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 68
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Mr. Miller is counted an able citizen of the town, and acts in the Council of the Borough of Kingston and in all ways takes a keen interest in matters that pertain to the best advantage of Kingston and its civic growth. He is a member of the Craftsman's Club, the Franklin Club, the United Commercial Trav- elers and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He belongs to the Kingston Lodge, No. 395, Free and Accepted Masons; the Shekinah Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; the Dieu le Veut Commandery, Knights Tem- plar; and Irem Temple Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He and his family are members of the First Methodist Episcopal Church.
In 1893 Willis H. Miller married Harriet M. Pettebone, daughter of Noah and Jane (Renard) Pettebone of Kingston, Pennsyl- vania. The Pettebone family is of old Penn- sylvania ancestry and has been active in Wyoming Valley for generations. Mr. and Mrs. Willis H. Miller have one son, Robert M., who was born in June, 1895. He attended the West Barre High School and the Bethle- hem Preparatory School, and was active in athletics, being captain of the football team during his school years. When the World War started he was a student at the State College, and immediately enlisted in the United States Navy and served throughout the war. He is at present engaged in repre-
senting building material concerns and has beeen chosen commander of the American Legion Post of Kingston
JOHN PETRO-A story of earnest purpose, hard work, and steady persistence, rewarded by successful achievement, is the record of John Petro, cashier of the North End State Bank of Wilkes-Barre. Born of Czecho- Slovakian parents who came to this country, he early became inured to hard work, and as a boy began to earn his living in the break- ers of Pine Ridge Colliery. While he worked hard, however, he also found opportunity to study hard, and by the time he was twenty- seven he was holding a responsible position in one of the well-known banks of this city. Since December 1, 1926, he has been cashier of the North End State Bank, of Wilkes- Barre. He is prominent in the activities of the Greek Catholic Church.
John and Anna Petro, parents of Mr. Petro, were born of sturdy Czecho-Slovakian stock and throughout their lives have upheld the standards of industry, frugality, and thrift, which is usual with their countrymen. The father, born in Czecho-Slovakia in 1863, was one of the enterprising men who had the initiative and the courage to leave his native land and begin life in a strange country, where language, customs, and habits of thought were different from his own. He settled here in the State of Pennsylvania, at Miners Mills, where he worked as an outside checking boss to the time of his death, which occurred September 14, 1919. His wife, Anna, born in Czecho-Slovakia, survives him (1930).
John Petro, son of John and Anna Petro, was born at Miners Mills, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, August 28, 1892, and received his early education in the public schools of that place and of Hanover. Though it was necessary that he become a wage earner at an early age, he had no intention of remain- ing a mere workman. He intended to enter the business world, and while working in the Pine Ridge Colliery, as a breaker, he found opportunity to take a commercial course in the Wilkes-Barre Business College. After finishing his commercial course he still con- tinued in the colliery until he had rounded out a period of eight years there, serving in the office for one year. He then secured a position as clerk in the employ of the Penn- sylvania Bank and Trust Company, thus be- ginning his permanent connection with the banking business in general, though that par- ticular association was not to be permanent. His stay there was not a short one, however, and his ability and trustworthiness were recognized and rewarded with promotions until, in 1919, he was made assistant cashier of the bank. Three years later, in 1922, he left the Pennsylvania Bank and Trust Com- pany to accept the position of assistant cash- ier of the Liberty State Bank, now the Lib- erty State Bank and Trust Company, of Liberty, Pennsylvania. That position he filled with marked ability until December 1, 1926, when he became cashier of the North End State Bank, where he is still (1930) located. The qualities of character which have en- abled Mr. Petro to overcome all difficulties and to remain faithful to early trusts are making him a valuable factor in the develop- ment of the business interests of the bank with which he is now identified, and he is much trusted and respected by his associates. As the North End . State Bank was an in- fant, only little more than two years old,
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when Mr. Petro became identified with its interests as cashier, he will have an oppor- tunity to grow with it. The bank was organ- ized in October, 1925, and opened for business April 1, 1926, just eight months prior to the coming of Mr. Petro as cashier. Its first offi- cial personnel was as follows: President, Richard A. Ward; vice-president, Daniel J. Cray; second vice-president, Gustave A. John- son; third vice-president, Robert W. Johnson; with E. Arthur Aston as secretary of the official board; Ralph J. Stout as cashier; and Rodger O. O'Donnell, as solicitor. At the present time (1930) Daniel J. Cray is presi- dent; Gustave A. Johnson, first vice-president; Robert W. Johnson, second vice-president; George M. Yencha, third vice-president; John Petro, cashier; Walter A. Bromfield, assist- ant cashier; with the solicitor and the sec- retary of the board remaining as before. The bank is located at No. 438 North Main Street, and has already taken its place among the well established financial insti- tutions of the city of Wilkes-Barre. It was not by chance that Mr. Petro entered the banking world after the completion of his commercial course. He knew what he wanted and made definite preparation for a successful career as a banker by adding to his commercial course, a course in the Ameri- can Institute of Banking, taken while he was holding a minor bank position.
