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 30
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A free library supported entirely by an endowment fund is somewhat unusual, and it makes the donor's gift one to be greatly appreciated. The name of Isaac S. Osterhout is one to be remembered with deep gratitude as a benefactor who made to the people of his city and county a munificent gift.
FRANK CRAIG NICHOLSON-The member of a well-known family of Wilkes-Barre, Frank C. Nicholson, who since 1913 has been electrical engineer for the Lehigh Valley Coal Company, is highly respected in his community for his notable business and pro- fessional attainments. He is also a prominent figure in the social, civic, and fraternal life and development of Wilkes-Barre and vi- cinity.
He was born in Wilkes-Barre on August 31, 1887, the son of William H. and Emma (Comstock) Nicholson. His grandfather was W. H. Nicholson, a native of England, who came to the United States in 1866 from New Castle, England, and of further mention in this volume.
Frank C. Nicholson spent his boyhood in Wilkes-Barre, where he attended the public schools and the high school, having been graduated from the Wilkes-Barre High School in the class of 1905. Later he attended the Pennsylvania State College, from which he was graduated in the class of 1909 with
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the degree of Bachelor of Science in Elec- trical Engineering, and in 1914 he received his degree of Master of Electrical Engineer- ing. In 1909 he took a position with the Westinghouse Electric Company, in Pitts- burgh, returning later to Wilkes-Barre to be- come associated with the Vulcan Iron Works. In 1913 he became electrical engineer for the Lehigh Valley Coal Company, and has filled this position ever since that time. Mr. Nich- olson is president of Luzerne County Alumni Association of Pennsylvania State, from 1914 to 1929; first secretary of the Pennsylvania State College Engineering Extension School of Wilkes-Barre, 1917; instructor in Electri- cal Engineering subjects in the Mining In- stitute of Wilkes-Barre, 1914-17. In his political affiliations he is a member of the Republican party. He is Identified religiously with the Westminster Presbyterian Church, of Wilkes-Barre. Active in the fraternal life of the city, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, In which order he is affili- ated with Lodge, No. 61, Free and Accepted Masons; Shekinah Chapter, No. 182, Royal Arch Masons; the Dieu le Veut Commandery, No. 45, Knights Templar; the Irem Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and the Shrine Country Club. He holds memberships in the American In- stitute of Electrical Engineers, Wilkes- Barre manager of the Lehigh Valley Section of American Institute Electrical Engineers; a member of Wilkes-Barre-Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce, and the Greek letter fraternity Theta Xi. His business interests include a directorship in the W. H. Nicholson Company, of Wilkes-Barre. He is also a member of the Electrical Engineers Com- mittee of American Mining Congress.
On June 14, 1911, Mr. Nicholson married Henrietta Hines, of Wilkes-Barre. Their marriage has been blessed with two children: Rhea Louise, and William H., 3d.
MICHAEL A. BROWN-The story of a poor boy, without advantages of education or fam- ily influence, who has risen by his own hard work and intelligent effort to be the head of the Wilkes-Barre police force, is embodied in the life of Michael A. Brown. The son of poor parents, he began as a breaker boy in the coal mines, picked slate, drove a mule and finally joined the Wilkes-Barre police force, which he has served thirty-four years.
Michael A. Brown, police chief of Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania, until his retirement in September, 1928, was born in Wilkes-Barre on October 15, 1867, son of Patrick and Mary (Stone) Brown, both deceased. Patrick Brown, his father, came to Luzerne County from Ire- land when a young man, to work in the coal mines. He was a miner when he married Mary Stone, and they had seven children: Bridget, Michael A., Martin, Mary, deceased, wife of Michael Quinn; Catherine, Margaret, deceased; and Jennie.
Michael A. Brown grew up in his native city and attended the public schools. Family necessity, however, made it imperative that he leave school at the early age of nine years and he went to work as a breaker boy in the coal mines of the Lehigh and Wilkes- Barre Coal Company. Soon he was given more responsible work as a slate picker, and later he became a mule driver, hauling cars of broken coal from the galleries to the sorting rooms. He was nineteen, when it suddenly occurred to him, one day, that he had had enough of coal mining. It also seemed to him that his health would improve if he were to work a while in the open air, instead of in those dim corridors, far down under the earth, breathing coal dust and
gaseous air for long hours. He therefore obtained employment in the blacksmith and wagon shop of Louis La Grand and Sons, In Wilkes-Barre, where he remained about five years, at which time he entered the employ as an apprentice of Peter Frey Wagon Shop for four years.
