USA > Pennsylvania > Book of biographies; This volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of the Seventeenth congressional district, Pennsylvania > Part 19
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nan is an ardent Republican. He served as auditor for fourteen years. Socially he is past grand master of the Odd Fellows Lodge; and past commander of the G. A. R. Post of Forksville.
LVIN P. MILLER, the efficient fore- man of the Trust Company Tannery at Muncy Valley, Pa., formerly known as the Stephens tannery, has been en- gaged in that line of business nearly all his life and is held in high esteem by both his superior officers and his fellow-workmen. He was born in Schoharie County, N. Y., June 8, 1859, and is a son of Hiram and Malinda (Bailey) Miller, both of whom are living in retirement in Schoharie County. To the parents the following children were born: Charles A., who married Miss Bernice Ben- nett, a sister of our subject's wife,-they re- side in Muncy Valley and have two children, Ruth and Buela; our subject; George, who married and resides in Hudson, N. Y .; Carrie, who married John Striker and resides in Gil- boa, Schoharie County, N. Y .; William, re- cently married and resides in Schoharie County, N. Y .; and Jennie, who resides with her parents.
Alvin P. Miller was educated in the dis- trict schools of his native township and then began to serve an apprenticeship to the tan- ner's trade in the Stephens tannery; he soon became proficient and was one of the most skilled mechanics in the shop. When the Stephens tannery was moved to Muncy Val- ley, Sullivan County, Pa., our subject was offered a good position if he would accom- pany it to the new field of operation and he accepted. He gradually worked his way up until 1897, when he was given his present position as inside foreman in this mammoth
HON. ROBERT R. LITTLE.
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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
tannery. He has charge of sixty skilled me- chanics who work in the leather department, dressing hides, which are known as buffalo hides of South America. These are of the best quality and much depends upon Mr. Mil- ler in their tanning. Our subject some time ago purchased a small tract of land which he is fast developing into a good farm on which he has erected a fine home and has built a large barn. Mr. Miller is an intelligent and public-spirited citizen and is respected by all who know him.
Mr. Miller was joined in matrimonial bonds with Libbie Bennett, a daughter of George W. Bennett of Shrewsbury township, Lycoming County, Pa., and this happy union has been blessed by three children, as follows: Arthur O .; George B .; and Edna M. In politics our subject is a firm supporter of the Repub- lican party; religiously he and his family are prominent members of the Methodist Church.
ON. ROBERT R. LITTLE, presi- dent judge of the Twenty-sixth Ju- dicial District, to which position he was elected on November 8, 1898, stands among the foremost practitioners in the legal profession at Bloomsburg. He is a son of Ephraim H. and Eliza (Seibert) Little, and was born in Berwick, Columbia County, Pa., May 30, 1852.
Our subject's great-grandfather, George Little, who was a native and life-long resident of Connecticut, from which state he entered the Continental Army during the Revolution- ary War, served throughout that memorable conflict. His son, George Little, the grand- father of our subject, when a young man left his native state and located in Delaware Coun- ty, N. Y., subsequently removed to Wayne
County, Pa., and finally settled at Montrose, Susquehanna County, Pa., where he died in 1851, aged seventy years. He was a tanner and furrier by trade, but during the latter years of his life was a merchant. He married Mary Esterbrook, by whom he had six child- ren, as follows: George A .; Ralph B .; Wil- liam E .; Ephraim H .; and Mrs. Mary L. Grover, who resides at Jacksonville, Fla.
Ephraim H. Little, the father of our sub- ject, was born in Delaware County, N. Y., March 23, 1823, and soon after his birth his family moved to Montrose, Susquehanna County, Pa., where he grew to manhood. He read law with his brother, Ralph B. Little, who was an eminent lawyer and the preceptor of Justice J. B. McCollum, a distinguished jurist. At the age of twenty years he took what money he possessed and started West with the intention of going to Chicago by the way of the Great Lakes. By good fortune he managed to catch the last boat to make the trip that season, and the journey was a long and tedious one as the boat was greatly de- layed by the roughness of the water which caused a number of accidents. Upon arriving in Chicago, which was then a mere hamlet, he found himself with but twenty-five cents in his pocket, and forty miles from his destina- tion, Joliet, Ill. The latter part of his journey had to be made by stage and realizing that he did not have enough money to pay his fare, he offered the quarter to the stageman in consideration that he haul the trunk to the desired place. This the stagedriver refused to do, saying: "No, I will carry you and your baggage and you can pay me at another time." Landing in Joliet, Mr. Little again took up the study of law and in 1845 was ad- mitted to the bar. Soon after he purchased the Joliet Sentinel on credit and conducted it for six or eight months. He then sold out
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES.
