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 72
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Mr. Roberts was born in Wales on April 9, 1872, the son of William and Margaret (Reese) Roberts, both of whom were also born in Wales. His father, a miner, died in 1880, and his mother died eighteen years later in 1808.
Coming to the United States while still very young, William Arthur Roberts began work picking slate in the Plymouth mines at the age of nine, and until he was seventeen he was employed in various mines in the vicin- ity. At that time he went to Easton, Connecticut, where he did farm work for a year meanwhile attending the local school, and for two years thereafter he attended the Suffield Preparatory School at Suffield, Connecticut, where he earned his way by waiting on table and doing other small jobs. One year in a sift factory at Easton furnished him with enough money to attend the New England Conservatory of Music at Boston, where he learned piano and pipe organ tuning, and from which he was graduated in 1898. Soon afterward, he began this work independently at Norfolk, Virginia, but later be- came associated with the Yarbough Music Company of that place, with whom he remained for several years. In 1903, he returned to Plymouth, Pennsylvania, en- gaging in business there as a piano tuner under his own name until 1906. During this period he also sold pianos, but in 1905 he left this work to become assistant deputy clerk to the county treasurer of Luzerne County under the administration of Dr. Lewis Edwards, in which po- sition he remained until 1910. In that year he leased a building in Providence, Pennsylvania, where he operated a moving picture theatre for about a year, exchanging theatres at the end of that time with Mr. James S. Thomas, who owned the old Vaudet Theatre in Plymouth, which Mr. Roberts now took over. Finally, in 1923, he became associated with Mr. M. E. Connerford, president of the M. E. Connerford Amusement Company, and when this company opened its Plymouth branch, Mr. Roberts became president and general manager of the local company, M. B. Connerford serving as secretary, and M. E. Connerford as treasurer. The Lieutenant- Governor of the State, Arthur H. James, became attor- ney for the company and one of its principal stockholders. In 1925 this company erected its new theatre and office building at No. 24 West Main Street, Plymouth, at a total cost of $320,000. The theatre, with a seating capac- ity of 2,000, is one of the finest in the State, and it oc- cupies a prominent place in the life of the community.
Politically, Mr. Roberts is a member of the Republican party. He was one of the organizers and the first presi- dent of the Plymouth Kiwanis Club, and is also a mem- ber of the local Chamber of Commerce, the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Malta, and the Shawnee Club. He and his family attend the Presbyterian Church.
On November 4, 1902, Mr. Roberts married Mary Jane Edwards, the daughter of Thomas L. and Margaret Edwards of Kingston, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts are the parents of one son, Thomas L., who was born in December, 1914.
LESSLEY A. STEELE-Community development has chiefly engaged the attention of Lessley A. Steele, president of Lessley A. Steele, Incorporated, real estate firm of Kingston, and through his own individual efforts and the work of innumerable organizations in which he plays an active part, he has done much to help people of Kingston, Wilkes-Barre, Dallas, Shavertown and other Pennsylvania towns to secure better homes and more pleasant community conditions.
Born in Jackson Township, Luzerne County, Septem- ber 15, 1894, Mr. Steele is the son of Emery and Emma E. (Compton) Steele, both of whom are natives of Pennsylvania. Lessley A. Steele attended the Larksville public schools and was graduated from the Borough High School in 1912. The following year he was graduated from Wyoming Seminary, then went to the Pennsylvania State College, where he received a Bachelor of Science
degree in 1917. The succeeding two years he spent farming with his father at Larksville, then served as salesman and gained early promotion with the Metropoli- tan Credit Corporation in New York City for two years, spending considerable time in executive capacity in Indianapolis and Philadelphia. Returning to Pennsyl- vania in 1921, he established the real estate business under his own name that has been in operation ever since. In 1924, Mr. Steele and Spencer E. Arnold formed a partnership but after one year and nine months the firm of Arnold & Steele was dissolved. Mr. Steele then incorporated the business under its present name. Donald O. Coughlin is treasurer and Myron E. Steele secretary of the concern. Among the accomplishments of the company are development of the Bennett and Walnut Street section of Kingston, development of part of the Catlin estate in Wilkes-Barre, the Glen View Terrace development at Shavertown, and Goss Manor at Dallas.
