educated,
and learned the carpenter's trade. He was engaged in business as a con-
552 CITY OF SCRANTON
tractor and builder until his death at the age of seventy-five years. He mar-
ried Helen Osborn, who preceded him in death many years.
(HI) Charles E. Tobey, son of Albert B. and Helen (Osborn) Tobey.
was born in Morris, Otsego county, New York, March 22, 1863. He attended
the public schools of his native town until he was fifteen years of age, after
which he attended school at Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, for two years. In
February, 1880, he entered the employ of the Erie Railroad Company in the
department of motive power, continuing until 1899, but in various depart-
ments, including ten years in the main office in New York City. On June 15,
1899, he located in Scranton, as chief clerk under Superintendent E. E. Loomir.
head of the coal mining department of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western
Railroad Company. Two years later, Mr. Loomis having been promoted to
the position of general manager, Mr. Tobey was advanced to the post of
assistant superintendent. In 191 1 further promotions were made, ]Mr. Phillips
becoming general manager, Mr. Tobey advancing to superintendent, a respon-
sible position he now holds with the same company with which he began as
clerk in 1899. His rise has been a steady one and predicated in each stage on
merit of so high an order that it could not be over-looked. He has been able
to give most excellent reports of his stewardship during the years he has
been superintendent of that department. He is a director of the Anthracite
Trust Company, was one of the organizers of that company and is a member
of the executive board.
Mr. Tobey is a man of varied tastes and disposition. Thoroughly a busi-
ness man, he also is a lover of animals and poultry, and is so well known in
this light that in 1912 he was chosen president of the Scranton Poultry and
Pet Stock Association, and also president of the International Rose Comb
Black Minorca Club. He is interested in Young Men's Christian Association
work and is a director of the Railroad Branch. Fond of the fellowship of his
friends and neighbors he has three times been chosen by them as president
of the Green Ridge Club, and takes a solid enjoyment in the social life of the
club. He served two years as president of the Scranton District Mining In-
stitute ; is a member of the Royal Arcanum, the Modern Woodmen of America,
the Engineers' Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania and of the Scranton
Board of Trade.
Mr. Tobey married, October 30, 1884, Annie E. Bartram, daughter of
Charles T. Bartram, of Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. Children : Charles B.,
now connected with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company ;
Hazel Dell, married Warren L. Fuller, of Scranton: Albert T., now with the
Kresge Five and Ten Cent Store Company, at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania ;
Clarence L., attending Bellefonte Academy; Anna E., attending school at
Scranton.
WILLIAM F. McGEE
In the life of a city, such as Scranton, which sprang rapidly from a country
hamlet into a thriving manufacturing center, there is no way to give a man
place among his fellows except by his achievement, although in an older city,
with long established institutions and firmly seated traditions, the importance
of an individual may be predicted upon the deeds of his ancestors or the
position held by his family. It is, therefore, the organizers, builders and
promoters of Scranton who form the aristocracy of the municipality, and
it is of one of this class, William F. McGee, with whom this narrative deals.
The ancestry of William F. McGee traces to Ireland, whence came liis
grandfather and settled in Carbondale in the early days of that place. Here
CITY OF SCRANTON 533
Patrick ]\IcGee, father of William F. McGee, was born and here spent all
his life in the coal mines of the immediate vicinity. The unhealthfulness of
his employment speedily undermined his strength and his life was cut off ir
its prime in 1897. He married Mary, daughter of Michael Devine, of English
descent, and had seven children who attained maturity : William, Thomas,
Patrick, Mary, Elizabeth, Frances, Jane. Mary (Devine) McGee died in
1910, aged sixty years.
William F. IvIeGee, son of Patrick and Mary (Devine) McGee, was born
in Scranton, Pennsylvania, February 22, 1872. He attended the public schools
of his native city and here his entire school education was obtained. His first
position was in the employ of Rice, Levy & Company, where he remained
for five years, leaving to begin an association with the Maloney Oil Company,
which continued pleasantly and profitably for eighteen years, during which
time he acted as manager of the works. In 1903 he was the principal organizer
of a company to promote slag roofing, a roof covering now much in use, and
since that time has been treasurer of the company. The concern is the only
one of its kind in Scranton and employs about forty persons. Contracts are
made for roofing, which include the laying of the material, and a flourishing
business is done by the company, the durability of this compound gaining many
users. The Diamond Oil and Paint Company, as yet an infant industry, was
organized in 191 1 and at the present time covers territory within a radius
of seventy-five miles of the Scranton headquarters. The officers, which are
tlie same as at the time of incorporation, are: E. J. Lynett, president, John H.
Foy, secretary, and William F. McGee, treasurer. Mr. McGee's thorough-
ness and scrupulousness in financial dealings make him an excellent choice for
treasurer, his reports being clear, definite and comprehensive. He is actively
interested in politics, although never accepting public office, and strongly
sympathizes with the Democratic party. He is a member of the Knights of
Columbus and has been a delegate to the National convention of the order, also
belonging to the Catholic Club and to the Old Guard.
Mr. McGee married Mary E., daughter of Patrick Mitchell, of Scranton,
and has four children, Thomas, William, Robert, Marion. Mr. McGee is the
active type of business man, always on the alert for opportunity, not content
to sit passively by and to wait for fortune, but ever seeking better and larger
fields. He owes his present position entirely to his own efforts and as he is
but a young man, his part in the future of his city, from the promise of his
past record, should be one of prominence and honor.
JOHN JENKINS OWENS
This branch of the Owens family was planted on American soil by John
Jenkins Owens, who was born in Wales, T"lv 29. 1834. and came to the United
States in 1869. He located in Providence (Scranton) which was his home
until his death in 1912. He was a miner by occupation and worked continu-
ously at that business until his retirement in 1900. He married Louise, daugh-
ter of John Prosser, and had issue: David, Jenkins, Mary Ann, Lilly, An-
nette, Sarah, Jennie, John Jenkins, of whom further.
John Jenkins Owens Jr. was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, November
23 "1876. He obtained all of the public school advantages of the city and
pursued courses of studv at Bucknell Academy, later entering Bucknell Col-
lege In 1906 being then thirtv vears of age. he completed a course of legal
study at the Universitv of Michigan, receiving his degree, LL. B., with the
class of that year. After passing the Pennsylvania state board of examiners,
in 1907 was appointed secretary of the civil service board in that city. During
554 CITY OF SCRANTON
the war with Spain in 1898 Mr. Owens enhsted in Company A, Thirteenth
Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, and spent eleven months in the service,,
principally in the south, being mustered out in Georgia. He is a member of
Colonel T. D. Lewis Council, Junior Order of United American ^Mechanics ;
Rescue Lodge, Knights of Pythias; Lincoln Lodge, Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, and Green Ridge Camp, Modern Woodmen of America. In
politics he is a Republican, and in religious faith a Methodist.
Mr. Owens married Lou, daughter of John Wesley Young, of Rochester,
Michigan, her mothei, who was a Miss Brewster, a lineal descendant of the
Pilgrim, Elder William Brewster, of the pioneer Plymouth colony, of which
he was a leading spirit. Children : J. Alton, born April 3, 1908 ; Jack, born
February it, 191 1; Brewster, born Alarch 27, 1913.
JOHN R. JONES
Welsh in descent and birth, John R. Jones is American in every other
respect, having been brought by his parents to the LTnited States in his infancy.
He is well and favorably known as a druggist of Providence, Pennsylvania, a
calling he has followed throughout his entire life, his father, William R. Jonc-.
having been connected with mining in his new home.
John R. Jones is a grandson of John Jones, a native and life-long resident
of Wales, where were born two sons, William R., of whom further, and John.
William R., son of John Jones, was born in Wales in 1839, died in 1894
After his immigration to the L'uited States in 1869 he engaged in mining until
his death. He married Esther Edwards, a native of Wales, and had children :
I. Mary, married Daniel Bevan, of Miners Mills, Pennsylvania. 2. William-
D., an engineer of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania ; married Emily Littlefield,
and has one son, Gomar C. 3. Hannah, married Thomas H. Price, of Wilkes-
Barre, formerly a mine inspector and at the present time general manager of
a mine at that place ; children : William, Thomas, Richard, Earl. 4. John R..
of whom further. 5. Sarah, deceased. 6. Gomar C, manager of the Knoej^>-
fell Drug Store at No. 650 Adams avenue ; married Pearl Loveland, and ha-^
one daughter, Esther. 7. Elvira, deceased.
John R. Jones, son of William R. and Esther (Edwards) Jones, wa'>
born in Wales, December 11, 1868, and the following year was brought to
the LTnited States by his parents. He attended the public schools and grad-
uated from the high school at Plains, Pennsylvania. When he was fifteen
years of age he became employed in the drug store owned by Charles Maher,
at Miners Mills, Pennsylvania, and afterward established in the same line
independently in that place. Moving to Jermyn, Pennsylvania, in 1892, he
was for three years employed with Dr. Davis, proprietor of a drug store in
that place, Mr. Jones in 1895 severing his relations with Dr. Davis and open
ing a drug store under his own name. Upon the destruction of this store by
fire in 1904, Mr. Jones established in business at No. 2431 North Main
avenue, his present location. His well appointed pharmacy and the excel-
lent service there received gives his establishment the popularity it deserves.
In line with his professional interests, Mr. Jones is a member of the Lacka-
wanna County Druggists' Association and the Pennsylvania Pharmaceutical
Society. He affiliate.-, with the Improved Order of Heptasophs. and belongs
to Celestial Lodge and Electric City Encampment, Independent Order of Odd
Fellows. His political party is the Progressive.
Mr. Jones married Jeannette, daughter of Thomas Reese, of Miners Mills,
Pennsylvania, and has one son, Willard, born in 1891, a graduate of the
Scranton High School.
CITY OF SCRANTON 555
HARRY J. JONES
Founder and proprietor of the Woodlawn Farm Dairy, Harry J. Jones
has added to the business interests of Scranton a line that has well demon-
strated its worth and strength and is at the present time known and listed
as one of the substantial and flourishing businesses of the city. A native of
Wales and there educated, Mr. Jones is a descendant of Welsh ancestors.
that country having been the birthplace of his grandfather, Daniel Jones,
who there died in 1884. He was the father of: John, of whom further:
Daniel and Isaac, residing in Wales; Morris, met his death in a mine accident;
David, came to the United States in 191 3, now lives in Edwardsville, Penn-
sylvania; Jennie, married a Mr. Griffiths, of Edwardsville; Jane, deceased.
(II) John Jones, son of Daniel Jones, was born in Wales, in 1854, and
came to the United States in 1892, settling at Elk Mountain, Pennsylvania,
and there engaging in farming. He married Frances Vallance, and has chil-
dren: Harry J., of whom further; George W., employed by the Pittsburgh
Steel Company, married May Carpenter, and has one son, Chester W. ; Horatio
Vallance, married Jessie Jones, and is the father of one child, Dorothy; Jane
Frances, married Howard Wells, of Elkdale, and has a daughter, Elna ; Frank
F., married Blanche Churchill, has one daughter, Frances, and lives at Elk
Mountain, Pennsylvania.
(III) Harry J. Jones, son of John and Frances (Vallance) Jones, was
born at Cardiff, Wales, April 23, 1878. He attended the grammar and high
schools of his native land for nine years, at the end of that time becoming a
salesman in the employ of his father, at that time engaged in business in the
homeland. This he soon abandoned to come to the United States, which he
did in 1892, arriving in Scranton on the Saturday following Thanksgiving
Day in that year, his first position in that city being with the Ansley Lumber
Company, where he remained for eighteen months. His father having rented
the farm of Isaac Hair in Rush township, Mr. Jones for two years assisted
him in its cultivation, the elder Jones at the end of that time moving to the
property of T. J. Davis, of Elk Mountain, which they rented for two years
before purchasing. Here Mr. Jones resided, engaged in agricultural opera-
tions, until the beginning of the war with Spain, when he enlisted in Com-
pany M, Eleventh Regiment United States Infantry. This company was
forwarded to Fort McPherson and then to Tampa, Florida, where under
General Miles it embarked for Porto Rico, and after the regiment landed at
Ponce then proceeded to Yaucco where they mobilized and then marched to
Sabe Grande, and on to San Germane, then to Homequiras, where they were
engaged with the enemy for three hours on August 13. The following day
the regiment, which was almost full strength, numbering twelve hundred men,
proceeded to Mayaguez, and after here performing patrol duty for a time
once more set out on the march. Hostilities having ceased pending arbitra-
tion, the regiment returned to Mayaguez, and here Mr. Jones' company re-
mained until October 15, the greater part of the members thereof being upon
the sick list. Receiving orders to proceed the company went to San Jean,
arriving in that place on October 21, the day on which the Spaniards evacuated
the city. The company being disbanded and its members discharged from the
service, Mr. Jones returned to Scranton, having during his enlistment been
raised to the rank of corporal. In 1900. after his marriage, he made his home
on the T. J. Davis farm in New Milford township, one year later moving to
Scranton and for three years holding the position of yard foreman with the
Ansley Lumber Company, a relation filled with satisfaction to employers and
employee.
556 CITY OF SCRANTON
He left this concern to establish a business of his own, the result of a plan
that had been forming in his mind for some time, and opened the Woodlawn
Farm Dairy at No. 315 North Main avenue. This dairy plant is equipped
thoroughly with the most modern appliances and machinery for the pasteuriz-
ing, bottling and capping of milk and for the manufacture of butter. One of
the most pleasing features of the plant is the complete sanitary arrangement,
all possibilities and opportunities for the pollution of the protlucts in the
slightest degree being lowered to a practically irreducible minimum. Mr.
Jones' dairy is a striking illustration of the changing usages and customs of
the times, for it has been but a few years since when the idea of such an
establishment would have been roundly scoffed. At this place he conducts a
business whose growth has exceeded even the most sanguine hopes of its
founder, his establishment having sprung into instant favor which has steadily
increased with the passing of the years. Mr. Jones also has creameries and
receiving stations at Herrick Center and Lake Winola. Mr. Jones is a Re-
publican in politics. He worships with the Welsh Baptist Church, and is a
member of Hyde Park Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and the Knights
of Pythias.
Mr. Jones married, April 18, 1900, Jessie, daughter of William and Mary
(Williams) Wicks, of Scranton. Air. Wicks is a native of England, his wife
born in Wales, the former coming to the United States in young manhood,
the latter when she was twenty-one years of age. Their children : Hattie,
married John H. Phillips ; Agnes, married T. D. Morgan, of Scranton ; Al-
bert, married Mary Sullivan ; Jessie, of previous mention, married Harry J.
Jones ; Thomas, married iMary Schultz. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are the parents
of one daughter, Agnes, born May 24, 1901.
HARRY T. MADDEN
Harry T. Madden, proprietor of the Nash and Holland Hotels, one of
the most popular hosts of Scranton, is well known, not only in business
circles, but in social and musical coteries as well. He is a son of Thomas G.
Madden, born in 1839, a farmer of Wayne county, Pennsylvania, which dis-
trict he served for two terms as commissioner. For thirty years he held the
office of justice of the peace and for more than that length of time was one of
the representative and prominent men of his locality, being among the leaders
in all projects for the public benefit, ever ready and willing to bear his share
of the labor and responsibility entailed. That patriotism was not the least
of his passions was shown by his early enlistment in the Union army, after
the president's call for volunteers, and for three years and nine months, until
the conclusion of hostilities, he was at the front with his regiment. He
married Mary E. Wolf, and had: Bert; William, a resident of Scranton;
Anna, married William Salattie ; Harry T., of whom further; Frank.
Harry T. Madden, son of Thomas'O. and Mary E. (Wolf) Madden, was
born in Wayne county, Pennsylvania, January 27, 1878. In his youth he at-
tended the public schools, completing his education in the Scranton-Lacka-
wanna Business College. His first employment in Scranton was with the
Quackenbush company, wholesalers, with whom he remained about six
months, and in 1903 he received a call from Rev. Rogers Israel, of St. Luke's
Episcopal Church, asking him to take charge of the work at the Scranton
Boys' Industrial Association, a position he held until 1907, and according to
the boys who knew Mr. Madden when he was in charge, there was not a more
popular man in the association. Athletics thrived during his administration,
he ahvavs had championship baseball, football, basketball, running and wrest-
CITY OF SCR.A.NTON 557
ling teams. He was the advocate of clean sport, and while he was in charge
the boys all knew that everything had to be on the square. Later he became
proprietor of the Nash Hotel, which he conducted until 191 1, in which year
he added to his possessions the Holland Hotel, at the present time operating
both houses of entertainment. In addition to his hotel business, Mr. JMaddeii
maintains a modern catering establishment, with accommodations capable of
providing for large numbers, and in this line he holds a reputation that equals
his renown as a host.
Air. Madden is a lover of music and has been endowed with talent of an
ex'ceptional order, holding membership and taking an active part in the lead-
ing musical organizations of the city. For a number of years he has belonged
to the Junger Mannerchor and Elm Park Choral Society, and for nine years
has been a member of the Anthracite Male Quartette. He takes part in all the
important musical entertainments and fetes in the city, and whenever Scranton
is represented in like events in other sections of the country. He is a member
of the body delegated by the city to uphold its musical honor in competition
with the other cities of the world, having been a member of the chorus that
was awarded the first prize at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Loui>.
and he went to Pittsburgh with the choir under John T. Watkins. He has
recently been selected as chorister of the Anderson evangelistic party, being
thoroughly qualified for the position, owing to the fact that nearly all his life
he has been a gospel singer, excelling in chorus leading. During the recent
revival campaign in Scranton, Mr. Madden had charge of the overflow meet-
ings in Elm Park Church, and his pleasing personality and the excellent man-
ner in which he handled the crowds left a deep impression. Not only in Elm
Park Church did Air. Madden lead singing, but every Sunday afternoon he
would have charge of the singing at the Young Men's Christian Association.
where nearly one thousand men gathered to worship and hear good speakers.
For five years Mr. Madden was in charge of that part of the program for the
association, and therefore is fully equal to take charge of the music at Coates-
ville with Dr. Anderson. Mr. Madden has a wonderfully rich voice, and can
make himself heard no matter how many are singing.
Raised by strong Christian parents. Mr. Madden himself has been a true
Christian the greater part of his life, holding membership in the Methodist
Episcopal church, to the affairs of which he has devoted m^ich of his tini'-,
especially to the musical part, and for three years he has led the singing in
the primary department of the Elm Park Sunday school. Mr. Aladden's fra-
ternal connections are with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights
of Malta, the Patriotic Order Sons of America, and the Masonic Order, in
which he holds the Knights Templar degree and belongs to the Nobles of the
Mystic Shrine.
Mr. Madden married, June 14, 1910, Grace, daughter of Walter W. and
Susie E. Brown. She is a graduate of the Scranton Conservatory of Music.
She has always been a great help and inspiration to Mr. Madden in his work.
Children: Ralph Clarke, born December 25, 191 1, and Ruth Lucelia, born
July 8, 1913.
SEYMOUR EDMUND JONES
Three generations of the Jones family of Wales have been connected with
Scranton in business dealings, two as merchant tailors, the present as a phar-
macist. William Jones, grandfather of Seymour Edmund Jones, was a native
of Wales, and was at one time a member of that select body, the pride and
envy of the English army, the Queen's Guards, composed of the most finely
558 CITY OF SCRANTON
formed soldiers in the service. After coming to the United States he settled
on the West Side of Scranton, and there conducted a tailoring business. He
married and had children: Randolph, of whom further; William, a merchant
of Hyde Park; Matilda, married George T. Morgan, and resides at Nanticoke,
the mother of Matilda and Jennie.
(H) Randolph Jones, son of William Jones, was born in Cardiff, Wales,
in 1842, and when seven years of age was brought by his parents to the
United States, attending the public schools of this city. When he had attained
sufficient years he became his father's assistant, later being proprietor of a
tailoring establishment, continuing in this line of business for a period of
forty years, during which time he gained a wide reputation as a careful and
skillful workman, the demands of his many customers keeping him constantly
busy. His death occurred in October, 1904. He married Lulu, daughter of
Frederick Nichols, a hardware merchant of Scranton, and had children :
Frederick R., born in July, 1879, resides in New York City; Seymour Edmund,
of whom further.
(HI) Seymour Edmund Jones, son of Randolph and Lulu (Nichols)
Jones, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, January 15, 1881. He attended
the public schools of his native city, his course including high school instruc-
tion. In young manhood he was for four years employed in the pharmacy of
W. H. McGarrah, of Scranton, there obtaining practical and useful knowledge
of the profession he later took up in the Buffalo College of Phannacy. In his
sophomore year in this institution he satisfactorily passed the state board
examinations, and after his graduation was for six years employed as pre-
scription clerk in the Sanderson Pharmacy in Scranton, later purchasing the
business from Norman Stuart, H. C. Sanderson's successor. Mr. Jones has
since continued the business with marked success, his pharmacy possessing
all the departments characteristic of the modern drug store, an institution
differing so widely from that from which it sprang. Up-to-date equipment
and reliable service constitute the keynote of the pharmacy's popularity, Mr.
Jones exacting most scrupulous care from all connected with his business. He
holds membership in Peter Williamson Lodge, No. 323, F. and A. M., an \
the Scranton Board of Trade. His church is the Immanuel Baptist, and
politically he is a Republican.
Mr. Jones married Bessie L., daughter of William G. Daniels, her father
a native of Wales, who came to Scranton as a young man, for several years
being a clerk of courts and recorder of deeds in the city. Mr. and Mrs. Jones
are the parents of one son, Randolph W.. born December 11, 1906.
JOHN MASUCCI
After a youth and early manhood spent under the blue skies of Italy, John
Masucci, with his youth, vigor, tailoring skill and artistic temperament came
to the United States where he has gained an honorable position as one of
the leading designers of women's fine tailored costumes. He is the son of
Pietro Masucci, a soldier of the army of Italy, twice honored by medals for
bravery, a blacksmith by trade, a general merchant, and for twenty-five years
an officer in the police service of Italy. In 1907 he disposed of all his pos-
sessions and came to the United States, locating in Scranton where he now
resides. He married, in Italy, Jane Dematteo, daughter of a merchant of
Guardia ; children : Angelo, Lurenzo, Antonia, John, of whom further ; Maria,
Rocco. All of these came to the United States except Antonia, and all re-
side in Scranton except Maria.
John Masucci was born in Guardia, Lombardy, province of Avellino,
CITY OF SCRANTON 55y
Italy, December lo, 1881. He was well educated in the public scliools. aii-i
after two years at a leading gymnasium (college) began learning tailoring
and designing. He became an expert worker in cloth and as a designer 0I
women's costumes, continued until 1898 when he engaged on the German
steamship "Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse" and came to the United States, lo-
cating in New York City. There, for two years, he was employed by some
of the best women's tailoring firms of the city, and during the same period
attended high schools, acquiring a knowledge of the English language and
increasing his store of general learning. In 1904 he came to Scranton where
in partnership with his brother Lorenzo, and Gaetano, he opened a tailor-
ing shop at No. 107 Wyoming avenue, but only continued one year. In 1910,
having worked for ethers during the intervening period and obtained a com-
plete understanding of the requirements and conditions, Mr. Masucci opened
a high class ladies' tailoring shop at No. 401 Traders' National Bank Build-
ing. Here his artistic designs and finished workmanship have attracted a
liberal patronage, his customers numbering many of the leading families of the
city. His success in Scranton encouraged him to broaden his field of opera-
tions, and in September, 1913, he opened a similar shop in Wilkes-Barre,
Pennsylvania. He is highly regarded among his countrymen and by all who
know him, is a naturalized citizen and progressive Republican in his political
affiliation. He is a member of Hyde Park Lodge, No. 339, F. and A. M.,
Christopher Columbus Lodge, No. 1160, I. O. O. F., and of several dis-
tinctively Italian societies and orders. He married, in 1904, Antonetta, daugh-
ter of Nunzio Razzano. Children: Helen, Laura, Peter, John (2), Astera.
WINFIELD SCOTT HAINES
After an interesting career, confined largely to railroad work and touching
many departments thereof, Winfield Scott Haines, descendant of Scotch anil
English ancestry of New England residence, remains in that calling as master
mechanic in the Dunmore shops of the Wyoming Division of the Erie Rail-
road, with which road he has been connected for a period of twelve years in
Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Mechanic, fireman and engineer are three of
the grades of service he has filled as a railroad employee, and there is little in
that line with which he has not become thoroughly familiar during his long
career.
Philips, Maine, was the home of Reuben Haines, of English descent, tliat
having been his chosen residence upon coming to Maine, and there he passed
the greater part of his life. His wife, a Miss Ridley, was a member of a
Scotch family, and among their children was Alonzo, a native of Maine, who
early in life acquainted himself with the trade of millwright. His residence
was unsettled, his home having been at various times in La Crosse, Wiscon-
sin, Onalaska, Wisconsin, and Janesville, in the same state. He was for
three years a farmer near Palatine, Illinois, afterward moving to Oshkosh,
Wisconsin, returning to work at his trade, millwrighting. He afterward,
in partnership with a brother, established in business as bridge builders and
contractors, their business becoming one of the largest of its kind in the
country, their operations as bridge builders extending over a wide area. In
1863 he went to Nashville, Tennessee, to execute a contract with the LTnited
States government, and there, in March of the following year, his death oc-
curred, when he was forty-three years of age. He married, in Rockland,
Maine, Lavina Brown, who died at Enderlin, North Dakota, in 1894, aged
seventy-four years, her father a sea captain. Both were members of the
56o CITY OF SCRANTON
Methodist Episcopal clTurch, and were the parents of four children, of whom
Winfield Scott is the only survivor.
Winfield Scott Haines, second child of Alonzo and Lavina (Brown)
Haines, was born in Strong, Maine, May 19, 1850, and when three years of
age was taken by his parents to Janesville, Wisconsin, thereafter accompanying
them in their numerous changes of residence, attending school in each place.
After the death of his father Mr. Haines began the work of life, his first
position being as a fireman in a match factory owned by J. C. Clark, of
Oshkosh, Wisconsin, after which he was employed in the machine shop
operated by Morris & Page. In 1868 he became a fireman on the Chicago
& Northwestern Railroad, in the following year moving to Lowell, jMassa-
chusetts, and entering the Lowell Machine Shops under John E. Downs,
contracting foreman. Four years later he left the Lowell shops and became
a fireman on the Boston, Lowell & Nashua Railroad, afterward becoming-
engineer on a switch engine in the Lowell yards of the road. The Wamesitt
Steam Mill Company, of Lowell, Massachusetts, next commanded his services
in the position of engineer, and in 1878 he moved west as the employee of the
Northern Pacific Railroad, his duties those of machinist, while at times he
served as engineer. In February, 1880, he resigned from this employ and for
one year was a machinist in the shops of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul
Railroad, at Sanborn, Iowa, subsequently becoming an engineer on the same
road. Until 1886 he filled the position of general foreman in the Sanborn
works, and in June of that year engaged in construction work on the projected
Minneapolis & Pacific Railroad, at the direction of F. D. Underwood, division
superintendent. In August, 1886, he became master mechanic in the same
employ, remaining thus until the completion of the road, after which work
was begim on the road now known as the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste.
Marie.
Mr. Haines felt, in 1888, the restless desire that often comes to those who
have once held the throttle of a locomotive, and he returned to his old calling,
that of engineer, for four years having a passenger run between Gladstone
and Sault Ste. Marie, at the end of that time once more assuming the duties
of master mechanic. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad became his master in
November, 1898, his rank the same as formerly, and until 1902 he was lo-
cated at Newark, Ohio. In the latter year lie entered the service of the Erie
Railroad at Jersey City, New Jersey, and in March, 1904, was transferred to
the Wyoming Division of that road, and has since been a master mechanic in
the shops of Dunmore.
Although not appearing in its proper place in the above narrative, Mr.
Haines has been, as well as a stationary and railroad engineer, a marine en-
gineer, bringing the "Evangeline" from tidewater to Lowell, Massachusetts,
she being the first and only steamboat to make that voyage. He also ran an
excursion boat from Lowell to Nashua, New Hampshire, the excursion line
having been a part of a carefully planned piece of political strategy on the
part of the well known politician, "Ben" Butler, who was then working on a
waterways appropriation from Congress.
Mr. Haines is as thoroughly proficient in his calling as knowledge and
mature experience can make one. His record contains naught but satisfactory
service, and in the positions of responsibility he has held, whether at the loco-
motive throttle, in construction work, or in the shops, he has risen to emerg-
encies with prompt initiative that marks the man of resourcefulness, courage
and confidence. Mr. Haines is a member of the Dunmore Methodist Episcopal
Church, the Masonic Order, and the Scranton Engineers' Club.
Mr. Haines married Fannie Presho, born in Running Water, South Dakotaj
^■
^^^.j^.t^A'uJ-oC . 1/ /H
CITY OF SCRANTON
561
daughter of Nathaniel Presho, her father a cattle raiser of South Dakota, his
ranch located about four miles from Running Water. Children of Win'ficld
Scott and Fannie ( Presho) Haines: Genevieve, married James McKesson,
district manager of the fimi of Corrigan & McKinney, proprietors of an iron
foundry in Pittsburgh; Jane.
HOWLEY BROTHERS
The brothers, Peter F. and Michael T. Howley, are sons of Michael and
Mary (Brown) Howley, both parents born in county Mayo, Ireland. Michael
Howley came to the United States about 1854 with his wife and two children,
proceeding to Scranton immediately after his arrival in New York. He
secured employment at once, first aiding in the construction of the Delaware.
Lackawanna & Western Railroad, later in the coal mines. He died in 1871.
He was a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Loyal Sons of
Saint Patrick, and a communicant of the Roman Catholic church. Children
who grew to years of maturity: John, Anthony, Peter F., of whom further;
Ellen, married James J. Duffy, of Scranton; Michael T., of whom further.
Peter F. Howley was born in Scranton, June 17, 1863. He attended public
school in his boyhood, but at an early age Ijegan business life, beginning as a
cash boy in the old Boston Store. He advanced rapidly and ten years later,
when he left that employ, was cashier and confidential clerk to the proprietor,
R. J\L Lindsay. On leaving Mr. Lindsay in 1894, he became a partner of the
hardware and plumbing firm of Howley Brothers, consisting of John, Peter T.
and Michael T. The firm continued until August, 1894, when the two younger
brothers formed the firm of P. F. and Michael T. Howley. The firm started
in a small way, employing but one man besides the partners. They have
prospered and expanded, the firm now consisting of the two younger broth-
ers and employing from twenty to thirty men, principally on contracts in
Scranton and the Lackawanna Valley. Their line covers all kinds of plumb-
ing, heating, tinning, sheet metal and ventilating work. Their place of busi-
ness is at No. 233 Wyoming avenue. Peter F. conducts the office business,
Michael T. being the outside member of the firm. Peter F. Howley is a mem-
ber of the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Club and of several of the
societies of the Catholic church. He married Mary Dufify, who died in 1903.
Michael T. Howley was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, December 18,
1867. He was educated in public schools in Scranton. learned the plumber's
trade and as noted above entered the firm with which he has continued until
the present time. He is a member of the Catholic church, the Knights of
Columbus, Catholic Club, and Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He
married Mary Duff, who died in 1906. three sons, Peter F., Thomas J. and
Maurice. '
BARTLEY FULLER
Bartley Fuller is a member of a family planted in Pennsylvania from
New Jersey by Peter Fuller, grandfather of Bartley Fuller, a native of the
latter state, who made his home in South Canaan, Wayne county, Pennsyl-
vania. He married Mahala Myers and had children: i. Hiram, a farmer
of Pennsylvania, married and had six children : Jacob, Maria, Amanda,
Zielphia, Thomas, Chancy. 2. Dennis, married and had two children, John
P., Sarah Jane. 3. Collins, of whom further. 4. Susan, married Samuel
Spangenberg. 5. Pierson, married Susan Stevens, and had three children :
Joseph, Annie, Frederick.
36
562 CITY OF SCRANTON
(II) Collins Fuller, son of Peter and Mahala (Myers) Fuller, was born
in New Jersey, November 24, 1830, died in Scranton, Pennsylvania, February
16, 1913. When he was twenty years of age his father took his family to
South Canaan, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, where Collins Fuller learned
the trade of carpenter, afterward assisting his father on the home farm. He
was for a time a resident of Lackawanna county, at that time Luzerne county,
soon returning to South Canaan, and living there until 1887 when he moved
to Scranton and there remained until his death. He married (first) Louise
Schumard, (second) Nancy Spangenberg. Children of first marriage: i. and
2. George and John, both deceased. Children of second marriage : 3. Bartley,
of whom further. 4. Emma, married E. E. Berry, of Scranton, and has
children. Marguerite, Maud, deceased, Mabel, Meredith, Emma, George.
Elmer. 5. Susan, married A. H. Kresge, and is the mother of Ralph, Pearl.
Luther. 6. Ella, died aged eighteen years. 7. George, married a widow,
Catherine ( Hobbs ) Sloss, and is the father of xA.nthony, Elmer, Winfield.
(III) Bartley Fuller, son of Collins and Nancy (Spangenberg) Fuller,
was born at Salem, Wayne county. Pennsylvania, September 9, 1864. Lfntil
he was twenty years of age he attended the public schools of South Canaan.
For two years after leaving school he was employed on a farm, and on April
I, 1887, he moved to Scranton, and for twenty-two years was engaged in the
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad car shops. At the end of that
long term of service he became engineer in the power plant of the Northern
Electric Company at Dalton, Pennsylvania, remaining in that capacity for
four years. His present position is that of caretaker of Scranton Public
School No. 42. Mr. Fuller is a member of Dunmore Lodge, Independent Or-
der of Odd Fellows, the Patriotic Order Sons of America, the Royal Arcanum
and the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. His church is the
Myrtle Street Methodist Episcopal, and his politics are Republican.
Mr. Fuller married Laura E., daughter of Miles and Sarah (Burleigh)
Swingle, of South Canaan, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, and his children :
I. Howard, born January 2, 1890, deceased. 2. Jennie, born January 6, 1892.
3. Cora, born September 28, 1893.
MICHAEL NORTON
Michael Norton was the first "newsboy" who ever shouted the sale of a
newspaper on the streets of Scranton. On the opening of the southern di-
vision of the Lackawanna Railroad in 1857, "Mike" Norton came to Scranton
with a bundle of New York papers under his arm. His first work in this
neighborhood was on the trains of the Lackawanna, stopping over a day or
two each week to peddle papers in this young borough of Scranton. His energy
was so attractive that he soon made a host of friends. He seemed to be always
on the run, expending his last minute to reach another customer. His shrill
call of "All the New York papers" was a novelty then in the village, and was
in the latest form of the metropolitan "Newsies." His quick nervous step — a
half run — acquired during these news hustling days, remained a characteristic
of him through all his after years. He never appeared to have a moment's
leisure. He came to Scranton when eight years of age. In 1875 he was a
prosperous bookstore merchant at Nos. 106-108 Lackawanna avenue. Later
he acquired a property in the block between Wyoming and Penn avenues, on
the south side. He continued in the book business for more than forty years,
during which time he had the misfortune to be burned out twice by conflagra-
tions in adjoining buildings.
Michael Norton was born in Ireland, December 6, 1842. He came to
CITY OF SCRANTON 563
America with his parents in 1848. He married Mary E. Jones, of Brooklyn,
New York, by whom he had children, Edith M., Harold R., Grace A. He
joined the First Presbyterian Church during the pastorate of Rev. Dr. Logan,
and was among those who left the First Church to organize the Second Presby-
terian Church in 1874, and he continued an active member and supporter of the
Second Presbyterian Church until his death, January 17, 1910. Mr. Norton
was a remarkable man in many respects, born in the poverty of the humblest
of Ireland, he by energy and sobriety, and intelligence in business, worked his
way well up in the \\'orld towards affluence. He was self-educated and prac-
tically a self-made man.
JOHN B. RADER
Rader has been a common and familiar name in Lackawanna county since
the days of the first founding of the city of Scranton, the grandfather of John
B. Rader having been an early settler in that region. The family is of German
descent, the father and grandfather of John B. Rader having been born in
Bavaria. Philip Rader, father of John B. Rader, was born in Durkheim,
Bavaria, Germany, in 1844, and as a lad came to the LInited States, making
his home at East Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, establishing in the undertaking
and furniture business. In 1891 he sold his property and business interests
and moved to Scranton, operating, in partnership with his son, John B., a
hotel at No. 522 Lackawanna avenue, and so continued until his death. May
29, 1901. He married Ellen, daughter of Patrick and Ellen McFadden, her
father dying in Ireland, his birthplace, she and her mother making the voyage
to the LTnited States. Philip and Ellen (McFadden) Rader were the parents
of: James, a resident of Buffalo, New York; William, deceased; Mary, de-
ceased ; Kate, deceased ; Philip, deceased ; Kate, deceased ; Edward, resides
in East Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania; John B., of whom further; Anna, mar-
ried John Rink, and resides in Scranton, Pennsylvania ; Joseph, resides in
Scranton; Philip, a resident of Scranton.
John B. Rader, son of Philip and Ellen ( McFadden ) Rader, was born in
East Mauch Chunk, Peimsylvania, December 14, 1870. He was educated in
the parochial schools of that place, later serving an apprenticeship at the car-
penter's trade and pursuing that occupation until 1900. In that year, upon
the death of his brother, William, he with his father assumed the management
of the former's hotel at No. 522 Lackawanna avenue, and conducted this hou^e
until April i, 1912. On that date he moved to his present excellent location
at No 406 Spruce street, where he purchased the building and business of the
Arrow Cafe and Hotel, of which business he is the present successful pro-
prietor. Mr. Rader holds membership in the Knights of St. George, St. Mary's
Bund, the Junger Mannerchor, the Liederkranz, St. Peter's Society, the Old
Guard, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Benevolent and Protective Order
of Elks, and with his family belongs to St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church.
Politically he is an ardent Democrat. Mr. Rader married Anna Sachwender,
daughter' of Frank Sachwender, and is the father of three sons, Philip, Frank,
John.
ROBERT FERRIS POST
The life story of Robert Ferris Post, at the time of his death the leading
drayman of Scranton, is the tale of the triumph of preseverance and the
victory of determined and unswerving, integrity. And it is not surprising
that in the exercise of these virtues their concomitants should be prosperity.
564 CITY OF SCRANTON
happiness, prominence and respect, both of self and of others, while added to
these were the true-hearted affection of his many friends and the blessing of
the devoted love of his family. For if such be true of a man, nothing is
wanting to make his life complete and his happiness sublime, and for such a one
to be called from his activities while in the prime of life, in the height of
his usefulness, leaves a riddle that naught but the inscrutable will of the
Master can fathom.
Robert Ferris Post was a descendant of the old New England family
whose home was in Connecticut, where many of the name have gained fame
in all branches of human endeavor, and whence branches have sprung that
have reached to all parts of the country.
Jacob Post, father of Robert Ferris Post, passed the greater part of his
life in Leslie, Pennsylvania, where his death occurred in 1875. He married
Electa Bell, daughter of Colonel Bell, who gained his rank in the Northern
service during the war of the Rebellion. Jacob and Electa (Bell) Post had
children : Maggie, married a George Haddon, and resides in Minneapolis, Min-
nesota ; Robert Ferris, of whom further ; Bell, deceased ; Ordie J., a resident
of Forest Lake, Minnesota.
Robert Ferris Post was born in Leslie, Pennsylvania, March 29, 1867, died
in Scranton, Pennsylvania, September 8, 1913. He was educated in the public
schools of the place of his birth, and for several years lived on a farm, later
moving to New York state and making his home with an uncle, Robert Bell.
His connection with Scranton began in 1887, when he journeyed thither and
entered the employ of J. D. Williams. He soon formed an association with
Mr. Brown, a well known Scranton drayman. He was constitutionally so con-
structed that he derived no pleasure in being an employee, and although realis-
ing that his beginning must be humble, he decided to establish an independent
business, choosing draying as his line. His funds were sufficient to allow
of the purchase of but one horse and wagon, and with this team as his entire
stock in trade he began business, his stout heart and rugged decision having
far more value in assuring his future success than his meager possessions.
In the beginning of his career no commission was to small to deserve and re-
ceive a full share of his personal attention, and on this principle he constructed
the massive business that at his death, in 191 3, surpassed any other in the city.
Into the fabric of his daily work he wove the strength and vigor of his power-
ful personality and received his returns in material prosperity. By his fellows
he was accepted at his true value of earnestness, sincerity and sterling worth,
and so conducted his business career that no one, competitors or confederates,
could connect him with any associations not honorable and above-board, and
none, realizing his desert, envied him his fortune. At his death his absence
was regretted as the loss of a man who had learned the true secret of success,
one whose cheery presence lightened the dreary burden of business life, and
one whose companionship was beneficial and uplifting. His home life held the
sacredness and sanctity engendered by pure devotion, and his wife and those
of his blood only know the tenderness of his love and the deep sympathy of
his nature. Mr. Post's popularity among those with whom he came into con-
tact in business life is shown by his presidency of the Team Owners As-
sociation, and he was a member of the Scranton Board of Trade, the P. O.
S. of A., No. 178, and the Masonic Order, in which he held the thirty-second
degree. The part that he took in politics was always as a loyal Republican.
Mr. Post married, February 17, 1891, Carrie I., daughter of John F. and
Mary E. (Dunsten) Sayer, of Moscow, Pennsylvania. John F. Sayer is a
son of Horatio A. and Elizabeth (Fry) Sayer, who were residents of Frytown.
a place named from the family of Elizabeth Fry. John F. Sayer is a veteran
CITY OF SCRANTON 565
of the Civil War, having enHsted in the Union ranks soon after Fort Sumter
was fired upon and served throughout the entire four years, receiving, when
peace was declared, an honorable discharge, leaving the army with the rank
of sergeant. He is still living, aged eighty-one years, his wife, Mary E.,
a member of the English family of Dunsten and a descendant of Lord Dun-
sten. Children of John F. and Mary E. (Dunsten) Sayer: Eva, married
G. F. Kramer, of Scranton ; Carrie I., of previous mention, married Robert
Ferris Post ; Louise, married Albert Saunders, of Scranton ; Cassie, married
C. W. North, and lives in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania; Florence, married Al-
ton Chase; Lena, married Bert Stover, also married B. Roselle, all of Scran-
ton ; Chester, died in 1902 ; Harrison, a resident of Moscow, Pennsylvania.
Children of Robert Ferris and Carrie L (Sayer) Post: Bell M., born 1892;
Mary S., 1894; Robert J., November, 1897.
PHILIP HENRY WARREN
Originally an English family, the Warrens of this branch settled in Wales,
whence in 1887 came Philip H. Warren, now an honored citizen and merchant
of Scranton. By marriage the Warrens are connected with the Davis family
of Wales, Anna Davis, maternal grandmother of Philip H. Warren, having
been born in Breckinshire, Wales, daughter of a well-to-do lumber merchant.
Harry Davis, a first cousin of Mr. Warren, was a colonel in the English army,
served ten years in India, and witnessed the horrors of the Great Mutiny.
Henry George Warren was born in England in 1839, moving to Wales when
a young man. For the past forty-four years he has been employed at the
Glamorgan Woolen Mills. He married Mary Ann, daughter of John Carter,
of Wales, and had issue: Frances, deceased; Philip Henry, of whom further;
Samuel Uriah, David Jeremiah, William John, deceased ; Arthur Sidney,
Mary Ann, Elizabeth Jane.
Philip Henry Warren was bom at Merthyr-Tydfil, South Wales, October
22, 1865. He was educated in the public schools and remained in his native
land until he had attained his majority. In 1887 he came to the United
States, arriving on the steamship "Alaska" at New York City, the first day
of May. He immediately came to Scranton, which has ever since been his
home. His first position was as clerk in a grocery store at Providence, his
next with Clark Brothers, the well known Scranton merchants, with whom
he remained eight years. He then was with Jermyn & Dufl^y until Mr. Wentz
purchased Mr. Jermyn's interest, next with the new firm, Wentz & Dufify, and
then with Mr. Wentz, who purchased the Wentz & Dufify interest and continued
the business as C. P. Wentz Company. After long years of service Mr. War-
ren purchased an interest and became a partner of Wentz, Warren & Com-
pany, on August 8, 1907. The firm continued in business until December,
1907, when Mr. Warren taecame president and treasurer of the Warren, Moran,
Harper Company, wholesale confectionery, tobacco, and school supply dealers,
one of Scranton's most successful and prosperous concerns. Mr. Warren is
a lover of music and as a member of the Scranton Choral Society sang with
the picked representatives of the Society at the Festival held in Pittsburgh,
July 4, 1913, the Scranton delegation winning the $5,000 prize. This was the
second time the Choral Society had won first prize at a national singing con-
test, the other victory having been won in competition at the Louisiana Pur-
chase Exposition, held at St. Louis. At that time Mr. Warren was vice-
president of the Society and was one of the singers in both contests. He is
also a member of the well known Schubert Quartette, the Liederkranz, the
Junger Mannerchor, the Doctor Parry Society, all of Scranton, and for the
566 CITY OF SCRANTON
past fourteen years has been soloist of the Elm Park Methodist Episcopal
Church choir. For five years before coming to the latter church he had been
soloist at St. Luke's. He is also prominent in the Masonic Order, belonging
to Peter \\' illiamson Lodge, No. 323, F. and A. M. ; Lackawanna Chapter,
No. 185, R. A. M. ; Coeur de Lion Commandery, No. 17, K. T., and Irem
Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Heptasophs and
of the Commercial Travelers Association, of Utica. In politics he is a Repub-
lican, and in religious faith a communicant of the Elm Park Methodist Episco-
pal Church. He married Annie, daughter of John Roberts, of Doulais, South
Wales.
HENRY C. MANCHESTER
The career of Henry C. Manchester embraces a life time of service in
transportation work in connection with railroads. The various grades of road
services, from water boy to engineer, have been filled by him with a fidelity
and steadfastness of purpose that have marked as well his services in super-
visory positions.
His father, Albert B. Manchester, and his grandfather. Dr. John Man-
chester, were both residents of Vermont, their occupations and professions
being those of carpenter and physician, respectively. In Randolph, of that
state, Henry C. Manchester was born on April 28, 1865. He attended the
public schools of Randolph and later the State Normal School. His first
employment was with the Central Vermont Railroad, in the capacity of water
boy, and later as freight brakeman. He then accepted a position as passenger
brakeman on the Boston & Lowell Railroad in Massachusetts, being promoted
to fireman and remaining as such for three years. His next advance was
to engineer and in this highest department of road service he was engaged
for twelve years, in that time creating a reputation for dependability and
caution that made him one of the most valued engineers of the road. The
custodian of hundreds of lives throughout that time, his first thought was ever
for their safety and in the many trying crises of railroad life he acquitted
himself with credit. Never a reckless driver of his massive steed, he yet
obtained from it every ounce of power and all possible speed, no engineer
on his division running more closely to schedule than he. After his long
term as engineer he was made road foreman of engineers, leaving the em-
ploy of the Boston & Lowell Railroad to identify himself with the Boston &
Maine Road as master mechanic, with headquarters at Worcester, Massa-
chusetts. In 1901, when the Boston & Maine absorbed the Fitchburg Railroad
Company, he was made master mechanic with headquarters at Mechanic---
ville, New York, so continuing for five and a half years. Resigning from
the employ of this company he accepted a position with the Maine Central
Railroad as assistant superintendent of motor power at Portland, Maine, and
after five years was promoted to assistant superintendent of transportation,
having five division superintendents under his direction. A year later he lo-
cated at Scranton as superintendent of motor power and equipment for the
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, and there still resides, holding
the same position in the company's employ. Because of his steady advance in
railroad work and the vast fund of knowledge and experience he has acquired
in his contact with the dififerent departments of a system, Mr. Manchester
is ideally qualified for the post of trust and responsibility he now occupies.
Ever watchful in the road's interest, his division of the system is constantly
keyed up to the highest pitch of efficiency, and the fortune and prosperity
of the road, as far as his department is concerned, is safely guarded. An
CITY OF SCRANTON 567
important link of the vast chain, the strength of the whole is great, if nc
part is weaker than that over which he has supervision. Mr. Manchester
affiliates with the Masonic Order, belonging to Lodge, Chapter, Commandcry
and Shrine.
Mr. Manchester married, June 17, 1888, Ella, daughter of Nicholas Jean-
nott, of Nashua, New Hampshire. Children : Bernice S., and Florence E.
The family home is at No. ^^ Ouincy avenue.
JOHN U. SCHWENKER
Wurttemberg, Germany, a prosperous province of that land, has furnished
Pennsylvania a vast number of citizens who have contributed to the pros-
perity of that commonwealth as their fathers and ancestors strove for that
of the homeland. The Schwenkers, represented in Scranton by John U.
Schwenker, alderman from the nineteenth ward of the city, are a family who
conform to this description and take their place in this category.
John George Schwenker, father of John U. Schwenker, was born in
Zavelstein. Wurttemberg, Germany, January 8, 1832. Learning the baker's
trade he remained in his native land until 1885. i" that year coming to the
LInited States, where he engaged in the business he had learned in Germany,
working actively until his death, January 12, 1904. His father, Michael
Schwenker, was a farmer, owning land near Zavelstein, which he cultivated,
and where he reared his three children, Anna, Urich and John George, to
maturity. John George Schwenker married Rosie, daughter of Gottlieb Mus-
sle, and had children : George F. ; John U., of whom further ; Rosie, married
a Mr. Hohman ; Margaret, married a Mr. Getz, a resident of Scranton ; Cath-
erine, married a Mr. Hoklerle, a resident of Colden, New York ; William, a
baker established in business in Buffalo, New York ; George G., a baker of
Honesdale, Pennsylvania.
John U. Schwenker, son of John George and Rosie (Mussle) Schwenker.
was born in Zavelstein, Wurttemberg, Germany, August 9, 1864, and for
eight years attended the high school of his native city, a worthy institution
offering high educational advantages. When the time arrived for him to
choose a trade he expressed a preference for that of tailor and was thus
employed until he was sixteen years of age, when he journeyed to the United
States, taking passage on the German Lloyd Line steamer "America." The
vessel left its German harbor on April 19, 1882, but did not arrive in New
York until the 12th of the following month, the "America" having been par-
tially disabled by a collision with an iceberg which had drifted southward
into the path of navigation, fortunately with no such disastrous results as
attended a similar accident thirty years later to the ill-fated "Titanic." On
February i", 1885, Mr. Schwenker retraced the route he had traveled three
years before, hastening to the deathbed of his mother, who died after a linger-
ing illness, her son returning to the United States. Obtaining employment
with the leading tailor of Scranton he remained with him until 1886, when
the association was discontinued by the death of the owner. Mr. Schwenker
then purchased the business, which was located at No. 319 Center street,
from the heirs of the estate, and moved his store to No. 311 Lackawanna
avenue. Here he continued in successful operation until 1907, in February
of which year he was elected alderman of the nineteenth ward, and re-elected
November, 1913, nominated by the Republicans and endorsed by the Demo-
crats ; term expires in 1920. Subsequently he again changed his place of
business to its present location at No. 625-27 Pittston avenue, where he
performs with eminent satisfaction the duties of his civil office. Socially and
568 CITY OF SCRANTON
fraternally Mr. Schwenker has prominent position, holding membership in
Schiller Lodge, No. 345, F. and A. M. ; the Knights of Malta ; the Knights of
the Golden Eagle ; the Modern Brotherhood ; the Workmen's Society ; the
German Order of Haru Gari ; the Koelsch Century Club ; the Schwaben
Verein, of which he has been president for twelve years; the Junger Mannet-
chor, to which he has belonged since 1900; also the Scranton Sangerbunde, of
which he is president at the present time. He is a member of the Church
of Peace, and politically is in accord with the principles of Republicanism.
Mr. Schwenker married, June 28, 1886, Mary, daughter of Ulerick
Schwenker. Children : Charles W., Frederick L.. Clara, Edward, Marie.
PAUL SILAS WALTER
Michael Walter, grandfather of Paul Silas Walter, was born in Germany,
and emigrated to the United States in 1857. He came directly to Scranton,
where he made his home until his death in 1905. He married Brigetta Hemm-
ler, and had children : Elizabeth, Brigetta, Michael, John, George. Michael
Walter Jr. was employed as a machinist by the Delaware, Lackawanna &
Western Railroad Company until his death in December, 1901. He married
Rose, a daughter of Qiristopher Steinle, and they had children : Charles
Wesley, deceased ; Paul Silas, of whom further ; George A., Arthur A.,
Ella E.
Paul Silas Walter was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, June 26, 1877.
His elementary education was acquired in the public schools of his native
city, which he attended until he reached the age of twelve years, when he
decided to go to work. In 1892 he entered the employ of attorneys, Milton
W. Lowry and C. H. Von Storch, where he remained for a period of four
years. Having decided upon the study of the law he registered, in 1896, as
a student with the law firm of Watson & Zimmerman. One year later he
accepted a position with the International Salt Company, and has been con-
nected with this company in various capacities since that time. When Mr.
Walter first joined this company, he came under the direct supervision of
the president, the late Edward L. Fuller, who was not slow to appreciate the
industry and integrity of his young employee and advanced him from one
position to another, making him his private secretary, and the assistant treas-
urer of the related companies. Mr. Walter also became private secretary to
Mr. Mortimer B. Fuller who, upon the death of his father, became president
of the salt companies.
Mr. Walter has always taken a personal and enthusiastic interest in local
and state politics, and is a young man of forceful personality and recognized
political sagacity. For two years, 1901-03, Mr. Walter was corresponding
secretary of the Pennsylvania State League of Republican Clubs. For several
years he was secretary of the Lackawanna Hospital in Scranton, and when
this institution was taken over by the state, Mr. Walter was continued as
secretary of the State Hospital. Upon the death of the late W. F. Halstead,
he was appointed a member of the board of trustees, and holds this office at
the present time. He was appointed civil service commissioner by Mayoi'
John Von Bergen, but resigned this office in 1912 because of political differ-
ences, the mayor espousing the cause of the Progressive Republicans. He is
a member of the Order of Free and Accepted Masons, and his religious
affiliation is with the Second Presbyterian Church, and he takes an active
interest in all matters affecting the progress and welfare of the community.
He is also a member of the Scranton Club.
Mr. Walter married, December 31, 1902, Jessica, a daughter of Dr. Eman-
CITY OF SCRANTON 560
uel and Matilda (Hammer) Betterly, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and
has children : Helen M., born October 14, 1903 ; Paul Silas Jr., born Decem-
ber 30, 1909.
GEORGE L. JONES
This line of the Welsh family of Jones was founded in the United States
by Daniel Jones, born in Wales in 1799, who came to this country subsequent
to the death of his wife, here finding employment in the mines. He was a
son of William Jones, a life-long resident of the homeland, who had children:
1. Thomas, immigrated to the United States, passed a few years in the city
of Scranton and then returned to his native land. 2. Daniel, of previous
mention. 3. Ann. 4. Henry, a resident of Carbondale, Pennsylvania, died
from injuries received at mine labor ; married Martha Fox and had children.
5. James, came to the United States, remained for a time in Scranton, Penn-
sylvania, and then returned to his home in Wales ; married and had children.
6. Benjamin, met an accidental death while working in the mines ; married
Elizabeth Jones, who now lives in Wales. 7. William, married Phoebe Har-
ris; he was a soldier of the Union army in the Civil War, belonging to the
One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, of
which his brother, Benjamin, was also a member, and died in a Soldiers'
Home in Virginia. Daniel Jones married (second) Elizabeth Phillips and
had children: i. William P., a moulder, resides in Scranton, retired; married
Elizabeth Havard and has children, James, Edgar, William; he enlisted in
Company I, Fifty-second Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, and fought in
McClellan's army, being wounded and sent home to recover; health and
strength regained he again enlisted in the Union army, this time in the Sev-
enty-seventh Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and after seeing
considerable service was again disabled and sent home from New Orleans.
2. Henry D., for several years an employee of Richards & Howell, merchants
of Scranton, later establishing in the grocery business independently and af-
terward retiring; married Mary Lewis and had children, Lewis and Walter.
3. Ann, married David Jones, and has one son, Daniel. 4. , a tin-
ner of Hyde Park; enlisted in the Seventy-seventh Regiment Pennsylvania
Volunteers, and after eight months' service was discharged for physical dis-
ability and sent home with his brother, William P., from New Orleans, his
death occurring eight months after his arrival, caused by illness contracted
in the army. 5. Ebenezer, a graduate of the Scranton High School ; married
Martha Jones. 6. Roderick, of whom further.
(HI) Roderick Jones, son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Phillips) Jones, was
born at St. Clair, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, January 14, 1839. Lentil
he was ten years of age he was a student in the public schools of Carbondale.
