USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania : a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 23
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99
Mr. Payne was born at Petroleum Center, Venango county, on the 1st of April, 1868, and is a son of Calvin N. and Martha (Dempsey) Payne, the latter a daughter of the late and honored Captain Francis Dempsey, of Erie. Mr. Payne is indebted to the public schools of the old Keystone state for his early educational discipline. He was graduated in the high school at Titusville as a member of the class of 1885, and in 1887, after a more advanced academic course, was graduated in the Hill School, at Pottstown, this state. He was then matriculated in Princeton University, in which he completed the prescribed course in the academic department and was graduated in 1891, with the degree of B. A. While at the university he was prominent in the athletic affairs of the institution, especially in connection with the "national game" of base ball, in which he was a valued member of the team of his alma mater.
On the 18th of July, 1891, the month following his graduation. Mr. Payne became secretary and treasurer of the Metric Metal Company, at Beaver Falls. Pennsylvania, and on the 1st of the following October he removed to Erie, where he has since been a potent factor in connection with the fine industrial enterprise of this company. Since December, 1895, he has held his present executive office of manager. Mr. Payne has shown signal loyalty to the city in which he maintains his home, and has given his earnest co-operation in support of measures tending to ad- vance the industrial and civic precedence of Erie. He is a member of the directorate of the First National Bank of Erie, and is identified with the Erie Chamber of Commerce and Erie Board of Trade. In a more specific social way he is a member of the Erie and the Kahkwa Clubs, and of the local Princeton Club, composed of former students of Prince- ton University ; of this last mentioned organization he has been secretary from the time of its inception, on the 2d of November, 1897. Though never active in the domain of "practical politics" he gives a stanch alleg- iance to the Republican party.
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
On the 21st of September, 1892, Mr. Payne was united in marriage to Miss Grace Barber, daughter of James R. Barber, of Titusville, this state, known as the oldest living oil operator in the Union. Mr. and Mrs. Payne have two children, F. Dana, and Calvin N. II.
A. A. DEMING. Highly esteemed throughout the community as a man of encigy, enterprise and integrity, A. A. Deming is contributing his full share towards the promotion and advancement of the business inter- ests of the city of Erie, and as a manufacturer of doors, blinds, sashes, and builder's supplies is carrying a large and profitable business, his plant being located at the corner of Railroad and Twenty-first streets. He was born, in 1862, in Spring Creek, Warren county, a son of J. O. Deming. J. O. Deming, and his wife, whose maiden name was Mary Johnson, were born, bred, and married in Warren county, his birth hav- ing occurred in 1829, and hers in 1844. They are still living on the farm which they improved, in Spring Creek, honored and respected by all who know them. Five children were born of their union, namely : L. L .: A. A., the subject of this brief biographical review; C. C .; Clair; Mattie; and Addie D., who died in 1908, married John H. Donaldson of Spring Creek.
After completing his early studies in the district school, A. A. Dem- ing served an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, at which he became expert. Locating in Erie in 1889, he continued at his trade for six years, being successfully employed as a contractor and builder. Buying, in 1895, a large tract of land at the corner of Railroad and Twenty-first streets, nine hundred feet by one hundred and ten feet, in dimensions, Mr. Deming erected his planing mill, and has since established a thriving business in the manufacture of sashes, doors, blinds, and builders' sup- plies of all kinds. He has a large patronage, employing fifteen men, whose weekly wages amount to from $150 to $175.
Mr. Deming married, in 1889, Miss Flora L. Bogue, of Chautauqua. a daughter of James and Pollie Bogue. Taking an interest in local affairs Mr. Deming served as constable, tax collector, assessor, and one term on the Erie School Board, of which he was elected a member in 1897. Frater- nally he is a member of Keystone Lodge, No. 455, A. F. & A. M.
GEORGE N. BANGHART. Prominent among the successful business men of Erie, is George N. Banghart, who is advantageously located at 923 East Eighth street, where he has a commodious store building, well stocked with fine and fancy groceries, and a full line of notions. A son of George W. Banghart, he was born, in 1855, in Paterson, New Jersey, of substantial German ancestry. being a direct descendant in the fifth generation of Philip Banghart, the emigrant ancestor, the line being thus traced-Philip, Michael, Peter, George W., and George N.