Mr. Petro is a Republican in his political sympathies, and he is one of the responsible citizens who take a part in bearing the bur- dens of local public office, his contribution in this direction being six years of service as auditor of Miners Mills. He is active in the work of the Greek Catholic Church of North Wilkes-Barre, which he served as secretary for two years and as vice-president in 1927. He is secretary of the St. Nicholas Society, a branch of the Greek Catholic Union, and is a member of the Tatra Club.
John Petro was married, October 12, 1919, to Julia Bobick, of Homestead, Pennsylvania, daughter of John and Mary Bobick, and they are the parents of three children: Mildred M., born November 17, 1920; Myron J., born March 10, 1922; and Loretta D., born March 1, 1925. The family home is located at No. 15 East Main Street, in Wilkes-Barre.
PRESTON J. STURDEVANT, D. D. S .- One of the skillful and successful dentists of Lu- zerne County is Preston J. Sturdevant, D. D. S., who in the period of slightly more than a decade in which he has been practicing his profession has acquired a host of friends and loyal patients who rely upon his work im- plicitly and come to him for their dental advice and treatment. Practicing, with offices in Forty Fort, Dr. Sturdevant is widely known among his fellow-citizens, and is at the same time more than ordinarily active in the social and civic life of his community.
He was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsyl- vania, on June 3, 1896, a son of Clarence W. and Lucy (Swan) Sturdevant. His father, who was born in Binghamton, New York, in 1865, is engaged in the fire insurance business in Wilkes-Barre, where he is a member of the firm of Thompson, Derr and Brothers; while the mother, Lucy (Swan) Sturdevant, was born at Skinners Eddy, Pennsylvania, in 1872, and died in February, 1920. His early days Preston J. Sturdevant spent in Wilkes- Barre, where he attended the public and high schools, having been graduated from high school in the class of 1914. He then went for
his professional work to the University of Pennsylvania, which graduated him in 1918 with the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. Since that time Dr. Sturdevant has practiced his calling in Forty Fort, where he has fine up-to-date offices and is taking care of a con- stantly increasing practice.
In the course of his work he has come to be regarded, and truly so, as one of the most active men of Forty Fort in all public affairs. He is, in his political views, a Republican, and supports regularly the policies and can- didates of his party. He holds membership in the Free and Accepted Masons, in which order his affiliation is with the Wyoming Lodge, No. 468. He keeps a close eye upon the newest developments in his profession, which he studies through the medium of the Luzerne County Dental Society, the Penn- sylvania State Dental Society and the Ameri- can Dental Association. His religious affilia- tion is with the Methodist Episcopal Church.
In 1920, Dr. Sturdevant married Damaris Metsker, of Plymouth, Indiana, daughter of Clay W. and Nellie (Camp) Metsker. By this union there have been three children: 1. Stephen Allen, born in April, 1921. 2. Gwyneth Jean, born in August. 1924. 3. Preston J. Jr., born in November, 1927.
WILLIAM H. MeCARTHY-A business man of proved ability and long experience, Wil- liam H. McCarthy is sole proprietor of "Mac's Garage," situated at No. 192-200 Wyoming Street, Wilkes-Barre. From the time of its establishment, this venture proved highly successful and under Mr. McCarthy's able direction its business is constantly expand- ing. The general service which he offers is one of an unusually high type, of which many local motorists take advantage, while his is the official Wilkes-Barre service for Dodge, Pontiac and Oakland cars.
