USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Wilkes-Barre > A history of Lodge no. 61, F. and A. M., Wilkesbarr?, Pa. with a collection of masonic addresses > Part 34
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55
* JOHN SERGEANT was born in Philadelphia December 5th, 1779, the son of Jonathan Dickinson Sergeant, who was a grandson of Jona- than Dickinson, the first President of Princeton College. Jonathan D. Sergeant was Attorney General of Pennsylvania from 1777 to 1780, and was one of the counsel for the State in the controversy with Con- necticut in 1782 relative to Wyoming land titles.
John Sergeant was graduated from Princeton in 1795; studied law with Jared Ingersoll, and was admitted to the Bar of Philadelphia in 1799. He was a member of the State Legislature in 1808-'10 ; and a Representative in Congress in 1815-'23, 1827-'9, and 1837-'42. He declined the mission to England in 1841. He was for a long time at the head of the Whig party in this State, and was the Pennsylvanian honored before all others by the men of his party-clarum et vener- abile nomen. In 1832 he was the Whig candidate for Vice President, on the ticket with Henry Clay.
He was one of the first lawyers of his day, and certainly, if equalled, not surpassed by any of his contemporaries as an eloquent and effec- tive advocate. His character was above reproach, and he was re- garded with pride and affection by his constituents in Philadelphia, who generally spoke of him as "Our John Sergeant." He died in Philadelphia November 25th, 1852.
433
phia, and a friendship was there begun that lasted as long as both lived.
From 1806 to 1809 or '10 Mr. Miner was a member of the military company known as the "Wyoming Blues," and in 1808 was elected First Lieutenant of the company. In 1810 he assisted in taking the census of Luzerne county. At that time, also, he had charge of the carrying of the United States mails between Wilkesbarré and Northumber- land, Tunkhannock, and other towns intermediate and more distant, under a contract with the Government.
May 12th, 1809, Mr. Miner transferred the Federalist to Messrs. Sidney Tracy and Steuben Butler of Wilkesbarré, who had been apprentices in the office. In September, 1810, Mr. Tracy retired from the business, and Mr. Miner resumed the editorial chair. In January, 1811, Messrs. Miner and Butler changed the name of the paper to The Gleaner, and Luzerne Advertiser, with the motto "Intelligence is the Life of Liberty." A few months later the name was cut down to two words-The Gleaner. January 29th, 1813, the part- nership of Miner and Butler was dissolved, and Mr. Miner continued the business alone. On the night of March 10th, 1813, the Gleaner office was destroyed by fire, and the types and presses were injured and destroyed to such an extent as to prevent the issuing of the paper until April 16th.
The editor of the Susquehanna Democrat in referring to the fire said (Wilkesbarré, March, 12th, 1813) :
" Mr. Miner's loss is very heavy, and it is hoped that a generous public will not be backward in affording aid to an industrious man, by making him some remuneration. *
* * We are requested to state to the patrons of the Gleaner that an immediate discharge of all arrearages is now become absolutely necessary, that Mr. Miner may be enabled to renew his materials and re-commence the publication of his paper."
In an early number of the Gleaner appeared the first of a series of weekly essays from the pen of Mr. Miner, entitled
434
"From the Desk of Poor Robert the Scribe." These essays became very popular. They were filled with good sense, combining amusement with instruction ; they were read with pleasure at nearly every fireside in the country ; were many times reprinted in other papers, and, at a later day, some of them could be found in school-books as lessons of wisdom not to be put aside or forgotten. Extracts from them have appeared in Bartlett's and various other dictionaries of " Fa- miliar Quotations." The authorship of the first essay, "Who'll Turn Grindstone ?" was for a long time ascribed to Benja- min Franklin. The essay represents a boy persuaded by flattering words to turn a grindstone for a man who wished to grind an axe; and who, when it was done, sent the boy off without praise or reward, but with a reprimand for play- ing truant. The writer moralizes upon incidents in real life, and closes each thought with the expression, "Thinks I, that man has an axe to grind !" Thus :- " When I see a merchant overpolite to his customers, begging them to taste a little brandy and throwing half his goods on the counter- thinks I, that man has an axe to grind." The use of this expression is world-wide, but of its origin very few have any knowledge.
Referring, many years later, to the publication of these essays, Mr. Miner said: "They made me many friends ; among the rest Dennie, the pioneer of American literature, complimented me by a friendly note, and a volume of his Portfolio."