and removed to Morris, Grundy County, Ill., which a short time previous had been made the county seat, and he was the first lawyer to locate there. He continued his law practice with much success a few years, when he met with an accident which caused him the loss of an arm. The knowledge of surgery at the time was very limited and he was confined to his bed for six or eight months, finally being com- pelled to submit to amputation of the injured arm. This reduced his physical strength greatly and he determined to get out of that malarial section of the country, acting on his physician's advice. He returned East, locat- ing at Beach Haven, Luzerne County, Pa., where he acted as weigh-master at Weigh Lock on the Pennsylvania Canal. The canal was under the control of the state and it had been customary for boats to be run on Sun- day, but Mr. Little, true to the Christian in- fluences under which he had been reared, re- fused outright to perform his labors on the Sabbath. The boatmen were wroth and pe- titioned for his removal, but the governor of the state refused to remove him and the canal was thereafter closed on Sundays. While there Mr. Little made the acquaintance of Eliza Seibert, whom he married December 10, 1850, and soon after they moved to Berwick, Co- lumbia County, Pa., where he lived until April, 1860, when he removed to Blooms- burg. He there engaged in the practice of his profession and continued with the best of suc- cess until 1893 when he retired and moved upon his farm, just outside the corporate lim- its of Bloomsburg. As a lawyer he was unex- celled and his opinion was frequently sought by other prominent attorneys on intricate legal problems. He is a Democrat in his po- litical affiliations, and has served three terms as district attorney. Rising to a place of prominence in the professional world, he com-
manded the respect and esteem of the entire community, and in his retired life he has been surrounded by many friends. Religiously he is an active and consistent member of the Baptist Church and has held many of the church offices. His marriage resulted in the birth of a son, Robert R., the subject of this personal history.
Robert R. Little was eight years of age when his parents moved from Berwick to Bloomsburg, and there he was reared, receiv- ing a good education in the Bloomsburg State Normal School from which he was gradu- ated in 1872. He subsequently entered the University of Rochester at Rochester, N. Y., and then attended Hamilton College at Clin- ton, N. Y. In 1873 he entered his father's office and applied himself with such diligence as to be able to pass the bar examination two years later. He immediately became his fath- er's partner and they practiced under the firm name E. H. & R. R. Little until the former's retirement. Our subject has since practiced alone and is patronized by a leading class of citizens and business men, having a large and profitable clientage. He is a man of great energy and indomitable will, and is untiring in the prosecution of every case he undertakes. He served as district attorney form 1875 to 1881, two terms in all, and filled out two terms as county solicitor. He was also solic- itor for the borough one term.
October 15, 1878, Judge Little was united in marriage with Deborah T. Tustin of Bloomsburg, and they are the happy parents of three children: Henry J .; Josiah T .; and Catharine T. Socially he is a member of Washington Lodge, No. 265, F. & A. M. In religious attachments he is a faithful member of the Baptist Church. Judge Little's por- trait accompanies this sketch, being presented on a previous page.
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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
A® LBERT KAY is one of the progres- sive and enterprising farmers of Elk- land township, Sullivan County, Pa., where he has resided since childhood. He is a son of William and Ann (Bedford) Kay, and was born in Yorkshire, England, March 18, 1847. His grandparents were George and Sarah A. Kay.
William Kay, our subject's father, was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1801, and in 1849 immigrated to the United States and obtained employment in the Barclay mines in Bradford County, Pa. He subsequently purchased a farm of ninety-two acres in Elkland township, now owned by Albert Kay, of a Mr. Bedford, and upon this he built a frame house, clearing the entire land and following farming the re- mainder of his life. He was a man of good business principles and attained a high degree of success in the pursuance of his occupation. Religiously he was a member of the Evangeli- cal Church. He married Ann Bedford, who was born in 1807, and their children were: Joseph; Henry; Elizabeth; Harriet; Wil- liam; Sarah Ann; Mary Ann; Caroline; and Albert.
