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 53
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Mr. Stark married, October 27, 1897, Claire Louise Warbrick, of New York City, daugh- ter of William and Martha (Crumm) War- brick, and they had the following children: Robert Warbrick Stark, with the Hercules Powder Company, Hazleton, this State; he married Luise Wolf, and they have children: Frederick Wagner and Mollie McMasters; and Elizabeth, wife of William L. Morse, of Hazleton.
REV. EBENEZER FLACK, D. D .- Scotch- Irish by birth, American by adoption, the Rev. Ebenezer Flack, D. D., of Kingston, has been for more than thirty-five years a domin- ant factor in the Presbyterian Church in this section of the country. He has made the influence of this church felt far beyond the radius of his own immediate activities, through the offices in its structure which he has been called upon to administer, as well as by the example of his personal high posi- tion as a citizen of the community. Highly educated and the fortunate possessor of a happy personality, a devoted representative of the principles of civil and religious lib- erty, a staunch friend, a wise counsellor, an unfailing champion of the right, he has made a multitude of friends and never lost one. By his home life, as well as by his public labors he has achieved the esteem of all classes and all religious sects, who univer- sally hold him to be a nobleman of the cloth, a citizen of character beyond question.
Ebenezer Flack was born in the North of
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Ireland, December 7, 1869. His father was Hugh Flack, and his mother, Agnes (Nel-
son) Flack, both now deceased. Ebenezer Flack was educated in the common schools and Royal Academical Institution, Belfast, and then attended the Royal University, at Dublin, and Queen's College, Belfast. From the Royal University he received his degree of Bachelor of Arts. When twenty-two years of age he came to America, took the course at Princeton Theological Seminary and was graduated in the class of 1893. From Frank- lin College he received his degree of Doctor of Divinity. His first pastorate was with the Presbyterian Church of White Haven, Penn- sylvania, where he labored for four years. He then went, successively, to Plymouth, Luzerne County, for five years; thence to Latrobe, for six years, then to Scranton for ten years. His last pastorate before coming to Kingston was in Newburgh, New York, where he was pastor for three years. The Kingston Presbyterian Church then called him and he has served here for ten years. In politics he is Independent-Republican. He is a member of the Scranton Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons; and of the Lackawanna Presbytery, and the Pennsylvania Synod. Of the first named church organization he was president of the trustees for five years. He also is a trustee of Wilson College, Cham- bersburg, and is chairman of the Curriculum Committee. He has served as Moderator of the Pennsylvania Synod (1910-11) and has been for years one of the most active minis- ters of his faith in this section of the country. He has been a trustee of Presby- terian Home of Central Pennsylvania since it was opened three years ago, a home for aged women.
Rev. Dr. Flack married, March 28, 1894, Sarah Jane Hutcheson, of New York City, a daughter of Robert and Henrietta (Snow- den) Hutcheson. The couple have five chil- dren: 1. Henrietta R. H., a graduate of Bucknell University and Wilson College, and a teacher in the Wilkes-Barre public schools. 2. Agnes Nelson, a graduate of Wilson Col- lege and the Women's College of Medicine, of Philadelphia, and a practicing physician of Kingston. 3. Harold E., a salesman for the Caldwell Lawn Mower Company. 4. Robert K., a graduate of Wyoming Seminary, and of Wharton School of Commerce; was for four years with the Kingston Bank and Trust Company; now employed by J. H. Brooks and Company, brokers. 5. George W., a graduate of Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, and a stu- dent in Washington and Lee University, Virginia.
COLONEL JAMES ALFRED DEWEY-Con- siderable achievement of varied character is recorded in the career of James Alfred Dewey, of Wilkes-Barre, the present district representative of the State Workmen's In- surance Fund, an office of the State of Penn- sylvania. As an educator and a soldier he performed his duties with sincerity and skill, as a public servant he has made an estimable record and as a citizen his activities have ever been for the best in the interests of the community as a whole. He is a man of great affability and personal charm, is devoted to his work in life and to the operations of all worthy organizations that appeal to the pro- gressive element, an able unit in the com- mercial, civic and social fabric that comprises the population of this district of the State, with a legion of sincere friends throughout a broad area.
He was born in Bradford County, Pennsyl-
vania, November 10, 1860, a son of Addison and Amy A. (Ripley) Dewey, the father born in 1832, In Tioga County, Pennsylvania, died in 1913; he was an educator and later in life a farmer; his mother was born in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, in 1840, died in 1915. The grandfather, James B. Dewey, came to Pennsylvania when he was a young man and settled in Tioga County. He was born in Feeding Hills, in 1805, died in 1890; he mar- ried Asenath Harding, of Rutland, Massa- chusetts.
