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 VI > Part 2
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Charles L. McMillan was educated in the public schools of this vicinity and upon the completion of his formal education, entered upon his business career by working in his father's store. At the age of twenty-two years, he embarked on an independent business venture and opened a general store at Moosic which he conducted with great success for several years, until he entered into his present partnership in 1892. Mr. McMillan is a leading factor in the financial and industrial life of this section, being a director of the People's Union Bank of Pittston and a director of the New York & Pittston Coal Company. His fraternal affiliations are with St. John's Lodge, No. 233, Free and Accepted Masons; and Pitts- ton Chapter, Royal Arch Masons. His social and recrea- tional activities are confined to the Fox Hill Club and the Craftsmen's Club, and his religious adherence is given to the Presbyterian Church at West Pittston.
Charles L. McMillan married, November 15, 1887, Mabel M. Olds of Moosic, daughter of William E. and Margaret M. Olds, and to this union have been born three children: 1. Olds, married Laura Breese, and they have two children: Ann and Mabel, the family residing in New York City where Mr. McMillan is a broker. 2. Kenneth D., married Ruth Latham of Chicago and they reside at Forty Fort. They have two children : Ruth and Kenneth. 3. Norman S., unmarried, a promi- nent broker in New York City. The family residence is located at 912 Susquehanna Avenue, West Pittston.
ROBERT H. GARRAHAN-Prominent in the fields of scientific farming and real estate development in Lu- zerne County, Robert H. Garrahan, of Forty Fort, Penn- sylvania, is widely and favorably known in his community and county, where he has done much to bring about needed improvements, especially in all matters pertaining to the use and development of land.
He was born at Plymouth, Luzerne County, Pennsyl- vania, on October 15, 1875, son of Michael and Margaret ( Hutchinson) Garrahan. He received his early educa -. tion in the Wyoming Seminary, and then entered Penn- sylvania State College, where he took up his agricultural studies. Upon completion of his academic work, he be- came an instructor in agriculture at the University of Tennessec, Knoxville, Tennessee, where he remained for two years. At the end of that period he decided to enter a more practical field of agriculture, and settled in Kingston, Pennsylvania, where he did agricultural work on his own behalf, and where, from small beginnings, he developed his own large farming enterprise, marketing his own products through the firm of R. H. Garrahan and Son, organized hy him in conjunction with his son, Ralph K. Garrahan. Contributing, while engaged in actual farm- ing, much to the cause of scientific agriculture, Mr. Gar- rahan kept his model truck farms on the rich soil of the flats contiguous to Wilkes-Barre, and here made marked contributions to the science of vegetable-growing. He had as many as one hundred and thirty acres of ground under intensive cultivation, all of which was exclusively devoted to the raising of garden vegetables. The farm, in four tracts, lay in Forty Fort.
Although Mr. Garrahan is still interested in farming, he is now perhaps more active in the development of real estate projects, giving especial attention to develop-
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ing the new "Westmore" district in Kingston, known as the "New Westmore Section." He has done extensive improvement work there, and has filled in a large portion of land with a view to developing three ponds, while he has also laid several miles of sidewalk. He has installed sewer systems, and has brought about increases in the valuation of property with consequent increased taxation figures and greater municipal prosperity. Mr. Garrahan is vice-president of the Forty Fort State Bank, a director of the Kingston Bank and Trust Company, and a member of the Rotary Club and the Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce. He was at one time a director of the Penn- sylvania State Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, is active in the affairs of this order, and in it is affiliated with the Knights Templar and the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
Robert H. Garrahan married, on October 2, 1901, Mabel Keller, of Kingston, Pennsylvania. By this mar- riage there were two children: Ralph K .; Jean C., who became the wife of J. H. Bremen. The family residence is situated at No. 1830 Wyoming Avenue, Forty Fort.
WILLIAM S. LEE-One of the best authorities on automobiles in the Wyoming Valley is William S. Lee, proprietor of Lee's garage in Wilkes-Barre. Mr. Lee, who comes from one of the earliest English families to settle in this State, has been in the automobile, busi- ness since its infancy, having started in this line as early as 1906 when automobiles were almost a novelty. He is the son of the late Conrad Lee who was a dealer in lumber, proprietor of the Wyoming planing mill, and otherwise largely interested in the business affairs at Wilkes-Barre and elsewhere.
