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 50
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Engrossed as he was with many interests and responsibilities, he never forgot his obligation to his association, filled with deep religious conviction. He was a man of high ideals, wise and sympathetic. . He took especial interest in boys' work. . As a friend and counsellor we will miss him greatly. He left a name that is synonymous with honor and integrity in our community.
And so too was a tribute to his memory inscribed in the minutes of the board of directors of the Wilkes- Barre Deposit and Savings Bank. In part :
Correct in his standard of commercial honor, firm of purpose and courteous in method, his personality was an efficient force. . . Our official contact with him gave frequent opportunity to learn and appreciate his exalted character in the private relations of life, as husband, father, citizen and friend. We are impelled by a sense of personal loss, by sympathy in the grief of those who were closest and dearest to him, by sin- cere affection and unqualified respect, to express and record this brief tribute to the memory of Mr. Leaven- worth.
ISAIAH C. MORGAN, M. D .- Having filled several important posts in the civic and health departments of his town and State and taking an active interest in the progress and welfare of his community at all times, Dr. Isaiah C. Morgan of Nanticoke is one of the most prominent young men in the medical profession, having a large and substantial practice in this vicinity. Since 1919, he has served as a member of the staff of the Nanticoke State Hospital, in charge of obstetrics; for two years held the office of deputy coroner, for five ycars was school examiner, administering the duties of these positions with the greatest efficiency and care. Dr. Morgan, as one of the town's own sons, holds the good- will and esteem of all his fellow-citizens, and from the beginning of his career, has completely won the confidence and acclaim of all by his keen and analytical diagnoses and his consummate skill.
Dr. Morgan was born in Nanticoke, July 8, 1892, son of Thomas M. and Sarah E (Cortwright) Morgan. Thomas M. Morgan was born in England and came to the United States at the age of seventeen. Having an aptitude for mechanics, he became an engineer, and in this capacity has been connected for forty years with the Susquehanna Coal Company, Nanticoke, being a valued and important member of that organization. He
John . Korek.
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takes an active interest in the town affairs and is a prominent member of the Episcopal Church. . Mr. and Mrs. Morgan have two children: 1. Emily, married Dr. E. W. Clawater, of Tyler, Texas. 2. Isaiah C., of whom further.
Isaiah C. Morgan was educated in the public schools of Nanticoke, graduating from high school with the class of 1911. He then entered Jefferson Medical Col- lege, Philadelphia, from which he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine with the class of 1915. He spent his interneship at the West Side Hospital, and then remained for two years as a member of the staff of that institution. Returning to Nanticoke, he engaged in gen- eral medical practice, specializing in obstetrics, and his records show that he has attended upwards of 2,500 maternity cases. He has established a reputation as a skilful and expert surgeon and he acts as surgeon-in-call for the General Cigar Company, the Liberty Silk Throw- ing Company, the Nanticoke Silk Throwing Company, and the Wilkes-Barre Traction Company, all of which are large and important industries of Nanticoke. His ability being recognized at home and abroad, he is engaged as chief examiner in the Nanticoke District for the Metro- politan Life Insurance Company and for the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York. Dr. Morgan is a leading member of the County and State Medical asso- ciations and of the American Medical Association. In fraternal circles, he is a popular member of Nanticoke Lodge, No. 541, Free and Accepted Masons ; Keystone Consistory, of Scranton, and the American Legion. He finds great recreation in athletics and outdoor sports and is an enthusiastic member of the Fox Hill Country Club, of Pittston. His religious adherence is given to the Methodist Episcopal Church. During the World War, Dr. Morgan was, of great assistance to his country, enlisting in the service, January, 1918, receiving the com- mission of first lieutenant in the Medical Corps and was stationed at Camp Sherman, Ohio, in charge of the Post Hospital. Here his tireless energy and brilliant ability won the admiration of both soldiers and officers, and he was a popular figure in the camp until he was mustered out of service, in April, 1919.
Dr. Isaiah C. Morgan married, July 15, 1917, Florine Melba Williams, of Wilkes-Barre.
