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 8
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D. M. Hobbes was born January 1, 1858, in Union Township, son of Peter and Jane (McDaniels) Hobbes, both parents now de- ceased. Peter Hobbes was a farmer and a blacksmith in Union Township, a son of John and Elizabeth (Baer) Hobbes, and she was a cousin of George F. Baer, of Reading Rail- road fame. The Hobbes family are recorded as among the early settled families of Union Township, and Grandfather John Hobbes and his wife were the parents of ten children: 1. Samuel Hobbes, who went West and settled in Mason City, Illinois, and one of his sons is Douglas Hobbes, a lawyer of St. Louis, Missouri. 2. Hannah, who married Joseph G. Dodson, and whose son is Dr. Boyd Dodson, of Wilkes-Barre. 3. Lucinda, who married John Tomlin, of Mason City, Illinois. 4. Eliza- beth, who married George W. Miller, deceased, for forty years a leading merchant of Shick- shinny, Luzerne County. 5. Susan, who mar- ried John T. Rath, of Shickshinny. 6. Peter, of whom further. 7. Jacob, a farmer in Union Township, among whose children is Mary Hobbes, a well-known teacher in Wilkes-Barre public schools. 8. Catherine, deceased, for thirty-five years a teacher in Luzerne County public schools. 9. Adelaide, married B. B. Place, of St. Joseph, Missouri. 10. Sarah, also a teacher, deceased at Mason City, Illinois.
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Peter Hobbes and Jane (McDaniels) Hobbes were the parents of six children: D. M. Hobbes, of whom further; Frank P., died unmarried, at Shickshinny, in August, 1928: Charles B., also of Shickshinny, a retired farmer; Dr. C. E. Hobbes, a dentist of Wilkes- Barre; Fred L., a farmer at Muhlenburg; Oscar D., a contractor at Shickshinny.
Reared on the old farm in Union Town- ship, D. M. Hobbes meantime attended the public schools, and was graduated at the Bloomsburg State Normal School in the class of 1883. He was afterwards, and successively, principal of public schools of Luzerne Bor- ough; Dallas High School; Pleasant Hill Academy; Dorranceton; Ashley Borough; and at Kingston, covering a period of twenty-five years.
Mr. Hobbes entered upon the study of law in the office of Isaac P. Hand, of Wilkes- Barre, and was admitted to the Luzerne County bar in 1901, and since that date he has actively engaged in the general practice of law. While a teacher, he was a member of the State Examining Board for teachers' permanent or life certificates; and he also introduced into the public schools the present method of reading by the sound method, now in general use in Luzerne County. He is a member of the Luzerne County Bar Associa- tion; and his religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
D. M. Hobbes married, June 29, 1887, Ida J. Sutliff, of Union Township, daughter of D. C. and Maria (Whitesell) Sutliff. Their children: 1. Gertrude Hobbes, married Pro- fessor Joseph E. Pooley, the present head- master of Madison Academy, Madison, New Jersey. 2. Ina I., deceased, married Howard Remaly, of the George F. Lee Coal Company, of Nanticoke, and they had one son, Howard Hobbes Remaly. 3. Ethel E., deceased. She was a trained nurse, who died while on duty during the influenza epidemic, nursing sol- diers at Tobyhanna. 4. William H., assistant State superintendent of State roads in Lu- zerne County; graduate of the Pennsylvania State College, with the degree Mechanical Engineer: he married Velma Eastman, who was assistant superintendent of public schools at Marshall, North Carolina. 5. Marie S. Hobbes, a student at Drexel Institute, Philadelphia.
WILLIAM H. VEALE-Time was, within the memory of those not yet old, when pro- gressive men engaged in dealing in horse- drawn vehicles began to recognize the pos- sible passing of the old order of things by adding to their stock an occasional automo- bile or by taking over the agency of some current make of that innovation as a means of travel. Today, the once jeered-at auto- mobile is so thick upon our rapidly increasing mileage of paved roads that the regulation of traffic is a serious problem. Today, here and there, a progressive dealer in automo- biles is adding to his stock of motor cars designed for travel upon the highways a motor vehicle designed for the higher ways of the air above, where traffic is, as yet, uncongested. Here and there a dealer in automobiles is taking over the agency for the product of some manufacturer of air crafts-and he is selling the aeroplanes, too.
