USA > Pennsylvania > Book of biographies; This volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of the Seventeenth congressional district, Pennsylvania > Part 5
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has been a Republican, and in 1870 he was the party nominee for the State Legislature. In 1880 he was nominated by the Greenback party for Congress, receiving a larger vote than any other on his ticket, but, of course, was defeated. In 1896 he took sides with the Democracy, on the silver issue. In 1881 he purchased a farm near Bloomsburg and con- ducted it until 1885; he purchased a fine resi- dence in Espy in 1893 and now resides there, but his office and place of business is in Bloomsburg. Capt. Robison is widely known throughout his section as a man of great worth and integrity, and there are none but what hold him in the highest esteem and ac- cord him their confidence.
On October 16, 1873, he was joined in Hy- men's bonds with Mary Jane Breece, a daugh- ter of Daniel Breece, and the following chil- dren bless their home; Martha Elizabeth, a teacher, a graduate of the Bloomsburg State Normal School; James Boyd, a graduate of the Bloomsburg State Normal School, now in Illinois; Bessie Mary, a graduate of the Bloomsburg State Normal School, resides at home; Isaiah Barton, died in infancy; Wil- liam Daniel, now attending school; Jennie Breece: Emily; Andrew Horace; and Irving Alexander, all attending school. Socially our subject is a member of the following orders: Odd Fellows: Patrons of Husbandry; Gran 1 Army of the Republic; and of Masonic bod- ies, being a Knight Templar and a member in the Thirty-second Degree, Scottish Rite.
APT. JOHN M. BUCKALEW, a pro- gressive business man of Fishing Creek township. Columbia County, has been extensively engaged in the lumber busi- ness for many years and was a captain in the
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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
Civil War. He is a son of John M. and Mar- tha (Funston) Buckalew, and was born near his present homestead October 17, 1826.
The Buckalew family originated in Scot- land, but many centuries ago removed to France, the native land of Francis Buckalew. who immigrated to Long Island, N. Y., while it was still a Dutch province. Later Francis moved to South Amboy, Middlesex County, N. J., where he became a landowner and re- sided the remainder of his days. He was a large man, of powerful strength, which has ever been a characteristic of the family, our subject being six feet tall and weighing con- siderably over two hundred pounds. This sturdy old pioneer lived to reach the remark- able age of 110 years before overtaken by the Silent Reaper some time between 1752 and 1755. Samuel Buckalew, his son and the great-grandfather of our subject, was born in South Amboy, N. J., in 1698, where he lived all his life, dying August 4, 1796, at the ripe old age of ninety-six years. He was the pro- genitor of a family of five children, three daughters and two sons, one of whom was John, the grandfather of our subject.
John Buckalew was born in Middlesex County, N. J., in 1743, and at an early age was united in matrimonial bonds to Mary MacKinney, a daughter of Mordecai Mac- Kinney of Hunterdon County, N. J., and a sis- ter of Capt. John MacKinney, who made an enviable record in the service during the Rev- olutionary War. He had a command in the 9th Regiment of Pennsylvania in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, but subse- quently was transferred to the 3d Regiment, and later to the 5th. He was at the surrender of Cornwallis and accompanied Gen. Wayne on his southern campaign. He served with distinction throughout the entire war, after which he moved to Kentucky, where he re-
sided until his death. About the year 1775. John Buckalew, with his wife's father, move 1 to Muncy, Lycoming County, Pa., where they purchased a tract of 300 acres of land and en- gaged in its cultivation. He was associated with Capt. Brady in the war on the borders during the Revolution, and was a member of the first Committee of Safety in 1776, at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. He was a member of the militia and took his turn in scouting duty, as his brother-in-law was away fighting and it fell to his lot to remain at home for the protection of the two families. After the war had been in progress for some time Indian depredations became so frequent in their neighborhood that the families sought safety in other localities. Mr. MacKinney moved to Harrisburg, Pa., but Mr. Buckalew moved to Harford County, Md., where he en- gaged in the milling business, which was his trade formerly. He took a contract from the Continental Congress and there still remains' an unpaid bill for from £700 to £800. After the close of the war and in the latter part of 1785 John Buckalew settled on the Chillis- quaque Creek, in Northumberland County, where he remained until 1796, when he moved to Little Fishing Creek and erected a grist- mill a short distance below Ives Grove. He remained there until 1816, when he decided to move to a smaller farm on Huntington Creek, Fishing Creek township, as he was growing old and was in need of a rest and his children were nearly all married and had left home. As a result he purchased a farm adjoining the one upon which our subject now resides and lived there until his death in 1833. at the age of ninety-one years. His family consisted of the following children: Sarah, who married William Collins of Chester County, Pa., and moved to the Mississippi Valley in Illinois, where she died in 1843;
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES.