In July, 1815, the essays were collected and published in book form by Asher Miner, at Doylestown. The book comprises thirty-two essays and a poem, is entitled "Essays from the Desk of Poor Robert the Scribe, Containing Les- sons in Manners, Morals, and Domestic Economy," and con- tains 120 pages, size 4 x 7 inches. The book is now scarce, and the writer of this had a good deal of difficulty in finding a copy to examine. Following are some extracts from it :
435
"There are some precepts, very proper to be given in domestic economy, which the writers of your quarto and your folio volumes think below their notice. The preacher conceives them beneath the dignity of the sacred desk, and they must be untaught unless some humble, plodding wight, like 'Poor Robert the Scribe,' shall take them into his special consideration."
"If you would kill game, it is true you must shoot; but then you must aim, and hold steady, to boot."
"I'm out of all patience with these 'by and by' folks. One hour of the present tense is worth a week in the future."
"A single stroke of an axe is of little consequence ; yet, by the con- tinual application of that small power, properly directed, what amazing effects are produced ! The sturdy oak and lofty pine do not singly own its influence, but whole forests fall before it, and the wilderness becomes a garden."
"Of all cheap things that in the end prove dear, razors and school- masters are the most abominable. One will mangle your face-the other will mangle the education and morals of your children."
"Should I ever see a Nation, instead of cherishing the resources within its power, intent on plunging the country into a war-useless as to any probable result, and with a Nation that like a bee is a valu- able friend but a dangerous enemy-could I get an introduction at Court, I would certainly whisper in the ear of the chief : 'Reflect, sir, before you proceed, for there is a great chance that * *
you may, instead of getting a good feast, come groaning back smarting with the sting of disgrace and disappointment."
" Dote not then, maiden, on thy charms, But wake thy soul to Death's alarms ; Nor pride, nor beauty, from the grave That form, that cheek, that eye can save !"
Mr. Miner also wrote and published in the Gleaner in 1814-'15 a series of articles entitled "The Cogitations of My Uncle John." The first of these "Cogitations" was printed January 7th, 1814, and began as follows :
" 'He that will not stoop for a pin,
Shall be made to stoop for a meaner thing.'-Old Saying.
436
"This distich is something like the girls of Thornville, 'homely, but sensible.' The importance of trifles to our happiness and prosperity, surely is not duly appreciated. A drop of water is but a trifle, yet the Ocean is formed of drops. A moment is but a trifle, yet our lives are made up of moments. A cent is but a trifle, and yet nothing is truer than that the whole wealth of the richest he in Thornville is made up of such trifles."
The following editorial note preceded the "Cogitation":
"The following queer, odd, singular communication we have read over and over, and hardly know whether to admit or reject it. The old fellow, if he has any sense, has a comical way of showing it. The drift of his piece we like well enongh, but if he writes again we wish he would polish a little more. * * Who are you, Uncle John ?"
The following poem by "Uncle John" was printed in the Gleaner of June 10th, 1814 :
"UNCLE JOHN IN LOVE." "Lovely Molly, didst thou know My throbbing bosom's anguish, Thou could'st not cruelly say No ! Thou could'st not let me languish.
Oft with lovely maids I've met-
With lovely maidens parted ; And easy could their charms forget,
Nor thought them marble hearted.
When first I saw thy pretty face, I could not tell what ail'd me ; You spoke with such bewitching grace, My tongue to answer failed me.
But when on me you deign'd to smile, What passion filled my bosom ! Those charms did my poor heart beguile- I'd rather die than lose 'em."
In 1815 Capt. Abraham Bradley (father of Abraham Bradley, Jr., then First Assistant Post Master General of the United States, but who had been a lawyer in Wilkesbarré and an Associate Judge of the Courts of Luzerne county) wrote from Washington to his old friend Judge Jesse Fell :
437
"The editor of the Gleaner has acquired the highest reputation among all ranks of people and served his country and the cause he has espoused, at least equal to any editor in the United States. The humor and pleasantry with which he fills his columns, serve more to the promotion of good morals than the most powerful arguments of the superb genius. And when he touches upon politics, under the signature of 'Uncle John,' the humor and sarcasm are almost irresist- ible. His productions are copied into most of the papers from Maine to Ohio, and some of those to the South. Even the editor of the Na- tional Intelligencer cannot withhold, with all his Democratic austerity, from republishing some pieces which have no acrimony against his be- loved system of Democracy. Every one is charmed."
