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 44
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were buried side by side at Elmira, New York; he died at Horseheads, New York. After having prepared for college in the schools of Wilkes-Barre, George S. Ben- nett entered Wesleyan University at Middletown, Con- necticut, from which institution he was graduated in 1864 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts and was ac- corded the honor of delivering the valedictory address for his class. Three years later, in 1867, he was awarded the degree of Master of Arts at the conclusion of addi- tional studies. He engaged in the banking business at Wilkes-Barre upon leaving his alma mater, and became associated with the private banking house of his father, Bennett, Phelps & Company, in which institution he was soon made a partner. At practically the same time he was elected a director of the Wyoming Bank; and served as a member of the first board of directors of the Wyoming National Bank, its successor, and at a meet- ing of the board held February 13, 1895, was elected president, succeeding Sheldon Reynolds, who died Feb- ruary 8, 1895. He held this office with great credit to himself and his associates until his death. Mr. Ben- nett's business activities were even more extensive than those of his father: from 1876 to 1909 he served as treasurer of the Wilkes-Barre Bridge Company; from 1891 to 1910 as director of the Wilkes-Barre Lace Man- ufacturing Company; from 1891 to 1899 was a director of the Wyoming Valley Coal Company; from 1893 to 1898 was a director of the Wilkes-Barre Gas Company ; from 1895 to 1910 was a director of the Hazard Manu- facturing Company; from 1895 to 1896 was a director of the Wilkes-Barre Water Company; and until 1910 was a director in the Sheldon Axle & Spring Company. In 1871 he was elected president of the Young Men's Christian Association and a member of the board of managers, serving until 1887. From 1868 to 1870 he was a member of the Borough Council, and from 1870 to 1873 was a member of the school board, again a mem- ber from 1879 to 1882, and its president in 1883. From 1873 to 1910 he acted as a trustee of Wyoming Seminary, at Kingston; he was a trustee of the First Methodist Episcopal Church from 1874 to 1910; was manager of the Wilkes-Barre City Hospital from 1876 to 1910; superintendent of the First Methodist Episcopal Sunday School from 1868-1910; trustee of Wesleyan Univer- sity, from 1888-1910 and trustee of Drew Theological Seminary, Madison, New Jersey, during the same period; served as president of the Board of Trustees of Wyo- ming Seminary; a lay delegate to the General Confer- ence of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Cleveland, Ohio, in 1896; vice-president of the Pennsylvania Bible Society in 1905; manager of the Hollenback Cemetery Association from 1878 to 1910, and a member of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society. At his death the Wyoming National Bank directors passed reso- lutions paying high tribute to his integrity and useful- ness to the community. Mr. Bennett married, September 7, 1871, Ellen Woodward Nelson, daughter of Rev. Reu- ben Nelson and Jane Scott (Eddy) Nelson, and they had three children: I. Martha Phelps, married Lawrence Bullard Jones, well known Wilkes-Barre lawyer. 2. Reuben Nelson, Bachelor of Arts graduate of Wesleyan University in 1897, Bachelor of Laws graduate, Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, in 1900; chosen to succeed his father as a member of the board of directors of the Wyoming National Bank, January 11, 1910; and a leading member of the Luzerne County Bar. 3. Ziba Platt Bennett, of whom further.
Mrs. George S. Bennett's father, Rev. Reuben Nelson. Doctor of Divinity, was born December 16, 1818, at Andes, New York, and died at New York, City, Feb- ruary 20, 1879. He taught in New York State until 1844, when he was appointed first principal of Wyoming Seminary at Kingston, He remained in this position until 1872, with the exception of one year when he was pre- siding elder of the Wyoming District in the Methodist Episcopal Church organization. He exerted a wide influ- ence as a teacher, and his light has shone ever since through the lives of his pupils. In 1872 he was elected an agent of the Methodist Episcopal Book Concern in New York City and treasurer of the Missionary Socie- ties of the church, an office he held creditably until his death. He was a delegate to the General Conference of his church in the years 1860, 1864, 1868, 1872 and 1876, leading the conferences the last three times, in 1876 be- ing chairman of the committee on the Episcopacy. Union College, Schnectady, New York, conferred upon him the honorary degree of Master of Arts in recognition of his work as a teacher, and Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the degree of Doctor of Divinity in appre-
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ciation of his work as a preacher, His great work was done at Wyoming Seminary and in 1883 his widow deeded to the school the house built by Dr. Nelson, which was their residence before they left for New York in 1872. In 1887 Nelson Memorial Chapel was erected by friends of the seminary as a memorial to him.
