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 51
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to carpentry. At the age of forty years, he took a position with the city as a fire- man helping to install the electric fire-alarm system of which he was placed in charge, also being janitor at the City Hall. He continued in this service until the time of his death, at about sixty-five years. He was a member of the Reformed Church and for many years active in Sunday school work. His wife died several years prior to his death.
Henry W. Eidam was born in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, July 19, 1882. After finish- ing his education in the public schools, he worked for the Lehigh Traction Company, where he learned the trade of coach painter and for eight years was in charge of the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Railway paint shops, as well as the painting and upkeep of the properties of this company. In 1908, he resigned from this position and with his brother opened a garage, but did not give all of his time to the new business until 1922. In that year, he began to devote his entire attention to the garage, which has the agency for Willys-Knight and Whippet motor cars. Salesroom and service station are at the corner of Broad and Vine streets,
with space for forty cars in a public garage. Mr. Eidam is a member of the Pennsylvania Automobile Association: the Hazleton Motor Club; the Patriotic Order Sons of America and the Presbyterian Church.
Henry W. Eidam married, in 1908, Carrie A. Yeager, of Hazleton. She died in 1925, leaving a daughter, Frances Louise, who is now a student at Teachers' College, West- chester, Pennsylvania. Mr. Eidam resides in the Bacham Apartments, West Maple Street, Hazleton, Pennsylvania.
FERDINAND SYLVESTER FOWLER was born February 25, 1857, at Catawissa, Colum- bia County, Pennsylvania, son of Elijah Ab- bott Fowler, a highly respected farmer, who died in 1869, and Maria (Hoffman) Fowler, a woman of great strength of character and personality, who passed away In the same year as her husband. Mr. Fowler first at- tended the public schools of Shamokin. He then entered an apprenticeship in printing with his brother, who was publishing the "Shamokin Herald"; but Mr. Fowler soon saw that the best business possibilities lay in job printing and binding, and before long he formed a connection with E. B. Yordy, who in 1870 had established a small plant on West Market Street. The business was acquired in 1900 by Mr. Fowler and George F. Coddington, and they continued in partnership until 1922, when the firm was incorporated. Mr. Yordy, meantime, had died, in 1901. In 1916 William N. Schang was admitted to the partnership. The officers are now Mr. Fowler, president; Mrs. George F. Coddington, vice-president; and Mr. Schang, secretary and treasurer. Mr. Fowler's grandfather, Daniel Fowler, was one of the early settlers of Columbia County, along with his father, Elijah Abbott Fowler, a tanner hy trade and later a farmer. Elijah A. Fowler and his wife became the parents of: Clark, deceased, a veteran of the Civil War on the Union side; Alice, deceased; Owen, a veteran of the Civil War and a printer by trade; Ferdinand S., of whom further mention is made; May, deceased; William; Abraham Lincoln, of Williamsport; Elijah A., Jr., of Berwick, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Fowler is a member of Wilkes-Barre Lodge, No. 61, of the Free and Accepted Masons; Shekinah Chapter, No. 182, Royal Arch Masons; Mount Horeb Council, Royal and Select Masters; Dieu le Veut Commandery No. 45, Knights Templar; Caldwell Consistory of the Scottish Rite Masons, thirty-second degree, of Bloomsburg; and Irem Temple, of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; also Wilkes-Barre Lodge No. 147, of the Knights of Pythias. He is Past Master by service of Lodge No. 61, of Masons. He is a member of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce, the Press Club and the Craftsman's Club.
Mr. Fowler is the proud owner of a fine country place at Pine View, ten miles from Wilkes-Barre, and here he recreates himself and friends in season, where he has a fine garden and beautiful vistas of the surround- ing country.
Mr. Fowler married, in 1879, Emma L. Shipp, of Shamokin, daughter of John and Mary (Zerne) Shipp, and they have become the parents of five children: 1. Charlotte M., married P. F. Best. 2. Nellie A., married L. C. Searfoss. 3. Robert H., married Myrtle E. Johns. 4. Horace Shipp, a graduate of Lehigh University, South Bethlehem, with the degree of Mechanical Engineer; served in the Ord-
Ferdinand S. Howler
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nance Department of the United States Army at Washington during the World War, and married Olga Groschke. 5. Minnie R., at home. Mr. and Mrs. Fowler have fourteen grand- children and one great-grandchild.