About this time, his attention was attracted by a published notice of several vacancies on the police force of Wilkes-Barre. The life of a policeman, with its promise of excitement and promotion, seemed particu- larly attractive to the young man. He
applied and was appointed. First he was a patrolman, and his faithful and distin- guished service won him promotion and transfer to the detective division. Several notable cases which he solved, leading to the capture of notorious criminals, earned him yet another distinction, and he was appointed captain of detectives. The intelligence and loyalty of his work continued, and he was appointed chief of police on February 15, 1922. Most of Wilkes-Barre's citizens-rep- resenting its business, financial and profes- sional life-know Michael A. Brown and instinctively trust him, for his honesty and devotion during his thirty-four years in the city's service have merited their confidence. He is a member of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Mr. Brown is a staunch Democrat and a communicant of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Wilkes-Barre.
Mr. Brown married, June 4, 1900, Bridget Garvin, daughter of Patrick Garvin, of Wilkes-Barre. Mrs. Brown died October 20, 1920. Mr. and Mrs. Brown were the parents of four children: 1. Michael Edmond, now a member of the Wilkes-Barre police force, who married Ethel Betterley of Wilkes- Barre. 2. Paul, who died in childhood. 3. Francis, an electrical contractor. 4. Leo. The home of their father, Michael A. Brown, is at No. 26 Park Avenue, Wilkes-Barre.
CHARLES MAURER-Prominent in the life of Wilkes-Barre for many years, Charles Maurer is now city commissioner and super- intendent of the Department of Parks and Public Property. For a considerable period he was the proprietor of a meat market on South Main Street. This business he con- ducted until 1923. In the same year he was elected to the position of City Commissioner and reelected in November, 1927, in which capacity he has continued to serve since that time. Mr. Maurer's well-known energy and ability have made him a public official of the greatest value to his community.
His father, George Maurer, now deceased, was for many years in the meat business in Wilkes-Barre. He married Margaret Fleisch- man, also now deceased, and they were the parents of five children: Annie, who was married to Henry Eckardt, and now de- ceased. William F., of Wilkes-Barre; Charles; Minnie, deceased, the wife of Joseph Keenan, of Wilkes-Barre, and Kate.
Charles Maurer was born on May 20, 1864, at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He attended the local public schools and when he was only ten years old his father died. At the age of sixteen he began work, and was em- ployed at different times by several butcher and meat firms in Wilkes-Barre. After a number of years he took over the manage- ment of his father's old store, which had been continued since the death of his father by his mother and brother William, and finally, at the age of thirty, he opened his own store on South Main Street, near Ross Street, Wilkes- Barre. Here for almost thirty years he con- ducted an excellent business until, in 1923,
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he was forced to give up his business on ac- count of ill health.
Politically, Mr. Maurer is a member of the Republican party, and in 1923 he was elected one of the city commissioners for Wilkes- Barre, since which time he has served also as superintendent of the Department of Parks and Public Property. He is affiliated fraternally with the Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons, being a member of Wilkes- Barre Lodge, No. 61, a member of Shekinah Chapter, No. 182, of the Royal Arch Masons: Mount Horeb Council, Dieu le Vent Com- mandery, No. 45, of the Knights Templar; Caldwell Consistory, at Bloomsbury, Pennsyl- vania, of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite Masons of the thirty-second degree. He is also a member of Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Irem Country Club and the Craftsmen's Club. He and his family at- tend St. John's Lutheran Church of Wilkes- Barre, of which he serves as a trustee.
On June 14, 1893, Mr. Maurer married Louise Rapp, daughter of George Rapp, of Weisport, Carbon County, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Maurer are the parents of five children: 1. George, who died at the age of twelve years. 2. Margaret, who married Milton J. LeRoy, of Niagara Falls, New York, and they have a son, Milton J., Jr. 3. Charles P. a mining engineer, with the Berwyn Coal Company, resides at Windber. He married Levinia Pen- gilly, of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, and they are the parents of one child, Charles P., Jr. 4. Earl W., deputy city treasurer of Wilkes- Barre; married Louisa Richards, of Moosic, Pennsylvania. 5. Robert H., who is a chemist for the Luzerne County Gas Company. He married Nerline Smith, of Conyngham, Lu- zerne County, Pennsylvania, and they have one son, Robert.
