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 66
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Jacob Martin was born in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, February 4, 1873. He was educated in the public schools
of the township and began work when only nine years old. At thirteen, he entered the shop of his father and there learned the trade of a blacksmith which he followed at the shop at No. 19 West Chestnut Street for thirty- seven years. In September, 1923, he entered the auto- mobile business as manager and in 1926, he took over the agency at Hazleton for the Nash Car with his salesroom at No. 328 East Walnut Street, and his ter- ritory covers the Southern half of Luzerne County. In addition to his business, as did his father before him, he takes an active part in civic affairs and has always done so since the time of casting his first vote when he served on the board of elections. He is an ardent Democrat and his first public office was as a member of the school board where he served for twelve years. For two years, he was president of the board, being the first president under the new code. He also served as a member of the City Council for twelve years and now holds the office of commissioner of public safety. He has served a term as commissioner of Parks and Buildings and he has been the County Committeeman of his party. He is a member of six county and State firemen's associations; the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; the Fraternal Order of Eagles; the Independent American Mechanics; and many other social and fraternal organizations. He has also served for twenty-eight years on the board of Grace Reformed Church.
In 1900, Jacob Martin married Elizabeth Kuehnhold, of Hazleton, Pennsylvania. They have one child : Harold C., who graduated from the local high school in 1918 and from Syracuse University in the class of 1922. He is now located in Denver, Colorado, with the Bell Tele- phone Company, as publicity agent. Mr. Martin has done much to assist his brothers and sisters to attain an edu- cation, thereby taking, in a degree, the place of his father whose death occurred when Jacob Martin was twenty-six years of age.
HARRY J. OWENS, M. D .- For a period of thirty- two years Dr. Harry J. Owens has been taking care of a large and important general medical practice in Hazle- ton, Pennsylvania. During that time he has become one of the most prominent physicians of this section of Luzerne County, and has won an enviable reputation for skill and for faithful attention to the needs of his many patients. He is a graduate of Jefferson Medical College, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and liis offices are located at No. 320 West Broad Street, in Hazle- ton.
Dr. Harry J. Owens is a native of this State, having been born in Ashland, Pennsylvania, February 13, 1872, son of Moses and Annie (Johns) Owens. After receiv- ing a good general education in the public schools he began professional study in Jefferson Medical College, in Philadelphia, where he completed his course with grad- uation in 1896. He then located in Hazleton, Pennsyl- vania, where he has since, with the exception of his period of service in the World War, been successfully engaged in practice as a physician and surgeon. Dur- ing the World War he enlisted in the Medical Corps, and was stationed at Camp Mills and at Camp Sherman, being mustered out of service at the close of the war with the rank of lieutenant. He is a member of the Luzerne County Medical Society, the Pennsylvania State Medical Society, and the American Medical Associa- tion, and during his thirty-two years of practice in Hazle- ton he has been active in civic affairs, contributing his full share to the service of the community. For four- teen years he served as a member of the Board of Health, and in all the various community plans for bet- terment and progress he has been an able and a willing helper. He is a member of the American Legion, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Free and Accepted Masons, and the Craftsmen's Club, and his religious affiliation is with the Presbyterian Church. Dr. Owens is well liked and highly esteemed as a man and as a citizen, as well as in his professional capacity as physician and surgeon, and he has many friends in Hazleton and vicinity.
Dr. Harry J. Owens was married, in June, 1910, to Jean Urner, of Spring City, Pennsylvania, and they are the parents of two children: 1. Harry C., who is a student at Culver Military Academy, at Culver, Indiana, class of 1929. 2. Deborah A., who is a pupil in the pub- lic schools of Hazleton. Mrs. Owens is active in local club organizations, including the Civic Club, the Garden Club, and the local Young Women's Christian Associa- tion, and, like her husband, is popular among a very large group of friends and acquaintances.
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REV. DR. FREDERICK L. FLINCHBAUGH- Having begun his career in the ministry in the year 1902, in the city of Wilkes-Barre, Rev. Dr. Frederick L. Flinchbaugh has been an important contributing factor to the moral structure of the community since the begin- ning of his residence here. During his rectorship, he has made St. Stephen's Church a center of activity in community and social service, and his influence for good is widely felt. As pastor and as a man, Dr. Flinchbaugh holds a place as one of the city's most esteemed citizens.
