Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 194

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 194
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 194
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 194
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 194

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died at the age of forty-five; Rosa, who married Edward Stichler, a carpenter in New York, and died in 1879; George, our subject; Anna, wife of Seth L. Faunce, a railway conductor, residing in Marion, Mass .; John, who married Sarah Lauer, and resides at the old homestead; and Mary L., who died at the age of three years.

The Bohner family originated in Bavaria, and our subject's mother was born in that country in 1818. Her parents, John and Margaret Bohner, came to New York City during her childhood, and there spent their remaining years.

Our subject was born January 24, 1852, in New York City, and was three years old at the time of the removal to Milford, where he began his edu- cation at the age of four and one-half years. When he was eleven years old his father settled upon a farm two and one-half miles from Milford, and from that time his attendance at school was some- what irregular, as from the age of thirteen he gave much of his time to doing odd jobs at carpentering. As the business was congenial, he decided to secure a thorough training in all its branches, and at the age of sixteen he apprenticed himself to Harry Williamson, of Milford, with whom he remained three years. At twenty-one he became a school teacher, and in this work he showed decided ability, teaching successfully for two years at Milford and one year in Dingman township, Pike county. He next spent eighteen months in farming at the home- stead on shares, but finding the venture unprofita- ble he went to New York City and found employ- ment at his trade. After seven months he was ap- pointed superintendent of the building operations of T. G. Smith, a contractor and builder, with whom he remained two years, and he then returned to Milford and engaged in the grocery business, conducting same successfully for seventeen years. In July, 1897, he disposed of his store, and at pres- ent he devotes his attention to his public duties. While in business he served as mercantile appraiser for one year, and commissioner's clerk for nine years, and in the fall of 1891, while still holding the latter office, he was elected county treasurer. He served with so much ability and fidelity that many regretted the law which prevents a treasurer from serving more than three consecutive years, and after one term had intervened he was again elected, in the fall of 1896. Socially Mr. Daumann and family are prominent, and since 1873 he has been an active member of the I. O. O. F., Vandermark Lodge No. 828, at Milford, in which he served as secretary for many years. At present he is deputy grand master of the district. He is not a member of any Church, but inclines to the Presbyterian faith, and while in New York he taught a Sunday- school class for some time.

On May 29, 1876, Mr. Daumann married, for his first wife, Miss Sarah E. Ellenwein, who was born in Milford, daughter of John Ellenwein, a na- tive of Wurtemberg, Germany, who came to Amer- ica in early manhood and settled in Pike county.

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Mrs. Sarah E. Daumann died December 14, 1888. at the age of thirty-one, and on December 3, 1889, our subject married Miss Agnes Gumble, a native of Palmyra township, Pike county, born October 23, 1860. Her father, Herman Gumble, a tailor by trade, was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, and came to America at the age of twenty-one, in 1858 settling in Palmyra township, Pike county, where he followed farming. He was a member of the Moravian Church in New York City. His death occurred December 13, 1897, when he was aged seventy-four, and his second wife, Maria, Mrs. Daumann's mother, died in 1866, aged thirty-five. By his first wife, also named Maria, he had two children: Charles C., a farmer at the old home- stead in Palmyra township, Pike county ; and Ger- trude, wife of Frederick Krieger, a farmer in Greene township, Pike county. By his second mar- riage he had four children: Mary, wife of William Gesner, of Scranton, Penn .; Agnes, Mrs. Daumann ; Alice, wife of Frank Sommers, a stonemason and merchant at Newfoundland, Penn .; and Emma, who married Charles Graser, a farmer in Dreher township, Wayne county.

DAVID ULMER has for a number of years been one of the most highly-esteemed and valued citizens of South Canaan township, Wayne county. He is of foreign birth, but his duties of citizenship are performed with a loyalty equal to that of any native son of America, and during the dark days of the Civil war he went to the defense of the Union and protected the cause of his adopted country on many a Southern battlefield.