Mr. McCarthy was born in Wilkes-Barre on September 10, 1876, a son of Dennis J. McCarthy, born in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, died in 1915, and of Catherine (Dunn) McCarthy, a member of the pioneer family of that name in this section, who died in 1910. The father was foreman for forty years for the Delaware and Hudson Coal Company, and during the period of the Civil War saw service with the 109th Pennsylvania Volunteers, serving with distinction under General George H. Thomas.
William H. McCarthy attended the public schools of his birthplace, and later com- pleted a special course at Mansfield Normal School, in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. Be- ginning his business career, he entered the employ of the Delaware and Hudson Coal Company, advancing to foreman in this com- pany, a position which he held to the com- plete satisfaction of its executive officers for a period of eighteen years. For four years of this time, during the World War, Mr. Mc- Carthy was in charge of the guard and of employment at Matheson Plant of the Inter- national Fabricating Manufacturers. In 1921, however, he established himself independ- ently in the garage business, erecting his first building at No. 200 Wyoming Street. With the growth of his business he built liis pres- ent brick garage, which runs from No. 192 to No. 200 on Wyoming Street, a completely modern structure in every detail. To assist him in this enterprise Charles Sponseller is conducting the repair shop.
Politically he supports the principles and candidates of the Democratic party, taking
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an active part in many movements for the promotion of civic welfare and the progress of the community. He was one of the or- ganizers and is now a member of the board of directors of the North End Bank of Wilkes-Barre. Mr. McCarthy has also served for one term as a member of the school board of Miners Mills.
Mr. McCarthy is himself a veteran of the United States Army service, answering the call to arms in 1898, at the time of the declaration of war against Spain. In the progress of the campaigns, he participated in several of the most important engagements of the war. He worships in the faith of the Roman Catholic Church, and is a devoted member of St. John the Divine, at Wilkes- Barre.
XAVIER KUEHN COLLMANN, M. D .- The city of Wilkes-Barre may well be proud of its long list of able men of the medical pro- fession, many of whom were born and reared here and have given all the years of their mature life to the city of their birth. Among those who were born here and received their professional education in Philadelphia is Dr. Xavier Kuehn Collmann, who served his in- terneship in the Wilkes-Barre General Hos- pital, and has been engaged in general prac- tice here since 1919. He has his offices at No. 387 North Main Street. He is a member of the staff of Wilkes-Barre General Hospital and of the various medical associations and has made for himself an assured place among his professional colleagues.
Adolph E. R. Collmann, father of Dr. Coll- mann, was horn in Germany in 1863, but was one of the many Germans of his time who decided to leave the land of his birth and come to this country where opportunity was greater and restrictions and handicaps fewer. Being a man of ability and of education, as well as a good business man, he chose the business of the retail druggist, which he fol- lowed successfully in Wilkes-Barre for many years. He is still living here (1930) retired, and as the years have passed he has made for himself an honored place among those with whom he has been associated. He mar- ried Lydia Kenhn, a native of Elmville, Ohio, who was born in 1863, and is still living.
Dr. Xavier K. Collmann, son of Adolph E. R. and Lydia (Kuehn) Collmann, was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, October 19, 1890, and received his early and preparatory education in the public schools of this city, graduating from the high school with the class of 1909. His father's business as a re- tail druggist had interested him in the medi- cal profession, and when his high school course was finished he decided to become a physician. With this end in view he entered the Medico Chirurgical College in Philadel- phia, where he finished his course and was graduated with the class of 1916, receiving at that time the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Being desirous of preparing himself as thoroughly as possible for the responsibilities of general practice, he then served a three- year interneship in the Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, thus giving himself the advantages of an unusually long preliminary hospital training. In 1919 he opened an office for gen- eral practice here in Wilkes-Barre, and since that time, a period of more than ten years, he has been successfully building up a large and still growing practice. He is a member of the Medical Staff of Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, and has for several years now
(1930) been known as one of the able and successful physicians of the city. He holds membership in the Luzerne County Medical Society, the Pennsylvania State Medical So- ciety, and the American Medical Association, and, has from the beginning of his profes- sional career given evidence of more than average ability. During his four years train- ing in Medico Chi he received highest honors, for which he was awarded four gold medals, one for each year. He was a member of the Omega Epsilon Phi Fraternity.
