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 84
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Pierce Butler married on December 8, 1896, Mary Beardslee, daughter of Hon. Howkin Buckeley and Charlotte (Clark) Beardslee. Mrs. Butler died November 13, 1923. Mr. Beardslee was a prominent member of the Pennsylvania bar, practicing in Wilkes- Barre and district attorney for Wayne County, before he was twenty-one years of age. He later became editor-in-chief of the "Times Leader," Wilkes-Barre's daily paper and was elected to represent his district in the State Senate for two years.
Mr. and Mrs. Butler were the parents of one child, a daughter, Mary Beardslee, born October 29, 1898. On December 8, 1926, she was married to Joseph B. Lippincott. Mrs. Lippincott is one of the brilliant women of the county and deeply interested in politics. She is club historian of the West Side Woman's Club and president, secretary and treasurer of the Butler Estate Company, which administers the affairs of the family as a unit.
MERTON ELWOOD MARVIN, M. D .- De- scended of one of the earliest settlers of Lu- zerne County, the late Dr. Merton Elwood Marvin devoted his life to the healing of the sick in this section of the State, and during his many years of practice acquired for him-
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self not only a high reputation as a physi- cian, but also the esteem and respect of the community as a whole.
Merton Elwood Marvin was born at Muhl- enburg, Luzerne County, August 21, 1872, the son of Alanson Monroe and Sophia (Santee) Marvin. His father, who was born in 1841 and who died in February, 1925, was for many years a prominent and prosperous farmer of Muhlenburg. Dr. Marvin's mother was also a native of Luzerne County, where she was born in 1841 and where she died in May, 1923. David Marvin was the first of the name to settle in Luzerne County, being one of the original forty pioneers who located in Plymouth in the early years of the nineteenth century.
Having received his early education in the public schools of his native town, Dr. Marvin then attended the academies at Sweet Valley and Huntington Mills. Next he took up the study of medicine at Jefferson Medical Col- lege, Philadelphia, from which institution he graduated in 1896 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. For one year he offici- ated as an interne at St. Mary's Hospital, in Philadelphia, at the end of which period he returned to Luzerne County and started in the general practice of medicine at Luzerne. For many years he served on the staff of Nesbitt Hospital, and he was also a member of the Luzerne County and Pennsylvania State Medical Societies, as well as of the American Medical Association. In politics Dr. Marvin was a Republican, but he never sought for or held public office. He was affiliated with Kingston Lodge, No. 395, Free and Accepted Masons; Shekinah Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Dieu le Veut Com- mandery, Knights Templar; and Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. His religious affiliations were with the Kingston Presbyterian Church.
In 1907 Dr. Marvin married Bertha Faulds, daughter of Dr. W. H. Faulds, a leading physician of Kingston. Mrs. Marvin died in January, 1927, leaving one child, a daughter, Eleanor Faulds Marvin, born in March, 1908, Dr. Marvin died soon after his wife.
Dr. Marvin's comparatively early death was a distinct shock to his family, to his many friends and to his fellow-townsmen. During his long residence, covering some five dec- ades, in Luzerne County, he had greatly en- deared himself to all, who had the privilege of coming into contact with him. His skill as a physician gave him a large practice, while his many fine qualities of the mind and the heart won for him an exceptionally large circle of friends. He will long be remem- bered as one of the most useful, most repre- sentative and most public-spirited citizens of Luzerne County.
FRANK F. MATHESON-The family of the surname Matheson of which Frank F. Mathe- son, president of the Matheson Warehouse Company, is a member is of Scotch origin, and was founded in the United States in 1866, by Alexander Matheson. Alexander Matheson was a native of Scotland, born in 1832. At the age of sixteen years he migrated to the Dominion of Canada, and there, in 1864, was united in marriage with Janet Johnston, like himself, of Scotch descent. They came to the United States two years later, first locating in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where they remained for a number of years, later removing to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Alexander Matheson was by trade a stone mason, and in that occupation he spent the balance of his years in Grand Rapids, a
kindly, industrious and temperate man be- loved of all who knew him. Alexander and Janet (Johnston) Matheson were the parents of children: 1. Rosanna, wife of Ralph Phelps, of Detroit, Michigan. 2. Robert Alex- ander, of Grand Rapids. 3. Frank F., of whom directly. 4. William B., of Grand Rapids. 5. Charles Walter, of Detroit. 6. Mary Louise, wife of B. M. Fox, of Grand Rapids. 7. Katherine, wife of George P. Anderson, of Detroit.