Philip Banghart emigrated to America in 1740, and here spent the remainder of his life. He reared four children, Michael, Barney, George, and Mary. Barney served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and in one of its noted battles lost a leg. Michael Banghart had a family of thirteen children, one of whom became a Methodist Episcopal minister, and attained a venerable age. Peter Banghart was a life-long resident of New Jersey, spending a large part of his time in Belvidere. He married a Miss Parks, and they became the parents of a number of children. George W. Banghart was born in Belvidere New Jersey, but subsequently removed to the city of Paterson, from there coming to Erie, Pennsylvania,
156
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
where for many years he was employed as a hack driver. He married Mary Van Ness, the descendant of one of the earliest families to settle in the United States, the founder of her family coming to this country prior to the landing of the Mayflower. Six children were born of their union, namely : George N., the special subject of this sketch; John H .; M. A., deceased; Rachel; Eliza, deccased ; and James L., deceased.
But six years of age when he came with his parents to Erie, George N. Banghart received the advantages of a public school education, and as a young man was interested in military affairs. Enlisting, in 1875, in Company G, Seventh United States Infantry, he was in active service in the west during the Indian troubles of that time, and at the engagement at Big Hole was three times wounded. A brief account of this battle may not be amiss in connection with the army life of Mr. Banghart. In August, 1877, Captain George L. Browning marched his company to Fort Masule, where he was joined by the "Mountain Rangers," a company of citizens. Thus re-enforced, the company started in pursuit of the Nez Perce Indians, overtaking them in their camps, at Big Hole, where a premature fight was brought on through a shot being fired at a single Indian who was caring for his mount, the alarm causing the entire camp to take the defense. While the Indians, four hundred all told, outnum- bered the regulars more than two to one, there being but one hundred and thirty soldiers, there were only forty killed, and forty wounded on the Government side, while one hundred and thirty red men were killed, and many wounded. At this battle, which took place August 19, 1877, Mr. Banghart received wounds in the right forearm, the right shoulder, and the right groin. He was honorably discharged from the service as a private in 1878, and immediately returned to Erie. In 1891 Mr. Bang- hart opened his present place of business, and as a retail general mer- chant has met with great success, making a specialty of groceries of which he keeps a large and valuable stock, his trade increasing from year to year.
Mr. Banghart has been twice married. He married first, in 1879, Sophia Perry, who passed to the higher life in 1890, leaving four chil- dren, namely : Mabel, now the wife of F. Lord; Roy E .; Alice V .; Hazel P., wife of Charles Rowlands. In October, 1894, Mr. Banghart married for his second wife, Miss Anna Langdon, a most estimable woman, and a kind, helpful, congenial companion.
WILLIAM J. CARROLL. The energetic, substantial and valued citi- zens of the city of Erie have no better representative in mercantile cir- cles than William J. Carroll, who is carrying on a thriving business as a dealer in flour, feed, grain, hay, straw, etc., at 1001 Parade street. As a man and a citizen he is held in high esteem, and has the full confidence of his associates and patrons. A native of New York, he was born, in 1865, in Dunkirk, and was there brought up and educated. His parents James and Ellen (O'Brien) Carroll, natives of Ireland, reared four chil- dren, namely : Daniel, John, Nellie, and William J. The branch of the Carroll family now living in Union township, Erie county, is of Irish extraction, being descended from one Ferdinand Carroll, who emigrated to this country from Ireland, but it is not certainly known whether Wil- liam J. Carroll belongs to that family or not. On coming to Erie county, Ferdinand Carroll bought from the government a tract of wild land in Union township, and the farm which he began to improve is now owned
157
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
by his grandson, George Carroll, a venerable and highly respected man of four score years, and more.