During the period of the participation of the United States in the World War, Dr. Collmann who was then serving in the Wilkes- Barre General Hospital, was commissioned a first lieutenant, but he was not called for active service, other than the service which he was already rendering here at home. Po- litically, he supports the principles of the Republican party, and his fraternal connec- tion is with Lodge No. 442, Free and Accepted Masons; Dieu le Veut Commandery, Knights Templar, No. 45, and Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church.
Dr. Xavier K. Collmann was married, April 28, 1920, to Lillian Howe, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, daughter of Evan P. Howe, who was born in England in 1870, but came to this country and settled in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where he is engaged in busi- ness as a contractor, and of Gertrude (Johns) Howe, who was born in Cornwall, England, in 1872, and is still living (1930). Dr. and Mrs. Collmann have three sons: 1. Warren X., born February 27, 1921. 2. Reid L., born Sep- tember 5, 1922. 3. Spencer Howe, born April 29, 1924.
WILLIAM JAMES PHILLIPS-Active in the business life and the civic affairs of Forty Fort, Pennsylvania, William James Phillips is one of the leading figures of this munici- pality, where he conducts a general store and holds directorships in other local enterprises. There is no question or project of public importance in which Mr. Phillips does not take a pronounced interest, while he is gen- erous of his time and energies in the support of institutions and movements which he be- lieves beneficial to the community and its people. It is only natural that he should have acquired a wide circle of friends and ac- quaintances, both in Forty Fort and through- out Luzerne County and the Wyoming Val- ley, especially in view of his genial and ami- able personality, which has been such a fac- tor in building up the strong business house which he conducts here today.
He was born in Kingston, Pennsylvania, on February 28, 1876, a son of Thomas B. and Mary Anne (Fitz) Phillips. His father was born in England in 1846, while the mother was born in that land in 1844. Throughout the most active years of his career, Thomas B. Phillips was a merchant in Kingston, Pennsylvania, where he died in 1906; and the mother, also a resident of Kingston over a long period, died there in 1905.
William James Phillips received his early education in the public schools of Kingston, his birthplace, and subsequently became a student at the Wyoming Seminary. When he finished a bookkeeping course he became weighmaster at Colliery No. 4 of the Dela- ware, Lackawanna and Western, in Kingston, where he remained for one year. At the end of that time he became bookkeeper with the Scouton and Lee Lumber Company, in Par-
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Navier K. Colmann MR .
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sons, Pennsylvania, with which company he continued in this capacity for four and one- half years. Then, in 1900, he formed the partnership of Phillips and Young, a retail grocery establishment and general store, which he conducted until 1906. At that time Mr. Phillips sold his interest in the enter- prise, and went into business under his own name. Since then he has been the proprietor of the general store which he now conducts, an institution which employs five persons and which stands high in the business life of the Wyoming Valley. Mr. Phillips has shown remarkable ability and talent for organizing and developing this store, and for so calcu- lating his services that they exactly fit the needs of the community in which he has so long lived and worked and whose require- ments he has so diligently studied.
In addition to his activities with this gen- eral store, Mr. Phillips takes part in a num- ber of other enterprises prominent in his community, both in its business and social life. He is a director of the Wyoming Roofing Products Company, of Wyoming, Pennsyl- vania, and of the Wyoming Baking Company, also of that place. In his political views he is identified with the Republican party, whose policies and candidates he consistently sup- ports. He is a member of the Patriotic Order Sons of America. He is a director of the Forty Fort State Bank, and is a member of the Forty Fort Board of Health. His religi- ous affiliation is with the Presbyterian Church, in which he is a member of the board of trustees.
In 1904, William James Phillips married Cora Mae Nelson, of Luzerne County, daugh- ter of Sornson and Mary Nelson. By this union there is one daughter, Olive, born in November, 1909, who was graduated from the Forty Fort High School and Wyoming Semi- nary, and is now attending the Bloomsburg Normal School.
HIUGHI HUGHES-A resident of Plains, Pennsylvania, for many years, Hugh Hughes is now engaged as funeral director and em- balmer here, in a very successful way. He carries a complete line of the most modern equipment obtainable, while his ready tact and fine spirit of service have won him many friends in the community, in whose general life he also takes an important part.