For the three following years he was employed on a farm, then for two
years performed mine labor, at the end of that time accompanying his father
to Scranton, and there entering the mines of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal
Company. After two years he became driver boss in the mines, and was
subsequently placed in charge of the pumping engine. In August, 1862, he
became a member of Company I, One Hundred and Thirty-second Regiment
Pennsylvania Volunteers, enlisting under the nine months' call, and was at
once plunged into active service. On December 10, 1862, while engaged with
the enemy, Mr. Jones was struck in the arm by a Minie ball, the bullet enter-
ing his arm just below the shoulder. Amputation was necessary to save his
life, and after the operation he was sent to his home. Recovering from
the ill effects of this accident, Mr. Jones secured a position as watchman at
570 CITY OF SCRANTON
the Diamond Aline, and after holding this place for three and one-half
years became steam pump operator at the Hampton Mines, where he remained
for one and one-half years. Receiving an appointment as constable for waro
five, he was so employed for twenty years, resigning therefrom to enter fire
insurance dealing in the employ of the Phillips & Holmes Company. This
is the line in which he now continues, having in 1912 formed alliances with
the Ohio Farmers', the Williamsburg City (New York), and a Chicago in-
surance company. He married Elizabeth, daughter of George and Mary
(Williams) Lewis, and has one son, George L., of whom further.
(IV) George L. Jones, son of Roderick and Elizabeth (Lewis) Jones, was
born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, June 7, 1874. Until he was fifteen years of
age he attended the public schools of Scranton. His business life began as his
father's associate in the insurance business, after which, in 1891, he became
connected with Williams & Company, No. 702 South Main avenue, with which.
concern he is still identified. Two years after entering the employ of Wil-
liams & Company he took a business course at Factoryville, Pennsylvania,
then returned to his duties. That these, in the various capacities in which
he has served this company, have been thoroughly and capably performed is
assured by the present important position he now holds in the company's
organization, that of manager. He is an alert, progressive and energetic
business man, ever striving with all of his effort for the preservation of the
interests of his employers. Mr. Jones is a thirty-second degree Mason, hi.;
lodge, Hiram, No. 251, F. and A. M., and he also belongs to Irem Temple,
Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. His political party is the
Republican, his church the Bethania Welsh Presbyterian.
Mr. Jones married Margaret, daughter of the late Edward James, mine
foreman of the Dodge Colliery Company. Among the children of the late
Edward James are Hon. Edward James Jr. ; John R. James, assistant super-
intendent of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad ; Mrs. Thomas
G. Collins ; Gwen James.
CHARLES HAMPEL
It has been almost uniformly true that in the growth of a city, the class
of men whose profits are most reliable and who are reasonably certain of a
prosperous continuance in business are the merchants. Real estate dealers
may lose their all by the city's growth extending in another direction ; manu-
facturers may be handicapped by inadequate transportation facilities ; climatic
conditions may hinder the work of contractors : but under all and any condi-
tions, people must be clothed and must be supplied with household com-
modities. One of Scranton's most prosperous merchants, whose career has
been molded entirely in the city, is Charles Hampel, president of the Finley
Company. The necessity for merchants was the only favor granted him by
fortune, his position in the mercantile world being the result of extraordinary
application to duty and unusual energy, coupled with a sharp ambition not
to be satisfied except by a position of superior station.
Peter Hampel, the emigrant of the name, came to the LTnited States from
Germany. He was equipped with the usual German training, a deep knowl-
edge of military discipline and tactics in case of war involving the Fatherland.
and a knowledge of a trade just as deep, so that he might never be a dependent
upon the government. When he came to Scranton, in 1857, he brought with
him his wife and daughter, and there was constantly employed until his death,
first with the Iron and Coal Company, and next with the Delaware, Lacka-
wanna & Western. Both he and his wife were members of the German Pres-
CITY OF SCRANTON 571
byterian Church, and he belonged to AlHance Lodge, Independent Order of
Odd Fellows. He married Charlotta, daughter of John Weyand, a native of
the same part of Germany whence he came. Children : Lena, married John
Lentes, of Scranton ; Charles, of whom further.
Charles Hampel was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, April 22, 1861. He
obtained his education in the public schools, and when he was only fourteen
years of age began his long and successful career in the mercantile business
as cash boy in the employ of Moore & Finley, at the time the most important
of the city's mercantile houses, and has been connected with this firm in
flivers capacities until the present time. Originally established by Thomas
Moore, the firm was enlarged by the admission of Mr. P. B. Finley, and
when the partnership of Moore & Finley was dissolved, Mr. Finley opened
a store at the location now occupied by Michael Bosak. During all this
time, Mr. Hampel continued in the employ of the different firms, and in
1906, when the corporation, the Finley Company, was formed, he and Thomas
A. Lavin, besides the officers, P. B. Finley, president, T. D. Shiver, vice-
president. H. J. Cooper, secretary and treasurer, were partners incorporating
the business. The present officers are Charles Hampel, president, T. D. Shiver,
vice-president, and Thomas A. Lavin, secretary and treasurer.
Mr. Hampel married Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Bosley, of Jefiferson-
ville, Sullivan county, New York. Both he and his wife attend the Presby-
terian church. The rise of Mr. Hampel in his chosen occupation is one upon
which he deserves hearty congratulation. The period of time from 1875 '•''
19 1 3 has seen him progress from cash boy to the presidency of the firm he
served in the first named capacity. Thirty-eight years of toil, of constant
striving for a goal far ahead, often in the face of discouragement and seem-
ingly insurmountable barriers, are years full of memories when looked upon
from the height of the once-distant pinnacle. It is the old, old story of the suc-
cess that meets persistent and intelligent efifort, one as new as it is old, and as
wonderful as common-place.
THOMAS DAVID JAMES
Thomas David James, alderman of the second ward of the city of Scran
ton, descends paternally and maternally, from Welsh ancestors, the first of
his paternal line coming to the L^nited States in 1865. Though fifty years
covers the period spent in this land by this branch of the James family, that
length of time has given birth to Thomas David James, American in birth,
thought and in every aspect of his nature, a worthy representative of his
district upon the board of aldermen. His grandfather was David James, who
spent his entire life in Wales and was the father of: Theodore D., Reese,
John, Griffith, Thomas David, of whom further, Zachariah. Eli, Jane.
(II) Thomas David James, son of David James, was born in Wales and
came to the United States in 1865, settling first at Hyde Park, Penn.sylvania,
later moving to Taylor, where he became fire boss in a mine. He afterward
became a miner and was the first man to enter the Taylor shaft after its com-
pletion, his son, David, being the first driver to take a team into the great shaft.
In 1894 Mr. James moved with his family to Providence, Pennsylvania, where
he spent his latter years, his death occurring in 1900. He married Margaret,
daughter of William T. Jones. Her father was a native of Wales, and after
coming to the United States resided in Taylor, Pennsylvania. He was a far-
sighted and practical man, realizing full well the advantages he enjoyed in
this country, and yet was filled with a tender sentiment for the land of his
birth, which he visited on four dififerent occasions after leaving it for the
572 CITY OF SCRANTON
first time. Children of Thomas David and Margaret (Jones) James: Sarah,
David, Margaret, Mary Ann, Elizabeth, married Hon. Lewis H. John, mem-
ber of Congress, Jane, Edith, Ida, Thomas David, of whom further ; Gertrude.
(Ill) Thomas David (2) James, son of Thomas David (i) and Margaret
(Jones) James, was born at Taylor, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, April
22, 1877, and was a student in the public schools of his birthplace, completing
the high school course, and receiving a diploma of graduation ; he then en-
tered Wood's Business College, from which institution he was graduated in
1S96. Leaving school he accepted a position as bookkeeper in the quarry at
Hyde Park, and had been employed in this place but six months when he
was promoted to the office of general manager. This position he held until
tailing health compelled entrance into some less strenuous occupation, and
for the next four years he taught school in various parts of the county.
Strengthened in body by the outdoor exercise in which this occupation gave
him time to indulge, he entered one of the Scranton mines as breaker boss,
and after two years was appointed mine inspector, of which office he was the
incumbent until 1912. In this latter year, as a Republican he was elected
alderman for the second ward of Scranton, the largest ward in the common-
wealth of Pennsylvania outside of the cities of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
Mr. James, during his term of office, has shown himself a magistrate of
wisdom and sound judgment, and has won the approbation and commenda-
tion of those familiar with his official career. He is known as a man of
honorable principles, to which he constantly adheres, and is a public servant
whole hearted in his devotion to the trust placed in him. Mr. James is a
communicant of the Memorial Baptist Church, and holds membership in the
Junior Order of L^nited American Mechanics.
WILLIAM H. HAGEN
Henry Hagen was born in Hagen, Germany, and when eight years of age
came with his parents to the L'nited States, settling at Honesdale, Pennsyl-
vania, where he attended the public schools. As a young man he learned the
trades of blacksmith and carriage builder, and was employed, soon after com-
pleting his apprenticeship, by the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Rail-
road as tool dresser. He became a resident of Scranton, and was one of the
first to enlist in the Thirteenth Regiment Pennsylvania National Guard, of
which he was for many years a member. He affiliated with the Masonic
fraternity. He married Marion, daughter of William Walsh, of Honesdale.
Children: Louise, married George B. Carson, of Scranton; William H., of
whom further ; Frank ; Gillam, married Andrew Wicks, a resident of Scran-
ton. Mr. and Mrs. Hagen were members of the Simpson Methodist Episcopal
Church.
William H. Hagen, son of Henry and Marion (Walsh) Hagen, was born
in Scranton, Pennsylvania, September 27, 1861. He obtained his early educa-
tion in the public schools of Scranton, and when a lad spent several years in
Newark Valley, New York, whither his family had moved and where they re-
mained until 1873, when they returned to Scranton. In Scranton Mr. Hagen en-
tered the employ of Moore & Finley, merchants, and obtained much valuable
experience in and knowledge of the mercantile business, training of the great-
est benefit to him in his later life. In 1894 he and Joseph A. Mears established
the business which has since become the Hagen & Wagner Company, as Mears
& Hagen, their line being then, as now, dry goods and men's and women's
furnishings. From a concern employing six persons, their sales force now
numbers seventy-five, and in September, 1914, they moved into their newly
CITY OF SCRANTON
573
remodeled store on Washington avenue, now occupied by the Prendergast firm
and the Jones' Tea Company. Mr. Hagen serves the Asbury Methodi.st
Episcopal Church as a member of the official board and as trustee, also super-
intendent of the Sunday school. He is a director of the local branch of the
Young Men's Christian Association. His only fraternal connection is witli
the Masonic Order, in which he holds the thirty-second degree, and is a
member of Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
Mr. Hagen married Carrie, daughter of William Munson. Children:
Helen, married Belaud Marsh, a resident of Scranton ; Hoadley, a graduate
of the University of Pennsylvania, class of 1913.
WILLIAM S. LIMING
Descendant of an old Pennsylvania family long seated in Philadelphia,
Mr. Liming is thoroughly Pennsylvanian, although a resident of Scranton
for only a decade. He has, however, completely absorbed the Scranton spirit
and as one of the foremost workers in the world of electricity gained a solid
footing among the men of progress in the city. He is a grandson of William
and Annie Liming, of Philadelphia, and a son of John Liming, who was born
in Philadelphia, where he was engaged until his retirement in the wholesale
and retail oyster and game business. He married Myra T. Schurman ; chil-
dren : Ridie, Belle, Annie, Lizzie, John, William S.
William S. Liming was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 27, 1865.
He was educated in the public schools of the city, obtaining a good preparatory
training, then entered the University of Pennsylvania, where for three years
he pursued a regular scientific course. Leaving the university he became an
electrical worker, beginning as a helper, but rising through the grades of
promotion in that business until he was superintendent of the plant in which
he began, having general supervision over all departments, continuing until
1902. In that year he came to Scranton as electrical engineer for the Scran-
ton Electric Company, and in 1913 succeeded D. C. Schain as general super-
intendent, which position he most efficiently fills. He is a member of Lodge,
Chapter, Council and Commandery of the Masonic Order, and a communicant
of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
Mr. Liming married. May 18, 1886, Ella M., daughter of William Barclay,
of Philadelphia. Children : Gertrude and Grace, twins, born August 2, 1888 ;
William B., September 3, 1891 ; Charles R., October 4, 1897.
EDWARD G. SIMONS
The connection of Mr. Simons with the city of Scranton, which began
in 1906 as district manager of the Bell Telephone Company, was a fortunate
one for the city, as from his coming dates an era of greater efficiency, a
largely extended and greatly improved service. This result is one not sur-
prising to his friends nor to those who are familiar with the fact that his
entire business life has been spent in the service of the Bell Company and that
he can qualify as an expert in any department of the company's business.
Mr. Simons is a son of Edward Fletcher and Isabella (Gillespie) Simons.
and is a descendant of the emigrant from the North of Ireland, who was one
of the log cabin pioneer settlers of Beach Grove, Wayne county, Pennsylvania,
in 1806. Edward F. Simons was a merchant all his active life, which ended
May 23, 1912, at the age of seventy-five years.
Edward G. Simons was born in Plymouth, Pennsylvania, April 8, 1872.
He was educated in the public schools and at Wyoming Seminary. On
574 CITY OF SCRANTON
finishing his years of study he entered the employ of the Bell Telephone
Company as a collector in Wilkes-Barre. Proving his ability in that field
Lackawanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, with headquarters' office at Scran-
as local manager. After three years in the latter position he was still further
advanced and made district manager, his territory covering the counties of
Lackawanna, Wayne, Pike and Montrose with headquarters' office at Scran-
ton. This position he fills not only to the complete satisfaction of his com-
pany, but to the greater benefit of the telephone users of the district. He is
a member of the Scranton Board of Trade, serving on the publicity com-
mittee.
Mr. Simons married Mrs. Isabella Bradley, of Detroit, Michigan. Mr.
Simons is president of the Simons family reunion and has letters dating back
over one hundred years showing the landing of the family in this country,
coming from the northern part of Ireland. They located in Wilmington, Dela-
ware, and later removed to Pike county, Pennsylvania, where they were among
the first pioneers, living in the rude log huts of those primeval days.
HENRY HESSINGER
In a list of the merchants of Scranton of a quarter of a century ago would
be found in a prominent place the name of Henry Hessinger, deceased, furni-
ture dealer and proprietor of an undertaking establishment. He was a son of
Theodore Hessinger, born in Germany, May ii, 1823. where he grew to
maturity and was married. Immigrating to the United States with his wife
and family, he was for a time a resident of Brooklyn, New York, later moving
West and engaging in work at his trade, that of cabinet-maker. Moving to
Scranton, Pennsylvania, he obtained a position in the car works, performing
the fine carpentering work on the interior of the passenger coaches, and was
thus engaged for the remainder of his active life. His first wife died and for
his second wife he married, in Brooklyn, New York, Caroline Engleskirscher,
born February 22, 1833, and had children: i. Louise, deceased. 2. Henry,
of whom further. 3. George, a cigar-maker of Meadville, Pennsylvania.
4. Theodore, a boiler-maker of Cleveland, Ohio. 5. William, a harness-maker
of Red Bank, New Jersey. 6. Susan, married Henry J. Fenne, of Scranton.
and has children : Archibald, Carrie, Albert, Leroy, INIerine, Elma. 7. Minnie,
married Frank Washburn, formerly of the firm of Washburn, Williams &
Company, now of Denver, Colorado. 8. Annie, deceased. 9. Carrie, de-
ceased. 10. Adam, deceased. 11. Christina, deceased. 12. Louise, deceased.
13. Kate, deceased.
Henry Hessinger, son of Theodore and Caroline (Engleskirscher) Hess-
inger, was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, December 29, 1855, died in Scran-
ton, Pennsylvania, September 28, 1890. He was four years of age when his
parents moved from Wisconsin to Scranton, and he was educated in the pub-
lic schools of that city, learning his father's trade after finishing his studies.
He was afterward employed with the elder Hessinger in the car works, finish-
ing the interior of the coaches, and in 1885 established in the furniture and
undertaking business, continuing so for five years until his death. He was a
singer of talent, possessing a voice of rare quality and sweetness, and long
sang in the choir of the German Presb\^erian Church, of which he was a
member. He was a member of the Scranton Saengerbunde, and was identi-
fied with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Patriotic Order Sons
of America. Mr. Hessinger was well-liked among his business associates
and was prospering in business, his early death cutting short what promised
CITY OF SCRANTON 575
to be not only a business career of unusual success but a life of usefulness
and service.
He married, in 1879, Margaret, born in 1855, daughter of Charles Kiefer.
born April 15, 1827. and Barbara (Kaufman) Kiefer, born January 27, 185 i
Her parents were both natives of Germany, coming to the United States
unmarried in 1850, having been unacquainted in the homeland. They were
married in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, in 1853, she a daughter of Frederick-
Kaufman, who came to Honesdale from Germany, meeting his death in a
railroad accident. Children of Charles and Barbara (Kaufman) Kiefer: i.
Margaret, of previous mention, married Henry Hessinger. 2. Anna Marv,
born in 1861 ; married Frederick New, deceased, and had children: Frederick
and Charles. 3. William C, deceased. 4. Charles Jr., deceased; marriei!
Kate Miller, and had children : Charles, Margaret, Madeline. 5. John, a dray-
man of Scranton ; married Mary Scliunk, and had children : Anna, Mamie.
Carrie, Fred, Matilda, Mildred, Henry, John. 6. Henry, married Louise
Eberhardt. of Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Children of Henry and Margaret
(Kiefer) Hessinger: i. William C, born August 21, 1881 ; secretary of the
Citizens' Building and Loan Association ; married Carrie Naher, and has
one son, Paul, born September i, 1908. 2. Frank T., born March 24, 18S3;
married Katie, daughter of Philip Kirst, a former street commissioner, and' a
sister of William Kirst, the present city commissioner, and has children,
Henry P., born August 2, 1906, and Caroline M., born July 17, 1909. 3. Ed-
ward R., born July 27, 1889; a clerk in the Globe Warehouse; married Louise
Scheuer, and has children: Edna, born June 22, 191 1, and Robert, born Sep-
tember 23, 1912.
FRANK ZIVATAS
There are probably few citizens of the LTnited States of foreign origin,
particularly of the younger generation, who retain such deep devotion for
uplifting their own people and the land that gave them birth, or devote
themselves so whole-heartedly to keeping fresh its memory and traditions and
to paying it due honor, as Frank Zivatas. president of the Lithuanian Al-
liance of America. He is a son of a Lithuanian farmer who married Lenora
Barauski, and died in 1904. They were the parents of: Victoria, Elizabeth,
Petronnel, Frank, of whom further, Isidor, and Mary, all residents of Lith-
uania with the exception of Frank.
Frank Zivatas was born in the village of Lataku, county Raseiniu. province
of Kanno, Lithuania, December 10, 1874, and attended the public schools
of his native land. Realizing the superior possibilities to be found in the
United States, in 1893 he set sail for that land, arriving in New York City
on April 14, proceeding westward to Chicago, Illinois, he remained in that
city for three months. He then came to Scranton and until 1909 was there
employed in the mines, in March of that year establishing in the wholesale'
liquor trade at No. no West Market street, in which location he has since
conducted an extensive business. Mr. Zivatas, strong in the desire for self-
improvement, has taken advantage of the excellent educational facilities of
the city, having for one year attended St. Mary's private school, and was
for eight years, from 1894 to 1902, a student in the night school of the Young
Men's Christian Association, where he studied the English language and
electricity, supplementing this instruction with a course in the International
Correspondence Schools of this city. In 1909 he was elected president of the
Lithuanian Alliance of the United States, and was re-elected in 191 1. This
society was organized in Plymouth, chartered in Luzerne county in 1886,
576 CITY OF SCRANTON
and in 1909 re-organized and its scope and influence widened. As president
of this organization Mr. Zivatas has traveled considerably throughout the
United States, visiting its constituent bodies and lecturing on its aims and
purposes, as well as organizing new associations. In the latter work he
has met with praiseworthy success, and is an interesting, forceful speaker.
The headquarters of the Alliance are at No. 307 West Thirtieth street, New
York City. Mr. Zivatas is also a member of the Lithuanian Benevolent So-
ciety and the Lovers of Fatherland Society. His political views are inde-
pendent.
JOHN WAKEMAN DUSENBURY
A resident of Scranton since 1889, ^^- Dusenbury has a large acquain-
tance among the business men of the central city having been the local
agent of the Travelers Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut, handling
life and casualty lines. Occupying the same office for over twenty years in-
dicates the stability of both company and agency.
Born at Great Bend, Susquehanna county, in i860, where he represented
the same company, he is now considered "one of the old guard" by "The
Travelers," having a continuous agency connection of over thirty years.
Only child of John H., son of George Dusenbury, of Windsor, Nev/
York, and Caroline, daughter of Bradley Wakeman, of Laceyville, Penn-
sylvania. Mr. Dusenbury is a member of the Scranton Club, the Scrcfnton
Bicycle Club, local Masonic organizations, and is a vestryman of St. Luke's
Protestant Episcopal Church. He has a large acquaintance throughout the
country owing to many years' attendance at the meetings of the American
Whist League and participation in many whist tournaments, and has assisted
in winning two American championships in that sport.
Mr. Dusenbury married Nellie, a daughter of Jeremiah Hosford, of
Friendsville, Pennsylvania, in 1888. Mrs. Dusenbury died at Scranton in 1896.
HERBERT E. BRADER
Herbert E. Bradei, superintendent of the Scranton Pump Company, born
in Scranton, Pennsylvania, January 25, 1858, is a son of Samuel Brader,
who was one of a family of seven, consisting of : William, deceased ; Simon,
deceased, married and had children, Laura, Eudora, Howard, George, Bertha ;
George, deceased, married and had a son William, and daughter Eudora;
Daniel, deceased, married and had children, Clarence, Ida, George; John,
served in the Union army in the Civil War, a member of the company in
which his brother Samuel fought, married and had children, Elmer and Edith ;
James, lives in Nebraska. The father of the above-named children was a pat-
tern-maker and carpenter by trade, later in life retiring to the farm on which
he died.
Samuel Brader was a resident of the city of Scranton, and enlisted in the
Union army from that locality, participating in many of the most bloody
conflicts of the war. He married Lydia, daughter of Jacob Smethers, of
Scotch-Irish descent, and had children: i. Luella, married John Washburn,
of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and has children. Franc, Eric, Pansy. 2.
Herbert E., of whom further. 3. Samuel, married Barbara Weidman, and is
the father of Luella, Ralph, Anna, Albert. 4. Lizzie, married Charles Tetter,
and has children, Ella and Georgia. 5. Edward, married Jennie Thomas,
of Scranton ; they are the parents of one son, Samuel. 6. William, married
CITY OF SCR.'\NTON 577
Emma Rollins, of Scranton. 7. Katherine, married James Tuttle, of Scran-
ton ; they have one son, Gerald.
Herbert E. Brader, son of Samuel and Lydia (Smethers) Brader, was
born in Pittston, Pennsylvania, January 25, 1858. He studied in the publx
schools of Wilkes-Barre. He learned pattern-making in the iron works oi
that city and was so employed for a period of twenty-three years, from 1872
to 1905. In the latter year he came highly recommended to Scranton as fore-
man in the pattern-making shops of the Scranton Pump Company, serving in
this capacity until October, 1910, when he was raised to the position of super-
intendent. Of this office he is the present efficient incumbent, ably discharg-
ing all of the duties that devolve upon him as head of the plant, and has
raised the systems employed therein to the highest pitch of usefulness. Mr.
Brader is a member of the Masonic Order, holding the thirty-second degree,
belonging as well to Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Wilkes-
Barre. His political faith is independent.
Mr. Brader married Minerva L. Wagner, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania,
the ceremony being solemnized October 29, 1879. They are the parents of:
I. Harry E., educated in the public schools of Wilkes-Barre; a piano-tuner;
married Bertha Engel, daughter of George and Lydia (Pettibone) Engle ; thev
have one daughter, Lydia Pettibone. 2. Charles, a pattern-maker; married
Mary Brown, of Wilkes-Barre, and has one daughter, Minerva. 3. Stanley
E., an employee of the Scranton Lithographing Company; married Mildred
Grinnell, and has two children : Herbert and Stanley.
ELMER HENRY LA WALL
The development of the professional into the business man, and successful
continuance in both departments is the unusual and commendable record of
Elmer Henry Lawall, treasurer of the International Correspondence Schools
of Scranton.
Allen Jacob Lawall, father of Elmer H. Lawall, was born near Easton,
Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, July 23, 1841. Having acquired his education
in the Moravian schools of that vicinity and at Bethlehem, he pursued me-
chanical work for several years, eventually entering the service of the Beth-
lehem Steel Company. He married Maria Toengeous, and of their seven chil-
dren, four reached maturity: Elmer H., of further mention; Marie Antoinette,
married C. J. Gapp, of Bethlehem ; Helen Elizabeth, married Louis Bentley,
of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, a mechanical engineer in the employ of the
Armstrong Company; ]\Iadeline, married to Ralph H. Evans, editor. Alliance,
Ohio.
Elmer Henry Lawall was born December 7, 1861. He attended the Morav-
ian schools in Bethlehem, later entering Lehigh Llniversity, whence he was
grjkduated C. E. in the class of 1882. The year after the completion of his col-
lege course and the attainment of his degree, he accepted a position in the engin-
eering department of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, and was placed
in charge of the company's mines at Hazleton, Pennsylvania. From this time
until 1887 he was employed as chief engineer of the Beaver Brook, Silver
Brook, Black Ridge, the J. S. Wentz, the Morea, and the New Boston Coal
companies, and in addition to the service rendered these corporations was
frequently in demand for advice in the engineering enterprises of other con-
cerns. In 1887 he held the office of general manager of the New York, Sus-
quehanna & Western Railroad and Coal companies, with headquarters in
Scranton. From 1890 to 1898 he was general superintendent of the Lehigh
& Wilkes-Barre Coal Company. In the latter year he became treasurer of the
37
578 CITY OF SCRANTON
International Correspondence Schools of Scranton, an office he fills at the
present time with general satisfaction to all concerned. A careful and ex-
perienced business man, he handles the involved finances of the company in
a capable manner, enjoying the confidence of all of his associates.
The multiplicity of Mr. Lawall's interests is shown by the following: He
was consulting engineer of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Coal Com-
pany; is secretary of the Diamond Land and Improvement Company; vice-
president of the Exeter Machine Works, Pittston, Pennsylvania; treasurer of
the Square Deal Gold Mining Company, of Central City, Colorado ; director
of the Hazleton Iron Works ; and expert engineer for several corporations
of like character with those previously mentioned. Mr. Lawall's social con-
nections are with the Westmoreland Club, University Club, of Philadelphia,
Euclid Club, of Cleveland, Ohio, and the Country clubs of Wilkes-Barre and
Scranton.
Mr. Lawall married, June 4, 1888, Carolyn, daughter of George Johns, de-
ceased, who was a coal operator of Audenried, Pennsylvania. Children : Elisc,
deceased ; Marie, living in Paris, France ; Claire, attending school in Pari'-.
Mr. Lawall has been called to the numerous positions of trust and honor that
he holds through popular recognition of his fitness in his profession qualify-
ing him for such distinction, and because of financial acumen so convincingly
displayed.
LOUIS JOHN SIEBECKER
Louis John Siebecker is a member of a German family, a native of New
York state, but since 1869 a resident of the city of Scranton. His father,
William Siebecker, was born in Germany and was there educated, being eariy
trained in the trade of cabinet-maker. He left his native land in 1845 ^itl
came to the United States in 1849, joining the vast horde that migrated west
ward in hope of sudden and rich wealth to be found in nature's treasure house,
California. After a five years' quest for the precious metal he returned East,
and shortly after his arrival in New York he married and took up his resi-
dence in Sullivan county. New York, the family home until 1869. In the
latter year he and his family moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania, where for
several years he was engaged in the grocery business, his store being locate ■
on Franklin avenue, later becoming a drayman. About 1904 he sold his
business and retired from active life. He married Mary Lowenberg, a native
of New York City, and had children : Annie, married F. J. Widmayer ; Henry ,
Edward ; Louis John, of whom further. Both parents are now deceased.
Louis John Siebecker, son of William and Mary (Lowenberg) Siebecker.
was born in a log house on the home farm near Youngsville, Sullivan county,
New York, December 26, i860. He attended the country school nearby, and
for one year was a student in a public school in New York City, and obtained
the remainder of his education in the public schools of Scranton, and a private
German institution in the same city. In 1876 he entered the employ of S. G.
Kerr, a carpet dealer of Scranton, and after a seven years' connection with
this merchant became a part owner of the business, which several years
later was changed to Kerr & Siebecker. Mr. Siebecker, in 1895, was the
prime factor in the organization of the Security Building and Savings Union
and for fifteen years filled the position of treasurer, having since 1910 been
secretary of that organization. Besides this business relation he is manager
of the Electric Railways Advertising Company, not only in Scranton, but in
several other large cities. He is a business man of tried abilities, valuable in
whatever position placed, and both in connection with the company of which
CITY OF SCRANTON
579
he is an organizer and the Advertising Company he plays a prominent part.
He and his wife are members of the German Lutheran Church, and he be-
longs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Scranton Lieder-
kranz, the Junger Mannerchor, the Young Men's Christian Association, and is
a Scottish Rite Mason. He has held active membership in the Liederkranz
for thirty-three years, all of which time he has been in the chorus.
Mr. Siebecker married, at Honesdale, Pennsylvania, January 17, 1884,
Jennie M. Dittrich, born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, in February, 1862,
daughter of Ferdinand and Dorothy Dittrich. Ferdinand Dittrich is a mer-
chant, his line being hats and furs. Children of Louis John and Jennie M.
vania ; married Robert L. Reaves ; Walter, a student in the Scranton High
School; School; married Ernest S. Softley, and has one child, Kenneth. 2.
Mary L., a graduate of the Darlington Seminary at West Chester, Pennsyl-
vania ; married Robert L. Reeves ; Walter, a student in the Scranton High
School. Mr. Siebecker's office is in the Mears Building, Scranton, Pennsyl-
vania. His family residence is No. 531 Madison avenue.
HAYDEN H. ASHLEY
A native Pennsylvanian, a product of the public schools of that state and
a New Jersey educational institution, Mr. Ashley has devoted his entire career,
with the exception of a short space of time, to railroading, in which he is
now engaged, Scranton always having been his place of business. He has
risen through successive grades to a most important and responsible position
with the Central Railroad of New Jersey.
Rollin T. Ashley, grandfather of Hayden H. Ashley, was born in Hamp-
ton, New York, October 22, 1803, on a farm on the west bank of Poultney
river, nearly opposite the village of Fairhaven, Vemiont. He taught school
in the winter of 1826-27 at Bass River, Burlington county, New Jersey. He
engaged in mercantile business at Blackman's Mills, Port Republic, now At-
lantic county, New Jersey, and in the spring of 1831 removed to Brooklyn,
Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, where he succeeded his uncle, James
Noble, in the mercantile business, and continued in trade for more than half
a century. He was widely known as an active and influential Methodist, and
was for many years a local preacher of that denomination. In 1866 he was
elected associate judge of Susquehanna county and served to the end of his
term, in 1871. He married, in what is now Port Republic, New Jersey, Jan-
uary 24, 1830, Roxanna Blackman, who died in Brooklyn, Pennsylvania, Sep-
tember 16, 1888. Children : James Ayars ; Joseph Ralph ; Nehemiah Black-
man, of whom further ; George Kennard ; Sarah Eliza, married Captain Henry
Francis Beardsley, of IMontrose, Pennsylvania ; Mary Adeline, married Rev.
John S. Breckinridge, of Brooklyn, New York; Emeline; Horatio Hayden.
Nehemiah Blackman Ashley, father of Hayden H. Ashley, was born in
Brooklyn, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, September 9, 1834. He left
home before he was twenty and his active business career was devoted to rail-
road building and mercantile business. In 1854-55 he was with the civil en-
gineering corps of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. In 1856
he was stationed at High Bridge, New Jersey, superintending the double track-
ing of the Central Railroad of New jersey. The following year he built a
section of track at Beach Haven, Pennsylvania, for the Lackawanna & Blooms-
burg Railroad Company, now the Bloomsburg Division of the Delaware.
Lackawanna & Western Railroad. In 1858 he was engaged on the Brooklyn
Water Works, Brooklyn, New York. In 1862 he engaged in the mer-
cantile business in Brooklyn, Pennsylvania, with his father, and the fol-
58o CITY OF SCRANTON
lowing year engaged in the same line in Alexandria, Virginia. In 1867 he
came to Scranton and engaged in the produce business until his death, March
4, 1900, with the exception of the years 1874-75-76 spent in New Jersey build-
ing several miles of railroad known as the New York & Philadelphia New
Line, now operated as part of the Philadelphia & Reading system, between
Bound Brook, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He married Mary
Alargaret Driesbach. Children: Emma B., married David H. Jenkins; Hayden
H., of whom further; Annie, Daniel G., Ralph B.
Hayden H. Ashley was born in Brooklyn, Susquehanna county, Pennsyl-
vania, February 4, 1864. He came to Scranton in 1867, at three years of age.
He was educated in the public schools of Scranton. later finishing his studie,=.
at Pennington Seminary, Pennington, Mercer county. New Jersey. Until
1888 he was identified with the mercantile business of Scranton. In the latter
year he entered the service of the Philadelphia & Reading Railway in the.
Scranton Station as telegraph operator and ticket clerk, continuing until
that section of the road became the property of the Delaware & Hudson Com-
pany. He was employed in the same capacity by the latter road until May
I, 1888, when the terminal of the Central Railroad of New Jersey was com-
pleted in Scranton, at which time he became ticket agent in the new sta-
tion. He was promoted to the cashiership of the freight department of the
road in 1890, and on July i, 1896, was appointed agent in charge of the freight
traffic and passenger transportation, an office that he held until November 15,
1909. On that date he was placed in the position that he now holds, that ol
contracting freight agent, and since that time has discharged the duties of his
office with an admirable ability and a thoroughness that leaves little to be
desired.
His department in such a great manufacturing centre as Scranton is one
of vital importance and one upon which hinges much of the prosperity of the
road. Faithfulness and wise execution of the affairs that come within his
province have marked his term of service and have made his relations the
most happy and congenial and satisfaction has pervaded all of his contact with
superiors and inferiors in position. His fraternal order is the Masonic in
which he holds the Knights Templar degree, also belonging to the Nobles cf
the Mystic Shrine.
Mr. Ashley married, June 15, 1892, Daphna, daughter of George W. Twin-
ing, of East Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania.
WILLIAM DECKELNICK
The German family of Deckelnick has had nearly sixty years of residence
in Scranton, that time all but covering the period those of the name have
spent in the L^nited States. The present representative of the family in Scran-
ton, is William Deckelnick, whose grandfather, John, was a native of Ger-
many and spent all of his hundred and four years in that land. John Deckel-
nick was a harness-maker by trade and followed that occupation until he had
attained an advanced age, his strength and vitality having been preserved to
a remarkable degree throughout a busy and active life. He was thrice mar-
ried and was the father of eighteen children, Nicholas, father of William,
being his youngest child. Nicholas Deckelnick was born in Germany in 1827.
grew to maturity in his native land, and became a saddler. He was thirty-
three years of age when he came to the United States, and after his arrival
in that land established in the harness-making business in New York City,
his residence for six years. He then engaged in the same line of business in
Scranton, where he was the proprietor of a shop from 1866 to 1890, his
CITY OF SCRANTON 581
death occurring in the latter year. He married Maggie Wagner and had chil-
dren; I. Otto, died in Minnesota in 1910. He was a soldier in the Civil War,
being in active service for two years of that time, engaging in many of the
important battles of the war, his regiment having an exceedingly active career.
From the close of the war until his death he received a pension from
the government in recognition of services rendered. 2. William, of whom
further. 3. Nicholas, a cigar manufacturer of Trenton, New Jersey. 4. Jacob,
deceased. 5. Mattic, deceased. 6. Julius, deceased. 7. Charles, a resident
of Scranton. 8. Emma, married a Mr. Hawley, and resides in Trenton, New
Jersey.
William Deckelnick, son of Nicholas and Maggie (Wagner) Dickelnick.
was born in Prussia, Germany, July 24, 1852, came to the United States with
his father in i860, and attended the public schools of Trenton, New Jersey.
He accompanied his father to Scranton in 1866 and learned the painter's
trade, later establishing as a contracting painter, continuing in this line until
1890. He is a cornet player of talent and for three years of this period was
a member of Tellers Band, the first cornet band organized in Scranton. In
1890, Mr. Deckelnick, opened a hotel on Luzerne street and was proprietor
thereof for thirteen years, in 1903 letting the contracts for the erection of a
modern and completely equipped hotel at No. 346 South Main avenue. This
was ready for occupancy the following year and with his greatly improved
facilities for the entertainment of guests, Mr. Deckelnick has there since
catered to a large and growing patronage, his business a profitable one, and his
venture a success. He and his family are adherents of the Roman Catholic
faith, and his political party is the Republican, while fraternally he is con-
nected with the Fraternal Order of Eagles.
He married, in 1873, Lena Frustein, and has children: i. Rose, mar-
ried a Mr. Lewis, of Scranton, and is the mother of two sons, Percy and
Albert. 2. George, proprietor of the Hotel Deckelnick, on Jackson avenue,
Scranton. He is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks and the Improved Order of Red Men. 3. Wil-
liam, deceased. 4. Maggie, deceased. 5. Caroline. 6. Eugene, associated in
business with his father, a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles.
ROBERT CHARLES WILLS
Irish in ancestry and birth but distinctively American in works and achieve-
ments, Robert Charles Wills, during a life of ceaseless activity has created a
mark in the business world of Scranton that reflects ample credit upon his
judgment and capacity for accomplishment, and as treasurer and manager
of the Keystone Brewing Company stands at the head of one of the most
considerable houses of its kind in the locality, also being connected in advisory
role with numerous other of Scranton's important institutions. He was born
in Ireland, son of Henry and Elizabeth (O'Donahue) Wills, his father dying
when Robert C. was but two years of age, and his mother died April 26,
1914, in the homeland, where her son had frequently visited her. Henry and
Elizabeth (O'Donahue) Wills were the parents of fourteen children.
Robert C. Wills was born May 15, 1858, and as a boy attended the rural
schools of Ireland, coming to the United States when a lad of seventeen years.
He at once came to Scranton, Pennsylvania, and entered into the tea business
for himself and from this beginning was never employed at a stated salary,
much preferring to earn less or more, according to his worth, than to be
unalterably valued at a certain figure. In 1883 he purchased property at No.
430 Lackawanna avenue, for $14,000, and conducted a wholesale liquor busi-
582 CITY OF SCRANTON
ness until 1894, at which time he disposed of the property for $40,000. At
this time he entered upon the venture that has since became a successful one.
by purchasing the Keystone Brewery, the plant fronting on Blakely street, ex-
tending from Green to Pine streets. In 1894 the business was incorporated
under the name of the Keystone Brewing Company, the plant was enlarged
and greatly improved and under Mr. Wills efficient management became one of
the most prosperous institutions of its kind in Pennsylvania. The original
product of the plant was ale, and in 1899 an addition was made to the building
providing facilities for the manufacture of lager beer and porter, which
has since been continued with great success. From an annual output of about
eight thousand barrels of ale the figure has risen to seventy thousand barrels
of lager beer, ale and porter, a market for the entire quantity being found in
Lackawanna county, the revenue derived from this industry by the United
States government amounting to $70,000 per annum. The plant is admirably
appointed for its work, the bins of the plant having a capacity of four carloads
of grain, while the fire-proof brew-house has a copper kettle capacity of four
hundred barrels. The pay-roll of the company contains about sixty names, the
annual salaries amounting to $100,000. Mr. Wills is treasurer and manager of
the company, and in the active direction of the business he is assisted by the
following efficient force : Assistant manager and superintendent, F. B. Butler ;
private secretary, John J. Cannon ; brew-master, Jacob Eckstein, a graduate of
one of the foremost brewing institutes of the country, having followed his
calling in Germany and in Rochester, New York ; assistant brew-master, Wil-
liam Fricker, a graduate of a German brewing institute in Germany, and for
twelve years connected with the firm which is his present employer ; while the
sales department is under the care of John E. Coyne and Edward McDade.
Mr. Wills is otherwise prominently connected with business interests in
Scranton as a member of the board of directors of the Scranton Trust Com-
pany, the Dime Deposit and Discount Bank, the Fidelity Bank, of Dunmore.
the Blue Creek Coal and Land Company, and the Kanawa Railroad Company
(West Virginia) ; president of R. C. Wills Company, of Scranton, wholesale
liquor dealers ; and a member of the Keystone Realty Company, of Dun-
more, Pennsylvania. He is a Democrat in political conviction. He is a mem-
ber of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and belongs to St. Peter's
Roman Catholic Church, a member of the Scranton Board of Trade, Scran-
ton Club, Scranton Press Club and Young Men's Catholic Club.
Mr. Wills married Anna E. Coroner, a native of Scranton. Mrs. Wills
was for several years prior to her marriage a teacher in the Scranton schools.
Children of Robert Charles and Anna (Coroner) Wills: Joseph J.; Henry,
deceased ; Robert, deceased. Joseph J. is now connected in business with his
father. Mrs. Wills is one of a family of fourteen children of Patrick and
Bridget Coroner, who were residents of Scranton for over fifty years. The
palatial family home is at No. 531 Clay avenue, Scranton, located in the finest
residential block in the city.
PATRICK FRANCIS CUSICK
The paternal progenitor of Patrick J. Cusick was Owen Cusick, the well
remembered undertaker of Scranton, whose life was a record of kindly deeds
and successful business endeavor. The grandfather Cusick came from Ire-
land in 1854 with his family, settled in Scranton, entered the employ of the
Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, and became store manager. He left
children: Bartholomew, Patrick, Michael, Owen. Bridget, married Patrick
Judge ;_Margaret, married Senator J. C. Vaughn.
CITY OF SCRANTON 583
Owen Ciisick, born December 24, 1850, was brought from Ireland by his
parents when four years of age. He attended Scranton schools and began
business life as a section contractor on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western
Railroad. He was thrifty, industrious and ambitious, determined to rise from
that position. He purchased a mule and wagon, beginning in this small way,
and later he had one hundred horses, this fact demonstrating the extent to
which his business expanded. He gradually built up a livery business, then
opened an undertaking establishment, prospering in both branches to an ex-
traordinary degree. At first his location was in Bellevue, but later he moved
to a more central part of the city, occupying the old skating rink at the corner
of Adams and Mulberry streets. During a severe snow storm and blizzard in
1888 the building was blown down, then caught fire and was totally destroyed,
entailing a severe loss upon Mr. Cusick, the property being uninsured. He
purchased a fine property on Court House Square which is yet owned by bis
heirs and there continued the undertaking business until his death. During
his life as undertaker Mr. Cusick won a place among genuine philanthropists
by his warm hearted generosity to the poor. He never refused to bury their
dead even when there was not the faintest chance of his being paid, nor did he
ever render an unsolicited bill. As the Good Book says, "there is he that
scattereth yet increaseth," so it was with Mr. Cusick, his charity not hindering
but seemingly aiding him on the road to success. He is most kindly remem-
bered, for he left behind him a record of a well spent, useful life. During his
active years he was much interested in public affairs, and at one time was
elected clerk of the Court House by a plurality of ninety-eight votes. The
closeness of the vote induced the incumbent of the office, who was also the
defeated candidate, to contest the election. Under the law then in force, now
repealed, the incumbent held over until the contest was decided in the courts.
By legal process unfathomable to the layman, decision was delayed until the
term for which Mr. Cusick was elected had expired, the defeated candidate
for the office holding over a full term as if duly elected.
Owen Cusick married Mary, daughter of Michael Spellman, of Archbald,
Pennsylvania. Children : Mary, Theresa, John, Patrick F., of whom further ;
Eugene A., secretary and treasurer of the Cusick Company; Emily, Elizabeth,
married James F. Bell ; Michael, Ambrose and Bartholomew. Owen Cusick
died July 28, 1894.
Patrick Francis Cusick, son of Owen and Mary (Spellman) Cusick, was
born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, February 14, 1881. He attended Saint
Cecelia's Academy until thirteen years of age, when he succeeded his father
in the undertaking business. The business founded by Owen Cusick is still
continued under the name "Cusicks," the manager being one of the founder's
sons, Eugene A. Cusick. In 1903 Patrick F. Cusick organized the Standard
Brewing Company, of which he is secretary, treasurer and general manager ;
in 1906 the Cusick corporation of which he is president; and the Scranton
Distributing Company, of which he is president. These are all successful
enterprises, the plant of the Standard having proven too small within a few days
after being placed in operation. A second contract was placed at once that
doubled its capacity, but this also proving inadequate, a third enlargement was
made, the plant now being able to meet all demands made upon it. The
company is entirely independent, not being connected with any other plant
or trust'. In the course of business it became necessary to purchase the busi-
ness of E. J. Walsh, and this large wholesale business covering five states is
conducted under the management of the Scranton Distributing Company, of
which Mr. Cusick is president. In 1910 he was elected president of the First
National Bank of Jessup, a most prosperous institution. As a successful and
584 CITY OF SCRANTON
energetic business man Mr. Ciisick holds high rank, yet he is most genial and
social, belonging to many fraternal and beneficial societies both within and
with the church of his choice, Saint Peter's Roman Catholic Cathedral. He is
a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Fraternal Order
of Eagles, Knights of Saint George, Catholic Knights of America, Knights of
Columbus, Saint Peter's Total Abstinence and Benevolent Society, Red Cross,
Ancient Order of Hibernians, Young Men's Institute, Young Men's Christian
Association, Irish American Society, Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick, Scran-
ton Board of Trade, Manufacturers' Club of Philadelphia and the Pennsyl-
vania Society of New York. In politics he is strictly independent. Although
a young man, Mr. Cusick began business life at so early an age that he is a
veteran in all but years. His career has been marked by a succession of suc-
cessful enterprises, and in their management he displays the highest order of
executive ability. His residence is the well known property, the Carlucci
Mansion at No. 1048 Clay avenue, which he purchased in 19 13.
MICHAEL BOSAK
Progress in business life and the success awarded progress has been the
portion of Michael Bosak, achieved in a country to whose manners, customs
and tongues he was a stranger. His advance has been due to his readiness to
seize opportunity and his willingness to work, two qualities comprising an
infallible fominla for success.
A descendant of a Hungarian family of great antiquity, he was born in
Okonble, Saros, Austria-Hungary, December 10, 1870, son of Michael and
Anna (Tokarsky) Bosak. His father is a farmer, and at the present time he
and his wife live on the home farm in their native country, never having left
that land. Michael Bosak attended the public schools in the town of his birth,
and until he was eighteen years of age was his father's assistant on the farm,
coming to the United States in 1888 and obtaining employment in a breaker
at the coal mines at Hazleton. After several years of mine service he secured
a position as clerk in a general store at Freeland. His natural habits of thrift
had enabled him to save quite a large sum of money, at least, large in com-
parison with the amounts he had formerly possessed, and after three years'
employment as clerk he established a store under his own name. A year
later, in 1893, he moved to Olyphant and engaged in the liquor business, of
which his present banking business and steamship agency is an outgrowth.
In 1907 his business at Olyphant had assumed such gigantic proportions that
he opened a branch house at Scranton, whose growth and expansion has been
so rapid that in size and the amount of business transacted it quite eclipses
the parent institution and is regarded as the principal interest. The site of the
business is at No. 434 Lackawanna avenue, tlie building having been remodeled
at a cost of $45,000, when the Scranton branch was established. Three stories
and a basement are required to properly house the business, which employs
twelve persons. The house is the accredited representative of all the trans-
atlantic lines as well as of numerous lines plying a coastwise course. For the
accommodation of the large number of foreigners to whom the bank caters,
clerks having a knowledge of all the European languages are employed, a
point which is a great attraction to newly arrived immigrants, who are so
often made the dupe of thieving confidence men. Mr. Bosak is also the pro-
prietor of a wholesale liquor store. His other business relations are as di-
rector of the County Savings Bank and of the Scranton Guaranty and Surety
Company; vice-president of the First National Bank, of Olyphant, of which
CITY OF SCRANTON 585
he was an organizer; and president of the Slavonic Deposit Bank of Wilkes
Barre for which he performed the same office, that of organizer. A Democrat
in politics, he has served one term as member of the Olyphant council and was
the defeated candidate of his party for the office of clerk in court in Olyphant.
Mr. Bosak married Susanna, daughter of John Hudak, a native of Austria-
Hungary ; children: Mary, married Julius Stronczer; Michael, the fifth gen-
eration of the family bearing that name; Josephine; Francis.
HENRY KEHRLI
This record deals with three succeeding generations of the Swiss family
of Kehrli, all of whom came to the United States, the first for a quarter of a
century a resident of this country, the second returning to his native land
after a sojourn here of one year and a half duration, the third the present
representative of his line in the city of Scranton, Henry Kehrli.
( I ) His grandfather, .A.ndrew Kehrli, was born in Switzerland and immi-
grated to the United States, settling at Highland, Ohio, for twenty-five years
pursuing his occupation, that of farmer. He married and was the father of
four children: i. Caspar, of whom further. 2. Catherine, married and lives
in Switzerland. 3. Annie, married and lives in Switzerland. 4. Marguerite,
deceased.
(H) Caspar Kehrli, son of Andrew Kehrli, was born in Switzerland in
1830, died in 1909. His occupation was two-fold, wood-carving and farming,
and these he followed all of his active years. He at one time came to the
United States, his trip in the nature of a visit, returning to his native land
after one year and a half. He married Barbara Naegeli. Children: i. Cath-
erine, married Godfried Anliker, a teacher of Switzerland; twelve children.
2. Andrew, married Eleanora, daughter of John Bladder; resides in Factory-
ville, Pennsylvania ; seven children. 3. Caspar, married Catherine Naegeli :
two children. 4. Barbara, married Caspar Naegeli ; one daughter. 5. Henry,
of whom further. 6. John, deceased. 7. Fred, married Kate Fuher ; five
children. 8. Arnold, married Margaret Roth ; one child. 9. Annie, mar-
ried Michael Abplanalp.
(HI) Henrj' Kehrli, son of Caspar and Barbara (Naegeli) Kehrli, was
bom in Bern Canton, Switzerland, October 13, 1868, and there attended the
public schools until he was fifteen years of age. He was for a time em-
ployed on his father's farm, also perfomiing fine wood-carving, and when
twenty years of age immigrated to the United States, sailing on the French
liner "Labradori," and landing in New York City, April i, 1888. While
acquainting himself with the language and customs of the new land to which
he had come he obtained work as a laborer, in 1890 obtaining a position in a
butcher shop, and, learning the trade, was so employed for six years. At the
expiration of this time he established in independent business at No. 1372
Washington avenue, Scranton, eight years later moving to his finely ap-
pointed shop at Nos. 1401-03-05-07 Washington avenue, his residence adjoin-
ing his place of business. The lucrative trade that he built up in his old loc-
cation followed him to the new, and there he continues to the present time, the
proprietor of a strong and vigorous business, extensively patronized, deriving
its strength and vigor from the principles of honor and fair-dealing upon
which it has ever been run.
Mr. Kehrli married, in 1895, Annie, daughter of Caspar and Margaret
Naceli, natives of Switzerland, now residents of Scranton, Pennsylvania
Children : .A.deline, a student in high school ; Lillian, a student in the technical
high school; Andrew, Father. Ruth, Anna, Henry, Florence. Affiliating with
586 CITY OF SCRANTON
the Lutheran church, ^Ir. Kehrli is a member of Schiller Lodge, Free and
Accepted Masons, and the Scranton Swiss Benevolent Society, and is a sup-
porter of the Republican party.
BENJAMIN GARFIELD EYNON
Holding place in the public service as chief clerk to the Lackawanna
County Commissioners, Benjamin G. Eynon has not only been related to the
interests of the Scranton region in a political capacity, but has also been con-
nected with several of its financial and manufacturing institutions, as well as
with the construction department of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western
Railroad Company. At the present time he is the capable treasurer of the
Standard Clay Company, of Scranton, and chief clerk to the Lackawanna
County Commissioners.
(I) His ancestry is Welsh, his grandfather, Thomas Eynon, having been
born in Wales, coming to the United States in young manhood. He married
a Miss Leyshon, and had children: i. Albert B., of whom further. 2.
George F., a retail grocer of Scranton ; married Kate Cramer, and has chil-
dren: Charles A., Thomas F., Jennie, married a Mr. McGarrah. 3. Jennie,
married Dr. Beddoe, of Scranton.
(II) Albert B. Eynon, son of Thomas Eynon, was born in Carbondale,
Pennsylvania, in 1837, and at the present time is cashier of the West Side
Bank of Scranton. He married Anna Barnes, daughter of Benjamin Hughes,
her father for many years general superintendent of the coal department of
the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company. Albert B. and
Anna Barnes (Hughes) Eynon are the parents of: i. Thomas A., a graduate,
D. D. S., of the LTniversity of Pennsylvania ; married May, daughter of
Thomas Thomas. 2. Benjamin Garfield, of whom further. 3. Howard B., a
graduate of the chemical engineering course of the University of Pennsyl-
vania, being honor student of his class, at the present time assistant chemist
of the American Carbon and Lamp Company, of St. Louis. He married
Maude Fames, and has one son, Blaine Fames. 4. Paul J., educated in the
Scranton public schools and the Keystone Academy ; a bookkeeper in the
West Side Bank.
(III) Benjamin Garfield Eynon, son of Albert B. and Anna Barnes
(Hughes) Eynon, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, October 6, 1881, and
was educated in the public schools of his native city, graduating from the
high school in the class of 1901. His first business experience was obtained in
the West Side Bank, after which he was employed as bookkeeper by the Scran-
ton Woolen Mills. His next service was in the bridge and building depart-
ment of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company, in which
employ he was in charge of all of the accounts of the department relating to
work west of Portland, Pennsylvania. In 1912 Mr. Eynon was appointed chief
clerk of the county commission, and holds this position at the present time,
his work in this capacity having been of so complete, thorough and exact a
nature as to win the hearty approval of his superiors in office. His business
interests at this time are confined to the Standard Clay Company, of which
he is secretary and treasurer. This concern owns land at Little Gap, Monroe
county, Pennsylvania, and from pits on this property is shipped a fine grade
of white silica sand used in the manufacture of glass and fine chinaware, the
business conducted by the company being large and lucrative. Mr. Eynon's
political party is the Republican, and he is a member of the Plymouth Con-
gregational Church. He fraternizes with Hyde Park Lodge, No. 339, F. and
A. M.; Lackawanna Council, No. 1133, R. A.; and Heralds of Liberty.
CITY OF SCRANTON
587
Mr. Eynon married, June 14, 1904, Ida Lucretia, daughter of J. W. Moore.
Her father was a native of Wales and after coming to the United States made
his home in Ohio, in which state he married Ehzabeth WiUiams, and had
children: Cordelia; Charles W., of Scranton ; Arthur ]., a dentist of Dickson
City, Pennsylvania; Nellie, married Isaac Scull, of Newark, New Jersey; Ida
Lucretia, of previous mention, married Benjamin G. Eynon. Mr. and Mrs.
Eynon have one daughter, Pauline Moore, born May 28, 1907.
CHARLES HERBERT CRESSWELL
Charles Herbert Cresswell is a Scranton representative of a family whose
history has been long connected with England, that being the country of his
birth. The following record, brief as it is, will show its members to be and
to have been citizens whose walks in life have made of them useful men. men
of deed and achievement worth while, and patriots every one. Charles H.
Cresswell, of Scranton, is a grandson of Charles Cresswell', an English manu-
facturer of boxes. He married and was the father of: Herbert, of whom
further; Mary, married Charles Oakford ; Helen, unmarried; Sarah Ann,
married Thomas Warsop and has one son, Thomas Jr. ; Arthur, a cattle dealer.
Herbert Cresswell, father of Charles Herbert Cresswell, was born at
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, September 15, 1849. His active busi-
ness life has been passed as a merchant in his native land. He married Caro-
line Watson, of Lincolnshire, England. Their children: i. Clara, married
Henry Black; resides in Johannesburg, South Africa. 2. Qiarles Herbert,
of whom further. 3. Arthur, married Florence Loseley and lives in New
Zealand ; four children : Aland, Lillian, Kathleen, Herbert. 4. Ernest, en-
gaged in business with his father in Nottingham, England ; married Emma
Trollop ; one daughter, Hilda ; he served under General Buller in the Boer
War, being attached to the signal corps. 5. Richard, a soldier of the famous
"Scots Greys" in the Boer War; in one of the battles of that war the major of
his regiment was shot from his saddle while leading his troops and as he
fell was caught by Mr. Cresswell, who carried him from the fight to a place
of comparative safety, for which gallant act he received a medal of high dis-
tinction from his government. 6. William, a lace curtain manufacturer of
Nottingham, England ; married Alabel Wilson. 7. Mabel, married Thomas
Parr and has children: Norman and Kenneth. 8. Harris, emigrated to Scot-
land, 1904; married Emily Hobbs, one child, Joseph. 9. Albert Edward, an
electrical engineer of Liverpool, England, married Jessie McKenzie.