In Hazleton, Pennsylvania, the progressive man who is combining the air craft business with a flourishing automobile business is William H. Veale, a practical flyer who has held his pilot's license for more than five years, and who, since December, 1927, has, in addition to the management of his pros- perous automobile business, served as distri- butor, covering Eastern Pennsylvania, for the Kreider-Reisner Aircraft Company, which
manufactures the Challenger plane. Mr. Veale holds the agency for Dodge cars, cover- ing Hazleton and vicinity, and his business is housed in his own steel framed structure at Nos. 13-23 East Green Street, in Hazle- ton. His aviation field and hangar are located at St. Johns, about six miles north of the center of Hazleton.
William H. Veale was born in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, May 13, 1888, son of Samuel W., a member of the firm of Veale Brothers, contractors, who is still living (1928), and of Celia (Bolitho) Veale. He received his education in the public schools of Hazleton and then spent some time with his father in the contracting business. Being of a mechanical turn of mind and interested in automobiles he made a change in 1920, estab- lishing, April 1, of that year an anto business of his own. Beginning in a modest way, he first took over the agency for the Hahne trucks and for the Hupmobile. Being a young man of energy and ability and of sound business judgment, he soon built up a prosperous enterprise, and in 1923 he took over the agency for the Dodge car, covering Hazleton and vicinity. In 1925 he erected the fine steel-framed absolutely fire-proof building at Nos. 13-23 East Green Street, in which his steadily growing business is now housed, a two-story structure of brick and cement, ninety by one hundred feet in dimen- sion, providing housing for garage and serv- ice station and a public garage with accom- modations for forty cars.
Mr. Veale has for some years been inter- ested in aeronautics, and some five years ago received his pilot's license. He is known as a good practical flyer, and on December 1, 1927, he was appointed the first distributor of the Challenger plane, manufactured by the Kreider-Reisner Aircraft Company. His district for this plane covers all of Eastern Pennsylvania and at St. John, located on the outskirts of the city, about six miles north of the center, he has established his aviation field. There he has built his hangar and storage space, sixty by one hundred feet, and there he gives instruction in the art of flying and also gives demonstrations of the Chal- lenger car to prospective purchasers. As the pioneer in this particular field of aeronautics as a business, in this section, he is doing a very satisfactory amount of selling, and there is every indication that the aircraft depart- ment of his enterprise will grow in impor- tance with the passing of each year. As instructor Mr. Veale has been very success- ful, and well-to-do young men of this sec- tion who can afford to own a plane are deeply interested in Mr. Veale's aviation field.
Along with his successful business activi- ties Mr. Veale also finds time for attending to his full share in civic affairs. He is a member of the Hazleton Chamber of Com- merce, is active in local politics, and is gen- erally interested in the betterment of the city of Hazleton. Fraternally, he is identified with Lodge No. 200, Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks; and is prominent in the Masonic Order, being a member of Azalla Lodge, No. 207, Free and Accepted Masons; of Caldwell Consistory; and of Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Kiwanis Club and of the Valley Country Club, and his religious affiliation is with the English Luth- eran Church.
William H. Veale was married, September 12, 1907, to Mary Dietrich, of Hazleton, and they are the parents of two children: Jean Evelyn and Stewart Samuel. The family home is located at No. 303 East Chapel Street, in Hazleton.
Rush Inscott
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JOHN T. KIELTY. M. D .- Rising in the medical profession of Wyoming Valley, where he has been established but a short time, John T. Kielty, of Kingston, gives promise of rapid advancement in his chosen calling. He is a young man of excellent reputation, industrious, ambitious and with a finished education, to which he is constantly adding through association with older practitioners and the reading of such literature as is of value in his work. His personality is engaging and he is an affable man who makes friends readily and holds them firmly. It will be a source of surprise to those who have watched his work here if he does not early attain to a position of great importance in the medical field of Pennsylvania.
He was born in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, July 6, 1901, a son of Patrick F. Kielty, a native of Archbold, now in the insurance business in Wilkes-Barre, and Bridget (Mc- Andrew) Kielty, of the same place. His edu- cation began in the public schools of Wilkes- Barre and was continued in St. Mary's Parochial School, from which institution he took the preparatory medical course at Villa- nova College and then went to Jefferson Medical College, in Philadelphia, from which he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in the class of 1925. He then served one year as interne in St. Mary's Hospital in Philadelphia and at the conclu- sion of this work came to Kingston, where he established himself in independent prac- tice. He is a member of the staff of Mercy Hospital and belongs to the American Med- ical Association and to the State and County medical societies. He is a Republican in poli- tics and attends St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church.