Nancy, deceased; Rachel, who married Sam- uel Earl of Huntington, Luzerne County; Rebecca, whose first husband was Daniel Woodward, and who also married Rev. Epa- phras Wadsworth, a descendant of Capt. Wadsworth of Charter Oak fame; Elizabeth, who married Jacob Ogden and resided in Lu- zerne County, Pa .: Amos, who was a lumber- man and died in Middletown, Pa., at a com- paratively early age: John M., the father of our subject; and James, from whom Russell C. Buckalew of Bloomsburg, whose sketch also appears in this Book of Biographies, is descended.
John M. Buckalew. father of our subject, was born on Chillisquaque Creek, December 17, 1786, and early in life learned the trade of a millwright, which he followed all of his life. He was also engaged extensively in lum- bering and farming and was decidedly suc- cessful in all of his business ventures. He was united in the holy bonds of wedlock to Martha Funston, who was born near Bethlehem, Pa., in 1789, and died in Luzerne County, January I, 1840, and their happy union was blessed by the birth of nine children, five of whom grew to maturity, namely: William, who was born November 11, 1816, and died September 6. 1864, was a millwright by trade, also a sur- veyor, and resided in Fishing Creek town- ship, Columbia County; Perry, a farmer of Fishing Creek township, born January 30, 1820, and died January 4, 1888; Charles R., who was born December 28, 1821, attained distinction as an attorney-at-law in Blooms- burg and was elected to the United States Senate; Mahala, who was born September 17, 1823, married Benjamin C. Hess, and resides in Fishing Creek; and Capt. John M., the gentleman whose name heads these lines.
Capt. John M. Buckalew attended the pub- lic schools of his native town and after attain-
ing manhood engaged in the lumbering busi- ness, which he has always followed, with the exception of the time spent in the army dur- ing the Civil War. He was captain of Com- pany A. 178th Pa. Reg., being mustered into service October 30, 1862, and receiving his honorable discharge in July, 1863. when his term of enlistment expired. Mr. Buckalew is a man of excellent judgment and has been very successful in his business ventures. Al- though he obtained but little education in the common school he is a man of scholarly at- tainments and has been a life-long student. He has an excellent memory and few if any are as well posted as he on the early history of his section of the county. He is recog- nized as an authority upon local historical events, and when the legislature authorized the compilation and publication of the "His- tory of the Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania" Gov. Pattison appointed him as one of the corps to do the work, assigning him the terri- tory between the North and West Branches of the Susquehanna River, including Sunbury. He set about getting the desired data, and the manner in which he wrote his part of the book proved entirely satisfactory to everybody con- cerned and gained many favorable comments for him.
In 1861 our subject was united in marriage to Miss D. K. Creveling. a daughter of An- drew S. Creveling, late a farmer of Fishing Creek township. Politically Capt. Buckalew is a stanch supporter of the Republican party. Socially he is a member of Ent Post No. 250, G. A. R., of Bloomsburg; a member of Lodge No. 234. I. O. O. F., of New Columbus, Pa., of which he is past noble grand: Wash- ington Lodge No. 265, F. & A. M., of Bloomsburg; Bloomsburg Chapter, No. 218, R. A. M .; Mt. Moriah Council, No. 10, R. & S. M .: Crusade Commandery, No. 12, K. T .;
DR. WILLIAM J. HANLON.
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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
Orient Conclave, No. 2, Red Cross of Con- stantine; and Caldwell Consistory, S. P. R. S., 32d Degree N. M. J., Bloomsburg, Pa.
R. WILLIAM J. HANLON, a suc- cessful and popular physician of Mount Carmel, whose portrait is pre- sented on the preceding page, is another of the residents of Northumberland County who have worked their way upward and have won success and honor by their perseverance, ability and energy. One of a family of ten children, our subject, as an engine-wiper, at the age of ten years, began a career which has been active and full of variety. He was for a time a slate-picker, and graduated from the coal breaker to the railroad and worked his way upward to the dispatcher's office and, while working hard every day, studied medi- cine and crowned his labors by graduating from one of the leading colleges of this state with high honors and taking up the practice of the profession he had chosen for his life- work. A self-made man in every respect, Dr. Hanlon looks back over his earlier struggles with much satisfaction and with the kindliest remembrances of his father who persistently urged him to go to school and to try to edu- cate himself so as to be fitted to win success.
