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 60
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Edward S. Wicks married, April 15, 1908, Blanche Burnet, of Pittston, and they are the parents of the fol- lowing children : Doris and Edward.
DANIEL L. HART-As mayor of Wilkes-Barre, Daniel L. Hart performed the duties of his office with such credit and distinction for two terms that, in 1927, he was chosen to serve his third four-year term. Despite all combinations that were formed to place rival candi- dates in office, so strong was his popularity in the city that he not only won the election, but won it by a large majority, and was so enabled to carry on the constructive
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program of city government that characterized his first two terms as mayor. Mr. Hart first attracted public notice by his writings, which began to be published just after he had finished school in the late eighties and which came to be of more and more importance as time went on. His published works include, among other things, a number of plays, some of which were staged in Wilkes-Barre and some elsewhere, and which won for him fame over a wide territory. A man of great force and personal magnetism, he is widely sought as an after-dinner speaker and as a leader at all sorts of gath- erings. No one has done more than he to promote the welfare of his city, and Wilkes-Barre is fortunate to have such a man as its chief executive.
Mayor Hart is a member of an old Irish family, his great-grandfather, Owen Hart, having been born in Ireland and having died there, and having married Molly Kane, also a native of Ireland, by whom he had seven children. One of these, Patrick, the grandfather of Daniel, was born in October, 1798, in the county of Sligo, Ireland, and died there May. 10, 1825; was a success- ful man, noted for his fine horsemanship, and an excellent example of the country gentleman of the time ; he mar- ried, in Sligo, Mary Gilligan, born June 23, 1800, in the shadow of Notman Ray, Sligo, Ireland, daughter of John and Caroline Gilligan. After her husband's death, Mary (Gilligan) Hart came to the United States, and died in Wilkes-Barre January 7, 1893. John, one of the two children of Patrick and Mary (Gilligan) Hart, was born February 16, 1825, in the county of Sligo, Ireland. He, the father of Mayor Hart, received his early educa- tion in the common schools of his native town, and proved himself to be an apt and diligent scholar. After he had farmed for a time, as his father had done before him, he became dissatisfied with old world methods and decided to emigrate to America. He arrived in the City of New York on June 1, 1848, and immediately set out for Wilkes-Barre, by way of Easton. It took many days to make this journey over the mountains by stagecoach, but when he arrived in Wilkes-Barre he made his home there. Thinking it advisable to learn any business by acquiring a knowledge of its lowest details, he accepted a position as a laborer in the coal fields of the Lehigh and Susquehanna Coal Company. There he remained for some time before he became associated with the Black- man Coal Company ; and, while with the Blackman com- pany, he paid the closest attention to the introduction of new. machinery, which then was becoming a more im- portant phase of the mining industry. Then, in 1853, because of his knowledge of mining machinery, he was given charge of the first engine that was ever operated in the Wyoming Valley for the purpose of hauling coal out of the mines. After remaining for a time in this position, he went into the shops. He worked there con- tinuously for a period of many years, until he came to be one of the leading citizens of the community and to own one of the most beautiful homes in Wilkes-Barre. He is now deceased.
John Hart married, on July 26, 1852, Mary McDonald, born in Wilkes-Barre October 12, 1833, daughter of Patrick and Elizabeth (Edwards) McDonald, the latter a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Rice) Edwards. John and Mary (McDonald) Hart had eight children : I. James, born June 28, 1853, died in 1926; he was an engineer. 2. Michael, born October 10, 1855, also an engineer ; married Mary A. Cawley, of Dunmore, Penn- sylvania. 3. John, born September 19, 1858, taught school, died November 14, 1899. 4. Joseph, born August 15, 1860, a pharmacist, died in 1911. 5. Thomas, born August 16, 1863, likewise a pharmacist. 6. Daniel L., of further men- tion. 7. Mary, born July 5, 1874, died April 10, 1878. 8. Gertrude, born in Wilkes-Barre, educated in St. Mary's and Malincrodt convents, died in 1912.