Charles Herbert Cresswell was born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Eng-
land, November 16, 1870. He was there educated in the public schools, com-
pleting his studies by a course in Bridgeford College, which he attended from
1884 until 1887. He served a five years' apprenticeship with Simon May &
Company, of Nottingham, in the lace trade, at the end of that time taking
passage on the steamer "Teutonic," landing in New York City, January 17.
1892. One of his uncles being a resident of the city of Scranton he made his
way hither, on July i of the year that he reached this country, entering the em-
ploy of the Scranton Lace Curtain Company, with which concern he has
since associated. His first capacity was shipping clerk, and he prepared for
shipment the first consignment of goods to leave the plant of the company.
Mr. Cresswell has since then held numerous positions in the company's service,
and is now superintendent of the finishing department, the operations in his
department being the last received by the products of the plant before their
shipment to the consumer. The fact of his twenty-four years' acquaintance
with the processes and methods of the plant are not the only factors in hi?
S88 CITY OF SCRANTON
value to his employers, his careful and accurate supervision of the work of his
department rendering highly improbable work that might lower the high
standard now realized by the Scranton Lace Curtain Company. His applica-
tion to his work is intense and absorbed, all of his energies devoted to the task
of best serving his employers of so many years, and the trust and confidence
reposed in him is full evidence that he has not fallen short of this goal. He
is an Independent in politics ; he is a member of Peter Williamson Lodge, No.
323, F. and A. ]\I., m.ember of the Church of the Good Shepherd (Protestant
Episcopal).
Mr. Cresswell married Marie Jane, daughter of Jesse Shepherd ; childreii :
Nellie, born August 20, 1899, a student in the Scranton High School ; Herbert,
February 14, 1904; Mabel Caroline, October 23, 1906; Charles Edward, July
20, 1907; Ernest Jesse, December 29, 1909.
ABRAHAM L. SCHILLER
A native of Russia, Abraham L. Schiller has been a resident of the United
States since he was twenty years of age, and since making his home m
Scranton has achieved business success and prosperity. His advancement
from the estate of the poor immigrant to the man of affairs and influence,
prominent in fraternal and religious circles, provides a story of interest.
(I) Russia has long been the family home, Abraham L. Schiller descend-
ing from ancestors who have been noted exponents of the Jewish law and
faith, his great-grandfather. Kalmenson Altschiller, a Talmudist; his grand-
father, Leib Altschiller, and his father, Aaron Altschiller, having both been
Rabbis. The name in Russia was Kalmen when only one name was given,
afterwards Kalmenson, that is a son of Kalmen, and when a second name was
adopted it was Altschiller from living in the old Synagogue. Abraham L.
Schiller dropped the "Alt." Kalmenson Altschiller passed his entire life in
service among the poor of the city of Chavues, giving of his goods and seek-
ing aid from his friends for the betterment of the pitiable plight of those in
want and distress.
(II) Leib Altschiller married a daughter of Moses Reichenstein. the in-
ventor of the one thousand year calendar. Moses Reichenstein has prospered
from his ingenious device and now resides in New York. Leib Altschiller
was the father of : Aaron, of whom further ; Klemen ; Judah, a resident of
Joffa, Palestine, aged seventy years ; Esther, married Hezekiah Jason, and
has eighteen children, all of whom survive to the present time.
(III) Aaron Altschiller, son of Leib Altschiller. died in Russia, his life-
long home, in 1907. He was a rabbi and was the author of numerous work;;
on religious subjects that found wide reading and high favor. He was a
cousin of the Moses Reichenstein previously mentioned. Aaron Altschiller mar-
ried Mary Terman, who is now living, aged eighty-seven years, and had
children : Rebecca, married Samuel Patz. and has children : Fannie, Rosa,
Dora, Bessie, all residents of Scranton ; Rachel, married Samuel Polkobe and
has children : Sarah, Belle, Wolf, Lester, Louis. Aaron, Joseph ; Leon, un-
married, lives in Russia: .\braham L., of whom further; Sara, married Israel
Hine, eight children, all living in Scranton.
(IV) Abraham L. Schiller, son of Aaron and Mary (Terman) Altschiller,
was born in Russia, September 22, 1872, and lived in his native land until he
was twenty years of age, there being educated and learning the business o\
watch-making. Upon his arrival in the United States he met many dis-
couragements and embarrassments owing to his ignorance of conditions and
his lack of friends to direct and advise him, but he finallv found emplo\-
CITY OF SCR.'\NTON 589
ment in a hat factory at Orange, New Jersey. Here he remained for three
months, then became associated with Mr. Fred, a watch-maker of Newarl<,
New Jersey, continuing in his employ for four months. Moving to Avoca.
Pennsylvania, he purchased an established jewelry business in that place, aiul
after conducting it for one year made advantageous disposal thereof and came
to Scranton. He at once entered the jewelry business and subsequently be-
came employed, in 1898, by Charles Aaronson, a jeweler of No. in Penu
avenue, being admitted to partnership by Mr. Aaronson a year later. In 190,^
hs bought the interest of his partner and former employer and has since con-
ducted the business under his own name, having incorporated it as the A. L.
Schiller Loan Company, of which he is president.
Mr. Schiller is a member of the Israel Lodge, Independent Order of Odd
Fellows ; the Modern Woodmen of America ; the Young Men's Hebrew As-
sociation, and the Independent Order Brith Abraham, of which he is vice-
president. He is chairman of the Federation of American Zionists, a di-
rector of the National Immigration Society of the L^nited States and Canada,
president of the L^nited Hebrew Charities, ex-president of the Monteferro
Hebrew Free Schools, and vice-president of the Linden Street Hebrew Temple.
His political party is the Republican. He married Lena Lasevitz, born in
Russia, and has children : ^Milton. Samuel, Louis, Joseph, Arthur, Mildred,
Rebecca, Dorothy.
NATHAN BERNARD LEVY
The career of Nathan B. Levy contains a story of a life-long ambition
realized and a goal attained through unswerving constancy to a youthful ideal
He is a native of Russia, Ncuschtadt having been the city of his birth, in
which place his father was a merchant, a descendant, through Asher Levy,
of the great Jewish merchant, Gabriel Memler. His father married Hannah
Blumenthal, daughter of Lob and Ida (Abelson) Blumenthal, her father a
scholar and an authority on the Talmud, a descendant of the great Rabbi Shab-
thay Cohen, one of the best known characters in Jewish history. Ida was a
daughter of Isaac Abelson, one of the wealthiest merchants of Leipsic, Ger-
many, his residence being in the city of Neuschtadt, which at that time be-
longed to Prussia. About 1805 the Prussian government offered, as an in-
ducement to progress and the introduction of modern institutions, a prize
for the erection of the first brick building in the city, the trophy being woii
by Isaac Abelson, the building reared by his order standing to the present
day. The father of Nathan B. Levy was also a merchant of Neuschtadt, con-
forming to the Jewish religion, and was president of the Neuschtadt Temple,
being a man of importance and influence in the community and superintendent
of the volunteer fire department.
Nathan Bernard Levy was born March 15, i860. He attended school until
he was fifteen years of age, when he left his home to journey to Birmingham.
England, at that time the jewelry center of the world, for training in the
jewelry business. After three years in that place, giving his entire time to
learning this business, he immigrated to the United States, and was further
taught and instructed in the establishment of L. Levy, an elder brother, four
years later venturing into independent dealings in Scranton. In 1884, two
years after the inception of this undertaking, he formed a partnership with
Kalman Levy, a younger brother, an association which has since been con-
tinued and has thoroughly and carefully developed a jewelry business of such
dimensions that it is recognized as one of the largest of Eastern Pennsyl-
vania. Representatives of the house cover a wide territory, and the able
590 CITY OF SCRANTON
methods of the concern, backed by the quality and reliabiHty of its goods,
secure a generous proportion of business in a field where competition is rife.
Mr. Levy is a member of Schiller Lodge, Keystone Consistory, Irem Temple,
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and fraternizes with the Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks. His club is the Excelsior and he worships in the
Madison Avenue Temple.
JACOB MORRIS FRANK
Born in far-away Russia, ]\Ir. Frank sought his fortune in the Western
world when a young man of nineteen years, reaching the United States dur-
ing the year all patriotic Americans were celebrating the one hundredth an-
niversary of the Declaration of Independence, a most fitting time for the son
of the most absolute monarchy to begin life in the greatest republic.
Jacob M. Frank was born in Russia, August 5, 1857, son of Louis and
Sarah Frank, the former a grocer and real estate dealer. He was the second
child and only son of his parents ; he had sisters Rachel and Ida, the former
deceased. Jacob M. was well educated in the Russian schools, passing through
the higher institutions open to him and acquiring a good knowledge of language
and literature, both Russian and Jewish. In 1876 he left the land of his
birth, and after a long voyage on a sailing vessel reached the United States.
He located in Scranton and for several years was engaged in peddling. He
then purchased a grocery store which he successfully conducted until 1913,
when he sold out and invested his capital in Scranton real estate, devoting
himself now entirely to its management. He is a member of Keneneth Israel
Congregation, Linden Street Synagogue (Orthodox), and to the Jewish so-
cieties, Brith Abraham and Independent Western Star of Chicago. In political
faith he is a Republican.
Mr. Frank married Ida Cohen, born in Russia, daughter of Isaac Cohen,
who came to Pennsylvania, settling in Scranton; she died April 13, 1914, aged
fifty-nine years. Children: i. Hyman B., born in August, 1877; he was a
foreman for the Delaware & Hudson Railroad for seven years, now an em-
ployee of the city of Scranton; he married Stella Seigel and has children:
Samuel, Rose, Sarah. 2. Nettie, born in September, 1880; married Joseph
Kurlancheek, of Carbondale, and has children : Loui, Fanny. Freda, Francis,
Hannah, Goldie, Reva, Bernan. 3. Harris, born in November, 1886; mar-
ried Leila Schapiro and has children: Irving, Marian, Myron. 4. Samuel J.,
born August 7, 1889. 5. Leona, born November 30, 1893; graduate of Scran-
ton public schools and Lackawanna Business College; was a cashier of the
Boston Shoe Market.
ISADOR FINKELSTEIN
In 1890, Isador Finkelstein, a young Hebrew of seventeen years, landed
from the steamship, "Etruria," in New York City with little besides his stout
heart and ambition to start him on his career in a strange land, where even
the language was unfamiliar. To-day a successful wholesale merchant of
Scranton, he reviews his course upward with pleasure and pride, even find-
ing material for amusement in some of the earlier experiences. This upward
path has not been one of easy grades, but each step of the earlier journey was
taken under circumstances and against odds that would have discouraged a
less stout hearted man, but the crest was finally reached and now from a
secure height he reviews a life well spent and far from ended. He is a son
of Bernard Finkelstein and grandson of Jacob Finkelstein, both of Russian
CITY OF SCRANTON 591
birth, the former now a resident of Scranton, although many of his years
were spent in his native land. Bernard Finkelstein married in Russia, Sarah
Genburg, and has children : Aaron, Jacob and Isador, all now residing in Scran-
ton.
Isador Finkelstein was horn in Russia, August i, 1873. He obtained a good
education in a Hebrew College, his diligence and ambition gaining him honor-
able distinction among his college mates. In the year 1890 he left his native
land, journeyed across Europe to the coast and taking passage on the steam-
ship "Etruria" arrived in due season in New York City. Here he was em-
ployed for one year with the tobacco firm, Paul Brother's, learning cigar mak-
ing and gaining a knowledge of tobacco that later he turned to good account.
At the end of the year he came to Scranton and after several attempts to ob-
tain suitable employment decided to have a business of his own. He began
with a lunch wagon and so well did he succeed that he commanded in a short
time sufficient capital and credit to engage in the tobacco business. He was
ambitious to an unusual degree and despite his small capital decided to con-
duct an exclusive wholesale business in both cigars and tobacco. He started
in a small way, but he knew his business, worked faithfully, bought and sold
judiciously, gradually expanding until to-day he transacts a business amount-
ing annually to hundreds of thousand dollars, the firm operating as the Im-
perial Cigar Company, Goldberg and Finkelstein, proprietors. Still a young
man in years, Air. Finkelstein is ambitious of still greater expansion and
with the record of his past twenty years as a guide, the heights to which he
will rise in the business world are surely far above his present altitude. He
has won through merit and courage, good business methods and an adherence
to his one specialty, cigars and tobacco, and his one way of selling. The lesson
taught by the business life of this successful man should not be lost, so
clearly does it prove the value of concentrating all one's efforts on a special
line and thoroughly mastering all its detail. Energy, perseverance and courage
cannot win one's fight alone, but these qualities must be well directed and
confined within clearly defined limits.
Mr. Finkelstein is a member of all bodies of Keystone Consistory, Ancient
Accepted Scottish Rite, thirty-second degree ; Schiller Lodge, No. 345, F.
and A. M. ; Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine ;
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks ; the Young Men's Hebrew As-
sociation. In political faith he is a Republican. He adheres to the Orthodox
faith of his fathers, worshipping with congregation of Linden Street S\'na-
gogue.
He married Yetta, daughter of Hyman Harvey, of New Britain, Con-
necticut, and has children: Abraham, born June 19, 1898; Harold, May 15.
1900: Ruth, January 15, 1905; Miriam, April 5, 1909.
JOSEPH H. NOLAN
To Joseph H. Nolan there belongs the credit that is always due one who
has the courage and the initiative to enter into any enterprise to which he is
unaccustomed, be it commercial or otherwise. With absolutely no experience
in the laundry business, he and two partners established in such an under-
taking fifteen years ago. For the past seven years Mr. Nolan has been the sole
proprietor and has built up a large business, giving employment to about
ninetv persons.
Westmeath, Ireland, was the place claimed by James Nolan, father of
Joseph H. Nolan, as his birthplace and it was from there that he came to the
United States when but a boy, making his home in different parts of New
5q2 CITY OF SCRANTON
England. He leanied the trade of machinist and later surveying, being
especially well adapted for the latter occupation because of his liking and
aptitude for mathematics. Quickness of perception, a racial characteristic,
combined with the thorough training he received under the able workman
with whom he learned his trade, made him a master machinist. He was em-
ployed on the Federal ironclad, "Monitor," when it was in course of con-
struction at Greenpoint, Long Island, under the direction of John Ericsson.
The "Monitor" is best remembered by her conflict with the "Merrimac" in
Hampton Roads, the first battle ever fought between two vessels of meta!
construction. After working for a time in New York, Mr. Nolan came to
Scranton, where he accepted a supervisory position in the shops of the Dick
son Manufacturing Company, resigning to go to Oxford Furnace, New Jer-
sey, to erect shops for the accommodation of the Scranton interests. About
1873 he returned to Scranton and was engaged as draughtsman by the Dela-
ware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, remaining in that employ until hi^
retirement a few years before his death. He was a capable workman and a
courteous, well-liked gentleman. He married Ruth, daughter of Henry Jep-
son, a descendant of the old New England family of the name that played
such a prominent part in the Revolutionary War. Children: ilary, mar-
ried William Kelly, and resides in Scranton ; Anna, married Dr. Fitzimmons,
of Scranton ; Joseph H., of whom further.
Joseph H. Nolan was born in Oxford Furnace, New Jersey, April 8,
1867. He obtained his education by attendance at the public schools, and
when fourteen years of age entered the employ of Leonard Brothers, in the
hardware store. Outside of his connection with the business of which he
is now proprietor, this has been his only position in the service of others.
He remained in the store for twelve years, leaving in 1898, when he, hi
partnership with two others, Messrs. Gallagher and Manley, established the
Crystal Laundry. Their start was an unpretentious one, two wagons being
used for collection and delivery work, and ten or fifteen persons being em-
ployed in the laundry. In 1906 Mr. Nolan became the sole owner of the
business, now a flourishing concern, employing about ninety persons and keej)-
ing ten wagons in constant use. The laundry is a favorite one with the towns-
people and those living in the outlying territory, its popularity being a just
reward for the labors of Mr. Nolan, whose efforts to bring it to its present
efficient condition have been so unceasing.
Mr. Nolan married Elizabeth, daughter of Matthew Snow, of Scranton.
and has two children, Joseph and Marion. Energetic and ambitious, the suc-
cess of his undertaking is directly attributable to Mr. Nolan. Full of the
fiery vigor of youth, one achievement brings with it the desire for another,
and other triumphs should await him in the days to come.
FREDERICK G. WALDNER
Two and a half decades cover the period during which Frederick G.
Waldner has been connected with the business life of the city of Scranton, lie
being the only one of his line to find his life work in that place. His father.
Gottlieb Waldner, was born in Germany, January 5, 1840, and there learned
the gardener's trade in which he became a skilled and artistic workman, com-
ing to the United States in manhood. In Philadelphia he found a field offer-
ing infinitely greater possibility in his line, inasmuch as gardening was not a
business for which necessary training and teaching could be obtained on this
side of the ocean, more necessary occupations than that of adornment claim-
ing the time and attention of workmen in the LTnited States. He lived in
CITY OF SCRANTON 593
that city until his death. His wife was Barbara (Miller) Waldner, and they
were the parents of: Frederick G., of whom furtlier ; Charles, Arnold, I'aul,
Richard.
Frederick G. Waldner, son of Gottlieb and Barbara (Miller) Waldner,
was born in Switzerland, March 15, 1867. He was there educated in the
public schools, later coming to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, landing in that
city, October 9, 1881. He was there employed until November 22, 1890, on
which date he moved to Scranton, establishing a bakery. To this he has added
ice cream dealing and catering, and at the present time conducts a well
patronized business at No. 634 Washington avenue. In the fulfillment of
catering contracts he has an advantage over competitors in that several of
his articles most in demand arc made under his personal supervision, and
his capable business methods have made a desirable impression upon those
dealing with him. Mr. Waldner is a thirty-second degree Mason, and belongs
to the Liederkranz and the Junger Mannerchor. He married Lena Robling, and
they are the parents of: Paul, born April 22, 1893; Lucelia, born July 18.
1895, died June 6, 1913.
GEORGE F. VASEY
First to Canada and then to the United States is the American record
of this line of the family of Vasey, founded in the province of Ontario,
Canada, by John Vasey, of Ireland, who came to that locality with his family.
His trade was that of blacksmith, a calling he followed in connection with
contracting on the \Velland Canal, then in course of construction. He married
and had children : John, deceased, married Charlotte Adams, and was the
father of Hugh, John, Margaret, Nora, William, Joseph, James, Sarah,
George, Mary ; Hugh, deceased, married and had children, resided in St. Louis.
Missouri ; William, of whom further ; James, deceased, married and had chil-
dren : Barrett, William, Nora : George, deceased ; Mary, deceased.
(II) William Vasey, son of John Vasey, was born at Campbell Quarrv,
Ontario, Canada, December 26, 1837. In his youth he worked with his father,
who was then engaged in contracting, and who later purchased a farm, whid'
he cultivated for many years. Later William Vasey purchased a farm and
spent some years on it and later another farm where he spent his last years
and where his son John still resides. He married Mary Jane, daughter of
William Lister, of Ontario. William Lister was a son of William Lister, cf
the firm of Lister & Sons, foundry proprietors of Darlington, England. Wil-
liam Lister was the father of William, Thomas, John, and Mary Jane, of
previous mention, married William Vasey. Children of William and Mary
Jane (Lister) Vasey: George F., of whom further: Nora; Mary; John, mar-
ried Johanna Kenney. and is the father of William and Mary ; James, de-
ceased; Eliza; Ellen; May; William; Gertrude; Vincent.
(III) George F. Vasey, son of WiUiam and Mary Jane (Lister) Vasey,
was born in Durnoch, Grey county, Ontario, Canada, February 4, 1876. As
a boy he attended the Separate Schools of Ontario, then worked on a farm
until he was eighteen years of age. On November 4, 1898, he entered the em-
ploy of the Lake Superior Corporation, in the paper mills, lumber woods, and
mines, becoming superintendent of exploration and development work, of the
Sultana Strathcoma and other mines. He was so employed until September,
1903. Resigning then from this position, Mr. Vasey moved to Scranton, en-
tering the employ of Sprague & Henwood, remaining with this concern until
1905. In the spring of the following year he went to Duluth, Minnesota,
taking charge of the work conducted by the L. G. Bradley Exploration Com-
38
594 CITY OF SCRANTON
pany in the Mesaba Iron Mines, on January i, 1907, returning to Scranton.
Here he accepted a position as the eastern representative of Jacques, Baszanger
& Company, of New York and Paris, importers of rough diamonds, carbon,
and bortz, and manufacturers of diamond tools, and is so employed at the
present time. During the course of his professional career, Air. Vasey has
become identified with the Canadian Mining Institute, and the Engineering So-
ciety of Northeastern Pennsylvania, and is also a member of the Scranton
Board of Trade, the Catholic Club, and the Knights of Columbus, his churc!^
being St. Paul's Roman Catholic.
Mr. Vasey married Elizabeth Bower, daughter of Nicholas Bower, of
New York state, a descendant of a German family.
HENRY T. KOEHLER
In giving an estimate of the character of Henry T. Koehler, of Scranton,
Pennsylvania, we find a happy combination of the best characteristics of his
German forbears with the more progressive methods to be found in this
country. He was born at Erie, Pennsylvania, December 18, 1861, son of
Henry and Christine Koehler, both deceased, the former named a native of
Germany, the latter named a native of York, Pennsylvania.
He received a plain but substantial education in the private school tauglit
by his father, attending the same up to thirteen years of age, when he obtained
a position with Garney, Short & Company, leading tobacconists, as clerk,
where his conscientious discharge of the duties which fell to his share was not
unobserved, and he was advanced from one responsible position to another
during the seventeen years he remained in the employ of this firm. During
his leisure time he found opportunities for the display of his natural abilities
as an organizer, and it is due to him that numerous clubs and organizations
were called into existence. His popularity is attested by the fact of his being
called to public office, and he has served as county auditor, and then as register
of wills. Later he held the position of clerk of the orphans' court, which posi-
tion he still holds. His management of this department was a masterly piece
of work, and proved conclusively that the confidence which had been reposetl
in him had not been misplaced. He ever has the best interests of the city at
heart, and is doing his utmost to improve and beautify it. It is mainly owing
to his strenuous personal efforts that the three fine statues of Columbu^,
Washington and Slieridan now adorn the city at Court House Square, he being
the leading spirit of the small company of patriotic men who worked to-
gether for this end, and he was at one time president of the association which
took this matter in hand.
Mr. Koehler is a member of Schiller Lodge, No. 345, F. and A. M. ; Key-
stone Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite ; Irem Temple, Nobles o''
the Mystic Shrine ; the Northern Jurisdiction of the Supreme Council, thirty-
third degree ; and Washington Camp, No. 242, P. O. S. of A., United States
of America. He has served the state as vice-president of the last mentioned
association, and assisted in organizing almost all the camps instituted in
Northeastern Pennsylvania. He was twice elected president of the local
Camp, and during the State Camp held in 1888 served 'as chairman of the
reception committee. He has also served as treasurer of the Funeral Benefit
Association for the past twelve years. His thorough knowledge of parlia-
mentary laws and customs is universally conceded to be remarkable, and he
takes high rank as a debater. He is a quiet, but forceful speaker, his words
being well chosen, come readily to his lips, and his facts marshalled in orderly
array. He is of a simple, unaffected nature, a firm friend, and helpful in
/
CITY OF SCRANTON
595
works of a cliaritable nature. Mr. Koehler married, December 8, 1904, Clara
R. Hughes.
THOMAS H. McLOUGHLIN
James and Julia McLoughlin were pioneer settlers of Scranton, where
he was one of the first to build a residence on what is now called Hyde Park,
in the year 1854. James McLoughlin was of Irish descent and born in Dublin.
Julia McLoughlin was born on the ocean, and was a daughter of John and
Mary Durning; the mother of Mary Durning was born in county Sligo,
Ireland, of Irish parents by the name of Cox, all honest citizens of the home
country, none of whom emigrated but Alary. Mary Durning lived to the ripe
old age of eighty-five years ; she was the only sister of eleven brothers, all of
whom followed the trade of shoemaking. John Durning, the father, lived to
the age of seventy years.
James McLoughlin was a journeyman brewer of beer by occupation, and
he and his wife, Julia (Durning) McLoughlin, made but one move in life,
that from his father's home in Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, to their own home
in Hyde Park, Scranton. Children : Patrick, Mary, Mary Jane, all born m
Scranton, and now deceased; the living are: John J., single; James, single;
Emma ; these were all born in Scranton also. Mary at the time of her death
was forty-six years of age, and had married Bernard F. Began, of Rhode
Island, born of Irish parentage, now deceased. This union was blessed with
seven children, of whom six are living: Bernard F., died in infancy; Mary,
married Patrick Connors; Emma, married Claude Westley; Veronica, mar-
ried Leroy Kettle ; John, married Mary J. Roland ; Bernard F. ; James F.
Emma McLoughlin married John W. Brown, of German parents; they had but
one child, a daughter, Lillian E., who is now married to Charles H. Beggs.
of Daleville, Pennsylvania, and is a convert to the Catholic church. Mr. and
Mrs. Beggs have two sons, William J. and Henry Columbus.
In the year 1867 the home was saddened by the death of the husband
and father, James McLoughlin, leaving a widow and six children. Mr. Mc-
Loughlin had served all through the Civil War. In 1871 Mrs. Julia (Durn-
ing) McLoughlin married (second) Michael J. Clancy, born in Tipperary,
Ireland. Children: Ellen, now deceased; Peter F., engaged in his early days
as a shoe merchant in Scranton, later went to California, where he is proprietor
of a ranch and alfalfa farm, married a Miss Browning at Woodland, Cali-
fornia, of an old California family; they had two children: Thomas H., living,
and a child deceased ; Thomas H., of whom further.
Thomas H. (Clancy) McLoughlin is a graduate of the Scranton Business
College ; a veteran of the late war with Spain, in which he served in Com-
pany B, Thirteenth Regiment Pennsylvania \'olunteer Infantry, and since the
close of that conflict has been adjutant, quartermaster and commander of the
General J. P. S. Gobin Camp, No. 41, S. A. W. V. His political affiliation
is with the Republican party. At present he is a wholesale liquor dealer in
Scranton, Pennsylvania. Previous to entering business for himself he was
with the R. C. Wills Company, wholesale liquors, in the capacity of general
manager in the liquor department. After resigning his position of general
manager he opened up a wholesale liquor business at No. 243 Penn avenue,
Scranton. All of the male members of the McLoughlin family followed rail-
roading or business, and at present are large property owners at the
corner of Scranton and Seventh streets, Scranton. All of the McLoughlin
family were of American birth, and baptized in the Roman Catholic faith in
St. Peter's Cathedral, Scranton, Pennsylvania. The M. J. Clancy children
were also baptized in the same church, and are of the same faith.
596 CITY OF SCRANTON
MICHAEL SPORER
A member of a family finding its origin in Bavaria, Germany, Alichael
Sporer is of Pennsylvania birth, Pennsylvania having also afforded him a wiile
field for his business career. His present business location is Scranton, where
he has resided since 1886, and at No. 921 South Webster avenue, he and his
four sons conduct a large and flourishing meat business, of which he has
been proprietor for nearly a quarter of a century. He is a merchant of
Scranton whose efforts have met with the public favor that brings success,
and through a business policy in which honor and fair dealing have been
conspicuous has attained material prosperity. He is a son of John Sporer,
born in Bavaria, Gennany, in 1818, died in 1905. He came to the United
States in 1845, when a young man of twenty-seven years, and after being
employed for a short time in New York moved to Honesdale, Pennsylvania,
where he worked on the Delaware and Hudson Canal. Abandoning labor
of this kind, he purchased a farm in Cherryridge township, Wayne county,
and there engaged in farming operations until his retirement in 1893. h'^
death occurring at the advanced age of eighty-six years. John Sporer mar-
ried Kate Gumler, a native of Bavaria, Germany, and had children: i. George,
died aged sixteen years. 2. Christina, married Joseph Dink, of Honesdale,
Pennsylvania, and is the mothei of : Christina, Joseph, John, Michael, and
William. 3. Kate, deceased. 4. Margaret, married and lives at Honesdale.
5. Mary, married Frank Dukes, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and has issue ;
Lizzie, William, Florence, Robert, Frank, Henry, and Marie. 6. Michael,
of whom further. 7. Theresa, married John Steggner, a merchant of Hones-
dale, Pennsylvania, and had children : John, Frank, Noah, Robert, and Edwin.
Michael Sporer, son of John and Kate (Gumler) Sporer, was bom in
Honesdale, Pennsylvania, April 16, i860, and was there a student in the
public schools. Until he was eighteen years of age he was thus occupied,
working for a part of the time on his father's farm, and then became a
butcher, being identified with meat dealing in Honesdale, Carbondale, Dun-
more, Hawley, and other places, subsequently passing one year in the John
Cookenberger Brewery. His next situation was with Joseph Herzog, a meat
merchant of Honesdale, Pennsylvania, and while thus employed he married,
in 1886 moving to Scranton and being for one year and a half associated
with the firm of T. Carr and Son. He spent about the same length of time
in connection with Patrick Joyce, and was then for three years with
Joseph Carolan, at the expiration of that time purchasing the busi-
ness of his employer. The location of Joseph Carolan's meat mar-
ket was No. 921 Stone street, now South Webster avenue, and here Mr.
Sporer continues the business founded by Mr. Coralon. Steady growth has
resulted from tireless attention to the needs and desires of his patrons, and
Mr. Sporer has now associated with him in the management of the business
his four sons. While catering to the public, Air. Sporer has become an ob-
servant and watchful merchant, and, in the deviations he has made from the
regular lines of trade has been rewarded by the approval of his patrons and
a constant increase in trade. His four sons are his able assistants, their
services possessing particular value because of their interest in still further
developing the result of his industry and unremitting toil. Mr. Sporer is a
member of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, and belongs to St. Mary's
Society and to St. Peter's Society. His political preferences are strongly
Democratic.
He married Marguerite, daughter of John Langdendorfer, a native of
Germany, and has children: i. Joseph, associated with his father in business.
CITY OF SCRANTON 597
married Leopoldine Hershler, and is the father of: Dorothy, born February
13. 1910; Joseph, born Alarch 31, 1912; Edwin, born March 23, 1914. 2. Ed-
ward, associated in business with his father, married Annie Ramminger. 3.
Alfred, associated in business with his father. 4. WiUiam, associated in busV
ness with his father. 5. Florence, married Oscar Grambo, a photographer of
Scranton, and has one son, Ralph. 6. Francis.
PATRICK FRANCIS DUFFY
There is. in the history of this branch of the Duffy family in America,
an e.xample of the most steadfast loyalty to an employer. Patrick Francis
Duffy of this chronicle can boast of forty-six years and five days continuous
service with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, "during which
period he was almost constantly at his post, one of the most faithful and
trusted of the army of men in the employ of the company.
County Ma3-o, Ireland, is the locality claimed by the Duffy family as the
original family seat and it was from this place that Michael, father of Patrick
Francis Duffy, came to the United States. He was but a young man at the
time of emigration, and soon after his arrival in New York he married
Bridget Connor, also born in county Mayo, Ireland. The young couple lived
in New York for three years after their marriage, then moved to Carbondale.
Pennsylvania, where they were among the first settlers in the village. Michael
Duffy obtained employment in the coal mines and for forty years was so
engaged. Thanks to an exceptionally strong constitution and a life of up-
right and correct habits, he escaped the heavy toll usually levied by the mines
upon their workers and lived to the old age of eighty-three years. His wife
died in October, 191 1, at the advanced age of ninety-three years. Of their
children six grew to maturity: James, of Scranton; Thomas, deceased; Pat-
rick Francis, of further mention ; John J., of Sayre, New York ; Michael J.,
deceased ; Austin F., of Scranton.
Patrick Francis Duffy, son of Michael and Bridget (Connor) Duffy, was
born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, July 23. 1849. He attended the public
schools of Scranton and received instruction under John Kelly, P. J. White
and Thomas Loftus. His assistance in the support of the family being needed,
he secured employment in a breaker, remaining at mine labor for a period
of eighteen months. He then drove mules on the Delaware & Hudson Cana!
for two years, and after his parents moved to Scranton he drove mules for a
time in Clarke's mine in Providence. The associations of mine labor not
being congenial to him he permanently left this field and entered the employ
of the Delaware, Lackawanna & \\'estern Railroad, as brakeman, remaining
with that company until 1909, at which time he completed the term of service
mentioned previously. The first seven years as brakeman and the last twenty-
five in the first class passenger service as a conductor and for the last
ten years of this time conducting the train known as the Queen City Limited.
In 1909 he was the candidate of the Democratic party for treasurer of Lacka-
wanna county and was elected by a plurality of three thousand and eight.
He discharged the duties of this office in a most satisfactory manner, his re-
ports containing clear and minute information as to the disposal made of
every penny of'public monev intrusted to him. In August, 1913, he was a
caiufidate for the Democratic nomination for sheriff, running for the nom-
ination on the strength of the public service rendered in the capacity of
county treasurer, his record in that office being an eloquent plea for the op-
portunity for still further service. Mr. Duffy is a member of the Order of
Railway Conductors, an association formed in his railroading days.
598 CITY OF SCRANTON
Mr. Duffy married Catherine, daughter of Thomas O'Connor, born in
Chesterfield, England, and of their fourteen children nine are living: Thomas;
Dr. Michael A. ; May, married M. T. Howley, of Scranton ; Patrick Francis
Jr. ; Robert, deputy county treasurer ; James ; Elizabeth ; John ; Dorothy ;
Joseph, all of Scranton.
Mr. Duffy, at the age of sixty-four years, is still in the freshness and
vigor of the prime of life, a heritage from a family noted for its longevity.
His retentive memory holds many interesting anecdotes of the early days of
the region, a small volume of his reminiscences having been published. He
is a striking figure, his genial features crowned with a wealth of gray-white
hair, and is universally liked throughout the county.
VITO CAMARCA
Numbered among the numerous tailoring fraternity of the city of Scrar.-
ton is Vito Camarca, who conducts a profitable business at No. 1202 Luzern'.^
street. He is a son of Francisco Camarca, born in Baccacia, province of
Avellino, Italy. His father learned the trade of stone mason early in life
and was so engaged in his native land nearly all of his life. He married
Francisca Donatiello, Vito being the only survivor of their children.
Vito Camarca was born in Baccacia, province of Avellino, Italy, June 2,
1884. For five years in his youth he attended the public educational insti-
tutions of his birthplace, at the end of that time going to Ascoli, Satriano,
province of Foggia, where in boyhood he began to learn his present trade,
that of tailor. Impressed, as have been so many others of his countrymen,
by the handicaps of the home land and the advantages of the United States,
he bent his course thither, landing in New York City on January 23, 1902.
For two years that city offered him employment at his trade, and at the
expiration of that period he came to Scranton, entering the service of Taylor
& Raiper, a tailoring firm of the city, his future employers being John Macucci
and B. J. Fusche. It was while he was associated with the latter that he
conceived the idea of an independent business, and accordingly invested a
large part of the capital he had been accumulating for just such a purpose, his
first location being on South Main avenue. This place was satisfactory until
the spring of 1914, when he moved into more desirable quarters at No. 1202
Luzerne street, his home also being on the premises, and he remains there to
the present time, his business a strong and paying institution. ]\Ir. Camarca
holds membership in the Santo Angelo Lombardi Society, Christopher Colum-
bus Lodge, No. 1 160, I. O. O. F., and also belongs to the Roman Catholic
church. His political faith is Republican. He married Raphaella. daughter of
Antonio Catta, of Scranton, and is the father of one son, Frank, born August
20, 1906.
JENNAR INTOCCIA
In the Intoccia family there exists the condition of father and son, sepa-
rated by more than three thousand miles of land and water, industriously
pursuing the same calling. Conditions in the new world being so undeniably
superior to those in the old world, it is but natural that he on this side of the
wide Atlantic should have prospered beyond the aspiration of his sire, though
their skill be equal. Gaeton Intoccia, father of Jennar Intoccia, was born in
Santangelo, province of Napoli, Italy, and there learned the tailor's trade,
being engaged in that business in his native city at the present time. He mar-
ried Antonia Curcio, and had children: Louis and Vincent, shoemakers in the
CITY OF SCRANTON c,gQ
city of Scranton; Wichelena, married a Mr. Manzi, of Scranton ; Susan, lives
in the homeland; Chiarla, married a Mr. Sagesse, and lives in Italy; Jennar,
of whom further.
Jennar Intoccia, son of Gaeton and Antonia ( Curcio ) Intoccia, was born
in Santangelo, province of Napoli, Italy, January 22, 1886. He was educated
in the schools of his native land, in 1902 sailing for the United States on the
Italian steamer "Germania," arriving in New York City on May 24, of that
year. He came directly to the city of Scranton. opening a tailor shop on the
West Side, having learned his trade from his father. Quality of work, skill
of labor, and close attention to all branches of his business have attracted to
his shop generous patronage, retained by the same high grade of work. Mr.
Intoccia, an Independent in politics, holds membership in St. Lucia's Roman
Catholic Church, and among the several fraternal orders in which he holds
membersliip is the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He also affiliates with the
Santangelo Society and the Mazzina Society.
Mr. Intoccia married Anna, daughter of Anthony and Alessandra (Curcio)
]\Iagnotta. the former named a contractor of Scranton, her family having
been connected with the contracting interests in the city for more than thirty
years. Anthony and Alessandra ( Curcio ) Magnotta are the parents of :
Philomena, Mark, Michael, Joseph, Albert, Angelina, Susan, Amia, of previous
mention, married Jennar Intoccia. Jennar and Anna Intoccia are the parents
of: Antonetta, born August 29, 191 1 ; Alice, born January i, 1914.
NICHOLAS VALLARIO
One of the most successful and best patronized of Scranton tailors, trans-
acting business as Vallario Brothers, is Nicholas Vallario, son of Italian par-
ents and of Italian birth he has made the United States the field of his en-
deavors and prosperity has attended his well directed efforts. His father,
Michael \^allario, was born at Pescopagano, province of Basilicata, Italv,
February 2, 1848. and in his early life followed the blacksmith's trade, being
at the present time a bank employee in his native land. He married Lucy,
daughter of Michael Ciampa, and is the father of: Fabio, born in 1879, ^'^'
sociated in business with his brother, Nicholas; Joseph M., came to the United
States in 1905, and is at the present time a barber in. the city of Scranton;
Nicholas, of whom further; Mary Rose, a resident of Italy, the land of her
birth.
Nicholas Vallario, son of Michael and Lucy (Ciampa) Vallario. was born
at Pescopagano, province of Basilicata, Italy, Mav 12, 1886, and was educated
in the Italian school. Emigrating to the United States in 1903. on December
24, of that year, he came to Scranton, Pennsylvania, immediately finding em-
ployment with Nicholas Volo, whose establishment was at No. 1919 Boulevard
avenue. His next employer was Mr. Masucci. after which he became a';-
sociated with Richard Nicholas, a Scranton tailor, a connection continuing
for two years. LTntil September, 1906, he was employed by Teller & Keiper,
discontinuing this relation to- establish an inflependent tailoring business at No.
250 Wyoming avenue, first transacting business as "The European Tailoring
Company," being thus engaged until July, 1910. At that date he moved to
No. 322 Spruce street, in which advantageous location he has since directed
a high-class tailoring business as Vallario Brothers. Mr. Vallario acts in-
dependently in politics, and holds membership in the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows and the Mazzini Society of St. Lucia's Roman Catholic Church.
6oo CITY OF SCRANTON
ALTON F. KIZER
The head of two textile industries in the city of Scranton, and a partner
in the real estate firm of Kizer & Swingle, Alton F. Kizer ho'ids an assured
position in the business world of Scranton, and one which fully justifies the
spirit of progress and conquest he has displayed. He is a descendant of an
old German family.
(I) Abram and Susan (Spangenburg) Kaiser, great-grandparents of Alton
F. Kizer, came from Germany to the United States about the year 1770, and
settled in Sussex county. New Jersey. There Mr. Kaiser spent his life until
his sudden death in early manhood. Children : Jacob E., of further mention ;
Henry, married Hulda Dilston, and removed to the west ; John, married Mary
Bartlow ; Susan, married Daniel Bronson. After the death of their father,
these children lived among English families in that section, and it was at this
time that the spelling of the name was changed from Kaiser to Kizer.
(H) Jacob E. Kizer, son of Abram and Susan (Spangenburg) Kaiser, was
born in Sussex county. New Jersey, May 31, 1800, died in Pennsylvania, i\Iay
26, 1886. In early manhood he removed to Pennsylvania, where he was en-
gaged in farming and lumbering. He married, .'Kpril 10, 1824, Mary Emery.
born August 11, 1806, died June 8, 1870, and had children: Susan Ann,
married Jacob E. Myers; John D., of further mention; Zachariah. married
Ellen Bartlow, of Kizer, Pennsylvania ; Adelaide, married George W. Kipp ;
Mary, married Henry Lavoe ; Jacob, a resident of Ariel, Pennsylvania, married
Amanda Emery ; Jonathan Emery, deceased, married Ellen Bartlow ; Henry,
living in Kizer, Pennsylvania, married Ruth Mott ■ Abram, deceased, married
Lucetta Swingle.
(HI) John D. Kizer, son of Jacob E. and Mary (Emery) Kizer, was
born in Sussex county. New Jersey, August 22, 1S27. Upon attaining man-
hood he removed to Kizer, Pennsylvania, and there became an agriculturist
and lumberman. He married Phoebe, a daughter of Abram Beemer, of Beem-
ersville, Sussex county. New Jersey. They had chi'dren : W^illiam W., a miller
at Varden, Wayne county, Pennsylvania; Edwin Floyd, president of the First
National Bank of Towanda, Pennsylvania, associated with the water company
of that city, also interested in railroad projects ; Harriet Almeda, married W.
J. Cobb, of Scranton ; John Dalgren, married Clara Harwood ; Augusta, mar-
ried Morton Arnold, of Waymark, Pennsylvania ; Verna, married M. S. Schaf-
fer, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; Alton F., of whom further; Sylvania,
married Frank Peck, of Peckville, Pennsylvania ; Bertha, married Vane Ken-
nedy, of Mount Pleasant, Wayne county, Pennsylvania.
(IV) Alton F. Kizer. son of John D. and Phoebe (Beemer) Kizer, was
born in Kizer, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, October 23, 1869. His
public school education was obtained in Kizer and the Keystone Academy at
Factoryville, was supplemented by a course of study in Wood's Business Col-
lege, after which he taught school for one year. Subsequently be removed to
Peckville, where he was for eight years engaged in mercantile dealing. He
then removed to Scranton, and two years later establishd the real estate busi-
ness which he still continues, having in 1907 joined forces with Mr. Swingle
under the firm name of Kizer & Swingle, a partnership that, inducing the most
desirable results, exists to the present time, gathering strength and vigor with
the passing years. Exclusive of his real estate connections, I\Ir. Kizer is
president of the Electric City Throwing Mills, of Scranton, and of the Throop
Silk Throwing Company, of Throop, both of which concerns are flourishing
and substantial enterprises, and under his able guidance enjoy successful con-
tinuance. Mr. Kizer is identified with the Masonic Order, being a charter
CITY OF SCRANTON 6oi
member of Oriental Star Lodge, No. 588, F. and A. M., of Peckville, Penn-
sylvania; Lackawanna Chapter, No. 185, R. A. M., of Scranton : Melita Com-
mandery. No. 68, K. T. ; and Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of
the Mystic Shrine, of Wilkes-Barre. He is a member of the Second Presby-
terian Church, and his political convictions are those of the Republican party.
Hie married Frences B., a daughter of Erskins and Etta (White) Squires, her
mother a lineal descendant of Peregrine White, the first child born in the
Plymouth Colony. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Kizer: Earl Squires, born July
31, 1905; Margery Louise, born July 31, 1909.
CHARLES JOSEPH CASSESE
Although a native born son of Scranton, Charles J. Cassese is of Italian
parentage, a descendant of an old family of Italy. His grandfather. Anthony
Cassese, was a miller of Italy, where he lived his entire life save two years
spent in the United States, during middle life. He married and left issue :
Joseph Anthony, of whom further, Vincent, Camilla, Matilda, Philomena.
Margaret, all living in the L^nited States.
Joseph Anthony Cassese was born at Pescopogano, province of Potenza.
Italy, in March, 1863. He came to the L^nited States in 1877, first settling in
Pittston, Pennsylvania, later coming to Scranton. He was a shoemaker by
trade, having his first shop in a room under the St. Qiarles Hotel on Penn
avenue. He there prospered and in a few years abandoned his trade, open-
ing a grocery store on Linden avenue, where he continued until 1887. He
then became proprietor of Cassese Hotel and Restaurant at No. 103 Lacka-
wanna avenue, and also engaged in a banking and foreign e.xchange busi-
ness. He also had a wholesale grocery at No. 99 Lackawanna avenue, and
here he died, December 18, 1913.
He was a member of Scranton Lodge, No. 123, B. P. O. E. He was
much interested in the welfare of the city and its charitable work, and gave
liberally of his means. He was a member of a number of Italian societies and
took and active part in church work. He was one of the oldest of the Italian
residents, one of the most successful, and was consulted by his fellow country-
men whom he was willing to help in any way. He married Rose, daughter
of Carl and Grace Carlucci, of Scranton; children: Anthony J., Charles J., of
whom further; Frank, Jennie, Michael, Grace, Angelina, Vincentina, Joseph
Anthony.
Charles Joseph Cassese was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, January 3,
1889. He was educated in the public schools and is a graduate of the Scranton
Technical High School, class of 1907. He was his father's confidential clerk
for some time, later became general manager of his varied business interests.
He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, the Scranton Canoe Club and Saint Lucia's
Roman Catholic Church.
SALVATORI PALUMBO
Throughout Scranton there are many evidences of the work that has been
conducted by Salvatori Palumbo, in the form of office buildings, schools,
churches, and municipal improvements, all completed within the short space
of four years. Mr. Palumbo is a native of the Island of Sicily, born October
25, 1873, and grew to manhood in his native land. He enlisted in the Italian
army, serving for three years, and during that time fought in the Abyssinian
War. In 1896 he immigrated to the United States, landing in this country en
6o2 CITY OF SCRANTON
Thanksgiving Day. He proceeded immediately to Scranton, Pennsylvania,
and was employed by Burke Brothers, well known contractors of that place.
He then became foreman for Michael Ruddy, of Scranton, remaining with
him for two years, spending the two following years in the service of the
Westinghouse Electric Company, in the construction of the power house and
depot at Wilkes-Barre. Mr. Palumbo then formed a partnership with hi.-
half-brother, Frank Ricca, a mason contractor of Scranton, but this relation
was discontinued at the end of the year, Mr. Palumbo becoming superintendent
of Mr. Ricca"s operations, a position he held for a period of six years, at the
end of which time he decided to establish in the same business independently.
In 19 lo he opened an office in the Real Estate Building of this city and from
the tirst prospered, the four years that he has been in business having wit-
nessed the satisfactory execution of numerous large and difficult contracts.
Among these are the dressed stone wall at Mount St. Mary's, reputed to be
the largest dressed stone wall in the state, the Mazzini Building on Pittston
avenue, the Archbald Bank Building, the Hess Theatre Building on Pittston
avenue, the Franklin Apartment Building on Franklin avenue, the Survaitz
Building, the Jewish Synagogue on Linden street, the Latori Building on
Pittston avenue, St. Michael's Church of Olyphant, the stone work on Clark
and Snovers office building, and the foundation of the high school building at
Old Forge. Among the municipal contracts that have been awarded Mr.
Palumbo are the Elm street culvert and the stone bridge on Rockwell street.
His political party is the Republican, and he belongs to the Builders' Ex-
change, the Mazzini Society, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and the Benevo-
lent and Protective Order of Elks. He holds membership in St. John's South
Side Roman Catholic Church.
Mr. Palumbo married Josephine, daughter of Salvatore Abbate, of Italy,
and has children : Mary, Josephine, Salvatori, Saverio, Frank, Nunciata,
Theresa, John.
GIUSEPPE BIANCA
Giuseppe Bianca, son of Salvatore Bianca, was born in Cefalu, province
of Palermo. Italy, December 6, 1863. His father, a carpenter by trade, was
one of three children, the two others being Carmelo and Guiseppe. Salvatore
Bianca passed his entire life in his native land, married Rosaria Greco, and had
children : Theresa, married Francisco Vazzano, and had a son who served
in the Italian army; Seraphena, Salvatora, Rosaria, Rosena Victoria, Salva-
tore, Giuseppe, of whom further ; Francisco.
Giuseppe Bianca was born December 6, 1863. He attended the public
schools of his native land, in 1890 immigrating to the United States, the vessel
in which he sailed arriving at New York City, March 28, 1890. In the home-
land he had become a proficient master of the stonecutter's trade and was
thus employed in New York and other places. Since coming tr this country
he has made one visit to the land of his birth, returning April 28, 1896. Enter-
ing the employ of Carlucci Brothers, the prominent stone-cutting firm of this
city, he worked on numerous large contracts in New York and other large
cities, and after ten years in the employ of this concern decided to establish
independently, in 1904 beginning the operation of a stone-cutting plant in
Dunmore. For five years he was located in this place, in 1909 erecting a stone
building at No. 909 West Lackawanna avenue, where his plant was installed
on September I, 1909, and here at the present time he performs stone cutting
of all kinds, making a specialty of fine monumental work. He is recognized
as one of the most artistic and' accomplished artisans in his line, a great deal
CITY OF SCRANTON Oojt
of his work gracing public places of the vicinity. Mr. Bianca holds membership
in the Modern Woodman of the World, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the
Victor Immanuel Society, and for two years was president of the Cecelia So-
ciety. He supports the Republican party, and belongs to St. Lucia Roniin
Catholic Church.
;\lr. Bianca married Rosolia Vazzana, born in Italy and has cliil.lrcn : i.
Rosaria, married G. Mira, and is the mother of Mamie, Lena, Joseph. 2.
Salvatore, born February 22, 1890, attended public school No. 16 of Scranton
until he was eighteen years of age, having been since associated in business
with his father. 3. Vincenzo. a barber of Scranton. 4. Joseph, a carpenter of
Scranton. 5. 6. 7. Caroline, Frank, and Josephine, students in public school
No. i;.
APPIO C. DeBLASIIS
Appio C. DeBlasiis is a son of Nicholas DeBlasiis, a native of Lucito,
province of Campabasso, Abruzzi, Italy. Nicholas DeBlasiis in youth learned
the shoemaker's trade, which he follows in the homeland at the present time.
He married Giovannina Minicucci, and has children : Joseph, engaged in busi-
ness in New York City ; David, a resident of Glens Falls, New York ; Caro-
line, married a Mr. Predimonti, and lives in Naples, Italy; Appio C, of whom
further.
Appio C. DeBlasiis, son of Nicholas and Giovannina (Minicucci) DeBlasiis,
was born in Lucito, province of Campabasso, Abruzzi, Italy, March 6, 1883.
After attending the public schools of his birthplace for five years, he learned
the tailor's trade, coming to the LInited States in 1900. He arrived in New
York City on March 23 of that year, and for eight years followed his chosen
calling in that place, being employed by several of the best known tailors of
the city and perfecting himself in the branches of his trade peculiar to this
country. From New York he went to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, tarrying
in that city for a year and a half, coming to Scranton on September 22, 1909,
entering the shop of L. B. Mosher, a tailor of excellent repute in this city.
His advance into independent operations was made in August, 191 3, when
he opened a tailor shop at No. log Wyoming avenue, in which place he has
since been located, his trade steadily increasing. He is an accomplished
workman, proficiency gained by diligent application to his line, and although
he had long desired to be the proprietor of a shop he refrained from taking
this important step in his business career until he was confident that in no
way could he better prepare himself therefor, and strong in his ability he
entered the business world, where his reception of the past year has been most
cordial. Mr. DeBlasiis became a naturalized citizen of the United States in
April, 191 1. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church, an Independent
in politics, and belongs to Christopher Columbus Lodge, No. 1160, I. O. O. F.
He married Marion, daughter of Casper and Franca Noto, and has one daugh-
ter, Genevieva, born January 26, 1912.
ERNESTO M. LETTIERI
Beginning humbly in the land of his adoption, although a man of good
education and family, Mr. Lettieri by availing himself of the facilities offered
by that noble institution. Cooper Institute, New York City, soon acquired
American methods and speech, and quickly rose to a position in keeping with
his qualifications. He is the son of Joseph M. Lettieri and a grandson of
Dr. Vincenzo Lettieri, the latter an Italian physician of distinction. His chil-
6o4 CITY OF SCRANTON
dren, Salvador, Joseph I\[., Antonio and Marianna, all teside in their native
land. Joseph M. Lettieri was born in Rapone, Potenza, Italy, served with the
rank of captain in the war of 1876, became a lawyer of note in his native city,
accumulated considerable property and is now living a retired life. He mar-
ried Marie, daughter of Vita Santoro, and has three children : Vincenzo, ap-
pointed forestry inspector by the King of Italy, stiil resides in hi? native land :
Ermenia, married and resides in Rapone, Ernesto M., of whom further.
Ernesto M. Lettieri, born in Rapone, Potenza, Italy, January 2, 1872, was
educated in the Seminary of Muzo Lucano, and at ihe Royal Technical School
at Melfi, a graduate of the latter school in 1889. In 1890 he went to Paris,
France, where he was employed for six months, then came to the United
States, sailing from Havre and landing in New York. On arriving at the lat-
ter city he found employment as a waiter. He at once enrolled in a class at
Cooper Institute and in a short time had acquired both language and business
habits so well that he secured a position as traveling salesman. In the year
1900 he came to Scranton, Pennsylvania, and shortly afterward was appointed
court interpreter, through the friendship of John R. Jones, the well known
Scranton attorney. Having the necessary education and ability, Mr. Lettieri saw
the opportunities the city offered and soon decided to engage in business. He
secured a location on Lackawanna avenue and after obtaining agencies fmm
several large steamship companies, opened an office for the sale of foreign
exchange and steamship tickets. He later became agent for several importing
firms and in these lines has built up a prosperous business with his country-
men and others. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
August 9, 1905, and is a supporter of the Republican party.
He married Mary Farrell, born in England, and has children : Nellie E.,
Clara, Florence, Joseph, Helen, Henrietta, Vincenzo, George.
PIETRO LEGAMBI
The Legambi family of Italy, represented in the city of Scranton by Pietro
Legambi, are of French descent, the ancestor who settled the liine in Italy
being Enrico Legambi, a member of the French nobility. Upon coming to
Italy he made his home in the city of Cefalu, province of Palermo, where
the family seat has since been located. During the wars for Italian Indepen-
dence, General Pastori, commanding an army of one thousand men, entered
the city as a defence against the attack of the enemy, and throughout the
lengthy siege he and his army were entertained by the members of the Legambi
family, then one of the wealthiest and most influential in the locality. Dur-
ing the army's stay in the city a son, \'incenzo Legambi, was born to one of
the family, Genera! Pastori standing as its god- father.
Vincenzo Legambi, father of Pietro Legambi, was born in Cefalu, Italy.
and became, by inheritance and through the successful administration of his
resources, one of the wealthiest land owners of the city, his estate consisting
of nearly one-half of the land within the boundaries of Cefalu. He was one
of several children, one of his brothers, Savario, being a prominent lawyer,
and two others, Salvalvia and Francisco, priests. These two latter brothers
erected a large church of their faith in Cefalu, wherein they ministered and
conducted service for many years. Marionena, a niece of the three afore-
mentioned brothers, married Mr. Musso, a lawyer, at the present time mayor
of Cefalu, and a sister married Baron Martino, of that city.
Pietro Legambi, son of Vincenzo Legambi, was born in Cefalu, province
of Palermo, Italy, March i, 1868. His family, once a dominant factor in the
life of the city because of its wealth and influence, had lost its prestige and the
CITY OF SCRANTON 605
greater part of its once vast estate through poHtical plotting and intrigue and
marine disasters, and after having served an enlistment in the Italian army.