Albert Kay, whose name heads these lines, attended the public schools after coming to this country and followed farming and lum- bering up to the time of his father's demise. During his younger days many difficulties were encountered in transporting lumber from the great timber-lands of Sullivan Coun- ty to the markets owing to the narrow but swift streams down which timber had to be floated. It required a man of great skill to safely conduct timber down the Loyalsock Creek to the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, and the trips had to be made during the freshets in the spring and fall. Mr. Kay was unexcelled as a raftsman and made three or four trips every year, always returning by
foot. He entered into this line of business as a steersman, but his services were soon sought as a pilot and he followed that occupation for twelve years, during which time but once was his raft caught and held fast. Upon his fath- er's death he purchased the homestead and later bought land adjoining and has followed farming and teaming up to the present. He built an elegant modern house, which is well furnished and is supplied with many conven- iences; he also erected new barns and out- buildings, and everything about the place is in first-class order for successfully carrying on farming. He is very industrious and his busi- ness enterprises have not only turned out well, but in private life he occupies a high place in the esteem of his fellowmen.
Our subject was united in marriage with Susie King, a daughter of Job L. and Jane (Converse) King. Mr. King was a farmer of Sullivan County and for many years was county surveyor. He later settled at Columbia Cross Roads, where he died at the age of sixty-nine years. He married Jane Converse, and they reared six children, namely: Orlan- do; Rufus; Septor; Alice; Susie, wife of our subject; and Sadie. Upon the death of his first wife he married Lucinda Brenchley and they had one daughter, Lillian. Our subject is a stanch Republican and has served as com- missioner of the township and school director. He is liberal in his religious views. Frater- nally he is a member and grand past master of Lodge No. 522, I. O. O. F., of Forksville.
ILLIAM FAUST, a representative and progressive citizen of the town of Berwick and superintendent of the erecting car-shops of The Jackson & Woodin Manufac- turing Company, was born in Locust Valley,
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES.
Schuylkill County, Pa., July 3. 1845, and is a son of William and Rebecca (Lindenmouth) Faust and a grandson of John and Rosena (Hungsinger) Faust.
John Faust, the grandfather of our subject, was a farmer and lived to a ripe old age. He was wedded to Rosena Hungsinger who bore him the following children: John, George, William, Henry, Jameson, Phoebe, Betsey, Jacob, and Rosena.
William Faust, the father of our subject, was born in this state and when he grew to manhood he moved to Locust Valley, Schuyl- kill County, where he purchased four hundred acres of timberland. He built a saw-mill, cleared part of the property and carried on farming the remainder of his active days. Mr. Faust was one of the progressive and success- ful farmers of his community and took an active part in all measures which tended to benefit the conditions of his fellow-country- men. He entered the world of rest at the age of fifty-two years; his wife passed from this earth July 17, 1897. Mrs. Lucetta Thomp- son, sister of our subject, now owns part of the original homestead. Mr. Faust was united in the bonds of wedlock to Rebecca Linden- mouth, and a family of fourteen children were born to them, namely : Israel, deceased; John, deceased; Joseph, a contractor residing in the town of Berwick; Henry and Eli, deceased; William, our subject; George, a resident of St. Nicholas, Pa .; Amos, who resides in Ma- hanoy City, Pa .; Eliza, deceased, who was the wife of D. S. Scheipe; Ann, wife of J. J. Walborn, Mahanoy City, Pa .; Catherine, who was united in marriage to William Allen; Ro- sanna, who wedded J. B. Koppenhaffer; Lu- cetta, wife of J. R. Thompson; and Rebecca, who married H. R. Manger of New Boston, Pa.
William Faust, the subject of this review,
remained under the parental roof and at- tended the public schools until he was four- teen years of age. He then moved to Mid- dleport, Pa., where he learned the trade of a cabinetmaker. When President Lincoln is- sued a call for men to put down the Rebellion, our subject being sixteen years of age and too young to enlist as a regular, enlisted as a musician August 14, 1861, in Company I, 48th Reg., Pa. Vol. Inf., and remained in the service throughout the war. He served through all the battles with his company, which belonged to the Ninth Army Corps under the command of Gen. Burnside. Among the most notable battles in which our subject took part were Second Bull Run; South Mountain; Antietam; and Fredericks- burg. He then returned to his home on a furlough of thirty days and when he returned to the front he joined Gen. Grant's Army, and was in the battles of the Wilderness; Spott- sylvania; Cold Harbor, and Petersburg. Our subject received an honorable discharge June 17, 1865. Returning home, in 1867 he moved to Berwick and for eleven years he worked in the car-building department and did general carpenter work for The Jackson & Woodin Manufacturing Company, or until 1878 when he was promoted to be foreman of the same department. He has eighty men under his charge and they turn out fifteen cars per day. Mr. Faust is a self-made man in every respect and has succeeded in life by his own industry and perseverance. He is an honest and faith- ful workman and is considered by his employ- ers one of the company's most reliable fore- men. As a citizen he is one of the valued members of his community, and is held in high esteem by all his acquaintances.