Daniel L. Hart, son of John and Mary ( McDonald) Hart, was born December 29. 1866, in Wilkes-Barre, in the house in which he now lives. He was educated in the public schools of Wilkes-Parre, and at Wyoming Seminary, in Kingston, Pennsylvania. Having shown from childhood a decided leaning toward literary work, he commenced, as soon as he was out of college, to write for publication. Almost immediately he demonstrated an ability to attract and hold the attention of his readers; and, as he wrote piece after piece, specializing always in the drama, he gained for himself an increasingly large group of readers. The first of his plays ever to be staged. "Which," was produced in Wilkes-Barre and was immediately successful. He then wrote "The Footman," "Between Men." "Underground," "A Daughter of Dixie," "O'Neil," "Washington, D. C.," "Government Ex- ceptance," and a dramatization of Opie Reid's "Jucklins,"
and these plays, coming at short intervals one after an- other, added cumulatively to his success. Then he wrote his world-famous "Parish Priest," in which Daniel Sully acquired histrionic fame. Subsequently he wrote "Australia," "At Old Point Comfort," "Marching Through Georgia," and finally "A Rocky Road to Dub- lin," which was staged in New York City in 1905 and which attained to considerable popularity.
After 1906, he became increasingly interested in politi- cal affairs, and was elected in that year as treasurer of Wilkes-Barre on the Democratic ticket. When his first term expired, he was elected to the office for a second time on the Democratic ticket; and at the end of his second term, he was reelected by both Democrats and Republicans. He was treasurer of the city altogether for a period of ten years. In 1916, he again turned play- wright, but not for long; for, in 1919, he was chosen on the Democratic ticket as mayor of Wilkes-Barre. In 1923, he was chosen for a second term; and in 1927, for a third. In this office, he has won, more than ever, popu- larity in the city, where no man is more widely known or more genuinely admired and liked than he; for he constantly shows a thoroughly genial personality, an interest in the welfare of his fellowmen, and an ability to conduct the affairs of office in a most praiseworthy manner.
Mayor Hart is a member of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, in which he is affiliated with the Wilkes-Barre Lodge, No. 109; the Loyal Order of Moose ; the Fraternal Order of Eagles; and the Knights of Columbus. He is a member of the Concordia and Franklin clubs. His religious affiliation is with St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church.
PETER EDWARD FAGAN, M. D .- Since the completion of his interneship in 1910 Dr. Peter Edward Fagan has been located in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, where he has built up a large general practice. He is a grad- uate of Jefferson Medical College, at Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, with honors in Genito Urinary Surgery, and has his offices at No. 18 North Broad Street, here in Hazleton. Dr. Fagan served in this country for two years during the World War, and returned to his prac- tice in Hazleton as soon as he was mustered out of service.
Dr. Peter Edward Fagan was born in Latimer, Penn- sylvania, February 9, 1884, son of Robert, who has been a superintendent in the employ of the Pardee Coal inter- ests for many years, and of Adelia (O'Riley) Fagan. He attended the local public schools and Hazleton Town- ship High School, from which he was graduated with the class of 1900. He then graduated in 1901 from the Bloomsburg Normal School, at Bloomsburg, Pennsyl- vania, and taught in the public schools for four years. Later, having decided to devote his life to the medical profession, he began professional study at Jefferson Med- ical College, in Philadelphia, where he completed his course with graduation in 1909, receiving at that time the degree of Doctor of Medicine. His interneship was served in the Hazleton Hospital, and in 1910 he opened his office here in Hazleton and engaged in general prac- tice. In 1917, after the entrance of the United States into the World War, he enlisted in the Medical Corps, December, 1917, as lieutenant, later promoted to captain, and was stationed in Georgia, at Forts Oglethorpe and Greenleaf, where he was placed in charge of recruits for the Medical Department. He was mustered out of service in January, 1919, and returned to Hazleton, where he resumed his general practice. Since that time he has been successfully building up his present large and impor- tant practice, and has made for himself an assured place in the life of this community. He is a member of the Luzerne County Medical Society, of the State Medical Society, and of the American Medical Association. and is highly regarded among his medical associates. Here in Hazleton he has always taken an active interest in the general welfare, and at the present time (1928) he is serving in the medical department of the public schools. He is also associated with the compensation department of the Jeddo Highland Coal Company. He is a mem- ber of the Knights of Columbus, the American Legion, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. and the Forty and Eight, and his club is the Kiwanis Club. His religious membership is with St. Gabriel's Roman Catholic Church, of Hazleton.