GUY W. MOORE is a native of Pennsyl- vania, and since he was about a year old has lived in Luzerne County. Born in Carbon County, March 30, 1868, his father, deceased, was Mason C. Moore, member of a family old in the history of the Commonwealth, a farmer, and man of some prominence in the communities of his residence. His mother, Margaret (Tinklepaugh) Moore, is also de- ceased. Both parents were natives of Lu- zerne, and in 1870 returned to this county, where they spent the balance of their days.
It was in Kingston that Mr. Moore secured his instruction, in the public schools. For four years, the time always required since the printing craft has become well organized in America, he served as an apprentice in the composing room of the "Record," learn- ing the cases, how to stick type and justify forms, et cetera, throughout the long list of things that are to be learned by members of the guild; and at eighteen years of age' found himself established on the rolls of his paper's compositors. Eventually he became foreman of composition. It is of interest to note at this point that the linotype machine -typesetting machine operated from a key- board similar to that of a typewriter-had not come into general usage, due to the impracticability of early models together with reluctance of newspaper proprietors to spend the money involved. When Mr. Moore was fourteen, and for some years after, all type matter was set up by hand, in a stick, from the cases. It was many years before typesetting machines were so fully developed as materially to reduce the number of hand compositors regularly employed. Improve- ments in composition, improvements in press mechanisms, improvements in newspaper direction and evolution of editorial methods -JIr. Moore has seen them all, as an active participant.
Had Mr. Moore not possessed executive ability he could not have become foreman of the composing room, and from that posl- tion was promoted to the office of business manager. He was named the paper's busi- ness chief in 1903, at the age of thirty-five years. From that point onward his progress, or rather his position, was guaranteed through proven ability along managerial lines. It was in 1915, twelve years after having as- sumed the business managership of the "Record," that he was given the post of gen- eral manager, carrying with it the greatest authority owned by any man in the publica- tion's employ. Long association with the "Record" and with the people of the Wilkes- Barre area have given Mr. Moore a thorough comprehension of all fundamentals in the district's progress, and he has constantly served as an active agent toward this prog- ress, rendering valued service to the people at large. The paper is one of the largest in all Northeastern Pennsylvania, having, ac- cordingly, a broad influence, its circulation, influence and service being retroactive one upon the other, strengthened in each sep- arate aspect as the complementary aspects become stronger. The reward to the paper is seen in part in the new building and equip- ment, the plant being one of the finest in the State, and one of the largest when the size of the city seat is taken into con- sideration.
Aside from his career as newspaper man,
Mr. Moore has wide financial, fraternal and political interests. He is vice-president and secretary of the Wyoming Valley Trust Com- pany of Wilkes-Barre; a director of the Luzerne National Bank of Luzerne and direc- tor of the Jackson Telephone Company, of Jackson, Tennessee. He gives his support to the principles and candidates of the Repub- lican party, and is of prominence in its ranks locally. In 1916 he was a delegate at large from Pennsylvania to the Republican National Convention that met in Chicago. Mr. Moore was appointed by Governor Pinchot a member of the Committee of Seventy-Six to study and recommend revision of the election laws of Pennsylvania and was made a member of the executive organization of the committee and also chairman of its fact-finding branch. He was appointed by Governor Fisher in 1927 a member of the Pennsylvania election law commission consisting of nine members from the State at large. He is a director of the Wyoming Valley Homeopathic Hospital. Fraternally, he is identified with Kingston Lodge, No. 395, Free and Accepted Masons; Shekinah Chapter, No. 182, Royal Arch Ma- sons, of Wilkes-Barre; Dieu le Veut Com- mandery, Knights Templar, No. 45, of Wilkes- Barre; also a member of Irem Temple, Ancient Arabio Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Wilkes-Barre, and one of the board of governors of its country club. He belongs to the Westmoreland Club and Franklin Club, to the Scranton Club of Scranton, and to others.
Mr. Moore married, July 30, 1897, Esther Parry, daughter of John and Mary (Jones) Parry, of Kingston. They have a son, John Mason, graduate of Harvard University, class of 1925.
It can readily be seen from the account that has gone before that Mr. Moore is termed a "self-made" man. This is the case, and today he is one of the dominant figures of his community and the Wyoming Valley. The new and beautiful newspaper plant hous- ing the "Record" and belonging to its pub- lishing organization, the Record Publishing Company, is testimony of his devotion to the newspaper, the community and that portion of the State which he has served so well, and which he continues to serve with ever- increasing good. A fitting monument, indeed, for one of the newspaper business.