Our subject is a son of Thomas and Mar- garet (McClellan) Hanlon and was born at Port Carbon, Schuylkill County, Pa., August 5, 1862. His father was a native of County Donegal, Ireland, where he was born in 1829. He came to the United States in 1847 and found employment as a driver on the old Lehigh Canal. Meeting some friends whom he had known theretofore he subsequently went to work as a laborer, unloading boats at Mauch Chunk. Later he secured employ-
ment as a brakeman on the Lehigh Valley Railroad, continuing in that occupation until the spring of 1851 when he caught the go'd fever and decided to go to California. He got as far as Pottsville, Schuylkill County, Pa., where something caused him to abandon his proposed journey to the Pacific Coast, and he secured work as a brakeman on the Phila- delphia & Reading Railroad, on which he worked for many years. He was a brakeman on the construction train when the line run- ning from Pottsville to Frackville, Schuylkill County, was built. In 1871 he was given an engine, having by painstaking and diligent application to his duties won promotions gradually until he was thoroughly competent to run an engine, and was transferred in July, 1872, to Mahanoy Piane where he hauled coal trains until 1883. He was then given a regu- lar passenger run, handling a train which ran between Mahanoy Plane and Shenandoah; he continued on that line until age made it ad- visable that he be given lighter work and he was placed in charge of a smaller engine which he ran until his death, February 20, 1897. Mr. Hanlon married Margaret McClellan, who was born March 29, 1841, and died March 25, 1897. Their family numbered ten children.
For a brief period the subject of this review, William J. Hanlon, attended public schools at Mahanoy Plane and Port Carbon. When ten years old he went to work as an engine-wiper, then he was water-boy for the railroad track- men for a year and a half, and next he picked slate in a breaker and did many odd jobs, go- ing to school in winter. His father, while ap- preciating the boy's energy and desire to be earning something, constantly urged William to attend school, but the son kept at work, laboring for a time on a gravel train. He finally yielded to his father's solicitations and in the fall of 1879 resumed his studies, making
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES.
excellent progress and attaining a high stand- ing. He obtained a certificate as a teacher, but he preferred to work about the railroad and he greased pulleys for a month on the Mahanoy plane. Next he took a clerkship in the station at Mahanoy Plane, working in that capacity from April, 1881, to December, 1883. In the meantime he had learned tele- graphy and he was transferred to Paxinos, where he opened a new station for the Reading Railroad, remaining there until March 12, 1887, when he was sent back to Mahanoy Plane as timekeeper for the same road. He subsequently was stationed as a clerk at Shamokin Scales on the Philadelphia & Reading and as night operator on the Penn- sylvania Railroad at Morris Junction, near Pottsville. After working at several places on the latter road, in December, 1888, our subject was promoted to the position of copier and operator in the office of the train dis- patcher at Sunbury, where he remained until September, 1892. He had meanwhile taken up the study of medicine with Dr. Daniel W. Shindel of Sunbury and, resigning his position with the railroad, on October 1, 1892, he matriculated at the Medico-Chirurgical Col- lege of Philadelphia. He pursued his studies assiduously and between terms at college worked as an operator on the Philadelphia & Reading and the Pennsylvania roads, thus . adding to the fund which he had saved for the purpose of going through the college. He was graduated May 10, 1895, and removed to Philadelphia, but he soon abandoned the idea of practicing in that city owing to the large expenditures he would have been under while acquiring a practice. He located at Port Carbon, Schuylkill County, where he prac- ticed his profession until April 29, 1896, when he removed to Mount Carmel where he now has a large and profitable general practice.
On January 3, 1889, our subject was joined in wedlock to Mary E. Farley. Their home has been brightened by two children : Thomas F., born October 16, 1889; and William A., born September 4, 1896.
EV. MARTIN L. SHINDEL, a gen- tleman of scholarly attainments and a devout Christian worker, has served faithfully and most efficiently as pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Dan- ville since March, 1874. He has devoted his time and energy to the cause of Christianity with a zeal and a love for his work which could not but result in the accomplishment of much good to his charge and his fellow citizens, and there is not a member of his church who does not love and respect him. He is a son of Rev. J. P. and Susanna (McCollough) Shin- del, and was born in Sunbury, Northumber- land County, Pa.
