USA > Pennsylvania > Book of biographies; This volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of the Seventeenth congressional district, Pennsylvania > Part 17
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
State and County Medical associations, and has served as president, and also as secretary and treasurer of the last named organization almost continuously for nearly thirty years. Besides the attention devoted to his practice and his profession he has identified himself with many business enterprises, among them : as director of the Bloomsburg School Fur- nishing Company; director of the Blooms- burg Water Company; director of the North Branch Furnishing Company of Bloomsburg, of which he is president; and is financially in- terested in the Bloomsburg Steam Heating Company; the Bloomsburg Elevator Works; the Bloomsburg Land Improvement Com- pany; the Bloomsburg Silk Mill; and the Bloomsburg Carpet Mill. He is a trustee of the Bloomsburg State Normal School.
On September 12, 1871, Dr. Reber was united in marriage with Elizabeth Mckinney, a daughter of David L. and Martha H. Mc- Kinney, and they are the parents of two children : Edith McKinney and William Mc- Kelvy. He is a Republican, but only takes that interest in politics shown by all dutiful and intelligent citizens, having never sought office. He has been secretary of the board of health of Bloomsburg since its organiza- tion. Socially he is a member of Blooms- burg Council, No. 957, Royal Arcanum, be- ing a charter member and its medical examiner since its incorporation. He served as U. S. Examining Surgeon from 1879 to 1889, when a board of examining surgeons was appointed and he was made president of this board and served until 1893, when he and the other Republican members were removed.
The publishers of this volume take pleasure in announcing that Dr. Reber's portrait ap- pears on a preceding page in connection with the above account of his life.
169
SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
OHN H. VINCENT, Esq., one of Northumberland's most estimable citizens, is a leading attorney-at-law who enjoys a large and lucrative practice. He is a son of Isaac and Rebecca (Comly) Vin- cent, and was born in Delaware township, Northumberland County, Pa., December 2, 1826.
Our subject is of Dutch descent and traces his lineage back to his great-grandfather, John Vincent, who came to this country as early as 1772 and became one of the pioneers of Northumberland County. One of his sons, Daniel, became the owner of about 400 acres of land near Fort Freeland, lying along War- rior Run Creek, and in the year 1790 he built the first mill in that vicinity. This was re- modeled in 1818 and is now standing; he did the work for the farms for many miles dis- tant and was a very prominent man. He was at Fort Freeland when it was attacked by the Indians and he and his wife were taken prison- ers, but, as she was in a delicate condition, she was sent back to her friends on horse-back. Mr. Vincent was taken up into Canada where he was held in bondage for four years, during which time he acted as butcher for his captors. During his fights with the Indians he sus- tained an injury in the side which gradually grew worse and finally resulted in his death. He and many members of his family now lie buried in the Warrior Run Cemetery. His wife's maiden name was Angeline Huff and their children were as follows: Phoebe; Isaac, the father of the gentleman whose name heads these lines; John; and Elizabeth. The old family property was divided equally between the two sons, John and Isaac.
Isaac Vincent was born on the old home- stead in Northumberland County and early in life took to agricultural pursuits. He fell heir to one-half of his father's estate, and
lived on it throughout his entire life. He was united in marriage with Rebecca Comly, a na- tive of Philadelphia, Pa., and the following children were born to bless their home: Ezra C .; a child who died in infancy; Nancy; Daniel; Charles; Caroline; Isaac; John H., the subject of this biographical record; Re- becca; Hannah M .; Elizabeth; and Henry Clay.
John H. Vincent attended the public schools and the McEwensville Academy after which he taught school for some time; saving his earnings he was enabled to enter Lafayette College at Easton, Pa., and there remained until he had passed the junior year, when he enrolled at Williams College, Mass. He graduated from the latter institution in 1849 and then went to Charlestown, S. C., where he engaged as a school teacher. He later re- moved to Alabama where he also taught school until he returned home and began his preparation for the legal profession, entering the law office of Gov. James Pollock. One year later he took up his study in the Mc- Carty Law School, and was admitted to the bar in 1854, immediately thereafter beginning practice at Easton. He displayed much abil- ity as a practitioner and remained in Easton until 1857 and then located at Milford, Pike County, where he resided when the Civil War broke out. In 1862 our subject enlisted as a private in Company B, 15Ist Reg., Pa. Vol. Inf., but was made 2d lieutenant before the company saw service. He was later promoted to Ist lieutenant and served as such in the bat- tle of Chancellorsville, and in many skir- mishes, receiving his discharge in 1863. Re- turning then to Milford, Pike County, he took up his practice of law and remained there un- til 1867, since which time he has been located in Northumberland. He has a large practice, being patronized by an influential class of
170
BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES.
citizens and he is regarded as one of the fore- most business men of the borough. In 1877 he built a large and handsome brick residence and office on Queen street, where he has since been located.
