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 35
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Thomas H. Atherton, Jr., only son of Thomas H. and Melanie ( Parke) Atherton, was born January 16, 1884. in Wilkes-Barre, and obtained his early education in private schools, and a graduate of Harry Hillman Acad- emy. He later attended Princeton University, graduat- ing in the class of 1906, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. with the degree of Bachelor of Science, in 1900. He also spent a year of study in England, France and Italy. Returning to Wilkes-Barre, he began the practice of his profession as an architect, in 1912, a type of endeavor in which he has achieved marked success. Among the note- worthy examples of Mr. Atherton's ability as a designer are the Brooks Building, of Wilkes-Barre, the Wilkes- Barre Armory, and the Stroudsburg Armory. He also designed the Young Women's Christian Association Lodge at Harvey's Lake, the Memorial Grade School at Ashley, Artillery Park, Wilkes-Barre, and many of the handsome residences throughout the vicinity. His prin- cipal offices are located at No. 139 South Main Street, Wilkes-Barre, and he is considered one of the most sub- stantial men of the city. Mr. Atherton is commissioned, in association with Paul P. Cret, of Philadelphia, to erect war memorials to Pennsylvania's dead in France and Belgium, and he is also architect for the State Armory Board of Eastern Pennsylvania.
During the period of the World War he gave freely of his services, holding the rank of major in the 109th Field Artillery, Pennsylvania National Guard. He was commissioned a captain in the National Guard in the late part of 1914, and was assigned to duty as com- mander of Battery F, 109th United States Artillery. With this unit he went overseas, where he saw active service along the battle lines of France and Belgium. With Battery F he took part in four principal engage- ments and later was promoted to the rank of major. He proved a valorous soldier and was awarded the Croix de Guerre (with Palm), by both the French and the Belgian governments. Major Atherton held his com- .nission until 1927, when he was promoted to lieutenant- colonel, 109th Field Artillery.
Since his return, although busily occupied with the duties of his profession as an architect, he has contrib- uted generously in promoting the civic and general wel- fare of Wilkes-Barre. In his political views he is a Republican. He belongs to the Kiwanis Club, the West- moreland Club, the Delta Psi Fraternity, the Concordia Society, Princeton Alumni Association, American Le- gion, and American Institute of Architects.
Thomas H. Atherton married, February 2, 1921, Mary Mish, daughter of Charles and Ann Mish of Forty Fort, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Atherton are the parents of a daughter, Mary, and a son, William Henry. He and his family reside at Stone Bridge, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, on the old farm that has been possessed by Athertons since 1768.
ROBERT CHALLIS, JR., is a well-known member of the Luzerne County Bar, with offices at 34 City Hall Building, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Mr. Challis was born March 26, 1881, son of Robert and Jane (Reese) Challis, who reside at 392 East Market Street, Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania. The name Challis ( sometimes spelled Chellis) is of English origin and the Chellis family as been prominent in New England, ( particu- larly New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
Robert Challis, Jr., was reared to manhood in his native city of Wilkes-Barre. As a boy he attended the public schools and with the class of 1900 graduated from the Wilkes-Barre High School. In 1909 he entered the Dickinson School of Law at Carlisle, and graduated with the class of 1912 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In the spring of 1913 he was admitted to the Luzerne County Bar and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania: thereupon he entered the practice of his profession at Wilkes-Barre and has since devoted himself to profes- sional work. He enjoys the confidence and respect of his fellow members of the bar, and in civic affairs has taken active part.
Mr. Challis is a member of the Republican party and the Welsh Presbyterian Church. He fraternizes with the Sons of Liberty Lodge of the International Order of Odd Fellows of Wilkes-Barre; the Junior Order of United American Mechanics; the Fraternal Order of Eagles ; the Brotherhood of America; Ancient Mystic Order of Samaritans: and the United Sportsmen of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Challis married in 1920, Maude Miller, of Wilkes- Barre, and they reside at No. 28 Taft Street, Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania.
GRANVILLE J. CLARK has, since 1891, been en- gaged in general legal practice in Wilkes-Barre, Penn- sylvania. His offices are located at No. 1012 Brooks Building, at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, ,where he has been engaged in practice for about thirty-eight years, and where he has achieved a high place in the esteem of his professional associates.