Pietro Legambi became persuaded of the advisability of American immigra-
tion. The prospect of a new life in a country where the early glory of his
family would be unknown, and his career of his own making, appealed to his
ambitious nature, and 00 March 10, 1898, he engaged passage on a trans-
atlantic liner, landing, after a voyage ordinary in every way, in New York
City. He continued to Pittston, Pennsylvania, first being employed in th;
breaker, after a short time moving to Scranton. He purchased a one-horse
team and became a peddler, meeting with such good fortune in the disposal of
articles bought from others that he decided to become an importer. His first
move toward his present business was the acquirement of title to the property
at No. 141 Robinson street, and after making suitable arrangements abroad
began the importation and sale of olive oil, his present line. His home in
Italy had been in the heart of the olive oil manufacturing district, and, with
thorough knowledge of the producing end of the business, he has conducted
his retail dealings with advantageous profit. Air. Legambi, who is politically a
Republican, holds membership in the St. Lucia Roman Catholic Qiurch.
He married Carolina, daughter of James \'arzana, their marriage being
solemnized in Italy. They arc the parents of: i. James, born in Italy, Jul)
4, 1893, educated in the public schools of Scranton and now associated in
business with his father. He is a member of the Victorio Alfieri Society, of
Scranton, the Avon Dramatic Club, and is a Republican sympathizer. His
church is St. Lucia Roman Catholic. 2. John, born in Italy, in November,
1896. 3. Caroline, born in Pittston, Pennsylvania, November 5, 1900. 3
Jennie, "bom in Scranton, Pennsylvania, November 24. 1903. 4. Frank, born
in Scranton, December 21, 1907. 5. Josephine, bom in Scranton, July 6, 1909.
ANDREW CONRAD
Andrew Conrad, late of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was a member of a
family which has made its mark in various directions since its advent in this
country. He was born in Wuertemberg, Germany, in the year 1830, died
in Scranton, Pennsvlvania, August 15, 1905. From his earliest years he
displayed an extraordinary love and talent for music, and this talent was
cultivated in the best German conservatories of music. In 1855 he came ro
America with his wife, and for the first two years lived in the city of New
York. He then removed to Pottsville. Pennsylvania, from there to Wilkes-
Barre, and in 1867 to Scranton, in which city he took up his permanent resi-
dence greatly to its benefit. Long before he established a conservatory for
the study of music he had gained fame as a violinist and pianist. His suc-
cessful methods of instruction gained immediate attention, and he had the
power of imparting to his pupils his own enthusiasm and love for music.
Many of those who commenced their musical studies under Mr. Conrad
have' since then gained world-wide reputations, and they invariably ascribe
a laro-e share of their success to the first principles instilled into them by him.
His private pupils and classes were not permitted to absorb all of his
time and attention, and he was the organizer of many musical societies, and
the organist and choir leader for manv vears of the German Lutheran church.
In 1880 he established himself in business as a general agent for fire in-
surance conducted this alone until 1893, when he admitted his son. Otto
R to a partnership, the firm becoming henceforth A. Conrad & Son, and
this is still conducted in a most prosperous manner
Mr. Conrad was married in Germany in 1857 to Catherine MuUer. daugh-
6o6 CITY OF SCRANTON
ter of Henry Muller, organist of the Lutheran church at Hilburghausen,
Saxony, Germany. Children: i. Matilda, married Lewis Ranch, of Phila-
delphia, and has one daughter, Lulu. 2. Henry, deceased. 3. Louise, de-
ceased ; was the first wife of Dr. Whalan, deceased, had two children : Alma
and Bertha. 4. William, of whom further. 5. Louis, of whom further. 6.
Charles C, of Scranton, married Blanche Greer. 7. Edward, of whom
further. 8. Emma, married Professor Theodore Hemberger, of Baltimore.
Maryland, and has children: Siegesfried and Armenia. 9. Josephine, sec-
ond wife of Dr. Whalan. 10. Otto R., of whom further.
WILLIAM CONRAD
The Enderley Dairy, an establishment operating independent of any trust
affiliations, drawing from its own farms for its supply, and also from nearby
farms, giving employment to thirty-five men, and requiring one three-ton
auto truck and fifteen horses to carry its products to its many customers,
is the business that was founded when William Conrad, then a young man
of twenty-two years, personally carried a scanty quantity of milk to a few
patrons. To the upbuilding of this business he has devoted the best years
of his life, and its strong, firm, position and sturdy, efficient, organization,
are proofs that the fruits of his labors are good.
William Conrad, son of Andrew and Catherine (Muller) Conrad, was
born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, May 6, i860, in his boyhood attending the
public schools of Scranton and a school held in the German Lutheran
church, supplementing this training with a course of study in a private
German school. On his father's farm he became familiar with dairying,
remaining there until he was twenty-two years of age, when he conceived the
idea of an independent business in dairying. He began in this line by pur-
chasing a small quantity of milk from M. H. Dale and delivering it to a few
customers whose patronage he had previously solicited ; a short time after-
ward, through an expenditure of forty dollars, he became the owner of a
horse and wagon. From this investment of forty dollars, which had grown
from nothing but his determination to found a business, has come the Enderley
Dairy, a strong and flourishing organization, housed in modern and spacious
surroundings, and, as before stated, requiring in its operation thirty-five
employees, one three-ton auto truck and fifteen horses. Mr. Conrad owns
two farms, one at Moscow, the other in Madison township, herds of well-
kept and high grade cattle grazing over each and furnishing the pure and
wholesome products for which the Enderley Dairy has become noted. Mr.
Conrad in 1899 became a member of the Scranton Dairy Trust, three years
later withdrawing from membership in that combine, and has since continued
in business free from all associations of that nature. Just what amount of
satisfaction Mr. Conrad takes in the prosperity of the institution that he
founded is known only to himself, but certain it is that a large share of
pride in the Enderley Dairy would be not only pardonable, but exceedingly
justifiable. Mr. Conrad is a member of the Green Ridge Presbyterian Church,
and also of the Scranton Board of Trade.
He married Lydia, daughter of Francis A. Bates, of Scranton, and has
one son, Andrew, a student in Keystone Academy, class of 1915, whither he
went after completing his course in the Scranton High School.
CITY OF SCRANTON 607
LOUIS CONRAD
Louis Conrad, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, whose success in business
affairs has come to him through persistent and painstaking labor, reliabk
methods and honorable transactions, is of German descent.
Louis Conrad, son of Andrew and Catherine (Muller) Conrad, was born
in Pottsville, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, November 5, i86i. He was
five years of age when his parents removed to Scranton, where he received a
practical education in the public schools of that city, making the best use
of his opportunities while there. His first occupation was that of clerk
in a store on Lackawanna avenue, and after working in one position for a
period of sixteen years, in the men's furnishing department, he established
himself in the same line of business independently, and has been eminently
su(ccessful in this undertaking. Mr. Conrad had been in the one location,
305 Lackawanna avenue, for the past twenty-five years, but for some time
he had felt that his store was not as modern and up-to-date as he would
like it to be. Having seen an opportunity for converting the old savings
bank building on Wyoming avenue into a men's haberdashery store, he
has now one of the most modern, elegant and convenient stores in the state,
which he occupied September i, 1914. He is a man of many sided ability,
and has been largely interested in a number of other enterprises. He is a
member of the Scranton Board of Trade, and an active member of the
Retail Merchants' Protective Association, and is president of this organiza-
tion at the present time. He has been a member of the Liederkranz Sing-
ing Society for the past thirty years, and is a member of the iNIasonic fra-
ternity. Politically he is inclined to be Democratic, and has at times been
tendered nomination for public office, but has declined the honor, holding
that he could best serve the interests of the city by increasing its business
prosperity.
Mr. Conrad married, October 26, 1886, Elizabeth Morton, and they
have children: Paul M. and Louise M.
EDWARD CONRAD
One of those energetic and sagacious business men whose presence in
any community imparts a healthy impetus to the current of business affairs
is Edward Conrad, of Scranton, whose family, of German origin, has been
resident here many years.
Edward Conrad, son of Andrew and Catherine (Muller) Conrad, was
born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, April 12, 1865, and was about two years of
age when his parents removed to Scranton. There he received an excellent
education in the public schools, and upon the completion of his education
entered upon his business career. His first venture was in the milk business
with one of his brothers, and when he abandoned this it was to engage in
farming, with which he was successfully identified for a period of seven
years. Insurance affairs then engaged his time and attention for some time,
and in 1910 he established himself in business as an automobile dealer at
Nos. 314-316 Adams avenue, Scranton, where he has been located since that
time. His residence is at No. 1706 Linden street. In political matters Mr.
Conrad is a strong Republican, and his religious affiliation is with the
Baptist church. He married, in 1910, Clara Woodhouse, and they have had
children : Harold, Edward, Joseph, Arthur.
6o8 CITY OF SCRANTON
OTTO R. CONRAD
Otto R. Conrad, youngest child of Andrew and Catherine (Muller)
Conrad, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, October i6, 1871. He inherited
a love and talent for music, both vocal and instrumental, and received in-
struction under the direction of Professor Bauer. After completing his
studies in the Scranton public schools and business colleges, he became as-
sociated with his honored father in the insurance business, the firm be-
coming A. Conrad & Son, General Insurance Agents. This business,^
founded by the elder Mr. Conrad in 1880, is still one of the leading insurance
agencies of Scranton. and Otto R. Conrad is the able manager. He was
exclusively connected with the insurance business until 1902, when he be-
came the local agent for the Pierce-Arrow Automobile Company, retaining
that agency until 1904. In 1905 he became a distributor for the Ford ]\Iotor
Company for the counties of Lackawanna, Wayne and Susquehanna. This
agency he has developed into one of the strongest, his sales for 191 2 reach-
ing well toward the five hundred mark. The popularity of the Ford is no-
where more strongly manifested than in the territory covered by Mr. Conrad
and his force of twenty-five men in field and garage. His business for 1915
was three times that of 19 12 and will probably equal the combined sales of
the other makers. Steel and wood combined, we care not how skillfully,
into no matter how perfect a machine, cannot demonstrate their own per-
fection, but must have the hustling, energetic business man and selling force
to prove their merit and find a buyer. This Mr. Conrad has furnished in his
field, and to the man whose brain and energy have placed him in the foremost
rank of automobile dealers, all praise is due. He is also a director of Green
Ridge Bank, vice-president of the German Building Association, directoi
in the Scranton Board of Trade, director in the Scranton Industrial Develop-
ment Company, member of the Association of Automobile Dealers, and is
an active member of the Young Men's Christian Association, Schiller Lodge,
Free and Accepted Masons, and the Green Ridge Club. In religious affilia-
tion he belongs to the Green Ridge Presbyterian Church, and is a teacher in
the Sunday school connected with it. Mr. Conrad's entire life has been spent
in the citv of Scranton, excepting the years of 1904-05. During that period
he was manager for the Germania Life Insurance Company for Xortheastern
Pennsylvania, with headquarters at Philadelphia, and the following year
after his father's death, he returned to Scranton to look after his many
interests here.
Mr. Conrad married Kathryn, a daughter of George H. Palmer, who
is associated with Mr. Conrad in the insurance business. Mr. and Mrs.
Conrad are blessed with a happy family of four children, and have made
their home in the Green Ridge section of the city for many y"ears.
HARRY F. SMITH, M. D.
Among the most eminent physicians of Scranton at the present time is
Dr. Harry F. Smith, a native of that city, where he was born August 23,
1883, being the son of Frederick D. and Emilie Longstreet (Berstein^ Smith,
old residents of the place.
He received his education primarily in the public schools of Scranton,
having graduated from the high school in 1903. .A.fter the completion of
his general education he decided to take up the study of medicine with the
idea of becoming a physician, and accordingly entered the Medico-Qiirurgi-
cal Medical School at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He completed the full
CITY OF SCRANTON 609
four years' course here, graduating in 1907, and receiving his degree of
M. D. He was extremely popular with his classmates and entered into the
social life of the school while in Philadelphia, being a member of the Greek
letter fraternity. Phi Rho Sigma ; and enthusiastic in all sports and athletics
in which the students engaged. He was a member of the football, basketball
and track teams, and became an excellent athlete. In his studies he won
distinction, and while in Philadelphia was a member of the W. L. Rodman
Surgical Society, and of the George H. Meeker Society, being secretary
of the latter.
Immediately after his graduation he entered the Stetson Hospital as
interne, remaining there for six months, when he became engaged as com-
pany physician for the Markeloe Mining Company, with whom he continued
for the subsequent eighteen months. After this he came to Scranton, where
he established himself in general practice, and has remained here with great
success ever since. He has made an exceptional record considering the
short time he has been a practicing physician, and is associated with a
number of the hospitals here in various capacities of trust. He is a member
of the staff of the West Mountain Hospital, also of the Scranton State Hos-
pital, and belongs to the Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania State, and
American Medical associations. Belonging to the organizations of the
Knights of the Mystic Chain and the Patriotic Order of the Sons of America,
he is a member of the medical and hospital corps of these bodies, and is
very active in their interests ; indeed, he has become one of the best known
and most esteemed members in the state, and his services are held in high
repute. He is surgeon to the police force of Scranton, also to the fire de-
partment, and is the appointed physician to the school board, and surgeon
to the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad.
Dr. Smith is a Republican in politics, and is a very active member of the
party in local affairs. From the year 1904 until 1907 he served on the State
Guard staff, and in all military matters takes an active and enthusiastic
interest. In 1912 he was appointed first lieutenant. Medical Corps, and as-
signed to the Thirteenth Infantry Regiment, Scranton. He is a member of
the Presbyterian church, as is also his wife, who was Miss Celia B. Rine,
daughter of Edwin M. Rine, general superintendent of the Delaware, Lacka-
wanna & Western Railroad, one of the most influential and wealthy citizens
of Scranton. Dr. Smith appears to have before him a brilliant future, suc-
cessful in his practice, popular among his fellow citizens, and eminent by
way of his social and personal qualifications. He is one of the professional
men to whom Scranton looks for added lustre in its place among the cities.
DAVID M. REILLY
One of the oldest retail shoe dealers in Scranton, Mr. Reilly is one of the
successful business men of the city, although a man just in the prime of life,
the word "oldest" being used in a business sense only. His training for the
retail shoe business was under the pioneer merchant of Lackawanna avenue.
South Side, and continued as a member of the firm of Lewis & Reilly tmtil
two years ago, when after a quarter of a century in business he established
his present business under his own name alone. Brought up through early
life in the hard school of adversity, he has as boy and man won name, stand-
ing and success by earnest, well-directed effort, a careful husbanding of his
resources, and an honest ambition to earn his place in the mercantile world.
Mr. Reilly's start in life was an humble one. His father, Thomas Reilly,
was a native of county Mayo, Ireland, his mother of county Sligo. On
39
6io CITY OF SCRANTON
coming to the United States he worked on the Delaware and Hudson Canal
at Honesdale, later was a miner at Archbald, also helped to build the old
Gravity Road. The latter years of his life were spent in Scranton, where he
died aged about sixty-five years.
David M. Reilly was born in Archbald, Pennsylvania, May 8, 1865.
He attended the public school there for several years, leaving at one time to
work as a "breaker boy," but a few weeks' experience was enough and he
returned to school. Later he worked for a time in the coal mines, but did
not like the life of a miner, and in 1881 he came to Scranton, a lad of sixteen
years. He secured a position in the shoe store of Morris Goldsmith, as
clerk, continuing until he had completed plans for going into business for
himself. On December 15, 1888, the firm of Lewis & Reilly opened a retail
shoe store in Wyoming and there began a successful business career, the
firm continuing as founded until Mr. Reilly withdrew, disposing of his inter-
est to a brother of his former partner. Mr. Reilly then opened his present
retail shoe store in the Jermyn Hotel block and there continues in pros-
perous business. He has been connected with the retail shoe trade in
Scranton thirty-two years, and of these years a full quarter of a century has
been spent in his own stores as partner and sole owner. He is a director
of the Scranton Savings and Dime Bank and is a member of the Board of
Trade. He is interested in public affairs, and as a good citizen supports with
his vote the candidates that appeal to him as best fitted for the office they
seek.
Mr. Reilly married Ella, daughter of Equire Patrick Loftus, of Olyphant.
Children : Gertrude, married James Corbett, of Scranton ; Joseph ; Thomas ;
Maria, member of the class of 191 5, Teachers' College of Columbia Univer-
sity ; David ; James.
JOHN T. WATKINS
Popular acclamation at home as the greatest of choral leaders, high
recognition by critics abroad, and general approval by all, is the enviable
estimation in which John T. Watkins, of Scranton, is held by lovers of
music on both sides of the Atlantic. Emerson, tersely and epigrammatically,
has described music as "the poor man's Parnassus." If this be true, and the
dean of American poets was remarkably exact as well as poetic in his ex-
pression, the thousands that have been brought to a true appreciation of
and love for the best of the world's music, through the wise and tasteful
guidance of John T. Watkins, must indeed be refreshed by the nectar and
ambrosia of the gods. He it is who has raised the standard of musical
achievement of Scranton from a depth lower than mediocrity and has placed
it in the front rank of the highest class of cities interested in music ; who has
developed in the city a choir unrivalled, and who has brought fame and
reputation to many individuals by the expert manner in which he has brought
out all the latent possibilities of tone and volume in their voices and intro-
duced them to the public as soloists of merit. But a word as to the parentage
and career of the man who has reached these heights and has deserved this
mention.
John T. Watkins is a son of William Wynn Watkins. William Wynn
Watkins was a native of Merthyr-Tydfil, county of Glamorgan, South Wales,
where he was a miner by occupation, and he came to the United States in
i860. He spent about a year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and at the out-
break of the Civil War returned to his native land, as the excitement at-
tending the beginning of hostilities had demoralized trade conditions and
CITY OF SCRANTON 6ii
industries were at a standstill. He is in no way open to criticism or censure
for his course in this matter, for he had come to a new country for the
purpose of working to support his family, not of fighting, and in the internal
differences of our country he had no part. After the restoration of peace
and the attendant activity in the industrial world, he came to Scranton and
there obtained employment in the mines, an occupation in which he was
experienced and which he followed all his life. It was in the pursuit of this
calling that he met his death. He was hastening to the surface, after work-
ing hours, in order to attend a musical festival in which his two sons, John
T. and Thomas, were to lead rival choruses in a singing contest, when he
stepped upon a cage, which without his knowledge had been set in motion. The
moving cage hurled him against the roof of the mine, causing instant death.
His untimely death cut short a career that was destined to be of rich benefit
to many. Both he and his wife belonged to the Baptist church, in the Sun-
day school of which he had for many years been the teacher of a class of
young men, whose feet he had guided into a path offering aid against temp-
tation and strength to do the right. It was by these members of the rising-
generation that his death was felt more deeply than by any excepting the
members of his immediate family, he having been more to them than
their instructor, their counsellor and friend, whose advice and help was ever
theirs. He was a staunch Republican and from the depth of his convictions
often took the stump to extol the worth of a candidate or to defend one
of the party's principles. He was an earnest, forceful speaker, on occasion
■eloquent and emotional, and performed excellent service for the party.
He married Jane, daughter of John T. Jones. Children: i. Thomas, de-
ceased ; was a druggist, and also a musician of note, who, besides attending
to his drug business, taught music in the Olyphant public schools. 2. Rev. M.
J., deceased. 3. Sarah, married John W. Reese, deceased ; he was a prominent
office holder and public servant of Taylor. 4. John T., of whom further.
5. William M. 6. James E., an attorney of Scranton. 7. Edith, mar-
ried W. H. Peterson, supervisor of a division of the Western Union Tele-
graph Company. 8. Gertrude, married Sydney Owens, foreman Great
Bellevue mines of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western. 9. Richard, a
musician and post oflice employee of Scranton.
John T. Watkins, son of William Wynn and Jane (Jones) Watkins, was
born in Merthyr-Tydfil, county of Glamorgan, South Wales, June 9, 1862.
His early life gave little indication of the triumphs that were to be his in
the future, his early education being curtailed so that he might obtain em-
ployment in the breaker near the mine in which his father worked. At
the age of eight years he entered upon this employment and was variously
engaged in mine labor imtil he was nineteen years of age. During these
years he was constantly bent upon acquiring an education, always a sign
of well-directed ambition, and performed that task in different ways, attend-
ing the public schools when the mines were idle, going to night school in
Taylor borough, and by many methods picking up odd bits of information
and knowledge that he carefully stored away in memory's files for the time
when they would be useful to him. His natural talent and taste for music
were early shown, and he came under the training of an old miner, David
T. Davis, chorister in the local Baptist church, who gave him his first in-
structions in harmony. Hand in hand with his innate love of music was an
equally strong fondness for the poetic, and he made extensive study of the
works of the best of the English poets. Browning, Milton, Shakespeare and
Tennyson being his favorites. Another earnest of his desire for education
was the fact that when he was seventeen years of age he walked from Taylor
6i2 CITY OF SCRANTON
to attend the night sessions of Gardner's Business College, and home again
at the close of the class. There were no transportation lines connecting the
two places, which was to him a comfort, since he could not have afiforded
the expenditure for carfare. After graduating from this institution he gave
up his employment in the mines and entered the office of E. P. Kingsbury,
then city controller, later accepting a position with James J. Lawler as ac-
countant, in whose service he remained for twelve years. During all this
time he was constantly studying music and singing, and in order to improve
his pronunciation and enunciation, he studied elocution under Colonel J. A.
Price. As a lad he had attended the services of the German Sunday school
for the sake of acquiring an inkling of that tongue and later improved his
knowledge of the language. The possessor of a fine baritone voice, he not
only had exceptional ability as a soloist, but was remarkably successful in
getting the best results from a body of singers, being able to impart to them
the knowledge of technique and expression he so readily acquired, and with
sympathetic understanding encouraged them to the best efforts within their
power. When not yet of legal age he had begun to lead choirs, and from
his earliest attempts gave evidence of the qualities of leadership that have
since made him famous in his profession.
His first public conquest of note was in 1883, when a male chorus trained
by him won the first prize in their class at Wilkes-Barre. Increasing in
prominence in his chosen art, in 1892 he organized the Scranton Choral
Union and managed it on a trip to the Columbian Exposition at Chicago,
where, under the leadership of Hayden Evans, with Mr. Watkins as as-
sistant director, the Union won the first prize of five thousand dollars, in
competition against such organizations as the Cymrodorians, of Hyde Park,
and the famous Mormon choir from Salt Lake City. In 1895 he organized
and conducted the Scranton United Choral Society, which captured both the
first and second prizes at Wilkes-Barre, besides which several of the mem-
bers of the Society whom Mr. Watkins had trained were awarded prizes in
the solo contests. During these years he had also been acting in the capacity
of coach in the amateur performances given in the city, often taking leading
parts. Among the light operas rendered under his direction were the
"Mikado," "Pinafore," the "Chimes of Normandy," "Pirates of Penzance,"
and also several sacred cantatas, all of which scored complete successes, and
all of which added lustre to the honor of his reputation. In 1896 he entered
the Royal Academy of Music at London as a student in voice, piano, har-
mony, elocution and dramatic art. He followed his studies assiduously,
gradually perfecting himself in the different departments, and in a contest
between twenty-five persons was chosen soloist in the choir of St. James'
Church, at Piccadilly, one of the wealthiest and most fashionable churches
of London, known far and wide for the beauty of its service. While in
London he progressed so far in his art and was so deeply interested in it
that he was given the privilege of playing at Her Majesty's Theatre, in a
minor part with Beer Bohm Tree. For two months he was in the theatre
and during that time played more prominent parts in Shakespearian pro-
ductions, including "Romeo and Juliet," "As You Like It," and "Julius
Caesar." While interpreting the part of the Duke in "Duke Aranza" at a
week's engagement in Ealing, the popular English actress, Ellen Terry,
known in private life as Mrs. E. A. Wardell, was present and tendered him
her compliments for his excellent interpretation of the difficult character.
Another of his European triumphs was in a contest for the position of bass
soloist at the Mount Street Jesuit Church, when, from seventy-four competi-
tors, he was chosen for the place. Just before leaving London, he was pre-
CITY OF SCRANTON 613
sented by the Royal Academy of Music with two bronze medals, and in
recognition of his successful record at the Academy, he was chosen to sing
at the school's concert at Queen's Hall and again at St. James' Hall, one
of the highest of valedictory honors.
In 1897 Mr. Watkins returned to Scranton, where he met with an en-
thusiastic reception at the hands of his many friends, Who had followed his
career abroad with pride and satisfaction in the achievements of their fel-
low-townsman, opened a studio in the city, and has since continued there,
teaching music and conducting choral societies. In 1902 Mr. Watkins met
the great conductor of the Chautauqua Summer School, Mr. Hallam, also
Henry Walter Hall, of Columbia University, in competition in Brooklyn,
New York, when, as leader of the Scranton United Choral Society, his
chorus won the first prize at the Brooklyn Arion Festival, as well as carry-
ing off the honors in the Ladies' Chorus competition. Here his Schubert
Male Quartette almost completed a clean sweep of the prizes by being
awarded both the first and second, singing selections in English and Ger-
man. The record of the Scranton United Choral Society was seven prizes
out of nine ofifered, in competition open to all comers, and in which the
best choruses of the country were represented. In 1907 Mr. Watkins was
induced by Mr. Hallam at Chautauqua Summer School to organize the great
chorus in competition consisting of sixty women from the south under Frank
Croxton, of Dansville, Kentucky, and fifty-five under M. J. Marquard, the
great musical conductor of New York City and lifty-five representing the
Western States under J. W. Bird, of Ohio, while Mr. Watkins had a choir
of sixty voices drawn from Scranton and vicinity, and even against the
tremendous aggregation of highly cultivated and well-trained voices, Mr.
Watkins was able to carry ofif all the honors, taking first place. In 1904
he was made director of the Junger Maennerchor, of Scranton, and has so
improved the work of that organization that from the fifth place in the fifth
class, its status when he became associated therewith, it has been placed in
first place in the first class of the Saengerfest, the Maennerchor, winning a
silver cup in the Philadelphia Saengerfest of 1912 for the most finished and
artistic singing of the male choruses present at the festival. In 1904 a
Ladies' Chorus under his direction was awarded the first prize at Wilkes-
Barre, and in July of that year he organized a large chorus for entrance at
the contest at the St. Louis Exposition, where his chorus was pitted against
the best of this and foreign countries, and where he, as conductor, matched
his skill against that of world-famous leaders. Both proved themselves the
peers of their opponents, and his chorus won prizes of five thousand dollars,
a gold medal, and a diploma, inscribed : "The First Prize for Distinguished
Performance in the Choral Contest of the First Grade." But the greatest
of his triumphs was consummated at the Pittsburgh International Eisteddfod,
in 1913, when the Scranton United Choral Society was given first prize and
fifty-five hundred dollars by the adjudicators, and Mr. Watkins was presented
with a gold medal in honor of his victory. So great was the enthusiasm and
so genuine the delight of the Scranton contingent that Mr. Watkins was
raised aloft on the shoulders of his friends and carried from the hall, sur-
rounded bv a shouting, applauding multitude of joyful men and women.
At the present time (1914) he is considering the organization of a chorus
to go to the Panama Exposition at San Francisco, in 191 5, to compete
against choirs from all parts of the world. Again, on October 6, 1914, Mr.
Watkins organized and carried olT first honors with six hundred voices from
the Elm Park Methodist Church Sunday school. This contest was held
6i4 CITY OF SCRANTON
in Scranton's mammoth armory before twelve thousand people, his inter-
pretations were proclaimed by the judges as masterful and convincing. His
successes in the musical world read like fairy tales. A record of Mr. Wat-
kins' victories at Eisteddfods and Saengerfests is as follows : Wilkes-Barre
Eisteddfod, 1891 ; Chicago Eisteddfod, 1893 ; Wilkes-Barre Eisteddfod, 1895 ;
Brooklyn Arion Festival, 1902; Wilkes-Barre, 1904; St. Louis Exposition,
1904; Newark Saengerfest, 1906; Chautauqua, New York, 1907; Madison
Square Garden, 1909; Philadelphia, 1912; Pittsburgh International, 1913.
Mr. Watkins confines his fraternal affiliation to the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks and the Masonic Order, in which latter he belongs
to Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Lackawanna Chap-
ter, Royal Arch Masons ; Coeur de Lion Commandery, Knights Templar ;
Keystone Consistory, Sovereign Princes of the Royal Secret ; and Ireni
Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He was the director of a quartette
composed of members of the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks
He married Margaret, daughter of Reese Lloyd, of Scranton. Mrs. Wat-
kins was born in Wales and came to the United States with her parents
when four years of age. Her brother was a teacher of Rev. William A.
Sunday and did much to induce him to become a revivalist.
To sum up the qualifications that have made Mr. Watkins famous as a
choral leader and to explain the constant success that has attended him is
to attempt to describe the man himself. He is distinctively temperamental
and abounds in dramatic instinct, both cultivated to a high degree, and be-
comes so thoroughly imbued with the poetry of a selection that he feels
each note, rather than hears it. He has acquired the ability so essential
to an instructor, of giving those whom he is teaching confidence in their
own powers and absolute faith in his judgment. Genial, tactful, and withal a
believer in strict discipline, he accomplishes a prodigious amount of work
with a chorus, never allowing petty jealousies to flourish or hard feelings
to be harbored. A master musician and an artist from the foundation of
his nature, the lament of Oliver Wendell Holmes was not for him,
"Alas for those that never sing
But die with all their music in them."
JAMES J. LYNCH
Austin Lynch was one of the pioneer settlers in the then village of
Olyphant which was part of the old Blakely township, having moved there
with his family from Dunmore immediately upon the opening of the coal
mines within the limits of what is now the borough of Olyphant. James J
Lynch, son of Austin Lynch, was born June 10, 1845. He obtained a public
school education at Dunmore and Olyphant, and when a young man, started
in the mercantile business in Olyphant, continuing until his death, January
8, 1898. He was an affable, sympathetic man of pleasing personality with a
remarkable memory for names and faces, and had a wide circle of
loyal friends. He was an extensive reader, being especially well in-
formed upon historical subjects, current literature and matters of pub-
lic interest, and his conversational powers made him a delightful com-
panion. He was a firm believer in the value of a liberal education and
all his children were given the highest educational advantages. He was a
Democrat in politics, although he never took an active part in the affairs
of his party, devoting all his time to his extensive business interests. He
SiS^
^aine4 M. ^imc/i
^rank^lS^,jnd
KMaruKJiomem StuncA
ty^u^Un ^t/nc/i
CITY OF SCR ANTON 615
was one of the first jury commissioners of Lackawanna county, and for a
number of years was president of the Blakely poor district. He was not only
a successful merchant, but was also interested in many public enterprises
as organizer and officer. He was president of the Olyphant Water Company,
the Dickson City Water Company, Priceburg Electric Light Company and
the Winton Water Company. He won his position and fortune by hard
work and wise investments, using rare judgment in his estimate of the value
of any proposition placed before him for his consideration. He was a man
with an honorable career and left behind him a record of a well spent life.
On the 22nd day of February, 1870, he married Mary Elizabeth, daughter
of Bartholomew Mooney, and seven of their children grew to mature years :
Frank M., of whom further ; Bartholomew J., graduated at Millersville State
Normal School, was married at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, June 18, 1902, to
Gertrude Hershey Miller, daughter of Mrs. Emeline Hershey Miller, of East
Petersburg, Pennsylvania, and is now engaged in the real estate business ;
Leo A., was graduated at Yale College in class of 1899, and at Johns Hopkins
Medical College in 1903, was married, October 28, 191 1, to Anna Merriman,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Friend F. Merriman of Dunmore, and is now a
practicing physician and surgeon in Brooklyn, New York; Grace M., grad-
uated at Mount St. Vincent's on the Hudson, married Hon. Edward L.
Smith. Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Hartford, Connecticut ; Aus-
tin (2), educated at Holy Cross College, married, June 2^, 1910, Jeanette
Kingsley, daughter of Mrs. George Kingsley, of Blakely, and i's now an in-
vestment broker with offices at Scranton ; Stanley and Gerald, were educated
at Exeter Academy and Villa Nova College, and now reside at Olyphant
with their mother.
FRANK MARTIN LYNCH
Frank M. Lynch, the oldest son of the late James J. Lynch of Olyphant,
was born at Olyphant, May 17, 1874 ; prepared for college at School of the
Lackawanna, Scranton, from which school he entered Yale College in
1893, and was graduated from that institution in the class of 1897. He then
entered Yale Law School, but upon his father's death in January, 1898,
he remained in Scranton as a law student in the office of O'Brien and Kelly,
and on January 23, 1899, upon motion of Joseph O'Brien Esq., was admitted
to the bar of Lackawanna county, and began at once a general practice of
his profession and is now a successful member of the Lackawanna county
bar. In addition to the practice of his profession, he has important business
interests. He organized the Olyphant Silk Company in 1905, and is now
president of that company ; he is also secretary of the Chenango Silk Com
panv of Binghamton, both of which are successful business enterprises. He
organized the Dolph Land Company and opened up for development in
Olyphant a large tract of land at a time when the growth of Olyphant was
materially checked for want of land for new building purposes ; he is presi-
dent of this company and interested in the growth and development of
Olyphant. He has always taken an active part in the public affairs of his
town, being borough solicitor for a number of years, and it was largely
due to his advice and active support that the sewers, pavements and public
buildings which are now such a credit to the borough of Olyphant were
constructed. On April 25, 1900, he was married in St. Peter's Cathedral
Scranton, to Helen, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Friend F. Merriman of Dun-
more ; they have the following children : James Merriman, Mary Messenger,
6i6 CITY OF SCRANTON
Marjorie Merriman and Frank Martin Jr. He is a member of Scranton
Press Club, Scranton Club and Yale Club of New York.
GEORGE B. SMITH
The name of John B. Smith, father of George B. Smith, is one which has
been intimately connected with corporations that have developed the leading
resources of the Scranton district from its beginning. He was born in Sul-
livan county. New York, in 1815, and commenced his active business career in
connection with railroad service when he was but fifteen years of age. His
first position in this field of industry was under the Delaware & Hudson Canal
Company, at Carbondale, Pennsylvania ; he was an apprentice in the machine
shop of the same road five years; from 1848 to 1850 he was mechanical
draughtsman and superintendent of machmery in the Pennsylvania Coal Com-
pany; in 1852 or there abouts was appointed general superintendent of the
Pennsylvania Coal Company in Pennsylvania, and filled this responsible posi-
tion for about half a century ; in May, 1886, he was appointed president of the
Erie and Wyoming Valley Railroad, which he filled for many years.
George B. Smith, son of John B. Smith, was born in Dunmore, Pennsyl-
vania, and after instruction under private masters entered the Academy of
Wyoming, later attending Bisbee's Military Academy, at Poughkeepsie, New
York. At an early age he entered the Telegraph Department of the Penn-
sylvania Coal Company, at Dunmore, after a time being transferred to duty
in the office of his father, who was at that time general superintendent of
the company. While so engaged he gained a close insight into and familiarity
with the affairs of the company, becoming assistant superintendent, a position
he held until June 13, 1895, when he was promoted to the general superin-
tendency, holding this place for five years. On June 19, 1900, Mr. Smith
was called to the third vice-presidency of the company, continuing in this office
until the purchase of the Pennsylvania Coal Company by the Erie Railroad
Company, his resignation taking effect, February 28, 1901. During this time
he had been treasurer of the Erie & Wyoming Valley Railroad Company, and
on May 19, 1896, became superintendent of the company, discharging the
duties of this responsible position until he became president, holding that
office until February 28, 1901, when the concern was absorbed by the Erie
Railroad Company. Mr. Smith is at the present time a director of the Scran-
ton Trust Company, the Scranton Gas and Water Company, the Consumers'
Ice Company and the First National Bank, all of Scranton, having assumed
his place upon the directorate of the last named institution on April 17, 1897.
Mr. Smith's business career has been one useful in the extreme and full of
benefit to the companies he served with such signal fidelity, rendered effi-
cient by a large share of native ability. The organizations with which he is
identified at the present time are fortunate in possessing him as a director and
advisor, his sound judgment and business intuition serving well in council.
Mr. Smith married, February 11, 1886, Grace, daughter of Dr. William
A. Durrie Sr., of Brick Qiurch, New Jersey, and they are the parents of two
daughters : Louise E. and Florence D.
STERLING D. PARKER
Son of Rondino Parker and grandson of Sheldon Parker, Sterling D.
Parker, of this chronicle, was born at Clarks Green, Pennsylvania. His
father is also a native of this place, born in August, 1830, being now eighty-
four years of age, his entire life having been passed in agricultural pursuits,
in which he has prospered. Rondino Parker married Mary D., daughter of
CITY OF SCRANTON 617
Ebenezer Slocum, and has children: i. Jennie D., married Professor Stone,
of Cornell University; resides in Ithaca, New York; children: Delia, Mary,
Julia, Helen. 2. Thurston S., unmarried, lives on the farm with his father.
3. Sterling D., of whom further. 4. Ward B., a resident of Qarks Summit,
Pennsylvania ; postmaster and engaged in the real estate business ; mar-
ried Estella Miller; children: Frances, Mary, Ruth. 5. Harold R., married
Lucy Barton, and has three children.
Sterling D. Parker, son of Rondino and Mary D. (Slocum) Parker, was
born January 15, 1864. He was educated in the public schools of Clarks
Green, and after a course in the Keystone Academy attended Easton Busi-
ness College, of Poughkeepsie, New York, whence he was graduated. After
completing his studies he was for five years employed in a grocery store of
which an uncle was proprietor, then assumed charge of the general store in
Pittston, Pennsylvania, managed by John A. Mears, for the Newton Coal
Company. After twelve years in the service of that company, Mr. Parker
moved to Scranton and was for two years associated in business with G. J.
Barrowman, a grocer of No. 1309 Washburn street, in the time that he
was free from this business engaging in insurance dealing. In 1902 he ac-
cepted the position of manager of the ordinary department of the Prudential
Insurance Company for Northeastern Pennsylvania, continuing in this office
in the employ of the Prudential Company to this time (1914). Mr. Parker's
work prior to his acceptance of this office was of such a nature as to attract
the favorable attention of those in authority in the company, and the offer
of his present managerial position was based upon the merit and ability he
has displayed in his former capacity. He is a faithful and energetic steward
of the interests of his company in the locality over which he has control,
giving to its service the best of his talents. Mr. Parker is a member of the
Masonic Order, is a director of the Pittston Young Men's Christian As-
sociation, and has been a member of the $100,000 League since its organiza-
tion. His church is the West Side Presbyterian, and in political belief he is a
progressive Republican.
Mr. Parker married Catherine F., daughter of John Barrowman, of
Scranton, Pennsylvania. Children: John B., born May 8, 1896; Sterling D.
Jr., born July 5, '1911.
CHARLES B. PARKER
Stephen Parker, the pioneer who founded the line of Parker herein chron-
icled in Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, was of Scotch-Irish descent, the
family residence- having previously been in New England, Rhode Island the
locality whence he came. From him the line of descent is through his son,
Sheldon, and his grandson, Fernando A., to Charles B. Parker, the present day
representative of his line in the city of Scranton, where he is president of the
wholesale confectionery firm of C. B. Parker Company, a large and prosperous
concern located at No. 36 Lackawanna avenue. Stephen Parker was a farmer
in occupation, and after moving to Lackawanna county from Rhode Island
settled at Abington. He has children: Sheldon, of whom further; Charles;
Stephen.
(II) Sheldon Parker, son of Stephen Parker, was a native of Abmgton,
Pennsylvania, and engaged throughout his active life in agricultural pursuits.
He married a Miss Phillips, and had issue: i. Fernando A., of whom fur-
ther. 2. Edward R., for many years the proprietor of a general sporting goods
store on Spruce street, Scranton, making a specialty of fire-arms ; retired from
business in 1914; he served in the Union army throughout the four years of
6i8 CITY OF SCRANTON
the Civil War, and was engaged in many important conflicts of the war; he
married Marion, daughter of Sydney Mears, of Scranton. 3. Rondino, a
farmer of Clarks Green, Pennsylvania ; married Mary D., daughter of Eb-
enezer Slocum. and has children, Jennie, Thurston, Sterling, Ward B., Harold.
4. Senora. married W. S. Trace, deceased, and had children, Luella, married
Arthur Lemont, chief civil engineer in the mining department of the Delaware,
Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company, anil Elizabeth, postmistress at
Clarks Green, Pennsylvania. 5. Corintha, married a Mr. Culver and is the
mother of a large family. 6. Hulda.
(Ill) Fernando A. Parker, son of Sheldon Parker, was born in South
Abington, Pennsylvania, in 1843, and has made farming his life-long calling.
He married (first) Susan, daughter of Jeremdah Hall, (second) Jennie E.
Bowen. Children of first marriage: i. Fred W., lives in California: mar-
ried Minnie Hapeman and has one daughter, Marion. 2. Carrie, married a
Mr. Stone ; resides in Arizona ; the mother of one son, George. 3. Edward,
postmaster at Waverly, Pennsylvania: married Hattie Smith, and has a son
Burtis. 4. Charles B., of whom further. Children of second marriage : 5.
Leila, married Joseph Challis, an instructor in the Louisburg Normal School.
6. Robert, a salesman in the employ of David Spruks, of Scranton ; married
a daughter of Rev. Godsall, a Methodist minister of Scranton. and has one
son, Robert Jr. 7. Louise. 8. Marian. 9. McKinley. 10. ;\hnnie.
(IV) Charles B. Parker, son of Fernando A. and Susan (Hall) Parker,
was born in South Abington, Pennsylvania, May 6, 1868. He was a student
in the public schools of Waverly until he was sixteen years of age. Going to
Dalton, Pennsylvania, he was there for two years connected with Fred Francis,
a lumber merchant, then entered the service of the Lackawanna Iron and
Steel Company, of Scranton. Resigning from the employ of this company,
he became identified with Price & H'owarth, a well-known lumber dealing firm
of Scranton, and subsequently formed an association with Jores & Spruks,
wholesale produce dealers of the city. L'pon the dissolution of this firm. Mr.
Parker continued in the service of Mr. Jones, remaining with him for four-
teen years, at the expiration of which time he began independent business
operations as a wholesale confectioner. The dimensions of his business were
at first modest, his establishment being at the corner of Capouse avenue and
Marion street, but increasing trade demanded more spacious quarters, so that
he moved to a Penn avenue location. This, too, the business outgrew, and for
three and one-half years he was located at No. 8 Lackawanna avenue, whence
he moved because of insufficient space, this time to No. 32 Lackawanna avenue,
where he remained until his five year lease expired, in 1914 occuping his com-
modious quarters adjoining, at No. 36 Lackawanna avenue. The firm name
is now C. B. Parker Company, Mr. Parker and a brother being sole owners
of the business, which has been in every way a most gratifying success. Its
expansion has far exceeded the most sanguine expectations, as shown by the
necessity for such frequent changes of location, the cause of this growth being
the earnest labor and intelligently directed effort of the two partners, who
have founded a substantial and profitable confectionery trade. Charles B.
Parker is a member of Waverly Lodge. Free and Accepted Masons, and be-
longs to Green Ridge Presbyterian Church. His political belief is independent.
Mr. Parker married Fannie, daughter of J. W. Mershon, of Waverly,
Pennsylvania, and resides at No. 1025 Delaware avenue. Scranton, Pennsyl-
vania. Mr. and Mrs. Parker are the parents of: Russell M., born in 1892,
a graduate of the Scranton High School, now engaged in business in Car-
bondale, Pennsylvania; Richard, born in 1897; Ruth, born in 1901.
CITY OF SCRANTON 619
JOHN THOMAS DEMPSEY
Organized labor has in the Scranton district, and, indeed, throughout the
country, no champion more sincere in word and action than John Thomas
Dempsey, president of the First District of United Mine Workers of America.
Mr. Dempsey 's connection with labor organizations dates back but fifteen
years, but in that time he has risen to high position as the representative of
the working-men of his locality and has become prominent in other organiza-
tions than those of mine workers, on several occasions being delegated to
attend the conventions of the American Federation of Labor and once repre-
senting that great association in the British Trade Union Congress held
in Bath, England.
A native of Scranton, Mr. Dempsey is a member of an Irish family, his
father, Patrick Dempsey, having been born in county Mayo, Ireland. Pat-
rick Dempsey came to the United States when a young man and settled in
Scranton, following the occupation of miner throughout nearly his entire
life, his death occurring in that city in 1900. He married Anna Comerford,
of Scranton. Children : James J., a plumber of Scranton, married Belle
Gilboy, and is the father of Mary, James, and John : John Thomas, of whom
further ; Philip, deceased ; Mary Elizabeth, married Thomas McDonald ;
Patrick, deceased ; Edward, a plumber, pursuing his trade on the Isthmus
of Panama ; William, a conductor employed on the Laurel line, married Irene
Sexton.
John Thomas Dempsey, son of Patrick and Anna (Comerford) Dempsey,
was born May 21, 1877, and until he was eleven years of age was a student
in public schools Nos. 4 and 9 in Scranton, also attending the Sisters'
School of the Holy Rosary, at Providence. His studies completed, he entered
the Fairlawn breakei at Pine Brook, later taking up general mining, and
was employed in the Dickson mine, at Green Ridge, the Von Storch
mine, the Manville mine, and the Pine Brook mine. He was engaged in
the last named mine when he received his election to the position of secretary
and treasurer of the First District of the United Mine Workers of America,
January 18, 1900, which connection continued until August i, 191 1, when
Mr. Dempsey was elected to the presidency of the First District, having for
eleven years been closely in touch with all of the interests and activities of
the organization through his service as secretary and treasurer for that
length of time. This long preparation gave him high qualifications for the
office he has since filled so competently, and his steadfast loyalty to the trusts
reposed in him as the head of his district has made him an official who has
won the regard of his associates. During his term of office Mr. Dempsey
has attended all of the district, tri-district, and national conventions of the
United Mine Workers of America, and has represented that organization
at the Norfolk, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Pittsburgh and Boston con-
ventions of the American Federation of Labor. In 1907 he was chosen as
the delegate of the American Federation of Labor to the British Trade
Union Congress, which convened at Bath, England.
The benefit of Mr. Dempsey's wide experience in labor organizations and
his deep understanding of the conditions governing the relations between
the emplover and the employee has come to Scranton in his presidency of
the Scranton Central Labor Union, an office to which he has twice been
elected. His work in behalf of working-men, the bone and sinew of the
industrial world, has been such as to win for him their sincere gratitude,
and in the adjustment of difficulties existing between capital and labor he
has stood forth as the defender of the wronged, gaining for those whom he
620 CITY OF SCRANTON
represents more equitable relations with their employers and better condi-
tions of employment. Disinterested effort has been the attitude that has
won for him admiration and respect. His work has been directed to no
selfish end, but has been rendered in the cause of justice and humanity, and
through all of his relations with labor unions and organizations he has held
up for public inspection a record upon which no blot appears, the sincerity
of his purpose and the genuineness of his altruism being apparent to all
who have watched his career.
On May 19, 1914, Mr. Dempsey was returned from the primary elections
the nominee of the Democratic party for the office of state senator. Should
the fall elections place him in the upper branch of the state legislature ther-"
will open before him a field of usefulness to which he will come prepared
and willing to take up his duties, the force of character and the courage of
honest convictions that have characterized his life there, too, serving him
well. Mr. Dempsey is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and
belongs to the Roman Catholic Church of the Nativity.
Mr. Dempsey married, October 11, 1905, Belinda I., daughter of John
and Margaret Messett. Children : Edward, Anna, Margaret, Mary.
JOSEPH A. WADDELL
Descendant of one of the old and prominent families of Virginia, Mr.
Waddell, himself of Virginia birth and educated in one of her best technical
schools, has passed the greater part of his professional life in Scranton, be-
ginning as designer and salesman, and since 1906 superintendant of the Spencer
Heater Company of this city. He is a great-great-grandson of Thomas Wad-
dell, of Scotch-Irish Covenanter parentage, who came to America in 1739.
They settled on White Clay creek near the state line in Lancaster county,
Pennsylvania. Thomas Waddell, father of the Rev. James Waddell, known all
over Virginia as the blind preacher, was born on the Atlantic ocean, his birth-
place being the ship on which his parents came over. Rev. James Waddell
is the original of the character so graphically portrayed in William Wirt's novel,
"Letters of a British Spy." He was a graduate of the old Dickinson College,
(Pennsylvania) and a Presbyterian minister. He married Mary Gordon,
daughter of Colonel James Gordon, a brave officer of the Revolution. He left
issue, among whom. Dr. Addison, of further mention.
Dr. Addison Waddell, son of Rev. James Waddell, the "Blind Preacher,"
was born in Staunton, Virginia, and there obtained his preparatory and acad-
emic education. He attended Princeton College, and later pursued a course
at the University of Pennsylvania, there receiving his degree of M. D. After
graduating he returned to Staunton and in that prosperous, independent city
practiced his profession until his retirement. Staunton, situated in a beautiful,
fertile valley, is the seat of Mary Baldwin Seminary, the Virginia Female
Institute, Staunton Military Academy, the Western State Hospital for the
Insane, and the State Institution for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind. With such
of these institutions as existed in his day. Dr. Waddell was connected as phy-
sician and also ministered to a large private clientele. He married Catherine
Ann Boys, daughter of John Boys, and had issue : Mary Ann ; Cornelia, mar-
ried Rev. Stewart; James Alexander, M. D., a graduate of the University
of Pennsylvania, a physician and surgeon of Staunton ; John Littleton, a
lawyer; Joseph Addison, a lawyer, clerk of the Supreme Court of \''irginia
for half a century, and state senator; Nathaniel Sylvester; Catherine, mar-
ried a Mr. Tait ; Legh Richmond, of whom further.
Legh Richmond Waddell, youngest son of Dr. Addison Waddell, was
CITY OF SCRANTON 621
born at Staunton, Virginia, in 1832. After completing his education at
Hampden-Sidney College, he became a journalist, a profession he followed
most of his life. He was identified with the Staunton Spectator for a time as
associate editor, and with other leading newspapers. He retired in later life
to his farm, where he died April 19, 1898. He married (first) Belle Hill and
had: Lucy, Kitty, Leliah and Belle (twins), Robert, Harry. He married
(second) Lilly Mills, daughter of James Mills, of Darby, England. Children:
Maude St. Clair, married Marshall L. Walker; Joseph A., of whom further;
James Alexander, professor of Pharmacology at University of Yireinia • Tohn
Atkins : Donald Ellis. ' & ■ J
Joseph A. Waddell, son of Legh Richmond and Lilly (Mills) Waddell,
was born in Staunton, Virginia, November 5, 1876. He attended the public
schools of Charlottesville, Virginia, to which town his parents removed shortly
after his birth. He next entered Virginia Polytechnic Institute, where after
a few years' course he was graduated in 1900, with the degree of Mechanical
Engineer. After graduation he remained at the Institute as instructor in math-
ematics and experimental engineering, later entering the employ of the Deane
Steam Pump Company at Holyoke, Massachusetts. After one year with that
company he came to Scranton, Pennsylvania, 1903, as designer and salesman
for the Spencer Heater Company, of this city, and after three years in that
capacity was made superintendent of the company shops, the important posi-
tion he now holds. He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers, American Society for Testing Materials, also the International
Society for Testing Materials, and a communicant of the Green Ridge Presby-
terian Church. He married (first) Mattie Morton, of Charlotte, Virginia,
and had one child by this marriage, Martha. He married (second) Eliza
Whittier Little, of Monroe, Michigan, and they had one son, Joseph Addison.
JASPER C TAYLOR
The Taylors have long been residents in the Scranton district. Reuben
Taylor, the great-grandfather of Jasper C. Taylor, of this narrative, settled
in that locality in 1783. The Taylors were previously residents of Connecti-
cut and came to Pennsylvania with other Connecticut settlers to hold the
land as against those claiming title under William Penn.
(I) Reuben Taylor fought in the American army in the War for Indepen-
dence, and after the victory of the Colonial cause bought an extensive tract
of land in Providence township, property later known as the Joseph Grififin
farm. He became a partner in the ownership of a mill erected on Roaring
Brook by Phillip Abbott. Mr. Abbott built the first house in Deep Hollow,
afterward known as Slocum Hollow, and was the owner of the second
house raised in that place. About 1816 Mr. Taylor disposed of the Joseph
Griffin farm and his interest in the mill, and moved to Greenfield township,
where he bought five hundred acres of land. This tract was covered with
heavy timber, and had to be cleared before it could be plowed and planted.
But it was very fertile, and under Mr. Taylor's vigorous attack, agricultural
operations were soon under way. He was the father of John A., of whom
further, Noah, Daniel, Thaddeus. Reuben Taylor died in 1849, and was
buried in the little cemetery on the hill above Montdale.
(II) John A. Taylor, son of Reuben Taylor, was born in Providence town-
ship, Luzerne (now Lackawanna) county, Pennsylvania, about 1790, and
died' in 1867. He married Gartry Ackley, and had thirteen children, one of
whom died in infancy, those surviving being as follows : Stephen A., born in
1812; Truman A., 1814; Charlotte A., 1816; Silas A., 1818; Cynthia, 1820;
622 CITY OF SCRANTON
John Milton, 1823 ; Celenda, 1825 ; Charles C, of whom further; Henry, 1829;
Draper U., 1831 ; Helen, 1833; Benira, 1836.
(HI) Charles C. Taylor, son of John A. and Gartry (Ackley) Taylor, was
born in Greenfield township, Luzerne (now Lackawanna) county, Penn-
sylvania, April 17, 1827. He was educated in the public schools, and
throughout his entire life followed farming as his occupation, meeting with
good success in the tilling of the soil. He married Lucy A., daughter of
Benoni Stone, of Greenfield township. Benoni Stone was of English descent
and came to Pennsylvania from Rhode Island about 1820, his death occur-
ring in Scott township when he had attained the unusual age of ninety-three
years. Charles C. and Lucy A. (Stone) Taylor had five children of whom
Jaspei- C, of whom further, and Maud, who married James N. McLaughlin,
are now living.
(IV) Jasper C. Taylor, son of Charles C. and Lucy A. (Stone) Taylor,
was born in Scott township, Luzerne (now Lackawanna) county, Pennsyl-
vania, January 17, 1857. His early education was obtained in the public
schools of Scott township. Later he was successively a student in Madison
Academy at Waverly, Wyoming Seminary at Kingston, and Keystone Acad-
emy at Factoryville. In these institutions he was fortunate in coming under
the personal influence of three able educators, Professor Harvey D. Walker,
Dr. David Copeland, and Dr. John H. Harris, now president of Bucknell
University. While a student in these institutions, Mr. Taylor taught four
winter terms in the rural schools of Scott and Greenfield townships, and
had an excellent opportunity to study human nature while "boarding round '
among his patrons. The salary was eighteen dollars per month. In 1881
Mr. Taylor was graduated from Mansfield State Normal School and later
took a special course in Cornell University. After graduation he served
successively as principal of the high schools of South Abington, Jermyn,
Milford (Pike county), and Providence (Scranton), and in the last position
served seven years. In 1893 he was elected county superintendent of schools
for Lackawanna county, which position he still holds, having been re-elected
seven times, the last two terms without opposition. Mr. Taylor probably
owes his continued re-election to two characteristics : First, he is an ardent
advocate of the public schools, and gives his whole time to their improve-
ment. Second, in granting certificates or in placing teachers he is absolutely
impartial. Republicans and Democrats, Catholics and Protestants, receive
the same treatment.
The central doctrine of Mr. Taylor's policy is that teachers must be
trained for their work. In 1893, when he began his work, there were thirteen
trained teachers (normal school graduates) in his territory. Now there are
three hundred and eleven normal school graduates in the same territory and
only twenty-three under his supervision teaching on low grade or provisional
certificates. Soon all schools will be taught by trained teachers. Many
modern improvements have been introduced into the schools. Nearly all
of the rural schools are furnished with modern heating and ventilating plants,
slate black boards, and a variety of maps, charts, globes, and other necessary
apparatus. Agriculture is taught in all rural schools. Free movement writ-
ing was introduced in 1909, and State Superintendent Schaeffer says the
penmanship in Lackawanna county is superior to that of any other count v
in the state. Mr. Taylor is the author of the Directors Association Law,
which requires the school directors of each county in the state to meet an-
nually in their respective counties for the discussion of educational problems.
Mr. Taylor has been prominent in state educational meetings, and has served
as president of the department of county superintendents.
CITY OF SCRANTON
62?
In national politics Mr. Taylor has usually supported the Republican
party, but in local affairs he is independent, trying to vote for the most
competent candidate. For the last fifteen years he has attended the Green
Ridge Presbyterian Church, but is liberal in his views, believing that conduct
is the test of character, and that all will be saved who live according to the
mandates of conscience, without regard to church affiliation. Mr. Taylor is
a member of the New England Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania, of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, (since 1889), of the Green Ridge
Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and of the Patriotic Order Sons of
America.
