USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Wilkes-Barre > A history of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania : from its first beginnings to the present time, including chapters of newly-discovered early Wyoming Valley history, together with many biographical sketches and much genealogical material. Volume V > Part 30
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On August 15, 1816, Charles F. Welles married Elea- nor J. Hollenback, who was born January 21, 1788, and died March 14, 1876. Among their large family of chil- dren was John Welles Hollenback, christened John Roset Welles, subject of this record.
John W. Hollenback was born in Wyalusing, Brad- ford County, Pennsylvania, March 15, 1827. He was educated at Athens Academy, Athens, Pennsylvania, and when he finished his schooling and had taught school for a year, he was associated with his brothers in man- aging the paternal. estate, for seventeen years being in entire charge of the large farm of several hundred acres. It was in 1862 that his name was changed by legislative authority to John Welles Hollenback, by request of his uncle, thus retaining his mother's maiden name.
Recognizing his ability, his maternal uncle, George M. Hollenback, invited him to come to Wilkes-Barre to help in the management of his affairs, and in 1863 Mr. Hollenback moved into the home built by his uncle at the corner of River and Market streets, the site now occupied by the Coal Exchange Building. He soon became pronti- nent in many local interests. For six years he was a member of city council. He was chosen as a director of the Peoples Bank of Wilkes-Barre when it was organized in 1871, and was its president from 1884 until 1015, at which time it merged with the Miners Bank. He was also president of the Wilkes-Barre Bridge Com- pany, of the Hollenback Cemetery Association, director of the Title Guaranty and Insurance Company of Scran- ton, director of the Scranton Trust Company, direc- tor of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, presi- dent of the Wilkes-Barre Lace Company, director of the Sheldon Axle Works, director of the Hazard Manu- facturing Company, and also of the Spring Brook Water Supply Company, and had' many other large landed and corporate interests.
In addition to these many financial activities Mr. Hol- lenback carried more than his share of educational and civic responsibilities. He was a director of the Harry Hillman Academy, now known as the Wilkes-Barre Academy, and a member of the board of trustees of Wilkes-Barre Institute. In 1865 he was elected a mem- ber of the board of trustees of Lafayette College, serv- ing continuously until his resignation in May, 1921, when he was made an honorary member of the board, which honor he held to the day of his death. From 1892 until 1914 he was president of the board. Mr. Hollenback's services to Lafayette College extended over a longer period than those of any trustee in the history of the
college, and during all those years he was a staunch supporter and generous benefactor of the institution.
He was a director of the local Young Men's Chris- tian Association from its organization, and at different times served in the capacity of secretary and president. The land for the Wilkes-Barre City Hospital (now the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital) was given by him and he was one of the original incorporators of the institution in 1873, and was one of the directors from that date until his death, a continuous service of fifty years. From 1892 to 1903 Mr. Hollenback served as vice-president of the City Hospital's board and as presi- dent from 1903 to 1908. He was a life member of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, of which he was vice-president from 1875 to 1878, and president from 1879 to 1880. He was vice-president of the Wyoming Valley Commemorative Association and rarely missed attending the annual commemorative exercises at the Wyoming Monument. Such was Mr. Hollen- back's capacity for work and fidelity to any responsibility or trust, that at one time he was a member of twenty- one different organizations and associations.
His political affiliations were with the Republican party, but his broad and just views led him in political campaigns to support the best man of whatever party. The deeply religious character of John Welles Hollenback, forming the warp and woof of his whole life, had an especial manifestation in his intense loyalty to the Christian Church of every denomination and, in particular, to the Presbyterian church of which he was for nearly three- quarters of a century a ruling elder. Having been at the early age of twenty-one elected elder to the Wyalu- ring Presbyterian Church, he was later installed elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Wilkes-Barre, on October 1, 1865, and served with a great zeal and fidelity until his death. In addition to his services as elder he conducted a large Bible class of young men at South Wilkes-Barre Chapel (now Westminster Church), of which he was one of the organizers. He had also for several years a class at Grant Street Chapel and also at the First Presbyterian Church. His distinction as a leading layman of the denomination was indicated by his appointment four times as a delegate from the Lacka- wanna Presbytery to the General Assembly of the church. Always from early youth a devoted student and reader of the Scriptures, he was from 1879 until his death in 1923 treasurer of the Luzerne County Bible Society. In spite of his many activities he faithfully attended the meetings of the Young People's Society of Chris- tian Endeavor, in which he was always interested, and no one in the society was younger at heart than he. He was also interested in the work of the Home for Friendless Children and the Home for Homeless Women, having been at different times a director of both insti- tutions.