As a young man William J. Carroll was for some time employed in a feed and grain establishment in Dunkirk, and worked, also, for a while in the office of the United States Express Company, both employments entering largely as important factors in educating him for commercial pursuits. Thus equipped by knowledge and experience for a business career, Mr. Carroll located, in 1894, in Erie City, establishing himself at his present place, on Parade street. Here, by his upright and honorable transactions, and a ready willingness to oblige all customers, he has built up a most profitable trade, carrying a good stock of flour, feed, grain, hay and straw. From the very beginning, Mr. Carroll met with almost phenomenal success in liis operations, his business materially increasing from year to year, and, owing to its demands, he built, in 1904, at the corner of Twentieth and Parade streets, on a switch of the Nickel Plate Railroad, a large warehouse, which greatly facilitates his business, which is steadily increasing in interest and volume. He employs a force of seven men, keeping them busily employed in attending to the wants of his numerous patrons. Mr. Carroll married, in 1896, Miss Caroline Spahr, and their home is pleasant and attractive.
JOHN HAMBERGER. The interposition of the able, progressive and reliable real estate dealer has greater influence than all other agencies in forwarding the material upbuilding and advancement of any commun- ity, and in this important field of operations in Erie county none has accomplished a more beneficent work than has the subject of this brief review, who is a senior member of the well known and popular real-estate and insurance firm of John Hamberger & Company, whose headquarters are in the city of Erie.
John Hamberger claims the old Empire state of the Union as the place of his nativity, since he was born in the city of Rochester, New York, on the 13th of October, 1858. He is a son of George Adam and Mary (Rensehler) Hamberger, both of whom were born and reared in Wurtemberg, Germany, where they continued to reside until 1855, when they severed the ties which bound them to the fatherland and came to America. Bothi located in the city of Rochester, New York, where their marriage was solemnized and whence they came to Erie, Pennsylvania in 1859. They have here maintained their home for a full half century, and to them is accorded the unqualified esteem of the community in which they may well be designated as pioneer citizens. Both are nearing the age of four score years but are well preserved and find that, as the shadows of their lives begin to lengthen from the golden west, their lines are "cast in pleasant places."
John Hamberger was an infant at the time of his parents' removal to Erie, and here he was reared to maturity under beneficent influences and surroundings. He duly availed himself of the advantages of the public schools, including the high school, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of the centennial year, 1876. For many years he was identified with clerical work of an important nature, and he was bookkeeper in the Erie office of the Chicago & Erie Stove Works until April 1, 1892, when he engaged in the general real-estate and insurance business, in which his personal popularity and his correct business meth- ods have conserved a splendid success. Since 1905 his only son, Robert N., has been his able coadjutor in the enterprise, under the firm name desig-
158
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
nated in the opening paragraph of this article. The business has attained to wide proportions, and has involved the handling of many important properties in this county, especially the city of Erie, while the insurance branch of the enterprise is based upon representation of a number of the stanchest and best known companies, in the lines of fire, marine, life, and accident indemnity.
Mr. Hamberger has been a prominent figure in connection with public affairs as well as business interests in his home city and county. He served from 1890 to 1899 as a member of the city council, a continu- ous service of four terms of two years each, and in 1890-91, as well as in 1895, he had the distinction of being president of the council. In this municipal body he wielded a very potent and definite influence in the securing of a wise and effective administration of municipal affairs, and by his progressive policy added to his strong hold upon the confidences and regard of the people of the community. In 1899 he was appointed a member of the Pennsylvania fisheries commission, and since that time he has retained this important incumbency, as one of the five members of the body. He was recently reappointed to the office by the governor of the state, for a term of three years, and has thus entered upon his fourth consecutive term. In politics he gives his allegiance to the Repub- lican party, and he is a valued member of the Erie Board of Commerce and Board of Trade, is affiliated with the time-honored Masonic frater- nity, and holds membership in the Kahkwa Club.
On the 30th of November, 1882, Mr. Hamberger was united in mar- riage to Miss Belle Roberts, who was born in the city of Philadelphia and who is a daughter of the late Henry C. Roberts, who was for many years a well known and highly honored citizen of Erie. Mr. and Mrs. Hamberger have two children, Robert N., and Florence N., and the attractive family home is a popular center of most gracious hospitality.