Conrad Lee was born at Hanover Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, November 3. 1842, a son of Stephen and Janc (Lines) Lee. His paternal grand- father, James Lee, and his maternal grandparents, Con- rad and Mary (Fairchild) Lines, were pioneer settlers in Newport and Hanover townships, Luzerne County. Conrad Lines, born July 26, 1789, passed all his married life of about fifty-three years in Newport Township. He was a blacksmith by trade, and accumulated a valuable tract of coal land of over two hundred acres. . He reared a family of six children.
Stephen Lee and Jane Lines were married February 10, 1824, and removed to Delaware County, Ohio, where Mr. Lee cleared and improved a farm at times also working at his trade which was that of a plasterer. After a residence there . of six years he returned to Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, locating in Wright Town- ship, where he erected a sawmill and engaged in lumber- ing and farming. After a period of twenty-two years he removed to Wilkes-Barre, and purchased the planing mill at Canal and North streets. He died in that city June 12, 1874, at the age of sixty-two years. His widow died September 25, 1881, at her home on North Street. Stephen and Jane (Lines) Lce had seven children : Con- rad, of whom later; John R .; Mary, who at her death devised all of her property ( some $25,000) to her nephews and nieces, died at the old homestead; Priscilla, mar- ried M. S. Roberts, of Askam, Hanover Township, and had seven children; Amanda, married Edward Lutse, now retired, of Clarke Summit, and they had three chil- dren.
Conrad Lee, eldest child of Stephen and Jane (Lines) Lee, was reared in his native county, and completed his education at the Wyoming Seminary, Kingston. In his early manhood he taught school for several terms in the home neighborhood, and on attaining his majority, went to Rome Corners, Delaware County, Ohio, where he taught school for a term. The following three years he was yard foreman in the lumber department of John L. Gill and Company, at . Columbus, Ohio. Returning to Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, he gave some time to dealing in government mules and Western cattle, dispos- ing of them in the principal markets throughout the country. In 1865 when but twenty-three years of age, he was appointed an outside superintendent of the Avon- dlale coal mines, a position which he held for twenty- one years, being marked with peculiar experiences. Shortly after his appointment, a sudden freshet threat- ened the sweeping away and entire loss of the timber for the erection of the coal bunkers which had been floated to a point just below Plymouth. Mr. Lee with the aid of his men, lashed the timbers to trees, and in the morning discovered that a continued rising of water had brought it to a convenient height, cut his lashings and floated his timbers over fields and fences to the exact spot where they were needed. The owner, John C.
Phelps, coming to the river bank in the morning and unaware of what had occurred, seeing no trace of the timber, gave it up for lost, and considered himself thou- sands of dollars out of pocket. When the water had subsided enough for him to cross the stream he found his property on the spot to which it had been conveyed by Mr. Lee, to whom he expressed his gratitude and admiration, and thenceforward he reposed unbounded confidence in one who had served so faithfully and sagaciously. During the Molly Maguire difficulties, Mr. Lee was regarded with hatred by the murderous band, and his footsteps were dogged on various occasions, but he fortunately escaped unhurt. While in charge of the mines the first great mining disaster in the coal region occurred September 6, 1869, in which one hundred and eight men lost their lives. This accident was the direct cause of the passage of the law known as the "mine ventilation law," which makes it obligatory to have two openings to every mine.
In his younger days at home, Mr. Lee had become thor- oughly familiar with the lumber business, through his association with his father in the mill in Wright Town- ship, and after the death of the latter in 1874, young Conrad became interested in the Wyoming planing mill and lumber business at Wilkes-Barre, with which his father had been connected, and also in mercantile busi- ness at Avondale. After 1886, he was the sole proprietor of the planing mill and lumber business, which he expanded very greatly, making one great enterprise. Mr, Lee was also president of the George F. Lee Coal Com- 1.any ; the Forty Fort Land Company ; and a stockholder in the Wyoming Valley Trust company. He was one of the original members of the firm of Scouton, Lee and Company, of Parsons, Pennsylvania. He was a large owner of and dealer in real estate in Wilkes-Barre, and was a most enterprising and public-spirited man, taking an active part in community affairs and exerting himself to further advancement of the varied interests of the city and county. He was an active member of the ,Wilkes- Barre Board of Trade; a member of the Presbyterian Church and in his politics he was a Republican. In all of his relations, both social and in business, he was regarded with entire confidence for his unassailable integ- rity, while his personal qualities of character made him a favorite wherever he was known in a broad circle of friends.
