Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 134

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 2390

USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 134
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 134
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 134
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 134

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).

When a boy our subject came with his mother to Ross township, Monroe county. He remained at home assisting in the work of the farm until the age of eighteen years, when he began an appren- ticeship at the blacksmith shop of Jonas Serfass. A year later Mr. Serfass gave up the business, and the young apprentice then worked for two years with David Krechel, at Kunkletown. At the age of twenty-one, with his trade acquired, and with faith in the future, our subject united his fortunes with Miss Christina Correll. They were married in Chestnut Hill township, Monroe county No- vember 9, 1856. Mrs. Trach was born in Eldred township, Monroe county, January 19, 1839, daughter of Jacob and Susannah Correll. Jacob Correll was a well-known farmer of Monroe county, and both he and his wife had lived to good old ages. He died in 1882 aged eighty-three years ; his wife survived until 1885, passing away at the

age of eighty-three years. Their children were as follows: Reuben, who married Salina Boyer ; Elizabeth, widow of Peter Hawk (now deceased) ; Charles, who married Eliza Bushkirk, and is now deceased ; Adam, who married Levina Tittle, and, later, Sarah Mixsell, and is now deceased; Maria, who died, the wife of John Stetter; Christina, the wife of our subject; Salina, who married Charles Bachman, and, later, Godfrey Green; Jacob, who married Maria Boyer, and Susanna, who died, the wife of James Schoch.

After his marriage our subject started in busi- ness for himself at Trachville, Carbon county. He remained there two years, then came to his pres- ent residence at Pleasant Valley, which he has ever since made his home. His marriage has been blessed with the following children: Jacob, a blacksmith of Moosic, Penn., who married Annetta Altimose; Peter F., who died young; Fannie, wife of Peter Metzer, a farmer of Kunkletown, Penn .; George, a minister, who married Martha Halton, and now lives at Mannington, W. Va .; David, a physician, who married Edna Kunkle, and lives at Kresgeville ; Anna, at home; Flora, wife of Joseph Radeline, of Lehigh county; John, a medical stu- dent at Kresgeville ; and Maggie E., deceased.

During his long residence of more than forty years at Pleasant Valley, Mr. Trach has built and established for himself a character and reputation that is the synonym of sterling and substantial worth. He has followed the line of general farm- ing, and the anvils at his shop have rung with merry and continuous music. He has been through life an active member of the Reformed Church, and for many years served as a deacon and an elder in the congregation. He has ever been alive to the mental and moral welfare of the com- munity in which he lives, and for several terms he served as school director. In politics he is a Dem- ocrat, but his political affiliation was not of that character which led him to seek public life. His own business affairs offered to him the more at- tractive and inviting field, save that he was ever ready to respond and contribute his time and abili- ties to causes for the general good. He is a pro- gressive citizen, and in the line of his own indi- vidual work has kept fully abreast with the times, besides maintaining a familiarity with subjects of current interest and value. In brief, Mr. Trach is a typical representative of prominent and success- ful citizenship, and his busy and fruitful life illus- trates the possibilities of intelligence and continued effort.

PETER ECKHART, JR., one of the most en- ergetic and enterprising citizens of Shohola town- ship, Pike county, is a native of Pike county, having been born upon his present farm March 5, 1868.

Peter Eckhart, Sr., father of our subject, was born in Hessen, Germany, January 18, 1827, and in that country learned the mason's and builder's trade. After following it for a short time in his native

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Province he came to the New World and found em- ployment in Baltimore, Md., and Albany, N. Y. Wishing to settle down, he, in company with an older brother, purchased 233 acres of wood land in Shohola township. Pike Co., Penn., and from the wild tract developed one of the finest farms in the locality. When his sons were old enough they were set to work clearing the land and attending to the general farming, while the father was employed at his trade. He was a Democrat in politics, and held several of the township offices, including that of tax collector. He died November 7. 1896, honored and respected by all who knew him. Both he and his wife were active members of the German Luth- eran Church. He was married in Shohola to Miss Elizabeth Hipsman, who is still living on the old homestead. They have five children: George F., who married Julia Buck, and is a mason at Barry- ville, Sullivan Co., N. Y .; Katie, wife of Jacob J. Ruegger, a railroad employe, residing at Matamoras, Pike county ; Valentine C., who married Susan Hever, and is a mason and contractor at Congers, Rockland Co., N. Y .: Peter, of this sketch, and Charles W., who is represented elsewhere.