LEO W. LONG- The son of one of the pioneer merchants of Wilkes-Barre and him- self a native and life-long resident of that city, Mr. Long was engaged there for many years in business as the owner of one of the leading stores. Since his retirement in 1911 he has devoted himself to the active support of civic and charitable movements and, in 1927, was appointed chairman of the Wilkes- Barre Police Civil Service Commission. In this important position, as, indeed, in many otlier ways, he has proven himself one of the most useful and progressive members of the community, to the continuous development and growth of which both he and his father made many valuable contributions.
Leo W. Long was born in Wilkes-Barre, April 28, 1859, a son of the late Marx and Caroline (Mayer) Long. His father, who was born in 1817, came to Wilkes-Barre in 1839. At that time the city gave few indications of its later growth and importance. Though even then the county seat of Luzerne County, it was little more than a small country town, with no railroad, no paved streets and no street lights. Even its coal industry, now so important not only to the city itself, but to the entire country, was practically non- existent. To this undeveloped, but promising territory the older Mr. Long came, carrying at that time a pack of merchandise on his shoulders and traveling from house to house and from farm to farm throughout the Wyo- ming Valley, in order to carry on his busi- ness. In 1843 he opened a small store on the corner of the Public Square and West Market Street, Wilkes-Barre. By 1848 the business had prospered to such an extent that he was able to erect a building of his own on the south side of the Public Square and there he continued with much success for sixty-two
years until his death in Wilkes-Barre in 1910 at the ripe old age of ninety-three years. During all these years he was one of the leading business men of the city and he could always be found in the forefront of those fighting and working for the develop- ment and welfare of Wilkes-Barre. As the city grew from a small town into a large and busy city of some 70,000 population, his own business kept growing, until it became one of the leading establishments of its type in that section of Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Marx Long were the parents of seven children, of whom three are still living: Emma, who married Harry Laycock of Wyo- ming, Pennsylvania; Sallie, who married Samuel Oppenheim of Wilkes-Barre; and Leo W., of whom further.
Mr. Long was educated in the public schools of his native city and grew to man- hood there. Even as a boy he helped in his father's business and, after he had completed his education, he became associated with him in the conduct and development of the store. He continued actively in the management of the enterprise until his father's death in 1910 and then carried on the business for an- other year, until he disposed of his interest in it in 1911. Since then he has lived in re- tirement, giving much of his time to civic and charitable work. As the result of his long residence in Wilkes-Barre, his well known probity and his unselfish devotion to the interests of the community, he has been for many years one of its most widely known and most highly respected citizens. He has been especially active in the affairs of the several fraternal organizations, of which he has been a member since early manhood and which include the following: Wilkes-Barre Lodge, No. 109, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; Landmark Lodge, No. 442, Free and Accepted Masons; Shekinah Chap- ter, No. 182, Royal Arch Masons; Keystone Consistory of Scranton, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of the thirty-second degree; Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and 1rem Temple Country Club at Dallas, Luzerne County. He was one of the most active and effective workers in connection with the building of the beautiful new Elks' home on North River Street and of the equally attractive Irem Temple on North Franklin Street. It was also largely due to his initiative, foresight and energy that the Irem Temple Country Club is now the proud possessor of its mag- nificent building and beautiful grounds at Dallas. For many years he has been a mem- ber of the board of directors and the treas- urer of the Wilkes-Barre Branch of the Association for the Blind and in this office he has found many opportunities to give expression to his innate kindliness. In 1927 he accepted the appointment at the hands of Mayor Daniel L. Hart to the office of chair- man of the Police Civil Service Commission, a position for which his executive ability and a thorough knowledge of conditions in and of the needs of the city made him especially available.
Mr. Long is unmarried and makes his home at the Sterling Hotel.
RALPH PAYNE THOMAS-For the past eight years Ralph Payne Thomas has been engaged in the investment business in Wilkes-Barre, with offices at Nos. 856-858 in the Miners' Bank Building. He operates under the name of R. P. Thomas and Com- pany, Inc., and has developed a very sub- stantial and prosperous business. For two years prior to opening his offices here, Mr. Thomas was engaged in the same line of
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business in Boston, Massachusetts, but since 1922 he has been located here.