Mr. Hollenback's act in giving to the city in 1907 a beautiful park site of one hundred acres, since named Hollenback Park, was the first step in the development of Wilkes-Barre's present park system.
A mere recital of the many activities of this remark- able life, however varied and unusual, would fail in giving the true estimate of the personality of the man. It would have been necessary to meet him in the office where he so often listened with courteous attention, kindly sympathy and response to recitals of need and pleas for help. Cr to listen to his quick replies of ever ready wit which so often enlivened the dull sessions of busi- ness or brought a season of fun and laughter to cheer the harassing cares of civic committees. Or to see him in the home amidst the loving and sympathetic relation- ships of family and neighborly life.
Upon the occasion of his ninetieth birthday an en- grossed hand-illumined resolution of esteem, affection and congratulation, signed by officers of all the organizations with which he was connected, was sent to Mr. Hollen- back. The resolution said in part :
Your fellow-citizens desire to show their earnest appreciation of the life you have led before them and the example you have so nobly expressed of uprightness, generosity, blamelessness and purity, civic virtue and true Christian character and living. The privilege is rarely given to a community to have in its midst a citizen who, during a long and useful career, by his constant and unchanging devotion to high ideals and his love and goodness towards his fel- low-men, has maintained the high esteem, respect and regard of every one and made his example a model and an inspiration for others to pattern after and to follow.
This long and useful life ended for this world June 19, 1923, but its influence will make itself felt for gen- erations to come. Due partly to his early life spent in-
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outdoor activities on his father's farm and to the chance of inheritance, as well as to a life of temperate, self- denying habits, Mr. Hollenback enjoyed a constitution of remarkable endurance and elasticity. With the excep- tion of some minor illnesses in earlier years he never had a serious illness tintil in his eightieth year he suf- fered an attack of pneumonia. For several years after this illness, or until his ninetieth year, he spent part of the winter months in Florida accompanied by one of his daughters, thus preserving in a good degree his won- derful health.
His close touch with business, church and civic .affairs was retained until the last year of his life, when his extreme age made a life of greater leisure and retire- ment necessary. To the very last of his long life of over ninety-six years he retained his kecn mental qualities, his quick sense of humor, his elastic step and erect carriage, while his eyesight and hearing were but slightly impaired.
Mr. Hollenback married three times. His first wife, Anna E., daughter of Eli Bcard, of Troy, New York, and later of Brooklyn, New York, he married, October 25, 1854. She died September 11, 1864. On December 13, 1866, he married (second) Frances Josephine, daugh- ter of John Woodward, of New York City, who died April 9, 1872. On June 18, 1874, he married (third) Amelia Beard, sister of his first wife. She died Decem- ber 19, 1918. By his first wife his children were: Wal- ter M., who died in childhood; Samuel, who died in infancy ; and Emily B. ( married to Dr. Lewis H. Taylor, of Wilkes-Barre). His second wife bore him three children : Eleanor J. (married to Murray Gibson, of Philadelphia, and later, Merion, Pennsylvania ) ; Josephine W. (married to Louis V. Twyeffort, of Brooklyn, New York, and later Paris, France) ; and Anna W., who resides in Wilkes-Barre. His third wife's children were : Julia A., who died in infancy ; Amelia B., and Juliette G. Of these nine children only four daughters, Mrs. Lewis H. Taylor, Mrs. Murray Gibson, Anna W. Hollenback, and Amelia B. Hollenback, survive him.
Of the many editorial and personal testimonials on the life and works of this man, who was one of Wilkes- Barre's most noted citizens, the tribute from the directors of the Miners Bank is one of the most illuminating and sympathetic. In part it reads :
The fundamental element (in Mr. Hollenback's char- acter) was a firm faith in the Christlan religion, con- stantly marifest 'n his deep spiritual devotion to Its beliefs, as well as in his undeviating practical fidelity to its duties.
It was inevitable that from such a nature should come, by the law of growth, and not by mere softness of the heart, the enlightened philanthropy which formed another element of his life and which found benevolent exercises in a multitude of worthy objects, civic, educational, religious and charitahle.
Notwithstanding his strong tendency to be conserv- ative, he was eminently and intelligently progressive. a public-spirited citizen having in view and at heart community advancement along all proper lines. This quality brought him into intimate connection with all the large enterprises which have contributed to the development of the region, and to which he gave un- stinted support in money and management.
His gentle speech, kind heart, quiet humor, unvary- ing affability, simple, unswerving life, gave him a hold upon the affection of all who knew him.