Mr. Miner also printed in the Gleaner many original arti- cles upon anthracite coal, the importance of which was just beginning to dawn upon the minds of the people of the Wyo- ming Valley. It was the object of Mr. Miner to extend that interest awakened here, to enlighten the minds of those else- where who would not believe, and to disseminate the theory that anthracite would burn as readily as bituminous coal. He hoped to see some day mines opened and their treasures spread throughout the land ; and he hoped to see the Val- ley of Wyoming-then little more than a wilderness-blos- som as a rose, and Wilkesbarré-then a mere inland village -alive with the busy hum of industry and filled with dusky workmen, the mart of trade, connected with cities, and built up with noble mansions, all the fruit of her own under- ground wealth. In a long editorial from his pen in the Gleaner of November 19th, 1813, under the head of "State Policy," Mr. Miner said :
" The coal of Wyoming has already become an article of consider- able traffic with the lower counties of Pennsylvania. Numerous beds have been opened, and it is ascertained beyond all doubt that the Valley of Wyoming contains enough coal for ages to come. Seven years ago our coal was thought of little value. It was then supposed that it could not be burned in a common grate. Our smiths used it, and for their use alone did we suppose it serviceable. About six years ago
1
438
one of our most public-spirited citizens [Judge Jesse Fell] made the experiment of using it in a grate, and succeeded to his most sanguine expectations .*
In the Gleaner of January 7th, 1814, there was an edi- torial two and a-half columns in length, headed "Navigation of the Lehigh," in which Mr. Miner advocated the merits of Wyoming coal as well as the improvement of the Lehigh river. With reference to the latter he wrote: "I say with great confidence, this is the course pointed out by Nature for the connection between the Susquehanna and the Delaware." Time and experience have verified his judgment. He also said :
"Our public improvements must grow with our growth and strength- en with our strength. We cannot expect in this young country, hav- ing so many points to improve, to equal the old and more populous countries of Europe. I appeal to the judicious men who have wit- nessed the failure of our grandest plans, if they have not miscarried because they were disproportionate to the necessity and the ability of the country. * * * I hope our grand-children may live to see * a complete railway from this place to the Lehigh, and a canal from thence to Philadelphia.+
Determined, however, not to be a theorist only, but to carry out in practice what he had taught others through the columns of his paper, he, in December, 1813, in company with Jacob Cist, John W. Robinson, and Stephen Tuttle, of Wilkesbarré, leased from the Lehigh Coal Mine Company their Mauch Chunk mine for a term of ten years, "with the
* See page 265, ante.
+ Mr. Miner wrote, and published in The Village Record, West Chester, Penn'a, August 11th, 1830, the following : "Among the sug- gestions then (1814) made was one which I mean, before long, to bring more conspicuously to public view, and claim some credit for, viz. : That the proper channel of communication from Wyoming Val- ley to Philadelphia would be by a railroad to the Lehigh, thence down that stream by a canal. I did not then expect to live to see forty-six miles of the canal on the Lehigh finished, and the rest with so fair a prospect of completion."
439
right of cutting lumber on the lands for building boats ; the whole consideration for this lease being the annual intro- duction into market of 10,000 bushels of coal, for the benefit of the lessees." Stewart Pearce, in his " Annals of Luzerne County," says :
"The pens of Charles Miner and Jacob Cist were now busily em- ployed in giving information on the use and value of anthracite coal. The newspapers of that day published in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore bear ample testimony to the ability with which the subject was commended to the public. Mr. Cist sent specimens of Wyoming coal to all the large cities in the Union, to England, to France, to Germany, and even to Russia."
August 9th, 1814, four ark-loads of coal were despatched from the landing at Mauch Chunk. The fleet moved off with the rapid current, but in fifteen minutes brought up on a reef called "Red Rocks," half a mile below. Only one ark got through, and in six days it reached Philadelphia with its 24 tons of coal, which had by that time cost $14 a ton. "But," says Mr. Miner, "we had the greater difficulty to overcome of inducing the public to use our, coal when brought to their doors. We published hand-bills, in Eng- lish and German, stating the mode of burning the coal, either in grates, in smith's forges, or in stoves. Together we went to several houses in the city, and prevailed on the masters to allow us to kindle fires of anthracite in their grates, erected to burn Liverpool coal. We attended at blacksmiths' shops, and prevailed upon some to alter the tewel iron, so that they might burn Lehigh coal; and we were sometimes obliged to bribe the journeymen to try the experiment fairly, so averse were they to learn the use of a new sort of fuel."