Mr. Vincent has twice been joined in hy- meneal bonds, first with Mary C. Davis, a daughter of John Davis of Easton, and they had two children : Julia, who died at an early age; and May, the wife of J. W. Elliott of Renova, Pa. Mrs. Vincent died young and our subject formed a second matrimonial al- liance with Caroline M. Montgomery, who comes of a very prominent family of this sec- tion. She is a daughter of William Montgom- ery and traces her ancestry back to Robert Montgomery, who, at the age of thirty-two years emigrated to this country from County Armagh, Ireland, settling in Dauphin Coun- ty, Pa. He located on the site of the present city of Harrisburg and served as one of the first grand jurors of Dauphin County. He died in 1776 at the age of seventy-one years. He and his wife Sarah became the parents of five children, namely: William; Thomas; Hugh; David; and John. John Montgomery was born in Ireland, and was four years of age when brought to this country by his par- ents. He grew to manhood in Dauphin County, Pa., and became a farmer by occupa- tion. In 1773 he exchanged an improved farm in that county for a wild tract of land in Turbot township, Northumberland Coun- ty, the other party to the exchange being William Patterson. It proved to be a good transaction on John's part, and he realized a good advantage and started his career there under better conditions than did most of the pioneers. After getting his affairs straight- ened out and in a prosperous condition, his home was attacked by a band of Indians and he was obliged to flee with his family to Fort
Freeland for safety. It was while at that fort that, on July 28, 1779, they were attacked by a party of over 300 Indians and British soldiers; then John sought refuge at his old home in Dauphin County, settling near Har- risburg. When peace had finally been de- clared, in 1783, he returned to his home in Northumberland County, rebuilt the build- ings which had been destroyed, and erected a limestone house which still remains standing. He continued in his work about the farm until November 8, 1792, when he was killed by a falling tree while building the Derry road. He was fifty-eight years old. His wife died on March 2, 1821, aged eighty years; both lie buried in the Chillisquaque burying-ground. Religiously they were both members of the Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Montgomery's maiden name was Christianna Foster. To them were born the following children: Rob- ert; John; William; David; Jane; and Sarah. William Montgomery, the grand- father of Mrs. Vincent, was born at what is now Paradise, Turbot township, Northumber- land County, and succeeded to the ownership of the old homestead on which he followed farming all of his life. He died August 22, 1853, at the age of seventy-six years and his wife died in 1806, at the age of twenty-six years. He married Rachael Simpson, by whom he had three children: Nancy, the wife of Robert Van Valzah, M. D .; John T., who married Hannah Hower; and William, the father of the wife of our subject. William was born on the old homestead on March 7, 1805. and early in life settled at Limestone Ridge, but later bought a fine property at McEwens- ville, where he engaged in farming. He was very successful and at his demise owned a fine estate. He died in February, 1875, as a result of small-pox. He was united in mar- riage with Molly Caldwell, a daughter of John
HON. P. C. NEWBAKER.
173
SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
Caldwell, and their children were: William C., who married Hadassa G. Dearmond; Mary Jane, who resides with our subject and who married John M. Thatcher, a hot-water fur- nace manufacturer of New York, now dead; Caroline M .; and Sarah E., the wife of Val- entine S. Truckermiller of Truckermiller's Mills.
Our subject and his wife had four children, two of whom are now living: John, a law stu- dent living at home; and Caroline, who is al- so at home. Those deceased were: William M., and Ella. Mr. Vincent is a Democrat in politics. He has held the office of justice of the peace since 1889, with the exception of one year; he also has been a school director and has filled minor offices for several years.