On July 28, 1868, Conrad Lee married Agnes Weir, daughter of Martin and Jane (Govan) Weir, of Hazle- ton, and natives of Renfrewshire, Scotland. To this marriage were born four children: George, Margaret Weir, Jean, and William S., of whom further. Both Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Lee are now deceased.
William S. Lee was born at Plymouth, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, February 24, 1880. He was brought to Wilkes-Barre by his parents when he was only six years of age and grew up here, where he received his educa= tion in the public schools and the Harry Hillman Academy. After finishing school he engaged in the lumber business with his father until 1906, when he saw the possibilities of the automobile husiness and, leaving the lumber business launched into the automobile game, and has continued successfully in it ever since. For twenty- two years he has been active in automobile progress. The first line of cars that he handled were the Oldsmo- hile and the Thomas; this was back in 1906 when the business was in its infancy, and for the past fifteen years he has been the distributor for the famous Franklin motor cars. With his knowledge of cars and the trade in general he has held a commanding position in the automobile business in this section. He is a member of the Wilkes-Barre Lodge, No. 109, Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks ; the Memorial Presbyterian Church of Wilkes-Barre; and in his politics he is a Republican. He is also secretary and treasurer and part owner of Camp Thomhurst in the Pocona Mountains in Lacka- wanna County, Pennsylvania.
William S. Lee married Ada Burnaford, of Wilkes- Barre, and they are the parents of two children, Eliza- beth L., and William S., Jr.
JOSEPH CONNOLLY-Since Joseph Connolly learned the cabinet maker's trade more than twenty years ago, he has been steadily progressing in his chosen line of business. Since 1910 he has been developing a cabinet making business of his own under his own name, in Plymouth, and his progress has been steady. He has occupied three different locations since beginning, not counting his present commodious three story plant at the corner of River and Hanover streets, and each move has been made because his business had outgrown its old
Michar B. Sheridan.
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quarters. Now, in his fourth housing, he has made sure of ample space and of every possible convenience, and, in addition to a general cabinet-making and mill work busi- ness, is manufacturing specialties for the silk mill trade, show cases, and store fixtures. By appointment he has served as secretary of the borough of Plymouth from 1924 to 1928.
Joseph Connolly was born in Ireland, April 8, 1879, and was brought to this country by his parents when he was an infant only one year old. His father, John Con- nolly, born in Ireland in 1850, is a cabinet maker by trade, and is still living (1928). His mother, Ruth Connolly, also a native of Ireland, was born in 1850, and died in 1905. The boy received his education in the public schools of Jersey City, New Jersey, and then found employment in New York City, where he continued to work until he was twenty-one years of age. He then, in 1900, came to Pennsylvania, locating in Larksville, Lu- zerne County, Pennsylvania, where he learned the trade : which his father has always followed, that of the cabinet maker. He learned his trade with Clark Brothers, of Plymouth, and then remained with them until 1908, a period of more than eight years. From 1908 to 1910 he did general jobbing in the cabinet maker's line, operat- ing under his own name, in 1910 opening a small shop ir. the rear of the Shawnee Cash Store, where he con- tinned to build up the patronage which he had already secured. By 1912 his business had so increased that more space and better accommodations were needed, and he leased a small building in Commercial Alley, leasing from Z. F. Wagner. When change again became desir- able, even imperative, he purchased the property, includ- ing the shops of C. C. Ransom, a property facing the railroad, located in the rear of No. 56 East Main Street. The accommodations here met his requirements until 1921, when he sold and leased a property from the Plym- outh Lumber Company, located at the corner of River and Hanover streets. Here he has a three-story building, and his business has grown to proportions which require the services of about nine men. His general cabinet- making work is well known in this vicinity, and he has long been known also as an expert manufacturer of specialties for the silk mill trade, show cases, store fix- tures, and for general mill work. Mr. Connolly is a Republican in his political sympathies and is actively interested in local civic affairs, but he is no office seeker, and prefers to render the quiet and able service which a good business man and a loyal private citizen may render to the community. He has, however, by appoint- ment served as secretary of the borough from 1924 to 1928, and during that time he gave to his public duties the same careful attention which he gives to his own private business. He is a member of the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce and has always been liberal in supporting philanthropic and civic enterprises in the community. Fraternally, he is identified with the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of Malta, and he is also a member of the Kiwanis Club. His religious affiliation is with the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Plymouth, which he has served as financial secretary for the past ten years.