Peter Eckhart, Jr., remained at home until after his marriage, December 27. 1890, with Miss Justine C. Keller. They have one son. Harold C., born July 30, 1807. Soon after their marriage they re- moved to Congers, Rockland Co., N. Y., where our subject found work with his brother as a mason and contractor. At the end of six years, however, he returned to Shohola township, Pike county, and now occupies the old homestead consisting of 1161/2 acres, fifty of which are under cultivation. In 1896 he erected a handsome twelve-room house upon the place, valued at $3,000, and here he intends to enter- tain city boarders during the summer months. Po- litically he is identified with the Democratic party ; religiously both he and his wife are members of the German Lutheran Church.

George Keller, Mrs. Eckhart's father, was a native of Baden, Germany and when a boy came to America. After working for some time in New York and New Jersey, he located in Shohola township, Pike Co., Penn., where he married Miss Josephine Kreiter, by whom he had the following children : William, who wedded Mary Rugger, and is a stone mason of Barryville, N. Y. ; Frank, who wedded Mary Palmer, and is a farmer in Parkers Glen, Sho- hola township : Eugenia, wife of Dunham Gregory, a liveryman at Milford, Penn. ; Justin C., who was born September 22, 1865, and who is now the wife of our subject, and Carrie, wife of George Haas. a farmer of Shohola township. The father of this family died when Mrs. Eckhart was a child of six years, and the mother is now the wife of Valentine Hipsman. Her parents were Franz and Christana ( Hassen) Kreiter, natives of Bavaria, Germany. Her father was born January 13, 1806, and was mar- ried in the territory on the Lower Rhine, then un- der the French rule. Of his eight children five reached years of maturity, namely : Catherine, born

in 1832, is now the wife of Jacob Persbacker, fore- man on the Erie railroad and a resident of Shohola township, Pike county, where he owns a large farm ; Josephine, born December 6, 1840, is the mother of Mrs. Eckhart : Barbara, born February 13, 1842, is the widow of Charles Classe, and a resident of Alle- gheny, Penn. ; John enlisted in the Union army dur- ing the Civil war, and was killed in South Carolina, being murdered on the battlefield, and Elizabeth ( deceased ) was born September 29, 1845, and was the first wife of Valentine Hipsman.

WILLIAM SHOTWELL WINTERMUTE, (leceased. Among the men whose enterprise and foresight helped to develop the resources of this section the subject of this sketch, formerly a leading resident of Stroudsburg, is especially deserving of honorable mention. As the pioneer brick manufac- turer of Monroe county his connection with business interests was notably helpful, while in non-com- mercial lines his influence was no less potent, every movement for the welfare of the community receiv- ing from him sympathy and support. For nearly half a century he made his home in Stroudsburg, and so closely was he identified with the best interests of the place that his death, on October 10, 1879, caused profound grief among all classes of people, to whom his name had become a synonym for manly endeavor.

Mr. Wintermute derived his sterling qualities of character from good Colonial ancestry, his family having resided in New Jersey for several genera- tions. Peter Wintermute, the grandfather of our subject, married Esther Rhodes, and they had sev- eral children, among whom was a son Charles.

Charles Wintermute, our subject's father, was born August 16, 1784, and made his home in Still- water township, Sussex Co., N. J. He married Susannah Shotwell, who was born in the same local- ity on January 6, 1789, and went to Fayette county, Penn., when only five years old, her father, Hugh · Shotwell, taking his family across the mountains in a wagon drawn by a team of oxen. In 1809 Charles Wintermute went to Fayette county, and he and Miss Shotwell were married after a brief acquaintance, the ceremony being performed No- vember 20, of that year. He immediately returned to New Jersey with his young bride, the entire journey being accomplished on horseback. His death occurred February 21, 1868, and his wife died March 15. 1874. Our subject was the eldest of thirteen children. (2) Joseph R., born October 25, 18II, was married March 21, 1840, to Judith A. Wolfinger, and died December 19, 1864. (3) Ro- setta A., born September 19, 1813, was married, March 24. 1853. to George S. Smith. (4) Hugh S., born April 18, 1816, was married, November 8, 1840, to Mercy Luce and died April 2, 1869. (5) Esther, born April 26, 1818, was married, January 3, 1843, to Aaron Mitchel and died July 13, 1888; her hus- band's death occurred July 15. 1888. (6) John S., born June 2, 1819, married Sarah Linaberry May

William S. Wintermute 7

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9, 1847, and died March 13, 1885. (7) George, born May 1, 1821, was married, April 18, 1850, to Sarah Middlesworth. (8) Caroline, born February 6, 1823, died May 9, 1898, was married, February 26, 1845, to John Mitchel. (9) Charlotta, born No- vember 26, 1824, married Reuben Randolph No- vember 15, 1847. (10) Abigail R., born June 6, 1826, married Cummins O. Harris March 4, 1847, and died April 28, 1892. (II) Howel G., born Feb- ruary 26, 1828, died September 20, 1831. (12) Alice A., born September 5, 1829, married William Willetts December 27, 1855. (13) Oliver B., born March 15, 1832, married Alice Tunison March 24, 1855.