Mr. Ulmer was born in Wittenberg, Germany, July 15, 1830, and in 1851 came to America with his parents, Michael and Eva (Iseman) Ulmer, reaching the shores of the New World after a voy- age of five weeks, and locating in Carbondale, Penn. The father, who was lame, engaged in farming in his native country, but here lived re- tired. He died in Carbondale, in 1871, aged eighty-two years, his wife two years later, aged sixty-seven. In their family were the follow- ing children : (I) Christina married Christian Spaeth, and both are now deceased; they were the parents of thirteen children, but three of whom are yet living-Julius, Poliana and Elizabeth (2) David is next in the order of birth. (3) John, who was also a soldier in the Civil war, is now a watch- man for a foundry in Carbondale; he married Ber- tha Miller and has two children-Anna and Milla. (4) Louisa is the wife of Nicholas Moorhs, a shoe merchant of Carbondale, and has two daugh- ters, Frances and Anna. (5) Frederick was also in the military service of his adopted country, and lost a leg, dying from the effects of his injuries soon after his return home. (6) Catherine is the wife of Anthony Kenbeck, a furniture dealer of Archbald, Penn .; their children are: Anthony, John, Frederick, Albert, Catherine, William and Nicholas. The father was twice married, his first

union being with a Miss Kensley, by whom he had seven children: Jacob, who died in Carbondale ; Gottlieb, who died in Germany ; and five who died in infancy.

At the age of fifteen David Ulmer commenced to serve an apprenticeship to the baker's trade in his native land, and at the age of nineteen started out as a journeyman, traveling over the country. During the year he attained his majority he emi- grated with his parents to the United States and located in Carbondale, Penn., where he worked in the coal mines for five years, and in the foundry of Venbergen & Co. for eight years. In 1862 he en- listed, for three months, in Company C, 13th P. V. I., and during his term of enlistment was in active service, participating in the battle of Antietam. In March, 1864, he enlisted in Company M, 4th Pennsylvania Cavalry, under Captain Alford Dart, was made corporal, and among the engagements in which he participated were those at St. Mary's Church and Spottsylvania, with Sheridan at Win- chester, and many others. At Dinwiddie Court House, Va., March 30, 1865, he was shot through the left arm, near the shoulder, and on his arrival at Washington the arm was so swollen that it had to be amputated. He was first confined in the Mt. Pleasant Armory Hospital, and, later, in the Harwood Hospital, being in these from March 30 until September 4, 1865, when he was honorably discharged and returned to his home in Carbon- dale. On January 1, 1866, he removed to Scran- ton, Penn., where he was employed as watchman at the First National Bank for over eight years. On account of his wife's health he resigned his position and removed to his present farm in South Canaan township, Wayne county to the cultiva- tion of which he has since devoted his attention.

In Carbondale Mr. Ulmer was married, on January 26, 1856, to Miss Mary Fielding, daugh- ter of Christopher Fielding, and to them was born one son, George, now of Miles City, Mont., who married Flora Brown and has one child, George F. Mrs. Ulmer died July 25, 1889, aged fifty-five years, and was buried in Canaan township. Our subject was again married. August 9, 1890, at Scranton, Penn., this time to Mrs. Jane E. (Cobb) Bell, a na- tive of Greenfield, Penn., where her parents, Ziprion and Sallie (Yarns) Cobb, spent their entire lives. Her father, who was a farmer by occupation, died in 1883, at the age of sixty-three years, her mother in January, 1872, at the age of fifty-seven. Their children were: Mahala, wife of Nelson Speding, a farmer of Clifford, Penn .; Eunice, deceased wife of Anson A. Tingley, a miller and retired farmer of Uniondale, Penn .; Elizabeth, who married W. W. Wallace, and both are now deceased; James Z., a farmer of Greenfield, Penn .; Jane E., Mrs. Ulmer; Tamer, deceased wife of Melvin Pierce, a farmer of Greenfield; Sallie A., who died un- married; Nathan, a resident of Waymart, Wayne county ; Caroline, deceased wife of George Snyder, who is living retired in Carbondale; and Armanda

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

A., wife of Andrew Miller, a farmer of Clifford, Pennsylvania.

Mrs. U'lmer was first married to John Bell, Jr., who died in Greenfield, Penn., in March, 1887, at the age of thirty-two years, eleven months and seven days. By this union she had the following children: Ziprion, proprietor of the "Forest House," of Carbondale, married Minnie Coyle, and after her death married Mary Smiley; Nelson J., blacksmith of Carbondale, married Hattie Reed ; William P., a farmer of Greenfield, married Mat- tie Cobb ; and James A., who operates the old Cobb homestead at Greenfield, married Sarah Edwards.

Mr. Ulmer uses his right of franchise in sup- port of the men and measures of the Republican party, and has most creditably served as school director in South Canaan township for nine years. Socially he affiliates with the Grand Army of the Republic, belonging to the post at Carbondale, and with the I. (). (). F. He has made many warm friends in Wayne county, and has the respect and confidence of all who know him. He attends the Protestant M. E. Church, and Mrs. Ulmer is a member of the Baptist Church.