James Alfred Dewey acquired his early education in the public schools and attended Mansfield State Normal School, from which he was graduated with the class of 1882. He then took a course of one year at the University of Michigan and later matriculated at Taylor University, Upland, Indiana, from which he was graduated with the degrees of Bachelor of Philosophy and Master of Arts. During 1882 and until May, 1883, he taught school in Fall Brook, Pennsylvania, coming to Wilkes-Barre in 1884, remained here until 1890 and then moved to Wanamie, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. In 1902 he returned to Wilkes-Barre. In Wanamie he taught school, where he became district superin- tendent. From 1902 until 1905 he was repre- sentative of the Taxpayers' Association, in the last named year being appointed deputy county controller under James M. Norris, in which office he served until 1912. He was then appointed deputy sheriff under Sheriff Lewis P. Kniffen, under whom he served for four years, then serving two more under George Buss. He became an Instructor of mathematics in the Coughlin High School, where he remained until 1928, when he was appointed to his present post, as noted.
Since May 6, 1889, he has been associated with the State National Guard, having en- listed on that date in Company A, 9th Regi- ment. He was promoted a corporal July 15, 1889, and to sergeant May 1, 1890. Upon the call of President Mckinley for volunteers in 1898 he organized a company at Wanamie and offered its services through Governor Hastings. This contingent of troops for service in the Spanish-American War was mustered into the National Guard, June 25, 1898, and its organizer elected and commis- sioned a captain on that date, his command having been Company F, 7th Regiment, 3d Brigade, Pennsylvania National Guard. This company in 1899 was transferred to the 9th Regiment and renamed Company L. In this regiment Captain Dewey was promoted to major and later to lieutenant-colonel, in which latter rank he served on the Mexican border in 1916 and 1917, where he commanded a battalion which had been equipped as artil- lery instead of its original status as infantry. In 1922 he was retired with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and on its official board and was superintendent of its Sunday school for a long period. Fraternally, he is affiliated with Camp No. 271, Patriotic Order Sons of America; Wanamie Council, Junior Order United American Mechanics, of which he is Past Councillor; Nanticoke Lodge, No. 541, Free and Accepted Masons (Past Mas- ter); Valley Chapter, No. 214, Royal Arch Masons, of Plymouth (Past High Priest); Mt. Horeb Council, Royal and Select Masters (Past Master); Dieu le Veut Commandery, No. 45, Knights Templar (Past Commander) ; and Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order
William S. Tomptun
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Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Craftsmen's Club.
Colonel James Alfred Dewey married, June 21, 1883, Fannle Barnes, of Wilkes-Barre, daughter of Joseph and Mary Ann (Barnum) Barnes, representatives of pioneer families of this district. Colonel and Mrs. Dewey are the parents of one daughter. Mrs. Dewey died in June, 1919.
WILLIAM STARK TOMPKINS-Success- fully engaged in the coal mining industry for the greater part of his long career, both in Pennsylvania and in West Virginia, Mr. Tompkins has been known for many years as an authority on coal mining. He is also widely known for his scientific research work and has always continued his interest in the mining industry, frequently serving as a con- sulting specialist in examining properties for owners and prospective purchasers of coal mines, though of late he has devoted the greater part of his time to the life insurance business. In this field, too, Mr. Tompkins has met with marked success and for many years he has been one of the leading men in the insurance business in Northeastern Pennsyl- vania. His business affairs, of course, have at all times required and received the major share of his attention. However, Mr. Tompkins has never permitted them to absorb all of his time and energy, but throughout his active career has been effectively interested in vari- ous other directions. Ever since he had reached voting age, he has been prominent in the af- fairs of the Republican party and at different times has taken a very active part in several political campaigns. He is also greatly inter- ested in religious work and for a long period has served as an officer of his church. An- other field, in which he has been greatly interested, is that of history and he is a member of several historical societies.