This enterprise of Messrs. Miner, Cist & Co. was soon abandoned.
In May, 1813, Mr. Miner purchased of Job Barton and Benjamin Drake a lot of land in the borough of Wilkes- barré, located at what is now the north-east corner of Union
440
and Franklin streets, and upon a portion of the lot he erected in 1813-'14 the large frame dwelling-house which stood there until it was torn down in the Spring of 1887. At that early period Franklin street ended at Union. North of Union was "Green Lane"-a favorite play-ground for the young people of those days. For a short time before, and during, the erection of his house, Mr. Miner and his family resided at the north-east corner of Union and Bank (now River) streets; and prior to that at the corner of Franklin and Market. In December, 1814, they moved into their new home, which they occupied until they left Wilkesbarré in July, 1817, when Mr. Miner sold it to Judge Burnside. The Gleaner office was located in this house from Decem- ber, 1814, to June, 1816, when it was removed to a building facing the north side of the Public Square, one or two doors from West Market street.
In September, 1815, Mr. Miner opened a "Land Office" for the purchase and sale of real estate. He carried on the business for nine months, and then disposed of it to Charles Catlin & Co.
That Mr. Miner's reputation as an able thinker and writer was not confined to his own town and county, is evidenced by an invitation from Thomas T. Stiles to him to become editor and part owner of The True American newspaper, published in Philadelphia. A satisfactory agreement having been entered into by the two, Mr. Miner went to Philadel- phia in June, 1816, first having disposed of the Gleaner establishment to Mr. Isaac A. Chapman. He was the author of the first history of Wyoming, written in 1818 and pub- lished in 1830. In announcing Mr. Miner's retirement from the Gleaner and his departure from Wilkesbarré, Mr. Chap- man said in the Gleaner of June 2Ist, 1816:
"The former editor of the Gleaner has bid adieu to his beloved Val- ley of Wyoming-to a large circle of friends long endeared to him by the tenderest ties of Society-and goes to seek new friends and new
441
labors in the busy walks of the metropolis. But he leaves behind him those who will never forget the share he has contributed to the happi- ness of our social circle ; and he leaves to me the task of discharging those duties as an editor which he has so long and so ably performed."
During his connection with the True American Mr. Miner published a series of popular articles entitled "Lectures of Father Paul."
Early in February, 1817, on account of a long and severe illness, he severed his connection with the paper and re- turned to his family at Wilkesbarré. Soon thereafter he was offered the position of assistant editor of The United States Gazette, Philadelphia, but having decided to remove to West Chester, Chester county, Penn'a, he declined the offer. In July, 1817, he purchased of Col. Dennis Whelen The Chester and Delaware Federalist, West Chester, and removing his family to that village entered upon his editorial duties August Ist. In the issue of August 13th appeared his salutatory, in which were these words : "My principles, although somewhat old fashioned, and not the most popu- lar, I am proud to avow. I am a Federal Republican !"
The paper continued to be published under the name of the Federalist until January 17th, 1818, when it was changed to The Village Record. It soon became as popular for its good taste, and the delicacy of its humor, as the Gleaner had been aforetime. "Poor Robert" here wrote under the nom de plume of "John Harwood." "The young Yankee printer, ridiculed by the Democracy of Chester county as a 'Yankee tin pedler,' won his way to the esteem and confi- dence of the plain and practical Quakers, then, as now, powerful and influential in that old county." He was be- loved while he lived among them, with an unusual affection, only less, if possible, than that kindly regard in which he was held by the people of Wyoming. "He was a popular man with young people, his kindly smile of recognition be-
442
ing long remembered, and the pure sentiments disseminated through the columns of his paper had a salutary effect in elevating the moral and intellectual tone of its readers."
The late William P. Townsend, of West Chester, wrote some years ago to the author of this : "The Village Record was published for many years in a small frame building on High street near Gay. The personal appearance of Charles Miner in this office is well remembered, especially on pub- lication days, when with a short apron of green baize or flannel he took an active part in issuing the Record-his kindly countenance and manners leaving a pleasant im- pression on the memory that more than half a century has not effaced. He was a genial and kind hearted man, very fond and considerate of the young.