Mr. Steele devotes much of his time to aiding com- munity betterment organizations and lodge work and is interested in several business concerns besides his own. He is a member of Lodge No. 395, Free and Accepted Masons, Dieu le Veut Commandery No. 45, Irem Temple and Mt. Horeb Council. He is director and secretary of the Home Builders Mutual Building and Loan Asso- ciation, director of the West Side Building and Loan Association, and vice-president of the West Side Mort- gage Company. He is also secretary and treasurer of the Fern Knoll Cemetery Association. Mr. Steele. lends his aid to the work of the Valley View Union Chapel at Larksville Borough and is superintendent of the Sun- day School there.
In September, 1924, Mr. Steele married Harriett M. Booth, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John R. Booth, of Pittsburgh. They are the parents of two children, Jean Carolyn, born December 3, 1925, and Betty Ann, born March 30, 1928.
WILLIAM L. FOSTER-The Miners' Savings Bank of Pittston, Pennsylvania, has been in existence for fifty-nine years, and during forty of those year's William L. Foster has been identified with its activities, first as messenger boy and general handy man, then holding various increasingly responsible positions until, in 1917, he was elected president of the bank, which office he is still filling (1928). Mr. Foster is also president of the People's Light Company, treasurer of the Luzerne Cut Glass Company, and a member of the board of directors of the Stonewall Iron Company of Alabama. He is very actively interested in local affairs, and has served as a member of the West Pittston Council for eight ycars.
Charles H. Foster, father of Mr. Foster, was a native of Connecticut, but came to Pittston, Pennsylvania, by stage coach, when he was a boy of twelve years and remained here during the remainder of his long and active life. As a young man he engaged in the grocery business, locating on the corner of Main and Water streets, and there he continued for about ten years, achieving success and preparing the way for his later venture. After some ten years of the grocery busi- ness, he became a manufacturer of crackers and cakes here in Pittston, and he continued to successfully operate this manufacturing bakery until disaster came in the form of a fire, which destroyed his plant. He did not rebuild, but engaged in secretarial work and from that time on devoted much time to the work of the local schools, serving for thirty-two years as one of the most active of the members of the local school board. For many years he was a member of the board of directors of the First National Bank, and at the time of his death, which occurred in 1923, at the age of eighty-nine years, he was secretary of the bank. He was one of the first members of St. John's Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he was a Past Master ; and he was a regular attendant of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He mar- ried Mary Jane Ford, and they were the parents of three children : Alice, who married Isaac L. Bevan; Oscar C., an attorney of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania; and William L., of further mention.
William L. Foster, son of Charles H. and Mary Jane (Ford) Foster, was born in Pittston, Pennsylvania, October 15, 1865, and received his education in the pub- lic schools, graduating from West Pittston High School with the class of 1883. After graduation he secured a position as clerk in the employ of Rommel Brothers, grcen grocers, but later he entered the employ of the Land Department of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, with whom he remained until 1888. In that year he began his connection with the Miners' Savings Bank, tak-
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ing a position at the very beginning and working his way up through one position after another. In Janu- ary, 1893, he was made assistant cashier, in 1905 he became cashier, and in 1917 he was elected to his pres- ent position as president of the Miners' Saving Bank. Mr. Foster is a man of unquestioned ability and of proved integrity, a man who has the entire confidence of all who have been associated with him in a business way, and his knowledge of the banking business is such that he is frequently consulted by those of less experience who are engaged in the same business, as well as by those who are anxious to make their savings as secure as is humanly possible. His knowledge and experience are much sought by business organizations, and in addi- tion to his service as president of the bank he also gives careful attention to the duties of his offices as president of the Peoples Light Company, treasurer of the Luzerne Cut Glass Company, and director of the Stonewall Iron Company, of Alabama.