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ROBERT LAWRENCE SEITZINGER-One of the best pharmacies in Luzerne County is the one owned and operated by Robert Lawrence Seitzinger, in Freeland. Mr. Seit- zinger established this business soon after his discharge from service in the World War, locating first at No. 623 Center Street, in 1919, but later he removed to Nos. 608-10 Center Street, where he is now conducting a thoroughly modern pharmacy, carrying a full line of drugs and all the specialties usually found in an up-to-date drug store. His place has become very popular in Free- land, and Mr. Seitzinger is one who knows how to hold his trade. Quality goods, expert and interested service, together with sound business principles and methods, have brought him a rapidly growing patronage, and his progressiveness and initiative have kept him well in the front ranks of those who handle pharmaceutical wares. Mr. Seit- zinger is a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and has been operating his drug store since May, 1919.
Robert Lawrence Seitzinger was born In Gordon, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, November 23, 1890, son of William O. and Margaret Elizabeth (Koppenhover) Seit-
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zinger. The family, on the paternal side, were located here before the Revolution and Mr. Seitzinger's paternal great-great-grand- father was a soldier in that conflict. The family has produced many members of the various professions, successful men in vari- ons lines of business activity, and some statesmen. In the communities in which they have lived they have been among the progressive and public-spirited citizens, and men of force of character. Mr. Seitzinger received his early and preparatory education in the public schools and after graduating from Gordon High School with the class of 1908 taught in the public schools for one year. When the school year was over he became a clerk in the drug store owned and operated by his sister, Mrs. G. G. Hubler, of Gordon, Pennsylvania, and in this connection he became interested in the drug business. After two years of experience in his sister's store, he decided to fully prepare himself for the pharmaceutical profession, and entered the Philadelphia College of Phar- macy, from which he was graduated in 1916 with the degree of Graduate Pharmacist. After graduation he came to Freeland as manager of C. A. Welsh's pharmacy. Later he entered the employ of the Hazle Drug Company, of Hazleton, with whom he re- mained until his enlistment for service in the World War in 1918, as a member of the 54th Infantry. Later he was a member of the 58th and still later of the 39th In- fantry, and eventually he was transferred to the Medical Department, and stationed at Camp Stewart, Hampton, Virginia, where he remained until he was mustered out of serv- ice in March, 1919. On May 30, 1919, he opened his own pharmacy in Freeland, at No. 623 Center Street, but later he removed to his present location on the same street. His establishment is a thoroughly up-to-date one, and he sees to it that his stock is always kept full and so selected as to meet the special demands of his public. Full lines of the usual pharmaceutical products and also of the specialties usually found in modern drug stores, attractive displays, and excellent service have made his store a popular one, and Mr. Seitzinger is well able to hold his large patronage. He is a mem- ber of the Luzerne County Pharmaceutical Association, of the Pennsylvania State Phar- maceutical Association, and of the American Pharmaceutical Association, and is well known among his colleagues of the pharma- ceutical profession. In addition to the suc- cessful management of his prosperous busi- ness Mr. Seitzinger finds time for numerous fraternal and other affiliations. He is ac- tively interested in civic affairs, is a mem- her of the Business Men's Association. He is a Past Commander of the American Legion, and active in its affairs. His numer- ous fraternal affiliations include member- ship in Arbutus Lodge, No. 611, Free and Accepted Masons, in which order he is also a member of Caldwell Consistory, at Blooms- burg; and of Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Patriotic Order Sons of America; also of the "40 and 8." His reli- gious membership is with the Lutheran Church, of Freeland, which he serves as a member of its council.
Robert Lawrence Seitzinger was married, June 3, 1918, to Hilda H. Fox, of Freeland, Pennsylvania, and they have for children: Esther Fox; Robert Lawrence, Jr .; Jean Louise; and William O. Mrs. Seitzinger is
a member and was the first president of the local lodge of the Woman's Auxiliary of the American Legion, and she is interested in civic and philanthropic affairs in Freeland. Mr. and Mrs. Seitzinger make their home at No. 608-10 Center Street, in Freeland, where Mr. Seitzinger's pharmacy is located.