Born at York, Pennsylvania, November 14, 1874, Dr. Flinchbaugh is a son of Frederick and Louisa (Feiser) Flinchbaugh. Following completion of high school there, he matriculated in Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, from which, in 1899, he took the degree of Bachelor of Arts. From the Episcopal Theological Sem- inary at Cambridge, Massachusetts, he received the de- gree of Bachelor of Divinity, in 1902, was ordained a deacon by Bishop William Lawrence, in Boston, in January, 1903, and a priest by Bishop Ethelbert Talbot, in the Log Chapei, at Laurel Run, Pennsylvania, the same year. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Wesleyan in 1920.
Dr. Flinchbaugh's ministry began in St. Stephen's parish, Wilkes-Barre, as assistant minister under the Rev. Henry L. Jones, D. D., and continued from 1902 to 1904. Following this he was rector of St. John's Epis- copal Church at Salem, New Jersey, 1904-06; then re- turned to Wilkes-Barre to become pastor of Calvary Episcopal Church, which charge he held two years. In 1908 he became rector of Calvary Episcopal Church at Cincinnati, Ohio, and remained there sixteen years, until 1924, when he returned to St. Stephen's, Wilkes-Barre. He has been a member of five General Conventions of the Episcopal Church since 1913. At present he is also a member of the Executive Council of the Bethlehem Diocese, and was chosen chairman of the Diocesan Com- mittee to create a Memorial to Bishop Talbot, in the en- dowment of a professorship in the Philadelphia Divinity School, in the sum of $100,000, which achievement has been accomplished. During the World War he was executive secretary of war work of the Episcopal Church in Ohio, and he served notably as civilian chaplain. At a cost of twenty thousand dollars, while in that work, he erected a church and and recreational building for service men in the community center at Camp Sherman, Ohio. Earlier, following service at Plattsburg in 1916, he was among the first twenty-five men to volunteer for work with the Young Men's Christian Association over- seas; but because of the Germanic origin of his name his appointment was held up temporarily, and instead of this duty he entered the Camp Sherman service as recounted. He is affiliated with the Free and Accepted Masons and a member of Bloomsburg Consistory, Ancient Ac- cepted Scottish Rite Masons of the thirty-second degree, and with Phi Nu Theta Fraternity of Wesleyan Uni- versity. He is a member of the Westmoreland Club of Wilkes-Barre.
Dr. Flinchbaugh was married in 1901 to Lillian Barry of Hamilton, Ohio, with whom he had a son, Philip. Both wife and son died in Wilkes-Barre, during his pas- torate at Calvary Church, the son in 1906, and the wife in 1907. He was again married in 1919, to Anne Harri- son Bacot, of New York City, who was a great-grand- daughter of General William Henry Harrison, first Presi- dent of the United States elected from Ohio. She died at Glen Summit, July 26, 1926, leaving a daughter, Anne Harrison Flinchbaugh. The residence is at No. 49 South Franklin Street.
JAMES E. GRIFFITH-In Freeland, Pennsylvania, James E. Griffith is known as one of the leading lumber merchants in this part of Luzerne County. He has been engaged in business here as a builder and contractor since 1890, and since 1901 has also been conducting a prosperous lumber business. He carries all kinds of builders' supplies, and his extensive yards located on Fast Carbon Street furnish ground space for drying and stor- age sheds, for offices, etc., including some 45,000 square feet. He is a director of the First National Bank, and is prominent in the Masonic Order. James E. Griffith was born in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, February 27, 1866, son of John and Maria ( Kleintap) Griffith. He attended the public schools until he was thirteen years of age and then went to work. When he was eighteen years old he decided to learn the carpenter's trade. For six years he served as apprentice and as journeyinan, and then, in 1892 engaged in business for himself as a con- tractor. From early years he had given evidence of more
than average ability in this line, and when he was twenty years old and still an apprentice he built a house in Drifton, working from blue prints. Since 1890 he has been continuously busy as a contractor and builder. Ex- perience in this line soon showed him the advantages of handling lumber and other building materials for himself, and in 1901, after eleven years of independent business experience, he established himself in the lumber and building material business, locating first on East Carbon Street, near his present yards and offices. In 1913, his business having grown to proportions which demanded more space for expansion, he removed his yards and offices to his present location on Carbon Street, where he has at his disposal about 45,000 square feet of ground space upon which he has built offices, drying and storage sheds, and he has fitted these with every facility for handling his goods. His building operations he confines mostly to Freeland and vicinity, and he contracts for all kinds of structures, both private and public. Schools, business buildings, private homes, and town buildings receive his careful attention, and he has for some years now been known as one of the leading building contractors of this part of the county. Along with his successful busi- ness achievements he has given freely of his time and his interest in civic affairs and has always evinced a lively interest in all that promises to improve the general wel- fare of Freeland. As a director of the First National Bank he contributes his experience to the management of the bank, and his associates acknowledge his ability and his clear, sound judgment. He is a member of Lodge No. 1145, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and is well known in the Masonic Order, being a member of Arbutus Lodge, No. 611, Free and Accepted Masons ; and of Caldwell Consistory. He is a member of the Builders' Association. In giving attention to civic affairs, Mr. Griffith has not refused to bear his share of the burdens of local public office, and for three years he served as a member of the Borough Council.