The memorial window in the First Presbyterian Church, given by Mr. Hollenback's family, was unveiled June 8, 1924, and a memorial service called back to the minds of his friends the beautiful character of the man and the untiring, devoted service expressed in the life just closed.
JOHN H. UHL-Few business men are better known in Wilkes-Barre than is John H. Uhl, president of the Penn Tobacco Company, manufacturers of tobacco, whose plant and offices arc located at No. 454 Main Street, in Wilkes-Barre. Mr. Uhl has been identified with this concern since his graduation from Princeton University in 1912, and has fully demonstrated his ability in this connection. He is a member of numerous frater- nal, business, and philanthropic organizations.
Russell Uhl, father of Mr. Uhl, was the manager of the Penn Tobacco Company for fourteen years, and was holding that position at the time of his death, which occurred April 4. 1914, when he was forty-nine years of age. He is survived by his widow, Sarah ( James) Uhl, who lives in Wilkes-Barre (1929) and the following children : John H., of further mention; James, who is a resident of Daytona Beach, Florida; Margaret, who married James H. Devereux, of Norfolk, Virginia.
John H. Uhl was born in Somerset County, Pennsyl- vania, August 28, 1800, but was brought to Wilkes-
Barre by his parents when he was four years of age. Here he attended the public schools and the Harry Hill- man Academy, after which he prepared for college in the Lawrenceville School, at Lawrenceville, New Jersey. When his preparatory course was completed he matricu- lated in Princeton University, at Princeton, New Jersey, from which he was graduated with the class of 1912, re- cciving the degree of Bachelor of Literature. He then spent one year at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. In 1913 he returned to Wilkes-Barre and entered the employ of the Penn To- bacco Company, as a salesman. Upon the death. of his father in 1914, he was made vice-president and manager of the company, and in 1928 he was elected president. Mr. Uhl is a member of the Pennsylvania State Chamber of Commerce, also of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce. He has served on the boards of various philanthropic organizations. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Wilkes-Barre Academy, a member of the board of trustees of the Wilkes-Barre General Hos- pital, and a member of the board of directors of the Wyoming Valley Crippled Children Association. Politi- cally, he is an Independent. Fraternally, he is a member of Landmark Lodge, No. 442, Free and Accepted Ma- sons; Keystone Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, in which he holds the thirty-second degree; and of Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of Irem Country Club and of the Wyoming Valley Country Club, and Wilkes-Barre Rotary Club. His religious affiliation is with the First Presbyterian Church of Wilkes-Barre.
John H. Uhl was married, November 28, 1913, to Re- becca U. Magraw, of Helena, Montana, daughter of Henry S. and Eugenia ( Norton) Magraw. Mr. and Mrs. Uhl have seven children: John H. Jr., Russell H., Rob- ert P., Richard R., Margaret E., William M., and Eleanore J. The family home is in Kingston,
HARRY A. WHITEMAN-As the head of the firm of H. A. Whiteman and Company, a wholesale paper and stationery establishment of Wilkes-Barre, Harry A. Whiteman holds a prominent place in the business life of the city and of this section of Pennsylvania. The company was established on January 1, 1900, and is now one of the largest wholesale paper establishments in northeastern Pennsylvania. Mr. Whiteman, who is a member of an old family of Pennsylvania, is active in civic and social affairs, and is affiliated with several organizations and fraternal orders.
He is a son of Stephen J. and Lydia Ann ( Major) Whiteman, the former of whom was born in 1848, and died in 1928, and the latter of whom died at the age of seventy-six years; and on the paternal side of his family is a grandson of Daniel J. and Eleanor (De Reamer) Whiteman. The Whiteman family was among the first to settle in Berks County, Pennsylvania; and Eleanor De Reamer, who came of French stock, was a native of New Jersey. Stephen J. Whiteman, a son of Daniel J. and Eleanor ( De Reamer) Whiteman, married Lydia Aim Major, and they became the parents of four chil- dren : 1. Harry A., who is the head of the paper and stationery company, and who will be discussed at greater length in this article. 2. Frank A., who is a member of the same firm. 3. E. Victor, also of this paper company. 1. Ruth, who is the wife of Stanley K. Walborn, of Wilkes-Barrc.