"His pleasant smile and friendly recognition of the writer, then a mere boy, is well remembered ; and when to this was added upon one occasion the present of his valuable book 'Poor Robert the Scribe,' it was an aid, and acted as an in- centive, in endeavoring to acquire habits of industry and usefulness. He was much interested in the young people of the place generally, and upon one occasion he gave notice through his paper of having books to lend. Going one day into the shop of a hatter he found the young man in attend- ance busily engaged reading history from a volume lying open on the counter while his iron was heating. This was publicly noticed and commended as making good use of spare time.
"At one time [about 1827] he owned and occupied what has since been known as 'the Dallet farm'-about one-half mile south of West Chester-which he called 'Spring Grove,' and which was a favorite resort for the young people of West Chester while the family continued to reside there."
In 1820 Mr. Miner was the Federal candidate for Repre- sentative in Congress from the Chester and Montgomery district. His opponent was Dr. William Darlington, a Dem-
443
ocrat and the sitting Representative, who was elected by a majority of only 479 votes in a total of nearly 12,000. In 1824 Mr. Miner was elected to Congress from the district composed of Chester, Delaware, and Lancaster counties, as the colleague of James Buchanan-then a high-toned Fed- eralist, later the very pink of Democracy. He was re-elected in 1826 for a second term, and served until the first inaugura- tion of President Jackson.
Mr. Miner was the friend and associate of nearly all the great men of the day. Intelligent and social, he was at- tractive, and the ease and brilliancy with which he expressed his thoughts on paper made him useful in advancing the doctrines of his party, and in furthering the objects of the leaders who held the reins of power. A warm friend of in- ternal improvements and of home industries, he became at- tached to Henry Clay, the great advocate of our American system, and at that time Secretary of State of the United States. Mr. Clay, recognizing at once the abilities and use- fulness of the member from Pennsylvania, made him his friend personally, as he knew him to be politically, and looked to him, more than to any other member of the House, to carry out his views upon the subjects of internal improvement, the tariff, and a United States bank.
Mr. Miner's intercourse with Daniel Webster, then in the Senate and almost at the zenith of his fame as an orator and statesman, was familiar and pleasant. When circumstances induced a coolness between the eminent Kentuckian and the "Defender of the Constitution," the sympathies of Mr. Miner, as a Yankee, went out warmly toward his brother Yankee, who years afterwards sent him his portrait inscribed : "To my highly valued friend, the Hon. Charles Miner. Dan'l Webster."
Mr. Miner and John Quincy Adams were very intimate friends, Mr. Adams occupying the Presidential chair during the principal portion of the period that the former served in
444
Congress ; and, to use Mr. Miner's own words, "DeWitt Clinton-the great statesman, for so many years Governor of New York-was pleased to honor me [him] with his friendship." In later years the Hon. Edward Everett was his friend and correspondent, as was also the historian George Bancroft, who upon one occasion was his guest at "Retreat."
Mr. Miner's own party was not alone in his praise. A Wilkesbarré gentlemen visiting in 1850 former President Tyler (who had been a Senator while Mr. Miner was a Representative in Congress), was asked by Mr. Tyler as to the health and circumstances of his old friend, whom he described as being "the most able man he (Tyler) had ever met with from Pennsylvania."
While a Member of Congress "he neither drank the wine of indulgence nor ate the bread of idleness," as so many Congressmen of modern days are accustomed to do. Like his friend John Sergeant, in both the State and the National Legislature, Charles Miner was always found advocating measures of humanity and public good. May 22d, 1828, the Chamber of Commerce of Philadelphia passed resolutions tendering " the most cordial thanks of the Chamber to the Hons. John Sergeant, J. B. Sutherland, and D. H. Miller, Representatives of the city and county of Philadelphia, and the Hon. Charles Miner from Chester county, for their active, persevering, and efficient services as Members of the House of Representatives in procuring from Congress an appropriation for the construction of the great national work, the breakwater, at the mouth of Delaware Bay." Mr. Miner had been the only Representative from Pennsylvania, out- side of Philadelphia, who had advocated and worked for the appropriation referred to. Concerning this matter he sub- sequently wrote :
"When the question of an appropriation for the breakwater lay in committee, dead, and without a single voice in its favor, if I am right- ly instructed, except that of the able and excellent member from
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.