ON. P. C. NEWBAKER, one of the oldest and most prominent physi- cians and surgeons of Montour County, Pa., whose portrait we take pleasure in presenting on the foregoing page, is a resi- dent of Danville, and is held in high esteem by the citizens of that place. He was born near the village of Halifax, Dauphin County, Pa., August 13, 1843, and is a son of Dr. John B. and Caroline Elizabeth (Maize) Newbaker, and a grandson of Philip Newbaker. The great-great-grandfather of our subject was Martin Newbaker who emigrated from Ger- many to America prior to the Revolutionary War. The family name was originally spelled Neubecker. His son Philip, our subject's great-grandfather, was a lieutenant in a Co- lonial regiment and after Independence was won settled at the mouth of Powell's Creek. Dauphin County, Pa., on the banks of the Susquehanna River and there carried on agri- cultural pursuits the remainder of his active
days. His son, Philip second, our subject's grandfather, then became the owner of the property and lived there until the time of his death in 1865. Inglenook Station on the Northern Central R. R. is located upon the farm, and Inglenook Club House, where the business men of Harrisburg spend many of their leisure hours fishing and otherwise en- joying themselves, is built upon the river bank near the old homestead. Our subject's father, Dr. John B. Newbaker, was born and reared upon his father's farm and received a good education in the district schools after which he studied medicine and graduated from the Jefferson Medical College, Philadel- phia, in the class of 1852, subsequently re- moved to Northumberland County, Pa., and at present resides at Trevorton, in the same county. where he still successfully practices his profession. He was asst .- surgeon in the 56th Reg., Pa. Vol. Inf., in the Civil War and represented the Northumberland-Montour District in the H. R. Pa., in 1872.
Our subject acquired a good academic edu- cation in the West Branch High School at Jersey Shore, Pa., and at Missionary Institute at Selinsgrove, Pa .; after teaching several months he entered the office of his father and commenced the study of medicine. On April 23, 1861, at the beginning of the Civil War. he enlisted in Company F, 11th Reg., Pa. Vol. Inf., first three months' call, was in one of the first engagements of the war at Hokes Run, W. Va., and was discharged at Harris- burg, Pa., July 31, 1865, by reason of expira- tion of term of service. On August 12, 1862. he re-enlisted in Company K, 15th Reg .. Pa. Vol. Cav., at Philadelphia for a term of three years and his regiment was assigned to duty under General Rosecrans, where he saw hard service and was in a number of engagements in the Army of the Cumberland. On account
174
BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES.
of continued sickness and debility, induced by exposure in active service in the campaign in Kentucky and Tennessee, during the win- ter and spring of 1863, he was transferred to Company D, 2d Reg., Veteran Reserve Corps, in which he continued to serve as clerk of his company until the close of the war, when he received an honorable discharge July 5, 1865. Returning home he again took up the study of medicine under his father's direc- tion, and later entered Jefferson Medical Col- lege from which he graduated March 12, 1869. Shortly afterward he located in Wash- ingtonville, Montour County (Feb. 6, 1870), where he soon built up a large and lucrative practice. He continued his practice in that village sixteen years, when he removed to Danville, in 1886, where he has since followed the practice of his profession, being already well and favorably known throughout the county. He has been remarkably successful in his profession.
Hon. P. C. Newbaker is an ardent sup- porter of the Democratic party and in 1878 was nominated and elected to represent Mon- tour County in the State Legislature; in 1880 he was again honored with a seat in that body, which shows his popularity throughout the county. At the general election, held Novem- ber 8, 1898, Dr. Newbaker was elected treas- urer of Montour County for a term of three years, commencing January 1, 1899. He is president of the Danville School Board, hav- ing held that office since June, 1897; is a member of the State and County Medical So- cieties; a member of Goodrich Post, No. 22, G. A. R .; Union Veteran Legion; Danville Lodge, No. 224, F. & A. M., of which he is past master; and has been secretary of the Board of United States Examining Surgeons at Danville, Pa., since 1886. He purchased a residence at No. 105 West Mahoning street
in 1886, to which he has made many improve- ments and has added an office. He was united in the bonds of matrimony with Amelia A. Koons, a daughter of Benjamin Koons of Weissport, Pa., and their union has been blessed by five children : Winifred M., a grad- uate of the Pittsburg Musical Conservatory, who afterward completed her musical educa- tion at New York, and at Berlin, Germany, and is one of the most talented musicians in Central Pennsylvania; Charles A., a graduate of Lehigh University, is an electrical engineer; Bertha, a graduate of the Danville High School; Edward J., who attended West Point and Lehigh University, is now a mining engi- neer; and Francis W., at present a student in the Danville High School.