JOHN CONLON-In the life of Hudson, Pennsylvania, and the surrounding regions of the Wyoming Valley, John Conlon has taken an important part in the coal industry and in business affairs generally, now holding the position of a coal operator and producer. From small beginnings he has worked his way upward to this place, having started his association with the mines here in the capac- ity of breaker boy and having risen through the various stages in the mining industry to a superintendency, and then to actual ownership. Keenly interested in the develop- ment of his community's best civic inter- ests, Mr. Conlon takes an active part in public affairs and lends his support to what- ever movements he believes designed to increase the prosperity of Hudson and Lu- zerne County.
A son of Myles and Bridget (Riley) Con- lon, he is descended from an old Irish fam- ily, his parents having been natives of County Roscommon, Ireland, having come to the United States and settled in New York City, only to remove a little later to Ashland, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, where Myles Conlon was employed in the coal mines, and having gone in the early fifties to live in Scranton, Pennsylvania. There he remained until the period of the Civil War, when he removed to Hudson, Luzerne County, which was his home there- after. He continued as a mine worker throughout his life, and died in 1887. He is buried in Parsons Cemetery, Hudson, Pennsylvania. Both he and his wife were members of the Roman Catholic Church. They were the parents of ten children: James, Thomas, Winifred, Myles, Cornelius, Mary Ann, John, of whom this is a record; William, Peter, who for twenty years was principal of schools at Plains, Pennsylvania; and Annie, who became the wife of Edward J. Cochran, of Plains, Pennsylvania.
Of these, John Conlon was born in Scran- ton, Pennsylvania, on May 5, 1862. For a time he attended school in the log school- house at Plains, but the financial condition of his family made it necessary for him and his brothers to become wage earners at an early age; and so it was that John Conlon started work as a breaker boy at the Mill Creek Mine, and a little later obtained work in the mine. As he became an expert miner, he won promotions from time to time until he became assistant superintendent of the Pine Ridge Mine, which was owned and oper- ated by the Delaware and Hudson Company. From that time, 1880, he held the position of assistant superintendent for twelve years, until at length, in 1892, he was made super- intendent. In this new capacity he showed excellent ability, and fulfilled his duties to the satisfaction of the mine owners. He resigned in 1913, however, and bought a tract of one hundred and sixty-five acres of coal-bearing land from the Fairmount Land Company. It was then that he opened up a slope and became a producing coal operator. The work at his own mine met with success from the outset, so that today, situated in Hudson in the heart of this State's anthracite region, it is one of the leading mines of the vicinity, and John Conlon, its owner, one of the substantial operators of his time.
John Coulon
Bolton Selever
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In addition to his work in all phases of the mining industry, Mr. Conlon has taken part extensively in the life of his community and Luzerne County. Highly respected and popular in Hudson, he served for more than two decades as a member of the local school board, and was at different periods its presi- dent and treasurer. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Dime Deposit Bank, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. A close observer of political developments and State affairs, he is, in his own views, iden- tified with the Democratic party, whose poli- cies and candidates he regularly supports. His religious faith is that of the Roman Catholic Church, and he is a member of the Sacred Heart Parish.
On December 1, 1885, Mr. Conlon married Mary Clarke, born at Bloomsburg, Pennsyl- vania, April 8, 1865, daughter of John and Mary (Carey) Clarke. Her father was a native of County Roscommon, Ireland; and he and Mary (Carey) Clarke were the parents of these children, John, James, Michael, Mary (Mrs. John Conlon), Margaret, now deceased, who married James Dunleavy, of Wilkes- Barre; Peter; and Eugene, deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Conlon became the parents of eleven children: 1. William, born February 4, 1887, married Catherine Featherston, of Wilkes-Barre, a teacher. 2. Mary, a graduate nurse. 3. Margaret, a teacher of languages at the Plains High School. 4. Gertrude, a graduate of Mansfield State Normal School. 5. Joseph, born August 6, 1896, a graduate of Mansfield State Normal School, now in the service of his country, holding the rank of corporal of Battery D, 311th Field Artillery, United States Army. 6. Peter, and 7. Paul, twins, born August 22, 1899, now in real estate business in Wilkes-Barre. 8. John, born May 13, 1903. 9. Julia. 10. Alice. 11. Charles Myles, born November 9, 1907.