Dr. Peter Edward Fagan was married, May 17, 1911, to Kathryn De Wan, of Towanda. Bradford County. Pennsylvania, and they have six children: I. Edward. 2. Anna. 3. Robert. 4. John. 5. Lawrence. 6. Peter, Jr. The family home is located at No. 103 West Diamond Avenue, in Hazleton.
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JOHN J. DAILEY, M. D .- Though Dr. Dailey has been located in the city of Hazleton less than three years, he has behind him a long record of professional success extending over a period of about twenty years. He is a graduate of Mount St. Mary's College, of the Medico- Chirurgical College of Philadelphia, and of a post-grad- uate school in Philadelphia, where he gave special atten- tion to the ear, nose, and throat. He has his offices at No. 527 in the Markle Building, Hazleton, and is specializ- ing in diseases of the ear, nose, and throat. Dr. Dailey is a member of numerous professional and fraternal organizations and is well known in Hazleton and vicinity.
Dr. John J. Dailey was born in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, April 24, 1882, son of Edward J. and Margaret (McGeehin) Dailey, both of whom are natives of this State. He received his early and preparatory cducation in St. Gabriel's Parochial School here in Hazle- ton, and then entered Mount St. Mary's College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1901. The medical profession was his choice as a life work, and for his professional training he entered the Medico-Chirur- gical College in Philadelphia, where he was graduated with the class of 1905, receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine. After serving interneship in the Phila- delphia General Hospital and in the Hazleton State Hos- pital he was appointed ship surgeon on the Red Star steamship "Kroonland," and there he somewhat widened his experience. In 1908 he began general practice in McAdoo, Pennsylvania, where he remained for eighteen years, building up a very large practice. On January 1, 1926, he opened his offices here in Hazleton as a special- ist in diseases of the ear, nose, and throat, having made special preparation for this work in the Post-Graduate School in Philadelphia. He is a member of the Luzerne County Medical Society, the Pennsylvania State Med- ical Society, and the American Medical Association, also of the Lehigh Valley Medical Association, and of the Lehigh Valley Railway Surgeons' Corps. He is also identified with the New York and New England Asso- ciation of Railway Surgeons, and has long been rec- ognized among his professional colleagues as a man of ability and of skill. Fraternally, he is a member of Phi Rho Sigma Medical Fraternity, of the Knights of Colum- bus, and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. At the time of the entrance of the United States into the World War Dr. Dailey enlisted for service in the Medical Department, July, 1917, was commissioned a captain, and remained in the army ( Reserve Corps) until 1925, when he was mustered out of service. He is a member of the American Legion and of the Military Order of the World War, and is popular in the various organizations with which he is identified. At one time Dr. Dailey was physician for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission. His religious membership is with St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church.
As a physician, as a citizen, and as a man among his friends, Dr. Dailey has proved himself to be able, faith- ful, and devoted to the highest interests of the com- munity in which he lives and practices. He has a host of friends here already, and has built up a very impor- tant practice. He is a member of and well liked in the Kiwanis Club, and is always ready to aid in any civic enterprise which promises improvement to the com- munity.
Dr. John J. Dailey was married, in January. 1914, to Mary Dever, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and they have four children : Kathleen, Margaret, Mary and John J., Jr. The family residence is located at Nc. 109 North Tamaqua Street, in McAdoo, Pennsylvania. Long years of experience have brought to Dr. Dailey the skill and the practical knowledge which enable him to treat most successfully the many patients who come to him for treatment in his special field, and his years of general practice serve him well in his present specialized prac- tice.
WILLIAM J. CRICHTON-In Hazleton, Pennsyl- vania, one of the best known men engaged in architectural designing is William J. Crichton, who has his offices in the American Bank Building. Mr. Crichton is a graduate of Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, and, with the exception of his term of service in the World War, has followed his profession as a registered archi- tect since 1913. He has been located in Hazleton since 1924, first in partnership with P. B. Sheridan, but since 1926 under his own name.