Frank F. Matheson, third child and second son, was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, June 27, 1871, five years after Alexander and Janet (Johnston) Matheson established residence there from Canada. While a child he went with them to Grand Rapids, and there re- ceived his preparatory education, matriculat- ing in the University of Michigan upon grad- uation from high school. Upon leaving col- lege Mr. Matheson formed a connection with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, as chief clerk in the engineering department, Grand Rapids; but after two years with the Penn- sylvania road he left it, for the more desir- able position of assistant to the president of the Consolidated Street Railway Company of Grand Rapids. In 1894, at the age of twenty-three years, he went to Chicago, and there engaged in the oil business, for four years, and in 1898 returned to Grand Rapids, to become manager of the department of business system in the Fred Macey Company, an organization which then carried on a world-wide business in mail orders, at retail.
The two Matheson brothers, Frank and Charles, were among the earliest manufac- turers of automobiles in the United States- entering into the manufacture of the Mathe- son car in 1902 at Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1903 the Matheson Motor Car Company purchased the large plant and development of the Holyoke Automobile Company of Hol- yoke, Massachusetts, to which point their operations were moved from Grand Rapids, Michigan. The success of the Matheson car was so pronounced that larger quarters were required and in 1906 the affairs of the Mathe- son Company were moved to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where a large plant was built for their occupancy; and in which plant their operations were conducted until 1913, when the business was liquidated.
Mr. Matheson then entered upon the retail automobile business, in which his affairs prospered ever to greater degree, enabling him, in 1922, to purchase for the use of his retail business, the plant built for and formerly occupied by the Matheson Automo- bile Company for the manufacture of the Matheson car. This plant he greatly enlarged and improved, devoting some acres of floor space to the use of the Matheson Warehouse Company, a company which he organized for general warehouse purposes.
In 1926 this plant suffered a disastrous fire, involving a loss of approximately one million dollars: but which checked but temporarily the expansion of the automobile and ware- housing businesses. In 1921 Mr. Matheson retired from the automobile business, which had developed into one of the largest of its kind in Pennsylvania, turning his entire in- terest in the company over to the members of his organization, and who had so effec- tively contributed to its development. Except for the retention of the presidency of the Matheson Warehouse Company, he withdrew from active business.
While he gave a great deal of time, neces- sarily, to his complex commercial affairs, Mr. Matheson has not neglected other affairs,
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pertaining to the community. Politically, he is in sympathy with the Republican party. His influence is considerable, and he uses it discreetly, to best effect for the citizenry at large. Fraternally his affiliations are broad, He is a member of Landmark Lodge, No. 442, Free and Accepted Masons, of Wilkes-Barre; Keystone Consistory, at Scranton, Pennsyl- vania, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite Ma- sons, of the thirty-second degree; and Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Wilkes-Barre. He is a mem- her of the Irem Temple County Club, the Westmoreland, Franklin and Craftsman's clubs, the Wyoming Valley Motor Club; the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce, of which he is a past president; past presi- dent of the Kiwanis Club; life member of the Wyoming Valley Historical Society, and the Columhia Fire Department of Kingston. Although somewhat advanced in years for service in the military during the World War, Mr. Matheson did serve, and tirelessly, in the Liberty Loan drives, and on the boards and committees in charge of war work. He is a communicant of the Presby- terian Church, Wilkes-Barre, and in matters of charity deals with large heart, ever gen- erously, without regard for race or creed. Firm in his opinions, usually right but quick to admit himself wrong in face of evidence, talented in commerce, honorable in his ac- tions great or small, Mr. Matheson possessed those qualities of character which tend to warm a man in the affections of his fellows; and his friends, who esteem him highly, are numerous.
On November 10, 1896, Mr. Matheson was united in marriage with Cora B. Hester, of Grand Rapids, a daughter of Myron and Katherine Hester. They resided at No. 26 Park Place, Kingston.
WILLIAM NICHOLAS REYNOLDS, JR .- The Reynolds family, which is represented in the present generation at Wilkes-Barre by William Nicholas Reynolds, an able member of the Luzerne County Bar and leader in civic movements, originated in England, where it attained great prominence, some of its repre- sentatives having been attached to the royal house, while others distinguished themselves as statesmen, artisans, colonizers and leaders in the educational world.