HENRY ROBERT KITTLE-Born and raised in the mining region of Pennsylvania, Mr. Kittle is an out- standing example of what hard work, close application and unwavering ambition can accomplish. Having first begun to work in the mines at the tender age of eight years, he gradually advanced himself to positions of steadily increasing importance, until in 1926 he was promoted to his present position of superintendent of the Bliss Colliery at Nanticoke. In this position of great importance and responsibility he has shown so much ability and efficiency that today he is considered one of the leading mining executives in Luzerne County.
Henry Robert Kittle was born on Franklin Street, Ply- month, Pennsylvania, February 14, 1876, a son of Frank- lin Alonzo and Louisa ( Stuart ) Kittle. What little formal education he received, he gained in the public schools of Plymouth, which he attended only for two years until he was eight years old. Then he entered the employ of the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company as a breaker boy. Six years later, when he was four- teen years old, he went to work as a door boy in the mines of the Haddock & Shunk Coal Company. Later, having in the meantime acquired practical knowledge of almost every type of mining work, he became a full- fledged miner. With this work he continued until he was twenty-five years of age, when, becoming discouraged with his progress, he enrolled as a student with the International Correspondence School, taking a course in mining engineering. Without giving up his daily work, he applied himself to his studies to such good purpose that before long he graduated and soon afterwards passcd the State examination for assistant mine foreman and for mine foreman. That he took up the theoretical study of mining, is typical of his firm belief in the advantages of study, a belief the more to his credit considering the fact that practically all educational advantages had been denied to him in his early youth. In 1908 he was appointed fire boss, from which position he gradually rose by his own efforts to the position of superintendent at Avondale, to which he was appointed April 15, 1925, and to his present position, October 16, 1926. As super- intendent of the Bliss Colliery he has the supervision over one thousand and twenty-five men, whose work he directs with great ability and whose respect and confidence he has gained to an unusual degree. Though naturally the
exacting duties of his position require the major share of his time and attention, he has always taken an active part in the fraternal and religious life of the community. He is a member of Nanticoke Lodge, No. 541, Free and Accepted Masons; Caldwell Consistory, Ancient Ac- cepted Scottish Rite; Irem Temple, of Wilkes-Barre, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; Patriotic Sons of America; and Junior Order United American Mechanics. His religious affiliations are with the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mr. Kittle was married, April 1, 1904, to Elizabeth Jane Thomas, of Plymouth, Pennsylvania, and they are the parents of three children: Louisa, Hugh David and Henry Alonzo. Mrs. Kittle, like her husband, is promi- nently active in religious and fraternal affairs and is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as well as of several other women's organizations. Mr. and Mrs. Kittle make their home on Middle Road, Nanticoke.
JUDGE JOHN V. KOSEK-Although his death oc- curred in his forty-seventh year, the late Judge John V. Kosek already had to his credit so many achieve- ments, covering a period of somewhat less than a quar- ter of a century, that it seems reasonable to assume he would have gone on to even greater heights had more time been allotted him. While still a schoolboy, and again, a few years later, at college, he showed his capac- ity for leadership, not only by distinguished conduct in the classroom and on the athletic field, but also by win- ning election to several offices by the vote of his fellow- students. This characteristic remained with him through- out his career, and won for him success and honors, while at the same time it enabled him to render valuable services to his native city. Wilkes-Barre. As a lawyer he proved himself able and conscientious, and when the confidence of his fellow-citizens elevated him to the bench, he served with fairness, courage and utter impartiality. Before the period of his judgeship he had served his city as councilman and for two terms as its mayor. Wilkes- Barre may consider itself fortunate that it had a man of his calibre in the mayor's chair in the war period. which coincided with his second administration. In all of these public positions, as well as in his private life, Judge Kosek constantly displayed so many fine qualities of mind and heart that it is easily understood why he should have been one of the city's most popular native sons and why he should have enjoyed honors which usually come to most men much later in their lives.