ON. WILLIAM ELWELL, de- ceased. The annals of the bench and bar of Pennsylvania record no worthier, nobler life than that of the gentle- man named above. For twenty-six consecu- tive years he was president judge of the Twenty-sixth Judicial District of Pennsylva- nia, being the representative of no political party, but of the people, and during that time he meted out justice with strict and impartial hand, showing mercy to the oppressed and handling the oppressor with severity. None could cope with him intellectually and his rec- ord as judge will bear the closest scrutiny, as in every case but one, in which his decision was appealed to a higher court, the supreme judges respected his learned reasoning and ac- cordingly sustained his rulings. His home was at Bloomsburg, Columbia County, Pa., for many years prior to his death, but he en- joyed a state-wide reputation.
Judge Elwell was a son of Daniel and Nancy
175
SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
(Prentice) Elwell, and was born at Athens, Bradford County, Pa., October 9, 1808. He was a descendant of a prominent old family of Staffordshire, England. The first of the family to come to America was Robert El- well, who, it is thought, came over in 1633 in the ship "Griffin" with Gov. Haynes and Rev. Thomas Hooker. Robert located at Salem, Mass., prior to 1635, but later purchased land and settled at Eastern Point, Mass., where he resided at his death in 1683, owning consider- able property in that section.
Jabez Elwell, great-grandfather of our sub- ject, was a soldier of the Revolutionary War, serving in the Dutchess County Militia under Col. Henry Ludenton. His son, John Elwell, grandfather of our subject, was also an active participant in the struggle of our forefathers for freedom; . he was among the brave men who, in answer to the "Lexington Alarm," marched from Connecticut towns to the relief of the city of Boston in April, 1775.
Daniel Elwell, our subject's father, married Nancy Prentice, a daughter of Dr. Amos Prentice, who traced her lineage back through nine generations to Capt. Thomas Prentice, the time being about 1620. He lived at New- ton Center, Mass., and was formerly a soldier in the Army of Cromwell. His death resulted at the age of ninety-one years as a result of injuries sustained by a fall from his horse while going to church. Dr. Amos Prentice was a soldier of the Revolution and when the city of New London, Conn., was destroyed by fire he was forced to flee for his life. He re- moved to Milltown, Pa., and there resided un- til his demise, being buried in the cemetery at Sayre, Pa. Daniel Elwell and his wife were the parents of six children, William, the subject of this sketch, being the second born.
William Elwell's early career was spent in the town of his nativity, where he received a
good English education in the Athens Acad- emy, attending that institution until he was nineteen years of age, when we find him acting in the capacity of assistant to Chief-Engineer Randall in running exploring lines on both sides of the Susquehanna River, the object of their efforts being to locate a canal southward from the New York State line. Upon leav- ing the engineering corps he engaged as a school teacher for a period of three years and then entered upon the study of law in the office of Horace Williston. Possessing all of the qualifications essential to a successful practitioner of the legal profession, he made rapid advancement and was admitted to the bar in February, 1833. During the succeed- ing sixteen years he was engaged in practice with his legal preceptor in the northern coun- . ties of the state until Mr. Williston was ap- pointed president judge of the Thirteenth Judicial District. He was a Democrat in poli- tics and in 1842 and 1843 was elected to rep- resent his district in the State Legislature. During his first term at Harrisburg he was honored with the chairmanship of the judi- ciary committee, which was composed of such men of distinction as Judges Sharswood, Gam- ble, Barrett, Hendrick B. Wright, and Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, and his reputation is made brilliant by comparison with these men of recognized ability. As chairman of this committee, he prepared and reported the bill providing for the abolishment of imprison- ment for debt, which custom is now univer- sally recognized as one of the cruelest ever supported by the law. This bill stands to-day as originally reported by him. During the term of 1843 he served faithfully as chairman of the committee of ways and means. In 1844 he declined the proffered nomination for member of Congress, as the practice of law possessed greater attractions for him than the
176
BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES.
field of politics. Nevertheless, in 1866, he yielded to the demands of his party with great reluctance, and consented to be a candidate for a seat in Congress, and in the election he polled a vote far in excess of the remainder of his party ticket, but failed to overcome the Republican majority.