William J. Crichton was born in Greenwich. Connecti- cut, July 1, 1892, son of James and Sarah J. ( Charleton) Crichton. He attended the public schools of his birth-
place, graduating from the high school with the class of 1910, and then entered Pratt Institute, at Brooklyn, New York, where he completed a course in engineering, grad- uating with the class of 1912. The following year he remained in the institute, studying architectural design- ing, and teaching interior architectural design there in the institute. A young man of talent and of ambition he at once secured a position in architectural work, and was thus engaged until the entrance of the United States into the World War in 1917, when he enlisted for serv- ice in the Regular Army, as a member of the Engineers' Corps, and was stationed at El Paso, Texas. During his term of service he was advanced from the rank of private to that of lieutenant and was mustered out of service at Camp Humphries, Virginia, in December, 1918. Upon receiving his honorable discharge he returned to the practice of his profession in New York City, where he remained until November, 1924, when he came to Hazle- ton and became a partner of P. B. Sheridan. This partnership was continued until November, 1926, when it was dissolved, and since that time Mr. Crichton has operated alone, under his own name. He has made for himself an enviable reputation as a first class architect and as a dependable business man, and a large number of important public and business buildings, as well as many private homes in this vicinity owe their beauty and their general excellence of design to the ability of Mr. Crichton. Among the most noteworthy of the buildings for which he is responsible may be mentioned the new Masonic Temple, the Jeddo School building, the Landau Brothers' store building, Eidan Brothers Sales and Serv- ice building, the Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, and the American Legion Post building. Mr. Crichton is registered as an architect in both New York State and in Pennsylvania, and is very well known in this section of the last-named State. Fraternally, he is iden- tified with Hazleton Lodge, No. 327, Free and Accepted Masons; Hazleton Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Mount Vernon Commandery, Knights Templar; and also with the Fraternal Order of Eagles. His religious affilia- tion is with the Congregational Church, and his club is the Rotary Club.
William J. Crichton was married, November 1, 1908, to Minnie G. Smith, of Irvington-on-Hudson, and they are the parents of two children: Marian Jean and Wil- liam J., Jr.
FRED C. KIRKENDALL, SR .- The Kirkendali family traces its ancestry back to early pioneer days, when there were persons of the name among the earliest families of New Jersey, and the house of which Fred C. Kirkendall, Sr., was a member is of Scotch origin. The Revolutionary records of New Jersey show the names of several Kirkendalls who fought with the colonists, and among them were Andrew Kirkendall of Hunting- don, and Samnel and Stephen Kirkendall of Sussex. In the early part of the nineteenth century some of the family came into Pennsylvania, and settled in the "Green Woods" section of old Luzerne County. It is from these. that Fred C. Kirkendall is descended.
The line of descent is traced from William Wheeler and Maria ( Dereamer ) Kirkendall, who had many children, one of whom was Ira Mandeville Kirkendall, fourth son.
Ira Mandeville Kirkendall was born in Dallas Town- ship, Luzerne County, November 3, 1835. When ofd enough he was put to work and upon the death of his father, which occurred when the son was but ten years of age, he began to make his own way in the world. At the time, he was carrying mails on horseback, three days each week, and grasped whatever opportunity offered in the way of education in the country school. At fourteen years, he went to Pittston, there worked in a store, and in 1856, aged twenty, went to Nebraska, where he worked at farming and stage driving. Two years later he returned to Pennsylvania, and, again in Pittston. worked there for a year, afterward proceeding to Bear Creek, where he engaged in lumbering until 1865. In that year he came to Wilkes-Barre once more, to con- tinue in the lumber business. Under his brother, William Penn Kirkendall, then sheriff of Luzerne County, he was name 1 deputy, retaining the post from 1875 until 1878. Subsequently, he engaged in the grocery business, be- coming chief member of the firm of Kirkendall and Whiteman, wholesale grocery house, 1880-83, and still later became senior member of the firm of Kirkendall Brothers, wholesale flour and feed dealers, 1883-94. In the last-named year the business was dissolved, immedi- ately being reorganized under the name of Kirkendall
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and Son (the son being Frederick Charles Kirkendall), by which title is was known throughout the Wilkes- Barre trading area, until discontinuance of business. His success was entirely due to his own application. He was closely identified with the political history of the city, its improvement, and its progress. Under the old system of local government, he was elected burgess of the Borough of Wilkes-Barre, in 1870, and first mayor of the city, in 1871, under the new system of government. He served as mayor three years. Although he was a Democrat, he was elected councilman of the Fourth Ward in 1883-this being the strongest Republican ward in the city-and for sixteen consecutive years was re- elected to represent that ward on the council, the longest term of councilman ever given to a citizen of Wilkes- Barre. To the public, regardless of his private interests, he afforded his best service, frequently neglecting his personal and commercial affairs to do so. The pride that his family may feel in his unselfish devotion to the civic welfare is shared by others of the citizens, for he never received compensation for his work during all the years of, his office. When he entered the council, only a few of the city's streets were paved. When he retired from it, the paving extended twenty-five miles, a work in which he had a large share, through personal effort. He was called, indeed, the father of paving improvements in Wilkes-Barre, and his retirement as councilman after sixteen years was regarded as a disaster by the elec- torate of all parties.