Thomas P. Thomas, father of R. P. Thomas, has been associated with the Lehigh Valley Coal Company for the past forty years, be- ginning his connection with that concern as a small boy serving as mule driver in the mines, and recently retired as general man- ager of the company. He married Jane Wil- liams, and they are the parents of three children: Harold Pettibone, of Cleveland, Ohio, deceased: Beatrice Eloise, who is the wife of C. Robert Kruse, of Toledo, Ohio, now residing in Wilkes-Barre; and Ralph Payne, of further mention.
Ralph Payne Thomas, son of Thomas P. and Jane (Williams) Thomas, was born in West Pittston, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and received his early education in the public schools of his birthplace, graduating from the Kingston High School with the class of 1911, and then prepared for college at Wyo- ming Seminary, at Kingston, Luzerne County, where he was graduated with the class of 1913. In 1914 he entered Lehigh University, where he continued his studies for three years, and then made a change, entering Yale University as a senior in the class of 1918. Before his senior year was completed, the United States entered the World War, and Mr. Thomas enlisted in the United States Navy, where he served as a pilot of seaplanes and flying-boats for two years. He was stationed at Pensacola, Florida, as an instructor in flying-boats with the rank of ensign, and later was transferred to Rocka- way Naval Air Station, on Long Island, New York, where he was commissioned a junior lieutenant, and where he served until he was mustered out of service in 1919. Upon his return to civilian life he went to New York City and became identified with the Lehigh Valley Coal Sales Company as salesman in the New England States, continuing that connection until 1920, when he engaged in the investment business in Boston, Massa- chusetts. In 1922 he returned to Wilkes- Barre, and engaged in the investment bond business under the name of R. P. Thomas and Company, Inc., he being the organizer of the company. He opened offices at Nos. 856-858 Miners' Bank Building, in Wilkes-Barre, where he has since been successfully engaged. Mr. Thomas is a Republican in his political sympathies, and is well known in Masonic circles, being a member of Kingston Lodge, No. 395, Free and Accepted Masons; and of all the Scottish Rite bodies; also of Caldwell Consistory, of Bloomsburg, an Ancient Ac- cepted Scottish Rite Mason of the thirty- second degree; of Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Wilkes- Barre; and of Irem Temple Country Club. He is also a member of the Wilkes-Barre- Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Wyoming Valley Country Club, and a charter member of the Lions Club. In addition to the business connections already mentioned, Mr. Thomas is treasurer of the Springfield Coal Company of Springfield, New Jersey; treasurer of the Glenview Coal Company of Dallas, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania; treas- urer of the Bethlehem Coal Company, Beth- lehem, Pennsylvania; and secretary of the Beneficial Loan Society of Wilkes-Barre. His religious affiliation is with the Presby- terian Church of Kingston.
Ralph Payne Thomas was married, Decem- ber 4, 1917, to Elise Duer, of Brookline, Massachusetts, daughter of J. Howard and Arzelle (Littlefield) Duer, of Brookline. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas are the parents of two chil- dren: Barbara Duer, and Caryl Elise. Mr. Thomas has always retained his interest in
his college associations and Is a member of Phi Gamma Delta college fraternity, and a member of the Phi Gamma Delta Club of New York City. Mr. Thomas is one of the able and resourceful business men of the city, and there is every evidence that the future holds for him even greater success than he has already attained.
THEODORE S. BARBER has been identified with the mining of coal for thirty years, is president and director of the Morris Run Coal Mining Company, Wilkes-Barre, Penn- sylvania, Morris Run Coal Company, Inc., New York City.
Mr. Barber's family came to Wyoming Valley from Connecticut with the early set- tlers. His father, Colonel Albert P. Barber, was an officer in the Northern Army during the Civil War, commanded Battery M, Penn- sylvania Heavy Artillery, succeeding Cap- tain Schooley, who was captured and confined in Andersonville Prison. Colonel Barber mar- ried Helen F. Jenkins, great-granddaughter of Colonel John Jenkins, of New London, Connecticut, prominent in the history of Wyoming Valley through his participation in the expedition of General Sullivan and his army. They became the parents of five chil- dren: Helen, who married Dr. William F. Gray, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Jose- phine, wife of Walter F. Semon; Theodore S., of further mention; Laura, wife of Raymond M. Fulforth; Mary, wife of George R. Mc- Lean, member of Luzerne County bar.