Joseph Connolly was married, December 24, 1008, to Amy Eleanore Low, of Plymouth, daughter of Charles W. and Sarah Low, and they have seven children : Ruth Low, Sarah Ethel, Amy Lareda, Josephine Elizabeth, Paul Joseph, Charlotte Eleanore, and Margaret Louise.
RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN-It was more than thirty-five years ago that a young Irish lad felt the urge that possessed so many of his countrymen to cross the Atlantic Ocean and seek his fortune in America. This young man was Richard Brinsley Sheridan, son of Thomas Brinsley and Elizabeth ( McAuley) Sheridan, both deceased. Mr. Sheridan was born in Dublin, Janu- ary 27, 1871, in which city his father had for many years heen a barrister, highly educated and acknowledged a leader of the bar in that section of Ireland. The elder Mr. Sheridan was the father of six children, five of whom attained maturity. Richard Brinsley was the only boy, the others being Kathleen, Frances, Lilly and Margaret, all still residing in Ireland.
Mr. Sheridan acquired his first knowledge of letters at the Loretta Convent, which was located at St. Stephen's Green, Dublin. Later, he attended Belvidere College in Dublin and from that institution took a course at the St. Finian's Seminary, in County Meath. For a short time after ceasing his studies Mr. Sheridan took a position as a clerk in a Drogheda grocery store but, naturally, he had the feeling that such work was most unsuitable for a young man of his learning and ability. He stuck to it' for about two years, however, and then saw the shores
of his native land recede from view as he stood on the deck of a ship bound for America. He arrived in this country in October, 1893, and speedily obtained employ- ment in a grocery store in Nanticoke, Luzerne County. He had ever before him the career of his father and he was determined, if possible, to follow the profession in which his sire had made a brilliant record. Mr. Sheridan tock up the study of law in the office of the late John T. Lenehan, and in 1899 he was admitted to the practice of law before the Luzerne County Bar. Since the day of his admission to practice he has been actively engaged in his chosen field, not confining himself to any particular branch of the law but covering all sections of his profes- sion. He is attorney for the People's Street Railway and for the People's Saving and Trust Company, both of Nanticoke. For sixteen years he was borough solicitor for Nanticoke, and is now city solicitor for that munici- pality. He is a member of the Luzerne County and American Bar associations, and is ever active in the circles of the Knights of Columbus, the Ancient Order of Hibernians and with the Wilkes-Barre Lodge, No. 109, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is affili- ated with St. Francis' Roman Catholic Church at Nanti- coke, Luzerne County, where he has resided since his arrival in this country. Politically, he is a Democrat and has been a loyal and active party worker for the past twenty-five years.
Mr. Sheridan was married, September 11, 1911, to Genevieve R. Corgan, daughter of Michael H. and Har- riet Corgan, of Nanticoke. Mr. and Mrs. Sheridan have four children, Michael H., Richard B., Jr., Thomas B. and Harriet.
WILLIAM CHALLENGER-The Challenger Store, of Nanticoke, located at 56-58-60 East Main Street, was established by William Challenger in 1903, as a grocery business. From groceries he turned to general merchandise, and in 1912 to furniture, carpets and pianos, until, at the present time (1928) the firm has grown until the store has four floors and a base- ment, measuring on its base dimensions one hundred and thirty-two by forty feet, and is one of the most modern of department establishments in the Wyoming Valley. Mr. Challenger maintains in stock the best of goods in every line. On the fourth floor, which has a mezzanine, are displayed many of the choicest wares; on the third are upholstered goods and pianos ; on the second, carpets, rugs, floor coverings of all kinds; and in the basement, stoves and kitchen furnishings. The street floor is, of course, given over to a general range of stock, calculated to interest the more casual shopper. The trade of the Challenger Store extends the length and breadth of Luzerne County, and supplies employment to some twenty-five or thirty persons. It is a great store, sound in its financial rating ; but it is only one of the interests of William Challenger.