Judge Kosek was a son of John Kosek, a native of Bohemia who came to the United States as a young man, settling in Wilkes-Barre, where for many years he was engaged as a successful merchant. He was a highly educated man, and prior to his coming to America had been a lawyer in his native land. One of the promoters of the movement for the building of the Wilkes-Barre and Kingston bridge across the Susque- hanna River, known as the North Street Bridge, he was also prominent in the development of the city's indus- trial life and was one of the promoters, stockholders, and directors of the Wilkes-Barre and Kingston Railway Company ; also a director and stockholder in the Sheldon Axle Works, These activities, combined with his natu- rally brilliant qualities of mind and personality, made him one of the representative citizens of Wilkes-Barre in his day, and placed him high in the regard of his fellow- townsmen. He married Elizabeth Warnicke, a daughter of Dr. Joseph Henry Warnicke, for many years one of the leading physicians of Wilkes-Barre, and of Mary ( Dohm) Warnicke. They became the parents of five children, two daughters and three sons : 1. Mary, deceased. 2. Josephine, also deceased. 3. Dr. Frank J. Kosek, who is a physician in Wilkes-Barre. 4. John V., now also deceased, of whom this is a record. 5. Carl W., deceased.
Jolin V. Kosek, son of John and Elizabeth ( Warnicke) Kosek, was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Feb- ruary 6, 1882, at the family homestead, No. 256 North River Street, only a short distance from the court- house, where later he was destined to win many tri- umphs as a member of the Luzerne County Bar and Bench. He received his early education in the St. Nicholas Parochial School, of his native city, and later was graduated from Wilkes-Barre High School with the class of 1900. He then took up the study of law at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1903. Both at high school and law school he dis- tinguished himself as scholar and athlete, and in both institutions had the honor to be a member of his school's football team, having been captain of his high school
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team and having played guard on the 'varsity eleven. After the completion of his legal studies he returned to Wilkes-Barre, and, having been admitted in July, 1903, to the Luzerne County Bar, commenced the practice of his profession in the law offices of E. V. Jackson, Wil- liam S. McCartney and George H. Butier in the Bennett Building. Later he established himself in practice under his own name. Ability, close application and a habit of preparing his cases most thoroughly were qualities that quickly won for him a high reputation and built up a large and important clientele. In this practice he continued until his elevation to the bench on January 1, 1928, which followed his election in November, 1927, as one of the Luzerne County judges. His election was the more an expression of the great confidence and liking that he enjoyed, in that it was gained by a substantial majority after both the Democratic and Republican nominations had been accorded him. Nor was this by any means the first public office that had been entrusted to him. As soon as he reached his majority, he began to take an active part in politics and public affairs, and, when he was only twenty-one years old, he served as a mem- ber of the old select council. He belonged to that body during the administrations of Mayors Fred C. Kirkendall and Lewis P. Kniffen, and under the Kniffen régime was chairman of the police committee and in direct charge of the police department.
It was in November, 1911, that Judge Kosek was elected mayor, defeating Edwin B. Morgan. In 1913, when the Clark Third Class City Act became effective, the composition of the city council was changed, but he was continued as mayor. In 1915 he was reelected for a second term, and during this term was called upon to solve many difficult problems. No record of Judge Kosek's life would be complete without a thorough account of his years as mayor. Immediately after his election to this high office, Mayor Kosek dignified the office by declining to act as a committing magistrate, believing that such duties ordinarily took up too much official time and that they were not in keeping with the dignity of the mayoralty. He was the first mayor not to conduct police court during his whole administration, having requested that the different aldermen of the city take turns and preside at police court. Then, believing that the building laws up to 1911 were antiquated for use in the city, he asked council at a meeting to appoint a committee to revise the laws and make them thor- oughly modern. This committee was composed of a building inspector, three prominent architects and five contractors of the city. Mayor Kosek was the first man 10 appoint a board composed of the building inspector, cne master plumber and one journeyman plumber to examine all men who became plumbers. He also enforced the law compelling plumbers to be licenscd. He was the first man to appoint a board of censors to view motion picture films before they were shown in the city. This board was composed of clergymen, civic and local workers and newspaper representatives. He also asked for a law preventing the sale of deadly weapons.