JOIIN VALENTINE LAVER, florist, Erie, having greenhouses on the East Lake Road, and city sales room at No. 704 State street, is a repre- sentative business man in his line. He is a native of State Line, Ohio. He was born November 2, 1860, son of Michael and Mary ( Buhl) Laver, natives of Rhinbeck Province, Germany. The father emigrated to the United States in the early fifties, the mother came a few years later, and they were married in this country. They lived at different places, includ- ing State Line, where they spent two years, and finally they settled on a farm in Mckean township, which was their home the rest of their lives, the father dying here in 1896, at the age of seventy-six years ; the mother in 1900, at the age of sixty-one. They were members of the Lutheran church, in the faith of which they reared their family. Their four chil- dren are as follows: A. G., engaged in the grocery business at Erie : John V., whose name introduces this sketch; William, who resides on Ridge Road in West Mill Creek township. Erie county ; Kate, wife of J. H. Shaeffer, 124 East Fifth street, Erie.
John V. grew up on his father's farm and as a boy attended the common schools of the neighborhood. After giving his attention to farming for a few years, he decided to specialize and accordingly entered the employ of Henry Niemeyer, florist, with whom he remained for a period of nine years. In 1900 he engaged in business for himself. He purchased two acres within the city limits, which, with three acres he
159
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
owns in East Mill Creek township, he utilizes for this business, and he has 35,000 feet of glass, modern buildings, etc., thoroughly equipped for the growing of a variety of the most saleable flowers on the market. In 1892 he opened a sales room at 705 State street, which soon proved too small for his increasing business and from which he moved to larger quarters at 723 State street. Three years later he moved to 711 on the same street, and in July, 1908, he came to his present and still larger quarters at 104 State street.
Fraternally, Mr. Laver is identified with the Masonic order, being a Knight Templar and a member of the Scottish Rite and also of the Mystic Shrine. Politically, he is a Republican. He married, at Erie, Miss Anna M. Offerle, a native of Warren, Pennsylvania, and a daugh- ter of George Offerle, a native of Germany.
WILLIAM J. FLYNN. Since Washington, in addressing the delegates to the Continental Convention, said "Lay broad and deep the foundation for the general diffusion of knowledge," the public schools of our country have been more or less in evidence. Each year they have in- creased the efficiency, modern pedagogical methods being introduced into even the more rural communities, and through these institutions of learning we are fast becoming among the most enlightened people on earth. The schools of Erie rank well with the other schools of the Keystone state, having an excellent board of education, of which Wil- liam J. Flynn, a well known and highly esteemed citizen, is the secretary.
Mr. Flynn was born June 12, 1875, in Rockland, Massachusetts, where his parents, Michael and Alice (Clancy) Flynn, first lived on coming to this country from Ireland, and where they were married. The family came to Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1879, and here the mother's death occurred in 1905.
Mr. Flynn was educated in the public schools of Erie, being gradu- ated from the Erie High School with the class of 1892. The same year he entered the office of the Erie board of education as assistant sec- retary, and served so acceptably in that position that, in 1903, he was made its secretary. Since 1899 he has served as secretary of the board of library trustees. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and of the board of trade, two of the city's important commercial organiza- tions, and is a corporator of Hamot Hospital. He belongs to the Knights of Columbus, and is a valued member of St. Peter's Roman Catholic cathedral.
FRANK P. COYLE, of Erie, who is a leader in the business, industrial and civic activities of the city, is a native of Buffalo, New York, where he was born April 8, 1867. He is a son of John and Alice (O'Donnell) Coyle, natives respectively of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Springfield, Massachusetts, and for years residents of Buffalo, where they still live. It was in that city that Frank P. received a common and high school education, and after he had completed his studies was identified for some eight years with the Erie Railroad at Buffalo.
Mr. Coyle became a resident of Erie in 1895, locating there as agent for the Washburn-Crosby Company, the great flour manufacturers of Minneapolis. He had charge of their interests in the Erie district for six years, and in 1901 commenced to handle all the freight for the Anchor line of boats at their Erie docks. In 1909 he withdrew from those interests altogether, and since that time has been giving his at-
160
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
tention to the sand and gravel business. He is also identified with other enterprises, such as the Cement Products Company and the Arandsee Machine Company, both of which concerns he incorporated. For the past decade Mr. Coyle has been prominent in the municipal affairs of Eric, and from the fall of 1899 to the spring of 1900 filled an unex- pired term in the Select Council from the First ward. His relations to the work of secret and benevolent societies are confined to the order of Elks, of which, however, he is an active member. Mr. Coyle mar- ried Miss Mary Johnson, daughter of Patrick Johnson, of Buffalo, New York, and they have one son, Frank L. Coyle.