Theodore S. Barber, son of Colonel Albert P. and Helen F. (Jenkins) Barber, was born in Plymouth, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, June 8, 1872, and received his education in the public schools of his birthplace and in the Lackawanna School, of Scranton, Pennsyl- vania. After the death of his father, in 1888, he entered the employ of the Wilkes-Barre and Wyoming Valley Traction Company, of which corporation he was secretary and treasurer until the time he became associated with other Wilkes-Barreans in the purchase of Michigan Public Utility properties. Mr. Barber is a member of the American Insti- tute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers; president and director, Morris Run Coal Min- ing Company, Wilkes-Barre; also Morris Run Coal Company, Inc., New York City; director Lehigh Valley Coal Corporation and Burns Brothers, Incorporated, New York City, Le- high Valley Coal Company; vice-president and director, Wyoming National Bank; presi- dent and director, Ellsworth & Company, Wilkes-Barre.
Mr. Barber is a member of the First Pres- byterian Church, a trustee of the Wyoming Geological and Historical Society, Osterhout Library, Wilkes-Barre Institute, Home for Friendless Children, Forty Fort Cemetery Association. Politically, Mr. Barber gives his support to the principles and the candidates of the Republican party. He is a member of the Union League Club, New York Yacht Club, Bankers' Club of America, New York City; Westmoreland Club, North Mountain Club, Country Club, Wilkes-Barre.
Mr. Barber was married, October 15, 1910, to Amy Sturdevant, daughter of E. W. and Mary (Stark) Sturdevant, of Wilkes-Barre. They are the parents of two children, Mary Sturdevant and Amy Huston. The family home is located at No. 171 South Franklin Street, Wilkes-Barre.
EDWARD L. LEWITH-Foremost in all matters that pertain to the advancement of Wilkes-Barre, its civic and material growth and prosperity, Edward L. Lewith is a lead- ing citizen who, owing to his well-proven
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enterprise and success in the realty field, has the regard of his hosts of friends and asso- ciates, as well as of the general public, who have received permanent benefit as a result of his upright and conscientious business dealings. There is hardly a department of the municipal life of his native city in which Mr. Lewith has not shared, whether as valued official, adviser, or director, and this city of notable business activities and beautiful homes, owes much of its present-day prog- ress to this public-spirited citizen.
Edward L. Lewith was born November 1, 1880, in Wilkes-Barre, a son of Lewis and Josephine (Freeman) Lewith. Lewis Lewith was for many years an extensive wholesale liquor dealer. He died in 1912 at the age of sixty-nine years, his widow surviving him at the age of seventy-nine years. They were the parents of three children: Mildred, who married H. G. Gump, of Wilkes-Barre; Fran- ces, who married Louis Casper, also of this city, and engaging in the wholesale drygoods business; and Edward L., of whom further.
Edward L. Lewith secured his education in the public and high schools of Wilkes- Barre, graduating from high school with the class of 1896, and from Wyoming Seminary with the class of 1898, then engaging In business with his father, who for more than forty-two years was one of the leading mer- chants in this city. In 1919, Mr. Lewith en- tered upon the real estate interests that have engaged his attention from that time to the present, and today he is one of the largest dealers and owners of realty in Luzerne County, with his offices at No. 436 Miners Building. In political matters he gives his adherence to the Republican party.
Mr. Lewith Is vice-president of the Wyoming Valley Building and Loan Association: chair- man of the Wilkes-Barre Planning Commis- sion; president of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Real Estate Exchange; director of the Miners Bank; vice-president of the Wilkes-Barre- Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce; sec- retary of the Guarantee Title and Mortgage Company, and fraternally, he Is affiliated with Landmark Lodge, No. 442, Free and Accepted Masons; Keystone Consistory, Scranton, of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite in the thirty-second degree; Irem Tem- ple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; Lodge No. 109, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; treasurer of B'nai B'rith; member of the finance committee of the Young Men's Hebrew Association; and member of the Concordia Society.
WYOMING SEMINARY-This well-known and justly popular institution of learning, located in the classic valley of Wyoming, has a history well worthy of note. The friends of education in the old Oneida Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, after estab- lishing on a broad and permanent basis a seminary at Cazenovia, New York, in the northern portion of their territory, deter- minedly entertained the project over eighty- five years ago of providing for the increasing educational demands of the southern portion of the work. With a commendable foresight they devised measures for the erection of an institution of learning in northeastern Penn- sylvania.
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