On March 25, 1912, county-wide interest was focussed upon Mayor Kosek, who at that time sought to prevent a coal strike. He decided to call the executive lieads of the cities and boroughs together in conference to endeavor to bring the miners and operators together. The letter which he wrote to city executives in his attempt to prevent strife follows :
Dear Sir:
Knowing the terrible suffering and privations which follow a strike in the anthracite regions, I thought it would be a good plan to have the chief executives of the cities and boroughs of this district of the anthra- cite coal fields meet and discuss some plan of action which might be used to effect a settlement between the coal operators and the miners and avoid both a strike and a suspension.
I, therefore, take this means of communicating with you, and request that you appear in the office of the mayor of Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, March 28, at two o'clock p. m., in order to formulate some plans whereby a strike and suspension of April 1, 1912, may he avoided, and the differences between the miners and the coal operators settled amicably.
At this meeting the mayors decided to appeal to Presi- dent Taft to lend them his assistance. The inceting was the magnet which drew miners and operators to- gether and Mayor Kosek was the big man of the hour and unquestionably the one who brought the two sides together for another large conference. His convention of the mayors and burgesses, held in Wilkes-Barre, was the force that had the desired effect and opened the way to peace.
Among his other achievements, Mayor Kosek was the
first occupant of his office to insist upon open council meetings; for he saw no reason for keeping taxpayers in the dark. He wanted to rid the city forever of "star chamber" sessions of committees, which had been the cause of so much extravagance in municipal life in Wilkes-Barre. Also, in January, 1913, he initiated a municipal employment bureau at which men and boys out of work might fill in application cards with the assurance that every effort would be made to find employ- ment for them. It was on December 1, 1913 that the Wilkes-Barre government changed to the commission form. Mayor Kosek then urged increased salaries for all city employees. He was the first mayor to call a meeting discussing the feasibility of establishing the Central Board of Charities. On May 12, 1914, he issued a proclamation declaring for a moral crusade, and so cleaned the city forever of side-rooms and the red light district. He did his best to prevent immoral places from springing up in decent neighborhoods, and by consistent and courageous raiding was as successful as possible in this direction. When he aspired to a second term, he said, "I should rather be defeated for having put the red lights out, and preventing the denizens of such resorts making the streets their chief promenade, than be elected mayor and permit such conditions to exist. I put morality above immorality, and if I can't be mayor because 1 have cleaned out the dens of iniquity and offered virtue protection in the law, then I do not want the office." In November, 1915, Mayor Kosek was re- elected, and in that election received fifty-one per cent. of the total vote cast, thereby having been nominated and elected at the same time. In this new administration he led in the movement for regulation of traffic, estab- lishing one-way traffic about the Square; and, although as mayor he never claimed credit for the idea, he did put it into force, and his interest in the matter was the means of forming a traffic squad and bringing order out of chaos. It was during his term as mayor that the trolley strike was on. After long weary weeks of strife, the situation reached a stage at which it was necessary for the city administration to show real courage. Mayor Kosek met the issue, took a determined stand, and enforced his orders. When, during American participa- tion in the late World War, the Selective Service Act was passed, Mayor Kosck was appointed by President Wilson as chairman of Draft Board No. I of Luzerne County, on which he served along with F. G. Darte, attorney. and the late Dr. J. 1. Roe. As mayor under the pres- ent councilmanic system of city government Judge Kosek proved himself a very able public official. Though always willing and eager to collaborate with others, and at all times a loyal supporter of the Republican party, he was a firm advocate of clean and effective municipal govern- ment, and, once convinced that a given matter deserved his support, he would fight for it vigorously and, if necessary, forcibly.
