Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 196

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 196
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 196
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 196
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 196

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).

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

lines. In religious connection the parents were both members of the M. E. Church. Mr. West- brook was a Democrat in politics. Sixteen years after his death Mrs. Westbrook wedded Jacob Hornbeck, who died at the age of eighty years, and she lived to the age of seventy-seven, passing away December 13, 1896, at the home of her son Jacob in Dingman's Ferry. She, too, was laid to rest in Delaware cemetery. There were no children by the second union.

Jacob B. Westbrook was born April 9, 1853, in Delaware township, where he received his edu- cation and early training, attending the common schools. He was also a student for thirteen weeks at the Eastman Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. He was reared to farm life on the home place, remaining at home until twenty years of age, when he went to Freemansburg, Penn., to take a position as telegraph operator with the New Jersey Central Railway Co. Three months later he ac- cepted a similar position at Irwin's Station, on the Pennsylvania road, and there he continued for two years, after which he worked as extra for the Ba !- timore & Ohio Railway Co., on the Pittsburg di- vision, remaining in this employ for nine months. He has since been in commercial life, his first enter- prise in this line being in partnership with A. S. Dingman, with whom he engaged in business in April, 1876, conducting a mercantile establishment in Dingman's Ferry for a year and a half, when the firm dissolved, and up to the present writing Mr. Westbrook has engaged in business on his own account. In 1894 he removed to the place he now occupies, and here he has built up an extensive trade, his customers coming from all parts of the surrounding country. His prosperity is due no less to his personal popularity than to his business ability, for he has a reputation second to none in the county for strict honesty and fairness in all his dealings, and he has won the confidence and esteem of all who have come in contact with him in any of the relations of life.

As above remarked, Mr. Westbrook has taken a prominent part in the civic life of his community from early manhood, and his fellow citizens have given convincing proof of their confidence in his ability and fitness for public trust by selecting him for various offices of importance and responsibility. That he has never fallen below their estimate of him may be judged by his repeated elections : He has served as county chairman for the past five years; in 1887 he was elected county treasurer for a term of three years, and in 1894 was again the choice of the peo- ple for this office; he has served many years as school director, and for the last five years acting as secretary of the school board; and he has filled numerous township offices, in every incumbency discharging his duties with a systematic faithful- ness and regard for the wishes of his constituents that could not fail to give satisfaction and win universal commendation. His political sympathies are with the Democatic party. Fraternally he be- 53

longs to the I. O. O. F., being a member of the lodge at Milford, and to the F. & A. M., Lodge No. 344, Milford.

On October 23, 1878, at Egypt Mills, Pike county, Mr. Westbrook was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Cole, who was born in Sussex county, N. J., daughter of James H. and Elizabeth (Stearns) Cole, and five children blessed this union, namely : Ella, who lives at home, and is a member of the class of 1900, East Stroudsburg Nor- mal; Philip, living at home; Howard, twin of Philip, who died young; and Fred and James, twins, both of whom died young.

JAMES H. COLE, who since 1881 has been the proprietor of "Cole's Cottage," at Bushkill, Pike county, is a native of Sussex county, N. J., and was born July 15, 1822, a son of Steven and Catherine ( Davenport) Cole, who passed all their lives in that State. His grandfather, Wilhelmis Cole, was born in Massachusetts, and moved thence to Sussex county, N. J., where he passed the remainder of his days, engaged in farming.

Stephen Cole was a millwright by occupation. He died in 1876, at the age of seventy-two years, his wife in 1834, at the age of forty, and they lie buried in the McClove cemetery. They were the parents of the following named children: Heman, deceased ; James H .; Senath, who is the widow of Daniel Havens, and lives in New York; Richard, who is a mechanic in the employ of the Northern Central Railway Co., at Elmira, N. Y .; John, a farmer in California; Israel, deceased; and Mar- garet, who married Thomas Dairs, of Pike county, Pennsylvania.

James H. Cole grew to manhood in the place of his birth, remaining with his parents until he was twenty-five years of age, and acquiring under his father's tuition a thorough knowledge of the millwright's trade, which he followed for some fif- teen years. He then commenced milling at Coles- ville, where he remained for two years, thence re- moving to Bolton Basin, N. Y., where he operated a mill for eleven years, and at the end of that period coming to Dingman's Ferry, Pike county. Here he engaged in milling for two years, until his re- moval, in 1881, to his present residence, which he purchased from a New York man. "Cole's Cot- tage" is a commodious summer boarding-house, and Mr. Cole has kept the place in good order since his occupancy, by careful management and atten -- tion to the wants of his guests deriving a good in- come from this property.