Mr. Faust has served as a member of the town council several times, and is a member of the I. O. O. F. Lodge of Berwick. Our
GEORGE F. GEISINGER.
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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
subject was joined in the bonds of matrimony to Mary J. Smith, a daughter of John Smith, a resident of Black Creek, Luzerne County, Pa. Three children have blessed the home of Mr. and Mrs. Faust, as follows: Frank, who is employed by The Jackson & Woodin Manu- facturing Company; Emma, the wife of W. S. Johnson, who is the mother of two child- ren, Clark and Frederick; and Charles, who died in infancy.
RS. ABIGAIL A. GEISINGER, nee CORNELISON, who resides in a handsome residence on Center street, is the relict of George F. Geisinger and a descendant of an early and prominent family of the borough of Danville, Montour County, Pa. When her grandfather, Joseph Corneli- son, first located there, Danville was but a small settlement and presented an appearance in striking contrast with the now thriving business center which is widely known throughout the state. This sturdy o'd ances- tor and his family became identified with many of its first industrial enterprises, and to such of her early residents as these does Dan- ville owe its present standing. With wonder- ful foresight and pride did they predict the success which she would attain, and none who have had the good fortune to see Danville in recent years can doubt the correctness of their predictions.
Joseph Cornelison was born in Holland and upon coming to this country settled in the state of New Jersey, but soon after moved to Danville, Montour County, Pa., where he es- tablished the first blacksmith shop and fol- lowed that line of business the remainder of his life. He died in that town and was laid to rest in Grove Cemetery. His wife's maiden
name was Martin, and she was also buried in Grove Cemetery. Their marriage resulted in the following issue: Joseph, who was the first male white child born in Danville; William; Jacob; Isaac, the father of our subject; Cor- nelius; James; Massey; Mary (Yorks); and Anna (Best).
Isaac Cornelison was born in Danville, and at an early day learned the trade of a wagon- maker, carrying on his business on Mill street. There he followed that line of work until his death, at the age of forty-three years. He married Abigail Pancoast, a daughter of Mor- decai and Mary (Mears) Pancoast, who were strict adherents of the Quaker faith. Mrs. Cornelison died at the age of twenty-four years and six months, leaving two children : Mary E., the wife of D. Rice, both now de- ceased; and Abigail A., the subject of this personal history.
Our subject was first united in marriage with Jacob Cornelison, who was for some years proprietor of the hotel known as the White Swan. He was a son of Joseph Cornel- ison, who, in 1820, purchased the ground on which the City Hotel is now situated, and ten years later erected a building in which he con- ducted a fine hotel. This establishment be- came well-known throughout that section as the White Swan; a very appropriate sign was hung over the door, being an artistically- painted white swan. He continued at the head of this establishment until 1852, when his son, Jacob, succeeded him as proprietor. The lat- ter conducted the business with success until his death, in 1865, at the age of thirty-five years. The building was large and substan- tial. In 1872 it was purchased by Adam Geringer and he erected the present structure known as the City Hotel.
Our subject formed a second matrimonial alliance with George F. Geisinger, who was
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES.
born in Hingham, Mass., in 1821, and was a son of Commodore David Geisinger. At the age of sixteen years he was sent to Boston for the completion of his education, and upon leaving college he went to Baltimore, Md., and accepted a position in a mercantile busi- ness. He remained there until 1844, when he accompanied his father on a pleasure trip abroad, returning to Baltimore two years later. In 1847 he went to South America and spent two years in prospecting, and upon re- turning, in 1849, he went to California. Sub- sequently he went to Philadelphia, where he acted as his father's secretary at the Naval · Asylum until 1854. In June, 1855, he ac- cepted the position of bookkeeper for Grove & Bro., a prominent iron manufacturing firm of Danville. This firm was succeeded by Thomas Beaver & Co., but Mr. Geisinger still retained the position of head bookkeeper, act- ing in that capacity for a period of twenty- four years, when he became a member of the firm. He possessed unexcelled business pro- pensities and proved a valuable man to have at the head of this industry. However, he later disposed of his interest in order that he might spend the remainder of an unusually active life in quiet retirement, his only business for the remainder of his life being an interest which he acquired with Daniel Edwards in mining and dealing in coal at Kingston, Pa. After his death, in 1883, his worthy wife as- sumed his interest in the business and has continued as a member of the firm up to the present time, conducting her affairs with characteristic ability and good judg- ment.