Now we return to Ziba Platt Bennett. He was schooled at Harry Hillman Academy at Wilkes-Barre; Wyoming Seminary, of Kingston, and graduated from his father's alma mater, Wesleyan University, in the class of 1903 and with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. On February 1, 1905, Mr. Bennett became a member of the firm of Phelps, Lewis & Bennett Company, having acquired the interest of Captain Straw. The firm name later was changed to the Lewis & Bennett Hardware Company. Mr. Bennett has well carried on the work of his grand- father in this line and of his father in several lines to which he fell heir, and to which he has lent his own original talents. He is a director of the Hazard Manu- facturing Company, the Wyoming National Bank; trus- tee of the Wyoming Seminary and the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital; secretary and treasurer of the Hollen- back Cemetery Assosciation; and member of the board of Trustees of Wesleyan University. Although Mr. Bennett has extensive collateral interests, all of his activities center around his hardware business, whose success he has made one of the main objects of his life work. The trade publication "Hardware Age" of August 5, 1926, published the following extract on this remark- able concern :
Closely allied with the history and growth of Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania, is the development of the hard- ware business operated in that town as the Lewis & Bennett Hardware Company. One hundred years ago Ziba Bennett, then twenty-six, started this business, laying a firm foundation for a business which has been ably carried on by his grandchildren. Today the third generation is in control, and the store is one of the outstanding, attractive and efficient mercantile houses In the hardware business.
Even in those days the successful retailer was his community's purchasing agent, and Ziba Bennett ap- parently had a real merchandising instinct and a broad conception of his obligations as a merchant. His store was the medium of exchange where the farmer swapped produce for clothes, hardware or equipment, where the lumberman obtained the necessities of life In exchange for his labors in the forest, and the place where the raftsmen found a similar service.
As the Wyoming Valley progressed and the need for tools and other hardware increased, the business de- veloped into a hardware store. In 1860 it became strictly a hardware and supply store, carrying com- plete stocks of hardware, tools and building equip- ment, farm implements and housekeeping utensils. Today the business is a general hardware jobbing con- cern, covering adjoining counties, selling mechanics' tools, paints, arms, ammunitions, sporting goods, win- dow glass; mine, mill and railroad supplies, house- furnishings and everything else a well-departmentized hardware store should carry. About eighty per cent. of the present business is done by the wholesale depart- ment.
In 1850 Charles Parrish and Elias Robins were ad- mitted as partners and the firm became Bennett, Par- rish & Company. This partnership was dissolved in 1855, Mr. Bennett again assuming full control. In 1868 the firm of Z. Bennett & Company was first organized, composed of Mr. Bennett, Mr. Robins and Philip Ab- bott. Upon the death of Mr. Bennett in 1878 the firm of Z. Bennett & Company was dissolved and succeeded by Bennett & Company, consisting of Mrs. P. L. Ben- nett, his widow, Mr. Robins and Mr. Abbott-who con- dueted the business until 1882, to be succeeded by the Bennett Hardware Company, composed of Francis A. Phelps and Elias Robins. Mr. Robins died in 1886 and Mr. Phelps acquired the entire business which he operated until 1895 as F. A. Phelps & Company. That year a new partnership was organized by him with Captain Cyrus Straw and George W. Lewis.
Z. Platt Bennett, grandson of the founder and one of the present partners, acquired the interest of Cap- tain Straw on February 1, 1905, and the firm became Phelps, Lewis & Bennett Company. Mr. Phelps died in 1911 and the firm changed its name to the present title of Lewis & Bennett Hardware Company, the owners being George W. Lewis, Z. Platt Bennett, A. Leo Lewis, Willard S. Goode, and James P. Murray, George W. Lewis died in December, 1913, leaving the business in the hands of the remaining four partners, who are to- day in active control. The late Mr. Phelps was also a grandson of the founder, and a first cousin of Z. Platt Bennett.
The present store is an imposing five-story building. Across the top of the three spacious windows is a gold-lettered sign, above which boxes of geraniums are in bloom during the warmer months of the year. The windows are unusually large and well shaded. Each week the displays are changed so that seasonable merchandise is always on display.