Through his connection with Dixon, Clary, Stark and Adams families, Mr. Tompkins traces his descent from a number of ancient New England families of high standing. His great-grandfather, Joseph Tompkins, was one of the original grantees of land in Jenkins Township, Luzerne County, and one of the pioneer settlers of Pittston. He married Phoebe Osborne, a native of Connecticut, who died in Pittston at the home of her son, Wil- liam Tompkins, in 1831, aged about ninety years. Joseph Tompkins was a miller by trade and at one time worked in one of the Hollenback mills on Mill Creek, near Wilkes- Barre. He lived near Laflin, Jenkins Town- ship, which was, at that time, known as White Oak Hollow, where he sold land in 1794.
William Tompkins, the grandfather of Wil- liam Stark Tompkins, was born July 10, 1788 or 1789, a son of Joseph and Phoebe (Osborne) Tompkins. During the earlier part of his life he was a resident of White Oak Hollow, now Laflin, from where he removed to Pittston prior to 1820, continuing to reside in that town until his death, which occurred August 5, 1876. His home was on South Main Street. At the fork of the road near his home he operated, until 1851 or 1852, the first sawmill in Pittston, and he also built the first frame house in Pittston. He was deeply interested in education and did everything in his power to increase and improve the edu- cational advantages of his days. He was also active in politics, being first a supporter of the Whig party and later of the Republican party. William Tompkins married (first)
Hannah Van Fleet, who was born August 9, 1800, and who died May 18, 1830. She was a daughter of Abraham and Sarah (Brown) Van Fleet, of Pittston, who came to the Wyoming Valley from Orange County, New York, in 1786. Her father was a Revolutionary pen- sioner. The Van Fleet famlly came to this country from Holland about 1662-63, the family name then being spelled Van Vleit, Van Fleit and Van der Vleit. William and Hannah (Van Fleet) Tompkins were the par- ents of four children: I. Sarah Van Fleet, who became a member of the first faculty of Wyoming Seminary and who married Horace P. Messenger. She died at West Pittston. 2. James Harvey Tompkins, who married Eliza- beth Dawson Tracy, of Wilkes-Barre, a daughter of Sidney and Elizabeth (Sinton) Tracy, and who died at West Pittston, In November, 1898. 3. George Tompkins, who died at Pittston in 1846, at the age of twenty- one years, being unmarried. 4. Alva Tomp- kins, of whom further. William Tompkins married (second) Ann Miller, of Parsons, and (third) a Mrs. Knight.
Alva Tompkins, the father of William Stark Tompkins, and the youngest son and child of William and Hannah (Van Fleet) Tompkins, was born in Pittston Township, now within the limits of the city of Pittston, May 20, 1827. He was educated in the schools of his native region and at Wyoming Seminary and in his youth worked in his father's sawmill and assisted in conducting the parental farm. About 1851 he embarked in the coal business, which he continued to follow with success for thirty-four years. He sank the second shaft and built the second coal breaker in Pittston, but for about eight years prior to this he mined and shipped coal in lump. Prior to 1861 most of the coal shipped went by boat on the river and canal, but later a track was built by the Lackawanna & Bloomsburg Rail- road to the Tompkins breaker, and Alva Tompkins was coal agent for the Lacka- wanna & Bloomsburg Railroad at this time. At one time he was associated in business with Jarvis Langdon of Elmira, New York, father-in-law of S. M. Clements (Mark Twain) and with M. C. and H. S. Mercur of Towanda, Pennsylvania. The business at that time was conducted under the name of Mercur & Com- pany and operated, in addition to the Tomp- kins breaker, also the twin shafts in Upper Pittston. In 1863 Mr. Tompkins also owned in his own name the Sweatland mine at Plym- outh and later leased the Eagle mine, adjoin- ing the Tompkins breaker. He established and successfully maintained coal yards in Elmira, Auburn, Geneva, Rochester and Buf- falo, New York; Detroit, Michigan, and at Chicago, Illinois. After retiring from the coal business Mr. Tompkins devoted himself to agriculture, in which he found a useful outlet for his energy and experience, as well as an enjoyable means of recreation. He was for many years a director of the First Na- tional Bank and of the Water Street Bridge Company, both of Pittston. Throughout his life he was greatly interested in the cause of education and during a long period he was a member of the Board of School Directors of Pittston and a trustee of the West Pittston Seminary. Beginning with about 1870, Mr. Tompkins sustained for many years a private school in South Pittston, to the faculty of which he attracted many ladies trained in some of the best institutions of that day. His religious affiliations were with the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, which he joined in