BOLTON G. COON-Engaged in the general contracting in Luzerne, being the head of one of the oldest establishments of its kind in Luzerne County, Bolton G. Coon employs many men, as did his father before him, and has his headquarters at No. 274 Union Street, in the town of Luzerne. There is no phase of the life of Wilkes-Barre in which he is not keenly interested, and the part that he plays in civic and social affairs Is an extensive one. He belongs to a number of organizations which lead in the work of this city and Wilkes-Barre and are active through- out the county and the whole Wyoming Valley.
Mr. Coon was born In Kingston, where he still makes his home, on March 28, 1866, son of Alfred Henry and Lorinda (Marcy) Coon. His father, A. H. Coon, was born in Hones- dale, Wayne County, Pennsylvania, in 1826, and came to Luzerne County with his father in 1846, having the contract to construct the Lackawanna Railroad from Nanticoke to Shickshinny. Alfred Henry Coon and Colonel Hendrick B. Wright together built and oper- ated the first steamboat that ran between Nanticoke and Wilkes-Barre. A. H. Coon and his brother built the Kingston and Wilkes-Barre Street Railway about 1865, a horse-car line, and they operated the first water works in Kingston. He himself built and was one of the directors of the old turnpike between Dallas and Luzerne, Penn- sylvania. Mr. Coon and his son, Bolton G., have built about forty-five complete water plants for boroughs and towns in different parts of the country. A. H. Coon died In April, 1913. His wife, Lorinda (Marcy) Coon, was a daughter of Reuben Marcy, and was
born in Kingston, Pennsylvania; she was one of the first students of Wyoming Seminary, and is now deceased. Reuben Marcy was born in Marcy Township, Pennsylvania, and was a prominent building contractor. Reuben Marcy's grandfather was a governor of Mas- sachusetts.
Bolton G. Coon, of whom this is a record, received his early education in the public schools in Kingston, his birthplace, and then attended the Wyoming Seminary. He entered the general contracting business with his father, Alfred H. Coon, in the firm of A. H. Coon and Sons, with which he continued to be associated until 1907, when B. G. Coon formed his own construction company under the name of B. G. Coon Construction Com- pany, which has continued as one of the lead- ing organizations of its kind since that time. It is engaged in a general contracting busi- ness, which extends into several different fields, including water works, roads, railroad work and general heavy construction, sewer- age disposal plants, and sewers, and employs an average of seventy-five men. It is, as is stated above, one of the oldest businesses of its kind in Luzerne County, the Coon family having been engaged in construction work continuously for more than ninety years.
In addition to his work as head of the B. G. Coon Construction Company, Mr. Coon is active in the affairs of Kingston, as well as those of the town and county of Luzerne. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, in which his affiliation is with Lodge No. 395, of Kingston, and in which he also belongs to the Shekinah Chapter of Royal Arch Masons; the Dieu le Veut Commandery No. 45, of Knights Templar; the Caldwell Consistory of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite at Bloomsburg; and Irem Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He also holds memberships in the Franklin Club, of Wilkes-Barre, and the Kiwanis Club. His religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he is a member of the Kingston parish. He is a director in the Beneficial Loan Asso- ciation of Wilkes-Barre. Thus it may be seen that Mr. Coon plays a part in practically all phases of the business and social life of Wilkes-Barre and Luzerne County, and that the organizations with which he is affiliated are those which stand for all that is sound and conservative in the affairs of city, State and Nation.
Bolton G. Coon married, in 1895, Edith Marcy Harden, of Kingston, Pennsylvania, daughter of John M. and Mary (Marcy) Harden. Her father, John M. Harden, was a very prominent mining engineer. By this marriage Bolton G. and Edith M. (Harden) Coon have become the parents of three chil- dren: 1. Alfred Harden, a biography of whom follows this. 2. Harold Bolton, born in 1899, died in 1918, while a student at Pennsylvania State College. 3. John M., born in 1908, now a senior (1930) in Princeton University.
ALFRED HARDEN COON-A leader in the contracting and construction business, as have been both his father and grandfather, Alfred Harden Coon has been continuously associated with the B. G. Coon Construction Company, which bears the name of his father, since boyhood. He began working during the summer months with this organization when he was only fourteen years old, and has long been active In its affairs.
Mr. Coon was born at Kingston, Pennsyl- vania, on July 18, 1896, son of Bolton G.
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