Mrs. Geisinger purchased the old Shelhart residence on Center street, remodeled it, and greatly improved the lawn by the addition of shrubs and trees, making it a model home, and one of the finest residences in the county.
Religiously she is a liberal supporter of the Mahoning Presbyterian Church, of which her husband was also a faithful member. She is a woman possessing many excellent qualities and occupies a high place in the estimation of her many friends.
On a preceding page, in connection with the foregoing sketch, we take pleasure in pre- senting a portrait of George F. Geisinger.
RANK C. ANGLE is a lawyer of much prominence in Montour County, but he is better known to the public as the proprietor and publisher of the Montour American, a weekly paper of high standing, and the Morning News, a daily containing the latest telegraphic news, abounding in items of local interest, and sensible and entertaining editorials which are well and carefully written and show the result of deep thought. Mr. Angle has been connected with the growth of Danville in many ways and has done more for the advancement of its interests than any other single individual in the same period. He is a native of Danville, having been born Feb- ruary 25, 1854, and is a son of William and Henrietta (Pursel) Angle.
The grandfather of our subject was a lead- ing agriculturist of Greenwood township, Co- lumbia County, where he lived a long and useful life. William Angle, the father of our subject, was born in Greenwood township, Columbia County, and when a young man removed to Danville and established a general merchandise store opposite the Danville Pub- lic Library, which building has since been torn down. He was engaged in that business for over twenty years, and at the expiration of that period he had accumulated enough wealth to enable him to retire and spend his declining days in ease and comfort. He owned
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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
many valuable pieces of property in Danville and built a block of dwelling-houses on Church street. He served in the town coun- cil for several terms and was also a commis- sioner of water works. He was joined in hymeneal bonds to Henrietta Pursel, a daughter of William Pursel of Jersey Shore, Pa., and their happy union was blessed by the birth of the following children: Frank C., in whom the interest of this sketch centers; Liz- zie H., the wife of J. E. Bruley of Syracuse, N. Y .; and William P., a well known dentist and business man of Danville. In political views William Angle faithfully supported the principles of the Republican party. He was liberal in his religious views. He closed his eyes in final sleep at the age of sixty-three years, and his worthy wife now resides in Dan- ville.
Frank C. Angle, after completing the re- quired course in the common schools, at- tended Lehigh University from which he graduated with the class of 1876. He then took up the study of law with Thomas Gal- breth, a learned lawyer of Danville, and was admitted to the Montour County Bar in 1879, after which he formed a partnership with James Scarlet and began practice. Sub- sequently the partnership was dissolved and Mr. Angle has since been engaged in practice alone. He is a man of high principles, shrewd and energetic, and he makes the case of a client a personal matter, putting forth his greatest efforts. In debates he is cool and collected, presents the facts clearly and argues forcibly. He has not only been engaged in the work of his profession, but has been close- ly connected with many public enterprises, es- pecially where the welfare of the borough of Danville has been concerned. He is a mem- ber of the board of water commissioners of Danville; manager of the Danville Opera
House; and is proprietor of the Atlas Manu- facturing Company which was established in 1875. He erected the building, in which he manufactures all kinds of wooden household novelties, and the company does an enormous business, also conducting a branch house in Williamsport. In 1878 our subject purchased the Montour American, which was founded December 11, 1855, by D. H. B. Brower, who was succeeded by Joel S. Bailey and Charles Cork in 1864. Mr. Brower again became the owner in 1871 and disposed of it to W. H. Bradley and Lewis Gordon. They conducted the paper for a few years, and were succeeded by Edward C. Baldy, William B. Baldy, and finally by Bennett & Frick, of whom our sub- ject purchased the plant. Under his success- ful guidance it has prospered and become one of the best weekly papers in the county, hav- ing a circulation of 800 copies per week. In September, 1897, he established the Morning News, which has had an exceedingly rapid growth and has a circulation of 700 copies per day. Mr. Angle is a man of medium stature, of fine personal appearance, and by the pleasant and courteous manner which he manifests toward every one has become very popular and has made many friends through- out his section of the country.
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