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1858 and of which he was for many years a trustee and the superintendent and a teacher in the Sunday School. He was also a member of the Order of Good Templars, of which he was one of the first officers in Pittston. In politics he was a supporter of the Republican party. Mr. Tompkins died at Eatonville, Wyo- ming County, May 14, 1919, within six days of his ninety-second birthday. He married, June 14, 1854, Dorothy Calista Stark, a daughter of William and Ruth (Clary) Stark. Mrs. Tompkins was born in Wyoming County and died at Eatonville, Wyoming County, October 24, 1919. Her father was a veteran of the War of 1812 and in recognition of his services during tha' conflict had received a grant of land in Ilinois. He was a farmer and lumberman and spent most of his life in Lemon Township, Wyoming County. Mrs. Tompkins' paternal grandparents were Na- than and Dorcas (Dixon) Stark, of Tunkhan- nock Creek. Her grandmother, Dorcas (Dix- on) Stark, was the daughter of John and Hannah (Marshall) Dixon, of Connecticut. Her own mother, Ruth (Clary) Stark, was born in New Hampshire, a daughter of John and Dorothy (Fletcher) Clary, a granddaugh- ter of Peter and Ruth (Adams) Fletcher and a great-granddaughter of Joseph and Dor- othy (Merriam) Adams, of Concord, Massa- chusetts. Alva and Dorothy Calista (Stark) Tompkins were the parents of seven children: 1. Adelaide Ruth. 2. William Stark, of whom further. 3. Edwin Webster, who married Anna Frost of Cobleskill, New York, and is the father of one son, Edwin Frost Tompkins. 4. Lewis Alva, who married Ruth Conyngham Butler, of Port Gibson, Mississippi, a daughter of Lord John and Kate (Humphreys) Butler, by which marriage he is the father of five children, John Butler, Lewis Alva Tompkins, Jr., Ruth Calista, Kathryn Humphrey and Robert Van Fleet. 5. Mary Fletcher, unmar- ried. 6. Harry Clay, married Jennie Davis, of Neath, Pennsylvania, and they have three children: Mary Elizabeth, Dorothy Calista, and Annette. 7. Martha Dorothy, librarian at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
William Stark Tompkins was born at Pitts- ton, Luzerne County, January 14, 1859, the oldest son and second child of Alva and Dor- othy Calista (Stark) Tompkins. He received his early education in a private school estab- lished by his father at Pittston and later at- tended Cazenovia Seminary, Cazenovia, New York, and Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, Pennsylvania, as well as the Fort Edward Collegiate Institute, Fort Edward, New York, from which latter he was graduated in 1882. Though he went to work in his father's mines at the age of fourteen years, he spent only half of each year at this occupation, devoting the other six months to attending school. At the early age of nineteen years he was placed in charge of the Tompkins breaker at Pitts- ton. Later he became interested in coal mines in West Virginia. Mr. Tompkins continned in the coal business until 1896. when he engaged in the life insurance business. For a number of years he has represented the Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company of California as man- ager for Northeastern Pennsylvania. He main- tains offices in Suite 50-51 Wells Building, Wilkes-Barre, and enjoys a very high stand- ing in insurance and business circles. For three years he was a member of the executive committee of the National Association of Life Underwriters.
Mr. Tompkins, though no longer actively engaged in the coal mining industry, is rec- ognized as an authority in that field and still
devotes considerable time to scientific re- search on mining problems and to work as a consulting specialist. Governor Brumbaugh, in his last message to the Legislature, re- ferred to the help he had received from Mr. Tompkins in mining questions that came be- fore him as Governor.
Alva Tompkins, father of William Stark Tompkins, sunk the second shaft in Pittston, and was the only native of Pittston who as a pioneer entered the coal industry. He also had the distinction of having been probably the first mining man in this country to make use of methane for the purpose of ventilating a coal mine. An abandoned portion of his mine was sealed off and the methane thus accumulated was conducted by means of pipes to the upcast shaft where it was lighted. In this manner advantage was taken of certain fundamental laws of mine ventilation. The heat produced by the methane rarified the air in the upcast shaft to an extent sufficient to create a very substantial motive column, and as a result of which the mine was thor- oughly ventilated. This was before the days of mine fans.