The Miners' Savings Bank, which is now (1928) located on the corner of Main and Broad streets, in Pittston, was founded November 1, 1869, four years after the close of the Civil War, incorporated with a capital of fifty thousand dollars, and organized for the purpose of doing a general banking business. The old location was just two doors south of the present site, but the directors later purchased a piece of adjoining land and erected a two-story brick building in which they con- ducted business until 1894. In that year they moved into their new, modern, four-story structure which they had erected at a cost of $75,000, on the corner of Main and Broad streets, and this has since been the home of the Miners' Savings Bank. A series of able and honorable men have headed the institution, developing and strength- ening its organization and extending its business opera- tions, while steadily building a sure place in the confidence of the public. John B. Smith was the first chief execu- tive, a resident of Scranton. He was followed by Michael Reap, Adam A. Bryden, Joseph C. Reap, and William L. Foster, the present incumbent, in the order here given. The semi-annual statement issued by the bank in Janu- ary, 1928, shows total resources of more than nine and a half millions, with a reserve of two hundred and fifty thousand. Deposits alone aggregate $7,176,429.19, sur- plus and profits, nearly two million, and capital stock $100,000. The bank does a general banking business as well as a savings deposit business and pays an inter- est of three per cent annually making its interest credits semi-annually, January I, and July 1. The present personnel of the official family is as follows: President, William L. Foster ; vice-president, William J. Fowler ; cashier, Leo Reap; with five assistant cashiers, namely, William D. Howarth, Stephen H. Wilson, Thomas E. Sharkey, Donald B. Foster, and William J. Musto. The trustees are : James F. O'Boyle, Edgar B. Gregory, Wil- liam J. Fowler, William L. Foster, John A. Allan, Leo Reap, Daniel H. Schwartz, James W. Allan, and John O'D. Mangan.
Like his father, Mr. Foster has always been inter- ested and helpful in local affairs, and for eight years he has been a member of the Council of West Pittston. He is president of the Pittston Hospital Association, and a director of the Young Men's Christian Association, and his religious membership is with the First Presbyterian Church.
William L. Foster was married in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, to. Ellen Bryder of West Pittston, and they are the parents of three children: 1. Donald B., who is an assistant cashier in the Miners' Savings Bank, and resides in West Pittston; married Mary Watson, who died in March, 1928. 2. Elsie, wife of Reginald Ellis, of West Pittston, a pattern maker, has one child, William F. 3. Catherine, wife of Charles Cheney, a bond salesman of Cortland, "New York; they have one child, A. Richard. Mrs. Foster is active in the local Woman's Club and in social affairs in West Pittston. The family home is at No. 11 York Avenue, in West Pittston.
A. BURTON SMITH, M. D .- Finishing in the medical school in 1905 and continuing since that date in the practice of medicine and surgery, Dr. A. Burton Smith of Wyoming, Pennsylvania, has continued to fol- low his profession with a marked degree of success. In later years he has specialized on surgery, and is devoting his time and study to this line, holding a reputation for good work that is establishing him here among the lead- ing surgeons. He is the son of Ziba and Mary Anne (Blaine) Smith, his father, a farmer, was born in Wye-
ming County, Pennsylvania, and his mother was born in Washington, New Jersey. His father died in 1892.
A. Burton Smith was born in Fairmount Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, on August 12, 1870. He got his early schooling in the county schools of Luzerne County and later went to the University of Pennsylvania. He next took up the study of medicine and graduated in 1905 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. After his graduation from the Medico-Chirurgical College of Philadelphia, Dr. Smith served his interneship in the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital for one year and then came to Wyoming and entered upon the general practice of medicine, but specializing in surgery. He is a member of the staff as chief surgeon of the Nesbitt West Side Hospital at Kingston and surgeon for the Pennsylvania Coal Company and Temple Coal Company and he is a member of the leading medical societies, such as the County Medical Society; the State Medical Society ; the American Medical Association; and the Lehigh Valley Medical Association. Also, he is a member of the Asso- ciation of Military Surgeons. During the World War, Dr. Smith entered the service of the United States Army with the Medical Corps and was sent to various training camps, including Camp Greenleaf, Chickamauga Park, Georgia, as first lieutenant where he was promoted to captain and ordered to Camp Beauregard, Louisiana; from there to Camp Sherman, Ohio, as ranking captain of Base Hos- pital, No. 112, from where the organization was ordered to Camp Upton, New Jersey, to prepare for transporta- tion to France. Embarked from the New York harbor, landed at Brest, France, and were quartered at Camp Pontanezen, where he held the commission of captain and remained for six months. He received his honorable discharge from the service in April, 1919. Dr. Smith has also been interested in educational welfare and served as a school director here for one term. He is a Repub- lican in his political views and a member of Lodge No. 468, Free and Accepted Masons; the Shekinah Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; the Wyoming Valley Commandery, Knights Templar ; Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Presbyterian Church.