Harry A. Whiteman was born in Lehman, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in July, 1870; attended the public schools of this city, and later became a student at the Harry Hillman Academy. When he left school, he be- came associated with his father in the wholesale grocery business under the name of Whiteman and Patterson. Subsequently, when they sold their interest in the gro- cery business, they established the wholesale paper and stationery firm known as H. A. Whiteman and Company, which is recognized generally in this part of Pennsylvania and elsewhere for the high quality of its product. Mr. Whiteman, as the head of this firm, has come to be known widely throughout his commuunity for his busi- ness talents and ability, and is highly respected as one of the substantial citizens of Wilkes-Barre. He is keenly interested in civic matters and is ready at all times to take part in whatever movement he believes will tend toward the improvement of the civic, social, or industrial conditions of Wilkes-Barre and the Wyoming Valley. Active in a fraternal way, Mr. Whiteman is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, in which order he is affiliated with the Wilkes-Barre Lodge, No.
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61; the Shekinah Chapter, No. 182, of Royal Arch Masons ; the Dieu le Vent Commandery, No. 45, Knights Templar ; Irem Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; the Irem Temple Country Club ; and is a Past Master Mason by service. He is a member of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Com- merce, of which organization he was president in 1921 ; a member of the Rotary Club, of this city ; and a member of the board of trustees of the Homeopathic Hospital of Wilkes-Barre. His religions affiliation is with the King- ston Presbyterian Church, of which he is not only a member but also a trustee.
Mr. Whiteman married, October 25, 1900, Jane Lucas, of Philadelphia, a daughter of John and Hannah Lucas, of Philadelphia. Harry A. and Jane ( Lucas) Whiteman had three children: 1. Jean L., who is unmarried and living at home. 2. Marian, who died in childhood. 3. Miriam, who died at the age of thirteen years.
HON. FRANK WOODRUFF WHEATON, dis- tinguished lawyer, a notable citizen, and a leading busi- ness man of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, is everywhere regarded as a motive force for community progress. He belongs to a family long a part of American history. The Ballou Genealogy, in noting the marriage of Sarah Ballou and Moses Wheaton, says that this Moses prob- ably was a descendant of the Wheatons of Rehoboth, Massachusetts. As a matter of fact, Moses Wheaton, who married Sarah Ballou, was a descendant of Robert Wheaton, the immigrant ancestor of the Wheaton family in America, who came from England in 1636 and joined the colony of planters at Salem, Massachusetts, when he was about thirty years old. He married there Alice Bowen, daughter of Richard Bowen, and in 1645 .moved with his family to Rehoboth, where he died in 1696.
Moses Wheaton, of Richmond, New Hampshire, a descendant of Robert Wheaton, is recognized as the progenitor of the Wheaton-Ballou families who in later generations have been important in public life, in the professions, and in business. He married in Richmond, New Hampshire, October 14, 1781, Sarah Ballou, born in Scituate, Rhode Island, May 4, 1763, who died October 15, 1824. She was the daughter of Rev. Maturin and Lydia (Harris) Ballou, her father, in early life a farmer and mechanic, having become a Baptist preacher at the age of thirty in 1752. The Ballou family is descended from Maturin Ballou, and his wife Hannah Piki, the husband being a proprietor of the Providence plantations in the colony of Rhode Island, a follower of the for- tunes of Roger Williams, one of the signers of the compact, and one of the principal personages of the Providence settlement. The line of descent was through his son, John Ballou, of Providence, married to Hannah Garrett ; their son, Peter Ballou, likewise of Providence. married Rebecca Esten; their sons, Peter Ballon and the Rev. Maturin Ballou mentioned above. The fourth son of Moses and Sarah ( Ballou) Wheaton was Moses Ballou Wheaton, born in Richmond, New Hampshire. September 9, 1790, died in Jackson, Pennsylvania, De- cember 9, 1860. Moses Wheaton added his middle name to his nomenclature on permission of the legislative act making the adoption of Ballou legal for him. He is believed to have moved from Richmond to Pennsylvania shortly after his marriage, before 1815, and to have settled in Jackson, where he was a farmer and cooper. "He inherited good physique and mental stamina from his ancestors on both sides; and so did his wife. They reared their large family well, and left a good memory"- This excerpt from the Ballou Genealogy epitomizes the family history of those Americans whose virtues have made America the country it is today. Moses Ballou Wheaton married, November 26, 1812, Mary Aldrich, born in Richmond, New Hampshire, September 24. 1794, died in Jackson, Pennsylvania, February 20, 1875, daugh- ter of Nathaniel Aldrich and Cleopatra ( Ransdell) Ald- rich.