In 1879 Mr. Taylor married Ruth Ella Cobb, of Lenoxville, Susque-
hanna county, Pennsylvania. Three sons are the result of this union: i.
Verne E., born in 1880; educated in Scranton High School, Pennsylvania
State College, and Pratt Institute, where he was graduated in the course
of Electrical Engineering in 1905. 2. Earl M., born in 1882 ; a graduate of
Scranton High School, and of Cornell University, taking his A. B. degree
in 1907. 3. Otto D., born in 1894; educated in Scranton High School and
Cornell University.
GEORGE HENRY CATLIN
George Henry Catlin was born in Shoreham. Vermont. August 26, 1845.
He was educated at Newton Academy, Shoreham ; at Vermont Episcopal
Institute, Rock Point, near Burlington, Vermont ; and Phillips Academy, An-
dover, Massachusetts. He studied law and the degree of LL.B. was conferred
upon him in 1866 by Union College and the degree of M. A. by Lafayette
College in 1867. Mr. Catlin was admitted to the bar at Albany, New York,
and for two years practiced law as the junior member of the firm of Pope,
Thompson & Catlin, No. 17 Nassau street, New York City. In 1870 Mr.
Catlin came to Scranton, and has been a prominent figure in its financial life
since that time. He was one of the organizers of the Third National Bank
of Scranton ; was its first vice-president, which office he filled continuously
and with efficiency for more than twenty-five years. He was a director of
the Scranton Savings Bank for many years until its consolidation with the now
Savings and Dime Bank. He has been a director of the Scranton Street Rail-
way ; of the Erie and Wyoming \'alley Railroad ; and for seventeen years has
served on the board of directors of the Crown Point Iron Company of Crown
Point, New York. Mr. Catlin is a Presbyterian ; has for forty years been a
member of the First Presbyterian Church of Scranton, and has been honored
with a place upon its board of trustees. In his political affiliations Mr. Catlin
has been a staunch Republican, an ardent admirer of the principles and tradi-
tions of Abraham Lincoln.
Mr. Catlin married (first) September 4, 1867, Mary Woodrow Archbald, a
daughter of James Archbald Sr., then chief engineer of the Lackawanna Rail-
road. There were no children born to them. Mrs. Catlin passed away in
1902. On January 10, 1904, Mr. Catlin married (second) Helen Walsh, of
Carbondale. There have been no children born of this marriage. He still
retains and enjoys the old "Belle Meade farm," of one hundred and twenty-
five acres in Vermont, which has been in his family four generations. Mr.
Catlin has preserved the memories of his parents and deceased wife by beauti-
ful memorial windows in the old church of his native town, Shoreham, Ver-
mont. Although now on the borderland of the allotted period of "three score
years and ten," Mr. Catlin is still vigorous in mind and body and active in
business. He has a large and extended acquaintance, and is justly popular
with his associates.
624 CITY OF SCRANTON
HARRY M. SIEGEL
The following record of business achievement that cannot but excite the
respect and admiration of the reader is a tale that tells of opportunity seized,
of courage, zeal and perseverance at work, and of success gained. It is a
story that, in greater or in less degree, has many counterparts, and that is the
biography of Harry M. Siegel.
Born of Jewish parents, and coming to this country from Russia with his
parents, while a boy, on August 8, 1893, he entered the public schools. A year
later he was compelled to rely on his own resources on account of the death of
his mother, and was forced to earn his own living. He began his career as a
newsboy. In the year of 1900 he saw the possibilities in a lunch room then
situated at 221-23 North Washington avenue, and through the savings ac-
quired by the sale of the newspapers he purchased the lunch business from
the late E. Moses, and it is well to mention here that the price paid for the said
lunch business was $500.00 out of his entire capital of 504.63, thus leaving
Mr. Siegel with the sum of $4.63 to conduct a business which was new to him.
Through his hard efforts he made his lunch house the most popular in the
city of Scranton, and during the time the lunch room was under his manage-
ment the returns were most gratifying. In 1907 Mr. Siegel saw the possibili-
ties in the real estate business in the city, and he gave up the lunch business
for the real estate business, and commenced operations in a small way under
the name of Siegel's Realty Company, and to this day the firm handles prob-
ably more down-town real estate than all other concerns in this line in the city,
not only for others, but for himself as well, and from this he has acquired large
returns. Mr. Siegel has made the force of his personality felt in each line
in the city of Scranton, and in each has placed himself among the leaders
solely and simply upon his merits. His aspiration? have ever been high, but in
attaining their height he has not scorned the value of things of lesser brilliance
nor has considered his abilities too great for small employment. His pride
has been only that justifiable feeling of gratification at a task accomplished,
and has never caused him to regard appearances if his duty was plain and
honorable. So, from affairs of little moment, he has advanced until his
operations have assumed both importance and magnitude, knowing that he has
prepared himself for these greater things by conscientious mastery of those
to which there seemed to be but little consequence attached. He has achieved
through a spirit of progress, through strong perseverance, through persistent
courage, through self-reliance and ability, and to him nothing but credit can
be rendered, for, far from being favored at the start of his career, he was
handicapped by the necessity of acquiring a new langi-iage and of learning new
customs. Now of youthful years, he has performed what many men fall
short of in a lifetime, and having tested his steel in battle, should advance to
further conquest.
CHRISTOPHER G. BOLAND
Among the most active and progressive business men of Scranton is C (j.
Boland, who is a most prominent representative of the underwriting fraternity,
and has long enjoyed the fullest confidence and consideration of n wide circle
of clients. He entered the insurance business in i88t, baving succeeded to
the old Lackawanna Insurance Agency, at that time conducted hr the '-ite
I. L. Post Esq. The Agency transacts a general insur^ncf Hisinesc an' tl^-^ I'st
of companies represented includes such high-class orc-n'-iti'ons as are "prM-
able rocks of stabilitv and to the firm'': p-prlit it m-v h '■■^'d t^-'t dnrlno ,t>i
CITY OF SCRANTON 625
entire history every just claim has been promptly adjusted. Mr. Boland is an
experienced underwriter and an enterprising business man who has acquired
his present enviable position in the business world through unremitting labor,
and during his career as a citizen of Scranton he has occupied several im-
portant public positions. Hfe resides at No. 411 Monroe avenue. His office
is located at 229 North Washington avenue.
Mr. Boland was born in December, 1855, son of James and Anna (Biglin)
Boland. In his boyhood he worked on the construction of the Delaware &
Hudson Railroad between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. His education was
obtained in the public schools and Gardner's Business College. His first busi-
ness experience was as a clerk and bookkeeper in the mercantile trade. In
1878 he entered into partnership with his uncle, tlie late W. R. Boland. Ehir-
ing the last mentioned year he was elected to the Board of School Control and
served as secretary of that body. He also served as deputy recorder of deeds
under A. M. Renshaw, the first recorder of Lackawanna county. In 1880 he
was appointed special agent of the census department on manufacturers in
the Lackawanna district. In 1888 he was re-elected to the Board of School
Control, during his term a system of free text-books was established and equal
pay to male and female teachers inaugurated. Both of these measures received
his unqualified support. He has been prominently identified with board of
trade affairs and has personally aided in promoting many of the diversified
manufacturing interests which have contributed so largely to the growth and
progress of Scranton. Notwithstanding his busy life he is ever ready and
willing to lend his effort and time in matters of a public nature which may
redound to the benefit of the community. He stands in the front rank of the
business men of the city. Mr. Boland has been president of the Lackawanna
National Bank of Lackawanna since 1904 and hai met with gratifying success.
In 1910 his business was incorporated under the name of the C. G. Boland
Company. In politics Mr. Boland has always been a Democrat and an ardent
worker in every sense of the word. He is a member of several fraternal or-
ganizations, among which may be mentioned the Scranton Lodge, Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks ; Improved Order of Heptasophs ; Royal Arcanum ;
Maccabees: C. M. B. A. and C. T. A. societies.
Mr. Boland married, November 23, 1881, Mary E., daughter of the late
Bernard 0"Malley Esq., of Scranton. Children : Anna, married Dr. A. W.
O'Malley; James J., vice-president of the C. G. Boland Company; Alice, su-
pervisor of sewing in Scranton public schools ; Helen, Rosa, Christopher G.
Jr., Kathleen, Joseph.
BENJAMIN S. WAKEMAN
Although he with whom this chronicle deals owns the state of New York
as his birthplace, Pennsylvania is nevertheless the home of the family, and
in that state the father of Benjamin S. Wakeman, the Hon. Seth Wake-
man, was born, at Pembroke, in 1806. His later career deserves more care-
ful consideration than the outline that can be given here, for the story of
his rise from the estate of a shoemaker to the heights of legal fame com-
mands the closest attention and arouses the highest respect. Tlie fact of
his wonderful advance is the more unusual when it is recalled that the
privilege of a college education under scientific training was denied him
and that most of the wide knowledge of legal matters of which he became
the possessor was acquired in spare hours, most of his time being spent over
the work bench. Like so many of the men who have filled our history with
the best of its pages, he thrived on adversity, and the fact that so many of
40
626 CITY OF SCRANTON
the advantages of life were withheld from him only made him the more
eager to make them his. Even after his admission to the bar he still
continued work at his trade, and did so until the demands of a growing
practice compelled him to lay aside the awl and the hammer and to devote
his whole time and attention to the profession to which he had gained ad-
mission by so difficult a route. He made a specialty of criminal cases and
became known as one of the most efficient lawyers in that difficult branch
of the legal procedure of the day. Thorough and accurate in his preparation
of a defence, his presentation displayed to the full the forensic gifts with
which he had been endowed, and many are the unfortunate victims of cir-
cumstance who owe their reinstatement to society and the opportunity for a
fresh start in life to the talents that had been so prodigally bestowed upon
Mr. Wakeman. In the imparting of the legal lore he had learned under
a depressing handicap he was remarkably skilled, and of those who listened
at his feet and reaped the benefit of his years of experience and unceasing
study were several who afterward aspired successfully to the pinnacle he
had attained and held for many years. As was but natural to one of his
standing, politics claimed his services and he was elected to Congress in
1872. In this body his previous record and the maturity of his judgment,
he being at that time sixty-six years of age, lent weight and influence to
his counsel even among that august number of statesmen, and to a career
of continuous legal success he added the brilliance of political prominence,
rounding out a life of vigor and activity, zealously spent in the pursuit of
his profession.
Mr. Wakeman married Laura Winans. Children of Seth and Laura
Wakeman : Emma, married Garrett, the present editor of the
Batavi'a (New York) Daily News ; Benjamin S., of whom further ; and
W. S., a photographer of Batavia, New York.
Benjamin S. Wakeman, eldest son and second child of Seth and Laura
(Winans) Wakeman, was born in Batavia, New York, May 3, 1862. His
father realizing the value of scholastic training from his own lack of educa-
tional opportunity, after his preliminary attendance at the public schools,
Mr. Wakeman was enrolled at the Oakfield Seminary, later attending the
Mount Pleasant Military Academy. His first venture in the business world
was as a manufacturer of novelties, an enterprise which he soon abandoned,
coming to Scranton and there engaging in the hotel business, a line of
activity that has ever since claimed him. In 191 1 he became the proprietor
of the Hotel Schadt, a house of entertainment erected in 1900, and still con-
tinues as the popular and well-liked head of that house. Genial and affable,
his unceasing devotion to the wants of his patrons has brought to the hotel
many guests, all of whom are the recipients of his gracious hospitality. Mr.
Wakeman is a supporter of the Republican party in all political matters,
and affiliates with the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Mr. Wakeman married
Margaret Teyden.
CHIARLES SEABERT ROSS
Someone has said that the successful man is the one who so conducts his
life that when his influence is removed from the community the constructive
up-lifting forces suffer a distinct loss. Charles S. Ross, assistant cashier of the
Traders National Bank, has not only won for himself a place of considerable
responsibility and trust in the business community, but he is also taking an
active interest in the social, religious and other activities that tend to make
Scranton a better place to live in. Mr. Ross possesses an exceedingly pleasing
CITY OF SCRANTON 627
personality, and this, coupled with his frank, open manner and a sense of honor
and justice that has been developed to an unusual degree, has drawn around
him a wide circle of friends from all stations and walks of life. After a cordial
courteous greeting at his hands one instinctively feels that he has met a real
gentleman.
J. Elliot Ross, father of Charles S. Ross, was born in England in 1847
When he was l^ve years of age his parents immigrated to America, settling in
Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania. J. Elliot Ross leceived his prtliminary edu-
cation m Bellefonte Academy and later graduated from Laf?yette College
In 1875 he married Frances Hall, daughter of Rev. O. L. Hall, a chaplain in
the Union army during the Civil War. After teaching for several years in
the Scranton public schools, Mr. Ross was admitted to the Lackawanna county
bar in 1884 and practiced law in this city until his death in 1905.
J. Elliot and Frances (Hall) Ross were parents of four children : Fran-
ces IVIabel, married to H. R. Kingsley, and living in Scranton, the parents of
one son, Robert Elliot ; Charles S. ; Lelia Edna : Jay Elliot married to Jessie
M. Moffat.
Charles S. Ross was born at Shickshinny, Pennsylvania, September 16,
1878. He obtained his early education in the public school and high school of
Dunmore, Pennsylvania. After finishing his studies he enteredthe employ
of the IFillside Coal and Iron Company and after five years service with this
company became a bookkeeper in the Traders' National Bank of Scranton.
His connection with this institution began in 1903 and he later filled the posi-
tions of receiving teller, paying teller, and in 1912 was promoted to the posi-
tion of assistant cashier. These promotions came to Mr. Ross only after hard
and conscientious work on his part had demonstrated that he possessed the
qualifications and capabilities that justified them. But the eleven years he has
been identified with the Traders' National Bank have proven beyond doubt
that the financial field is the one for which he is eminently fitted. His fidelity
to the principles of absolute justice and honest service have won him the re-
spect and esteem of all who know him.
Mr. Ross is an active member of the Green Ridge Presbyterian Church,
having served three terms as superintendent of the Sunday school. He is also
a member of Peter Williamson Lodge, No. 323, F. and A. M., Coeur de Lion
Commandery, No. 17, K. T., and is a veteran of the Spanish-American War,
belonging to the General J. P. S. Goban Camp, of this city.
On October 20, 1903, Mr. Ross married Mary Grace Burns, daughter of
I. H. Burns, of Scranton, and together they preside over a happy little home
at 1 73 1 Capouse avenue. They have been blessed with two children, Charles
S. Jr., born June 30, 1907, and Donald Burns, born October 28, 191 1.
HARRY A. CONNELL
One of those energetic and sagacious business men whose presence in
any community imparts a healthy impetus to the current of all business af-
fairs is to be found in the person of Harry A. Connell, of No. 102 1 "Vine
street, Scranton, Pennsylvania. Modest and unassuming, he is entirely un-
conscious of the salutary influence he exerts in the community, has not
thought of being regarded as an exemplar, and merely so acts his part in
life as to have the approval of his own conscience.
Harry A. Connell was born in Minooka, Lackawanna county, Pennsyl-
vania, September 10, i860. He received a thorough education in private
schools in Scranton, and upon the completion of his studies established him-
self in the jewelry business, under the firm name of Mercereau & Connell.
^28 CITY OF SCRANTON
After a time Mr. Connell bought out his partner's interests, and conducted
the business under the name of H. A. Connell, until 191 1, very successfully.
He then became purchasing agent for the Coal Land Security Company,
the Green Ridge Coal Company, the Enterprise Coal Company, the Lacka-
wanna Coal and Lumber Company, and the Paint Creek Colliery Cbmpany.
His religious affiliation is with the Methodist church, and he is prominent in
the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the thirty-second degree.
He is also a member of the Scranton and Country clubs.
Mr. Connell married Annie Jay, a native of Scranton, and a daughter
of Douglas Jay, of that city. They have children: Harold E., married, has
three children, and lives in Scranton ; Helen, married Charles Cheney, of
Elizabeth, New Jersey, and has one child ; Louise and Douglass J., at home.
JACOB BYRON SNYDER
Jacob Byron Snyder, who was active in legal circles and public life in
general in Scranton, Pennsylvania, for many years, was born in Greenfield
township, Luzerne (now Lackawanna) county, July 7, 1824, and was a son of
Jacob and Rebecca (Niver) Snyder, and a grandson of Jacob Niver. The
ancestors on both sides were of Dutch descent, and Mr. Snyder and Mr. Niver
participated actively in the war of the Revolution. The public schools fur-
nished a sound and practical preparation for his legal studies, which Mr. Sny-
der took up with F. M. Crane and Earl Wheeler at Honesdale, and with W.
G. Ward at Scranton. For some years Mr. Snyder was a resident of Wayne
county, Pennsylvania, and while there served as justice of the peace for a
period of ten years, and as coroner for a term of three years. After taking
up his residence in Scranton, he was appointed as court crier of Lackawanna
county, and served many years. Mr. Snyder married, June 20, 1850, Eliza-
beth, a daughter of John Decker, and of their children: Byron Jacob, mar-
-■ed Matilda, daughter of Lewis Cramer; Samuel Henry; Fred Gunster.
WILLIAM J. COSTELLO
Born in Dunmore. all of his fifty-seven years passed in that place, fifty-
five of them in one place, William J. Costello is now one of the flourishing,
prosperous merchants of that borough whose fortunes have increased with the
growth of Dunmore and whose success has been brought by advancement of
the industrial possibilities of that borough.
He is the youngest of the four children of Thomas and Ellen Costello, two
of whom were sons and two daughters, and was born in Dunmore, Lacka-
wanna county, Pennsylvania, August 31, 1856. He was reared in the place of
his birth, and after finishing his studies in the public schools obtained em-
ployment in the neighboring coal mines. Afterwards he left mine service and
in 1876 became a clerk in No. 6 brick store for J. Scott Inglis, on April i, 1887,
establishing on his own responsibility in the same line, general merchandise.
This has since been his occupation, and the residents of the borough of his
birth have been generous in their patronage of his store, favoring him with a
large and lucrative trade, to whose needs and wants he has attended in a
manner thorough, honorable and business-like. Mr. Costello has long been a
stockholder and is now a director of the First National Bank, of Dunmore,
and as a Democrat for six years held membership on the school board, now
serving on the board of auditors of Scranton and Dunmore poor district. He
is a member of Ancient Order of Hibernians, Division No. 33, and belongs
to St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church.
CITY OF SCRANTON
bzg
Mr. Costello married Margaret, daughter of John Duffy, her father a con-
tractor, being employed in the construction of the Gravity Railroad, "Duffy
Cut" bearing his name. They were the parents of a son, Frank, who died in
October, 1908, aged twenty years, having but a short time previous graduated
from St. Thomas College, class of 1907, and at time of his death was a
student in Georgetown University.
JOHN FLANNERY
County Mayo, Ireland, for many generations has been the home of the
Flannery family, the Scranton representative of which is John Flannery,
for more than half a century a resident of this city, whither he was brought
in infancy. His father, John Flannery, was born in county Mayo, Ireland,
in 1807, and there grew to maturity, crossing the ocean to the American
continent in the year that the plague was prevalent in Quebec, Canada,
1844, and for several years was a member of the police force of the Canadian
capital. Crossing the border into the United States he continued his travels,
lemaining for a time in New York, later moving to Hawley, Pennsylvania,
from which place as a center of operations, the construction of the Lehigh
section of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, were being di-
rected. He obtained employment with the force working thereon, and in
1863 met an accidental death while working on that portion of the road
between Moscow and Lehigh. He married Nora Flannery, and had chil-
dren: I. Edward. 2. Thomas, a resident of San Antonio, where he is
superintendent of the city water system ; he is the father of : Edward, a
government inspector of the fortifications at El Paso, Texas ; Thomas, Rob-
ert, William, Ella, Bessie, Mary, Ann. 3. John, of whom further.
John (2) Flannery, son of John (i) and Nora (Flannery) Flannery, was
born in Lehigh, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, July 10, 1863, and was
a mere infant when his parents brought him to Scranton, his father's death
occurring soon after. He began his education in the public schools of that
city, finishing his studies at St. Cecelia's Academy, leaving school when he
was thirteen years of age to accept a position in a grocery store. His am-
bition won him advancement and he became the proprietor of a store of
like nature and until 1900 conducted genera! grocery dealings at No. 152
Seventh street. In that year he opened a cafe at No. 701 Scranton avenue
which is in prosperous operation at the present time. For sixteen year^
Mr. Flannery has been a member of Holy Cross Parish, and he belongs
to the Catholic Mutual Beneficial Association, the Knights of St. George,
and to Aerie No. 314, F. O. E., in which he has held membership for eighteen
years.
Mr. Flannery married Ellen, daughter of Patrick Sammon, of Dun-
more, and his three children: Nora, Margaret and John, are all students at
St. Cecelia's Academy, of Scranton.
WILLIAM J. SCHOONOVER
Originally Von Schoonover, this old Holland family first appears in
Wayne county, Pennsylvania, about 1791. William Schoonover, the first
settler, arrived from New Jersey, and a tract of four hundred acres was sur-
veyed on a warrant dated March 12, 1803, and a patent was issued to him
January 27, 1804, in which it was called "Monmouth" and described as con-
taining four hundred and thirty-nine acres and thirty-nine perches. After
having undisturbed possession for ten years, other parties attempted to effect
630 CITY OF SCRANTON
his removal from the tract, on the claim that he was infringing on their
rights, claiming prior ownership. Jason Torrey, the surveyor, soon dis-
covered that the Schoonover title was good, and in consideration of one-
half the tract he perfected the title and established ownership, obtaining
patent on date as stated. He took the southern part of the tract and on it
was later built the now borough of Honesdale, the terminus of the Delawaie
and Hudson Canal. William Schoonover had built a log cabin on his tract
and began clearing a farm. It was slow work and in 1804 he had cleared
but eight acres ; he owned two horses and two cows, his entire property being
valued at $411. With the building of the canal and founding of Honesdale,
values increased and the farm became valuable property.
A descendant of William Schoonover, the first settler is William J.
Schoonover, founder of the W. J. Schoonover Glass Company, son of Charles
K. and Roxana Ann (Brown) Schoonover. Charles K. Schoonover was born
in Wayne county and was a farmer until a few years ago, when he moved to
the borough of Honesdale. He married Rosanna Ann, daughter of George
W. Brown, of Smith Hill, Wayne county, Pennsylvania.
William J. Schoonover, only child, was born at Bethany, Pennsylvania,
June I, 1880. He was educated in the Honesdale High School and Scranton
Business College, taking a course at the latter institution after he had left
the home farm many years. While attending school he also worked in the
printing office of the Wayne Independent. At age of thirteen years he left
the home farm, worked at various employments, and in 1900 came to Scran-
ton. He there increased his store of knowledge by a course in a business
college, and gained a good understanding of matters in which he had felt himself
deficient. He became a glass salesman and in 1906 was employed as travel-
ing representative by a Philadelphia house. In 1910 he was married and the
same year began business for himself. He began business in August, 1910,
as the W. J. Schoonover Glass Company, starting in a modest way on West
Lackawanna avenue with one employee, making mirrors, being ,the first
successful manufacturers of mirrors in the city. As prosperity came he
moved to enlarged quarters. No. 823 Wyoming avenue, where ten people
are now employed. He also is a jobber of glass, being the only jobber of
plate glass in his territory — Northeastern Pennsylvania. He has also estab-
lished a department for grinding, beveling and polishing plate glass, this
being now an important part of his business and the only plant of its kind
in this part of the state. Mr. Schoonover has worked his way upward to
his present prosperous business by close attention and good methods, un-
tiring industry and splendid courage. He believes in his own powers and
does not hesitate to take a forward step. As the best years of life are be-
fore him, with his feet firmly planted on the rounds of the ladder of success,
he surely will continue upward. He is a member of the Masonic Order
of high standing, belonging to Green Ridge Lodge, Free and Accepted
Masons, and to all the bodies of Keystone Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish
Rite, in which he has attained the thirty-second degree. He is also a Noble of
. Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. In politics he is an Independent,
and in religious faith a member of Green Ridge Baptist Church.
Mr. Schoonover married, in 1910, Alameda G., daughter of Charles H.
Smith, of Seelyville, Pennsylvania, she a communicant of Honesdale Presby-
terian Church.
CITY OF SCRAN TUN
CHARLES B. PENMAN
During the closing chapter of his Hfe Charles B. Penman, for half a.
century a resident of the city of Scranton, was associated with the Department
of Internal AfFairs of the State of Pennsylvania as chief of the Bureau of
Industrial Statistics. He was called to important duties in studying and re-
cording the condition of the commonwealth's industries and activities from a
position of political and public proininence in Scranton, where, as at the state
capital, his many excellent qualities of manhood and friendship won the ap-
preciation and regard of his colleagues.
The family of Penman is of Scotch derivation, and is well represented in
the Scranton district, James Penman, father of Charles B., having had a
numerous family, of whom the following are residents of Scranton : Major
T. Frank, at one time connected with the government service as internal rev-
enue collector ; David, Robert, Elizabeth, Mary.
Charles B. Penman, son of James Penman, was born at Port Carbon, Penn-
sylvania, •'.nd obtained his general education in the Scranton schools, includ-
ing a high school course, and afterward qualified as an expert accountant.
His business life was passed in Scranton, and there he lived until his ap-
pointment as chief of the Bureau of Industrial Statistics in the Department
of Internal Affairs of the State, an office he filled for ten years with the utmost
satisfaction. He came to the bewildering duties of chief statistician with a
mind accustomed to mazes of facts and figures from his work as expert ac-
countant, and introduced into his office methods and systems that greatly sim-
plified the gigantic task of tabulating the industrial resources and achieve-
ments of so rich and industrially powerful a state as Pennsylvania. Confidence
and competence were his ruling attributes, the former born of the latter
after a thorough and vigorous test of his qualifications for his office, which
found in him all that could be desired.
rvn attractive personality and an agreeable nature made Mr. Penman a
social favorite, and being an easy conversationalist and a lover of the com-
pany of his fellows, social gatherings likewise held for him a charm. His
wide acquaintance found him ever a man of unpretentious aspect, sincere in
word and manner, willing to serve a friend at any lengths. In matters of
public and political interest he was well-informed, and while a resident of
Scranton his services were invariably sought as a tabulator of the election re-
turns from the county, a position he filled with annual regulariiy. year after
year registering the fates of aspiring candidates and announcing them to his
fellow citizens. The duties of the office in which he died made necessary long
absences from his home city, his many friends regretting the loss of .so con-
genial a companion. His political creed was Republican, and he was a mem-
ber of the Masonic Order, Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Accepted
Masons.
Mr. Penman married Harriet Clay, born in Lackawanna county, Penn-
sylvania, a woman of education and wide culture. She is prominently con-
nected with journalistic work, contributing to numerous magazines and news-
papers, and is society editor and editorial writer on the Scranton Tribune
Republican. Mrs. Penman is a member of the Central and Country clubs and
was the leader of the movement which culminated in the employment of a
district nurse, being also associated with numerous benevolent, philanthropic
and educational enterprises tending toward civic and moral uplift. Since tlic
death of her husband, which occurred November ii, 1912, Mrs. Penman has
continued her residence at her former home. No. 526 Quincy avenue, Scranton.
632 CITY OF SCRANTON
PATRICK J. CLARK
With the exception of a short time passed in the northwestern part of the
United States, the v^'hole of Patrick J. Clark's American residence has been
in the borough of Dunmore, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, where he
now lives. He is a native of county Mayo, Ireland, his father, James Clark,
also born in Ireland. James Clark followed the blacksmith's trade throughout
his active life, his death occurring in the homeland when he was about seventy-
five years of age. He married Catherine Forbes, born in Ireland, died in
Dunmore, Pennsylvania, aged eighty years, buried in St. Mary's Cemetery,
of that place. Children of James and Catherine (Forbes) Clark: John, de-
ceased; Michael; James, deceased; Mary, deceased; Bridget; Helen, de-
ceased; Dudley, deceased; Patrick J., of whom further; Margaret; Catherine.
Patrick J. Clark was born March 13, 1849, ^"d when a youth came to the
United States. He was a small boy when he began to work in the mines at
Dunmore, later obtaining employment in a blacksmith's shop, where he re-
mained until 1876. Becoming a worker in iron, he entered the service of the
Scranton Bolt and Nut Company, and was connected with this concern until
his retirement, in September, 1913. He is a member of St. Mary's Roman
Catholic Church, and politically is a strong Democratic sympathizer, having
at one time been elected to the Dunmore boroug'n council as the candidate of
that party.
Mr. Clark married, in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, Anna Donough. a native of
Ireland, who came to the United States in girlhood. Of their thirteen chil-
dren the following grew to maturity: James J., deceased: Anthony, Joseph
L., Frank D., Catherine, Cecelia, Anna, Nellie E., Genevieve. Mrs. Clark
died January 14, 1894, aged forty years, and is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery.
DUNCAN T. CAMPBELL
There is no name that calls more readily to mind the thrilling days of
border warfare in old Scotland and the brave and daring exploits of the
Scotch clans than that of Campbell. The mention of the name raises visions
of gallant chieftains leading their small bands over Scotland's lofty crags and
down into her river-run valleys in search of vengeance for private wrongs or in
defence of national honor. The deeds of the Campbells fill many pages oi
Scottish history and leveal a clan loyal to their king, and strong in his defense.
In private life their characters show indomitable courage in the face of ad-
versity, loyalty to home and family, and a determination that no circumstances
can dishearten or overwhelm. From such pure Scotch ancestry, traced back
through many generations, comes Duncan T., son of Alexander and Helen
(Turner) Campbell.
Duncan T. Campbell was born in Glasgow, Scotland, December 7, 1875.
His early education was obtained in the public schools of the city of his birth
and it was there that he held his first position, in the office of a company
engaged in the East India mercantile trade. He there remained until 1896,
when the desire for new scenes and action, inherited from forefathers, who
had but to raise their voices in a battle cry to be in the midst of the most ex-
citing action, becoming strong within him, he left the land of his birth and
embarked for the United States, the country whose shores have ever promised
opportunity to the ambitious youth of other lands and whose letters have
always spelled success in innumerable languages and dialects. The promise
that had sounded across the Atlantic to the ambitious Scotchman was not im-
mediately fulfilled, as for several years he was engaged in business in New
CITY OF SCRANTON
633
York City with moderate but not satisfactory success. His health becoming
impaired by the close and undivided attention he has always given to his busi-
ness and the task at hand, he left the metropolis and endeavored to recruit his
failing strength in the bracing mountain air and health-giving climate of
Colorado. While there he began a connection with an electric company, which
in experience and training has proved very valuable to him in his present
responsible position. In 1907 his physical condition had so improved that he
was able to stand the less favorable conditions of the eastern part of the
country, and accepted a position as business manager of the Scranton Electric
Company, an organization subsidiary to the American Gas and Electric Com-
pany, which controls a large number of similar plants in different parts of the
United States. This office he filled with great satisfaction to the officers of
the company and with decided benefit to the business, which he systematized
minutely and placed upon a smooth working basis. In recognition of his ex-
cellent service in that capacity he was made general manager of the company
where he gained quite as much distinction as he had in his former office, inas-
much as he carried into his higher station the qualities that had served him
so well in his former position, energy, foresight, enthusiasm, and his desire
for constant improvement which can never be satisfied. The field over which
he was in authority covered from Forest City to Pittston, Pennsylvania. He
was recently made vice-president of the company, this being the latest of his
promotions in the service of the corporation he has served so well.
His record may be viewed by him with honest and just pride, as each of his
many advancements has been the reward of unflagging and energetic atten-
tion to his duty. His personal ability is great and his influence in the com-
pany's affairs is felt in all departments of their business. Thus at the age of
thirty-eight years, Mr. Campbell, should he care to indulge in retrospect, which
the spirit of youth never permits, may look upon a play of life in which he
has acted well his part, and better, in prospect, may behold scenes upon which
the curtain has not yet risen when his role shall he still bigger and better, and
in which his successful efforts shall receive, as applause, still greater com-
mendation and reward.
Mr. Campbell is active in Masonic affairs, belonging to Peter Williamson
Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Lackawanna Chapter, No. 323, R. A. M. ;
Coeur de Lion Commandery, Knights Templar; and the Consistory, Ancient
and Accepted Scottish Rite : as well as to Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine. He is also affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks.
WILLIAM ROTH
Immigrating to the United States from Austria-Hungary, his native land.
William Roth has lived his business life in the state of Pennsylvania. He is
a son of Max Roth, a native of Austria-Hungary, whose death occurred
when William was but a year and a half old. Max and Hannah Roth were
the parents of: Max P., deceased, of New York City, Ludwig, Esther,
William, of whom further ; Rebecca.
William Roth, son of Max and Hannah Roth, was born in Austria-
Hungary, December 25, 1872. He came to the United States when he was
fifteen years of age. He became a restaurant proprietor in New York City,
EG continued for two years, when he moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania,
spending one year in the mines of the locality as a slate picker. He was
variously employed for the two following years, at the expiration of that
time opening a grocery store in Mill Creek, and was its successful owner
634 CITY OF SCRANTON
for two years. Two years later he returned to Scranton, becoming proprietor
of a grocery store at No. 403 Emmett street, afterward purchasing the prop-
erty at No. 401 Emmett street. On these adjoining lots he erected the brick
buildings now occupying the site, continuing his grocery business in its
new home and opening a cafe in the other building. Both establishments
have enjoyed successful continuance, and Mr. Roth is numbered among the
prominent and prosperous merchants of Scranton West Side. He holds
membership in Lily Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, likewise
belonging to Brith Abram, the Sons of Jacob, Capital Lodge, and the Scran-
ton City Lodge. His political party is Republican, and he belongs to the
Congregation of Beni Israel, No. i.
Mr. Roth married Cecelia, daughter of Samuel Smulovitz, of Scranton,
and has children: i. Max, a graduate of Central High School, at the pres-
ent time a student in Harvard University. 2. and 3. Samuel and Joseph, stu-
dents in Central High School.
A. LESLEY MAJOR
Four generations of this branch of the Major family have resided m
Pennsylvania, the American ancestor, Thomas Alajor, coming from York-
shire, England, in 1809. He settled in Wyoming, later locating at Lemon
Center, where he died honored and respected. He married Mary Brittor,
and left issue.
(II) William Major, son of Thomas and Mary (Britton) Major, was
born at Lemon Center, Pennsylvania, in 1817. He became a farmer, also
having lumber interests of importance. He married Sibyl Brown. Issue:
Champin, James, Rachel, Theodore, Abel G., of whom further ; Harry.
(III) Abel G. Major, son of William and Sibyl (Brown) Major, was born
at Lemon Center, Pennsylvania, March 5, 1843. He was interested in the
lumber business with his father as a young man and succeeded him in busi-
ness, becoming one of the prominent and progressive men of that industry
and of his town. He married Helen Santee, born May 5, 1845, daughter of
John Santee. Children: Rilla, born 1865; Edith, born September 22, 1868.
married John B. Pickard, and has Helen and Albertina, the former wife of
Donald Smith; A. Lesley, of whom further; Ernest, died early in 1895.
(IV) A. Lesley Major, son of Abel G. and Helen (Santee) Major, was
born at Plymouth, Pennsylvania, December 22, 1870. He was educated in
the public schools, Wyoming Seminary, and Wilkinsburg Business College.
He early became familiar with the lumber business, and from 1890 unti'
1907 was a wholesale dealer in manufactured lumber of all kinds, located
at Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. In the latter year he moved to Scranton
where he continues in the wholesale lumber business as president of A. L.
Major Company with offices at No. 712 Traders' Bank Building. He is
thoroughlv familiar with every detail of his business, having not only the
benefit of personal life of experience therein, but also the inherited exper-
ience of the two preceding generations to guide him. Mr. Major is a mem-
ber of the Masonic Order, belonging to Lodge, Chapter, Council, Com-
manderv and Shrine, and a Democrat in politics. He married, June 25,
1895, Eva B. Smith, born May 13, 1872, daughter of Frank and Adelaide
(Harrison) Smith. Cliild, Marcia, born at Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, Septem-
ber 3, 1897. The family residence is at No. 1700 Ridge Row.
CITY OF SCRANTON 635
WILLIAM GEORGE ROBERTSON
A prominent financier and all aronnd business man of Scranton, Penn-
sylvania, William G. Robertson has amply brought into evidence the sterling
traits he has inherited from his distinguished ancestry. The family name
is of Scotch origin, the Robertsons of Scotland being members of the clan
Donnachaidh, or Duncan, so called it is said from Duncan, its founder, a
descendant of the Earls of Athol. He was born about 1275, and inherited
from his father, Andrew, a portion of the earldom of Athol, and was the
first of the lairds of Struan, or Strowan. He was an adherent of Robert
Bruce, and entertained and protected that king and his queen while they
were in hiding after the defeat of Methven in 1306. The clan has dis-
tinguished itself in many wars, and is said to have saved the day at Bannock-
burn. Many distinguished men in Europe and the United States are
descended from the Robertsons of Struan. After the Scottish rebellions
many of the Roberstons fled to Ireland, whence they or their descendants
came to this country. Others made their homes in England, and left
descendants there.
William George Robertson was born in England, October 12, 1853.
He acquired his education in the schools of that country. He emigrated to
the United States at the age of thirteen years, arriving at Scranton, Penn-
sylvania, in the month of June, 1866, and for a time attended the public
schools of that city. In April, 1867, he accepted a position as clerk in a
grocery store, serving in that capacity for five years. He then became
bookkeeper and mine clerk for the firm of Filer & Marsh, of Green Ridge,
and remained in their employ for a period of ten years. He then went to
New Mexico, where he was employed as bookkeeper for Brown Manzanares,
the largest wholesale dealer in the town. In 1884 Mr. Robertson returned
to Scranton and became bookkeeper for C. P. Matthes & Company at their
colliery at Avoca, Pennsylvania, and later entered the employ of the Dolph
Coal Company, where he is now superintendent of the mines. He is a
director of the Union National Bank, of the United States Lumber Company,
and of the Mississippi Central Railroad Company. He is a member of the
Presbyterian church; of Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Accepted Ma-
sons, of which he is past master ; of the Royal Arch Masons, of Scranton ; of
Cordelean Council, No. 17, R. and S. M., of Scranton; of Scranton Con-
sistory, Sovereign Princes of the Royal Secret, and has attained the thirty-
second degree, being a member of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He
resides at No. 632 Clay avenue, Scranton.
CHARLES P. J AD WIN
Prominent among the business men of Scranton, Pennsylvania, who have
contributed energy and ability of a high order to the development of the city,
may be counted the name of Charles P. Jadwin. His real estate transactions
and projects have shown that faculty of business imagination which is at the
back of all large operations of any form of business activity. Not content
with the humdrum methods of the conservative real estate man, he has or-
ganized schemes that have put his work on a level with business campaigns
of the first order. His family is an honored one in Lackawanna county.
Mr. ladwin was born at Carbondale, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania,
September 13, 1840. He acquired his education in the public schools in the
vicinity of his home, leaving them at the age of twelve years. At this early
age he commenced his business career, entering the employ of Sweet & Raynor,
636 CITY OF SCRANTON
druggists at Carbondale. and became a pharmaceutical apprentice. His busi-
ness career was interrupted in 1861 when he enlisted for three years' service
in Company C, Sixth Regiment Pennsylvania Cavalry, and was honorably
discharged in 1862. Returning to Carbondale, he formed a business association
with his brother, Henry B., and they established themselves in the drug busi-
ness, with which Mr. jadwin was connected untii the brothers sold the busi-
ness, when he removed to New York City and there started a drug business
with his brother, Orlando H, Of many sided ability, Mr. Jadwin perceived the
possibilities of the drug trade in Scranton, and at the end of four years re-
moved to that city where he was identified with this line of business for a
period of five years. His mind had not been idle, nor had he allowed his
powers of observation to lie fallow, and in 1880 he abandoned the drug trade in
order to engage in the real estate business for which his shrewd mind saw a
brilliant and profitable future. He was not mistaken in his calculations, as
later events have amply proven. It is due to his interest in land speculations
that the growth of the city has been so rapidly promoted, and the influence
he exerted for the benefit of the city has been felt in many other lines of busi-
ness industry. In December of the year, 1913, after his brilliant business
career, ]\Ir. Jadwin retired to private life. He is a member of the Elm Park
Church, and fraternally is a member of Ezra Ripple Post, Grand Army of
the Republic. In politics he has always been staunch in his advocacy of the
Republican party, and in the early years of his manhood served in the capacity
of chairman of the county Republican committee, but in recent years has
taken no active interest aside from casting his ballot.
Mr. Jadwin married, September 4. 1861, Augusta Hampton, of Carbondale,
and they had four sons, namely: 1. Orlando, died at the age of twenty-
eight years. 2. Charles P. Jr., died at the age of twenty-two years. 3.
Walter, died in infancy. 4. Rueal, engaged in the automobile business in
Scranton; married Margaret Norton, of Scranton; children: Olive, married
M. J. Shield, a graduate of Annapolis Naval Academy, now employed in the
office of the Delaware Steamship Company ; Charles, a student.
PETER F. DONAHUE
Peter F. Donahue, one of the representative citizens of Scranton, Penn-
sylvania, is one of that class of men who are adapted to and succeed in
whatever line of endeavor they may choose to enter, and whose careers are
worthy of emulation by all young men who would make a place for them-
selves in the world.
He was born in the city of New York, November 12, 1854, and now
resides at No. 741 Prescott avenue, Scranton, Pennsylvania. His boyhood
days were spent in the city of his birth, where he was educated in the public
schools, and from his earliest years his mind was of a decidedly mathe-
matical bent. He entered the employ of the Erie Railroad Company as d
messenger in 1885, was made assistant paymaster in 1887, and then ad-
vanced to the office of paymaster, a position he filled with ability until 1907,
when he came to Dunmore, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, and as-
sumed the duties of paymaster of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, the
responsible duties of which position he is still discharging. He is a Demo-
crat politically, and a member of the St. Peter's Catholic Church. Mr. Dona-
hue married Ellen A. Hanson, of Buffalo, New York, and they had children :
Frank R., William H., Helen, the last named dying at the age of six years.
Mr. Donahue has the respect and esteem of all with whom he has had deal-
ings, reliability and faithfulness in the discharge of his duties being among
his chief characteristics.
CITY OF SCRANTON 637
REV. EDWARD J. MELLEY
The parish of St. John the Evangehst, of Soinh Scranton, was organized
in 18S6, and since then a new church, convent, parochial school and parish
house have been built at an expenditure of $200,000, now all free from debt.
Rev. R. A. McAndrew, api)ointed by Rt. Rev. iJishop O'Hara, remained in
the parish two years and began this work. He was then sent to Wilkes-Barre
to succeed Rev. Father Horn, and his place in Scranton was taken by Rev.
Father E. J. Melley, who was transferred here from St. Patrick's parish
at Olyphant, and here he still remains. Since then the parish has been de-
veloped, as noted above, the major part of the work having been done under
the direction of Rev. Father Melley.
CHARLES S. ANDRES
Although one of the youngest men of his profession, Mr. Andres possesses
the technical knowledge and qualities of character that insure success, and are
already bringing him satisfactory returns. He is the grandson of Matthew
Andres, born in Germany, a molder by trade. He came to Scranton at quite
an early date in its history and until his death was connected with mining
operations.
(II) John Andres, son of Matthew Andres, was born in Scranton, Penn-
sylvania, in 1861. He was educated in private schools. In early life he learned
the carpenter's trade, became an expert workman and for twenty-five years
was in charge of large and important building operations in the city. He mar-
ried Mary Schieber and had issue : Qiarles S., of whom further ; Jonathan,
Josephine, Agnes, Lawrence, deceased, Joseph, Theresa.
(III) Charles S. Andres, son of John and Mary (Schieber) Andres, was
born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, May 28, 1887. He was educated in private
schools, and began business life in the coal department of the Delaware, Lack-
awanna & Western Railroad as a mechanical engineer, continunig six years.
He then spent two years in Hudson, New York, as designer for the Giflford
Wood Company, afterward entering the University of Michigan, pursuing for
two years a special course in engineering. Feeling confidence in his ability
and experience, he returned to Scranton and established as a professional
engineer, with offices at 221 Miller Building. He is residing at the present
time (1914) in Hudson, New York. Mr. Miller gives especial attention
to the designing and installation of elevating and conveying machinery, coal
breakers and washeries, coal pockets and power plants. He is a member of
the Engineers Club, of Scranton. and is highly regarded in mechanical en-
gineering circles. He is a member of St. John's (German) Quirch, and of
the Knights of Columbus.
JOHN A. STONE
That America is :ndeed a land of opportunity has been so often proved
by the success of foreign-born citizens, that it is no longer a matter of coni-
ment when strangers in our midst rise to positions of trust and rank with
the best of our brlsiness men in point of financial or commercial importance.
Yet opportunity does not supply ability that the individual must supply, so
the stranger must be credited with an inborn ability to conquer, as he
does prejudice, language, customs, and grasping opportunity rises above
adverse conditions to success. Among the foreign-born but now naturalized
citizens of Scranron who have in a quiet and unobtrusive way fairly started
638 CITY OF SCRANTON
themselves on a prosperous career with bright promise for the future, John
A. Stone deserves special mention.
Asian Stone, father of John A Stone, was a mason by trade and a man in
comfortable circumstances. He married Helen Asfarian, daughter of Hanna
and Sarah (Challoian) Asfarian, the latter still living in Turkey, aged one
hundred and four years, said even yet to be in good health. She is the
mother of thirteen children, all living, Helen being the tenth child. Asian
and Helen Stone have children : Ovsanna, married Saliba Bahooshian, of
West Hoboken, New Jersey, and has Alice, Arshag, Samuel and Dolly ;
Nuvart, married Hagop Demoorgian, of West Hoboken ; Jacob A., a sales-
man in New York City ; John A., of whom further ; Tumay, living in Turkey,
married Boghes Chanasuzian, has a son, Ohannes, and is in the silk manufac-
turing business in Turkey ; Armenia, married Thomas Proudian, and has
children : Aram, a student in Scranton High School, preparing for the study
of medicine, Toontosh Mehran, Decran T. and three daughters.
John A. Stone, whose name at birth was Ohanness Asian Tasjian, but
who upon coming to the United States, for business reasons only changed
it to John A. Stone, was born in Armenia, Asia Minor, Turkey. He obtained
a good education in the state schools. He engaged in the dry goods busi-
ness, and was the owner of a farm which he rented to a responsible tenant.
He prospered, but being of the Christian faith he was obliged to flee for
safety when the Turkish soldiery began one of their periodical massacres of
the unoffending Christians. He managed to reach the coast in safety, taking
passage for the United States, arriving in New York City in 1896. He
shortly afterward went to Providence, Rhode Island, where for three years
he was employed by the National Webbing and Tubing Company, then re-
turned to New York where he was engaged by the John Wanamaker store,
as repairer of Turkish rugs. He accumulated sufficient capital to engage
in business for himself, and selecting Scranton for a location, settled in this
city in 1903. He opened a store at No. 204 Spruce street, where he con-
ducted a successful business under the name of "The New York Dyeing,
Cleaning and Pressing Company. He is a member of the Protestant
Episcopal church in leligious faith. He also belongs to the Knights of the
Maccabees, and is a Republican in politics, having been duly naturalized and
invested with all the rights of citizenship.
FREDERICK EDWIN SCOTT
A well established practicing lawyer of Scranton, Mr. Scott, a native of
Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, claims early Colonial ancestry. His for-
bears were early settlers in Susquehanna county, locating in Montrose in 1808,
that year also the date of the first village plat. The original settler, Samuel
Scott, came from Southampton, Long Island, he a great-great-grandson of
John Scott, who between the years 1657 and 1667 settled in Southampton,
going there from Hartford, Connecticut.
Samuel Scott, of the fifth American generation, was a soldier of the Revo-
lution and the founder of the family in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania.
His son, Nehemiah Scott, married Betsey, daughter of Elder Davis and Betsy
(Jenkins) Dimock, of an early Montrose family. Their son, Davis Dimock
Scott, was born in Montrose, married Seviah, daughter of Dr. Asa Park, and
had a son, Asa Park Scott, born 1848, died 1906. He was a farmer near Mont-
rose. He married Josephine, born 1852, died 1905, daughter of Edwin Hill,
son of James Wakeman Hill, an early settler near Montrose, but formerly
of Fairfield county, Connecticut.
CITY OF SCRANTON
639
Frederick Edwin Scott, son of Asa Park and Josephine (Hill) Scott was
born in Montrose, Pennsylvania, February 26, 1875. He passed through the
various grades of the public schools of Montrose, including high school then
completed the course at Wood's Business College, and entered Keystone
Academy at Factoryville, Pennsylvania, whence he was graduated, class of
1895. In 1898 he began the study of law under Carpenter & Fleitz, was ad-
mitted to the bar in 1900, and at once began the practice of his profession in
Scranton. He has been admitted to the state and federal courts of the dis-
trict, is a member of the County Bar Association, and is highly regarded as
an able and upright lawyer. He is a member of the Baptist Church, and in
political faith a Republican.
Mr. Scott married, in 1902, Carrie Fitch, daughter of Judson W. and
Eleanor (Bush) Mott, of Montrose, Pennsylvania. Children: Frederick
Judson, born December i, 1906; Josephine Louise, born February 7, 191 1.
DOMENICK BARTECCHI
Domenick Bartecchi is one of the three sons of John Bartecchi, a native
of Italy, a railroad employee, who passed his entire life in his native land.
His sons, however, were of no mind to eke out frugal existence in their home
land, and as youths embarked westward in search of lands where greater
rewards awaited industry, economy and thrift than in Italy. The realiza-
tion of such hope Karl Bartecchi found in South America, the other two,
Domenick and Basiglio, coming to the State of Pennsylvania, the latter living
in Jessup.
Domenick Bartecchi was educated in the schools of his native land, and
after serving an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade was employed on a
railroad, remaining in the service until 1895. In that year he sailed for the
United States, landing in New Ybrk City and immediately traveled westward
to Jessup, Pennsylvania, where he found employment in the mines. He later
opened a saloon and grocery store at Jessup, and after continuing business in
that place for a few years, moved to Scranton. there opening a saloon, at
the same time working in the mines. His business affairs prospered and in
1908 he built a large brick building at the corner of Fairview avenue and
Robinson street, there establishing the Pisa Hotel, part of the building being
fitted up as a store. As the proprietor of this hotel, Mr. Bartecchi added still
further to his material welfare, and until his retirement gave his active and
personal attention to his business. At an early age he has retired with a com-
petence that would have been impossible of attainment in his native land,
having erected a business that continues in excellent condition at the present
time. Mr. Bartecchi is a Democratic sympathizer, and with his wife belongs
to St. Lucia Roman Catholic Church. He is also a member of the Ricotte
Garibaldi, the San Rocco and the West Side Club. He married Fidelia
Caccoli, and has children: John, Julia, Ferdinand, a student in St. Thomas
College; Aurora, Victoria, Karl, Joseph. The family home is at No. 119
Fairview avenue, Scranton.
WILLIAM HENRY RICHMOND
William Henry Richmond, descended from French forbears traced
through a long residence in England, and with an American forefather
among the first settlers in New England, has added to the honorable record
of his ancestors the proud record of twentieth century achievement. In the
descent of the name to future generations, new lustre, according to modern
640 CITY OF SCRANTON
standards, shall be imparted to the glory inherited from the past by the
recital of his deeds. Coming from France with William the Conqueror in
1066 to England, the family acquired considerable land in the vicinity of
Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire county, England. Here, in the early part of the
nineteenth century, Oliffe Richmond owned and occupied the Richmona
Manor House, which later passed into the possession of the Nichols family,
and became in 1856 the property of the Duke of Cleveland. In 1900 Mr.
Richmond, accompanied by his wife and their two youngest daughters,
visited England and saw the ancient home of his people.
The American ancestor of the family was John Richmond, an emigrant
from Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire county, England, who in 1637 became one
of the original purchasers of Taunton, Massachusetts, coming on a trading-
expedition in 1635. He was a large land owner and regarded as a wealthy
man, prominent in all affairs relating to local government. William H.
Richmond is also connected with one of the most famous of New England
families through his grandmother. Prudence Wadsworth, by a sixth genera-
tion descent from William Wadsworth, an emigrant from England to Massa-
chusetts in 1632, and, under Hooker, one of the early Connecticut colonists
in 1636, whose son. Captain Joseph Wadsworth, is credited with concealing
the Connecticut Charter in the Oak Tree at Hartford, when it was shown
that the governor appointed by the English Crown would accede' to none
of their requests.
John (2) Richmond, son of John (i) Richmond, the emigrant ancestor,
by his marriage with Abigail Rogers, of Duxbury, Massachusetts, connected
with family of "Mayflower" descendants, Thomas Rogers, one of the signers
of the compact, being her grandfather, the father of John Rogers. Also
with Elder William Brewster, Francis Cook and Henry Sampson.
Robert Richmond, the fifth of the line in America, served for two years,
eleven months and twenty-six days in the Colonial army during the Revolu-
tionary War, gaining honor and distinction. He married Martha Hinde,
daughter of John and Alice (Smith) Hinde, and their eldest son, John Rich
mond, born 1764, studied medicine with Dr. Timothy Hall, of East Hartford,
commenced practice in East Hampton, Connecticut, and died December 16,
1821 ; he married, in 1795, Prudence Wadsworth, above mentioned.
William Wadsworth Richmond was a native of Chatham, Connecticut,
where he was reared and educated. He followed his trade of blacksmitli
and foundryman, in connection with farming operations, at Marlborough,
Hartford county, Connecticut, where he settled in 1820. During the panie
of 1837 his business was swept away, carrying with it the accumulation ( f
years of thrift and industry. He married, November 10, 1819, Clarissa
Bailey, daughter of Nathaniel and Rachel (Sears) Bailey, of East Hampton
Connecticut. William W. Richmond died in Marlborough, May 31, 1843
surviving his wife a mmiber of years, her death occurring October 26, 1834
Captain Elkanah Sears, father of Rachel (Sears) Bailey, was a member oi'
the committee appointed to provide for the wants of the Continental arm\
in the year 1780. At the outbreak of the Revolution he equipped and com
manded a vessel which made a practice of preying upon British convo\s
until captured by a British ship. When the capture was made, he and an
other patriot were made prisoners. Overhearing plans for their execution
in the morning the> dropped unnoticed over the side of the ship and wer
well on their way toward shore before shouts on the vessel showed thi!
their escape had been discovered. Fire was immediately begun upon the
fugitives, and partly from physical exhaustion and partly mental terroi
Captain Sears' companion sank. Captain Sears swam to his rescue an' I
CITY OF SCRANTON 641
succeeded in getting him safely to shore and into the woods, which came
down to the water line, and they escaped. He later equipped another privat-
eering vessel which performed excellent service.
William Henry Richmond, eldest son of William Wadsworth and Clar-
issa (Bailey) Richmond, was born in Marlborough, Hartford county, Con-
necticut, October 21, 1821. He was educated in the public schools 'of hi<;
native place, and a select school in Middle Haddam, Connecticut, taught by
Israel M. Buckingham, brother of Governor Buckingham, of Connecticut.
He engaged in business life in his thirteenth year as a clerk in a store at
Middle Haddam, Connecticut. In 1837 the panic crippled his employer's
business to such an extent that there was no work for the lad, and' ac
cordingly he returned home and there found a similar condition of affairs.
He remained on the home farm five years, attending school, working on
the farm and in the shop. In 1842, failing to secure employment in Hartford,
he visited an uncle in Dutchess county, New York, meeting Robert H.'
Moore, of Socrates, New York, a merchant, and with him went to Hones-
dale, Pennsylvania, remaining in Mr. Moore's employ three years. He
then established a general store in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, in partnership
with a Mr. Robinson, under the firm name of Richmond & Robinson. Their
store was said to have been the first store building in Carbondale, erected
by Mr. Lathrop, father of Charles E. Lathrop, editor of the Carbondale
Leader. They continued in general merchandising until 1853, when Mr.
Richmond became sole proprietor. Two years previously the fiVm had added
to their business of general merchandise a factory for making doors, sash,
blinds, coal cars and other wood work, installing wood-working machinery,
which being the first of that kind introduced in the Lackawanna and Wyo-
ming Valley met with opposition from mechanics, who considered it an
abridgment of the chances of labor. In 1859 and i860 there were eight
hundred coal cars built at his factory, with the exception of axles and wheels,
for the Delaware & Hudson Company for use on the gravity railroad leading
to Honesdale, the head of their canal. He also furnished the sash for
round house and shops at Scranton, 185 1, which is now called the Delaware,
Lackawanna & Western Railroad, by contract with a painter named Cham-
bers. On September 15, 1855, his store was burned, entailing a considerable
loss, but on January 15, 1856, a new store building, sixty by one hundred
feet, three stories high, was completed, and fitted up in a style then un-
known in that section. He disposed of his store and building in 1867.
having six years previously disposed of his planing mill.