In 1893 Dr. A. Burton Smith married Maude Snell, of Orange, Pennsylvania, daughter of Samuel B. and Fan- nie (Anthony) Snell. They had four children: 1. Capi- tola, died when one year old. 2. Leona, now the wife of Harold S. Johnson of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 3. K. Russell Smith, mining engineer with the Hudson Coal Company. 4. Gertrude, who is now a student at the Uni- versity of Syracuse. They also have two grandchildren, Burton S. and Harold Gordon Johnson.
D. H. SCHWARTZ-In Pittston, Pennsylvania, the firm name of Turon & Schwartz has come to be a syno- nym for good quality in lumber and building materials. Formerly the concern was engaged in general contract- ing, specializing in the building line, but since 1925 they have devoted their entire attention to the handling of all kinds of lumber and builders' supplies. They are located at No. 232 North Main Street, in Pittston. Mr. Schwartz is a member of the board of directors of the Miners' Bank of Pittston, and is prominent in the Ma- sonic Order. He has been active in the development of the city of Pittston and of West Pittston, where he makes his home, and is one of the active and progres- sive citizens of the place.
D. H. Schwartz was born in Pittston, Pennsylvania, July 28, 1887, son of George J. and Anna ( Howell) Schwartz. As a young boy he attended the public schools of Hughestown, but his opportunities for school train- ing were limited, and by the time he was eleven years old he was working in the mines as a breaker bòy. Later, he was engaged in repair work, and when he was twenty-one years old he took up carpenter work, at which he was very apt. After several years of success as a carpenter in the employ of others, he associated him- self with Louis A. Turon, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in this work, under the firm name of Turon & Schwartz, general contractors. They were located first on West Railroad Street in Pittston, but in 1918 they removed to No. 232 North Main Street, their pres- ent location, where they continued in the general con- tracting business until 1925. In 1918, when they moved their headquarters to their present location they put in a small amount of lumber and builders' supplies, which they sold at retail, continuing, as has been stated. their work as general contractors. As time. passed they increased their supply of both lines of merchandise, and built up a more and more extensive business in this
Harry W. Myers.
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field. By 1925 the handling of lumber and supplies had become a well established business, and since that time the partners have given their whole attention to the development of that business, giving up the contracting. They now (1928) `carry a complete line of first quality goods and have established a reputation for honorable dealing. They sell both wholesale and retail, and during the greatly increased activities in the building of dwel- ling houses for homes and for investment the firm has received a full share of the rapidly swelling volume of patronage. In civic affairs, as in business matters, Mr. Schwartz is able and exercises sound judgment. He is a member of the board of directors of the Miners' Bank, and his business experience makes him a valuable factor in the management of the affairs of that institu- tion. Fraternally, he . is identified with Valley Lodge, No. 499, Free and Accepted Masons; Pittston Chapter, No. 242, Royal Arch Masons; Wyoming Valley Com- mandery, No. 57, Knights Templar ; and Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Fox Hill Country Club, and a member and a director of the Rotary Club, and his religious affiliation is with the Luzerne Avenue Baptist Church.
D. H. Schwartz was married, April 6, 1921, to Esther Keithline, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and they have three children: June Eleanore, Coraline Ann and Ruth Joan. The family home is located at No. 206 York Avenue, in West Pittston.
VICTOR S. ROBINSON-Wilkes-Barre, with its ramified lines of business, finance and industry, is one of the most progressive cities in Pennsylvania, and each of these lines of enterprise is captained locally by ablest men. Victor S. Robinson has been a leader in realty, general brokerage, mortgage loans and fire insurance for some twenty years. He has to his credit a number of large deals, and is accounted prominent among contem- porary financial figures of the Wilkes-Barre area. His record is of interest.