Amos D. Clark, father of Mr. Clark, was born in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, son of George D. and Calista ( Scouton) Clark, both of whom were natives of Wyoming County. He was engaged in business as a merchant in Beaumont, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, and died at the age of thirty-five years. He married Sarah E. Shotwell, and they became the parents of six children : Granville J., of whom furher; Nettie, de- ceased; Caroline, deceased; Leslie G., deceased; Jessie C., deceased: and Amos G., Jr., also deceased.
Granville J. Clark was born in Beaumont, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, December 31, 1863, and grew up in that place, attending the public schools, and later be- coming a student in Wyoming Seminary, at Kingston, Pennsylvania. When his academic course was completed he prepared for teaching in the Bloomsburg State Nor- mal School, from which he was graduated with the class of 1883. He then taught school for seven years, his first teaching position being in Bowmans Creek, Wyom- ing County. His next school was at East White Haven, in Carbon County, and later he taught at Forty Fort, Luzerne County. While teaching, Mr. Clark was also studying law in the offices of Judge Alfred Darte, of Wilkes-Barre. For a time while studying law he served as weigh master in the employ of the Wyoming Valley Coal Company. He was admitted to the Luzerne County Bar January 5, 1891, and since that time has been suc- cessfully engaged in general practice in Wilkes-Barre. He has built up a very large and important practice and has also built up a reputation which is a valuable business asset. He is known as a man of sound judg- ment and of wide professional knowledge, also as an effective advocate, and in whatever case he undertakes he is a force to be reckoned with. He is a Republican in his political sympathies, and in 1913 and in 1923 he was a candidate for judge of the Eleventh Judicial Dis- trict of Luzerne County. In addition to the responsi- bilities of his large practice Mr. Clark is a member of the board of directors of the Luzerne National Bank, of Luzerne. Pennsylvania, and for several years he was one of the trustees of the Bloomsburg State Normal School. He is a member of Luzerne County Bar As- sociation. Mr. Clark is a man of genuine and earnest public spirit. a lawyer of assured standing in his profes- sion, and a loyal friend and associate who is very highly estcemed by those who know him best.
Granville J. Clark was married, August 23, 1893, to Emma Scureman, daughter of Apollos E. and Lydia ( Wilt) Scureman, of Sullivan County, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Clark are the parents of two children: 1. Helen, who married Albert D. Fonda, of Fonda, New York, and has four children, Harriet E., Sibyl C., Corne- lia Marie, now deceased; and Albert Granville. 2. Roger S., who married Marie Berger, of Wilkes-Barre, and resides in Kingston, Luzerne County.
ANDREW CHARLES OVERPECK-When a man has served twenty-two years as secretary and treas- urer of a commercial concern, it means that he is not only thoroughly familiar with every twist and turn of the business but that he has added greatly to the suc- cess which has enabled it to carry on its operations. Andrew C. Overpeck has undergone such an experience with the Hazard Manufacturing Company of Wilkes- Barre, now the Hazard Wire Rope Company, one of the largest makers of wire rope and insulated wire and cables in the United States. Mr. Overpeck has thus won a com- mendable place among his associates and contemporaries, while in civic affairs he has also taken a leading part, to the extent of giving generously of his time and sub- stance to the end that Wilkes-Barre and vicinity might grow and prosper. He has made his place not by chance hut by hard licks intelligently applied.
Mr. Overpeck was born at Summit, New Jersey, November 16, 1875, son of Theodore W. and Elizabeth R. (Brodhun) Overpeck, members of old settler families of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. On the tax list of 1784 of Pike County, Pennsylvania, appeared the names of George. John and Adam Overpeck. George Over- peck was the great-great-grandfather of Andrew Charles Overpeck, and among his children was Andrew Jacoby Overpeck, born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in 1816. Andrew Jacoby Overpeck was the father of twelve chil- dren, one of whom was Theodore Overpeck, father of
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Andrew Charles Overpeck. Theodore W. Overpeck was born in 1848 and died March 10, 1885: he married, April 23, 1873, Elizabeth R. Brodhun, of Wilkes-Barre, daugh- ter of B. Henry and Elizabeth (Drum) Brodhim, and to them were born three children: I. Bessie V., wife of Cyril G. Smith, of East Orange, New Jersey. 2. Andrew C., of whom further. 3. Boyd Henry Overpeck, of Orlando, Florida.