William S. Wintermute was born September 30, 1810, near Stillwater, N. J., where his youth was mainly spent. He learned the brick maker's trade during a brief residence in Cleveland, Ohio, and on March 4, 1836; located in this section. For a few years he leased the Peter Hollinshead farm, west of Stroudsburg (later owned by Henry Kantz), where with his sister Esther as his housekeeper he followed farming and brick making, having one kiln on the place. About 1843 he removed to town and began the manufacture of brick, which he successfully con- tinued as a permanent occupation. For a number of years he was extensively engaged in that business both in Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg, and all of the first brick buildings there, including the old courthouse, county office and many others, were made of bricks of his manufacture. During the second remarkable freshet from which Stroudsburg suffered, on October 4, 1869, his home, in common with several others, was undermined and destroyed, his residence being one-half of the edifice erected by him on the site of old Fort Penn, of Revolution- ary fame. He soon afterward rebuilt it, enlarging it to more than double its former size, and it is per- haps one of the best and most substantially built edifices in town, having the foundation laid from the bottom of the wash-out, twenty-three feet below the level of the pavement.

Mr. Wintermute became a Republican when that party was formed, and in his day was one of the influential workers in the local organization, being entrusted with many borough offices, including those of chief burgess (four years), town councilman and school director, which he held at different times for a number of years, as his eminently practical judgment and good sense made his services of value. He loved peace, and consistently avoided contention and strife, often enduring wrong rather than resent it. He was one of the oldest living members of Fort Penn Lodge No. 134, I. O. O. F., and his funeral was largely attended by the members. In his youth he united with the Christian Church of Johnsons- burg, N. J., and throughout his life ne manifested by his conduct the reality of his faith. On October 30, 1841, he married Eliza Fowler, by whom he had four children, viz .: Susan, Esther, Charles and Mary.

(1) Susan was married, December 15, 1880, to

Henry T. Van Iderstine, of Passaic, N. J., and had one daughter, Lida W., born August 15, 1884. Henry T. Van Iderstine, son of Tunis and Sallie Van Iderstine, was born in Saddle River township, Bergen Co., N. J., September 29, 1827. He was one of the organizers of the First Reformed (Dutch) Church of Broadway, Paterson, N. J., and remained an active member, holding the office of deacon. By trade he was a coachmaker, and he conducted this business many vears in Paterson, N. J., retiring about middle age, owing to declining health. His death occurred in Stroudsburg, Penn., February 15, 1893, and his remains were taken to Passaic, N. J., for interment in the cemetery attached to the First Reformed Church of that place.

(2) Esther was married, January 22, 1880, to Dr. William James Gulick, of North Lansing, N. Y., who was born at Lacon, Marshall Co., Ill., January 22, 1844, son of Williamson and Charlotte ( Van Buskirk) Gulick. His father died in 1846, and his mother afterward married Charles Henry, who was several times sheriff of Monroe county, Penn. Losing his father at the age of two years, Dr. Gu- lick became the ward of his grandfather, William Van Buskirk, of Stroud township, Monroe Co., Penn., who educated him. In 1862 he began the study of medicine, under the direction of Dr. A. Reeves Jackson, of Stroudsburg, and on graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, March II, 1865, he located at Nanticoke, Luzerne Co., Penn., where he practiced his profession for three years. He then removed to Venice Centre, Cayuga Co., N. Y., and later to North Lansing, Tompkins Co., N. Y., where he continued successfully for thirteen years. In 1881 he removed to Stroudsburg, where he enjoyed a large practice up to the beginning of his last illness, caused by lobar pneumonia. He died September 20, 1891, aged forty-seven years, seven months, and twenty-eight davs, deeply mourned by a large circle of friends, and among the many ex- pressions of sorrow called forth by the event was the following obituary in the Jeffersonian. "Mr. Editor :- I desire to pay a small tribute to the mem- ory of Dr. William J. Gulick. I was personally acquainted with him through all the vears of his life, and never has it been my experience to know a more honorable man. He was a skillful physician, giving all his leisure hours to the careful study of the profession he had chosen and loved so well, mak- ing him a safe counselor. As a friend he was stanch and true in the fullest sense, and so kindly disposed and high-souled that he would not stoop to retaliate upon an enemy. Gradually he arose above the petty circumstances of life, coming out of the crucible tried, with a soul purified and elevated. In his home he was a tender loving husband, appreciating wife and friends, and finding his great happiness at his own fireside. In a practice of twenty-six years, when called upon he never stopped to consider whether rich or poor, but gave the same earnest attention to all alike. The life of Dr. William J. Gulick fully merits the lines of Robert Burns :