OTTO ZOELLNER, the well-known propri- etor of the "Walker Lake House," in Shohola town- ship, Pike county, was born in Berlin, Germany, July 15, 1862, and is the only child of Emil and Dor- othy ( Ulrich ) Zoellner, who were natives of Saxony, Germany, the former born June 10, 1833, the latter April 10, 1839. In 1881 they emigrated to America and located in New York City, where the father fol- lowed his trade, that of a mason, for some time, but they now make their home with our subject in Shohola township.

The subject of this sketch received a good prac- tical education in the public and high schools of his native land, and at the age of fourteen years his business training commenced, as an employe in a picture-frame factory. During his spare hours, however, he continued to devote his time to study. He came with his parents to the United States at the age of nineteen, and in New York City secured em- ployment as a picture-frame gilder, a trade at which he is an expert. After his marriage he was with a street-car manufacturer for three years, and then learned the trade of a clothing cutter, which he followed for two years. Coming to Shohola township, Pike Co., Penn., in 1888, he purchased 125 acres of land, fifty of which are tillable, and he has since engaged in general farming and in keeping summer boarders. In 1895 his home was destroyed by fire, but it was soon replaced by the" Walker Lake House," a summer hotel valued at $5.000, and large enough to accommodate sixty guests. The sur- roundings are most attractive, and city boarders keep the house well filled during the summer months. In his political affiliations Mr. Zoellner is a Demo- crat, and on April 15. 1897, he was appointed the first postmaster at Walker Lake postoffice, a position he is now acceptably filling. Religiously he is a

member of the German Lutheran Church, and he is both widely and favorably known throughout Pike county.

Mr. Zoellner has been twice married, first time in New York, November 18, 1883, to Lottie Ber- nius. She died in 1892, and in New York, De- cember 27, 1894, he wedded his present wife, Miss Rosa Forst, a daughter of A. Forst, a native of Austria.

J. J. HELLER, an enterprising and successful agriculturist of Paradise township, Monroe county, ranks among the leading citizens of that locality. His industry and thrift have brought him prosperity, his fine farm near Swiftwater showing careful and judicious management, and he also finds time for active participation in local affairs.

Mr. Heller was born December 18, 1859, in Paradise township, Monroe county, and is of good pioneer stock. James Heller, his grandfather, was for some years a resident of Hamilton township, Monroe county, but moved to Paradise township to spend his last days. He married Rachel Keller, and had several children, of whom our subject's father, William C. Heller, was the eldest.

William C. Heller was born August 17, 1836, in Hamilton township, and was reared by his grand- father Keller. He married Miss Julia A. Learn, and settled upon a farm in Paradise township, but in 1866 he purchased the old Setzer estate in the same township. He cleared and improved a large portion of the place, making a fine homestead, and the present buildings were erected by him. In 1883 he removed to Tobyhanna, and later he settled at Mt. Pocono, where he purchased property and is at present engaged in business as an undertaker. He has always taken a prominent part in local af- fairs wherever he has made his home, and as a citizen he is much esteemed for his excellent quali- ties of character. He and his wife have had five children, our subject being the eldest. (2) Mahlon, born June 16, 1861, married Miss Blanch Jones, of Monroe county, and settled in Binghamton, N. Y., where he was engaged in business for a short time. He died in 1888, and his wife survives him; there are no children. (3) Sarah A. died in child- hood. (4) Emma L., born May 17, 1866, is the wife of William J. Hamblin, a farmer of Pocono township, and has a family of five children, Earl, Anieta, Ralph, Esther and Clinton. (5) Alta, born August 15, 1874, married George Dowling, of Mt. Pocono, Coolbaugh township, who served as a sol- dier in the war with Spain. They have one daugh- ter, Madaline.

Our subject grew to manhood on the present homestead which he purchased from his father in 1895. He received a public-school education, and remained at home until his marriage in 1879 to Miss Mary J. Setzer, daughter of David and Sarah Setzer, of Paradise township. She was born in that town- ship in 1859, and was educated in the common schools of Lackawanna county. After his marriage

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Mr. Heller settled at Houser Mills, where he re- sided some time, but in 1881 he removed to Toby- hanna and purchased a home. He followed dray- ing there for thirteen years, and then went to Wyom- ing county, where he purchased property and engaged in business as a baker. In 1895 he bought his pres- ent farm of 51 acres, where he has made general im- provements, making it a first-class farm. Two sons, both born in Tobyhanna, Coolbaugh township, Mon- roe county, are growing to manhood under his watchful care: William D., born October 13, 1881 ; and Harry O., born August 25, 1883, both at pres- ent attending the local schools.