Andrew C. Overpeck came to Wilkes-Barre with his mother when he was only ten years of age; he grew up in Wilkes-Barre and attended public school and night school, and then took a commercial course in a busi- ness college. At the age of fourteen he became an office boy for the Hazard Manufacturing Company, and has been (in 1929) with this company for forty years. In 1906 it was seen that he had made himself so proficient that he was due for high promotion, and when January I, 1907, came, it was announced that he had been made secretary and treasurer, a position it had been his ambi- tion for years to attain. In collateral activities he has been extremely active, and few men in Wilkes-Barre have been more prominently identified. He is a leading mem- ber of the Rotary Club and the Chamber of Commerce, a director in the Wilkes-Barre Young Men's Christian Association, and secretary of the board; a trustee and secretary of the Wyoming Valley Homeopathic Hospital of Wilkes-Barre and member of the Community Welfare Federation ; a director of the Keystone Building Loan Association, and has been vice-president of it for the last fourteen years; director and treasurer of the Indus- trial Loan Corporation; director of the Union Savings Bank and Trust Company; director of the Oaklawn Cemetery Company. He is a Republican in politics, and served on the Wilkes-Barre School Board for five years, resigning because of his moving out of the district. In religious affairs he is a member of the Central Methodist Episcopal Church, where he has been a trustee for many years and an officer of the Sunday school thirty-four years, and now its superintendent. He has been secretary and treasurer of Mangola Chapel Association, Luzerne County, since August 7, 1902. In fraternal order circles he is a member and Past Master of Landmark Lodge, No. 442, Free and Accepted Masons; Past High Priest of Shekinah Chapter, No. 182, Royal Arch Masons; Past Thrice Illustrious Master of Mt. Horeb Council, No. 34, Royal and Select Masters; Past Commander of Dieu le Veut Commandery, No. 34, Knights Templar ; mem- ber of frem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and the Masonic Club. He is a mem- ber of the Sons of Veterans and takes great interest in military affairs, having joined Company K, 9th Regi- ment, Pennsylvania National Guard, in 1908, and served as corporal, sergeant, captain of Quartermaster Corps, and Captain of Commissary, having been mustered out in 1915. During the World War he helped organize the Second Regiment of Pennsylvania Reserves, and served as captain and adjutant until 1917, when he resigned be- cause of ill health. He qualifies for membership in the Sons of Veterans from the fact that his father, Theodore W. Overpeck, served as a soldier in the Civil War on the Union side.
Mr. Overpeck marricd, June 7, 1900, Charlotte F. Wey- henmeyer, daughter of Jonathan and Sarah (Butler ) Weyhenmeyer, of Wilkes-Barre, and they have two chil- dren: 1. Jane North, a graduate of Wyoming Seminary of Kingston, Luzerne County. 2. Andrew C. Overpeck, Jr., who resides at home, No. 1814 Wyoming Avenue, Forty Fort, Pennsylvania.
GEORGE F. LEE-Well known to the coal trade in Wilkes-Barre and in New York City, George F. Lee is owner of the Chauncey Mines, at Avondale, Plymouth Township, Luzerne County. Mr. Lee, who has his offices in the Miners Bank Building, in Wilkes-Barre, has owned and operated these mines for the past twenty- four years under the name of the George F. Lee Coal Company, and has recently completed in Brooklyn, New York, the largest coal pockets and coal station in the United States.
Conrad Lee, his father, was born at Hanover Town- ship, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, November 3, 1842, a son of Stephen and Jane (Lines) Lec. His paternal grandfather, James Lee, and his maternal grandpar- ents, Conrad and Mary ( Fairchild) Lines, were pioneer settlers in Newport and Hanover townships, Luzerne County. Conrad Lines, born July 26, 1789, passed all his married life of about fifty-three years in Newport Township. He was a blacksmith by trade, and accumu- lated a valuable tract of coal land of over two hundred acres. He reared a family of six children.
Stephen Lee and Jane Lines were married February 10, 1824, and removed to Delaware County, Ohio, where Mr. Lee cleared and improved a farm, at times also working at his trade which was that of a plasterer. After a residence there of six years he returned to Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, locating at Wright Township, where he erected a sawmill and engaged in lumbering and farming. After a period of twenty-two years he removed to Wilkes-Barre, and purchased the planing mill at Canal and North streets. He died in that city June 12, 1874, at the age of sixty-two years. His widow died September 25, 1881, at her home on North Street. Stephen and Jane (Lines) Lee had seven children : Con- rad, of whom later; John R .; Mary, who at her death devised all of her property (some $25,000) to her nephews and nieces, died at the old homestead ; Priscilla, married M. S. Roberts, of Askam, Hanover Township, and had seven children: Amanda, married Edward Lutsey, now retired, of Clarke Summit; they had three children.