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

An honest man has gone to rest As e'er God with his image blest; The friend of man, the friend of truth, The friend of age, the guide of youth; Few hearts like his, with virtue warm'd, Few heads with knowledge so inform'd, If there's another world, he lives in bliss;

If there is none, he made the best of this. A FRIEND."

Esther W. Gulick, after the death of her hus- band, took up the study of medicine, and on May 6, 1896, she graduated with honor from the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia. In that year, for the first time, the law required a State examination also before graduates could practice medicine, and she took the required examination at Harrisburg, Penn., receiving a diploma. On De- cember 1, 1896, she accepted a position as resident physician in the Lying-in Charity Hospital at Eleventh and Cherry streets, Philadelphia, where she served acceptably one year.

(3) Charles, only son of William S. Winter- mute, learned the brick making trade, and was en- gaged in business with his father for many years. Like his father he is a stanch Republican and an excellent citizen.

(4) Mary was married, March 11, 1886, in San Francisco, Cal., to William E. Hogan, of Lynch- burg, Va., and now resides in New York City.

Mrs. Eliza (Fowler ) Wintermute was born September 3, 1813, and died September 29, 1872, aged fifty-nine years. She was a devout Christian, and throughout her life was a consistent member of the Hicksite branch of the Society of Friends, to which her three daughters also belonged. Her father. William Fowler, was born August 27, 1767, and died July 21, 1852. He was married first, Feb- ruary 10, 1799, to Elizabeth Sands, who was born September 24, 1776, and died November 21, 1813, at 6:30 A. M. By this marriage there were five chil- dren : Daniel S., born September 22, 1799, was married December 5, 1830, to Hannah Carey, and died March 27. 1879; Jane B., born December 7, 1801, married John Yerkes, of Spring Mills, Penn., and died January 21, 1862; William, Jr., born Au- gust 16, 1806, was married October 13. 1844, to Amanda Queer, and died November 27, 1897; Ma- riann, born August 8. 1808, was married September 20, 1838, to John H. Ware, and died January 7, 1892 : and Eliza became Mrs. Wintermute. Of these Daniel S., William, Jr., and Mariann removed in 1836 from Stroudsburg to Stark county, Ohio, then known as "the far West," the journey being made by wagon and lasting two weeks. By his second marriage, to Mrs. Phebe Adams, William Fowler, Sr., had three children. : Susan S., born February 28, 1817, was married June 7, 1849, to William Smiley, and died November 3, 1896; Alexander A., born January 13. 1819, was married November 19, 1845. to Maria Rafferty: Sally Ann P., born No- vember 13. 1821, was married November 30, 1851, to Jesse B. Sharp, and died April 2, 1887, at Clarks- ton, Michigan.

Elizabeth Sands, first wife of William Fowler, Sr., was a daughter of - and Cornelia (Carpent- er ) Sands, and one of her sisters, Mrs. Caleb Tunis, resided near White Hall, N. Y. Mrs. Fowler's ma- ternal grandfather, Timothy Carpenter, had three children : Zeno, Zoroaster and Cornelia.

GEORGE HOLBERT, one of the most pro- gressive and successful agriculturists of Pike county, is the owner of a beautiful farm in Lacka- waxen township. His methods of farm manage- ment show deep scientific knowledge combined with sound practical judgment, and the results show that high-class farming as an occupation can be made profitable as well as pleasant.

Mr. Holbert is a representative of one of the oldest and most highly respected families of this sec- tion of the State, his great-grandfather Holbert hav- ing come to Wayne county prior to the Revolution- ary war. Learning that the Indians had planned a. raid on his locality, he started for a settlement far- ther south, driving his cattle before him, while his wife paddled down the Delaware in a canoe. He was overtaken by the Red men, however, and cap- tured, but was released when peace was restored.

Benjamin Holbert, our subject's grandfather, was born in Lackawaxen township, Pike county, December 25, 1782, and died May 24, 1856. Dur- ing his lifetime he followed farming and lumbering in that county, rafting the logs down the Delaware river to market. He wedded Mary Rider, also a native of Pike county, and to them were born ten children, all now deceased, namely: Elizabeth, wife of John Barnes, of Wayne county ; William, also a resident of Wayne county ; Joseph G., father of our subject : Catherine, wife of John Grey ; Martha J., wife of William G. Stanton ; Stephen Decatur and Benjamin F., both of whom died when young men ; Mary, wife of Benjamin H. Rose, of Milford, Penn .; Frederick R. and Albert J.