When his second term as mayor expired, on January 1, 1020, he returned to 'his law practice, in which he continued until January 1, 1928, becoming especially well known for his success in criminal cases. He was elected to the bench of Luzerne County in November, 1927, and on the second day of the following January was sworn in as Judge of the Common Pleas Court of the county. With him went into office for a ten-year term Judge Clarence D. Coughlin and Judge John S. Fine. Judge Kosek quickly fitted into the judicial atmosphere, and one of his first duties was the imposition of a sentence on a young man he had known for years and with whose family he was intimately acquainted. He read a lecture to certain business interests at the time, imposed the sentence, and went on with his work. Soon a highly important matter came before his tribunal-the coal case arising out of the injunction proceedings brought by the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company to restrain a tax collector from selling company property for the non-payment of taxes. Judge Kosek rendered an important decision which attracted State-wide attention. The act of 1905 was held constitutional, it being declared that the tax collector had a right to seize coal company property for taxes as well as any individual's property. In the eleven months in which Judge Kosek was on the bench he presided over many important cases. He was fair, impartial, painstaking, ever striving to mete out justice with fairness to all and favoritism to none. He had the very highest regard for his office, for the integ- rity of the bench, and on one occasion he said from the bench that the Luzerne County judges were proud of their history and their names. He stated then that it was his life resolve to so acquit himself as a jurist, that when his course was run the name of Judge Kosek
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would be as outstanding as any in the list for fulfilling the full obligation of his oath and upholding the honor of the bench and that people everywhere would have the highest regard for law and its agents.
In addition to his many labors, both public and private, Judge Kosek took an active part in social and fraternal affairs. He was a member of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, in which he belonged to Lodge No. 109; the Knights of Columbus, in which he was affiliated with Council No. 302; and the Order of Alham- bra, in which he was identified with Alhamar Caravan No. 4. He also was a member of the Luzerne County Bar Association and the Pennsylvania State Bar Asso- ciation, the Tatra Club, the Monarch Club, the Polish Alliance and the Fox Hill Country Club. He was also a director of the Liberty State Bank and Trust Com- pany of Wilkes-Barre. His religious faith was that of the Roman Catholic Church, his parish having been the St. Nicholas German Catholic Church of Wilkes-Barre, in whose work he took an active part.
Judge Kosek married, June 20, 1909, Marguerite Scheid, daughter of Joseph J. and Anna Marie Scheid, of Wilkes- Barre. He and Mrs. Kosek were the parents of five children: Jchn V., Jr .; Lawrence Sheridan, who died November 18, 1926; Reynold; Malcolm; and Marguerite Mary.
The death of Judge Kosek, which occurred suddenly at his home, No. 28 Academy Street, Wilkes-Barre, as a result of heart failure, on December 3, 1928, was a cause of widespread sorrow throughout Wilkes-Barre. Al- though his health had been a cause of considerable worry for some time, ever since he had been taken seriously ill during the summer of 1928 while living at his summer home at Harvey's Lake, he seemed to have somewhat improved, and his sudden passing was a shock to fam- ily, friends and community. Funeral services, attended
by representatives of different organizations of which he was a member, as well as by public officials, were held at his home, and were followed by the celebration of a solemn high mass of requiem at St. Nicholas Church. An Address was delivered by the Right Rev. J. J. O'Reilly, of the Scranton Diocese. Judge Kosek was laid to rest in St. Mary's Cemetery, Hanover.
In speaking of Judge Kosek's life and achievements, one of the local newspapers said in part :
The death of Judge Kosek brought to an end an active and successful public career. . . As a judge he was regarded as fair and impartial and as a man who would see that justlce triumphed. In politics he made his mark quickly and decisively. . . As a law- ver he served his clients in a manner that brought forth from his friends, associates and acquaintances nothing hut words of the highest praise. . His devotion to duty was commented upon by all who knew him and went so far that he refused to take a vacation, even though his health indicated the need of one, a fact which undoubtedly contributed to his untimely death. His passing was a serious loss to his native city. which he had served so well and unselfishly at all times.
GILBERT S. MCCLINTOCK-Among the leading and prominent attorneys of the city of Wilkes-Barre, is Gilbert Stuart McClintock who is a member of a family which has been distinguished in this country for several generations. The earliest American ancestor of Mr. McClintock was Samuel, son of James McClintock, who came to America in 1795 and settled in Northumber- land County, Pennsylvania. The family history, traced back to James McClintock and his wife, Jean Payne, of Raphoe, County Donegal, Ireland, tells of the ancestors of this James who lived originally in Argyleshire, Scot- land, whence three sons of Gilbert MeClintock settled near Lon-londerry, Ireland, and from one of them James and his son Samuel descended. After Samuel Mcclintock came to this country, he was followed by his father, James, who settled in Lycoming County. Samuel Mc- Clintock died at the age of thirty-six years, in 1812.
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