James E. Griffith is married to Sarah Steiner, of Stock- ton, Pennsylvania, and they have had five children, of whom four are living, the other having died in infancy. The four surviving children are: I. Cora E., who lives at home. 2. John F., who is associated with his father in business. 3. Joseph H., who is engaged in the automobile business. 4. James E., Jr., engaged in the garage business, served during the World War in the Air Service, and was stationed overseas for a period of twenty months. The family residence is located at No. 519 Front Street, in Freeland.
E. J. EDWARDS was born in Wilkes-Barre, Penn . sylvania, September 24, 1868, a son of E. J. and Margaret (Jones) Edwards, both natives of Wales, where they were married. Coming to America in their youth, they settled in Luzerne County, the husband becoming a miner and following that occupation to the end of his life. which ended in his sixty-ninth year. Their son was reared at Warrior Run, Luzerne County, and attended the pub- lic schools until he was eleven years of age, when he went to work at the coal breakers and, later, at other tasks about the mines. When he was seventeen years old he took a course at the Wyoming Commercial College and after a year came to Drifton, where he entered the services of Coxe Brothers & Company as a clerk, and in 1897 he entered into partnership with T. L. Edmunds and James L. Roderick, taking over the Coxe establish- ment and conducting a successful general retail mer- chandise business until 1907 when it was completely de- stroved by fire. They then removed to another location in Drifton and continued until 1921, when it was incor- porated as E. J. Edwards & Company, Inc., and capital- ized at $25,000 with Mr. Edwards as president and Mr. Edmunds secretary and treasurer. This business has since been greatly extended and supplied a large territory sur- rounding Freeland and Drifton. After forty years of active work Mr. Edwards retired and left the business in the competent hands of his partner. In the mercantile world of Freeland and Drifton he has operated with success for himself and those associated with him and has won the esteem of all with whom he has come in contact. Operating on a high plane of moral obligation to the public, his example has been an inspiration to oth- ers to maintain the standard of excellence with which commercial operations are conducted in this district. Blessed with an optimistic nature and an unflagging in- dustry, when misfortune came to him through the de- struction of his building and stock, hy fire, he rose superior to the blow and rebuilt the business structure that had been destroyed, setting it upon a firmer founda-
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tion and cultivating it to strength and prosperity. In his civic activities he has been a valuable asset to the com- munity; in his cooperative labors a skillful business executive and an honorable member of the body politic. For many years he has been a director of the Citizen's Bank of Freeland and in 1926 was elected vice-president of that institution. He is also a director of the Freeland Water Company. In fraternal organizations he holds membership in Arbutus Lodge, No. 611, Free and Ac- cepted Masons. His church is the Presbyterian, and he is a trustee of the Luzerne County Tubercular Home. The family residence is in Drifton.
E. J. Edwards married Sarah Edmunds, of Drifton, September 18, 1895. Their children are: I. Margaret, married D). M. Yost, of Philadelphia, and they are the parents of Mary L. 2. Delbert, married Evelyn White, of Freeland, Pennsylvania, but now living in Hempstead, New York, and they are the parents of Ruth E. 3. Ruth. 4. William. 5. Sarah.