Politically Mr. Heller is a sound Democrat, and he has always been interested in the local work of his party. At present he is serving acceptably as auditor and school director. In religion he inclines to the German Reformed Church, in which he was reared.

JOSEPH HAYNES, who for thirty-eight years has been prominently identified with the agri- cultural interests of Manchester township, Wayne county, is a native of New York, born near Still- water, Ulster county, May 1, 1820. His parents, Judson and Elizabeth (Craipo) Haynes, were also natives of the Empire State, the former of English descent, the latter born in Stillwater, of French an- cestry. They were the parents of nine children, namely : Derrick, Grant, Seneca, Anderson, Joseph, Ansel, Charlotta, Dorcas and Lucy Ann. The par- ents spent their entire lives in their native State, where both died when past the age of seventy years. By occupation the father was a farmer, and in poli- tics he was a Democrat.

Reared upon the home farm, Joseph Haynes early became familiar with hard work, but his liter- ary training was rather limited. He was married at Dry Brook, in what is now Livingston township, Ulster Co., N. Y., to Miss Amelia Kent, who was born and reared in that county, a daughter of Na- thaniel and Sarah (Tyler) Kent, the former born on the ocean while his parents were coming to America ; he was of English descent. Mrs. Haynes' mother was a native of Connecticut, and her maternal grand- father, Timothy Tyler, was a representative of an old and prominent Connecticut family. Mr. and Mrs. Kent had children as follows : Andrew, Anna, Mary, Charles, Louisa and Lavisa (twins), Henry, Amelia, Nathaniel and Sarah. When a lad of fifteen years Na- thaniel Kent set out from home one morning with his dog, to look after some traps he had set on the mountainside, and as he failed to return the parents, becoming alarmed, instituted a search. He had to cross the Beaverkill, which was at the foot of the mountain. It was the first day of February, there had been a rain,and the stream was swelling,and although perhaps hundreds of people searched the woods and streams, there was no trace of the boy until July, when his body, and that of the dog, were found sev- eral miles farther up the stream, where he had evi- dently gone in the hope of finding a crossing.

Throughout his active business life the father en- gaged in farming, worked at the carpenter's trade, or operated a sawmill. His political support was given to the men and measures of the Republican party, and religiously both he and his wife were early members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Both died in Ulster county.

Mr. and Mrs. Haynes are the parents of eight children, as follows: Gritman Russell, the eldest, died at the age of seventeen; William Sherwood is a railroad employe living in Austin, Potter Co., Penn .; George Henry is a farmer of Larabee, Mc- Kean Co., Penn .; Artemus Ward is a resident of Walton, Grand Traverse Co., Mich .; Malissa is the wife of Warner Lord, of Manchester township, Wayne county ; Walter Joseph is a farmer of Mc- Kean county, Penn. ; Charles D. is mentioned more fully below ; U. S. Grant is also an agriculturist of McKean county. Of this family, Charles D. Haynes has spent his entire life upon the old homestead in Manchester township, Wayne county, which he now successfully operates. In April, 1893, he married Miss Julia Blaes, a native of Sullivan county, N. Y., who was reared and educated in Equinunk, Wayne Co., Penn. Her father, Peter Blaes, was born in France, served for seven years in the French army, and died in this country at the age of fifty-nine years, Her mother, now seventy-seven years of age, is a resident of Manchester township, Wayne county. Charles D. Haynes and wife have two children, Amelia and Madaline.

After his marriage Joseph Haynes located in Middletown, Delaware Co., N. Y., where he contin- ued to live until coming to Wayne county, Penn., in 1852. On Hankin's creek, in Manchester town- ship, he conducted a sawmill for a time, and then removed to his present farm, consisting of ninety- six acres of valuable and well-improved land, which he has placed under a high state of cultivation. The buildings are all good substantial structures, and the neat and thrifty appearance of the farm plainly indicates the industrious habits and progress- ive spirit of the owner. Although past the allotted age of three score years and ten, Mr. Haynes is still ·hale and hearty ; he is nearly six feet in height, and weighs 200 pounds. He and his family are all faith- ful members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, while politically he and his son are identified with the Republican party. Upright and honorable citi- zens, they command the respect of all with whom they come in contact, and have many friends in the communities where they reside.