The first two floors are sales and display sections, the upper three are for overstock. Offices are on the first floor. The main floor is devoted to paints, cutlery, electrical appliances, kitchen utensils, auto accessories, and shelf goods. The second floor has refrigerators, the builders' hardware room and the bulkier merchan- dise. In the basement, pipe fittings, bolts, pulleys, heavy hardware, for mills and mines; and kindred wares are kept. A small truck runs on a track com-
pletely around the basement, enabling the help to han- dle this heavy stuff with comparative ease. Back of the store are two large warehouses and a garage. The site of the original store is part of the present store site.
The present personnel 'is thirty-five employees, five men being outside salesmen, covering their territories in small cars.
Mr. Bennett married, October 5, 1910, Jessie D. Thomas, of Wilkes-Barre, daughter of Isaac M. Thomas and Sally H. (Dunlap) Thomas, and they have a daughter, Rosanne Dunlap Bennett.
IRA BERGER-Builders and contractors of the Wyoming Valley have no more efficient member of their craft than Ira Berger, of Freeland, who, as the head of Ira Berger & Son, has stepped up from carpenter's apprentice to a leading position in the business within a comparatively brief period. He began as a boy, imme- diately upon leaving the elementary schools, rose step by step and finally established an independent business which has continued to prosper. Essentially a man of sound judgment and natural business ability, he has put into his work such honesty of material and finished labor that his productions have spoken for themselves in meritorious pictures that have taken the attention of all admirers of gocd work. In this he has lived up to the unwritten business law of fair dealing that wins the approbation of honest men and brings the reward of prosperity. He has taken a deep interest in those affairs of govern- ment that appeal to the progressive element of the com- munity and in fraternal affiliations that are the relaxation of sociable characters, thus making many friends and holding them by the strength of an attractive personality.
Mr. Berger was born in Effort, Monroe County, Penn- sylvania, March 27, 1870, a son of Reuben and Mary (Kresge) Berger, both members of old families of that section of the State, and was educated in the public schools. When he was sixteen years of age he became a carpenter's apprentice, studied the trade assiduously and with such success that he became a foreman of construc- tion and remained in this position until 1905, when he organized his own business of residential building con- struction and the sale of lumber and builders' material. His beginning was unpretentious but the business has grown to interesting proportions and the plant enlarged to an area of one hundred and fifty feet square at Wal- nut and Birkbeck streets in Freeland, with a trade that covers a large local territory. Mr. Berger is a mem- ber of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and is affiliated with Arbutus Lodge, No. 611, Free and Accepted Masons, Lehigh Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite Masons, and other bodies of the Masonic order. He attends St. John's Reformed Church.
Ira Berger married, May 12, 1896, Mary Mochaitus, of Freeland. Their children are: 1. Hilda, married W. E. Troutman, of Reading. 2. Irene, a graduate nurse, now supervisor of Germantown Hospital. 3. Emerson, a busi- ness partner of his father and a member of the Rotary Club. 4. Bertha, attending Westchester State Students' College. 5. Audrey, a high school student. 6. Ira, Jr., a student at the Mining and Mechanical Institute. 7. Beatrice. The family residence is at No. 528 Walnut Street, Freeland. Mrs. Berger is active in women's or- ganizations, having membership in the Order of the East- ern' Star; Woman's Missionary Society, of which she is treasurer, the Woman's Auxiliary of the Young Men's Christian Association, and the Civic Club.
ALMON C. HAZLETT, M. D .- Among the younger men of those who have accepted the medical profession as their vocation, is Almon C. Hazlett, of Wyoming, Pennsylvania. Dr. Hazlett is a member of one of the old and established families of this vicinity and has the honor of having for his grandfather, Cyrus A. Hazlett, who was a veteran of the Civil War, having been active in that conflict with the 199th Pennsylvania Volunteers and suffering wounds received at Fort Gregg, during the advance on Petersburg. His grandmother before mar- riage was a Sutliff, which family came of Revolutionary stock. His father, the late William R. Hazlett, was born at Ashley, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in 1868, he followed the life of a farmer and merchant and died in 1918. His mother, who is still living was, before her marriage, Grace D. Ash, and was born at Fairmount Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in 1869.