In January, i860, Mr. Richmond commenced mining coal in Blakelev
township, near Scranton, Pennsylvania, under the firm name of Richmond &
Company, his partner being Charles P. Wurtz, general superintendent of
the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company. They erected one of the first
coal-breakers on the line of that road, and commenced the breaking, screen-
ing and assorting of the coal into different sizes for the market, the previous
practice having been to ship it in lump from the mine. In 1863 the firm was
merged into the Elk Hill Coal Company, by special charter, with Mr. Wurtz,
president, Mr. Richmond, treasurer and manager. The following year Mr.
Wurtz withdrew, and George L. Morss acted as president, continuing until
1880, when he was succeeded by Mr. Richmond, who had ever been chief
stockholder and owner. Two supplements of different dates to charter gave
increased privileges as to issue of stock and loans, and holding of lands.
The original names signed to the application to the legislature for the char-
ter were: William H. Richmond, Charles P. Wurtz, George L. Morss, Al-
fred P. Wurtz, and George L. Dickson, the venerable vice-president of the
41
642 CITY OF SCRANTON
First National Bank, of Scranton, whose only interest was his aid in the
organization, after the charter was obtained. In 1883 the breaker was
destroyed by fire, and the following year another was built near the Brisbon
Colliery in the second ward of Scranton.
The present coal-breaker belonging to the company was erected in
1889 in Dickson City, a mile distant from the shaft, which reaches about
ninety feet to the rock, and two hundred feet to the fourteen foot bed of
coal, thence through five lower beds to the depth of six hundred feet. This
colliery has been in operation since 1891, and has capacity for shipping one
thousand tons or more a day. In 1891 the company leased about one thous-
and acres of coal lands, on the estate of George L. Morss, in Fell township,
about five miles above Carbondale, at the village of Richmondale, and this
colliery, having a capacity of fifteen hundred tons per day, began shipping
coal, in 1893, over the Richmondale branch of the New York, Ontario &
Western Railroad. At this colliery Mr. Richmond conceived the idea of
placing over the shaft, which is sunk two hundred and twenty feet through
two beds of coal seven and eight feet thick, a steel tower one hundred
and eighty-seven feet high, connected with a coal-breaker building, two
hundred feet away, by a steel shute, supported on two intermediate towers,
from which the coal gravitates to the larger and smaller rolls, and thence
through the many screens to be sorted and prepared for shipment. This
chute is built in accordance with the Pennsylvania mine laws, which stipu-
late that coal breakers must be at least two hundred feet from the shaft.
The loaded coal-cars are placed at the foot of the shaft in the mine, are
raised one hundred and fifty feet above the surface, and by automatic
arrangement the coal is emptied from the car without running from the car-
riage. This is the only known operation of the sort, and it is of much
economy in working coal
Since the arrival of Mr. Richmond in Pennsylvania, in 1842, a revolution
has been brought about in the coal trade. In that year the entire production
of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, or indeed of the Lackawanna
and Wyoming valleys, was two hundred and five thousand tons, all mined
at Carbondale ; the entire production of anthracite up to that time was one
million one hundred thousand tons ; bituminous coals were marketless ; the
cost of mining and transporting to Honesdale, no coal being broken, was
about one dollar per ton ; the price paid miners was twenty-eight cents per
ton in winter and thirty-five cents in summer. In 1912 some seventy mil-
lion tons were mined in the state, worth nearly two hundred million dollars
at the mines, and nearly one hundred and twenty million tons of bituminous
coal were mined. The mines were idle some three months in winter.
Aside from his extensive mining and mercantile operations, Mr. Rich-
mond engaged in the file making business for a number of years, fire destroy-
ing the plant in 1884. He was the projector and first president of the
Crystal Lake Water Company, of Carbondale, and gave the organization
its name, and was one of the original stockholders of the Carbondale Gas
Company. He was one of the original stockholders, and a director of the
Third National Bank of Scranton ; was one of the directors of the Scranton
Railway Company, a branch of the New York, Ontario & Western Rail-
road, to encourage the building of which he made the first offer of fifty
thousand tons of coal yearly as freight, and afterwards the full production
of the mine and colliery built at Richmondale.
Mr. Richmond is a member of the Scranton Board of Trade ; the New
England Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania ; Connecticut Society of Sons
of American Revolution ; the Society of Mayflower Descendants ; American
CITY OF SCRANTON 643
Institute of Mining Engineers; National Geographic Society; Franklin In-
stitute ; American Bible Society, serving as treasurer of the Lackawanna
Bible Society for the past thirty years ; American Association for the Ad-
vancement of Science; American Jersey Cattle Club, and a patron of the
Egyptian Exploration Fund.
While in political view's, Mr. Richmond agrees with many of the prin-
ciples of the Republican party, but for the moral effect it may have upon his
associates he gives his loyal support to the Prohibition party, whose can-
didate for Congress in the twelfth district he was in 1868 and in 1904. Since
attaining man's estate he has been actively identified with the Presbyterian
church, and his name appears frequently upon the contribution lists of
many religious organizations, his duties and obligations in these matters
being as fully realized and as conscientiously fulfilled.
Mr. Richmond married, June 5, 1849, Lois Roxanna Morss, of Windham,
Greene county, New York, daughter of Foster and Roxanna (Kirtland)
Morss. Children: i. Mary Roxanna, educated at Vassar College, grad-
uated in 1876; married, October 6, 1881, Frederick K. Tracy, an attorne}'-
at-law, from 1893 to 1899 vice-president of the Elk Hill Coal & Iron Com-
pany, and since 1899 engaged in legal practice in Scranton ; their children:
Lois Richmond, graduated at Vassar College ; Emeline Kirtland, educated
at Dwight School, Englewood, New Jersey ; William Richmond, graduated at
Princeton University ; Mary Avery, graduated at Vassar College ; Frederick
L., now preparing for college. 2. Emeline Kirtland, educated at Vassar
College ; married Dr. Julius D. Dreher, for twenty-five years president of
Roanoke College, Salem, Virginia, in 1906 ; went to Tahita where Dr. Dreher
was United States consul for four years, thence to Port Antonio, Jamaica,
and in January, 1914, transferred to Toronto, Canada, as consul. 3. Clara
Morss, educated at Vassar College, remains with her father. Two other
children died in infancy.
Mr. Richmond is the owner of one of the finest residences in the Lacka-
wanna Valley, which he erected in 1874, on Richmond Hill Farm, which
contains seventy-five acres, located in the northeastern limits of the city of
Scranton. Here, amid palatial surroundings, in a magnificent manor, he
enjoys a home life of rare sweetness and beauty. After days spent in the
busiest centers of the industrial world, nothing could so cheer his wearied
spirits, or give a more enlivening satisfaction, than the relaxation found
in his home circle.
It is indeed unusual to find in the daily lifei of a man so deeply engaged
in such involved business relations evidences of a pure and enduring senti-
ment, observed with the most punctilious regularity. Until he was forty-
two years of age, Mr. Richmond was a moderate user of tobacco, and then,
becoming convinced of the baneful effects of the unnatural habit, he aban-
doned his pipes and cigars. As a reminder of his resolution, he began the
practice of wearing a bouquet in his buttonhole. The beautiful blossom
always seen adorning Mr. Richmond's coat lapel has become so firmly
identified with the man that to see him without it would cause the greatest
possible surprise. The fresh and fragrant beauty of the flower, carrying
with it the breath of the free, open country that was its home, has been a
source of more pleasure to his business associates, bound to the dull grind
of daily toil, than the satisfaction of a quiet smoke ever could have been to
Mr. Richmond.
A man of many parts, keen and farsighted in business dealings, of deep
and true religious conviction, a liberal supporter of the arts and sciences,
and a citizen of strength and character, Mr. Richmond stands as one of
644 CITY OF SCRANTON
the most distinguished members of Scranton society, the epitomization of
unimpeachable integrity.
JACOB R. SCHLAGER
Baden-Baden, Germany, the home of the oldest of the world-famous Ger-
man universities, Heidelberg, was the birth-place of the progenitors of the
Schlager family. That the representatives of the name should attain posi-
tion and distinction in their adopted land by their courage and persistent en-
deavor is entirely fitting and proper, as the first bearer thereof must have
gained the cognomen through his valor as a warrior and bravery in struggle,
the word existing in the German language at the present time and carrying
with it the idea of those attributes.
Jacob Schlager, father of Jacob R. Schlager, was born in Baden-Baden,
Willstadt, Germany. He attended the schools in the vicinity of his birth-place
until he was sixteen years of age, when he left his home, and boldly turning
westward crossed the Atlantic Ocean. He arrival in the United States about
the year 1849, unacquainted, not familiar with the language, and insufficiently
supplied with money. In spite of these handicaps he found no difficulty in ob-
taining the work he was so anxious to find, remaining for a time in Hones-
dale and Hawley, but finally taking up his residence in Scranton. One of his
early occupations was that of lock-tender on the Delaware and Hudson canal,
and on his arrival in Scranton he became driver of the first bakery wagon seen
in the city, the business being owned by his uncle, Charles Sclilager. When
the news of the gold discovery in California was made known in the east, he
was among the horde of men who, fired by the ."spirit of sudden and immense
wealth, left homes, trades and position to seek the precious metal in the wilds
of the west. More cautious than most of the gold-crazed throng, Mr. Schlager
chose the safer, though longer, route across the Isthmus of Panama, rather
than brave the perils of the desert, the relentless destroyer that claimed so
heavy a toll from the gold-hunting travelers. After a three years' search for
enough of Midas' metal to justify his journey, he abandoned his quest and
returned to Scranton, no richer than when he left and having paid for his
ambitious desires with a long period of unrewarded toil. After his arrival in
Scranton, he established in business and was actively engaged in the same
until the death of his wife in the year 1872. This was a heavy blow to him
and one from which he never entirely recovered. The closing years of his
life were spent in quiet retirement after a life of strenuous action and un-
remitting labor, his death occurring December 28, 1904. He was a con-
sistent member of the German Lutheran Church, an honorable, God-fearing
Christian. He married Catherine Gottwals, and they were the parents of two
children : lacob R., of whom further, and George, who died in 1900.
Jacob R. Schlager, son of Jacob and Catherine (Gottwals) Schlager, was
born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, August 29, 1866. He attended the public
schools of his native city, and upon the completion of his studies entered the
office of the Stowers Pork Packing and Provision Company, May 28, 1879, a
firm that has claimed his services ever since. His fidelity to the interests of
the company and his loyal efforts for their advancement speedily won for him
the favor and approbation of those in office above him, while his sterling
honesty and cleanness of character made him their tru.sted confidant. His
steady advance in the business has been the result of the persistent proofs of
his ability shown day by day, recognition of the intimate and accurate knowl-
edge of its different departments. In 1894 he was promoted to the responsible
position of manager, in which capacity he rendered efficient service, and at
CITY OF SCRANTON 645
the present time (1914) is filling the honored position of president of the
organization^ The Stowers Pork Packing and Provision Company or-
ganized in 1862, now gives employment to one hundred persons, thus makins
it one ot the leading enterprises of the city, the greater part of its trade beini
conducted in the eastern part of Pennsylvania. ^
Mr. Schlager is deeply interested in all the affairs concerning the welfare
of his city. For two terms he was a member of the board of education
serving for one year as chairman of that body, and during his membership
his best efforts were directed toward raising the educational standard of
the city and in procuring the best talent obtainable as instructors. In the year
1913 he was elected to the office of county treasurer, receiving a large ma-
jority of the votes cast at the polls, his term of office to expire in 1917. His
political affiliation is with the Republican party, the principles of which he
believes to be for the best form of government. He is actively connected with
several fraternal organizations, and holds membership in the Scranton Bicycle
Club, the out-of-door life and the pleasurable exercise appealing strongly
to his love of nature and athletics. For three years he held the one mile
bicycle championship of Pennsylvania, and at different times was the holder of
the three, five and ten mile records. Mr. Schlager's influence is always felt in
every movement beneficial to the city. An honored, upright and straight-
forward business man, he carries all of these qualities into his private fife,
and is one of the highly respected citizens of his city.
Mr. Schlager married Edna Freeman, daughter of Thomas T- Freeman, of
Scranton, and they are the parents of three children : Jacob R! Jr., Catherine
Elizabeth, Jean Freeman.
THEODORE CRAMER VON STORCH
Theodore Cramer Von Storch was of noble Swedish origin. He was the
grandson of Heinrich Ludwig Christopher Von Storch, who was the grandson
of Dr. John Gustav Von Storch, grand duke of Mechlenburg-Schwerin and
councillor and burgomaster of Guestrow, the largest city of Mechlenburg, a
descendant of Ian Person Von Storch, who was knighted and made a noble-
man for services in driving the Danes out of Sweden, and given a castle at
Salis where he established the Von Storch family. In 1794, Heinrich Lud-
wig Christopher Von Storch, the grandfather, came to this country with one,
G. N. Luyten, and engaged in the fur trade in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
They secured a cargo of furs, and consigned the ship to a European port, but
it was never heard of afterwards. They then came to this end of the state and
located at what is now Blakeley in this county. The grandfather purchased a
tract of 300 acres of wild land which he cultivated more or less, dividing his
time for several years between the rough backwoods farm and his first house
in Philadelphia. In clearing this wild land he suffered an injury to his back,
which compelled a lighter occupation, and he took up the then popular and
lucrative business of local trading, carrying his goods on boat. On one of his
early trips back to Philadelphia he carried a bag of coal from his own land,
and tried to interest some of the wealthy men of that city in the "Stun Coal,"
but without success. In 1810 Mr. Von Storch married Hannah Searle, of
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and thenceforth made a permanent home in a log
house of his own building on his wild farm. They had seven sons and one
daughter.
Theodore Von Storch, second son of Heinrich Ludwig Christopher and
Hannah (Searle) Von Storch, and father of Theodore Cramer ^^on Storch,
was born in 181 2, in the primitive log house. He came to Providence, Lu-
646 CITY OF SCRANTON
zerne county, Pennsylvania (now the upper end of our city) in the late
thirties. In 1840 he built a comfortable dwelling, and was one of the sub-
stantial men of that village. In 1872 he built what has long been known as
the handsome Von Storch homestead on North Main avenue. He married
Josephine D. Barney, of Milton, Vermont. There were born to them two chil-
dren: Theodore Cramer and Mrs. Frank M. Vandling,
Theodore Cramer Von Storch was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He
was educated in the School of the Lackawanna, Scranton, Pennsylvania, and
in Harvard College, from which he graduated with honors, and was admitted
to the bar of Lackawanna county. He assisted in organizing the People's
National Bank and was a member of its board of directors. He was also in-
terested in many other of the business enterprises of the city of Scranton.
He married Jessica Pennypacker, in Scranton, in 1S96, and there were born to
them two children, William and Theodore Constant, who survive him. He
died September i, 1913.
CONRAD F. SHINDKL
A resident of Scranton since 1906, Mr. Shindel has attained an ex-
cellent position in the few years that have since elapsed. He is a descendant
of an old Pennsylvania family ; his father, Conrad F. Shindel, was a practicing
lawyer of Schuylkill county. He married Louise Bailey, daughter of Milton
Bailey. Children : Clarence B. ; Ella M., married J. F. Ellick ; Louise, mar-
ried H. G. Dunham ; Elizabeth, married Frank C. Geer ; Char'es S. ; James
E., who died in the United States navy ; Conrad F., of further mention.
Conrad F. Shindel, the father, died March 10, 1890, his wndow, Louise
(Bailey) Shindel, surviving him until January 27, 191 1.
Conrad F. (2) Shindel was born in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, November
8, 1875. He obtained his early education in the public schools, then entered
Wyoming Seminary at Kingston, Pennsylvania, where he completed a full
course and was graduated. He pursued clerical occupation until the out-
break of the war with Spain, when he enlisted in Company B, Eighth Regi-
ment Pennsylvania Volunteers, in 1898, remaining in the service until mustered
out at Augusta, Georgia, in 1899. He then returned to Tamaqua where he
was successfully engaged in the insurance business until 1906, when he lo-
cated in Scranton, becoming teller of the Dime Deposit and Discount Bank,
and remaining with that well known institution four years, gaining a valuable
fund of experience. In November, 1910, he was chosen cashier of the First
National Bank of Dunmore, a position he now holds most satisfactorily to
the officials and patrons of the bank. He is thoroughly capable and has the
confidence of the business public to an unusual degree. He is a member gf
Tamaqua Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Shindel
married, October 8, 1904, Margaret, daughter of William D. and Mary
Thomas, of Lansford, Pennsylvania ; children : Harry Dunham, died in
infancy; Conrad F. (3), born October 9, 1907; William F. C, born March 15,
1909-
GEORGE EZRA HAAK
Five generations of the Haak family in Pennsylvania have been identified
with the commercial life of the Commonwealth, and two generations par-
ticularly with the coal and iron industry, while the present generation is
represented by George Ezra Haak, superintendent of buildings and supplies of
the school district of the city of Scranton. Samuel Haak. grandfather of
CITY OF SCRANTON 647
George, was a native of Reading, Pennsylvania, and was at one time super-
intendent of a blast furnace at Temple, Pennsylvania, out of wliich later de-
veloped the well known Temple Iron Company.
Ezra Jacob Haak, son of Samuel, was born in Berks county, Penn-
sylvania, and for many years was special agent for the Philadeli)hia & Read-
ing Railroad Company. He was also part owner of a large general store at
Pine Grove, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, and at the time of his death
was in the sugar brokerage business in Philadelphia. He was a very successful
business man, amassed a considerable fortune, and at his death on March [7,
1908, was sincerely mourned by a large circle of business associates who had
learned to admire and respect him for the upright principles that had determ-
ined his life. He married Sarah Drine, and had children: Harry C, a resi-
dent of Scranton ; May, who resides in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania : and George
Ezra, of whom further.
George Ezra Haak, son of Ezra J. and Sarah (Drine) Haak, was born
at Pine Grove, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, November 11, 1880, and
obtained a public school education at that place, graduating from the high
school in 1897 at the head of his class. Mr. Haak came to Scranton to at-
tend the Scranton Business College, and finished a business couise in this
school in 1899. Immediately after graduation he accepted a position in the
superintendent of transportation department of the Delaware, Lackawanna &
Western Railroad Company, where he remained until August, 1905, when he
became connected with the International Salt Company, his employers until
January, 1912. About that time the new school code became operative in
Pennsvlvania and many changes were made in the management or control
of the schools in Scranton. The new school board created the office of
superintendent of buildings and supplies, a department to look after the pur-
chase of all supplies used in the school district, as well as the management and
care of the large property under their control, and Mr. Haak was selected
from a large number of applicants to fill the position. The city has in him a
servant of wisdom and temperance, and one who has already made a splendid
record in the handling of this important position.
Mr. Haak married, in 1906, Emily Clare, daughter of Dr. F. D. and
Emma (Wilson) Brewster. They have three children: Dorothy, Mary, and
George Jr. Mr. Haak is a member and deacon of the Second Presbyterian
Church of Scranton ; belongs to the Scranton Engineers Club ; Board of
Trade ; Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Camp 49, P.
O. S. of A.; Artisans Order of Mutual Protection; and the Young Men's
Christian Association.
JACOB D. BAMBACH
New York is the locality whence came Jacob D. Bambach, carpenter and
builder of Dunmore, assessor of the third ward of that borough for the
past four years, his parents, Jacob and Christiana (Hetzel) Bambach, leaving
New York City when he was a boy of five years, the family making the trip
to Lackawanna countv, Pennsylvania, in a Conestoga wagon, which carried,
besides their househo'ld goods, supplies and provisions for the trip, since
nightfall might overtake them without a stopping place near. The mother
of the family now resides at the old home on the corner of Ash and John
streets. The family settled in Scranton, where Jacob B. Bambach was reared
and where he attended school. After finishing his education he was for a
time in the service 01 the Pennsylvania Railroad, beginning carpenter work
when he was twenty-four years of age and continuing in that line to the
648 CITY OF SCRANTON
present day. As a journeyman carpenter he has been employed on much
construction work in the vicinity of Scranton, and as a contracting builder
has had charge of numerous operations, meeting with success and prosperity
in this business. In 1910 he was appointed to fill the position of assessor of
the third ward of Dimmore, a place formerly occupied by G. B. Allen, and
now serves Dunmore in that capacity, that being the only office he has held in
public service, his political action independent.
Mr. Bambach married Elizabeth Brick, born in Scranton, Pennsylvania,
daughter of Jacob Brick, and for one year after his marriage was a resident
of Scranton, then moving to his present home at No. 412 William street,
Dunmore, Pennsylvania. Of the ten children of Jacob D. and Elizabeth
(Brick) Bambach, six are now living, four daughters and two sons. Mr.
Bambach is a communicant of St. Peter's Lutheran Church.
MICHAEL J. DEMPSEY
For many years Ireland has been sending her sons and daughters to this
country, which grants them many privileges denied them in their native land.
Many of the thousands who emigrate find their way into the state of Penn-
sylvania, where their attention is turned to mining and other avocations in
which skilled labor is not a requisite. Michael J Dempsey. well known as a
merchant of Dunmore, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, is a son of one
of these emigrants.
James Dempsey, the father, was born and grew to manhood in Ireland.
In early manhood he emigrated to the United States and worked for many
years in the mines. He retired about fifteen years ago, and has since lived in
retirement at No. 714 Monroe avenue. He casts his vote regularly for the
candidates of the Democratic party, and is a devout member of St. Paul's
Catholic Church. He married, in this country, Nora Durkan, also born in
Ireland, and they had six children.
Michael J. Dempsey was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. January 15,
1882. He was five years of age when he came to Ward 6, Dunmore, with
his parents, and there attended the public schools until nine years old. All
his schooling was crowded in these few short years, but Mr. Dempsey spent
his spare moments in so wise a fashion, that these early obstacles to a rise
in life were overcome in a most admirable manner. A part of this educa-
tional period was spent at St. Paul's Parochial School. At the age of nine
years he commenced working at the breaker at Scranton, remaining there five
years, and then spent some years in the Scranton Stove Works as a molder.
A commercial life had always strongly appealed to him, and in 1903 he es-
tablished himself in the tea and coffee business m Dimmore, and is now the
owner of the Dunmore Tea Company, of No. 215 East Drinker street. Mr.
Dunmore has taken a prominent part in the public affairs of the community in
which he lives, and in 1913 was elected to the office of borough tax collector
of Dunmore for the term of four years.
Mr. Dempsey married Anna, a daughter of Michael Gordon, of South
Side, Pittsburgh. Children : Joseph and James. The family resides at No.
1621 Electric street, Dunmore. and he is a member of Knights of Columbus,
Workmen of the World, Town Club of Dunmore and St. Mary's Catholic
Church. Mr. Dempsey stands as a representative of a high type of American
manhood. He combines energy and determination with lofty principles, .so
that his career in business, in politics, in social circles, has been characterized
by laudable ambition and honorable effort.
CITY OF SCRANTON 649
REV. FRANCIS VALVERDE
For the past eight years Rev. Francis Valverde, born in Palermo, Sicily,
has been pastor of St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church, of Dimmore, Penn-
sylvania, that having been his second charge since the beginning of his con-
nection with the American branch oi the Roman Catholic Church. Before
assuming his place as a member of the clergy he was favored by educational
advantages of unusual attractiveness, and he entered the ministry endowed
with all of the embellishments of university training, having made high and
worthy use of his liberal scholastic culture.
Rev. Francis Valverde was born March 7, 1877, and was reared in his
native city, the capital of Sicily, attending, upon the completion of his per-
liminary schooling, Messura Seminary, whence he was graduated in 1899.
He then became a student in the University of Palermo, and was later a college
professor, occupying the chair of languages. Having been ordained to the
priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church, he decided for service in other
lands than that of his birth, and was assigned to duty in the United States, his
first charge being at Freeland, Pennsylvania, where he remained for one year.
At the expiration of this time he was placed in charge of St. Anthony's Roman
Catholic Church at Dtmmore, where he remains to the present time, a promin-
ent figure in ecclesiastical activities in the borough. His parish contains about
four hundred and fifty families, a large proportion of which are regular
attendants at church services. Soon after his arrival in Dunmore Rev. Val-
verde prepared a new curriculum for the school maintained by the church,
and after the same was placed in operation become instructor in Italian, meet-
ing his classes in the school daily, a duty that, added to his other clerical
responsibilities, makes his existence a busy one.
PETER F. REILLY
Numbered among the representative business men of Dunmore is Peter
F. Reilly, who is successfully engaged in real estate transactions, but who
nevertheless finds time to devote to the welfare of his native city and has
been chosen to fill various oifices of trust and responsibility, the duties of
which he has discharged in a highly commendable manner.
Mr. Reilly is of Irish parentage, his father, Thomas Reilly, having been
born in county Mayo, Ireland, and his mother, Mary (Moran) Reilly, is a
native of county Sligo, Ireland. His parents were reared and educated in
their native land, from whence they emigrated to the United States, lo-
cating in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, where Mr. Reilly secured work as a
miner, being a capable and experienced man. He lost his life by an ac-
cident in the mines, September 3, 1885. Mr. and Mrs. Reilly were the par-
ents of nine children, five of whom are here mentioned : John ; Peter F.,
of whom further ; Patrick J. : Jane, wife of James Canley ; Margaret. The
mother of these children is still living and resides in Dunmore.
Peter F. Reilly v/as born in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, October 3, 1866.
He attended the common schools of his native city until he was ten years
of age, then entered the mines as breaker-boy for the Pennsylvania Coal
Company, and there followed the various branches of mining, rising step
by step until he became a coal operator and later a mine owner. Subsequent-
ly he turned his attention to an entirely different line of work, real estate,
in which he is equally successful. For many years he served as treasurer
and general manager' of the Dunmore Coal Company, and was one of the
directors of the Northern Anthracite Coal Company, also a director of the
650 CITY OF SCRANTON
First National Bank, of Dunmore. In the year 1894 he served the borough
of Dunmore in the capacity of auditor ; in 1900 was elected tax collector of
Dunmore, an office to which he was re-elected in 1903, and at the expira-
tion of his second term was elected clerk of the board of county commis-
sioners, which office he filled until 191 1. He is a member of the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks, the Improved Order of Red Men, the Knights
of Columbus, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, of which he was secretary,
and the Young Men's Temperance Literary and Benevolent Society, of which
he was president.
Mr. Reilly married (first) Bridget E. Ouinn, a native of Dunmore,
Pennsylvania, daughter of James and Bridget Quinn. She died aged thirty-
nine years. He married (second) Nora E. Collins. Children of first wife :
Ruth, Marv, Florence, James, Thomas, Mabel, deceased ; Peter, deceased ;
Alice, deceased ; Eulalia.
EDWIN R. PARKER
With the retirement from business of Edwin R. Parker, of No. 321 Spruce
street, Scranton, Pennsylvania, a familiar personality will be missed froin
that locality. Mr. Parker had been for many years a dealer in sporting
goods at this location, engaging in this business after fifteen years previous
mercantile experience in Scranton, and during this time held the patronage
of the athletes and sportsmen of Scranton, holding well his own in com-
petition with others in the same line.
Sheldon W. Parker, father of Edwin R. Parker, was born in Abingtor,
Pennsylvania, in 1804, died in 1856. He was a successful farmer, which
occupation he followed throughout the active years of his life. He mar-
ried Sarah Phillips, born in 1810, and they were the parents of five chil-
dren, namely : Rondino, a farmer on the old homestead at Abington, Penn-
sylvania, married Diana, daughter of Ebenezer Slocum ; Corintha, deceased,
married Orrin Culver ; Edwin R., of whom further ; Hulda, deceased ; Fer-
nando, a farmer in Waverly, Pennsylvania.
Edwin R. Parker was born in Abington, Pennsj'lvania, October 12, 1839.
He obtained his education in the public schools of his native place, and
he was employed on his father's farm until the outbreak of the Civil War.
In October, 1861, he enlisted in Company K, Fifty-second Regiment Penn-
sylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served as a member of this company for
three years and one month, receiving his honorable discharge in October,
1865. In April of the following year he came to Scranton, entering a ma-
chine shop and learning the trade of machinist, and three years later
formed a partnership with John L. Hull and a Mr. Gunster, the firm lo-
cating on Lackawanna avenue and trading for twelve years as Gunster, Hull
& Parker, furniture dealers. For two years thereafter Mr. Parker was a
commercial traveler. About 1880 he established the first bicycle shop in this
locality, later adding a complete line of general sporting goods, and shortlj
afterwards he erected the building located at No. 321 Spruce street, which
continued to be the home of the E. R. Parker Store. His business career
was a successful one, his store ruled by principles of value and fair dealing,
and he was one of the well-esteemed and highly-regarded merchants of the
city. Mr. Parker is a communicant of the Washburn Street Presbyterian
Church, and in politics is a Republican. The family home is at No. 11 14
Washburn street, Scranton.
Mr. Parker married Marion Mears, daughter of Sidney Clark and Janet
Hears, who were the parents of six children, as follows : Marion, of previous
CITY OF SCRANTON 651
mention ; John A., James R., Joseph A. and WilHam Sidney, all prominently
identified with the early business life of Scranton ; Margaret M., who became
the wife of J. Alton Davis, an attorney of Scranton.
ESDRAS HOWELL
The Howells are an ancient family of Wales, Ksdras Howell, who, to quoie
a contemporary was "small of stature but with a heart as large as he was
small, Esdras Howell had hundreds of warm friends who loved him living and
mourn him dead," being the first of this immediate branch to come to the
United States, following the example of one of 'lis brothers.
Esdras Howell was born at Sant Donias, Glamorganshire, Wales, Septem-
ber 9, 1832, son of Rev. Louis and Ann Howell, the former a minister of the
Baptist church. He remained in his native parish, obtaining a good education
until 1849, when he came to the United States, finally settling in Carbondale,
Pennsylvania, where an elder brother had preceded him and established in the
mercantile business. Esdras Howell entered his brother's employ, continu-
ing until 1856, when he came to Scranton, locating on the West Side, where
under the firm name of Richard & Howell he engaged in general merchandis-
ing. He became one of the best known men of the West Side, where his long
after life was spent, and also of Scranton, as for several years he was travel-
ing representative for the wholesale grocery firm of James B. Power & Com-
pany of New York. He was very popular with his countrymen, who, when
Mr. Howell was the Democratic candidate for controller of the city of Scranton
in 1899, swept him into office by one of the largest majorities a candidate ever
received in that city. They forsook party and in every Welsh Republican
district, on the West Side, he was given a majority.
Mr. Howell was very fond of children, and of the younger generation
there are few who did not know and admire him. In his latter years poor
health kept him indoors a great deal, but when he did appear was accorded a
warm greeting everywhere. He was a thorough optimist, and to meet him
under any circumstances, or to listen to his joyous, mirthful laugh, was a
tonic to the aged and encouragement for the despondent He lived with the
happiness of others as his gospel, and in so doing brought joy also to his own
heart. His joyous laugh was not hushed even in his last illness, nor his
hearty greeting to his bedside visitors lacking, until the coma which preceded
his death several days barred out all conscious knowledge of his surround-
ings. Mr. Howell was a member of the Masonic Order, belonging to Hyde
Park Lodge, his brethren being in charge of his funeral services, which were
conducted at Forest Hill Cemetery, according to the beautiful ritual of the
order.
Mr. Howell married, April 4, 1867, Mary Williams, of Mauch Chunk,
Pennsylvania, who preceded her husband to the grave several years. She
was a fitting helpmate, and their home on Washburn street, when both were
young, was the scene of much merrymaking. Children : -_ , married
Charles A. Hartley, of Scranton; Anna, married Van Mawr, of
St Louis, Missouri ; Louisa A., of Scranton ; John W., of whom further.
John W. Howell, son of Esdras and Mary (Williams) Howell, was born
in Hyde Park, Pennsylvania, May 15, 1879. He was educated in the public
schools of Scranton, finishing his studies in the high school. His first business
experience was as a paper boy for J. A. Scranton, then after some time spent
in New York City he became a real estate dealer and broker, in which business
he is now successfully engaged, with offices at Nos. 212-213 Mears Building
Scranton. He is an independent Democrat, and a member of several social
652 CITY OF SCRANTON
and fraternal organizations. Mr. Howell married Nellie I., daughter of ex-
Mayor John H. Fellows, a sketch of whom follows this in the work. Chil-
dren: Lois, Jean, Esdras (2).
JOHN H. FELLOWS
Ex-Mayor John H. Fellows, one of the most useful and public-spirited
citizens of Scranton, was a descendant of Joseph Fellows, born near Sheffield,
England, who came with his family of eight to the Scranton district in 1790,
locating at what is now Hyde Park. He patented several tracts of land in
that section, becoming one of the large land owners and speculative dealers.
He served as justice of the peace and conveyancer of lands. Among his
vast possessions were many acres of the richest coal land in the region,
which he sold without knowledge of their true value. When he was about
eighty years of age he was engaged in successful litigation with Dr. Malone,
the result so enraging Dr. Malone that in a frenzy of passion he struck
Mr. Fellows on the head with a heavy walking stick, a blow that caused his
death. , Among his sons were Joseph Jr., a bachelor, who succeeded his
father in the real estate business, founded what is now Hyde Park, and died
at the advanced age of ninety-one years, and Benjamin, of whom further.
Benjamin Fellows, son of Joseph Fellows, came to Scranton, Pennsyl-
vania, with his parents when he was two years of age and grew to manhood
on a farm on the West Side. He was an agriculturist, and like the founder
of the family in the United States served as justice of the peace. He died
aged eighty-five years, the family trait of longevity being retained in him.
John Fellows, son of Benjamin Fellows, was born on the West Side,
Scranton, Pennsylvania. He assisted in the clearing, for farm purposes,
of one hundred acres of land now occupied by Hyde Park, but during most
of his life was engaged in the manufacture of brick. He was politically a
Republican and a strong sympathizer with all the actions of the administra-
tion in the war of the Rebellion, giving liberally of his means for the suppoit
of the Union army. His religious beliefs were in accordance with those of
the Universalist faith. His death was the result of an accident suffered in
1888, while driving. An unusual sound started the horses, who gave a quick
spring to the side, the carriage lurched, and in the fall Mr. Fellows sus-
tained injuries that soon after caused his death, aged seventy-two years.
Mr. Fellows married Cynthia J., daughter of Levi and > (Ingles)
Pierce, born in Cooperstown, New York, of which state her father was a
native, but had many years since transferred his residence to Scranton, Penn-
sylvania. Both her father and mother were descendants of Scotch ancestry,
the family having been in this country since the early days of the Massa-
chusetts Colony. Mrs. John Fellows did not long survive her husband, her
death occurring when she was seventy-three years of age. She was a woman
of true nobility of Christian character, an earnest, devoted member of the
Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. and Mrs. Fellows were the parents of
several children, among them being: John H., of whom further; Horatio
T., a member of the select council of Scranton, and an employee of the Dela-
ware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad : George H., employed by the same
company ; Charles D., deceased, formerly engaged in the insurance business
at Scranton ; Harriet, married Wolfcott, and resides in Kingston,
Pennsylvania ; Sarah, married Carlton ; Electa, married
Oram, and lives in Scranton.
John H. Fellows, son of John and Cynthia J. (Pierce) Fellows, was born
in Scranton, Pennsylvania, July 23, 1849. Until he was fifteen years of age
CITY OF SCRANTON 653
he attended the district schools, then learned the trade of printer and fol-
lowed it until he was twenty years of age. Winning a scholarship at Gard-
ner's Business College, he completed a course in practical business training
at that institution, and for two years was employed by the Delaware, Lacka-
wanna & Western Railroad, leaving that service to establish in the fire in-
surance business as the representative of the German Fire Insurance Com-
pany of Erie. He gave this his undivided attention and by assiduous efifort
built up what became the largest agency in Scranton, which in 1882 he sold
to Norman & Moore, who still continue it. He then began to investigate the
litigation in the case of the estate of Joseph Fellows, which had been hanging
in the courts for many years, and effected a settlement, securing all of the
property left under the original title. He now acts as agent for the estate
and has had besides real estate interests in many different parts of the country
and has been a member of companies developing new sections of cities.
At the present time he is president of the Browning Land Company, pro-
prietors of land at Arlington Heights, beyond North Park ; the Shawnee
Land Company, incorporated in 1904, a concern which platted the Boule-
vard in South Wilkes-Barre ; and the Ontario Land Company, capitalized
originally at $50,000, now at $450,000. operating in Duluth, Minnesota,
Spokane and Tacoma, Washington, and Atlanta, Georgia. Of this latter
company, Mr. Fellows, and Harry C. Heermans, of Corning, New York,
were the organizers, the main office being at Duluth.
The political record of Mr. Fellows has been commensurate with his
business successes. On the People's ticket, in 1886, he was elected a mem-
ber of the board of school control, but by the political strategy of the oppo-
sition was prevented from taking his seat as a member of the board. He
was later elected on the Republican ticket, endorsed by the Democratic vote,
and held office until 1890, when he was elected mayor as the candidate of the
Republican party. For three years he held this office and in that time serveft
the citv well as a faithful official, observing the spirit as well as the letter
of the oath of office. The year following the expiration of his mayoralty
term, he became a candidate for the congressional election from his district
and would have scored a victory had there not been evidences of the lowest
form of corruption in our political system, bribery, among the one hundred
and thirtv delegates instructed in his favor. Mr. Fellows has been an ex-
tremelv important figure in local and county politics, always as the repre-
sentative of the Republican party, and has been a member of many city and
countv committees.
Mr. Fellows is a member of the Masonic Order, belonging to Union
Lodo-e. No. 291, F. and A. M., of which he is past master, and Lackawanna
Chapter, No. 185, R. A. M. ; also has held high office in the lodge of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and belongs to the Encampment. His
other memberships are in the Le La Lanna Tribe, Improved Order of Red
Men; Hyde Park Lodge, No. 301, S. of St. G., and Washington Camp, No.
572, P. O. S. of A., of which he is treasurer
Mr. Fellows married (first) at Meshoppen, Pennsylvania. Genevieve,
daughter of Benjamin Overfield, of German descent: married (second) ii'
Bradford county, Pennsylvania, Laura L., daughter of A. W. Gray, a dairy-
man Children'of first marriage: Winfield H.. Raymond A., Nellie I., Lois
J. Louisa A., Emma V., Alwilda G. One child of second marriage.
' Respected and admired for the qualities that have gained him the promi-
nence in Scranton affairs that has been his, Mr. Fellows is, moreover, al-
most universally well liked. His contact with his fellows in business and
public life has given him a many-sided personality, each of remarkable bril-
654 CITY OF SCRANTON
liance, and this wins him many friends. Nor is his friendhness confined to
the exterior, his outward cordiahty being but the reflection of the warm,
genial nature within.
HERMAN J. WOELKERS
The growth of Scranton in the last quarter century has resulted in the
bringing forward of many contracting firms, whose heads have received not
only profitable remuneration but additional emolument in the way of reputation
and standing as men of ability, resource and integrity. Among these the firm
of Herman J. Woelkers & Company deserves special mention. Herman J.
Woelkers, the head of the firm, is a practical mechanic, having served a
regular term as apprentice, and for many years as a journeyman bricklayer.
These years of experience eminently qualified him to enter the contracting
field, and in association with capable partners he has fully realized his hopes
and ambitions. He is the son of Charles Woelkers, born in Germany, and there
died in 1869, a practical shoemaker. He married Elizabeth Geimberg. Chil-
dren : John, Charles, Frank, Herman J., of whom further ; Joseph, Elizabeth.
Herman J. Woelkers was born in Germany, February 5, 1866, and was
educated in the Gelserakirchen schools. In his youth he worked for two
years and a half in a bakery, coming to the United States when sixteen years
of age, arriving July 3, 1882. He later came to Scranton and secured his
first employment with Conrad Schraeder as water-boy, earning fifty cents daily
by keeping the supply of water for the workmen clear and fresh. He then
apprenticed himself to Mr. Schraeder to learn bricklaying, receiving twelve
dollars monthly while so serving. After a full term as apprentice he con-
tinued with his first employer as journeyman for nineteen and a half years,
becoming very expert and obtaining valuable exoerience. He then began con-
tracting as head of the firm Woelkers & Beilman, later admitting Charles M.
Zitzelman. The firm prospered, but the junior partner dying five years later,
the original partners continued business, resuming the old firm name. After
two years the present firm, Herman J. Woelkers & Company was formed, with
Mr. Woelkers as manager and responsible head. They have become well-
established and have erected many buildings in Scranton and vicinity. Mr.
Woelkers is a member of St. Mary's German Roman Catholic Church, the
St. Peter's Verein, of that church, the Leiderkranz Society, the Mannerchor,
and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His residence is No. 428
Irving avenue. He married, in 1892, Frances, daughter of Albert Storr, of
Scranton. Children: Alfred, Adelaide, Virgil, Frederick, Cecilia.
JOHN F. DUFFY
Born in Scranton and a worker at the age of seven years, Mr. Duflfy
has so well fought the battle of life that he has risen to a responsible and
honorable position in one of Scranton's great public utilities, the Electric
Steel Railway system. He is a grandson of John (i) and a son of John (2)
Duflfy, both born in county Mayo, Ireland, the latter in the year 1808. He
worked at farming until coming to the United States, a young man. His
mother had preceded him to Scranton, where he joined her, and together they
made their home until the mother's death, aged eighty-six years. John (2)
Duffy married Sarah C^Donnell, and had issue : Ann, Margaret, Patrick, John
F., of whom further, Arthur, Frank, and James, all deceased except Patrick,
John F. and Arthur.
John F. Duffy was bom on the South Side, Scranton, in 1868. He at-
CITY OF SCRANTON 655
tended the public schools for a short time, but at the age of seven years
began working in the Central Breaker in Hyde Park as a slate picker. After
a short time spent at this work, he became a farmer's boy, and until he was
eighteen years of age worked on the farm in summer and in the lumber woods
during the winter months. He developed a strong, healthy body, and was
physically fitted to engage in coal mining, but after two months as a loader he
entered the employ of the Scranton Electric Light Company, his first job
being digging holes in which to place the poles supporting the wires. He rose
in favor with his employers, and when the South Side line was built he was
made foreman of a construction gang, under General-Engineer Parrish.
When the line was completed Mr. Duffy engaged with the Suburban Electric
Company in changing their overhead system to the present one. When the
People's Street Railway abandoned horses as their motive power and installed
the electric overhead system, Mr. Duffy was promoted to repair foreman in
the company shops under Mr. Whitmore, electrical engineer for the Sprague
Electric Company, the concern furnishing the equipment. He held that posi-
tion for seven years, also having charge of new construction and all re-
pair work outside of the power house. For the next five years he was in the
employ of Mr. Sturgis of the Suburban Electric Light Company on Wash-
ington avenue, then entered the employ of the Scranton Street Railway Coni-
pany, soon afterward being promoted to his present position, superintendent
of motor equipment under Mr. Caum, a most responsible position that he is
eminently qualified to fill. He has risen from the ranks and knows his busi-
ness from the lowest round of the ladder, being able to view his progress
with a good deal of satisfaction, knowing that he has fairly won his way.
He has many friends, among whom he is held in high esteem. He is inde-
pendent in political action, and a member of the Cathedral Congregation of
the Roman Catholic church.
Mr. Duffy married (first) Kate, daughter of Herbert Gilligan, who bore
him a daughter, Sarah. He married (second) Nellie Gallagher. Children:
John, an employee of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Com-
pany, and Margaret.
WILLIAM GRIFFITH
William Griffith, eldest child of Andrew J. and Jemima (Sax) Griffith,
and nephew of William R. Griffith, the organizer and first president of the
Pennsylvania Coal Company, was born in Pittston in 1855. He was educated
at the public and private schools of West Pittston and Lehigh University,
whence he graduated in 1876 with the degree of Civil Engineer. He taught
public school for one term at New Albany, Bradford county, Pennsylvania,
and holidays and Saturdays surveyed nearby farms. In July, 1878, he went
west and secured a position as transit man and later assistant engineer for the
Union Pacific Railroad Company, in which interest he was engaged survey-
ing and constructing railroads in Nebraska, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Colo-
rado He returned east at the Christmas season in 1880 and became division
engineer for the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, resident at Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania. Two years later he became assistant on the Geological Survey
of Pennsylvania in the anthracite coal regions, resident at Pottsville, Hazelton
and Bernice, Pennsylvania, engaged in mapping the geology of the Schuylkill
Lehigh and Bernice coal measures, etc. During 1884-85-86 he was engaged
in private engineering practice at Pittston. In 1885 he built the house at the
corner of Susquehanna and Parke streets, West Pittston, which is still his
residence.
656 CITY OF SCRANTON
During 1887 and 1888, as assistant geologist, he had in charge the com-
pletion of the geological survey of the Wyoming and Lackawanna coal fields
for the state, the published result of which work comprised six volumes of
maps. He subsecjuently opened an office in the Coal Exchange Building, Scran-
ton, as consulting mining engineer and geologist, in which profession he is
still engaged, having prepared numerous geological reports (many of which
have been published) upon mining properties in all parts of the United States
and in Canada, Alaska, Queen Charlotte and Vancouver Islands, Mexico and
South America. Notable among his publications was an extended article
on ''Anthracite Coal, with Estimate of the Reserve Supply," which was pub-
lished by the Bond Record, New York, and attracted widespread attention
in financial and business circles. Recognized as one of the first authorities on
questions relating to the economic geology of coal, he was appointed in 1892
by Governor Pattison as member of the commission to investigate and report
on the problem of utilization of waste in mining of anthracite coal, and he
was one of the engineers selected by the city and its advisory board to examine
and report on the mining conditions under the city of Scranton, Pennsyl-
vania. The report was published by the U. S. Bureau of Mines, Washington,
D. C, which later appointed him as one of its consulting engineers.
He is a Republican in politics, though never ambitious for public office.
Mr. Griffith was married in 1885 to Harriet E. Sinclair, of Trenton, New
Jersey. Early in life he united with the Presbyterian church, and is now an
elder in the First Presbyterian Church of West Pittston. He is member of
the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, the Franklin Institute, Na-
tional Geographic Society, Engineers Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania,
Mining and Metallurgical Society of America, American Institute of Alining
Engineers, and American Mining Congress.
JAMES F. WARDLE
James Francis Wardle. son of Rev. Joseph Wardle and Mary Alorris
Wardle. was born in Bloomington, Illinois, August 17, 1867. His father was a
Methodist minister and a member of Rock River conference, Illinois; his
mother was a descendant of David Haggard, a soldier of the Revolution. He
was educated in the public schools of Bloomington, and the Illinois Wesleyan
University, from which he graduated in 1890, with the degree of A. B. He
received the degree of A. M. from the same university in 1893. He was a
member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. In 1890, leaving college, he took a
position with the large heating firm of Smead Wills & Company as a heating
and ventilating engineer. He remained with this firm nine years, locating for
them in Scranton in 1893. In 1899 he entered the employ of the International
Correspondence Schools, as superintendent of their mailing department. In
190 1 he went with the New Telephone Company as solicitor and collector. In
1904 he went into business for himself as a stock and bond broker, in which
he is still engaged, with offices in the Connell building. He is prominent in
the Masonic fraternity as shown in the sketches of these bodies. He is
present District Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Council of Royal and
Select Master Masons of Pennsylvania ; secretary of Lackawanna Royal Arch
Chapter, No. 185, of Scranton ; and recorder of Scranton Council, No. 44,
R. S. M. M. Mr. Wardle married Miss Imogene Underwood, daughter of
Rev. Tonas Underwood, at Scranton, June 3, 1896. Mrs. Wardle is a member
of Scranton Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, being descended
from four ancestors who took part in the Revolutionary War. Two daugh-
ters are the fruit of their marriage: Miriam and Evelyn. Mr. and Mrs.
PHILIP ROBINSON.
CITY OF SCRANTON 657
Wardle and their daughters are a typical American family, and are justlj
popular with a multitude of friends.
PHILIP ROBINSON
The Robinson family has been associated with Scranton and the Wyo-
ming Valley for many years and has become entirely identified with the
life and traditions of the region, though in origin of German stock. Its
members are typical of the splendid character of the men Germany has
sent to the United States from the earliest period of colonization down to
the present time, men who have introduced into the cosmopolitan citizen-
ship of this country a leaven of their own peculiar virtues, an unconciuer-
able love of independence, and an unusual faculty for the practical affairs
of life.
Philip Robinson and his three sons, of whom one was also Philip, came to
the United States in 1854, and settled in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where
they laid the foundations of the present large brewery which bears their
name. The father met with a fatal accident on the tracks of the Delaware,
Lackawanna & Western Railroad, near the town of Moscow, Pennsylvania.
The younger Philip was a lad of but thirteen years of age when lie
accompanied his father to this country, having been born in Lauterecken,
Rheinpfalz, Bavaria, in the year 1841. He learned the trade of brewing,
and was one of those to aid in the establishment of the new brewery on
this side of the ocean. In 1868 he purchased the interests of the remainder
of the family and became sole owner of the enterprise, operating it with
great success until the time of his death in S^pteniber, 1879. He was a
man of much prominence in the community, active in Democratic politics,
and in public affairs generally. He was a member of the Scranton Saenger-
bund, of the Neptune Fire Company and of Schiller Lodge, Free and
Accepted Masons. He married Mina Schimpff, a daughter of Jacob
Schimpfif, of Bavaria, where she was born in Lauterecken, coming to this
country as a child with her father, who settled in Scranton and engaged
in business there, continuing for many years.
Edmund J. Robinson, son of Philip and Mina (Schimpff) Robinson,
was born March 17, 1868, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He received the
elementary portion of his education in the local public schools, and after
completing his studies in the same, entered the Wyoming Seminary for
the more advanced courses. He later took a position in the Robinson
Brewery with which his father was connected, and rose quickly through
the intermediate positions to that of manager, in which capacity he took
an effective part in the development of the great business. When thr
Robinson Company became merged in the Pennsylvania Central Brewing
Company, he was retained as manager of the Mina Robinson plant. Nor
w^s his reputation confined to the home concern or even to the brewing busi-
ness at large. On the contrary he soon occupied a prominent place in the
Scranton financial world and became connected with a number of im-
portant business institutions. He was a director in the Traders' National
Bank of Scranton, the Lackawanna National Bank at West Seneca,
New York, the president of Pomeroy Water Company, of Pomeroy, Ohio,
and a director and large stockholder in many local industrial concerns.
It was not by any means the case that Mr. Robinson's activities were con-
fined to the department of business. On the contrary he was one of the
most prominent citizens of Scranton in the political world, and his popularity
made him a strong and effective candidate. He was a member of the
42
658 CITY OF SCRANTON
Democratic party, and a keen and intelligent observer of every passing
political phase and aspect, both in local and national affairs. In 1896 he
was nominated by the Democratic party as candidate for city controller,
it being part'cularly essential that year to present the strongest available
man in opposition to F. J. Widmayer. Mr. Robinson was extremely loath
to enter the race, but his public spirit was successfully appealed to and he
centually consented. The campaign which followed was the memorable
Ripple-Bailey struggle which ended in the victory of the Democratic ticket.
Mr. Robinson was most active and aggressive during the campaign and his
popularity is attested in the fact that he led the remainder of his ticket by
several hundred votes, the prestige of his name being undoubtedly respon-
sible for the election of several fellow candidates whose defeat was inevitable
but for their association with him on the ticket. Three years later Mr.
Robinson again ran on the Democratic ticket, this time as the nominee
for city treasurer against T. R. Brooks, and once more was triumphantly
elected at the polls.
The personality of Mr. Robinson was unusually attractive and win-
ning and was doubtless quite as much the cause of his popularity as any
worldly success that was his. Certain it is that it won him a host of friends
whose regard was but confirmed by the sterling qualities of the man of
which it was but the herald. He was very influential among the young men
of the community, and it is unquestioned that his influence was always for
their good. His own character possessed the manliness which is so quick
to be recognized and imitated by young men, and which does not fear to
challenge ridicule in what it believes to be the right. He was a man of a
most democratic nature, to whose regard wealth and influence found no
readier access than poverty and obscurity, a fact which was well illustrated
on the occasion of his death, when all ranks and conditions mingled on a
common footing to pay a final tribute to one who had been to each and
all a helpful companion and a true friend. One of the most praiseworthy
of his virtues was undoubtedly his affection for his family, more especiallv
for his mother, and it is told of him upon the best authority that he never
embarked upon any undertaking of importance without first consulting that
most trustworthy of oracles. His death occurred June 12, 1904, and as an
illustration of the universal respect paid to him, the city paid him the un-
usual honor of practically suspending business during the continuance of
the funeral ceremonies.
Robert Robinson, son of Philip and Mina (Schimpfl) Robinson, was
born December 18, 1869, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. As a very young boy
he developed the extraordinary energy so characteristic of him, and a pre-
cocity of intellect which, quickened by a keen interest in all the circum-
stances of life, soon brought him to knowledge and attainments beyond
what his common school education could account for. His education was
gained while attending the local public schools up to fourteen years of age
when he began a business career. He was shortly offered a position as
bookkeeper in the Merchants' and Mechanics' Bank, which he accepted and
in which he remained for a period of three years. He then became asso-
ciated with and shortly after assumed management of the Robinson Brewery
Company and in this congenial atmosphere remained until the time of his
death. But the sum of Mr. Robinson's activities is very far from being
measured by a recountal of his business career. Indeed, his most character-
istic work was done along other lines and in a quite dissimilar department
of duty. His personality was one to make him eminently popular among
men, and from early youth he had taken a great and intelligent interest in
^^^-^
(r^fsif^ ^\<:H^iytyi<ur^-2y^
CITY OF SCRANTON 659
the questions of local politics. He was a Democrat in principle, and a
staunch supporter of the party, so that it happened that he had barely
reached his majority when taken as the most available candidate for mem-
bership to the city council by his party, and triumphantly elected thereto.
In this body he quickly established a reputation as a progressive member
vi^ith the interests of the community sincerely at heart. He gave such satis-
faction to his constituency that on the expiration of his term he was prompt-
ly re-elected for another two years. When his second term was but hah
over, however, he was nominated as a candidate for membership in the
board of select councilmen, and resigned in order to accept it. To this
office also he was elected and re-elected and seemed upon the threshold of a
brilliant political career, when the unexpected illness seized him from which
his tragic death resulted. His youth gave every promise of a successful
future. The youngest member of the select council, and a reputation al-
ready established as one of the most competent men in public life, respected
for his deliberate judgment and unflinching support of what that judgment
told him was the right, there seemed no limit set to his possible success,
and the sudden and sad event which terminated these bright hopes cas*
a cloud of gloom not only over his family and the large group of warm
friends which he had gained, but in an unusual degree over the whole city.
There were none who could fail to feel the stern gravity of the fate which thus
cut ofif a useful life before it had even reached its prime, or to sympathize
with his mother thus suddenly afflicted. His death occurred on Christmas
Eve, 1898, after an illness so brief that many of his friends were not even
aware of it until the notice of his death shocked them. His funeral was
one of the most largely attended in the history of Scranton. Mr. Robinson
was a member of many fraternal organizations, of the Nay Aug Tribe, Im-
proved Order of Red Men ; Camp No. 430, P. O. S. of A. ; Electric City
Council, Royal Arcanum ; and Schiller Lodge, No. 345, F. and A. M., and
it was the solemn and dignified funeral rites of this ancient order that were
last read over his grave.
Otto J. Robinson, son of Philip and Mina (Schimpff) Robinson, was
born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, June 18, 1876. He attended the public
schools of the city of his birth and obtained his education in business at
Wood's Business College. To say he obtained his business education in
any institution of learning is a gross misstatement, inasmuch as the exceed-
ingly broad and minute knowledge he possesses of business methods and
practices has been acquired in a school which it were folly to attempt to
enclose within walls, the training school of life and experience. In ear'y
life he entered the brewing business and has labored faithfully and diligently
until at the present time he occupies a position as president of the Standard
Brewing Company. This is a prosperous enterprise, organized in 1905,
and a few weeks after having been placed in operation outgrew its plant,
a performance it repeated after its size had been doubled. The company
is entirely independent, unconnected with any other plant or trust, and in
the direction of its business policy and the management of its varied affairs
he displays business acumen of an unusually brilliant order. His other
business relations are as president of the German Building and Loan As-
sociation, No. 10; director of the South Side Bank; treasurer of the Scran-
ton Axle' and Spring Company; and treasurer of the Richford Copper Com-
pany, a concern operating in Mexico. He is president of the Junger Man-
nerchor, belongs to the Eagle Athletic Association, and to Schiller Lodge,
No. 345, F. and A. M. Mr. Robinson's political preferences are strongly
Democratic, although the only part he has played in the public life of the
66o CITY OF SCRANTON
city has been in the capacity of school director, an office he held for ten
years. He is a Presbyterian in religious faith, and belongs to the Hickory
Street Church of that denomination.