Conrad Lee, eldest child of Stephen and Jane ( Lines) Lee, was reared in his native county, and completed his education at the Wyoming Seminary, Kingston. In his early manhood he taught school for several terms in the home neighborhood, and on attaining his majority, went to Rome Corners, Delaware County, Ohio, where he taught for a term. The following three years he was yard foreman in the lumber department of John L. Gill and Company, at Columbus, Ohio. Returning to Lu- zerne County, Pennsylvania, he gave some time to dealing in government mules and western cattle. dis- posing of them in the principal markets throughout the country. In 1865 when but twenty-three years of age, he was appointed outside superintendent of the Avon- dale coal mines, a position which he held for twenty-one ycars, marked with peculiar experiences. Shortly after his appointment, a sudden freshet threatened the sweep- ing away and entire loss of the timber for the erection of the coal bunkers which had been floated to a point just below Plymouth. Mr. Lee with the aid of his men, lashed the timbers to trees and in the morning discover- ing that a continued rising of water had brought it to a convenient height, cut his lashings and floated his timber over fields and fences to the exact spot where they were needed. The owner, John C. Phelps, coming to the river bank in the morning and unaware of what had occurred, seeing no trace of the timber, gave it up for lost, and considered himself thousands of dollars out of pocket. When the water had subsided enough for him to cross the stream he found his property on the spot to which it had been conveyed by Mr. Lee, to whom he expressed his gratitude and admiration, and thenceforward he re- posed unbounded confidence in one who had served so faithfully and sagaciously. During the Molly Maguire difficulties, Mr. Lee was regarded with hatred by the murderous band, and his footsteps were dogged on va- rious occasions, but he fortunately escaped unhurt. While in charge of the mines the first great mining dis- aster in the coal region occurred, September 6, 1869, in which one hundred and eight men lost their lives. This accident was the direct cause of the passage of the law known as the "mine ventilation law," which makes it obligatory to have two openings to every mine.
In his younger days at home, Mr. Lee had become thoroughly familiar with the lumbering business through his association with his father in the mill in Wright Township, and after the death of the latter in 1874, young Conrad became interested in the Wyoming plan- ing mill and lumber business at Wilkes-Barre, with which his father had been connected, and also a mercan- tile business at Avondale. After 1886, he was the sole proprietor of the planing mill and lumber business, which he expanded very greatly, making one great enterprise. Mr. Lee was also president of the George F. Lee Coal Company : the Forty Fort Land Company ; and a stock- holder in the Wyoming Valley Trust Company. He was one of the original members of the firm of Scouton, Lee and Company, of Parsons, Pennsylvania. He was a large owner of and dealer in real estate in Wilkes-Barre, and was a most enterprising and public-spirited man, taking an active part in the community affairs and exerting himself to further advancement of the varied interests of the city and county. He was an active member of the Wilkes-Barre Board of Trade; a member of the Pres- byterian Church and in his politics he was a Republican. In all of his relations, both social and in business he was regarded with entire confidence for his unassailable in- tegrity, while his personal qualities of character made
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him a favorite wherever he was known in a broad circle of friends.
On July 28, 1868, Conrad Lee married Agnes Weir, daughter of Martin and Jane (Govan) Weir, of Hazle- ton, and natives of Renfrewshire, Scotland. To this marriage were born four children: George F., of whom further ; Margaret Weir; Jean; and William S. Both Mr. and Mrs. Conrad are now deceased.
George F. Lee was born in Avondale, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, September 23, 1870, and received his edu- cation in the public schools of Luzerne County. As a boy he worked at odd jobs about the mine, but when he was twenty years of age he engaged in the lumber business at Parsons and Nanticoke, and the firm of Scouton-Lee and Company became and still is (1929) the largest lumber company in Luzerne County. In 1902 Mr. Lee purchased the Chauncey Coal Mines of Luzerne County, and since that time, a period of twenty-seven years, he has been operating these mines, under the name of the George F. Lee Coal Company. The mines produce what is known as Premium Avondale Red Ash Anthracite Coal. Mr. Lee has recently completed the construction of the largest retail coal pockets in the United States, with a storage capacity of sixty-five hundred tons. This retail coal business is capitalized at $750,000 and is oper- ated under the name of John M. Lee, Incorporated, the name of his son. The station is located in Brooklyn, New York. The plant is the most modern in Greater New York and is equipped to handle one thousand tons of retail coal per day. Mr. Lee is well known to the coal trade throughout the country, and also to the lum- ber trade. In Wilkes-Barre he is one of the leading business men, known as a public-spirited citizen, as well as a successful business man. Politically he gives his support to the principles and the candidates of the Re- publican party, and his religious affiliation is with the Presbyterian church.