The progenitor of the Reynolds family of Wyoming Valley, William Reynolds, was born at Kingstown, Rhode Island, near the close of the seventeenth century, having been fourth in descent from William Reynolds, who is said to have been originally of Gloucestershire, England, and then of the Islands of Bermuda, whence he immigrated about 1629 to Salem and joined the new Puri- tan Colony of Massachusetts Bay. The elder Reynolds joined the First Church at Salem under the ministry of its aged pastor, Sam- uel Skelton, and of his successor, Roger Wil- liams, and later was associated with Wil- liams in the early settlement and founding of the colony of Providence Plantations. In August, 1637, William Reynolds and twelve others, "desirous to inhabit in the town of Providence," signed an agreement in which they promised to ally themselves "in active or passive obedience to all such orders or agreements" as might be formulated for the happiness and advancement of their neigh- borhood. He and thirty-eight others signed an additional agreement in July, 1640, at Providence, offering stable local government to the Crown of England, and not quite four years subsequently a royal charter was
granted them and their associates for the incorporation of the colony of Providence Plantations. A considerable amount of land was allotted to William Reynolds, and a part of his original residence "lot" is in- cluded in the holdings of Brown University. Deciding to remove to Kingstown (now North Kingston, Washington County, Rhode Island), he sold his lands at Providence in 1646, ac- cording to deeds of record there. The descent from the original William Reynolds to Wil- liam Nicholas Reynolds is through the fol- lowing line:
James Reynolds, son of William Reynolds, was born May 13, 1625 (by some genealogists said to have been in England in 1617), be- came constable at Kingstown, and took a prominent part in 1677 in the boundary dis- putes among disputants of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations; and in consequence of acrimonious discus- sions of the disputants, was carried off bod- ily in May of that year to Hartford by a company of Connecticut adherents, and im- prisoned some time. He married Deborah, and died at Kingstown in 1702.
Their son, Joseph Reynolds, born November 27, 1652, married (second) Marcy; lived at North Kingstown, and was known from his stature and strength as "Big Joe."
Their son, Joseph Reynolds, Jr., a man of property who married Susannah Babcock, who later married Robert Spencer November 7, 1723; his will was proved in 1722 or 1725.
Their son, George Reynolds, of Exeter, Rhode Island, born August 14, 1708, a justice of the peace; married, September 14, 1729, Joanna Spencer, daughter of Robert and Theodosia (Whaley) Spencer.
Their son, Captain Robert Reynolds, born at Exeter, Rhode Island, in 1736, married, January 20, 1757, Eunice Waite, daughter of John Waite; died in 1806 and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Factoryville, Pennsyl- vania. He was of a military turn of mind, and it is well to remember this in consider- ing the records of the eighth, ninth and tenth generations, on down to William Nicholas Reynolds. In 1767 he was made captain of the First Company of Trained Band Militia, Kings County Regiment, Exeter. He served in his neighborhood at the time of the attack at Lexington, and started to the scene, but the orders summoning his company were coun- termanded. Later he commanded a detach- ment of the army of General Nathaniel Greene, which received highly favorable com- mendation when it joined the army of Gen- eral George Washington in the spring of 1775. Robert Reynolds became captain of the First Exeter Company, Second Regiment of Kings County, from 1781 to 1788. He left Exeter, Rhode Island, in 1790 for the wilder- ness of Northeast Pennsylvania, and after weeks of rigorous travel arrived at Abington, Luzerne (now Lackawanna) County, and he and others were the first white men to view the hills of Abington; he later brought his wife and she became the first white woman of the settlement. In 1803 the first military training of the neighborhood was established as the men and boys dragged out old uni- forms which had seen service in the Revolu- tion; quite a celebration was had, in which the women took part and refreshments were served. On this occasion Captain Robert Reynolds was made colonel of the company by courtesy, and this title clung to him ever after. The first sawmill at Abington was built by Robert, who cleared the land which still remains in the ownership of the family connection. He was interred on the old farm
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which in the later days was owned by the widow of M. N. Reynolds, but in 1901 his remains and those of his wife were removed to the burial lot of the family of Stephen C. Reynolds, in Evergreen Cemetery, Factory- ville, where five generations sleep side by side.