EMIL BUHLER-Hazleton's second largest industry undoubtedly is silk manufacturing, and the most promi- nent figure in this last named business is Emil Buhler, director and vice-president of the Duplan Silk Corpora- tion, noted throughout the world, and with mills located at Hazleton, Wilkes-Barre, Dorranceton, and Nanticoke, Pennsylvania. This company also maintains several for- eign offices. Mr. Buhler, who came to the Duplan Silk Corporation as a mill superintendent little more than twenty years ago, has since given this concern his un- divided attention, laboring unceasingly through various departments and positions, and reaching his present .office entirely through merit. He early recognized the important rôle rayon was to play in the silk business, and familiar- ized himself thoroughly with the ramifications having to do with the manufacture of this commodity, a step that has proved to be of inestimable value to his firm. Mr. Buhler's success has not come about through the mere direction of affairs, for he never has ceased his study and research work, and at one time went to Europe to take special courses having to do with silk manufacture.
Mr. Buhler was born April 18, 1877, in the Canton of Luzerne, Switzerland, son of Jacob and Rosa ( Schaerer) Buhler. Educated in the public schools of Luzerne County, Emil Buhler finished his studies with graduation from the high school there, although later he was to attend technical classes in France. At the age of fifteen years, he migrated to America, located at Hoboken, New Jersey, and there was employed in the silk mills from 1893 to 1896. Possessed of a desire to familiarize him- self with the technical and theoretical details of silk manufacture in 1896 Mr. Buhler voyaged to France, re- maining in that country for almost two years, engaged in study in the textile schools at Lyons. Here he had made special research into the art of piece dyeing. He re- turned to the United States in 1808 to accept a position with the Schwarzenbach Huber Company, silk manufac- turers, and remained with this organization for seven years, as a specialist in piece dyeing. In 1906, Mr. Buh- ler was induced to come to Hazleton by the Duplan Silk Corporation, as manager of its plant here. In that year he entered upon his managerial duties of the Hazleton mills, which comprise all the preparatory silk processes, but always have specialized in the weaving of piece- dyed broadsilks: All silk and mixed silk goods, combin- ing silk with almost every fibre, have been produced. Mr. Buhler, through loyal and devoted attention to the details of management of the Hazleton mill, increased the scope of his interests from time to time, eventually at- taining his present rank, being a director of the corpora- tion and vice-president, and has supervision over approx- imately five thousand employees. Mr. Buhler's keen per- ception and executive ability proved of great value to the Government during the World War. Under his supervision, the corporation, in order to fill the enormous demand for gun-powder bags, balloon materials, para- chutes and other army ordnance, immediately changed its plant to manufacture these products, abandoning, for the moment, production of the finest weaves. Through Mr. Buhler's insight into the future, and his realization of the upheaval rayon would cause among silk manufac- turers, his corporation was prepared for this innovation, and thus the looms of the Duplan Silk Corporation were kept busy, at a time when others with less foresight were idle.
Mr. Buhler has been especially considerate for the welfare of his employees, and has provided them with many conveniences and recreation places, which are highly prized, both by employees and the corporation, not to
mention the community of Hazleton. Among these are the employees' clubhouse and a recreation park, known as Buhler Park. As befits a man of his caliber and position, Mr. Buhler has faithfully and conscientiously discharged his duties as a citizen. He has aided the city through his membership on the City Planning Commission, and other civic organizations claim his membership, among them the Kiwanis Club, the Country Club and the Motor Club; while his fraternal affiliations comprise the local lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He has helped materially in welfare work, being connected with the Young Men's Christian Association and a member of the advisory board for the Salvation Army. His religious beliefs are expressed through his membership in the Episcopal Church. Mr. Buhler's professional organiza- tion interests are centered in the Silk Association of America, and Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association, while other affiliations more or less foreign to Hazleton include membership in the Pennsylvania Society of New York, the Swiss Club of New York, and the Manhattan Club. In June, 1928, Mr. Buhler was decorated by the Republic of France with the red ribbon of the Legion of Honor, in recognition of his assistance to the prin- cipal two silk weaving schools in Lyons, to secure, free of cost, complete installation of American silk throwing machinery.