Mr. Robinson was born February 6, 1885, at Mehoo- pany, Pennsylvania, son of Edward A. and Ida S. (Mc- Laud) Robinson. He received his academic instruction in the public schools of that community, then, thinking to make a life's work of teaching, entered Lock Haven Normal School, of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. Both before and after graduation from normal school he taught, during periods of two years each, his graduation having been in 1906, when he was twenty-one. But teach- ing was not to hold his attention long. In 1908 Mr. Robinson became associated with J. Frank Nuss, deal- ing as brokers, rental agency, loan operators and fire insurance sellers; also managing the real estate interests of several large estates. In 1914, at the death of Mr. Nuss, he took over the business, and has directed it with prosperous outcome during the years that have followed down to the present (1929). This company serves as rental agents for the Second National Bank Building and has management of several other impor- tant properties in Wilkes-Barre.
At one time Mr. Robinson was president of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Real Estate Board. He is active in church work in the Wyoming Valley and is secretary of the board of trustees of the district superintendent's parson- age in Wilkes-Barre District, Wyoming Conference, Methodist Episcopal Church. He is secretary of the board of trustees, vice-chairman of the official board, superintendent of the Sunday school of the Forty Fort Methodist Episcopal Church, chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission of that borough, and is a mem- ber of the Kiwanis Club, Chamber of Commerce, Young Men's Christian Association, the Y's Men Club of that organization, the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, and the Wyoming Valley Motor Club. His residence is at No. 8; Fort Street, Forty Fort ; his office. 100-Second National Bank Building, Wilkes-Barre.
Mr. Robinson married, August 5, 1908, Ina B. Granger, of Wilkes-Barre, and their children are: Marion, Wil- liam A., and Marshall F.
HARRY W. MYERS-Mining and civil engineering operations for more than forty years throughout North- eastern Pennsylvania and other adjacent districts have brought to Harry W. Myers, of Pittston, a high reputa- tion for professional ability and made his name a syno- nym of achievement. His works have been greatly diver- sified and their results show him to have a most com- prehensive knowledge of his profession. In a district where engineering skill is one of the most essential of the professions, Mr. Myers has long held a prominent
position. His preparation was sound and his experience has been broad, many of the more notable works of this section having been the result of his professional guid- ance. His technical knowledge has been shown in a num- ber of instances in which he has been called upon, as an expert, to offer professional opinion in legal contests, a tribute which is paid only to those of admitted qualifica- tions to give such advice. Add to these attributes a sincere and tireless interest in the civic affairs of the people with whom he has long been associated, profes- sionally, politically and socially, and it is found that he is a citizen of highest character and value.
He was born in Pittston, October 13, 1865, a son of Wyckham and Catherine ( Prutzman) Myers, his father having been a native of Orange County, New York, where he was born in 1837 and was engaged in farming until his removal to Pittston, where he died in 1920. There were three children of the couple: Harry W .; William, a building contractor of Pittston; and Dr. E. R. Myers, also of Pittston.
Harry W. Myers was educated in the public schools and at Cornell University, from which last named insti- tution he was graduated with the degree of Civil Engin- eer. In 1906 he established himself in professional prac- tice in Pittston, working alone until 1924, when he took his son, Robert N., into the business, which since has been known as Harry Myers & Son. The elder Myers' operations have taken him into various parts of the country, beginning in 1888 as engineer for the Lehigh Valley Railroad and carrying him into several other en- gagements of importance. In 1894 he became City Engi- neer for Pittston and in 1902 was engaged as assistant engineer for the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad Company in Center and Clearfield counties, Pennsylvania. In 1904 he had charge, as assistant general manager, of the building of the powerhouse on the Cana- dian shore at Niagara Falls. Following these operations he settled permanently in Pittston, where he superin- tended the erection of the new courthouse building in Wilkes-Barre. He then constructed the first county rcad, four miles in length, between Fort Griffith and Wilkes-Barre. During the progress of a legal controversy involving the Liggett Coal Mining Company he was in- strumental in gathering much evidence of value, the suit involving upward of $1,500,000. His professional opin- ion was also sought in many taxation cases on coal lands in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties. He is a director of the Dime Bank & Trust Company, and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
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