Their son, George Reynolds, born February 19, 1761, at Exeter, Rhode Island, died De- cember 19, 1844, and was interred at Ever- green Cemetery in Factoryville. He mar- ried Freelove Northup, born in 1760, died October 25, 1834. George Reynolds enlisted in the Revolutionary Army at the age of seventeen from Exeter, Rhode Island, in Benjamin West's company of Colonel Top- ham's regiment, and was wounded by the Hessian hired troops of the British in the Battle of Newport Island; he resided during the. latter part of his life at Nicholson, Lu- zerne County, Pennsylvania, and in 1832, at more than seventy years of age, set forth a statement of his service in the memorial to the Pension Office at Washington.
Their son, Robert Reynolds, born June 17, 1791, at Exeter, Rhode Island, married Susan Capwell, daughter of Stephen and Hannah Capwell, died in 1856 and was interred in the family lot at Factoryville; she was born in 1798 and died in 1855. With his father's fam- ily Robert came to Abington, Luzerne County, now Clinton Township, Wyoming County, in 1805. He was a farmer, lumberman and mill- wright. In the War of 1812 with Great Britain Robert lived up to the reputation of his forebears by enlisting in Company 45, 1st Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, in which he was made ensign. This detail joined the main force under Captain Camp, at Wilkes-Barre, embarked in rafts on the Sus- quehanna River to Harrisburg, thence to Havre de Grace, Maryland, where they were ordered home, news of the Jackson victory at New Orleans having been received.
Their son, Joseph Whipple Reynolds, born March 11, 1815, in Clinton Township, Wyo- ming County; died March 10, 1866, at West Nicholson; married Phoebe Stark; a veteran of the Civil War and for whom the Grand Army Post at Tunkhannock, his one-time residence, was named.
Their son, William Nicholas Reynolds, also served in the Civil War, as a member of the 187th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, mar- ried Ida Ella Billings, and had two sons, J. Wells Reynolds, deceased, served in the Span- ish-American War, the Philippine Campaign, and in the World War, and at the time of his death held the rank of captain in the United States Navy, and William Nicholas Reynolds, Jr., of whom further.
William Nicholas Reynolds, Jr., was born May 31, 1874, in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania. He attended the local public schools and Friends School at Washington, District of Columbia, and graduated from LaFayette College at Easton in 1897 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He was admitted to the Luzerne County Bar in 1897 and has since successfully practiced his profession here, now in the Dime Bank, Title & Trust Com- pany Building. He has brought an unusually valuable equipment into the practice of the law, and by his close application to duty and his unswerving loyalty to the interests of his clients has made numerous friends. Dur- ing the World War he rendered essential home service and received the thanks of a grateful government.
Mr. Reynolds is a leading member of the Luzerne County Bar Association, the Penn- sylvania Bar Association and the American
Bar Association. He belongs to the Spanish- American War Veterans, having served as a major in the Pennsylvania National Guard during the war in 1898. His fraternal order affiliations embrace Lodge, No. 61, Free and Accepted Masons; Bloomsburg Consistory, Scottish Rite Masons, thirty-second degree; Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; Wilkes-Barre Lodge, No. 109, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; and Wyoming Lodge, No. 39, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a member of the Rotary Club and a director of the Chamber of Commerce. His interest in civic and human betterment is evidenced by the fact that he served as chairman of the Wilkes-Barre Rec- reation Committee when the first Municipal Golf Course in Northeastern Pennsylvania was established. He adheres to the principles of the Republican party, and in religion is a Presbyterian. His clubs include the Wyo- ming Valley Country, the Westmoreland, the Fox Hill Country, of Wilkes-Barre and vicinity, and the Old Colony Club of New York. He is fond of motoring and is a direc- tor of the Wyoming Valley Motor Club.
GEORGE THOMAS MORGAN-A native and life-long resident of Kingston, Mr. Morgan has been engaged there in the grocery and provision business ever since he completed his education at the age of nineteen, except- ing almost two years during the World War. Since completing his education he has been associated in the conduct of this business with his father, who had founded it, but since the latter's death in 1926, he has managed it alone. Able, energetic, progressive and a tire- less worker, he is considered one of the most successful of the younger generation of Kingston's business men. He is also promi- nently identified with the fraternal and reli- gious activities of the community, in which he enjoys the respect, liking and confidence of a very large circle of friends and acquaint- ances.