JOSEPH D. SCHMALE. The career of this enterprising and prominent citizen of Monroe coun- ty has been varied and interesting. The schon of one of the oldest and best known families of that county, he enlisted in his youth in the service of his coun- try, and after a dashing military experience of less than a year he was seriously wounded in the most memorable and decisive battle of the Rebellion. The humbler interests of the country next received

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

his attention for a few years, requiring as they did men of muscular strength and activity. Then turn- ing to farming, which was necessarily the permanent occupation of the county, Mr. Schmale became one of the conspicuous agriculturists. He may be called a man of action, one who delights in attainment, whether by himself or others, one of those whose lives may properly be considered as typical of a high standard. His mental growth has been continuous, and in the political and social affairs of the com- munity he holds high rank.

The paternal great-grandfather of our subject was Joseph Schmale, who when a young man left Germany, and with his two brothers came to Amer- ica. Joseph settled in Eldred township as one of its carliest pioneers. Here was born William Schmale, . the grandfather of our subject, who married Bar- bara Seilfece, and through life followed farming in Eldred township. His son David, father of our subject, was born in 1818, and married Barbara Ser- fass, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Kunkle) Serfass, prominent farmers of Polk township, Mon- roe county. David Schmale, who was also a farnier, died March 16, 1866, at the age of forty-seven years, eleven months, and two days. His wife survived him until April, 1892, passing away at the age of sixty-nine years. Both are buried in Kunkletown church cemetery, Eldred township. The children born to. David and Barbara Schmale were as fol- lows : David, a farmer of Polk township; Joseph D., subject of this sketch ; Charles, who served his coun- try as a soldier during the Civil war, and is now engaged in the meat-market business at Lehighton, Penn. ; William, who was also a soldier in the Civil war, and now resides at Kunkletown; Elizabeth, wife of Peter Trable, of Eldred township; Paul D., a farmer of Eldred township; Reuben, of Northampton county, Penn .; Adam, of Luzerne county, Penn. ; Henry, deceased ; Nathan, deceased; and Thomas, a salesman in a store in Clearfield county.

Joseph D. Schmale, our subject, was born in Eldred township, November II, 1844. He was a youth of seventeen on his father's farm, when he enlisted for nine months in Company H, 153rd Regi- ment P. V. I., Capt. George H. Young. He was mustered in at Harrisburg, September 24, 1862, and during his comparatively brief service endured all the hardships and privations of war. The two greatest battles in which he engaged were Chancel- lorsville and Gettysburg. His term of service had expired on the eve of the great battle of Gettysburg, when Hood was making his dash into Pennsylvania, and when all the available military resources of the North were rallied to repel the daring invasion. The 153rd P. V. I. had by a forced march of nineteen days arrived from Stafford Court House, Va. On the first day of the fierce engagement, July 1, 1863, about two o'clock in the afternoon our subject was shot through the hip and rib joint. For a few days he remained in the field hospital, and from July 6, to the 24th lay in the Philadelphia hospital. He was afterward mustered out at Easton, Penn. Return-

ing home, the young soldier assisted on his father's farm until fall, when he went to Allentown, and the following winter teamed in the lumber woods. For a year he was employed in a sawmill at Bethlehem, Penn., and then he was similarly engaged at White- haven until the opening of 1866.

On March 24, 1866, Mr. Schmale was married to Miss Elizabeth Serfass, who was born January 22, 1841, on the farm now occupied by our subject, and is a daughter of Aaron and Elizabeth (Hawk) Serfass, a prominent agriculturist family of Eldred township. Of the five children born to Joseph and Elizabeth Schmale, Ella and two infants are de- ceased; Adam, who married Frances D. Hawk, is at home, and Eva is the wife of Allen P. Schafer, a farmer of Eldred township.

Since his marriage our subject has remained on his present farm, where he is engaged in general farming. He has served his township as school director for seven years, has been treasurer for two years, and supervisor, also two years. He is a prom- inent member of Scotis Post No. 562, G. A. R., and since the age of seventeen has been a member of the Trachsville Reformed Church, of which for the past two years he has been elder. Mr. Schmale is one of the best informed men of Polk, and is especially well versed in local history, a subject in which he has taken a deep interest. He is broad in his views, intelligent and progressive, and ranks as one of the best leading citizens.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 194

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