Mr. Robinson married Bessie Jones. Children : Otto, Edward, Robert,
Christian, Philomena, Elizabeth Bertillio. Of unimpeachable integrity in
all his business relations, Mr. Robinson owes the success that he has
achieved to the quality that has, above all others, characterized his career
as well as that of his father, indomitable perseverance, and is reaping the
reward of intelligently directed effort.
JAMES ARCHBALD (5th)
James Archbald (5th) was born at Sand Lake, New York, the tempor-
ary residence of his parents, February 13, 1838. He was a son of James
and Augusta T. Archbald, and was of mixed Scotch and New England
ancestry.
James Archbald (4th), father of James Archbald (5th), was of that stal-
wart coterie of great builders of the city of Scranton. He was born in
Little Cumbray Isle, Buteshire, Scotland, ^larch 3, 1793, and was the fourth
of the same name in lineal descent. He was descended on his mother's side
from the Rev. Robert Woodrow, a prominent Presbyterian divine and
writer. Like Washington and Lincoln, he was self-educated. He came
to Carbondale in 1828 as a civil and mining engineer, and for many years
had charge of the engineering work of the Delaware & Hudson Company,
and was its superintendent. Much of its difficult railroad building across
the Moosic Mountains was the work of Mr. Archbald. While still con-
nected with the Delaware & Hudson Company, he engineered and super-
intended the building of the gravity railroad, of the Pennsylvania Coal Com-
pany, from Hawley to Pittston, as narrated elsewhere in this work. In
1856 he went with the then new Lackawanna Railroad Company, his official
relation being general agent, probably supplementing the work of Colonel
George W. Scranton in building the Southern division. On the opening
of the road to the Delaware river in 1857, Mr. Archbald became chief en-
gineer, and it was largely his work that through connections were finally
obtained to New York. One of the then accounted remarkable pieces of
engineering was the projecting and building of the great Oxford tunnel at
Oxford, New Jersey. This tunnel was then one of the longest, if not actually
the longest, that had so far been built, and a peculiarity of it, quite un-
known then, was that it was not a straight tunnel, but, owing to the topo-
graphy of the mountain, had to be what in engineering terms is known as
a "reverse curve" — i. e. a line somewhat like a horizontal letter S — and so
exact had the lines been run, that when opposing gangs working from op-
posite ends of the tunnel, broke through and met, under the mountain, the
centre line varied but three quarters of an inch. This was then regarded as
a remarkable piece of engineering skill. Mr. Archbald remained chief
engineer of the road fourteen years until his death. During that time the
road had been practically rebuilt throughout and had been extended to
Binghamton, New York, and to Oswego and Lake Ontario. In 1857 Mr.
Archbald built a handsome brick residence on the northeast corner of Ridge
row and Monroe avenue. It was laid out on a large lot, and was probably
the finest residence place in Scranton. It still remains, known as the Arch-
bald Place. In 1854, before coming to Scranton Mr. Archbald was located
at Fort Wayne, Indiana, as vice-president and chief engineer of the Fort
Wayne Railroad (since become an important branch of the Pennsylvania
9)(VwvJU|. CXvciJjaildl .
CITY OF SCRANTON 66i
railroad). During his incumbency of this position he built what was then
known as the "Air Line railroad" from Toledo, Ohio, to Indianapolis, and
a prosperous town on the border line between the states of Ohio and Indiana
was named Archbald, in his honor.
Mr. Archbald married, November 27, 1832, Augusta T. Frothinghani,
daughter of Major Thomas Frothinghani, of the well known family of that
name of Charlestown, Massachusetts. There were five children born to
them — three sons and two daughters, viz. : James, Thomas, Mary, Robert
Woodrow, Augusta. He died at Scranton, Pennsylvania, August 26, 1870.
Following in the footsteps of his father, James Archbald (5th) took
up the engineering profession. He prepared for college in private schools
at Carbondale, Pennsylvania, and at Manlius, New York. After some little
experience in the field, he entered Union College, taking the engineering
course, then under the brilliant direction of Professor Gillespie, and was
graduated with high honors in the class of i860. In the meantime, in 1857,
his family had moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania, and there, after his grad-
uation, Mr. Archbald became associated as civil engineer with the Dela-
ware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad in the capacity of assistant to his
father. On his father's death, in 1870, he was advanced to the chief en-
gineership, and remained with the company in that position until 1899,
giving it nearly forty years of service.
The Archb'alds — father and son — were thus identified with the develop-
ment of the two great coal companies of the Northern Anthracite Region,
the Delaware & Hudson, and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, their
joint association with these companies extending over a period of more
than seventy years. Among the engineering achievements in which the
older Archbald participated was the change of the Delaware & Hudson,
in the middle fifties, to a gravity road between Carbondale and Honesdale,
previous to which time the cars were drawn back and forth, from one plane
to the other, on a dead level, by horses ; and its extension as a locomotive
road from Carbondale in the direction of Scranton. The younger man was
engaged on the Delaware. Lackawanna & Western Railroad in the com-
pletion of the Van Ness Gap Tunnel at Oxford, New Jersey; the building
of the Bergen Tunnel at Hoboken, and the approaches to it across the
Hackensack Meadows ; and the extension of the railroad from Great Bend,
Pennsylvania, its previous terminus, first to Binghamton, and then to Utica
and Buffalo, with the arrangement of the terminals in the latter city. The
construction of the Bergen" Tunnel, with its approaches, and the Buffalo
extension, were under Mr. Archbald's immediate direction as chief engineer,
and may be regarded as monuments to his superior skill and energy. Mr.
Archbald was the official engineer appointed by the court as a member of
the commission to survey and lay out the dividing line between the two
counties on the formation of Lackawanna county in 1878.
In August, 1862, the darkest period of the Civil War, Mr. Archbald
enlisted, and was made captain of Company I, One Hundred and Thirty-
second Pennsylvania Volunteers, which was recruited from Delaware,
Lackawanna & Western Railroad men ; and with his company a month later
he took part in the battle of South Mountain, September 14, 1862, and
Antietam, September 17, 1862, being under fire at one of the mo.st exposed
and bloodiest points in that memorable battle. He served in the army until
January, 1863, when he applied for and obtained a discharge, being threat-
ened w'it'h permanent deafness due to exposure.
In 1883, without severing his relation with the Delaware, Lackawanna
& Western' Railroad, but being relieved of some of his more active duties.
662 CITY OF SCRANTON
Mr. Archbald became interested in the Barber Asphalt Paving Company,
and took charge of its paving work in different sections of the country —
Buffalo, New Orleans, St. Louis, Omaha and Portland. It was largely
through his efforts in 1883 that Scranton entered upon a general scheme
of street paving with asphalt, which did so much for the growth of the city.
Later, however, he severed this connection and resumed his work with tlie
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, continuing with that company
until 1899. After his retirement, Mr. Archbald gradually gave up his pro-
fessional activities, but was called at times to important undertakings. In
the winter of 1900 he had charge of a survey to connect the various inde-
pendent collieries in the Lackawanna and Wyoming coal regions, with the
Erie & Wyoming Railroad, looking to the building of a new anthracite coal
road to tidewater. After the abandonment of that project he laid out a
line of railroad across the Allegheny Mountains in West Virginia, for the
Cherry River Lumber Company, to connect with the Chesapeake & Ohio
Railroad. He also in 1902 made surveys for the extension of the West Vir-
ginia Central Railroad to tidewater, a project made unnecessary by the pur-
chase of the Western Maryland. His last professional work was as chief
engineer of the Mississippi Central Railroad, laying out and superintending
the construction of its road across the state of Mississippi, from Natchez
to Hattiesburg, with a projected extension to the Gulf at Scranton, Missis-
sippi, with which he was occupied from 1905 to 1907, retiring finally, at
the conclusion of this work, with powers unimpaired, at the age of seventy.
Mr. Archbald was a member of the Institute of INIining Engineers, and
was one of the founders and the first president of the Scranton Engineers'
Qub. He was elected a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers,
May 15, 1872. He was a director of the Third National Bank of Scranton,
from its organization in 1872 ; a director of the Scranton Gas and Water
Company ; president of the Albright Coal Company, which successfully
operated a mine in Pottsville, Pennsylvania ; a trustee and vice-president of
the Albright Memorial Library ; and a director of the Pennsylvania Oral
School for the instruction of deaf children. He was also for a number of
years a director of the Scranton Savings Bank.
On January 25, 1865, he was married to Maria H. Albright, a daughter
of the late Joseph J. Albright, general sales agent for the Delaware & Hud-
son Company, and his widow and six children, Colonel James Archbald, of
Pottsville, Pennsylvania ; Joseph A. Archbald, of Buffalo, New York ; Mrs.
John C. Kerr, of Englewood, New Jersey ; Rev. Thomas F. Archbald ; Mrs.
John H. Brooks ; and Miss Ruth S. Archbald, of Scranton, survive him.
He is also survived by his youngest brother. United States Judge, Hon.
Robert Woodrow Archbald.
In August, 1910, Mr. and Mrs. Archbald went to Europe for a three
months' tour. It was purely a pleasure trip, and was to extend through
Switzerland, Austria and Italy. Mr. Archbald was apparently in the best
of health and spirits, but it was found that his heart was affected by the
high altitudes of the Tyrol. He went to Vienna for medical examination,
and was declared to have no organic infirmity but was advised not to exert
himself unnecessarily. Journeying on to Venice, he seemed to improve,
and spent a week in that city, but just as he was leaving, on October 4, he
was stricken at the station, and died the same evening in a hospital. Thus
passed away one who loved and deserved well of the profession, and who
was loved and respected by all who knew him. Mr. Archbald was genial,
unassuming, of simple presence, of sterling integrity, and a hater of shams.
He was possessed of the highest engineering ability, especially in the field,
CITY OF SCRANTON 663
which was his school rather than the office. It is not necessary to dwell
on his characteristics to those who had the pleasure of his acquaintance;
but for those who had not, let it be recorded, that no better friend, no
worthier citizen, no more active and few more able engineers, could be
found.
COLONEL U. G. SCHOONMAKER
The work by which Colonel U. G. Schoonmaker will be longest and bast
remembered in the city of Scranton, where he has achieved honorable dis-
tinction in business, civic, military and social circles, is the promotion and
development of the Elmhurst region, the Scranton suburb, that through
his wise planning and tireless efforts has become the ideal residential sec-
tion of the Scranton vicinity. The wonderful enhancement of the natural
beauties of that place by the best art of man has left little to be desired in
the way of pleasant attractiveness, and to Colonel Schoonmaker is duo
credit not only for his vision of a suburb beautiful, but for the energy and
steadfast purpose he displayed in its realization.
Colonel Schoonmaker is a native of New York, and is a member of one
of the oldest Holland families of that state, descending from Captain Joachim
Schoonmaker, the American founder, who came to .\merica from Holland
in the middle of the seventeenth century, settling at Kingston, Ulster countv.
New York, his name being among those of the fifteen farmers mentioned in
the Provincial record of 1661. Captain Joachim Schoonmaker was active
in the Indian wars of his time, proving his courage in battle with the abo-
rigines and defending his property and family from their sudden attacks.
His descendants bore worthily the family name in many walks of life, and
have left an enviable record in the state of their adoption, also finding
prominent position elsewhere, whither duty has called.
(I) Jacob Schoonmaker, grandfather of Colonel U. G. Schoonmaker,
was born in Ulster county. New York, and there died. He was the pro-
prietor of a large landed estate, part of which he had inherited and part
of which he acquired through his own activity, and passed his life in its culti-
vation. He was a member of the force of militia that participated in the
defence of Kingston during the War of 1812. He married and had children,
among them Alexander, of whom further.
(II) Alexander Schoonmaker, son of Jacob Schoonmaker, was born in
Marbletown, Ulster county. New York, July 26, 1820, died in Lackawanna
county, Pennsylvania, in 1890. He became a lawyer in that vicinity, in 1861
moving to Kingston, the county seat, to find a larger field for the practice
of his profession, and there remained until failing health made it imperative
that he should abandon all legal duties. In Alay, 1886, he made his homt
at Elmhurst, then known as Dunning, his death occurring four years later.
He married, April 29, 1842, Anna Elizabeth, daughter of Johannes Van
Wagenen, her father a native of Ulster county. New York, one of the large
land-owners of the county. The grandfather of Johannes Van Wagenen
came to America from Holland, where his family originated. Children
of Alexander and Anna Elizabeth (\'an Wagenen) Schoonmaker: i. J.
Tyler, a commissioned officer of the Eleventh Regiment Connecticut Vol-
unteers, served throughout the Civil War : later took contracts in the con-
struction of the Union Pacific Railroad, subsequently going to California and
engaging in ranching, now living on the Pacific Coast. 2. Colonel U. G., of
whom further. 3. Jennie A., married (first) Sidney Rirl, (second) H. W.
Briggs ; died October 6, 1908, having passed the latter years of her life
664 CITY OF SCRANTON
at the home of her brother in Elmhurst ; she is survived by three children
by her first marriage, Sidney G., of Elmhurst, Pennsylvania, Claude, of
Kingston, New York, and Addie E., of Elmhurst, Pennsylvania. 4. Ada,
married William Shennen, of Clarks Green, Pennsylvania. 5. Eva A., mar-
ried F. W. Harlow, editor of the Elmhurst Signal.
(Ill) Colonel U. G. Schoonmaker, son of Alexander Schoonmaker, was
born in Marbletown, Ulster county. New York, January 31, 1845. After
studying in his youth in the Kingston, New York, schools, he moved to
Binghamton, New York. He was then for two years connected with the
Sturrucca Hotel of the Erie Railroad at Susquehanna Depot, Pennsyl-
vania, in the fall of 1866 coming to Scranton. Here, in partnership with
his father-in law, S. J. Reed, he purchased the Forest House, which oc-
cupied the present site of the Hotel Jermyn, afterward becoming sole own-
er and conducting the hotel until 1893, when he disposed of the property to
John Jermyn. Mr. Schoonmaker is the owner of a tract of two hundred
and fifty acres of land at Elmhurst, the Scranton suburb previously men-
tioned, and in the development of this tract into the leading residential
district of the locality he has performed a work which he may well regard
with satisfaction. Nine miles from Scranton, enjoying unusual advantages
of scenery and location, the steps that have been taken to add con-
venience and modern improvements to its natural favors in the laying of
miles of carefully graded streets and the setting out of more than eighteen
thousand trees and shrubs have attracted thither many of Scranton's leading
men of business and affairs. In 1883, at Colonel Schoonmaker's direction,
one of the most expert landscape gardeners of this country, Air. Webstei,
of Rochester, New York, mapped out a plan of lots, streets and parks,
a number of the latter having been devoted exclusively to the public use.
Valuable building restrictions have assured the residents of Elmhurst of
estates and homes of a uniform high grade, and another pleasing feature
of the region is the magnificent mountain boulevard extending from Nay
Aug Falls to Elmhurst. This splendid roadway was built at a cost of more
than sixty thousand dollars and affords excellent motoring advantages.
Elmhurst is reached by two lines of railroad.
Politically, Colonel Schoonmaker has ever been a Republican, and has
lent to that party all of his support and influence. He served on the board
of commissioners of the city of Scranton under its first charter, and was
prominently identified with the movement to secure the erection of Lacka-
wanna county, a project to which he gave liberally of his time and means.
He is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the
Masonic Order, in the latter society belonging to Peter Williamson Lodge,
No. 323, F. and A. M., Lackawanna Chapter, No. 185, R. A. M., and Coeur
de Lion Commandery, No. 17, K. T. He was one of the organizers and
first president of the Masonic Veterans' Association of Northeastern Penn-
sylvania, and is a member of the National Geographical Society. On
August 14, 1878, Colonel Schoonmaker was elected to honorary member-
ship in Company B, Scranton City Guards, Thirteenth Regiment National
Guard of Pennsylvania, and on January 12, 1880, was commissioned aide-
de-camp on the staff' of Governor H. M. Hoyt, with the rank of lieutenant-
colonel. Colonel Schoonmaker is a member of the Military Society of
Pennsylvania.
Colonel Schoonmaker married, in 1866, Louise J., daughter of Spencer
J. Reed, a native of Sharon, Ohio. Mrs. Schoonmaker died July 23, 1901.
Her charming personality and her gentle refinement endure in the memory
of the many friends whom it was her delight to tender matchless hospitality
to in her home.
CITY OF SCRANTON 665
EMRYS S. JOSEPH
The life of Emrys S. Joseph was begun in Scranton under conditions
anything but auspicious, and too full credit cannot be given him for the
resourceful manner in which he has raised his station and for the generous
degree of success he has attained. He was born in Ruabon, Denbighshire,
Wales, son of Rev. Watkins B. Joseph, and grandson of John Joseph. John
Joseph was a shoemaker by trade and passed his entire life in his native
land, the father of: Watkins B., of whom further; John, died in Australia;
Joseph, lives in Australia ; Edith ; Louise.
Rev. Watkins B. Joseph was born in South Wales, died in 1884, two
years after coming to the United States. He was a minister of the Con-
gregational faith. He married Mary Sibbering, who died January 3, 1913,
daughter of George Sibbering, a lumber merchant of Merthyr-Tydfil, county
of Glamorgan, Wales, his business now conducted by his grandson. Chil-
dren of Rev. Watkins B. and Mary (Sibbering) Joseph : Annie ; George,
deceased ; Louise, married William A. Robb, of Scranton ; Gwendolyn, de-
ceased ; Agnes Mary, married David R. John, of Scranton ; Edith Brownen.
married Louis A. Howe, of Honesdale, Pennsylvania ; Lily, married Hora-
tius H. Keller, and lesides in Scranton ; Emrys S., of whom further ; Blod-
wen May.
Emrys S. Joseph was born January 21, 1880, and when two years of age
was brought to the United States by his parents, attending public school
in Scranton until he was fourteen years of age. His father died when he
was four years old, and as the Congregational ministry, like that of only
too many other churches, was neither adequately nor promptly paid, the
sum left for the support of the family was entirely insufficient to meet the
dailv expenses, so that Emrys S. Joseph in boyhood contributed to the
family store by selling daily papers while not attending school. He ob-
tained a position as office boy with John T. Richards, of Scranton, remain-
ing in the employ of this gentleman and willingly performing all duties
within his power until he rose to the position of bookkeeper. In 1899 he
accepted a position with the Scranton Water and Gas Company at Oly-
phant, being in charge of the office at that place for six years, then, upon
the purchase bv his" emplovers of the Carbondale Water Company, was
placed in charge of the office at the latter place. In 1907, upon the death
of his brother-in-law, Mr. Keller. Mr. Joseph moved to Scranton to as-
sume charge of his insurance business, conducting the same for a year and
a half and at the expiration of that time establishing in the same line in-
dependently. He was so engaged until March i, 191 1, when he was ap-
pointed special agent of the New Hampshire Fire Insurance Company,
which, with others, he had previously represented, and was given general
supervisory power over the agencies in Western Pennsylvania. His ap-
pointment to the service of the home office is at once a recognition of and
a compliment to the excellent work he performed as an agent. His con-
duct of its affairs was so satisfactorv that he was later made chief of the
Northeastern Pennsylvania district. 'Recently, the New Hampshire Com-
pany, through purchase, acquired the stock of another insurance company,
which will be managed bv the man who has been looking after the Phila-
delphia district of the New Hampshire. This left a vacancy to which Mr.
Joseph ha<; been advanced. He has three times the amount of territory to
look after that he had under the old arrangement, including about two-
thirds of Pennsvlvania, the major part of Maryland and all of Delaware.
The company officials have suggested that he take up his residence at
666 CITY OF SCRANTON
some point that he can reach quickly from his headquarters office. Harris-
burg has commended itself to him and he will remove there in the fall of
1914. Mr. Joseph's advancement has been through merit alone, a fact that
is very pleasing to his many friends. Mr. Joseph is a thirty-second degree
Mason, belonging to Lodge, Chapter, Consistory and Shrine, also holding
membership in the Modern Woodmen of America and the Underwriters'
Association of the Middle Department of Philadelphia. His church is the
Presbyterian, and his convictions in political matters are Republican.
Mr. Joseph married Mary, daughter of Lewis and Margaret (Jones)
Davis, of Scranton, and has one daughter, Alargaret Sibbering, born Octo-
ber 31, 1908.
AUSTIN LA MOURE GRIFFIN
Although born in New York state, Mr. Griffin's youth and entire busi-
ness life has been spent in Pennsylvania. His father, an honored minister
of the Methodist Episcopal church, was stationed in various New York
towns until 1872, when he was assigned to the Carbondale (Pennsylvania)
Church. This may be quoted as the date of the coming to Pennsylvania.
Austin Griffin, D. D., father of Austin L. Griffin, was born in West-
ford, Otsego county, New York, February i, 1836, and now, after a use-
ful, honorable career as a minister of the Gospel, is living a retired life at
Oneonta, in his native state. He was educated in the public "schools and
at Laurel Bank Seminary, at Deposit, New York. He made a public pro-
fession of religion in January, 1857, and was held by home influences in
sympathy with the Baptist church until 1859, when he joined the Methodist
Episcopal church at East Worcester, New York. Feeling divinely called to
preach the Gospel, he made suitable preparation, and was granted a local
preacher's license three months later, becoming in i860 a member of the
Oneida Conference. After his ordination he was assigned to the church
at Schuyler Lake, New York, serving that charge during i860 and 1861.
In 1862 and 1863 he was pastor of the Laurens (New York) Church, and
1864 and 1865, in Otsego, New York, in 1866 and 1868 at Hartwick, New
York. In 1869 the Otsego and Chenango districts were transferred from
the Oneida to the Wyoming Conference, Rev. Griffin thus becoming a mem-
ber of the latter body. In 1869 he was stationed at Milford, in 1870 and
1871 at Oneonta, coming to Pennsylvania in 1872 as pastor of the church
at Carbondale, serving until 1874. An interesting coincidence must here
be noted : The pioneer preacher in Carbondale was a local preacher, Wil-
liam Griffin. The first church, the First Methodist Episcopal Church, in Car-
bondale, was erected, the third church owned by the society was destroyed
by fire and the present beautiful church was erected at a cost of $40,000
and was dedicated ^larcli 8, 1903, Rev. Austin Griffin, D. D., preaching the
evening sermon to the people he had served as pastor twenty-eight years
earlier in their church history. From 1875 to 1877 Rev. Griffin was pastor
of the Centenary Church, Binghamton, New York; 1878 and 1880. at West
Pittston, Pennsylvania ; and from 1861 to 1884 was presiding elder of the
Wyoming district. He was then pastor of a church in Kingston, 1885 and
1886; Central Church at Wilkes-Barre, 1888 and 1890, and the Tabernacle
Church at Binghamton, New York, 1891 and 1893, his last charge as pastor.
From 1894 to 1896 he was financial agent for the Preachers Aid Society :
and in 1897 and 1898 presiding elder of the Oneonta district, filling the
same position in the Wyoming district from 1898 to 1903, having served
the same district in a similar capacity from 1881 to 1884. His active life
CITY OF SCRANTON 667
in the ministry covered a period of thirty-five years, and was one of honor
and rewarded service. He was honored by his brethren of the Conference
with their highest office, presiding elder, and was their choice for delegate
to the General Conference of the Chnrch in 1884, 1892, i8y6, and lyoo.
Syracuse University conferred upon him the degree D. D., and everywhere
that his ministry called him he was loved by his people. But there is a
higher degree and a greater love to be given him, that of the Master he
has served so well. He married, February i, 1858, Rosalia O. La Moure.
They celebrated their golden wedding on February i, 1908, in Oneonta,
New York.
Austin La Moure Griffin, only child of Rev. Austin and Rosalia O. (La
Moure) Griffin, was born in East Worcester, New York, June 24, 1859.
The itinerant law of the Methodist Episcopal church then in force caused
his father to change his pastorate every two years. Thus the education
of the lad was obtained under a succession of new teachers, in the public
schools of the towns to which his father was assigned. He also attended
Wyoming Seminary, there finishing his school years. He began business
life as a grocer in Pittston, continuing there four years, then sold his busi-
ness and located in Wilkes-Barre, establishing a laundry. After two years
there he sold out and began a similar business in Binghamton, New York,
remaining there until 1898, when he disposed of his business and came to
Scranton, Pennsylvania. He there became engaged in mining enterprises
and was employed in various capacities until the spring of 1900, when he
was appointed superintendent of the Green Ridge Coal Company, a posi-
tion he now holds. Mr. (iriffin is a member of the Masonic Order, holding
the thirty-second degree. Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Keystone Con-
sistory, Northern Jurisdiction of the United States.
Mr. Griffin married, June 24, 1883, Georgianna Slocum, educated in the
public schools and St. Agnes Seminary, Albany, New York, daughter of
James and Margaret A. (Thompson) Slocum, of the early Scranton pioneer
family from whom the original name of the city, "Slocum's Hollow."" was
derived. Child, Elise R., born at Kingston, Pennsylvania, July 7, 1887,
educated in the public schools, Wyoming Seminary, and the Emerson School
of Oratory, Boston, Massachusetts.
WTLLLVM LAWRENCE CONNELL
Prominent in the business and public life of the city of his birth, Wil-
liam Lawrence Connell exemplifies in his own life and character the sterling
qualities that have ever characterized this eminently strong Scranton family
of business and professional men. Though hardly yet in more than life's
prime, he long since reached eminent position in the business world and
in public life has ever been a leader of the best element of the party to
which he affiliates. His terms as chief executive of Scranton were marked
by careful management in all departments over which he had jurisdiction
and by a devotion to the best interests of the city at large. He was twice
called to the mayor's chair, each time the call was made there being especial
need of a strong man to direct municipal affairs during trying periods.
William Lawrence Connell was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, October
14, 1862, son of James and Jessie (English) Connell. He was educated in
the public and private schools of Scranton and came prominently before
the business world of his city as a member of the firm, Hill & Connell,
furniture dealers, a firm organized in 1891. He had previously been as-
sociated with other members of the family in large coal operations, was
668 CITY OF SCRANTON
for years manager of the Enterprise Coal Company and in later years be-
came president and general manager of the Green Ridge Coal Company.
His interests are large in other Scranton and Pennsylvania activities, varied
in character. He is president of the Lackawanna Coal and Lumber Com-
pany, president of Paint Creek Collieries Company, president of the Connell
Anthracite Mining Company, president of the Union National Bank of
Scranton, director of the Scranton Life Insurance Company, director of the
International Text Book Company, director of the International Educa-
tional Publishing Company, these being the more important lines of busi-
ness which owe much to his keen business instinct and wise e-xecutive
ability. He is thoroughly representative of the wide-awake modern Amer-
ican business man and among the leaders he stands as one of those best
qualified to lead. His public spirit is nowhere so well manifested as in the
upbuilding of his native city and with the men whose efiforts are so largely
responsible for the greatness of Scranton he stands shoulder to shoulder.
Mr. Connell is a staunch Republican and has given much valuable time
to the public service in councils, in the mayor's chair and on commissions
appointed to serve the city interests. In 1893 he was elected ma}'or of
Scranton, serving three years, and in 1902 he was again called to the head
of the city afifairs, serving four years. Since 1903 he has served on the
board of conciliation, appointed under the provisions of the law creating
the Anthracite Coal Strike Commission and is also by appointment of Gov-
ernor Tener a member of the Mine Cave Commission to regulate mining
under the city of Scranton. Mr. Connell is a member of Elm Park Metho-
dist Episcopal Church, is a member of the Masonic Order and of the In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows, belongs to the Scranton, the Country
and the Bicycle clubs of his own city and to the Philadelphia Art Club.
Mr. Connell married, January 13, 1886, Lillian Harrington, of Phila-
delphia. Children: i. Jessie English, married George Houck, and resides
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; child, Lillian Jeanette. 2. Natalie, married
Rudolph S. Houck, and resides in Scranton, Pennsylvania ; children : Ru-
dolph S. Jr. and William L. 3. Lillian Jeanette, residing at home. 4.
William Lawrence Jr.
MARTIN P. JUDGE
Courage, perseverance and industry are the three qualities, one might
almost say virtues, that have descended to Martin P. Judge from his
forefathers, all of whom proudly claimed the "Emerald Isle" as their home.
Further pursuance of this narrative will show the truth and justice of the
previous statement. Michael Judge was the emigrant ancestor of the
family, two generations removed from the present, and leaving his home in
county Mayo, Ireland, was numbered among the pioneer settlers of the
Lackawanna Vallej^
(II) Michael (2) Judge, son of Michael (i) Judge, was born in Lacka-
wanna county, Pennsylvania, in 1833. From early boyhood he was em-
ployed in the mines and it was in the pursuit of this occupation, dangerous
enough in the light of modern and scientific safeguards for life, but trebly
dangerous in those times, when ignorance and incompetence in manage-
ment were responsible for the lives of thousands, that he met death, aged
thirty-eight. Honorable and upright in all his daily relations, the confidence
placed in him by his fellow citizens had made him their representative in
the city councils from the twentieth ward, a position be held at the time of
his fatal accident. He married Bridget Marley, daughter of Martin and
CITY OF SCRANTON 669
Margaret (Cunningham) Marlcy. They became the parents of eight chil-
dren, of whom two died young: Stephen, deceased; Martin P., of further
mention ; Maria, deceased, married Festus Mulkerin ; Michael, lives in
Minooka, Pennsylvania; John; Thomas; Peter, all in business in the west-
ern part of the county.
(Ill) Martin P. Judge, son of Michael (2) and Bridget (Marley) Judge,
was born in Minooka, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, March 16, 1863.
The pressing need for contributions to the family support, caused by the
tragic death of his father, deprived him of the privileges and benefit of a
school education, and when only eight years of age he was employed as
breaker boy. Until he was twenty-seven years of age he was engaged in
mine work, daily braving the dangers that had taken his father from him,
but rendered cautious and watchful by the former's untimely fate. During
this time he had been constantly in attendance at night school and had
made up, in point of learning at least, his lost school days. The happy,
care-free hours, the childish puzzling over multiplication tables and the
thousand other youthful experiences so dear to memory, could in no way
be brought back. They were gone into time's vast abyss, lost treasures,
never to be found. He had, in this period, so well fitted himself for busi-
ness life that he accepted a position with a mercantile firm as commercial
traveler, continuing in that line for about two years. He then located in
Minooka and was there proprietor of a hotel, the only hotel in Minooka
where the traveling public can get good meals. In 1909 he was elected
recorder of deeds of Lackawanna county. He has always been a supporter
of the Democratic party and was twice elected supervisor of elections in
Lackawanna township, also holding the office of tax collector for one
term. He assumed the duties of his present office on December 8, 1909.
He is a stockholder in the Anthracite Trust Company. Mr. Judge is a
member of the Catholic church. His social and fraternal affiliations are
with the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Knights of St. George, the Young
Men's Institute and the Central Democratic Club.
Mr. Judge married Sarah Murray, daughter of Michael Murray, of
Minooka, Pennsylvania. Children: Edward, Helen, Francis, Cyril, Maria,
Anna, William, Florence.
An appreciation of Mr. Judge's rise in station could not be too laudatory
or extravagant. Compelled by misfortune to lose that birthright of every
child, play-time, and to early assume burdens that in the true course of
events should only be borne by older shoulders ; facing the problem, not
only of proving his worth in competition with his fellows, but with a dis-
maying handicap, he resolutelv set himself to the task, ceased regretting
lost pleasures, educated himself, and now the fighting blood, courage, perse-
verance and industry of his Irish progenitors, previously mentioned, coming
to the fore, he has risen from poverty and obscurity to a position from which
he may regard men of responsible and honorable pursuits without raising
his eyes. His is the type of true achievement, his the Americanism we so
proudly vaunt.
EDWARD BAKER STURGES
Edward Baker Sturges was born in Greenfield Hill, Fairfield county,
Connecticut, February 15, 1845. He is the son of the Rev. Thomas Bene-
dict Sturges who was for a number of vears pastor of the Congregational
church at Greenfield Hill. His grandfather was Joseph Porter Sturges,
who was a resident of Bridgeport, Connecticut.
670 CITY OF SCRANTON
Mr. Sturges was a graduate of the College of New York, and studied
law with J. D. Abbord, Esq., of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and was admitted
to the bar of Fairfield county in 1867. His first invasion of the Keystone
commonwealth was with a knapsack on his back and an Uncle Sam rifle
on his shoulder, during the emergency service on the occasion of Lee's
campaign into Pennsylvania, which culminated in the great battle of Gettys-
burg. Mr. Sturges was then but eighteen years old. He came to Scranton
in 1869 and at once entered upon the practice of the law. His rare ability
and resourcefulness soon gave him a leading position at the bar, and his
practice rapidly grew into one of the largest and most lucrative in the city.
Some of his legal triumphs have been memorable, notably his prosecution
of upward of one hundred violations of the liquor laws during the presi-
dency of Colonel H. M. Boies, of the Young Men's Christian Association
in 1871. W. D. Mossman was then secretary of the association. Scranton
was then in its largest sense a wide-open town. Liquor men were rampant
in their defiance of law. The municipal authorities, if not aiders and abet-
tors, were supinely indifferent. Cyrus W. Hartley, a brilliant young lawyer,
with Mr. Sturges, were members of the board of directors of the Young
Men's Christian Association. Colonel Boies and his board of directors de-
termined to put a stop to this rampant lawlessness, and Messrs. Sturges
and Hartley were authorized to commence prosecution for that purpose.
In order to be fair to the liquor men, they visited their places in person,
and notified them of their purpose, and offered to desist if they would agree
to obey the law. They were met with outrageous defiance, and in several
instances with personal violence. Then the battle of righteousness was on.
It seemed almost a hopeless undertaking, for the public was indifferent,
and the obtaining of evidence was so difficult Their perjury and sub-
ornation of perjury were freely resorted to by the liquor men, as well as
the fixing of juries, so that they actually jeered and laughed at the prose-
cution. One of the saloon keepers said he could afford to spend a barrel
of money in the fight rather than be beaten, for so profitable was his Sunday
business that he carried his receipts of cash home each Sunday night in a
big clothes basket. But there was courage and fight in Boies, Mossman,
Sturges and Hartley, and after a strenuous year's struggle the first actual
conviction was obtained, by which the liquor men learned that there actually
was such a thing as law, and that these young lawyers were ready to bring
down upon them its heavy hand. They then hoisted the white flag, and
sued for peace. The prosecutors, abused and maltreated as they had been,
were not vindictive. Their triumph was complete ; the law had been vindi-
cated. Sixty-three saloon keepers came into court, paid all costs, aggre-
gating over twelve hundred dollars, and gave their solemn promise hence-
forth to obey the law to the letter, and assist in compelling others to obey
it. Thereupon, on the recommendation of the court, the prosecutions were
dropped.
A similar experience in 1873-76, though much more difficult because
politics were made to enter into it, was the prosecution of the Democratic
political boss, Frank A. Beamish, for embezzlement of the school board
funds. This was one of the bitterest legal battles ever contested in any
court, and was fought for the prosecution by Mr. Sturges alone. Mr.
Beamish was the political head of the Democratic party — another Boss
Tweed — whatever he did was sacred, and he was immune to all accounting.
A more extended reference to this trial has elsewhere been made. Suffice
it to say that Mr. Sturges convicted and landed his man in the peni-
tentiary, very much to the latter's surprise and all his friends. It was not
CITY OF SCRANTON 671
only a great legal and moral victory, reflecting the highest credit upon Mr.
Sturges, but it was another great vindication of the lav^f. In recognition of
this eminent service, and that of his lay co-worker, Mr. Robert T. Black,
the citizens of Scranton at a public meeting called for the purpose, passed
a series of highly commendatory resolutions, and presented each with a
beautiful piece of solid silver (that to Mr. Sturges was a coffee urn) on
which was engraved the following legend, "Presented to Edward B. Sturges
by the Citizens of Scranton, in grateful recognition of his unselfish efforts
to expose official corruption, December 25, 1876." Tliis legal Ijattle like
that of the prosecution of the liquor case, was entirely pro bono publico,
Mr. Sturges refusing any compensation for his services, and this has been
characteristic of him. No man has done — we will not say more — no man
has done as much, with the possible exception of his friend and co-worker,
Colonel Boies, in the way of reform in the city, as Mr. Sturges. For forty
years he has been the moving spirit, and much of the time the single handed
lone fighter, for moral and civic reform in our city. Few people remember
that thirty years ago Mr. Sturges, single handed and alone, attacked and
cleaned the city of its gambling dens and brothels. It was through his
efforts that the "Municipal Civic League" was organized, which for years
hired and paid a detective to keep the city clean of those nuisances and to
watch and prosecute liquor law violations, and when the League grew supine
and died, Mr. Sturges, out of his own pocket, still kept the detective on
duty. Those were years when Scranton was a clean city, and it was due to
the sacrificing public spirit of Mr. Sturges. The public did not appreciate
it, because few only knew it, and the self-abnegation of Mr. Sturges was
averse to letting it be generally known.
For nearly a quarter of a century he was a director and leader of the
Young Men's Christian Association, of which he was president in 1873
and 1874. As a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Scranton, he
was one of the eight men who inaugurated the movement to organize the
Second Presbyterian Church, of which he became a charter member and a
trustee. He subsequently moved to Green Ridge and united with the Green
Ridge Presbyterian Church, of which he was elected and ordained a ruling
elder. Mr. and Mrs. Sturges are great travelers. They have been to
about every place in the wide world worth visiting where modern trans-
portation could carry them. This includes two trips around the world, be-
sides an extra visit to China and Japan. They have looked upon the snow
clad summits of the mighty Himalayas, and on the same journey have wit-
nessed the benighted practices of India's worshippers of the Ganges, and
other superstitions. These scenes have made them ardent supporters ot
Foreign Missions, to which they have been large givers. Among their
benevolences is the support of a hospital in China, an Orphanage for the
care of several hundred orphan waifs of India's constantly recurring famines.
Mr Sturges has been a director of the Pennsylvania Oral School for
the Deaf, a liberal contributor to the Young Women's Christian Association,
and indeed to every enterprise of our city, whose object has been the uplift-
ins and betterment of the community. In a business way be has been
equally active. As previouslv narrated, in 1886 he built the Suburban Street
Passenger Railway, and equipped it with electricity, and made it the first
successful electric traction street railway on this continent, if not m the
world In his European trips, Mr. Sturges had seen the results of experi-
ments in electric traction, for nowhere had it then gone beyond the ex-
perimental stage. He visited every town in this country where such ex-
periments had been made, and out of his knowledge thus acquired, he had
672 CITY OF SCR ANTON
the Suburban furnished with such improved traction equipments that it
became a commercial success from the beginning. He is therefore entitled
to the honor and credit of having first demonstrated the utility and practic-
ability of electric motor traction. Mr. Sturges is not to be classed with the
great inventors of the world, but rather with that other class, without whom
inventions would be valueless, who demonstrate their utility and harness
them into practical use, such men as Cyrus W. Field, who did not invent,
but who demonstrated the utility of the ocean cable. Mr. Sturges helped
to build what was known at the "Cross town" Electric Railway, now the
Nay-Aug and Petersburg line. He was associated with O. S. Johnson in
several coal mining enterprises, also with Edward S. Dolph in the "Dolph
Coal Company," one of the largest mining concerns in the valley. In 1888
he became a stockholder in the New York, Ontario & Western Railroad,
and was chiefly instrumental in inducing that company to build a branch
road to New York on its main line, down into the Lackawanna Valley to
Scranton, thus securing another outlet to market their coal. This com-
pany, through the Scranton Coal Company, which it owns, has become one
of the heaviest shippers of coal in the valley. The branch was built in 1888
and 1889 and was opened for traffic on the first of July, 1890. He is largely
interested in the Scranton Steam Pump Company and the Spencer Heater
Company. Indeed there are few enterprises, either religious, civic or in-
dustrial, during his more than forty years' residence among us that Mr.
Sturges has not been either at the head of or actively identified with. He
is now the principal owner of the Pine Hill Coal Company, of Pottsville,
Pennsylvania, which is under the management of his son, Clarence Baker.
He is also at the head of an enterprise in the state of Nevada, which is re-
working the great Comstock Gold ^line, taking out and utilizing by an
electric process its low grade ores which were formerly rejected. This is
under the management of his son, George Sanderson.
Mr. Sturges married Marian Sanderson, daughter of Hon. George
Sanderson, of Scranton, September 2, 1873. There were born to them three
children : Clarence Baker ; George Sanderson ; Nanna S., married Francis
Brooke, of Philadelphia.
WILLIAM A. SCHUNK
The father of William A. Schunk, Jacob Schimk, was the first of his
branch of the family to leave the land that gave them birth, Germany. He
obtained his education in his native country, and when but a youth came to
the United States, accompanied by his widowed mother. He secured a
position with the concern later known as the Dickson Manufacturing Com-
pany, and remained in its service until his death, thirty years later. His
capacity in the company's employ was as machinist. He died in i8go,
aged fifty years — his wife surviving him to the present time. Both were
members of the German Presbyterian Church, and he belonged to Ger-
man Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He married Mary, daugh-
ter of George Hartman. She was a native of Germany, her parents bringing
her to the United States when she was a young girl. Children : Lena, mar-
ried Christian Wirth, of Scranton ; John, a foreman in the American Loco-
motive Works at Paterson, New Jersey: Mary, married John Kiefer, of
Scranton : Jacob, a foreman in the employ of the Delaware, Lackawanna &
Western Railroad ; William A., of further mention ; Frederick C, of Scran-
ton ; Henry, of Scranton.
William A. Schunk, son of Jacob and Mary (Hartman) Schunk, was
CITY OF SCRANTON 673
born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, February 29, 1876. He attended the public
schools of his native city, and was first employed in the drauj^liting-room
of the Dickson Locomotive Works as office boy. When the International
Correspondence Schools were opening their first courses, in the ])eginning
of the marvelous work that has attained such wonderful magnitude, he en-
tered the class in mechanical engineering. He remained in the employ of
the Dickson Company until May 4, 1896, at which time he was employed as
draughtsman. Such excellent results were obtained from his first course
in the Correspondence Schools that he took another, this time in civil en-
gineering. On the previously mentioned date, when he severed his rela-
tions with the Dickson Company, he became a chainman in the office of the
city engineer and ha.s since filled all of the intermediate grades in the office,
receiving his appointment as chief of the bureau in 1909. As city engineer
he has been the chief promotor of the new system of sewerage lately in-
stalled, work of the most delicate nature, which he carried to a successful
completion in a thoroughly masterly manner. In a profession demanding
the most minute exactness he has developed the greatest accuracy even in
inconsequential details, leaving no loophole to mar the efficiency of a sys
tem, or to raise doubts as to his own ability. His proficiency in his pro-
fession is the reward of hard and continuous study in the hours usuallv de-
voted by young men to recreation and amusement. But with an ambition
such as his, pleasure could never be placed before an opportunity for ad-
vancement, and the end has assuredly justified the means. Aside from his
professional life, Mr. Schunk is known as one of the most progressive of
Scranton's citizens, always in line with and supporting all movements tend-
ing to a bettering of civic conditions. Fie is a member of Robert Burns
Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Schiller Lodge, Free and
Accepted Masons. As a young engineer, who has made a name in his
profession upon his merits and through his own vmaided eiTorts, Mr. Schunk
is worthy of congratulation, and as a city servant with unflagging devotion
to the duties of his office he is to be highly commended.
Mr. Schunk married Louise N.. daughter of Dr. W. A. Nordt, of Scran-
ton. They have one son, William Nordt. Both he and his wife are mem-
bers and regular attendants of the German Presbyterian Church.
J. EDWARD RUSHMORE
Originally a New York family, this line of Rushmores was introduced
into Pennsvlvania by John Frederick Rushmore, still a resident of the
latter state, and is represented in Scranton by J. Edward Rushmore, mill
superintendent of the Scranton Bolt and Nut Company. Flis grandfather
was a doctor of dentistry in New York City, and had children: John I'Ved-
erick, of whom further: Charles E., an attorney in New York City, married
and has one daughter, Jean, who married Charles Patterson, of Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania ; Catherine, married K. E. Carpenter, of New York county ;
Mary Cordeha, married William Blondel, and is the mother of three children:
Mary, married Harry Dolittle, Edith, married Ralph Hopwood, a resident
of Asburv Park, New Jersey, and William, married and lives in Seattle,
Washington.
John Frederick Rushmore, father of J. Edward Rushmore, since 19c.)
has "resided on his farm in Waverly, Pennsylvania, having prior to that
time been engaged in piano and paper dealing. He married Lilie. daughter
of John B. and Susan (Roe) Valentine, of Flushing, Long Island, her father
a descendant of an old Quaker family of Westbury, Long Islaml. Chil-
43
674 CITY OF SCRANTON
dren of John Frederick and Lilie (Valentine) Rushmore : Harold ; Charlotte,
died in 1880; Florence; J. Edward, of whom further.
J. Edward Rushmore was born in Brooklyn, New York, May 16, 1884.
After obtaining a public school education in the institutions of New York
and of Scranton, he began his business career in the employ of the Scranton
Bolt and Nut Company, remaining with this concern for a period of four
years. He then entered the Stroudsburg State Normal School, intending
to continue through college, but the confinement of study had so impaired
his health that this was deemed inadvisable, and returning to Scranton, he
onoe more entered business with his former employers. Mr. Rushmore
was raised to his present position, that of mill superintendent, in 1910, his
promotion the recognition of willing, efficient and loyal service and the
realization of his deep interest and concern for the welfare and prosperity
of the company employing him. He competently watches over each de-
partment of the factory, being on terms of cordial friendliness with his men,
who recognize in him more of the co-laborer than of the superior in office,
at the same time giving due deference to his authority. The Republican
party has always enlisted Mr. Rushmore's sympathy and support and he is
a firm believer in the principles of that organization, while in religion he is
an Episcopalian.
Mr. Rushmore -.narried Mabel A., daughter of Eugene and Ella Henry,
of Henryville, Pennsylvania, and has one daughter, \ irginia, born October
7, 1910.'
D. J. CAMPBELL
Journalism and politics are the two fields of effort in Scranton and Lack-
awanna county that have been most graced and best served by D. J. Camp-
bell, and as proprietor of the Scranton Times, treasurer of Lackawanna
county, and member of the Scranton council he has displayed the full worth
of a useful career spent in manly pursuits. All of his greatest successes
have been achieved in the full public view and he holds the respect of the
entire community for. the fair and open methods by which he has acquired
prominence and prosperity.
D. J. Campbell was born in county Mayo, Ireland, and after coming to
the United States settled almost immediately in Scranton, which city has
been his home for the past forty-eight years. He was connected with the
Scranton Times for several years and at length became proprietor of that
periodical, his ownership dating from 1893 until the paper passed into the
possession of its present owner, E. J. Lynett, although prior to that time
he had been numbered among the men controlling the paper. Although a
man of many and pressing afifairs, Mr. Campbell has been ever ready to
heed the call of his party, the Democratic, and as the candidate of that
party in 1888 was elected to the treasurership of Lackawanna county by .1
large majority. In 191 1 the same party proposed him for membership in
the city council, and among the five councilmen elected he was the only
Democrat. As a member of this body he has taken a firm stand on a plat-
form of the rights of the people, an implacable and alert foe of special
privilege, and has been particularly energetic in behalf of the laboring
classes. This sympathy and co-operation with the cause of labor had its
origin in years past, when Mr. Campbell was an active and prominent
member of the Knights of Labor. For the past twenty years he has been
engaged in the insurance business, a line in which he has been successful,
and he is also a director of the Pine Brook Bank. His memberships are
CITY OF SCRANTON 675
in the Knights of Columbus, the Cathedral Society, the Ancient Order of
Hibernians, and the John Mitchell Club.
JOHN A. TOUHILL
Although a Canadian by birth, Mr. Touhill's life has been spent, since
early boyhood, in the Lackawanna Valley, where he is now, at the age of
seventy-seven, the honored head of the Touhill Iron Works, of Scranton,
and the oldest continuous manufacturer of machinery in the Valley.
He is the son of Edward and Mary (Lane) Touhill, both natives of
Ireland, who early in their married life 'settled in Canada, where Edward
Touhill worked in the lumber woods. On coining to the United States he
lived at Rochester and Geneseo, New York, for about three years, being
employed on the construction of the Erie Canal. Later he came to Penn-
sylvania, locating at Wyalusing, but after a year there and at Camptown.
moved to Pittston, where he was employed at the coal breakers.
John A. Touhill was born at Indian Village near Petersboro, Canada,
August 7, 1836. He was but a boy when his parents came to Pittston, Penn-
sylvania, where he began business life as a breaker boy, being one' of the
first of the boys that were employed as slate pickers. He worked at the
breaker about one year as a slate picker and also learned to run a stationary
engine. In 1852 he began an apprenticeship at the machinist's trade with
Jesse Williams at Pittston. In 1858 he entered the employ of Wisner &
Strong, remaining with them twenty years, eighteen of which he was in
charge of their shops. In 1878 they sold out to the Pittston Engine and
Machine Company, Mr. Touhill continuing with the new owner for eighteen
months, in the same capacity. He then started in business for himself.
He conducted a successful machine building establishment at Pittston until
1905, when he came to Scranton and incorporated as the Touhill Iron
Works, with plant at the corner of Hickory and Mattes avenue. The com-
pany manufactures general and mining machinery, employs about ninety
men, shipping its product to Philadelphia, New York and other large
distributing centers. The officials of the company are : John A. Tou-
hill, president ; Edward J. Touhill, vice-president ; James P. Touhill,
secretary : Charles \'. Touhill, treasurer, the three latter all sons of the
founder, John A. Touhill. with whom they have been associated in busi-
ness all their lives. Another son, John A. (2), is foreman of the pattern
shop ; another son, William L.. is superintendent of the plant ; another son,
Thomas P., is foreman of the machine shop, and still another, Leo E..
is assistant foreman of the machine shop. Probably nowhere else can an
establishment be found, owned, officered and managed by father and seven
sons, all fully equipped by education and technical learning to capably fill
their positions.
Mr. Touhill's recollection covers the entire period of the development of
Pittston and Scranton. When he first came to Pittston there were no rail-
roads, no bridges, only two old hotels, stages ran from Carbondale to
Wilkes-Barre once or twice a week, furnishing the only public method of
transportation. Ferries provided means of crossing the river, and they not
too frecjuent. The site of the foundry, called the "Riverside foundry" was
formerly the exact spot which Fort Pittston occupied. Mr. Touhill cast
his first vote for Abraham Lincoln and has ever since acted with the Re-
publican party. While the record of the Touhill Iron Works is most re-
markable in its ownership, another fact concerning the founder and his
seven sons is that not one of them has ever drunk a glass of liquor. Per-
676 CITY OF SCRANTON
haps this explains the success of the plant, and its continuation as an un-
broken family enterprise.
John A. Touhill married, February 29, i860, Mary, daughter of Michael
Lang, who came to Pittston at an early day, bringing his daughter wh<i
was born in Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. Touhill have celebrated the golden an-
niversary of their wedding day, and also the fifty-fourth anniversary of the
day in 1914. They are the parents of thirteen children, have thirty-five grand-
children and a number of great-grandchildren. Their children : Mary Eliza-
beth Fay; Edward J., born in 1864, vice-president and general manager of the
Touhill Iron Works; Esther, born 1866, deceased; Ella, born in 1868, married
A. E. Lynn; John A. (2), born 1870, foreman of the pattern shop at the
Touhill Iron Works; William L., born 1872, superintendent of the Touhill
Iron Works plant ; James P., born 1874, secretary of the Touhill Iron Works ;
Thomas F., born 1876, foreman of the machine shop; Charles V., born 1878,
treasurer of Touhill Iron Works; Hortense J., born 1880, deceased; Leo E.,
born in 1883, assistant foreman of the machine shop; Juliet, born in 1885, mar-
ried George S. Quimby.
GEORGE WASHINGTON CLEVELAND
The Cleveland family, worthily represented in the present generation
by George Washington Cleveland, a prominent business man of Scranton,
traces its ancestry to an interesting line of knights, from whom various
lines of American ancestors are traced, some to Moses Cleveland, who
left England for the Virginia Colony in 1635, from whence the family spread
into the Carolinas and the New England states.
James Edward Cleveland, father of George Washington Cleveland, wos
born in Sullivan county, New York, January 6, 1837, died March 31, 1906,
after an active and useful life. After attaining young manhood he re-
moved to the state of Pennsylvania, and for a time was engaged as boat-
man on the Morris and Essex canal. In 1869 he took up his residence in
Scranton, Pennsylvania, and there engaged in the grocery business, and
during the latter part of his life he was a wholesale produce dealer, his
place of business being on Lackawanna avenue. He married Ellen E. Van
Aucker, who bore him six children, namely: James Edward Jr., Lorm
Graves, William Albert, George Washington, of whom further, Ida May,
Samuel Tilden.
George Washington Cleveland, son of James Edward and Ellen E.
(Van Auker) Cleveland, was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, March 19,
1882. During his youth he attended the public schools, acquiring a prac-
tical education, and this was supplemented by a course in Wood's Business
College. He then entered his father's business and was thus employed until
1902, when he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, serving for four
years in various companies, seeing service in Panama, the Philippine Isl-
ands, in Japanese and Chinese waters, having thus served in almost eveiy
part of the world. In 1906 he returned to his adopted city, Scranton, and
took over the present business, French dry cleaning and dyeing, his con-
cern known as the Davis Steam Dye Works, and in 1912 he admitted his
brother, Samuel Tilden, to partnership. The company is a flourishing one,
ranking among the leaders in their line of business, and conducts extensive
operations, drawing custom from the entire locality, their works being
located at Amelia avenue and Race street, their office at No. 228 Lacka-
wanna avenue, and they also conduct a branch of the business at No. 12
West Northampton street, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The partners be-
CITY OF SCRANTON
67-
ing men of experience, enterprise and ability, the business has been a success
from the beginning, steadily increasing in volume and importance with
the passmg years, and now ranks among the leading enterprises of the
city. George W. Cleveland is a member of the Jr. O. U^ A. M Green Ridge
Council, No. II. and of the Order of F. and A. M., Peter Williamson Lodge,
No. 323. *"
Mr. Cleveland married, in 1907, Verna M. Gould, daughter of Joseph
A. and Amelia (Spaulding) Gould, and thev are the parents of two chil-
dren, Ruth and Marjorie. Mr. and Mrs. Qeveland are members of the
Green Ridge Presbyterian Church.
ALBERT OPDYKE FREAS
The ancestry of Albert Opdyke Freas, a prominent and successful busi-
ness man of the city of Scranton, is of Holland origin, the American record
of the family, like that of the homeland, contributing pages of brilliailce to
the country's history.
(I) The great-grandfather of Albert O. Freas was Major Freas, who
won his title through service in the Colonial army in the war for inde-
pendence, and from him descent is through his son Andrew. .Andrew Freas
v/as a native of Easton, Pennsylvania, and later located in Briar Creek,
Columbia county, and was the owner of much land, on which he raised
cattle for market. There was also here located a distilling establishment,
and from these two sources he massed considerable wealth, becoming
known as one of the most influential and prosperous residents of the lo-
cality. The maiden name of his wife was Hess, and they were the parents
of a large family: i. Henry L., deceased; was a physician; married .-Vmelia
Messenger, and had children. ■\Iordica, Judge Andrew M., of Wilkes-]5arre,
Dr. Clifton L., Frank. Robert, Harry, Bessie. 2. Dorcas, deceased ; mar-
ried a Mr. Hayman. 3. William Bowman, of whom further. 4. Jane, de-
ceased; married C. F. Hill, of Hazelton, Pennsylvania, a commissioner of
the United States and an insurance dealer ; children : Elliott, Gertrude, Wil-
lard. 5. Fannie, deceased ; married Jacob Creasy, deceased ; children : Lloyd,
Jennie, William, Blanche, Lizzie, Alice. 6. John, deceased ; married Mary,
daughter of Jacob Dietrich ; children : Joseph, Lizzie, Carrie. 7. James,
deceased ; married Alice, daughter of Enos Adams, of Berwick, Pennsyl-
vania ; children : Enos K., Mary, Warren, Blanche, Fannie. 8. Alice, de-
ceased ; married Wesley Hill, and resides at South Bend. Indiana. 9. Har-
riet, married Maurice Freas ; children : Seymour and Lillian. 10. Frank,
deceased ; married (first) a Miss Bittler, (second) Anna, daughter of Jonas
Crissman ; children: Harry P., Laura, Frank P., Pauline. 11. Emma, de-
ceased; married Wilson Miller, of Lime Ridge, Pennsylvania; children:
John, James, Jennie. 12. Lizzie, married Stephen Pettit ; children: Oscar
and Lillian. 13. Andrew Clarence, married a Miss Rothrock; children:
Emily and George.