Dr. Thomas Jefferson Wheaton, ninth child and third son of Moses Ballou and Mary (Aldrich) Wheaton, was born in Jackson, Pennsylvania, March 29, 1826. He attended the district schools near his home and Har ford Academy, an educational institution of excellent repute in that day, then under the charge of Rev. Lyman Rich- ardson. Dr. Wheaton studied medicine with his brother, Dr. W. W. Wheaton, attended lectures at the Eclectic Medical College, Rochester, New York, and practiced his profession from 1849 to 1858 in Bradford and Sus- quehanna counties, Pennsylvania, and in Binghamton, New York. During the war of 1861-65 he was on the iron-clad monitor "Dictator." The last years of his life were given over to the practice of dentistry, in Bing-
hamton until 1873, and then in Wilkes-Barre, until his retirement. Thomas Jefferson Wheaton married, April 10, 1851, Maria T. Woodruff, born June 6, 1831, daugh- ter of Lewis H. Woodruff, a native of Litchfield, Con- necticut, born there February 25, 1798, and died in Wilkes-Barre, June 25, 1875. His wife was Almeda Hutchinson, whom he married March 21, 1830. Lewis H. Woodruff was educated at Hamilton College, became a leading citizen of Dimock, Pennsylvania, where he built the first academy in the town and had a large part in the erection of the Presbyterian Church. His first American ancestor was Matthew Woodruff, of Hartford and Farmington, Connecticut, a proprietor of the sec- ond town in 1640, and the line descended through his son, Matthew ; his son, John; his son, Samuel, who married Anna Judd ; their son, Deacon Samuel, of Litch- field, who married Anne Nettleton; their son, Andrew Woodruff, who married Miranda Orton; and their son, Lewis H. Woodruff, whose daughter, Maria T., became Mrs. Wheaton, mother of the subject of this record. There were four children: Florence E., born March 19, 1852, died August 17, 1854; Frank Woodruff, born August 27, 1855, of further mention; Jessie E., born May . 23, 1858, married ( first), October 21, 1879, Samuel R. Rhoads, who died May 23, 1882; and (second) Henry H. Sherman ; Kittie A., born December 2, 1866; married, February 10, 1886, William S. Kelly, and resides in Wilkes-Barre.
Hon. Frank Woodruff Wheaton, son of Dr. Thomas Jefferson and Maria T. (Woodruff) Wheaton, was born in Binghamton, New York, August 27, 1855. His ele- mentary education was acquired in the public schools and in the Binghamton Central High School, from which he graduated in 1873. He prepared for college at the Hopkins Grammar School, New Haven, and in Bing- hamton, New York, under the tutelage of Rev. E. S. Frisbie, noted educator, graduate of Amherst College, and for many years president of Wells College, Aurora, New York. Mr. Wheaton then graduated from Yale College with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1877. On his return to Wilkes-Barre, he read law in the office of E. P. and J. V. Darling, winning admission to the Luzerne County Bar September 2, 1879.
In the forty-eight years which have intervened since that date, Mr. Wheaton has built up a commanding repu- tation as a wise, forceful, and idealistic lawyer, and an astute business man. His early law partner was Daniel S. Bennet. who died in 1885. His second was John Vaughan Darling, who had been his legal precep- tor and who died not many years later. Judge Wheaton then allied himself with a law firm of which he was the senior member, Wheaton, Darling and Woodward, re- maining in this connection from 1892 to 1901. Appointed in 1901 judge of the newly created office in Luzerne County by Governor Stone, Judge Wheaton was elected to this office without opposition the following Novem- ber, to a ten-year term. Resigning April 1, 1907, Judge Wheaton resumed his large and lucrative private practice. Professional triumphs came to him in the shape of selection for the office of general counsel of the Lehigh Valley Coal Company, of which he is chairman of the board of directors. Judge Wheaton is also director and general counsel for the Miners Bank of Wilkes-Barre, and for the Wilkes-Barre Railway Corporation of Luzerne County, while he is general counsel for Cox Brothers and Company, Inc., of Wilkes-Barre.
All these outstanding achievements and responsibilities have not prevented Judge Wheaton's active participation in civic affairs. He is a Republican and for three years sat in the city council, not, however, as a political adher- ent, but as a public-spirited citizen. He has been perma- nent chairman of the Republican State convention and county chairman for Luzerne. His professional affilia- tions are with the Luzerne County Bar, the Pennsyl- vania State Bar, and the American Bar associations. He is a trustee of the Young Women's Christian Asso- ciation of Wilkes-Barre, a member of the Alumni Ad- visory Board of Yale University, and for many years was trustee of Lafayette College. His church is St. Stephen's Episcopal, of which he is a liberal supporter. He belongs to Wilkes-Barre Lodge, No. 109, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; the Yale Club of New York; the Scroll and Key Society; the Delta Kappa ; the Phi Theta Psi; the Delta Kappa Epsilon; the West- moreland Club of Wilkes-Barre; the Fox Hill Country Club; and the Concordia Club.
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