William Challenger was born in Drifton, Luzerne County, August 17, 1873, a son of William and Eliz- abeth (John) Challenger. William, Sr., was born in Bristol, England, and after location in Nanticoke was employed in the mines. He died at the age of forty-seven, in 1893; his widow died September 12, 1925, at the age of eighty-six. They were the parents of two children : William, of whom follows, and Mary, wife of John W. Griffith.
At the age of nine years William Challenger went to work in the mines, as breaker boy. Later he became a driver, and at the age of twenty secured employment as grocer's clerk. He learned all phases of the business, and the theories and practices of retail trading. At twenty-nine years of age, in 1903, he engaged in the grocery business under his own name; and his first modest venture was not only the nucleus of the Chal- lenger Store with its four stories and basement, but also the nucleus of subsequent extensive operations in several commercial directions. In 1920 Mr. Challenger founded the Nanticoke Foundry & Machine Company, in associa- tion with others interested, and became its first president. In 1925, after a prosperous five years of operation, Mr. Challenger and associates suspended the Nanticoke Foun- dry & Machine Company, and it was at once converted into a factory for the manufacture of ice cream, while a portion of its warehousing space was and is leased out. In 1922. Mr. Challenger erected a fabricated steel busi- ness block of five stories, at the intersection of Main Street and Broadway. This substantial building houses twenty-five renters, and is apportioned into apartments, stores and offices, as well as the State Theatre, which occupies the greater part of the ground floor. Mfr. Chal- lenger owns a building on Market Street, comprising
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four stories and twenty-nine apartments. Furthermore, he owns three stores, other than the Challenger Store, a warehouse, and a garage. This last is forty-eight by one hundred and sixty-five feet in its outside dimensions, and was constructed in 1917, by Mr. Challenger. In 1927 he erected a building, ninety-eight by one hundred and seventeen feet, to house twenty-four apartments and a garage; this building was completed in full detail in 1928. All of these buildings and businesses have come to Mr. Challenger through his own efforts; the boy who was a coal picker has become the man of many properities, indeed.
In the general affairs of Nanticoke Mr. Challenger takes an interested part, and is known widely as one of the community's most public-spirited citizens. Politically, he is influential, but employs his influence to the best ends, and quietly. Fraternally, he is a member of Lodge No. 541, Free and Accepted Masons; Caldwell Consis- tory, at Bloomsburg, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, and Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Also, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, lodge of Nanticoke, and a communicant of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In matters of charity, as in all others, Mr. Challenger deals largely ; his con- tributions are made without thought of race or creed benefited. During the World War, while somewhat too advanced in years for service in the military, he did serve, tirelessly and well, on the many boards and committees in charge of prosecution of the conflict from within this country, and was instrumental most beneficially to the country in the Liberty Loan campaigns.
On September 14, 1904, Mr. Challenger was united in marriage with Ida Ruloff, daughter of the Rev. F. H. Ruloff, pastor of the Zion Reformed Church of Nanticoke; and to this union have been born children : 1. Mary. 2 Elizabeth. 3. Dorothy. 4. William F. 5. Ruth. 6. Christine. 7. Robert. The family reside at No. 100 East Main Street.
NELSON GEORGE PRINGLE-Born in Kings- ton, April 5, 1860, son of a distinguished old Pennsyl- vania family, Nelson George Pringle took over opera- tion of the general store which his father had established upon the death of the latter, and continued merchandis- ing in the town of his birth until his own death Sep- tember 15, 1908. One of the most highly esteemed citizens Kingston has ever had, Mr Pringle was identi- fied with the life of the town throughout an important period of its development, and a history of the com- munity would not be complete without a record of his life. In his business dealings Mr. Pringle had a reputa- tion for honesty and integrity that was unassailable, and all his customers were his friends. He was constantly lending his aid and influence to further public better- ment causes and was instrumental in the institution of a number of civic reforms.
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