(II) William Bowman Freas, son of Andrew Freas, was born at Briar
Creek, Pennsylvania. ^lay 27, 1836, died in Orlando, Florida, in March,
1911. After obtaining a general education in the public schools he became
a student in Jefiferson" Medical College, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, whence
he was graduated M. D. He was for a time a medical practitioner in Colum-
bia county, Pennsylvania, then forsaking professional in favor of business
life, formed a partnership with his brothers, Henry L., John, and James,
the' firm of Freas Brothers, a concern which conducted triple operations,
namely, a planing mill, a plant for the manufacture of agricultural imple-
678 CITY OF SCRANTON
merits, and general merchandise dealings. William B. Freas continued a
partner in this project until 1887, when he moved to Nanticoke, Pennsyl-
vania, there establishing in milling, a line he followed until his final retire-
ment from business in 1896, after which he lived a leisurely life until his
death. He married Jennie Kitchen, daughter of Albert Opdyke, of Ber-
wick, Pennsylvania. Children : Albert Opdyke, of whom further ; Walter,
deceased : Martha, unmarried, resides in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania ; Ada,
Wilbur, Jennie, Cora, all deceased.
(Ill) Albert Opdyke Freas, son of William Bowman and Jennie Kitchen
(Opdyke) Freas, was born in Hazelton, Pennsylvania, September 12, 1866.
and until he was eighteen years of age attended the public schools of Ber-
wick, Pennsylvania. After spending two years in Louisburg he returned
to Berwick and was associated in business with his father until 1888, four
years afterward moving to Scranton and there establishing a branch of the
Nanticoke milling plant, the operation of which he continues to the present
time. The business is a prosperous one, ably managed and directed bv Mr.
Freas, whose wise judgment has raised it to a position exceeding all ex-
pectations at the time of its founding. Mr. Freas' religious belief is Bap-
tist, while in politics he is a Democratic sympathizer. He holds membership
in the Sigma Chi Fraternity, the Knights of the Maccabees, and Hirain
Lodge, No. 261, F. and A. M.
]\Ir. Freas married Mrs. Minnie (Unangst) Follett, a widow, the mother
of a son, Harold, by her first marriage.
REW JOHN KURAS
Of the three generations of the Kuras family with whom this record deals,
two have followed pgricultural pursuits, and the third, John, is an ordained
priest of the Roman Catholic church, being at the present time rector of St.
Joseph's Church of that faith. The ancestral home is in Lithuania, where
the grandfather of John Kuras was a farmer. He married Agatha Gustaidis,
and had children. Elisha, of whom further, Joseph, Agatha. Elisha Kuras
was born in Galine, Lithuania. Russia, and resides there at the present time.
The occupation of his father is his and he owns the land that he cultivates.
He married Mary Straskauckiute, and has children : John, of whom further ;
Patronile, Vincent, Agatha, Anthony, deceased ; Frank, Mary, Joseph, Anna.
John, Vincent, Frank and Joseph reside in the United States.
Rev. John Kuras was born in Galine, Lithuania, Russia, September 2~,
1864. His early education was obtained in the public schools of Marianpol,
and he studied theology in the seminary at Seiny. His studies completed lie
was ordained to the priesthood at the Cathedral, October 7, 1887, Bishop
Wierzbowski officiating at the ceremony. His first charge was as assistant
priest in Rajgrod, Poland, where he remained for four years, and after pass-
ing two years in the same capacity at Weigry came to the United States, and
in 1894, the year of his arrival, was appointed pastor of the Lithuanian Con-
gregation at Forest City, Pennsylvania. During the years that he labored
with his people in this place he thoroughly organized the congregation, rais-
ing funds and building a new church and parsonage. Rev. Kuras was ap-
pointed rector of St. Joseph's Church of Scranton in 1907. and since that
time has served the congregation in that office. He is the third pastor to
have charge of St. Joseph's Church since its organization in 1892, the first
having been Michael Peza, the second Anthony Kaupas. The seven years
that Rev. Kuras has passed in his present position have been full of blessing
/e^yU/{^
Z^ay^
{rr//iJim&Uf7^.
CITY OF SCRANTON 679
and benefit to church and people, and the unity with which tliey labor has
been productive of excellent results.
Rev. Kuras is the spiritual director of the following societies in his cluircli :
St. Anthony's Society, St. John the Baptist Society, St. Francis Society, St.
Peter's Society, St. Ann's Society, St. George's Society, St. Kaisniar's Societ)-,
and the Lithuanian Catholic .Mliance liranches Nos.^o and 83.
JOHN MELDRUM ROBERTSON
A resident of Lackawanna \"allcy since 1866, Mr. Robertson has there passed
the nearly half century since that date, and is closely identified with coal
producing companies of the district, beginning as employee and becoming an
important operator. He is of Scotch birth and parentage, of old Scottish
family, but has no immediate relatives in that country with the exception
of his cousins, James E. Stoddart, of Howden House, and .Arthur Meldrum,
of Dechmont House, both in Linlithgowshire.
(I) John Robertson, grandfather of John Meldrum Robertson, was a
resident of Dunning, Perthshire, Scotland. He was the father of four sons:
James, David, John, Johnstone, the two latter named being bankers of GlasgOAv.
(H) David Robertson, father of John Meldrum Robertson, was a mer-
chant of Glasgow. Scotland. He married Jane, daughter of John Meldrum,
of Kirkcaldy, Scotland, and had children: John Meldrum, of whom further;
David, for many years superintendent of the Northwestern Mining and Ex-
change Company, one of the bituminous coal companies of Pennsylvania, sub-
sidiary to the Erie Railroad Company ; Thomas, a mechanical engineer, who
died in Scotland.
(HI) John Meldrum Robertson was born in Glasgow, Scotland, March
22, 1844. He obtained his education in Scotland and England, attending
Bathgate Academy, Glasgow Collegiate Academy, Elmhouse Upper Edmonton,
Academy, London, and Madras College, St. Andrews. .After completing his
collegiate course he entered the employ of J. and T. Brown & Company, of
Glasgow, continuing until 1866, when he came to the United States, and at
Scranton, Pennsylvania, began his long connection with the coal interests of
the valley. He filled different positions around the mines for the first two
years, then entered the employ of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company at
Providence, his connection being with the coal department of that corporation.
For ten years he was paymaster of the Hillside Coal and Iron Company. In
1886 he organized the Katydid Colliery, of Moosic, Pennsylvania, which he
operated until 1891, in which year he admitted his brother-in-law, William
Law, to a partnership. In 1904 Mr. Law retired from the firm and Mr.
Robertson continued the colliery until 1908, when the coal supply became ex-
hausted and the mine was abandoned. Very successful in business, Mr.
Robertson has used his wealth generously and to gratify the finer senses.
He is a well known art connoisseur, his gallery, for which he began to collect
many years ago, is one of exceptional value, and one freely visited by his art
lovino- friends and also strangers to the owner are often found there. He
i= a m-mber of the Art and Scientific societies, and possesses a fine library of
valuable works. He is a member of the Moosic Presbyterian Church, and an
Independent politically. r r-, , i r a i
Mr Robertson married, in 1874, Jean, daughter of Charles Law, of Arcb-
bald Pennsylvania. Children: i. David Meldrum. born m Scranton, July
17 187; • now junior member of the firm of Bulford & Robertson. Wdkcs-
Ba'rre Pennsylvania. 2. Charles Law, born January 29, 1877; an attorney-
at-law' of Scranton. 3- John Law, born March 21, 1882; now a member of
68o CITY OF SCRANTON
the firm of Robertson & Monie, mining contractors, of Moosic, Pennsylvania.
4. Marjorie Meldrnm, born December 9, 1884 ; married Josepli Paul Jennings,
superintendent of the Hillside Coal and Iron Company and of the Penn Coal
Company. The winter residence of the family is at Moosic, and the summer
residence is at Lake Carey, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Robertson is an active factor in the material welfare of his adopted
town, contributing generously of his substance to every enterprise that has
for its object the betterment of mankind. The home life of Mr. Robertson
is an ideal one, he being a devoted husband and an affectionate father, his
wife a helpmate in the truest sense of the word, and each member of the
family contributing their share to the promotion of harmony, peace and hap-
piness. The home is noted for the hospitality dispensed there, Mr. Robert-
son and his wife doing all in their power to make the visit of their numerous
friends a delight, one to remember for a long time and a repetition of which
they look forward to with pleasure. Their well stocked library and handsome
art gallery are always a source of gratification to the visitor, being both in-
structive and pleasing. The family occupies a prominent place in the social
circles of this community, winning and retaining a wide circle of friends,
who estimate them at their true worth.
WILLIAM MERSHON LYNCH, M. D.
Third generation in descent from the American founder of his line. Dr.
William Mershon Lynch is a Pennsylvanian by birth and activity, and for the
past thirteen years has been connected with the medical profession of this
state. In this calling he has become known through his connection with the
Hillside Home, through his general practice, and through his incumbency of
the office of coroner of Lackawanna county. Despite his professional activity,
Dr. Lynch has attained prominence and popularity in public life, and at the
primary election held in the spring of 1914 became the candidate of the Re-
publican and Washington parties for the office of state senator. Of his fitness
and qualifications for this important office, none who has come in contact
with him can doubt, for he possesses an open and receptive mind, is ever
guided by the strictest of honorable codes, and in innate ability and strength
of mentality more than balances his lack of experience as a representative of
the people.
(I) The grandfather of William Mershon Lynch was James Lynch, a
native of the province of Ulster, Ireland, who came to the United States in
1834, residing in New York City, where he pursued the stonemason's trade.
He married Mary Flood and had issue : Ellen, married a Mr. Fagan, and had one
son, William, and one daughter, Mary, who married Thomas Killoyne;
James C, of whom further ; Mary, married John C. Jonar, and resides in
South Scranton, the mother of Sadie, Ellen, Pearl, James, John, William, and
Thomas.
(II) James C. Lynch, son of James and Mary (Flood) Lynch, was born in
New York City, November 8, 1836, and at the age of twelve years moved to
Newark, New Jersey, where he was employed as a painter in a carriage fac-
tory. He afterward returned to the city of his birth and was engaged in the
carriage works of a Mr. Brewster, in 1857 coming to Pennsylvania, being for
four years employed at Doddstown and later moving to Waverly, making his
home in the latter place in i860. During the Civil War he joined the Erner-
gency Men, recruited for state defence, and after the war worked for a time
in Pennsylvania, then went to Trenton, New Jersey, and after two years be-
came foreman for the Peter Hendrick Company, painting contractors of Phila-
CITY OF SCRANTON 68i
delphia. This line he subsequently followed independently, and after a career
that included travel and residence through and in many parts of Pennsylvania,
he settled in Clarks Summit, his present home. He married Louise, daughter
of John U. Mershon, of Waverly, Pennsylvania, and has children: i. Samuel
E., attended Madison Academy and graduated M. D. from Jefferson Medical
College, of Philadelphia, in 1887; now a practitioner of Clarks Green, Penn-
sylvania ; married Efific Wetherby, of Scott township, Lackawanna county,
Pennsylvania, and has children : William and Dorothy. 2. Charlotte, de-
ceased : married G. U. Mengos, and was the mother of Howard, Flora, and
Mildred. 3. Carrie B., a graduate, A. B., from the University of Syracuse.
New York, in 1892; married George R. Barber, a druggist of Clarks Summit,
Pennsylvania, and has two sons, George and John. 4. William Mershon, of
whom further. 5. Frank W., married Lena, daughter of ex- Judge Falvey, of
El Paso, Texas, and has one son, Thomas.
(HI) Dr. William Mershon Lynch, son of James C. and Louise (Mershon)
Lynch, was born in Leona. Pennsylvania, October 30, 1876. He was graduated,
after a full course, in 1894, from the High School of Athens, Pennsylvania,
whither his father's business had called the family, and for the two following
years was employed in a printing office. In 1896 he became a clerk in the
office of the county commissioners, resigning his position the following year to
enter the Medico-Chirurgical College, of Philadelphia, which institution con-
ferred upon him the degree M. D. in 1901. Soon after his graduation he be-
came the assistant of Dr. J. J. Bellheimer, of Dickson City, Pennsylvania, and
was so engaged until March i, 1902, when he accepted the resident physician's
position at the Llillside Home, there remaining until January 1, 1907. At this
latter date he established in the practice of his profession independently m
Old Forge, Pennsylvania, where his patronage steadily increased. In 19 12
Dr. Lvnch was elected coroner of Lackawanna county to succeed Dr. J. J.
Salter, and in February of the following year moved to Clarks Green, his
present home. Dr. Lynch is a physician learned in his profession and science,
and has been uniformly successful in his treatment of cases of unusual and
severe ailments that have come to his professional attention, standing high in
the regard of those to whom he has ministered and in the respect of his
professional associates, who recognize in him a worthy addition to Lackawanna
county's medical exponents.
Dr. Lynch has ever been an enthusiastic supporter of Republican principles,
and on May 19, 1914, was nominated for state senator by the combined vote
of the Republican and Washington parties, a choice which the fall elections
should enthusiastically confirm, for in Dr. Lynch will be found a legislator
or incorruptible principles and unbiased deliberative judgment. He is popular
in the locality in which he resides and bears an unblemished reputation. He
has consorted much with his fellows, is of a genial and agreeable nature, and
in conversation as in public speaking is easy and graceful in speech and enter-
taining in manner. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, belonging to lodge,
chapter, commandery, consistory and shrine, and also belongs to the Patriotic
Order Sons of America and the Junior Order of United American Mechanics.
His church is the Presbyterian. t /at r-
Dr. Lynch married Jessie A., daughter of Merntt and Mary J. (Mct^ar-
land) Mead, of Clarks Green, Pennsylvania, their marriage being solemnized
June 10 1903. They are the parents of : Janet Mary and Jean Louise.
682 CITY OF SCRANTON
GEORGE BYRON JERMYN
George Byron Jermyn, one of the live wires of our city, is a son of John
Jermyn, whose sketch appears elsewhere. He was born in Scranton, May 9,
1862. He attended Merrill's Academic School, and graduated from Granville
Military Academy, Granville, New York, in 1882, at the head of his class. He
started in the oil business in 1884, and sold out to the Standard a few years
later, and then w^ent into> the coal business with his father, with whose estate
carrying on the business he has continued until the present time.
He is president of the Scranton Savings and Dime Bank ; one of the ex-
ecutors of the estate of his father, John Jermyn ; vice-president and treasurer
of the Tintern Manor Water Company, Long Branch, New Jersey ; vice-presi-
dent and treasurer of the Hallstead Water Company, Hallstead, Pennsylvania ;
vice-president and treasurer of the Great Bend Water Company. Great Bend.
Pennsylvania ; and assistant treasurer and a director in the Gulf, Texas &
Western Railway Company, Dallas. Texas. He is an active member of the
following clubs and fraternal societies : Scranton Club, Country Club, Pllks,
Masons. Shrine. Knights Templars, Consistory. Mr. Jermyn married Miss
Annie E. Adams, of Fair Haven, \'ermont, in 1902; three children have been
born to them — John, ]\Iargaret, and Ruth.
Mr. Jermyn is accounted among the ablest and most popular of the present
generation of business men. He comes of excellent stock and is proving him-
self a worthy descendant. He is a genial, courteous gentleman and justly es-
teemed by all classes.
RE\'. J. W. MALONE. J. C. D.
Rev. James W. Malone, rector of St. Peter's Cathedral, Scranton, was born
in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, September 16, 1870. He received his early
education in the public schools of his native town. At the age of fifteen he
went to Niagara University, Niagara Falls, New York, where his literary
ability during his college course merited high honors. Having finished his
theological studies in Niagara University, he was ordained to the priesthood
in 1895 by the late Bishop O'Hara.
His first appointment was to St. Peter's Cathedral, where as assistant
rector his zeal and ability won for him many admiring friends. After a period
of two years in the Cathedral, he was transferred to Susquehanna to act
as assistant pastor there. Two years later he was assigned to St. Paul's,
Green Ridge, to assist Rev. P. J. McManus.
His studiousness and earnestness in his work were recognized by Bishop
Hoban, who suggested that he take a post-graduate course in Rome. He
entered the Pontifical University. Rome, in 1899, as a student of Canon Law,
and in two years graduated with distinction and received the Doctorate of
Canon Law.
Upon his return to Scranton, he was appointed assistant rector of the
Cathedral. Rev. James O'Reilly, the rector of the Cathedral, having been
made pastor of the newly erected parish of the Nativity, South Scranton, m
1902, Dr. Malone was named as his successor in the Cathedral. He has been
rector ever since. Under his prudent management the Cathedral parish has
added to its possessions the beautiful Episcopal residence on Wyoming avenue,
and several other properties adjacent to the Cathedral. His ability as a
spiritual adviser is recognized by a large number of Catholics throughout the
diocese. His candor, sincerity and kindness have inspired his acquaintances
with confidence. The poor have always been his particular care, and those
CITY OF SCRANTON 68^
in distress have always fouiid in him a friend who will share their sorrow
and lend them a helping hand. A wise counsellor, a prudent judge, a priest of
deep religious convictions and the courage to live up to them, a man loyal to
his friends and ready at all times to make any sacrifice for the temporal and
spiritual advancement of his fellowmen, Rev. J. W. Malone has gained the
love, the respect and the admiration of a wide circle of acc|uaintances. His
interest in every movement that makes for civic progress, his active co-opera-
tion in any work of charity that comes to his notice, his wise and (iractical
suggestions for the social betterment and moral improvement of man, have
always made a deep impression upon those with whom he came in contact.
But above all and first of all he is a priest who has the Catholic leligion at
heart, and who works faithfully to bring back souls to God, by admonishing
the sinner, by correcting the erring, by encouraging the timid, and by strengthen-
ing the weak.
MARTIN MALONEY
To the early settlers of Scranton, the parents of Mr. Maloney, John and
Catherine Pollard Maloney, were well and favorably known for their charity
and kindness to the poor and needy women and children of their neighborhood
in the pioneer days, their home being located on what was then known as
Division street, near the present Qiurch of the Nativity, which occupies the
site of the first Catholic Church in Scranton, and it was here that many an
immigrant found with "Kitty" Maloney, as she was affectionately called, a
haven of rest and received material assistance in those days of the early
50's. when the entire population of the city was less than 2,000. The father
was a hard working and respected member of the community, and built the first
house of importance in the section of the city known as Pittston avenue and
Hickory street.
Martin Maloney was born in F)allingarry, county Tipperary, Ireland.
Novem.ber 11, 1848. His parents preceded him to this country and settled
in Scranton in 1849, the boy, Martin, having remained with his grandparents
in Ireland until 1854, when he joined his parents in this country, endowed
with abounding health and the energy characteristic of the sons of the Etnerald
Isle. Mr. Maloney attended the public schools of the city until he was
twelve years of age, when he went to work in the coal mines. At fourteen he
began an apprenticeship as tinsmith, coppersmith, plumber and gas fitter.
He graduated later in the school of experience, the alma mater of so many
successful Americans who accomplish things. Mr. Maloney started in busi-
ness for himself August 5, 1868, when not quite twenty. He proved a hustler
from the start, displaying at this early age such painstaking thoroughness in
everything he undertook that there still exists in Scranton to-day evidence of
the substantial character of his work. It was this characteristic which was
mainly responsible for the greater successes which he achieved later on.
In 1874 he organized and built the Hyde Park Gas Plant— the nucleus
of the present extensive system which furnishes the entire valley with gas.
From that time it was forward march at a rapid pace for him ; to-day he has
many varied and growing interests in Scranton, with the growth and prosperity
of which he is so closelv identified, having faith in the future of the city,
born of faith in its people, even though he has not permanently resided here
for many years. ' , , ^ „ ,r , , • r-
In i87S Mr Maloney organized the Maloney Gas & Manufacturing Com-
pany a corporation which was destined to extend its activities far beyond the
boundaries of Scranton. At this period he became acquainted with Mr.
684 CITY OF SCRANTON
Henry H. Rogers, of Standard Oil fame, who evinced a great deal of interest
in the young man's plans, which were original in so far as they applied to a
new system of lighting by the use of naptha, than in its crude form and con-
sidered a dangerous by-product around an oil refinery. Mr. iMaloney met with
many obstacles and difficulties which he overcame with his accustomed vigor
and determination, and within ten years one hundred and thirty-seven towns
and cities were under contract and lighted under the Maloney Lighting System.
The energy of the man who managed this undertaking can be appreciated.
Mr. ^laloney was one of the founders of the United Gas Improvement
Company, of Philadelphia, a corporation which now controls hundreds of gas
and electric properties throughout the United States. He is also connected
with the management of gas, water, oil, electric power and other public
utilities corporations too numerous to mention. His career is so well known
throughout the country as to make enumeration unnecessary.
This busy man of vast affairs found time for other matters. He was mar-
ried, in December, 1868, at Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Margaret A. Hewittson,
seven children being born to the union, Margaret Maloney Ritchie and Helen
Maloney Osborn being the only two surviving. The faithful wife, Margaret,
has been his friend and counsellor and has assisted in his generous charities
from the first. In recognition of his many good works, and his deeply re-
ligious temperament, the great Pope Leo XIII, in 1902, created him a Papal
marquis. In 1904, Pope Pius X conferred upon Mr. Maloney the title of
Cameriere Segreto di Spada e di Cappa di S. Santita, making him a member of
his household, in further recognition of his many benefactions to the Catholic
church and other charities. This title has been confirmed by the present
Pontiff', Benedict XV. Among his many charities and one that is especially
near and dear to him, is the Maloney Home for the Aged, erected in memory
of his father and mother. This institution is non-sectarian and domiciles
more than one hundred and twenty-five inmates, no creed being necessary to
obtain shelter under the roof of the Maloney Home. The beautiful Memorial
Church of St. Catherine, erected at the summer home of Mr. Maloney at
Spring Lake, New Jersey, in memory of his deceased daughter, Catherine,
is another of his benefactions in which he takes particular pride.
Mr. Maloney now makes his permanent home in Philadelphia, residing on
Logan Square. He is a member of the Union League, Academy of Fine Arts,
Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Catholic and City Clubs of Philadelphia,
the Catholic Club of New York, the Scranton City Club and the Scranton
Country Club. But his favorite resort is his seashore home at Spring Lake Beach,
New Jersey, beautiful "Ballingarry." In this picturesque villa he has realized
the dream of his youth and has named it for the ancestral home in Ireland.
It is there that Mr. Maloney loves to entertain his friends and to plan how he
may further help to bring sunshine into the lives of the unfortunates.
PHILIP ROSWELL PHILLIPS
Mr. Phillips was born in Johnstown, P'ennsylvania, November 24, 1884,
son of Rev. David C. and Mary Evans Phillips. He came to Scranton with his
parents in 1889, after the Johnstown flood. He graduated from the Scranton
High School in 1902, and from Lafayette College, Easton, in 1906. He
began newspaper work in 1901 on the Scranton Truth : joined the staff of
the .Scranton Republican in 1906, continuing until February i, 1910, when the
Republican was merged with the Tribune-Republican ; continued on the Tri-
bune-Republican until June 21, 1913, when in company with other members
of the staff, he followed Robert D. Towne, joining with him in founding
CITY OF SCRANTON 685
Scranton Daily News. He is a member of Peter Williamson Lodge, K'o.
323, F. and A. M. ; of the Newswriters Union, Scranton ; the Pennsylvania
Legislative Correspondents Association, and the Sigma Nu Fraternity. He
is a member of the board of directors of the Daily News Company.
RT. RE\'. MICHAEL J. HOllAN
Rt. Rev. Michael John Hoban, Bishop of Scranton, was born June 6,
1853, at Waterloo, New Jersey, where his father was building a section of
the Alorris & Essex Railroad. About one month after his birth, his parents
went back to Hawley, Pennsylvania, where his father owned some iiroperty
and had obtained the contract to transfer all the coal carried by the Pennsyl-
vania Coal Company during the fall and winter from its mines in Luzerne
county and stacked in a huge pile, awaiting transhipment on the opening of
the Delaware & Hudson canal in the spring.
Taught by his mother to read and spell, he went to private schools imtil
he was fourteen years old, when he went to St. Francis Xavier's College,
New York City, for one year, thence to Holy Cross College, Worcester, Mass-
achusetts, where he spent three years. After two years and a half at home
hel])ing his widowed mother, he attended St. John's College, Fordham. dur-
ing the spring of 1874. In September of that year he entered St. Charles'
Seminary, Philadelphia, as an ecclesiastical student for the Diocese of Scran-
ton. In September, 1875, recommended by the faculty of the Seminary, he
was sent by Rt. Rev. Bishop O'Hara to the American College, Rome, where
he spent four years and eight months. He was ordained priest in the church
of St. John Lateran, Rome, by H. E. Cardinal Monaco La Valletta, on May
22, 1880. After two months of travel in Europe he returned home and was
appointed as assistant to the Rev. Dr. Charles F. Kelly, in Towanda. In 1882
he was transferred to Pittston to assist V. Rev. John Fimien, \'. C. and in
1885 he received his first appointment as pastor of St. John's Church, Troy.
In "1887 he was appointed to organize the parish of St. Leo, Ashley, near
Wilkes-Barre. There he built a large brick church and brick priests' house,
and remained until he was obliged to take up his residence in Scranton.
His name having been placed on the lists of both priests and bishops, he was
selected by Bis Holiness, Leo Thirteenth, to be Bishop of Alali, and coadjutor
to Bishop O'Hara, with the right of succession. Appointed by Papal brief,
dated February i, 1896, he was consecrated by Cardinal Satolli in St. Peter's
Cathedral, Scranton, on March 22. On the death of the \'enerable Bishop
O'Hara, February 3, 1899, he succeeded as Bishop of Scranton, where he has
resided ever since. Be is president of St. Patrick's Orphan .Asylum, honorary
president of St. Joseph's Infant Asylum, director of State Hospital, Scranton
Public Library, Pennsylvania Oral School, West Mountain Sanatorium and
also honorary president of the Catholic Qioral Club and the Catholic Women's
Ciub. , • • ,
In 1896, when he was consecrated Bishop, there were 119 priests m the
Diocese of Scranton: in 1914 there are 255. Then there were it churches
in the city of Scranton; now there are 23, attended by ten different nation-
alities not including the Ruthenians. During the interval several new churches
have been built,— Holy Rosary, Nativity, St. John Baptist, St. John Evan-
gelist St Ann, and also Mt. St. Mary's Seminary and St. Ann s Passionist
Monastery and St. Joseph's Infant Asylum, all in the city of Scranton.
INDEX
ADDENDA AND ERRATA
In some instances Ezra S. Griffin Post and Ezra S. Griffin Camp have been
erroneously given as Ezra S. Griffith Post and Camp.
Sanderson, p. 257. At the present time (1914) Charles Dudley Sanderson is
president of the New England Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania, elected Novem-
ber 12, 1914.
INDEX
Note. — Where a star (*) appears against a name, see Addenda.
Allen, Edward, 328
Gabriel, 32S
George, 170
George W. B., 389
Jabez, 389
Robert W., 170, 171
William E„ 328
Alworth, Henry S., 135
Milton S.. 136
Amerman, Edwin C, 246
Jesse C, 246
Lemuel, 119
Ralph A., 118, iig
Ames, Erasmus D., 161, 162
John H., 162
Joseph, 161
Andres, Charles S., 637
John, 637
Matthew, 637
Ansley, Brinson, 32
Joseph, 32
Mary C, 33
Archbald, James (4th) 660
James (5th) 660
Ashley, Hayden H., 579,
580
Nehemiah B., 579
Rollin T., 579
Atherton, Bicknell B., 490,
521
Dudley R., 490, 491
Fred B., 521
Henry F., 492
John R., 492
Baker, Alfred M., 425
Alfred M., Jr., 425
Bambach, Jacob, 647
Jacob D., 647
Bartecchi, Domenick, 639
John, 639
Battenberg, C. Augustus,
128
Charles C, 128
Bauer, Charles. 301
Josiah, 301
Robert J., 301
Beemer, Elias, 497
Floyd D., 497
George, 497
Beers, Elias T., 252
Fred E., 251, 252
Ulysses F., 252
Belden, James J., 479
James M., 479
Belin, F. Lammot, 55
Henry, 53
John, 53
Paul B., 54
Benedict, David, 356
Frank S., 355
Katherine S., 356
Benore, John. 382
Bessmer. Christopher D.,
448
Jacob, 448
Beyea, Edwin M., 396
Henry, 396
Bianca, Giuseppe, 602
Joseph, 603
Bishop, Henry, 437
Marcus K., 437
Black, Caroline A., 176
Robert T., 175
Blau, Adolf, 438
Boies, David, 5
Henry M., i
Boland. Christopher G.,
624
James, 625
Bosak, Michael, 584
Brader, Herbert E., 576,
577
Breck, George L., 272
Samuel, 576
William, 272
Brennan, Edward C. 417
John J., 417
Brewster, Eldad, 72
Frederick D., 72, 73
Horace, 72
James, 72
Briggs, Harold S., 410. 411
William P., 411
Brooks, John H., 37
Reese G., 36
Brown, George C, 353
Milton R., 353
Bryden, Alexander, 386,
388
Andrew, 387
Archibald L., 388
James Y., 389
Bunnell, Elijah, 102
Gershom, 102
James, 102
Joseph, 102
Lewis M., 221
Martin, 221
Miles M., 221
Willard M., 102
William, loi, 102
Burke, Edward A., 109
Michael J,, 109
Burnett, John, 470
Kenneth R., 470, 471
Burr, Frank E., 289
Isaac, 288
James E., 288
Washington, 289
Callender, Newell, 336
Samuel, 336
Samuel N., 336
Calpin, Patrick, 384
Patrick F., 384
Camarca, Vito, 598
Campbell, D. J., 674
Duncan T., 632
Carlucci, Carlo, 491
Peter p., 491
Carney, John. 397
Carr, Henry J., 254
Carter, Daniel. 104
Griswold, 104
Joseph, 194
Lewis B., 103, 104
Marvin P., 198
Phineas, 195
Pulaski, 194, 195
Pulaski P., 198
Thomas, 194
Casey, Andrew J., 455
James T., 454
Patrick J., 454
Timothy, 454
Cassese, Charles J., 601
Joseph A., 601
690
INDEX
Catlin, George H., 623
Caum, Edward L., 57
Frank, 57
Cawley, Patrick H., 396
Thomas F., 70
William, 70
Chandler, George, 541
Louis B., 542
William, 542
William H., 542
Chapman, Charles I. A.,
346
Isaac A., 346
Maxwell, 346
Clancy, Phinny D., 333
Clark, George R., 534
James, 632
James R., 534
Patrick J., 632
William, 534
Clarke, Edward M., -jt,
George W., "jz
Matthew W., TZ
Cleveland, George W., 676
James E., 676
Close, Arthur W., 407
J. Edward, 407
Coar, Matthew A., 452, 453
Cobb, Mount, 361
Roy E., 361, 362
William J., 361
Collins, Bernard, 471
Thomas, 471
William H., 471
Cominelli, Angelo, 476
Conger, Stephen M., 332
William H., 332
Connell, Alexander, 543
Alexander J., 529, 530
Alfred E., 503
Charles, 543
Charles R., 502
Ezra H., 503
Frank H., 56, 57
Harry A., 627
James, 498, 529
James L., 501
William, 498
William L., 667
William P., 56
Connerton, Edward, 489
Edward J., 489
Connolly, Bernard P., 129
Conrad, Andrew, 605
Charles C, 606
Edward, 607
Louis, 607
Otto R., 608
William, 606
Corley, Andrew, 427
John T., 427
Cornell, Arthur W., 490
Jerome B., 490
Corser, John B., 238
John P., 238
Costello, Michael J., 512
Thomas, 628
William J., 628
Cowdrey, Nathaniel A., 76
Nathaniel H., 76
Crawford, Huldah A., 518
James L., 516
Cross, Albert J., 206
Friend A., 206
Cresswell, Charles H., 587
Herbert, 587
Curt, Joseph, 461
Joseph J. Jr., 461
Cusick, Owen, 582
Patrick P., 582, 583
Daniel, Frank J., 268
Davidson, Walter H., 404
Davies, John W., 213
William J., 213
William R., 213
Davis, Abner, 460
Edward H., 460
Evan P., 8s
James E., 84, 85
William J., 150
Dawson, Hugh A., 123
William, 123
Dean, Arthur D., 41
Isaac, 40
Walter, 40
Deantonio, Emilio, 155
De Blasiis, Appio C, 603
Nicholas, 603
Deckelnick, Nicholas, 580
William, 580, 581
Dempsey, James, 648
John T., 619
Michael J., 648
Patrick, 619
Derry, Alfred L., 293, 294
John, 293
Deubler, Henry, 360
Marcus L., 360
Devereaux, Walter J., 385
De Witt, Isaac, 305
Osee D., 305
Dickson, George L., 22, 23
James, 22
Dimmick, Eber, 488
Edward, 488
George B., 488
J. Benjamin, 185, 187
Samuel E., 186
Thomas, 186
Dolph, Ernest W., 493
Isaac, 493
Samuel, 493
Donahoe, Thomas A., 547
Donahue, Peter F., 636
Doud, Charles H., 166
Ebenezer, 166
Erastus S., 165, 167
Galen, 166
Thomas, 166
Douglas, J. Nelson, 543, 544
Samuel, 372
Samuel W., 543
William, 372
William J., 372
Downing, Andrew H., 418
Thomas, 418
Doyle, James B., 341
Michael, 341
Duckworth, John, 415
John A., 415
John S., 415
Dufify, John, 654
John P., 654
Michael, 597
Patrick F., 597
Dunn, Arthur, 524, 525
Isaac B., 18, 525
James, 17, 524
John, 16
John T., 16, 18
William, 16, 17, 524
Dusenbury, John H., 576
John W., 576
Eberhardt, Otto I., 163
Edwards, Henry M., 367
John M., 367
John R., 368
Eisele, Edward, 122
John P., 122
Emery, Frederick H., 172
Evans, Daniel W., 370
Elias E., 152
Jennie L., 151
Morgan L., 370
Reese J., 152
Eynon, Albert B., 586
Benjamin G., 586
George F., 433
Thomas, 433, 586
Thomas F., 433
Fahringer, Jay M., 429
Jeremiah, 429
Farr, John R., 504
Fellows, Benjamin, 652
John, 652
John H., 652
Felton, George, 445
Peter, 445
Fenstermacher, Edgar A.,
443. 444
Michael W., 444
William, 443
Ferber, Augustus C, 90
Henry F., 90
Fine, Andrew M., 487
Martin L., 487
Finkelstein, Isador, 590
Fish, Edmond, 299
John B., 299
Laura T., 300
Flannery, John, 629
Fordham, John R., 380
Foster, Clement S., 258
Rufus J., 258
Frank, Jacob M., 590
Louis, 590
Freas, Albert C, 677, 678
Andrew, 677
INDEX
691
Frink-, Abraham L., 472
Orrin, a72
Fuhrman, Jacob S., 413
Samuel J., 413
Fuller, Arthur C, 64
Hartley, 561
Charles, 308
Charles A., 64
Collins, 562
Edward, 308
Edward C., 308
Edward L., 308, 309
Mortimer B., 311
Peter, 561
Fulton, Annie C, 501
Garrett, Daniel, 486
Francis, 486
John N., 486
John S., 486, 487
Joseph, 486
Wait, 486
Garvey, James B., 349
Gates, Alpheus W., 275
Lowell M., 275, 276
Gaynor, James L., 548
Patrick J., 548
Gilhool, Timothy, 443
William E., 443
Gilligan, John, 359
John J., 359
Gilroy, Joseph F., 459
Gleason, Ronald P., 43
Thomas, 43
Gloor, Ernest, 227
John, 227
Goldsmith, Morris, 469
Rudolph M., 469
Gregory, Marion A., 483
Ralph A., 482, 483
Griffin, Austin, 666
Austin L., 666. 667
Griffith, Andrew J., 655
William, 655
Guernsey. James W., 259
Joseph U., 259
Levi B., 259
Gunster, Charles W., 127
Henry J., 127
Joseph H.. 126
Gurisatti, Dominick, 485
Victor, 485
Gutheinz, Alfred, 481
Haak, Ezra J., 647
George E., 646, 647
Haas, Daniel, 160
Peter W., 160
Hackett, Richard M.. 344
William T., 344
Hagen, Henry, 331, 5/2
Herman, 473
William H., 331
Haggertv, Daniel, SU
William, 513
Haines, Reuben, 559
Winfield S., 559
Hall, Byron G., 116
Herschel J., 115, 1 16
Jabez G., 116
Hampel, Charles, 570
Peter, 570
Hand, Alfred, 7, 8
David B., 229
Ezra, 8
John, 7
Nathan, 229
Robert, 229
Hannon, James A., 424
James J., 424
Hanyen, Cornelius, 528
Fred C, 528
Harrington, David C, 44
James, 41
William, 44
Harris, John H., 374
Reese H., 374, 375
Harrison, James, 402
Thomas F., 402, 403
Hartzell, Frederick V., 4=7
Hendrick, 457
Harvey, James, 325
John A., 32s
William A., "">!;. 326
Healy, Louis W., 264
Samuel, 264
Hendrickson. Forrest F..
249
John, 249
Henkelman, Max F., 482
Henwood, Charles, 219
Charles P., 219
Julia A., 220
Richard, 78
Walter L., 78, 79
Hessinger, Henry, 91, 574
Margaret, 575
Theodore. 91, 574
William C, 91
Hicks, Benjamin B., 116,
"7
Mahlon, 116
Mordecai, 116
Higham, Herbert R., 475
William, 47^
Hill, Andrew J., 53.^
Jacob, 533
J. Foster, 533
Walter L., 494
Hines, Philip, 225
Samuel, 224, 225
Hitchcock, Edwin S., 25
Frederick L., 24, 25, 26
Peter, 24
Hoban, Rt, Rev. M. J., 685
Horan. Patrick, 390
Patrick J., ,390
Hornbaker, Geonje W., 399
Joseph. 399
Morton, John M., 223
Leonard M., 223
Houck, John W., 233
Samuel, 234
William L., 233, 234
Howarth, John W., 140
Howe, Abraham S., 92
Phincas, 92
Thomas B., 92
Howell, Esdras, 651
John W., 651
Louis, 651
Hower, George F., 266
Jacob J., 266
Howley. Michael T., 561
Peter F., 561
Huber, Robert L., 482
Hughes, Evan D., 424
John, 400
John G., 424, 425
Thomas J,, 400
Hunt, Alfred T., 440, 441
George, 441
James M., 441
Inglis, Frank, 148
J. Scott, 148
William W., 403
Intoccia, Gaeton, 598
Jennar, 598
Jadwin, Charles P., 635
James, David, 571
Thomas D., 571, 572
Jeffrey, Joseph, 82, 83
William, 83
Jenkins, David, 420
Jabez, 468
John L., 420
Thomas, 420
William O., 468
Jennings, Hugh, 480
James, 480
Jermyn, Edmund B., 281
Frank H., 280
George B., 6S2
John, 277
Joseph J., 279
Rollo G., 281
Walter M.. 280
Jones, Cyrus D., 95
Daniel, 368, 569
Evan S. Jr., 495, 49^
George L., 560, 570
Harry J., 555
Henry D., 369
John, 95, 555
John B., 453
John D., 420
John R., 554
Joseph H., 453, 454
Meredith, 550
Randolph, 558
Robert P., 55'
Roderick, 569
Seymour E., 557, 558
Thomas M., 55°
Walter H., 368, 369
William, 95, 557
William R., 554
Jordan, James D., 436
Richard, 436
Thomas H., 436
692
INDEX
Joseph, Emrys S., 665
Watkins'B., 665
Judge, Martin P., 668, 669
Michael, 668
Kays, Martin R., 380
Mary A. F., 380
Keast, John, 405
John H., 405
Keffer, Monroe C, 43s
Roscoe H., 434, 435
Kehrli, Andrew, 585
Caspar, 585
Henry, 585
Keller, Daniel, 60
Joseph, 58, 59
Joseph F., 119, 120
Luther, 58, 60
Peter, 59
Theodore, 119, 120
Kelly, Ellsworth, 124
James, 124
John, no
John H., 124
John P., no
Kemmerer, William, 338
Willis A., 338
Kennedy, Amelia M., 197
James S., 192
John, 191
Lucius C, 191, 194
Thomas, igi
William D., 193
Kiefer, Asa E., 537, 538
Peter, 537
Samuel, 537
Kingsbury, Ebenezer, 142
Edward P., 142
Kirkpatrick, Alexander, 538,
539
Charles L., 539
Charles W., 538, 539
David, 539
Jacob, 539
Kizer, Abram, 600
Alton F., 600
Jacob E,, 600
John D., 600
Knapp, Harry A., 49
Peter, 49
Knight, Benjamin, 319
Jeremiah D., 319
Myron S., 319, 320
Nicholas, 319
Koehler, Henry T., 594
Kolb, Edward O., 147
John G., 147
Kramer, Albert N., 435
L. H., 436
Nathan, 435
Samuel N., 436
Kuras, Rev. John, 678
Lalley, Michael, 458
Peter F., 458, 459
Lansing, James A., iii, 112
William J., n2
Larkin, Joseph F., 85
Madison F., 87
Lathrop, Benjamin L., 476
Edward F., 476
John, 476
Law, Archibald, 182
Archibald F., 182, 183
Charles, 183
Lawall, Allen J., 577
Elmer H., 577
Lawrence, Allan, 339
John, 339
Lawrens, 156
Milton, 339
Thomas, 157, 158
Walter L., 156, 159
Legambi, James, 605
Pietro, 604
Vincenzo, 604
Le Monte, Arthur C, 483
Wellington, 484
William, 484
Lentes, Frederick C. W.,
546
John, 544, 545
Lettieri, Ernesto M., 603,
604
Joseph M., 603
Levy, Newton B., 589
Lewis, John D., 290
William J., 290
William J. Jr., 292
William R., 237, 238
Liming, John, '^y^i
William S., 573
Lindsay, Charles H., 174
James, 174
Linen, George, 38
James A., 37, 38
Logan, Harry V. N., 535
Samuel C.. iJ^S
Lohmann, George, 549
John, 549
Loughran, John J., 519
Lowry, George, 297
Holloway, 20-'
James W., 297
John, 206
Milton W., 298
Lucas, George J., 199
Lutsey, Edward, 324
John, 324
John L., 323, 324
William, 324
Lynch, Austin, 614
Bartholomew J., 615
Frank M., 615
James C, 680
James J., 614
William M., 680, 681
Lynett, Edward J., 107, 108
William, 107
McAnulty, James S., 504
McClave, William, 269
McConnell, John G., 334,
335
Joseph, 333
Walter A., 333
McCrindle, John, 401
Thomas, 401
McDonald, Michael E., 522
McGee, Patrick, 553
William F., 552
McGinley, Michael A., 136
McGuire, John F., 393
McLoughlin, James, 595
Thomas H., 595
McNulty, James, 406
Thomas J., 406
Madden, Harry T., 556
Thomas O., 556
Major, Abel G., 634
.A.. Lesley, 634
Thomas, 634
William, 634
Malone, Rev. J. W ., 682
Maloney, Martin, 683
Manchester, Albert B., 566
Henry C, 566
Manley, Patrick D., 394
Martin, Michael, 243
Michael J., 243, 244
Patrick, 243
Masucci, Charles A., 547,
548
John, 558
Peter, 547
Pietre, 558
Matthews, Charles W., 71
Frank V., 395
Richard J., 117, 118
Robert, 71, 118
Sidney, 395
William, 71
Maxey. George W., 302
Mav, Lewis, 34
'W. A., 34
Mead, Thomas H., 430, 431
William, 430
Mears, Eva V., 322
John A., 321
John F.. 321, 322
Sidney C, 321
Megargee, Francis O., 121
Jacob, 121
Sylvester J., 121
Melley, Rev. Edward J., 637
Mellody, John, 408, 409
Meredith, Thomas, 318
Thomas G., ^18
William S., 318
Merrifield, Edward, 228
Mersereau, Charles L., 364
365
John, 364
Joshua, 36s
Miller, C. August, 4';i
Charles F., 286
Gustav A., 169, 170
Irvin C, 407
Maurice T., 144, 145
Michael, 169
INDEX
693
Orville J., 407
Otto P., 451, 452
Theodore M., 145
Moir, James, 232, 233
John, 232
John M., 232
Monaghan, Francis M., 511,
512
Richard, 511
Moore, Edward P., 408
Thomas, 125
Morgan, David T., 541
John, 541
T. Archer, 540, S4i
Thomas S., 541
Morss, Leonidas W., 330
Mosher, Luthan B., 146
Mtilholland, Bernard, 458
Henry W., 458
Murphy, Francis L., 358,
359
James R., 394
M. J., 494
Sarah A., 395
Murray, Michael J., 3S0,
351
Michael J. Jr., 352
Napier, John, 474
William E., 474
Nash, Joseph, 467
William L., 466, 467
Nettleton, Augustus C., 514,
51S
Franklyn E., 515
Neuffer, Carl W. F., 409
Charles D., 409
Nicholson, Addison A., 456
Fitch, 456
Homer, 456
Noecker, Charles B., 326,
John, 326
Lewis, 327
Nolan, James, 591
Joseph H., 591, 592
Norton, Mary E., 563
Michael, 562
Oakford, James W., 215,
217
Joseph. 215
Richard A., 215
O'Brien, John E., 478
Richard, 477
O'Donnell, Patrick, 260
William P., 260
O'Malley, James J., .\37
Michael, 337
Thomas B., 84
William G., 83, 84
O'Neill, Hugh, 354
James J., 354
Osterhout, Edward W., 358
Guy W., 506
Mary E., 358
Milo D., 506
Owens, John J., 553
Paine, Hendrick E., 312,
313
Stephen, 312
Palmer, Charles, 400
Jesse, 400
Palumbo, Salvatori, 601
Parker, Charles B., 617, 618
Edwin R., 650
Fernando A., 618
Rondino, 616
Sheldon, 617
Sheldon W., 650
Stephen, 617
Sterling D., 616, 617
Parrish, George H., 306
Justin E., 305, 306
Pauli, Francis S., 378, 379
George, 378
Herman R., 378
Lewis J., 379
Philip R., "379
Margaret F., 380
Reinhold, 378
Peck, Eliphalet, 201
Fenwick L., 235
George, 202
George L., 201, 203
Jesse, 201
John, 201
Jonathan W., 235
Joseph, 235
Luther, 202
Luther W., 203
Simon, 235
Penman, Charles B., 63]
Harriet C, 631
James, 631
Phillips, Philip R., 684
Pinnell, John W., 303, 304
Jones T., 303
Piatt, Frank E., 180
Frederick, 177
Frederick J., 181, 182
Joseph, 181
Joseph C, 177
Pond, Alvin P., 105
Charles FL, 105
Porter, Abel J., 139
John T., 139
Post, Arthur, 66
Carrie L, 564
Goosen, 65
Isaac, 67, 68
Isaac L., 67
Jacob, 564
John, 66, 67
Panwell V., 66
Peter, 65
Peter A., 65
Richard, 66
Robert F., 563, 564
Powell, Charles J., 167, 168
Howard, 466
James M., 465. 466
James S., 168
Lewis B., 168
Public Library, 253
Price, Thomas J., 340
Rader. John B., 56?
Philip, 563
Redding, Leonard G., 355
Reedy, David J., 260
John, 260
Reilly, David M., 609
Peter F., 649
Thomas, 609, 649
Renncr, Frank vV., 536
Gustav F., 536
Reynolds, George, 62
George F., 61, 62
Rice, James N., 282
Sarah E., 283
William, 282
Kichards, John T., 52
Thomas, 52
Richmnnd, John, 640
Robert R., 640
William H., 6^9, 641
William W., 640
Riegel, Isaac M., 531
John I., 531
Rinsland, John, 314
Philip, 314
Ripple, Ezra H. Jr., 61
Rittenhouse, Benjamin F.,
322
James H., 322, 323
Matthias, 322
Robertson, David, 679
John, 679
John M., 679
William G., 635
Robinson, Edmund J., 657
Otto J., 659
Mina, 657
Philip, 61^7
Robert, 658
Roblee, Milton, 421
Roche, John E., 342
Rogers, Adelbert E., 353
George W., 353
Roos, Elias G., 209, 210
Rabbi Kaufman, 209
Samuel, 209
Rosar, Charles G., 507. 5o8
Peter, 507
Rose, Charles C, 131
William C, 131
Ross, Charles S., 626, 627
J. Elliott, 627
Roth, Max, 633
William, 633
Ruddy, John J., Rev., 355
Rushmore, J. Edward, 673.
674
John F., 673
Rutherford, Herman C,
296
Robert W., 296
Ruthven, Robert C, 45°.
451
Robert E., 450
694
INDEX
Sampson, Chester C, 546
Samter, Jacob, 81
Samuel, 81, 82
Sanderson, Abraham, 131
Benjamin L., 256
Charles D., 254. 256
Clarence M., 256
Edward, 132
George, 132
George, Col., 133
Jacob, 131
Jonathan, 132, 254, 255
Samuel, 132, 255, 256
Sando, Joseph W., 287
Michael F., 287
Savage, Charles P., 55, 56
Joseph, 55
Robert P., 55
Scheuer, John, 164
Schiller, Aaron, 588
Abraham L., 588
Leib, 588
Schillinger, Christian, 464,
465
Schimpflf, Eugene, 527
Jacob, 527
Philip, 527
Schlager, Jacob, 644
Jacob R., 644
Schoenfeld, Reinhard, 428
William C, 427, 428
Schoonmaker, Alexander,
663
Col. U. G., 663, 664
Jacob. 663
Schoonover, William, 629
William J., 629, 630
Schriever, Jacob, 337
James B., ^7,y
Schubert, Henry J., 376, 377
William, 376
Schunk. Jacob, 672
William A.. 672
Schwenker, John G., 567
John U., 567
Scott, Frederick E.. 638,
639
Samuel, 638
Scranton, Ichabod, 29
John, 28
Jonathan, 29
Joseph H., 29
Theophilus, 29
William W., 30
Worthington, 32
Seamans, Charles S., 340,
.S4I
John, 340
John M., 340
Sedlak, Frank J., 393
Severson, Irwin W., 419
Oscar L., 419
Shafer, Casper, 42
Hampton C., 42
Shindel, Conrad F., 646
Shoemaker, Layton L., 154
Theodore, 154
Siebecker, Louis J., 578
William, 578
Siegel, Harry M., 624
Simons, Edward F., 573
Edward G., 573
Sinn, Andrew C, 109
Joseph A., 109, no
Simpson, Christopher, 241
Clarence D., 241, 242
John, 141
William S., 241
Slocum, Anthony, 261
Ebenezer, 262
George W., 261, 264
Giles, 261
Jonathan, 262
Joseph, 261, 263
Joseph W., 264
Samuel, 261
Smith, Frederick D.. 608
Garrett, 152, 153
George B., 616
Gustave, 434
Gustave F., 433, 434
Harry F., 608
Jacob, 153
John B., 616
John F., 433
Peter, 153
Ruel. 19
William T., 19
Snyder, David N., 357
Elizabeth D., 628
Jacob B., 628
Marion D., 357
Spencer, Harry M., 392
Sylvester, 392
Sporer, John, 596
Michael, 596
Sprague, Edward H., 315
Thomas, 315, 316
Spruks, David, 345
John. 345
Stackhouse, Fletcher C,
464
Jesse B., 464
Steell, Joseph H., 214
Stender, Ferdinand J., 450
Herman F., 449, 450
Stephens, A. Wesley, 135
Morton W., 135
Stevens, Charles H., 410
Fred D.. 410
Stevenson, George E., 397
Stephen, 397
Stillwell, Frederick W.. 245
Richard, 245
Stipp, Ludwig, 137, 4'l6
Ludwig T., 447
Mathias, 137
Peter, 446
Stocker, Albert, 265
Frank R., 265, 266
James D., 265
Stone, Asian, 638
Francis O., 171, 172
John A., 637, 638
Oscar. 171
Stuckart, Anthony F., 63
George F., 63
Sturges, Edward B., 669
Thomas B., 669
Sutton, Cyrus O., 494, 495
Peter, 495
Sweet. George, 317
William, 317
Swift, Michael J., 391
Sylvester, Philip L., 149
Taylor, Charles C, 622
F. A., Mrs. 264
Herbert L., 385
Jasper C, 621, 622
John A., 621
Reuben, 621
ReuDen W., 386
Thomson, Alexander, 218
Charles E., 218
Throop, Benjamin H., 9, 10,
II, 13
Dan, II
George S., 13
William. 10
Tobey, Albert B.. 551
Charles E.. 551, 552
Edward, 551
Toohey, John J., 540
Thomas, 540
Torrey, James H., 267
William, 267
Touhill, Charles V., 675
Edward. 675
John A.. 67s
Vallario. Michael. 599
Nicholas, 500
Valverde, Rev. Francis, 649
Van De Water, Peter, 373
William G., 373
VanDeusen, Coonrod, 240
Henry, 240
Henry N., 240
Henry R., 240
Isaac, 239
John, 240
Vasey, George F., 593
John, 593
William, 593
Villone, Joseph, 381, 382
Vitale, 382
Vincent, George, 247
I. Raymond, 247
Isaac, 247
Von Bergen, Andrew, 204
John, 204, 205
Von Storch. Charles H.,
212
Christian T.. 211
Godfrey, 212
Heinrich L., 2H. 645
Jessica P., 646
Johann G., 211
INDEX
695
Theodore, 645
Theodore C, 645, 646
Vosburg, Alton A., 99
Merritt B., 99
Stephen, 99
Voyle, David M., 463
Thomas M., 463
Waddell, Addison, 620
James, 620
Joseph A., 620, 621
Wagner, Frederick, 100
Frederick A., loi
Joseph, 100
Wahl, George, 431, 432
Wainwright, Jonathan M.,
98
WilHam A. M., 98
Wakeman, Benjamin S.,
625, 626
Seth, 62s
Waldner, Frederick G., 592
Walker, George A., 416
J. Moulton, 416
Sabinns, 416
Wallace, Charles R., 402
Frank C., 402
H. Clifford, 130
Walter, Michael, 568
Paul S., 568
Wardle, James F., 77
Joseph, 77
Warman, Andrew B., 129
Theodore P., 129
Warren. Harris F., 207
Henry G., 565
Isaac, 207
Major Everett, 206, 207
Philip H., 565
Watkins, Daniel R., 97
Edward, 97
George W., 422, 423
John T., 610, 611
William W., 439, 610
Watres, Lewis S., l88
Louis A., 188, 189
Watson, Benjamin E., 115
Charles, 115
Webber, Richard, 384
Wesley J., 384
Wedeman, Daniel, 138
Louis P., 138
Martin P., 138
Peter, 138
Weeks, Arthur L., 273, 275
Ralph, 273
Ralph E., 274
Weinschenk, Anton, 366
Arthur A., 366
Weissenfiuh, J. Edwin, 441,
442
John, 442
Welles, Charles H., 106
Charles H. Jr., 106
Wells, Corydon H., 294
Thomas F., 294, 295
Wenzel, Charles E., 411,
412
Conrad, 411
Weston, Charles S., 5, 6
Edward W., 5
Westpfahl, Albert F., 404
John, 404
White, James B., 505
J. Norman, 509
Joseph, 509
Robert E., 505
Robert V., 505, 506
Sidney. 509
Stephen, 505
Wilcox, Edward, 284
Isaiah, 284
Nathan P., 285
Stephen, 284
William A., 285
Williams, Carlos D., 250
Carey P., 250, 251
Edwin S., 362, 363
Erastus P., 250
Jeremiah, 362
John F., 75
John R., 75
Reese, 68
Silas, 250
Tudor R., 6g
William R.. 68
Wills, Henry, 581
Robert C, 581
Winans, Elihu, 448
George G., 449
George H., 448, 449
Winters, Peter C., 509, 510
Robert, 510
Winton. Andrew J., 50
Walter W., 51
William W., 50
Woelkers, Charles, 654
Herman J., 654
Wolf, Edward L., 15
George, 14
Theodore G., 13, 16
Wollerton, Frederick W.,
107
William, 107
Woodruff, Andrew, 271
Clarence S., 271
Lewis H.. 271
York, Samuel F., 93, 94
William F., 94
Zeidler, John, 462
Maggie, 463
Zimmer, George A., .348
John, 347, 348
Zivatas, Frank, 575
/^^
1%^
W^
%