V. D. EICHENLAUB, a general contractor of sewers, pavements and all kinds of concrete construction and also extensively engaged in the manufacture of cement building blocks, has for a long period occupied a foremost position in the ranks of Erie's leading business men. As the incumbent in local office he has also proved his worth and in the various relations in which he is found he commands the honor, respect and good will of his fellow townsmen. One of Erie's native sons, he was born in the Third ward on the 31st of August, 1852, and is a son of the late Ferdinand and Catherine (Trout) Eichenlaub, old and well known residents of this city, both of whom were natives of Herxheim, Bavaria, Germany, but were married in Erie. The former was a son of Joseph Eichenlaub, who in 1845 emigrated to the United States with his large family and after a tempestuous voyage of seventy-three days landed at New Orleans. On the last day out the rations were reduced to one potato for each passenger on shipboard. The family first located in Cincinnati, Ohio, but in 1847 came to Erie, where the grandfather engaged in pork packing, in which business he was later joined by his
son Ferdinand. They made extensive shipments of pork by lake to Buffalo. For many years after the grandfather retired from active life the son Ferdinand carried on the meat business and remained a sub- stantial, enterprising and reliable business man of Erie up to the time of his death which occurred in 1883. His wife passed away in 1907.
V. D. Eichenlaub was reared in Erie and attended the city schools. When a boy he became his father's assistant in business and when twenty-one years of age opened a meat market on his own account, continuing in that field of labor until 1880. He then engaged in handling fertilizers for four years and in 1889 took up the business of general sewer and paving contracting. From the beginning the new work proved successful and his interests in that particular have constantly broad- ened out bringing increased success annually. In 1905 he added the manufacture of concrete blocks, sidewalks and other concrete materials and is now conducting an extensive enterprise in this line. He has thus long figured as a prominent business man of the city, contributing to the growth and progress of Erie, for every successful business undertak- ing is a factor in municipal advancement. In 1894 he erected the Eich- enlaub block on the southeast corner of State and Eighteenth streets. which he still owns. In 1906 he erected the Wayne hotel on West Twelfth street, built of concrete blocks, and of this he is also yet the owner. He likewise has a valuable business block at the northwest cor- ner of Twelfth and State streets and other desirable city real estate, both improved and unimproved, including his handsome brick residence on West Twenty-sixth street, which he erected in 1887.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTER, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
Anton Gottfried my Wife
-
161
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
Mr. Eichenlaub was married to Miss Anna M. Quinn, the daugh- ter of Francis Quinn, who for forty years has been an active engineer on the Lake Shore Railroad and even now, although in advanced age, is still a representative of the road in that capacity. He was born in England but is of Irish parentage and in his younger days was a sailor on the lakes. His wife bore the maiden name of Catherine O'Rourk. Mr. and Mrs. Eichenlaub have become the parents of three children : Frank J., a resident of Erie ; Mabelle, the wife of Robert McClenathan, of Erie ; and Arthur V., also of Erie.
While the development and conduct of his business interests have made large demands upon his time and energies, Mr. Eichenlaub has also found opportunity to co-operate in many movements for the gen- eral good in the lines of progressive citizenship. His fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth have frequently called him to office and for nine years he filled the position of market clerk, while for two terms he was county assessor. He was also collector of delinquent taxes for the county, city and schools in the Fifth ward for one term and was elected city assessor, which position he filled for a term of three years under the new law. A year later this same law was declared unconstitutional and he lost the office. In 1881 he became a member of the city council and in all these different positions he has exercised his official preroga- tives for the advancement of general public interests, proving himself a progressive and public-spirited citizen. He deserves much credit for what he has accomplished in a business way, as his success has result- ed from his enterprise, careful management and unfaltering diligence.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.