Emil Buhler married, June 18, 1902, Jeannette Margue- rite Voyer, of West Hoboken, New Jersey, and they have children : 1. Paul H., employed in the mills of the Duplan Silk Corporation. 2. Theodore C., student at Steven's Institute. 3. Jean E. The Buhler family resi- dence is at No. 129 North Church Street, Hazleton.
Duplan Silk Corporation-Autumn of 1928 marked the thirtieth anniversary of the establishment of the Du- plan Silk Corporation, which now has four large mills in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with selling offices in New York City, in London, England, and in Paris and Lyons, France. This corporation, bearing the name of its founder, J. L. Duplan, owes its inception to the Ding- ley Tariff Act, which made the importation of French silks into the United States so difficult that, in 1898, Mr. Duplan and his associates established this industry now under discussion. Hazleton wanted the concern, and made a serious bid for it. The Board of Trade here agreed to raisc $10,000 by public subscription for pur- chase of necessary ground, and local banks took $40,000 worth of bonds in order to secure the mill. During the year 1899, the original mill, No. 1, came into existence and began operations. From 1900 to 1909 the infant in- dustry developed gradually into a healthy affair, despite many knotty problems that confronted the executives, and during the last fifteen years, hardly a year has passed without the addition of one building or another. Now (1928) the Hazleton plant comprises more than 585,550 square feet of occupied floor space, built upon a tract of ground totalling over twenty-three acres. Its force of employees numbers over 2,000, and is steadily increas- ing.
A great many special features distinguish this plant from the old-fashioned or conventional mill. Among these may be mentioned the following : All machinery is run by individual electric motors. All buildings are thoroughly equipped with automatic sprinklers and are, therefore, fireproof. A well-drilled and paid fire department of eighty men operates as an additional protection to the property. Spacions lunchrooms for the girls and men, accommodating a maximum of 3.000 people, are housed in a special building, and here coffee is served gratis to all employees. A print shop, with automatic presses, furnishes the vast quantities of printed material required in the various Duplan mills and selling offices. An entire loft of the new five-story building has been converted into a continuation and vocational school. This depart- ment is run on the Gary plan, and is under the super- vision of the public schools. Apprentices between the ages of fourteen and sixteen years are compelled by law to attend classes.
In welfare work, the Duplan Silk Corporation is justi- fiably proud of the standard it has achieved. A beautiful Girls' Club House is the pride of the entire city, and herein noon-day entertainment and recreation is provided for thousands of girls. There is a company nurse to take care of accident cases and employees who become ill at the plant.
The Hazleton mill comprises all the preparatory silk processes and specializes in the weaving of piece-dyed goods. All of these goods leave the mill in the raw state. to be advanced in process at various other plants in New Jersey. The output of the plant includes novelties
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in printed silks and Jacquards, rivaling in beauty the finest products in this class brought from France.
In 1915 the Duplan Silk Corporation constructed a throwing mill in the Borough of Dorranceton, three miles northwest of Wilkes-Barre, which has since oper- ated under the name of the Dorranceton Division. A year later, another Duplan development was the erection, in Wilkes-Barre, of a weaving mill, operating under the name of the Puritan Division. This mill was built in six months' time, and then completely equipped and put into operation at the end of the next six months. In 1920, at the height of the business depression which overtook the silk industry throughout the world, another throwing plant was erected by the Duplan Silk Corporation, at Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, seven miles from Wilkes- Barre. This plant has since then been operated to its full capacity, and is considered the finest and most modern of throwing plant installation. The plant is known as the Guaranty Division. Worthy of mention is the fact that the four mills described heretofore are located within a radius of thirty miles. Naturally this adds to efficiency and makes close cooperation of the various managements possible.
Commercially, the Duplan Silk Corporation owes its origin to the old Duplan & Cie, of Lyons, France, who, previously to 1898, imported silks to this country through the house of Cozzens, Elbers & Prankard. The original sales and executive offices occupied the second and upper lofts of the huilding at No. 474 Broome Street. After various changes, hoth in personnel and location, in 1919, the Duplan Silk Corporation moved to No. 135 Madison Avenue, with general offices conveniently arranged on the upper floors, the ground floor being utilized for sell- ing purposes.
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