In politics Mr. Tompkins has been a sup- porter of the Republican party since his early manhood. He was elected to a State Republican Convention in the same year in which he became of age, an unusual pro- cedure. The following year he served as a senatorial delegate. In 1895 he became chair- man of the Republican County Committee. He was also chairman of the Second Legis- lative District of Luzerne County for sev- eral years. In 1912 he followed the late President Roosevelt's leadership and became chairman of the Roosevelt Campaign Com- mittee for Luzerne County, when President Roosevelt was a candidate for the Republi- can nomination for President against Mr. Taft. Mr. Tompkins is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and is a steward of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Wilkes-Barre. He bas also been Identified with Sunday school work, having served throughout the greater part of his adult life as a teacher and superintendent. His interest in public questions finds expression in his membership in the American Academy of Political and Social Science, while as a result of his inter- est in history he maintains membership in the Wyoming Historical Association and in the Wyoming Monument Association. The Randolph County Historical Society of Ran- dolph County, West Virginia, has made him an honorary member. He is also a member of the Wilkes-Barre Exchange Club.
William Stark Tompkins married, June 24, 1913, Elizabeth Waller Ayres, a daughter of Lyndon L. and Mary (Horton) Ayres. Mr. and Mrs. Tompkins have no children and make their home at No. 116 Hanover Street, Wilkes-Barre, a property for many genera- tions in the possession of Mrs. Tompkins' family, the original grant to her ancestors having been made by the Commonwealth of Connecticut. Mrs. Tompkins is prominently active in civic, social, charitable and religi- ons organizations in Wilkes-Barre. She is a member of the boards of directors of the Home for Homeless Women and of the Young Women's Christian Association. She is also a member and Vice-Regent of Wyoming Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolu- tion, and a member of the Wyoming Histori- cal Society and the Wyoming Valley Women's Club. Her religious affiliations, like those of her husband, are with the first Methodist Episcopal Church of Wilkes-Barre, in the
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work of which she has taken a very active and helpful part.
Mrs. Tompkins is a member of an old Wyo- ming Valley family, her ancestors having been among the early settlers of that part of Pennsylvania. On her mother's side she is a direct descendant of Lieutenant John Horton, who served as an officer in the Revo- Intionary War and held the rank of lieuten- ant in the Battle of Wyoming in 1778. He was descended from Barnabas Horton, who was born in England in 1600 and who came to this country on the ship "Swallow" in 1635, settling in Connecticut. Mrs. Tompkins' maternal great-grandfather was Miller Hor- ton, a son of Lieutenant John Horton, who married Elizabeth Waller. Their son, Na- than Miller Horton, Mrs. Tompkins' maternal grandfather, was for many years a stage line proprietor and the owner of considerable and substantial four-horse coaches carrying passengers and mail from Baltimore, Mary- land, to Owego, New York, by way of Harris- burg, Sunbury, Wilkes-Barre and Montrose, and from Philadelphia to Wilkes-Barre, via Easton. His coaches also carried mail from New York City to Montrose by way of New- ark and Morristown, New Jersey, and Mil- ford, Pennsylvania. He was also a successful contractor, handling much work for the town, county and State anthorities. A member of the first board of directors of the Wyoming National Bank, he served for two terms, and throughout his entire career was regarded as one of the most representative and sub- stantial citizens.
R. DELBERT CRAIG-During the partici- pation of the United States in the World War, R. Delbert Craig, of Kingston, Pennsylvania, not only served his country but at the same time held political office to which he had been elected before he volunteered in the Navy. This record merely illustrates an en- ergy that has been the means of lifting this young man to the front rank among the com- mercial enterprises of this section. His other attributes include a deep interest in all civic and fraternal affairs and an attractive per- sonality, all of which make for him a multi- tude of friends and guarantee his future suc- cess in business, in social, fraternal and civic life.
He was born in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, September 12, 1893, a son of William E. and Margaret (Adams) Craig. He is the eldest child of the family, the others being Wilbur A., of Nanticoke; Lawrence D., of Nanticoke; Ruth and Florence, also living in Nanticoke.
R. Delbert Craig received his education in the public schools of his native town, after which he took a course at the Wilkes-Barre Business College and another at the Wharton Extension Night School, of Wilkes-Barre. Upon leaving his school work he became associated with the general merchandise store of Davis Brothers, in Nanticoke, as manager, where he remained until 1918. He had been elected treasurer of Nanticoke Bor- ough in 1916 and was serving when the United States entered the World War. Not- withstanding. he promptly enlisted in the Navy as a third class storekeeper and served throughout the war, being from time to time promoted and finally being mustered out in March, 1919, with the rank of ensign. He then returned to Wilkes-Barre and became general manager of the Davis Brothers stores, seven years later becoming a member of the firm of Davis-Craig Company, Inc., in
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