JOHN LEONARD LAVIN, M. D .- One of the foremost practitioners of medicine in Luzerne County is John Leonard Lavin, who, being a native of this part of Pennsylvania, is thoroughly acquainted with the local peo- ple and conditions, and is able the better to meet their needs in practicing his pro- fession. He has shown, in the course of his medical career in Swoyersville, that he is ever willing to devote his time and energies unstintingly to the welfare of his patients and the cause of health advancement in his community; and this trait, coupled with his excellent skill as a physician and surgeon, makes him one of the most useful members of his profession.
Dr. Lavin was born in Swoyersville, the place in which he now practices medicine, February 29, 1892, a son of Thomas and Ellen (Quinn) Lavin. His father, a native of Ire- land, came to the United States early in life and settled in this region of Pennsylvania, where he was at first engaged in the mining industry, and later entered politics in Luzerne County, having held several important pub- lic positions, such as supervisor and tax col- lector of Kingston Township; while the mother, Ellen (Quinn) Lavin, was also born in Ireland.
Dr. John Leonard Lavin received his edu- cation in the Sacred Heart School, Luzerne, and attended Saint Mary's High School in Wilkes-Barre, from which he was graduated in the class of 1909, and St. Thomas's College, Scranton. Later he became a student at Jefferson Medical College, in Philadelphia, from which he was graduated in 1915 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. After he completed the academic part of his profes- sional work, he became an interne at Saint Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia. Then, when he finished this work, he began his own general practice of medicine in Swoyersville,
where he has been engaged in his profes- sional work ever since that time and has won a host of dear friends and loyal sup- porters.
In addition to his own practice, Dr. Lavin is a member of the staff of Mercy Hospital, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and is asso- ciate surgeon there. He also holds member- ships in the American Medical Association, the Pennsylvania State Medical Association and the Luzerne County Medical Associa- tion, through which organizations he keeps constantly in touch with the newest develop- ments in his profession. While the United States was a participant in the World War, Dr. Lavin served as captain in the Medical Corps in the United States Army overseas. While on the other side of the Atlantic, he was stationed at Base Hospital No. 64. He was abroad at that time for twelve months, during all of which time he was actively engaged in his country's military service. His discharge from the army came in June, 1919.
When he returned to the Luzerne County region to resume his practice, he immediately took part in a number of the public affairs of his community. He is now president of the Board of Health of Swoyersville, and is chief medical inspector of the schools in this place. He is a keen observer of political affairs, and is himself affiliated with the Republican party, whose policies and candi- dates he regularly supports. He holds mem- berships in the Knights of Columbus and the American Legion, Post No. 644, and his religious affiliation is with the Holy Name Roman Catholic Church.
On January 3, 1927, Dr. Lavin married Cath- erine C. Delahunt, of Windber, Pennsylvania, daughter of Thomas and Margaret Delehunt. By this marriage there has been one son, John Leonard, Jr., born October 27, 1927. Dr. and Mrs. Lavin reside at No. 202 Shoemaker Street, and his office is at No. 281 Chapel Street, Swoyersville.
RUSH TRESCOTT-The Trescott family of which Rush Trescott, prominent Wilkes- Barre attorney, was a part, proceeds from English ancestry and since the early part of the seventeenth century has made its mark in the affairs of the United States. Its sturdy members have graced the military, the sci- ences and the educational world. They bore an honorable part in the early struggles of the colonists, participating in the Indian wars, an expedition against Canada and the war of the American Revolution. In the early days they were closely associated with Dorchester, Milton and other towns of East- ern Massachusetts. From these pioneers went forth a settler to Luzerne County, Pennsyl- vania, who there established the name which has ever since been one of distinction in the Keystone State. The descent to Rush Tres- cott is through the following line:
(I) William Trescott (1614), of Dorchester, married Elizabeth Dyer.
(II) Their son, Samuel Trescott (1646- 1730), served in King Philip's War, was identified with Milton; married Margaret Rogers (1653-1742).
(III) Their son, Ebenezer Trescott (1680), of Milton, later Mansfield; married Bridget Fenton.