Almon C. Hazlett was born in Fairmount Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, February 11, 1891. He was educated in the public schools of Fairmount Town- ship, Kingston and Wilkes-Barre and finishing his public school work with graduation from the Wilkes-Barre
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High School in the class of 1909. He then entered the Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from where he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in the class of 1913. He served his interne- ship at the Germantown Hospital, Germantown, Pennsyl- vania, for a period of fifteen months. After finishing this work, Dr. Hazlett entered upon the general prac- tice of medicine in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, where he remained for two and one-half years. At the outset of the World War, Dr. Hazlett enlisted in the United States Army Medical Corps and was sent overseas where he was in active service on the front as regimental surgeon, attached to the 307th Supply Train of the 82d Division. He held the rank of captain and was discharged on May 10, 1919, and since that date, he has been in the practice of general medicine in Wyoming, Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Luzerne County Medical Society; the Lehigh Valley Medical Society; the State Medical So- ciety and the Amcrican Medical Association. He is also on the staff of the Nesbitt Memoral Hospital and the Pittston Hospital. In his political views, Dr. Hazlett is a Republican. He is a member of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He is also a mem- ber and an elder of the Presbyterian Church.
On January 6, 1915, Almon C. Hazlett, M. D., mar- ried Josephine Heiligman, of Philadelphia, daughter of Henry and Fannie Heiligman. Dr. and Mrs. Hazlett are the parents of four children: 1. Grace, born October 3, 1915. 2. William H., born March 27, 1918. 3. Jane, born September 3, 1923. 4. Madge, born May 5, 1928.
RICHARD A. HARRIS-His care and skill as a pharmacist have established Richard. A. Harris as one of the leading men engaged in the drug business in and near Plymouth. Having spent practically all his life in Luzerne County, Mr. Harris has come to be highly esteemed by the local people, who are aware of his genial manner and pleasant treatment that they receive in his store. A son of Richard Harris, Sr., and Fanny (Prynn) Harris, both natives of England, who came to the United States at an early age, Mr. Harris is a member of a family which earned the respect of the community before it was long here. Richard Harris, Sr., who is still living, is a watchman at the mines, and has served in this capacity for a number of years; while the mother died in May, 1925.
Richard A. Harris, the son, who was born October 5, 1886, in Luzerne Borough, Luzerne County, Pennsyl- vania, was educated in the public schools and later went to the high school of that town. Then he proceeded to study pharmacy, became familiar with all phases of the druggist's science, and for three years engaged in the drug business in Luzerne. In 1910 he decided to take a more active interest in the drug trade, and came to Plymouth, where he purchased the store and business of J. B. Rickard and continued it under his own name. In 1918 he removed from the old Rickard site to his pres- ent store, which is situated at No. 383 West Main Street. Here he has spared no time nor effort to establish an absolutely up-to-date, store, fitted to meet the needs of its customers in every way; and he handles a general line of drugs.
Always keenly interested, not only in the business, but in the social and fraternal aspects of community relation- ships, Mr. Harris had identified himself with a number of organizations that stand for well recognized moral and business principles. He supports the principles and can- didates of the Republican party, and at all times is active in political matters. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, in which he is affiliated with the Wilkes-Barre lodge; the Patriotic Order Sons of America, of Plymouth; the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; the Junior Order United American Mechanics ; and the Knights of Pythias.
In 1912, he was married to Alice Sutton, of Trucks- ville, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Wes- ley and Amanda Sutton.
JOHN J. BECKER, oldest retail and wholesale con- fectioner in Luzcrne County, is a son of John and Eliza- beth (Miller) Becker, both natives of Germany, who came to America in 1851, and, two years later, in 1853, settled at Wilkes-Barre. John Becker was a coal miner for the greater portion of his life. He died in 1906 at Wilkes-Barre in his ninetieth year, beloved by those who knew him well and respected by all. He was the father of four children: 1. Jacob, who resides in Wilkes-Barre. 2. John J., of whom further. 3. Elizabeth, was a Sister in the Christian Charity Convent at Detroit, Michigan, died in 1927, in the convent at, Danville, Pennsylvania.
4. Mary, married Jacob Huether, of Wilkes-Barre. John Becker was a staunch Democrat, and in his religious life a devotee of the Catholic Church.