Frederick Charles Kirkendall, Sr., of the third genera- tion from William Wheeler Kirkendall and son of Ira Mandeville Kirkendall, was born in Wilkes-Barre August 10, 1871, and died here, December 20, 1925. His mother was Hannah (Dreisbach) Kirkendall, and she, too, was a member of an old Pennsylvania house. He received his preparatory education in the local public schools, graduated from Lafayette College in 1894 with the degree of Bachelor of Science, and, returning home, went into the grain business conducted by his father, continuing with it as active manager of Kirkendall and Son until his retirement in 1904. While still in his twenties, he demonstrated powers that were to mark him for a high plane in later years, as a newspaper publisher of prominence in the East, as a public official of wide understanding, and as a citizen deeply interested in Wilkes-Barre and the Wyoming Valley. Like his father, a Democrat, his view was broad and non-partisan, and he was recognized as one in whose hands public author- ity would be employed for the greatest good to the greatest number. He was honest in his political opinions, frank and sometimes outspoken. In 1807, he was elected chairman of the Democratic City Committee, and two years later was nominated as candidate for county treasurer. At that time he was only twenty-eight but his candidacy carried such wide appeal that he was elected, the youngest treasurer the county ever had. In 1900 he was named chairman of the County Democratic Committee. In 1903 he acquired an interest in the Wilkes-Barre "Leader." There were changes in the paper's control, and in 1905 he went into partnership with Colonel Ernest Gray Smith. In 1908, the "Leader" was merged with the "Times" and the Wilkes-Barre "Times Leader" was born. It was when he was thirty-four years of age that Mr. Kirkendall was persuaded to stand as Democratic candidate for mayor. Again he was the youngest man to aspire to office; but the campaign took place, and in April, 1905, he became chief executive of Wilkes-Barre-the first Democrat to hold the office since his father held it, thirty-three years before. He set about at once to give the city a progressive administration, and one of his first efforts was to perfect the morale of the police force, as well as its morals. He moved for the new station house which the community now has ; introduced various safety devices, such as the "cow catchers" on the street cars; erected a public bathing house; provided for avoidance of graft in water and light collections; for clean milk; and was a pioneer in the city's park system. During his administration there were two outstanding incidents ; first-the visit of Presi- dent Roosevelt ; and second-the Centennial of Wilkes- Barre, 1906. Mr. Kirkendall's next appearance in public life came in 1914. when, on July 1, he became collector of the Ninth Internal Revenue District, appointed by President Wilson. He was reappointed in 1918, and served until 1921, when he tendered his resignation one year before the term's expiration. Since then he had de- voted his time exclusively to the "Times-Leader," and to the legion calls, semi-public and otherwise, made up his time. He was a director of the Second National Bank and of the Penn Tobacco Company ; a member of
the Kiwanis, Elks, and Westmoreland clubs; communi- cant of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church; and, at the time of his death, president of the Men's . Club within that denomination.
Fraternally, he was affiliated with the Free and Ac- cepted Masons, in which order he was a charter member of Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and belonged to the Craftsmen's Club and Irem Country Club.
Frederick Charles Kirkendall married, January 10, 1897, Eleanor C. Gearhart, daughter of George M. and Cordelia (Clark) Gearhart, of Danville. He is survived by his wife, his son, Fred C., Jr., of whom further ; and two daughters: Mrs. Robert Trethaway and Mrs. Henry T. Buckman.
Frederick Charles Kirkendall's death occasioned wide sorrow, and tributes were heard and witnessed every- where around the city of his life's activity. It was written of him editorially on the first page of the "Times- Leader," December 21, 1925, the day after his death :
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