(IV) Their son, Samuel Trescott (1715), known as "The Surveyor," was a resident of Mansfield, Connecticut; he married Hannah Purchas, of Springfield, Massachusetts, of whose nine children the seven sons entered the Colonial Army during the Revolution and at least three received pensions from the United States Government. The record of
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their service is found more fully in Vol. XVI of "Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War." Samuel Trescott and his sons, Solon and Samuel, Jr., also survey- ors, migrated to Huntington, Luzerne County, about 1770, where they laid out the township of Huntington and built a cabin on Hunting- ton Creek near the present site of Harvey- ville. This work was done at the instance of the Susquehanna Company, of Windham County, Connecticut, which was formed with the purpose of settling Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania. Mr. Trescott and his two sons returned to Connecticut and served in George Washington's command during 1776 and 1777. They and the younger brothers were active in numerous battles and campaigns, and at the end of the war Solon and Samuel returned to Huntington in 1778. Soon thereafter they enlisted in the Huntington Valley Company under the command of Captain John Frank- lin. This company defended Wyoming Valley against the Indians and Tories, and the Tres- cott brothers assisted in the destruction of a large quantity of whiskey poured into the river at Plymouth so the red-skins and Tories could not obtain it. The massacre of settlers at Forty Fort being in progress, they reached Kingston, two miles away, while it was at its height, and after the battle there the brothers went down the river and eventually made their way back to Connecticut.
(V) Their son, Solon Trescott (1750-1826), associated with Huntington, also Harveyville, married Margaret Lewis, daughter of Edward Lewis, a soldier of the Revolution, and Bridget Lewis; they died within two days of each other and were buried in a private cemetery between Harveyville and Hunting- ton Mills.
(VI) Their son, Peter Sylvester Trescott (1789-1884), identified with Huntington Town. ship, married Susan Miller, of Chester County, whose parents were Welsh Quakers.
(VII) Their son, Miller Barton Trescott, was born at Huntington, July 12, 1830, and died December 22, 1897; he married Permelia Stevens Rhone, born at Cambria, April 22, 1836, daughter of George and Mary Bowman (Stevens) Rhone. George Rhone was a son of Matthias and Naomi (LaPorte) Rhone, the former a native of Lehigh County, near Al- lentown, and a farmer by occupation. He died in 1853 near Benton, Columbia County, aged seventy-five years, and was interred in St. Gabriel's churchyard. Naomi (LaPorte) Rhone was a daughter of a French refugee who fled to America during the French Revo- lution and settled at Asylum, Bradford County, Pennsylvania; John LaPorte, her relative, was speaker of the Pennsylvania Legislature in 1832, and from 1832 to 1836 was a Member of Congress; he was one of a few Frenchmen who refused expatriation offered by Napoleon Bonaparte. Mary Bow- man (Stevens) Rhone was a daughter of Zebulon Hall Stevens, a descendant of Henry Stevens, who came to this country from Eng- land April 4, 1669, with his father and two brothers, Nicholas and Thomas, and settled in Taunton, Massachusetts. Permelia (Bow- man) Stevens, wife of Zebulon Stevens, was the eldest daughter of John Bowman (1772- 1848), of Huntington, who married Mary Britton, and she died in 1852. He was a son of Christopher Bowman, who came to Bucks County in 1754 from Germany. Henry Stevens married Eliza or Elizabeth Gallup, a daugh- ter of Captain John Gallup, son of Captain John Gallup, of Boston, Massachusetts, and both father and son were noted Indian fight- ers. Captain Gallup married Hannah Lake, a relative of Governor Winthrop.
The children of Miller Barton and Permelia S. (Rhone) Trescott numbered eight: 1. Syl- vester Boyd, married Anna Potter and they have a son, Paul Henry Trescott. 2. Mary L., a prominent attorney of Wilkes-Barre, Penn- sylvania. 3. George Rhone, married Emma Harrison. They have two children, Leroy, married Hazel Nixon, and Liva Permelia, married Fred W. Blencoe, of England. George Rhone removed to Dorranceton, where he was burgess and a member of the Borough Council while he resided there. He died at Waterton, Pennsylvania, in 1922. 4. Minerva Patterson, married Charles W. Snyder, Williamsport journalist, and they have five children, Mar- tha, Barton, Russell, Richard and Harold Snyder, the last named of whom died at the age of ten. 5. Josephine, married Henry H. Davenport, of Huntington Township, and they have five children, Herman, Frances, Robert, Irene and Mary Davenport. 6. Rush, of whom further. 7. Emma, single, engaged in missionary work among the foreign-born miners, founder of the Anthracite Mission at Hazleton, and welfare worker for the Philadelphia & Reading Coal Company at Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania. She died Sep- tember 9, 1927. S. Robert, married Eliza Dreisbach, great-great-granddaughter of Luther Trescott, and great-granddaughter of Susan Dodson; they had a son, Barton, born June 8, 1914; Eliza (Dreisbach) Trescott died at the old homestead at Huntington, Decem- ber 4, 1918.