In 1857 Mr. Cole was married, at Deer Park, Orange Co., N. Y., to Miss Elizabeth Stearns, who like himself was a native of New Jersey, and the daughter of Aldert and Elizabeth (Quick) Stearns. Of their children, Henrietta resides with her father ; Sarah is the wife of Jacob B. Westbrook, of Del- aware township; Daniel, who is unmarried, is en- gaged in farming in Orange county, N. Y. ; Steven is in the mercantile business in Bangor, Penn. (he mar-

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ried Mary Cortright) ; Margaret is the wife of Charles Quick, a farmer of Lehman township, Pike county ; Elizabeth is married to Earl Place, a miller of Bushkill; Ella lives with her father. The mother passed away at the home in Bushkill in 1885. Mr. Cole is a Republican in politics.

ALBERT C. SOMMERS. Among

the younger farmers and business men of Barrett town- ship. Monroe county, who are in the present gen- eration doing the same active work, accomplished a generation ago by their fathers, along the line of land improvement and cultivation, the subject of this sketch is prominent. He was educated in the schools of industry, and he honored and took pleas- ure in the schooling.

John Sommers, his father, and Christopher Sommers, his grandfather, were born in Germany. The liberty-loving grandfather sought a home in America early in the present generation. He was a rope maker by occupation, and for some time fol- lowed his trade in New York. Later, in 1842, he moved with his growing family to the wilds of Monroe county, and there carved out for himself a home, which is now held and tilled by his grand- son, the subject of this sketch. Christopher Som- mers and the Bender family purchased in common a tract of four hundred acres, which they subse- quently divided, Mr. Sommers acquiring title to 100 acres, which with the aid of his son John he cleared up. Upon the property Christopher Som- mers and his wife died leaving a family of four sons and one daughter as follows: (1) Rachel, mar- ried to Jacob Mick, who died leaving a family of children; Mrs. Mick afterward married David Bender. (2) Andrew, who resided in Barrett town- ship, and was killed while working on the Deld .- ware, Lackawanna & Western railroad; he left a widow and a large family. (3) Henry married and settled at Nyack, N. Y., where he engaged in the grocery trade until his death; he left a widow and a large family. (4) John, father of our subject (5) Joseph, born in New York, is now a farmer near Dalton, Pennsylvania.

John Sommers, the father of our subject, pur- chased the old homestead in 1861, and took charge of his parents in their old age. He married Miss Caroline Grimm, and to them were born eight chil- dren. John Sommers erected new buildings upon the old homestead and cleared up many of its wild acres. He remained here until 1894, when he sold the farm to his son, Albert C., and purchased a home near Mountain Home, where he now resides. The children of John and Caroline Sommers were as fol- lows: (I) Joseph, born in 1862, married Ella Bird, of Wayne county, and is now a blacksmith at Scran- ton. He has a family of seven children, Burton, John, Elsie, Leroy, Alfred, Ruth and Romaine. (2) Albert C., our subject, is the second child. (3) William, born in August, 1867, is a farmer of Barrett township. He married Julia Smith and has two children, Walter and Edna. (4) Lizzie, born in

1869, married Henry Bender, a farmer of Barrett township, and has three children, John, Arthur and Elmer. (5) Ida died at the age of eight months. (6) Christian J., born in 1875, enlisted in 1894 in the regular army in Battery J, 3rd Artillery ; he served at Key West, in California, and at various other points, serving three years, and was honora- bly discharged at San Francisco. When the war with Spain opened he re-enlisted, and was a mem- ber of Battery L, 7th Artillery, stationed at Willets Point, N. Y. For two years he was a military student at Key West, and did signal service duty. (7) Clara, born in 1879, is a bright young lady at home. (8) Emma, the youngest, was born in 1884, and is a student at the Mountain Home schools.

Albert C. Sommers, our subject, was born at his present home in October, 1864. He was edu- cated in the district schools, and also attended the Fairview Academy at Brodheadsville, Penn. At the age of seventeen years he was apprenticed to Eugene Carmer, of Stroudsburg, to learn the cab- inet maker's trade, and for three years followed the trade. In 1886 he commenced teaching school in his own district, and followed this vocation for some years in Barrett and Price townships. While so engaged he met his future wife, Miss Mary A. Lessoine, daughter of Henry and Margaret Les- soine, member of an old and prominent family of Price township.

Becoming interested in lumbering in Potter county, Mr. Sommers engaged in that business for some years. In 1892 he married Miss Lessoine, and began housekeeping with his young wife in Potter county, where he was employed by the Lack- awanna Lumber Co. In 1894 he returned to Mon- roe county, and purchased the old homestead of his father in Barrett township. Since that time Mr. Sommers has been actively engaged in farming and lumbering in that vicinity. He has made extend- ed and general improvements to the farm, and has planted orchards of small fruits. Three children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Sommers : Chester L., born at Coudersport, Potter county, in 1893; Velma, born at the old homestead in Bar- rett township, in December, 1895; and Iva, born in June, 1899.

In politics Mr. Sommers is a Republican. He has served as clerk of the election board, was the census enumerator in 1890, and is devoted to the principles of his party. In religious faith both he and his wife are members of the Moravian Church of Canadensis, and at present he is superintendent of the Moravian Sunday-school. He is a good citi- zen, is most highly esteemed by his neighbors, and besides the good business principles and judgment which he possesses he has that kind and hospitable disposition which makes him a close friend and an endeared companion.