Rev. J. P. Shindel, the father of our sub- ject, was born in Lebanon County, Pa., and when young decided that his life's work lay in the ministerial field. He became pastor of the Lutheran Church of Sunbury and serve 1 as such for a period of forty-five years, when he retired owing to his advanced age, five years prior to his death. He married Susan- na McCollough of Lebanon County and they were the parents of a family of e'even child- ren, as follows: Jeremiah, a minister: Rev. John P .; Jacob J. G .; Solomon: Newton, a physician, deceased; Dr. Daniel W., deceased; Martin L., our subject; Philip M .; Louise, the wife of Gideon Leisenring; Maria, the wife of Benjamin Hendricks; Susanna, the wife of Samuel Gobin, is the mother of Lieut .- Gov. J. P. S. Gobin of Pennsylvania.
Martin L. Shindel received a good educa-
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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
tion, graduating from the Susquehanna Uni- versity, after which he studied for the ministry and was ordained to preach in 1861. His first charge was at McAlisterville, Pa., where he remained for three years, after which he had three congregations at Selinsgrove, Pa., for a period of seven years. He then removed to Danville, Montour County, as the successor to Rev. U. Graves as pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, of which he is pastor at the present time.
This church was originally a part of St. John's German Lutheran Church of Danville, which was established in 1820 by Rev. Peter Kessler, who for some years was the only pastor of that denomination in that section of the state. He had charge of all the congre- gations in Montour and adjoining counties. In 1830 the Lutherans and Episcopalians joined in building a house of worship in which each was to hold its services, but after a year or two dissatisfaction arose, and the Luther- ans erected a church of their own in 1844. The congregation assumed large proportions in a remarkably short time and it became ap- parent that the size of the church was insuf- ficient to comfortably accommodate all who wished to attend. Many of the members again became dissatisfied and the English- speaking members withdrew, resulting in the incorporation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church on April 29, 1852. They erected a handsome brick church on Pine Street in 1858, a building 45 by 72 feet in size, with a large basement for a Sunday School room, and Rev. P. P. Lane was installed as the first pastor. He in turn was succeeded by the fol- lowing in their respective order: Rey. M. J. Stover, Rev. E. A. Sharretts, Rev. George M. Rhoads, Rev. U. Graves, and Rev. Martin L. Shindel, our subject. The trustees of the church at present are : Jacob Fish, William E.
Case, Charles Pusey, and Charles Werkheiser. Adjoining the church, but facing on Mulberry street, is the parsonage which is in every way in keeping with the church edifice.
Under the successful guidance of its present pastor the church has increased in member- ship to an enrollment of two hundred, and is in good financial condition. Rev. Mr. Shindel during his long pastorate and faithful devotion to his duty toward God and man, has won a high place in the affections of the people.
Our subject was united in the holy bonds of matrimony with Catherine Young, a daughter of John Young, and they reared a daughter, Elizabeth B., now the wife of Sam- uel McCoy, town clerk of Danville, Pa. Mrs. Shindel died at the age of fifty-five years, and our subject formed a second marital union with Mary O. Tillson, a daughter of Darius and Mary Tillson of Danville, and they have one daughter, Susan Mary, born October 23, 1889.
ANIEL MCHENRY, for many years a prominent lumberman of Columbia and adjoining counties, is now living in his fine old residence at Stillwater, Fishing Creek township, Columbia County, Pa., which was the first property his grandfather ac- quired after coming to this country, and he is extensively engaged in agricultural pursuits, being a large land owner in that section. He is a son of Moses and Martha (Edgar) Mc- Henry, and was born at Stillwater, May 15, 1827.