John J. Becker had few educational advantages, for while he was but nine years of age he went to work as a breaker boy in the old Baltimore mines. There he re- mained for more than six years. At the age of fifteen he accepted employment in a butcher shop at the old Market House, North Hampton Street, Wilkes-Barre. A year later he was apprenticed to the confectionery trade, working thus in the candy shop of Halflick & Metzgar, on the public square, in Wilkes-Barre. There he remained for approximately ten years. When he was twenty-five years old he resigned to form a partnership with George E. Miles, and they began business in the confectionery trade, opening kitchens and salesrooms at No. 31 West Market Street, Wilkes-Barre. This was a successful venture, and the partnership of Becker & Miles lasted from 1881 to 1891, after which Mr. Becker bought his partner's interest and carried on the business alone, under the style of J. J. Becker. His first place of business was at No. 31 West Market Street. Mr. Becker for many years has occupied No. 32 West Market Street as a place of business and is also the owner of No. 34 West Market Street, a valuable business property. He serves as a director of the Deposit & Savings Bank of Wilkes-Barre, and also vice-president of this institution.
Despite his exacting business duties Mr. Becker has found time to take a keen interest in the civic and general welfare of his city. In his political views he is Inde- pendent, preferring to see the best man elected to office, irrespective of the nominating party. He also has been prominent in social life and is affiliated with Wilkes- Barre Lodge, No. 109, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Knights of Columbus.
John J. Becker married, October 18, 1882, Cassie Weaver, daughter of John and Catharine Weaver, of Wilkes-Barre, and to this union were born nine children: 1. George, died in infancy. 2. Paul, died in infancy. 3. Flora, married Frank J. Schmidt, a well-known con- tractor of Wilkes-Barre. 4. John G., Jr., a member of the firm of J. J. Becker & Company. 5. Louise, married Fred J. Schmidt, of Wilkes-Barre. 6. Leon J., a member of the firm of J. J. Becker & Company. 7. Catherine, married John Guirrey, of Wilkes-Barre. 8. Marie, now deceased. 9. Eleanor, married Dr. Gerald Fluegel, of Wilkes-Barre. John J. and Cassie ( Weaver) Becker, parents of the foregoing children, had fourteen grand- children. Mrs. Becker died March 26, 1925. The family are all members of St. Nicholas Catholic Church, Wilkes-Barre.
ARTHUR L. DYMOND-In the real estate and in- surance field of Wyoming, the name of Arthur I. Dy- mond is recognized as being that of one of the most progressive and forceful men in his line of business. Mr. Dymond has been interested in finance and insurance in Wyoming ever since he first entered the business world, and since 1912 has been operating his own concern, gathering around him an ever-increasing and remunera- tive clientele.
Mr. Dymond was born in Exeter Township, Luzerne County, September 5, 1889, the son of Abram and Lizzie (Jackson) Dymond, the former a miller of Luzerne County, where he was born in 1860, and died in 1896. The early education of Mr. Dymond was obtained in the public schools of West Wyoming, and he graduated from the high school there in 1906. He then took a commercial course at the Wyoming Seminary, and on March 27, 1907, took his first position in the business world by entering into the employment of the First National Bank of Wyoming as a clerk. He remained there for something like eleven years, in the meantime, when he had been with the bank for five years, starting a small general insurance and real estate business under his own name. On July 15, 1918, he left the First Na- tional Bank to take charge of the Industrial Loan Cor- poration, of Wilkes-Barre, which he managed at the same tinie as he operated his real estate and insurance project. In 1921 he gave up his other connections and devoted all his time to his own business, with the result that he has made for himself a prominent position in his chosen field of endeavor.
In the social and fraternal circles of Wyoming Valley, Mr. Dymond has become firmly established, and he has also given much of his time to community affairs, having served on the Council of West Wyoming Borough for over two years. He is affiliated with Wyoming Lodge, No. 468, Free and Accepted Masons; with Keystone Con- sistory, of Scranton, of the thirty-second degree, An-
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cient Accepted Scottish Rite Masons; with Pittston Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of Pittston; with Valley Commandery, Knights Templar ; and with Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also affiliated with Troy Council, No. 76, Junior Order of United American Mechanics. He was the first presi- dent of the Wyoming Business Men's Club, which was organized in 1914, and is still an active member of that body. His religious affiliations are with the Methodist Episcopal Church.
In September, 1910, Mr. Dymond married (first) Bessic English, of West Wyoming, daughter of Samuel J. and Ida J. English. Mr. and Mrs. Dymond were the parents of two children, as follows: I. Alton P., who was born June 11, 1911. 2. Arthur L., Jr., who was born October 18, 1915. In 1924 Mr. Dymond mar- ried (second) Elizabeth M. Thompson, of Kingston, Luzerne County, daughter of Timothy McDonough, of that town.
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