Mr. Hughes was born on October I8, 1879, in Wales, a son of Thomas Hughes, a stone- cutter, born in Wales in 1850, and of Anne (Jones) Hughes, also born in Wales in 1856, died in 1923. The father is still living.
Hugh Hughes attended the public schools of Wales, and later has taken courses of the International Correspondence School, and also Young Men's Christian Association work. At the age of nine, he began work as an appren- tice barber, following his trade in both Liver- pool, England, and in the United States, to which he came as a young man. Through his own energy and ability, Mr. Hughes was able to set up his own shop in Plains, which he operated for fifteen years, and also one in Wilkes-Barre, to which he devoted his at- tention for a period of four years. In 1908, Mr. Hughes was graduated from the Eckles School of Embalming, and in 1915, he gave up work as a barber to become a funeral director and embalmer, a profession which he had carried on along with his other work for several years. Since 1915 he has operated in both Plains and Kingston, Pennsylvania,
his services in this respect being most satis- factory.
Politically, Mr. Hughes is a member of the Republican party, and he is affiliated frater- nally with the Free and Accepted Masons, in which organization he is a member of Land- mark Lodge, No. 112; Shekinah Chapter, No. 182, Royal Arch Masons; Dieu le Veut Com- mandery, No. 45, Knights Templar; and Irem Temple, of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of Wyoming Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; a member of the Knights of Malta, the Loyal Order of Moose, and of the local Motor Club. He is a member and a liberal supporter of the Plains Methodist Episcopal Church, serving on the official board of the church, and he is also a member of the executive committee of the Orpheus Glee Club, of Wilkes-Barre.
In 1911, Hugh Hughes married Edith Mer- ritt, of Plains, daughter of Henry and Mary (Rodda) Merritt, of this place. Mr. and Mrs. Hughes are the parents of one child, H. Mer- ritt, born January 10, 1917. The Hughes family home is at No. 51 East Carey Street, Plains, Pennsylvania.
JOSEPH FRANCIS SHERIDAN, D. D. S .- Though the beginning of his professional career as a dentist was delayed for almost two years as the result of Dr. Sheridan's active military service overseas during the World War, he has made for himself in the ten years, during which he has been engaged in the practice of his profession in Wilkes- Barre, a very high reputation as an able dentist. He is active also in a number of fraternal, professional, social and religious organizations and in every way represents the highest type of useful and progressive citizenship.
Joseph Francis Sheridan was born at Plym- outh, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, August 4, 1894, a son of Arthur T. and Anna (Lynch) Sheridan. His father, a blacksmith by trade, is a native of Danville, Pennsylvania, his mother of Larksville, Pennsylvania. Dr.
Sheridan was educated in the public grammar and high schools of his native town and, after graduating from Plymouth High School, in 1914, entered Temple University, Philadel- phia, from which he was graduated with the degree of D. D. S. in 1917, having taken the full course in that institution's Dental School. This country in the meantime having entered the World War, Dr. Sheridan postponed the start of his professional career and enlisted in the military service of the United States. Commissioned a first lieutenant in Dental Corps, he served in the United States five months and overseas for nineteen months with the Ist Army Artillery and various base hospitals, seeing a great deal of fighting on the Meuse-Argonne and St. Mihiel fronts. He received his honorable discharge Septem- ber 8, 1919, and immediately afterwards established himself in the general practice of dentistry at Wilkes-Barre, in which he has continued since then with great success, his office in recent years being located at No. 2 West Northampton Street. He is a member of the American, Pennsylvania State and Luzerne County Dental societies, as well as of the American Legion, the Fox Hill Country Club, Lodge No. 109, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and Knights of Columbus. In politics he is a supporter of the Democratic party, while his religious affiliation is with the Roman Catholic Church, and more particularly with
Church of Wilkes-Barre.
St. Mary's
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Dr. Sheridan married, June 20, 1925, Mary E. Brennan, of Larksville, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Thomas J. and Anna ( Keating) Brennan. Dr. and Mrs. Sheridan make their home at No. 20 Sheldon Street, Wilkes-Barre.
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