George F. Lee married, in 1893, Phebe English, of Jersey City, New Jersey, and they are the parents of three children: John M., of New York City; Abbie Louise, who married Dr. Lewis T. Buckman, of Wilkes- Barre; and Phebe, who lives at home.
OSCAR H. DILLEY-The Dilley family, repre- sented in Wilkes-Barre by Oscar H. Dilley, leading mem- ber of the Luzerne County Bar, traces its antecedents in this country to John Dilley, whose name appears in the land records of New Jersey as having been in 1669 the owner of property in the town of Woodbridge on the Rohowak River. John Dilley, of a later generation, together with Joseph Dilley, were privates in a company which went out from Morris County. New Jersey, to serve in the Revolutionary War; Ephraim Dilley also served as a man in the ranks. Biographers and genealo- gists have searched to discover a connection between these Dilleys (or Dillys) and Richard Dilley, who removed from New Jersey shortly after the close of the afore- mentioned war to Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania, and settled in what is now Hanover Township, Luzerne County. In 1784 Richard Dilley removed to the river road at Buttonwood, and there passed the remainder of his life, dying at Hanover in 1799. His wife's name is not mentioned in family records and apparently has been lost from history's page. The descent from Richard Dilley to Oscar H. Dilley, real estate title lawyer of Wilkes-Barre, proceeds through the following.
Richard Dilley, Jr., son of Richard Dilley above, was horn in New Jersey, came with his father's family to Hanover Township, lived at Buttonwood, and married Polly Voke.
Their son, Jesse Dilley, born February 17, 1794, at Hanover Township, died at Wilkes-Barre, in 1852, mar- ried Mary Magdalene Lueder, born November 15, 1801, died March 24, 1878, daughter of Christian Lueder, who came from Northampton County and settled among the pioneers of Wyoming Valley; he became a butcher and meat dealer.
Their son, Sylvester Dilley, born at Hanover Town- ship, January 20, 1823, died December 24, 1892; he mar- ried Mary Ann Barkman, on January 1, 1846, a daughter of William and Mary Ann ( Preston) Barkman. Like his father and brothers, he engaged in the meat business after he had engaged in carpentry, and carried on a market at Wilkes-Barre; he also dealt in cattle, and a number of years was manager of the farm of the Wilkes- Barre Coal & Iron Company, which then was made up of some six hundred acres of coal and iron lands, a large part in what is now Wilkes-Barre City, and much of which is now covered with dwellings.
Their son, Oscar H. Dilley, the youngest son and child, was born at Wilkes-Barre, January 14, 1869. while the Nation was busy mending the damage done to the sections by the Civil War. He received his education at the Wilkes-Barre public schools, where he made the most of limited opportunities, and completed his courses with further study at the Wilkes-Barre Business Col- lege; intending to embark upon a business career like his immediate predecessors in the family. On July 1, 1891, he accepted the position of clerk in the law office of Frank W. Larned, of Wilkes-Barre, and later, desir- ing to become a lawyer like his learned employer, he began to read law under the preceptorship of Mr. Larned. He was a poor boy and his progress was due to two factors : his own initiative and ambition and the inter- est shown by his kindly preceptor. He passed the bar examinations and was admitted to practice in 1895, and until 1904 was connected with this same office, where he rendered faithful and efficient service. Since that time he has conducted his office alone and has done unusually well. He is a valued member of the Republican party and takes great interest in local political campaigns, but has never aspired to high office. His specialty in the profession is real estate law and land titles, and he has done much to advance the interests of numerous clients in these important fields. For many years he has been a leading member of the Junior Order of United Ameri- can Mechanics in Lodge, No. 166, and of the Free & Accepted Masons in Wilkes-Barre, Lodge No. 655. He is also a member of the Franklin Club.
Mr. Dilley married, May 21, 1903, Sara S. Johnson, of Wilkes-Barre, and their union has been blessed with a son, Robert F. Dilley, a graduate of the Dickinson School of Law at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and a member of the Supreme Court and the Luzerne County Bar, having been admitted to the practice of law in Luzerne County in March, 1929, and to the Supreme Court of the State, April 15, 1929.
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