(VIII) Rush Trescott was born October 5, 1868, on the plantation in Huntington Town- ship, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and died at Kingston, May 7, 1927. He grew to man- hood in this rustic atmosphere, surrounded hy the glorious associations of nearly a cen- tury. As a boy he alternately worked on the farm and attended school, and later attended the New Columbus and Huntington Mills academies, graduating in due time from the latter. He then entered the Law School of Dickinson College at Carlisle, from which in- stitution he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in the class of 1895. He was admitted to the Luzerne County bar at Wilkes-Barre June 17, 1895, and for thirty- two years had been one of the most active practitioners at this place, and quite success- ful in local, State and Federal courts. As an Independent Democrat he had been an active party worker for thirty years, having served for many years as a member of the Democratic County Committee and committee chairman. From 1898 to 1901 he served as assistant district attorney under the admin- istration of T. R. Martin, and made a splen- did record, as county official. He acted as burgess of Kingston from January 1, 1913, to January 1, 1921, with entire satisfaction to his fellow-townsmen. He was a valued member of the Luzerne County Bar Associa- tion, and for forty years he had been active in the work of the Methodist Episcopal Church, a trustee, superintendent and teacher in the Sabbath school, and first president of the Epworth League in Pennsylvania. Mr. Trescott was essentially a self-made man and he had achieved a notable success and was highly respected throughout the community.
Mr. Trescott married Elizabeth May Wil- bur June 9, 1899, a daughter of Henry and Mary (Fell) Wilbur, of Wilkes-Barre, and their union was blessed with a son, Wilbur Trescott, a member of the class of 1927 at Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey. Mrs. Trescott, a woman of great strength of character and many lovable traits, died Jan- uary 31, 1924, sincerely mourned by all who knew her.
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HIERMAN S. VAN CAMPEN-After working for nine years as despatcher and division superintendent for the Wilkes-Barre Railway Company, Herman S. Van Campen decided to go into business for himself, and he there- upon purchased a general store at Shaver- town, Luzerne County, which he has since operated with profit to himself and satisfac- tion to his customers.
Mr. Van Campen was born at Exeter, in this county, on December 22, 1889, the son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Smith) Van Campen, the former a native of Monroe County, where he was born in 1859, and the latter of Pike County. The Van Campen family has a history in this section which dates back to the early Indian days in Luzerne County, and ances- tors of Mr. Van Campen were participants in the Wyoming Valley massacre.
Following his early education in the public and high schools of Exeter, Mr. Van Campen went into the railroad business, eventually becoming the despatcher and division super- intendent of the Wilkes-Barre Railroad. In January, 1922, he purchased the general store at Shavertown which was then operated by William Wilson, and which he has since con- ducted under his own name with much suc- cess, carrying a general line of merchandise, meats and provisions, together with sodas and confectioneries. In 1922 Mr. Van Campen was appointed postmaster of Shavertown by President Harding, which post he has since held. In politics he is a staunch Republican. He is affiliated with Dallas Lodge, No. 435, Free and Accepted Masons, and with Lodge No. 1078, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which fraternity he is a Past District Deputy Grand Master of the Fourth District. Mr. Van Campen also belongs to the Shalmer Sanctorum, No. 237, of the Ancient Mystic Order of Samaritans, and is a member of the Dallas Rotary Club. His religious affiliations are with the Methodist Episcopal Church.
On May 26, 1918, Mr. Van Campen married Mae Shaver, daughter of Olin and Ella Shaver, of Shavertown. Mr. and Mrs. Van Campen are the parents of one child, a son, James Olin, born April 20, 1927.
WALTER S. BROADT-As station agent for the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad, at Shickshinny, Pennsylvania, Walter S. Broadt has discharged all the duties of his position in a highly efficient manner, to the complete satisfaction both of his company, and of the community which appreciates the high standard of the service that he gives to them. In addition to this work, Mr. Broadt is otherwise active in the affairs of Shickshinny, and in its civic and social life.
Mr. Broadt was born on August 14, 1877, at Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, a son of John Frederick Broadt, who was born at Buck- horn, Pennsylvania, and is now deceased, and of Margaret Amanda (Gruver) Broadt, also now deceased, who was born at Hobbie, Penn- sylvania, a daughter of Daniel and Sallie Gruver. His father, who was an artist, saw service in the Civil War as a member of Company H, 93d Regiment, of the Pennsyl- vania Volunteers, throughout a period of three years, nine months, and thirteen days.
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