Daniel McHenry, the grandfather of our subject, was born in the North of Ireland and was of Scotch-Irish parentage. Coming to America prior to the struggle for independ- ence, he enlisted in the Colonial Army and fought valiantly for his adopted country. He
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES.
settled in Columbia County, Pa., where he bought a tract of land where the village of Stillwater is now located and there built a log house, the first building erected in the county, north of Orangeville. Soon after his wife followed him to their new home where their nearest neighbor was at Orangeville, six miles distant, and their nearest market. Northumberland, thirty-four miles distant. There they lived and labored in happiness, and, dying, their property descended to their children, most of it now being owned by our subject. Daniel joined in wedlock with Mary Stevens, a sister of Col. William Stevens, a distinguished officer of the War of 1812, and a well-known horseman of Steuben County, N. Y., and their children were: Benjamin, who owned a part of the old homestead, fol- lowed farming and lumbering and died of the yellow fever while going down the Sus- quehanna River with a raft; Daniel, a farmer and lumberman on the old home estate, who was widely known as a man of upright char- acter and as a devout Christian; John, the grandfather of John G. McHenry, whose sketch appears elsewhere; Uriah, who was a shoemaker by trade; Moses, the father of our subject; Elias, a farmer and lumberman, who was also a colonel in the state militia and a very active man; Mrs. Martha Colley; and Mrs. Susan Edgar. Daniel McHenry lies buried at St. Gabriel's Church in Sugarloaf township, and his wife in the Stillwater cem- etery.
Moses McHenry, the father of our subject, was born on the old homestead in 1791, and he was a farmer and lumber dealer. He owned about 300 acres of the original family estate and an additional tract of 200 acres which he purchased. He rafted logs down Fishing Creek to the Susquehanna, thence down to tidewater, and did a very large business for
many years. He was one of the greatest hunt- ers of his time and to him hunting was not only a pleasant pastime but a very profitable one. His brother John was likewise fond of the sport and in the proper season they took jaunts up into the mountains, always return- ing with many deer, numbering close to one hundred, which they disposed of at the Phila- delphia markets. Moses was a strong Demo- crat in his political affiliations, and was also a captain in the state militia. He was a man of marked religious character and was the founder of the Christian Church at Stillwater, where he was the first man baptized by im- mersion. He passed to his final rest in 1855. He married Martha Edgar, a daughter of James Edgar, a record of whose life will be found in the biography of T. H. Edgar, Esq., and they became the parents of six sons and five daughters: Cynthia, deceased, who was the wife of Samuel McHenry of Benton town- ship; Isabella, deceased, wife of Tunis Karns; Elias, deceased, who was at one time a farmer, but during the latter years of his life was en- gaged in the insurance business; Mary, widow of Samuel Appleman of Stillwater; James, deceased, a merchant of Cambra, Luzerne County, who twice represented that county in the State Legislature; John J., a merchant of Benton, Pa .; Ellen, deceased, who was the wife of the late John Evans of Madison, Lack- awanna County; Daniel, the subject of this personal history; Cyrus B., deceased, a farmer who resided near Stillwater, and was at his death, in 1890, associate judge of Columbia County; Martha, widow of Hiram McHenry, a farmer of Fishing Creek township; and Si- las, deceased, who was a farmer on the old homestead.
Daniel McHenry was brought up on his father's farm and received his education in the old "subscription" schools. As a youth he
REV. PHILANDER S. BREWSTER. M. D.
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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
was ambitious and energetic and before he attained his majority he embarked in the mer- cantile business as a partner with his brother James, and they continued as partners for five years, when our subject became sole proprie- tor. His efforts in this direction met with the best of success and he conducted the store for ten years, when he disposed of it to his nephew, Moses McHenry, who now runs it. In the meantime Mr. McHenry had become much interested in the lumber business in Co- lumbia and neighboring counties, and upon retiring from the mercantile business he de- voted his attention mainly to the lumber busi- ness. His operations were very extensive and he continued with good results until 1890, when he retired in favor of his son, O. D. Mc- Henry, who had been assisting him for sev- eral years. Being the owner of large interests in land, he has since given his attention to "their cultivation and he is now an extensive agriculturist. Besides owning a part of the old home property, in 1856 he purchased a tract of fifty-two acres of his uncle, Elias Mc- Henry, and also a tract of 200 acres of fine bottomland. He owns three good building sites in Stillwater and in 1878 he built upon the land, which descended from his grand- father, a large and commodious residence in which he has since resided. Our subject is a man of high principles and sterling integrity and stands high among the leading citizens of the county.
On November 17, 1862, Mr. McHenry was joined in the holy bonds of matrimony to Mary McHenry, a daughter of the late J. D. McHenry, a farmer of Fishing Creek town- ship, who was a son of Benjamin McHenry, and a grandson of the founder of the family in this country. This union was blessed by two children : Orvis Dell, a lumber dealer who resides at home; and May. Politically our
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