Joseph G. Holbert, our subject's father, was born at Westcolang, Lackawaxen township, Pike county, March 2, 1803, and in that township spent his entire life as a farmer and lumberman, dying there May 14, 1848. The old homestead stood at an eddy in the Delaware river, commonly spoken of as Holbert's Bend, and after his marriage the father built a home of his own about two miles far- ther down the river, of which the huge fireplace and a considerable portion of the log sides still stand. In Pike county he married Miss Sabra Brown, who was born in Damascus township, Wayne county, March 22, 1803, a daughter of George and Eleanor (Decker) Brown, and died April 13, 1882. The children born to this worthy couple were as follows : Elizabeth is now the widow of Moses Cole, and a resident of Sussex county, N. J. Josephine is the wife of C. B. Lishey, of Damascus township, Wayne county. William, a tanner, farmer and lumberman, first married Emma Pool, and for his second wife wedded Elizabeth Hornbeck ; he died at the age of fifty-nine years. Benjamin D. married Miranda

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Haggarty ; when a young man he was for seven years an engineer at Kimble, Pike county, and died in that county, March 6, 1898, at the age of sixty- five. George, the subject of this sketch, is next in the family. John, a resident of Buckingham town- ship, Wayne county, married Catherine Lassley, and is engaged in farming, dairying, lumbering and the flag-stone business. Franklin is a resident of Lack- awaxen township, Pike county, and is represented elsewhere. Thomas Jefferson, who died at the age of forty-seven years, married Mary Stewart, and they lived at Big Equinunk, Wayne county ; he was for some years engaged in the hotel business at Beach Lake, Berlin township, Wayne county, and was fore- man of a tannery for many years. Mary, born March 7, 1843, was married, January 8, 1873, to Randall W. Kelley, who was born in Lackawaxen township, Pike county, December 29, 1835, and by him she has had three children-Wilbert, Edith ( deceased) and Lana ; Mr. Kelley served in the Union army during the Civil war, was engaged in mercantile business at Kimble, Pike county, for some years, but now devotes his entire time to farming. Lana, the youngest of the Holbert family, died at the age of thirteen years.

In the above mentioned log house in Lacka- waxen township, Pike county, George Holbert was born March 25, 1834, and in the common schools of the neighborhood he acquired the greater part of his education, attending school at Milford, Penn., for one winter. He now owns 370 acres of the old homestead, sixty of which are under a high state of cultivation and well improved. Here he success- fully engaged in general farming, and still de- votes some attention to lumbering. His political support is always given the Republican party, and he has most acceptably filled the offices of auditor and assessor. Religiously both he and his wife are earnest and faithful members of the Baptist Church, in which he has served as deacon and trustee.

In 1882 Mr. Holbert married Miss Phoebe Adelza Brown, daughter of Daniel and Catherine (Sherwood) Brown; she died September 3, 1888, leaving one daughter, Phœbe, who was born August 16, 1888. On April 27, 1892, Mr. Holbert married Miss Ella Remsen, by whom he has one daughter, Effie Mildred, born September 13, 1895, and one son, Walter E., born October 10, 1898. Rev. James R. Remsen, Mrs. Holbert's father, was born January 19, 1827, in New York City, where he grew to manhood and was educated for the Bap- tist ministry. He engaged in preaching in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but for some years prior to his death was unable to attend to act- ive Church work. He was widely and favorably known both in Wayne and Pike counties, where he had had several charges, and his death occurred at Honesdale, in 1898. In New York City he married Miss A. A. Hunt, daughter of Elisha and Eliza (Low) Hunt, and granddaughter of Benjamin Low, who was a graduate of Princeton College, and one of the founders of New Brunswick College.

The children born to Rev. Remsen and wife were: Maria, now the wife of Aaron Fowler, a gristmill superintendent at Carbondale, Penn .; Ella, wife of our subject ; John E., a physician of Brooklyn, N. Y., who married Rena Gaylord, a native of Aldenville, Clinton township, Wayne Co., Penn .; Fred C., an engineer at Brooklyn; Mary, wife of Ward Hall, of Honesdale, Penn .; Grace, who lives with her sis- ter, Mrs. Holbert; Anna, a school teacher of Pike county, and Harrietta, a school teacher of Wayne county.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 134

Author: Publication date: 1900 Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 2390

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 2390