Richard William Morgan, the father of the subject of this article, was born at Temple- ton, South Wales, in 1868. After coming to this country he was employed for fifteen years by the Wilkes-Barre Railway Company. In 1907 he resigned from this position and engaged in business at Kingston in which he continued with marked success until his death in 1926. He married Sarah Jane Reese, likewise a native of Templeton, South Wales, and they were the parents of four children: George Thomas, of whom further; Philip J., a resident physician, at Jefferson Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Richard William, Jr., a student at Jefferson Medical College, class of 1933; and Sadie G. Morgan.
George Thomas Morgan, eldest son of the late Richard William Morgan and Sarah Jane (Reese) Morgan, was born at Kingston, Pennsylvania, April 17, 1894. He was gradu- ated from the high school of his native town and from Wyoming Seminary. He then became associated with his father in the business founded by the latter in 1907 at Nos. 803-805 Wyoming Avenue, Kingston, in which busi- ness he has continued to be engaged since then with much success. After his father's death, which occurred November 6, 1926, he took over the sole management of this enter- prise, which is carried on under the firm name of R. W. Morgan Company and which is considered one of the most successful and progressive establishments of its type in Kingston. Under his very able management, which he carries on in behalf of his mother, who inherited the business from her husband,
John E James
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the firm has continued to enjoy prosperity and growth, until today some fourteen peo- ple are employed in its conduct. During the World War Mr. Morgan served overseas for eleven months with the 311th Field Artillery Headquarters Company, 79th Division, receiv- ing his honorable discharge, June 4, 1919. He is a member of Kingston Lodge, No. 395, Free and Accepted Masons; Shekinah Chap- ter, Royal Arch Masons: Dien le Veut Com- mandery, Knights Templar; Irem Temple, of Wilkes-Barre, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; Walnut Lodge, No. 953, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; American Legion; and Veterans of Foreign Wars. He is also a member of the board of directors of the West Side Building and Loan Associa- tion of Kingston. In politics he is a supporter of the Republican party, while his religious affiliations are with the Methodist Episcopal Church and more particularly with the Dor- ranceton Methodist Episcopal Church of Kingston. In the work of the latter he has been very prominently active for a number of years, being a member of its official board, treasurer, and superintendent of its Sunday school.
Mr. Morgan was married June 27, 1929, to Anna E. Morgan, and they make their home at No. 25 South Bennett Street, Kingston, Pennsylvania.
JOHN R. JAMES-For many years the fam- ily of James of which John R. James is a member, has been well and honorably known in the city of Wilkes-Barre. It is of Welsh origin, founded in its American hranch, in Wilkes-Barre, by John E. James, father of John R. James and son of John E. James, Sr. This John E. James, Sr., lived in Parkwen, South Wales, England, and there John E. James, father of John R. James, was born. He came to Luzerne County soon after his majority of years, and in 1895 engaged in business as mason's contractor, Wilkes- Barre, which business he continued with good prosperity until the time of his death, February 15, 1927. He was until his demise a director of the board of the Wilkes-Barre Deposit and Savings Bank, and had besides the contracting enterprise a number of busi- ness connections, which gave him a promi- nent position in commercial circles of the city. He was a communicant of the Welsh Presbyterian Church of Wilkes-Barre, an officer in it, and most devout in service, while his personal manner was at all times temperate, exemplary, above reproach. He was one of those citizens constantly inter- ested in movements for the public welfare; indeed, a progressive man in all ways, force- ful, kindly, and possessed of many sincere friends who recognized in his death a loss to the community, and a loss to themselves. John E. James married Hannah Edwards, and they were the parents of three children: 1. John R., of whom follows. 2. Mary, wife of Clyde Henshall, of Scranton, Pennsylvania. 3. David E., associated with John R. James in the contracting business inherited from their father.
John R. James, eldest child of John E. and Hannah (Edwards) James, was born in Wilkes-Barre, October 21, 1885. Here he at- tended the public schools, graduated from high school with sound academic standing, matriculated in Lehigh University, at Beth- lehem, Pennsylvania, and graduated in 1906, at the age of twenty years, with the degree of Mechanical Engineer. Having completed his professional courses he went to Rhode Island and entered the employ of the Saylor
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