As a lawyer Judge Elwell was without a peer, and that his practice grew to vast pro- portions is evidenced by the Supreme Court reports, in which are recorded more than one hundred cases which he argued. In 1862 his career on the bench began, when he was elected to the president judgeship of the Twenty-sixth Judicial District, comprising the counties of Columbia, Sullivan and Wyoming. He served his term with credit to himself, his rulings being characterized throughout by the greatest fairness, and in 1872 he was re-elected to fill the same office, the opposing party re- fusing to place a candidate in the field. In May, 1874, Wyoming and Sullivan counties were created the Forty-fourth Judicial Dis- trict, and Columbia and Montour counties were designated as the Twenty-sixth Judicial District. Upon his first election Judge Elwell removed to Bloomsburg, which continued to be his home until his demise. In April, 1871, he was chosen as umpire to decide the disputes of the miners and operators of the anthracite coal region, and so impartially did he dis- charge his duties as such that both parties were satisfied that his decision was a just one. Frequently he was urged to become a candi- date for the Supreme bench, and although he refused to allow a canvass to be made, his name was placed before the convention and he received many votes. Likewise, he was often spoken of as a candidate for governor of the Commonwealth, but, deeming it incon- sonant with judicial propriety to make a per- sonal canvass, he refused to allow any elec-
tioneering to be done in his favor. His second term having expired, the bar of the Twenty- sixth Judicial District met and, sweeping aside all party feelings, unanimously requested him to accept a third term as judge, and Judge Elwell having consented, the political organi- zations followed the lead of the bar and named him as their choice for the office. To take ad- vantage of trying a case before him, cases were transferred to Columbia County from other districts and it is estimated that up to the time of his resignation he held more special courts than any judge who ever sat upon the bench in that district. He reasoned a case out to its fullest extent and when a party to a suit left his court it was always with the satisfaction of knowing just why the case had been decided . against him or in his favor. In placing an interpretation on the statutes and deciding their general purview, he was unexcelled, and his decisions never failed to meet with ap- proval at the hands of the Supreme Court. Many celebrated cases were brought before him for hearing, each involving the right of parties to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Among these were the Williamsport bond case; Fisher vs. the City of Philadelphia; Tryon and Dull vs. Munson; and the cele- brated Cameron will case from Union County, in which an elaborate argument was prepared by eminent counsel for the appellant, but the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the lower court, as it did in all of these cases. He also tried the "Mollie Maguire" case, which grew out of the murder of Alexander Rea, and in it decided many important and doubt- ful questions on the law of homicide, the re- port of the case constituting a large volume of itself; again he was upheld by the higher court. Numerous cases of equity were brought to a hearing before him and in the exercise of his discretion as to justice and
177
SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
moral rights he proved as competent as in the interpretation of legal rights, for but one de- cision was reversed. The wonderful record of not a reversal in the cases of his district brought before him in the courts of Oyer and Terminer, Quarter Sessions, and Orphan's Court makes his opinions, which appeared in state reports, weekly notes of cases, and other legal publications, valuable additions to the legal authorities of the state.
Judge Elwell, after spending twenty-six years on the bench, began to decline in health as a result of his long and active business life, and in 1888 he lost his hearing. He spent the following winter in Florida but without the relief hoped for, and in July, 1889, six months after his illness began, he tendered his resignation to the governor of the state, this being the only known instance in the state of a judge resigning before the expiration of his term owing to illness, but his extreme honesty and independence would not permit him to draw a salary from the state for duties which he had ceased to perform. He then lived in retirement in Bloomsburg without showing any signs of improvement, finally passing away October 15, 1895, leaving to his child- ren the legacy of a noble life well spent. Few men ever possessed the confidence and es- teem of the public to a higher degree, and when intelligence of his death reached pub- licity there was universal expression of regret, and upon the day of his funeral all places of business were closed as a token of the regard in which the people held him. The funeral services, prior to removing his body to To- wanda, Bradford County, Pa., for interment in the family burial-lot, were conducted in St. Paul's Church, and the citizens who turned out to pay a final tribute to a beloved friend filled the church to the doors. The boards of trustees of the Bloomsburg Literary Institute
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.