JOSEPH SHOEMAKER, a representative citizen of Hamilton township, Monroe county, is now quite successfully engaged in general farming

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and the manufacture of lime. His success in life is due to no inherited fortune, or to any happy succes- sion of advantageous circumstances, but to his own sturdy will, steady application, tireless industry and sterling integrity.

Born in Hamilton township, April 1, 1842, Mr. Shoemaker is a son of Jacob and Sarah (Newhart) Shoemaker, the former a native of Columbia county, Penn., the latter of Hamilton township, Monroe county. The father, who followed the occupations of a farmer and wheelwright, and served as school director in his district, died in Hamilton township, July 6, 1863, aged sixty-six years, and was buried at Custard church; the mother died in Ross township, Monroe county, in 1889, aged seventy-four years, and was buried at Mt. Zion church. Of their chil- dren, Andrew, who married Catherine Carter, was killed in the battle of Gettysburg during the Civil war; Sophia (deceased), was the wife of Nathaniel Storm ; Henry married Margaret France, and is now living retired in Stroudsburg; Lydia married Capt. Samuel Berry, of Company D, 67th P. V. I., and later wedded Samuel Lessig; Joseph comes next in the family ; and Sarah was drowned near her home. Our subject's paternal grandfather, Andrew Shoe- maker, was a native of Columbia county, and an early settler of Monroe county. His children were : Jacob; Kate, wife of Peter Houser ; Charles ; Han- nah, wife of Charles Miexell; and Peter. The ma- ternal grandparents, Henry and Catherine Newhart, were born in Northampton county, Penn., and came to Monroe county about 1823. They had five chil- dren: Jonas; Sarah, mother of our subject; Han- nah, wife of Jacob Storm; Caroline, wife of Jacob Hall ; and Henry.

The subject of this review spent his boyhood on the home farm, and was but seventeen years of age when he offered his services to the government during the Civil war, enlisting in Company D, 67th P. V. I., under command first of Capt. George K. Slutter, and later of Capt. Samuel Berry. On going to the front he participated in the second battle of Bull Run, the engagements at Locust Grove, Mine Run, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, and Petersburg, the campaign in the Shenandoah Valley, the two-weeks' march, and later in the bat- tle of Fisher's Hill, the second battle of Winchester, Stanton and Cedar Creek. At Winchester he was taken prisoner June 15, 1863, was first confined in Libby prison and later at Belle Isle, and when par- oled was sent to Annapolis, Md., where he remained two months to recuperate. At one time he was in- jured by a wagon passing over his right leg, and for two months was disabled. He was finally dis- charged at Cedar Creek, October 22, 1864, on ac- count of expiration of time, and returned home with a war record of which he may be justly proud.

For eight years thereafter Mr. Shoemaker worked in the lumber woods at Beach Swamps, and spent the following six years with the Tannite Com- pany, of Stroudsburg. He then purchased a place

known as the Rising Sun farm, which he operated for three years, and in the spring of 1878 bought from Simon Maxwell his present farm of seventy- six acres, to the development and cultivation of which he has since devoted his time and attention, and has met with well deserved success. He is an ardent supporter of the Republican party, has served as poormaster of Hamilton township six years, and gives an unqualified support to all enterprises which he believes will prove of public benefit. He is of a very social and genial nature, and is very enterpris- ing and progressive. Fraternally he is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.

In Hamilton township, October 20, 1868, Mr. Shoemaker married Miss Sophia Heller, a daughter of Samuel and Margaret ( Bellis) Heller, of Monroe county. She was born in Jackson township July 16, 1843, and died at the age of forty-two years, being laid to rest at Custard church. By this union there were six children: Alfred, who married Elizabeth Werkheiser, and is engaged in broom making in Hamilton township; Arthur, a resident of Delaware Water Gap, Monroe county, who married Estella Decker ; Annie, of Saylorsburg, Penn., who married Irvin Bittenbender; Weldon, who married Annie Shaffer, and is a farmer of Bossardsville, Monroe county ; John, who died April 4, 1893, in Scranton, Penn., at the age of seventeen years ; and Harry L., a broom maker of Saylorsburg. Mr. Shoemaker was again married in August, 1882, at Portland, Penn., his second union being with Miss Mary Will- iams, a daughter of Linford and Eunice Williams. She died April 12, 1892, at the age of thirty-four years. On February 22, 1898, he wedded Mrs. Margaret (Kresge) Nevil, who was born in Chest- nut Hill township, Monroe county, and is a daughter of Jonas and Mary (Kintz) Kresge.

MARY E. MILLER, a well-known and highly- esteemed citizen of Jackson township, Monroe coun- ty, belongs to one of its old and representative fam- ilies. Her paternal great-grandfather, Jacob Miller, was born in Hamilton township, Monroe county, when it still formed a part of Northampton county, and his wife, Catherine, was a native of the same town- ship. He was one of the very first settlers of Jack- son township, where he opened up a farm and reared his family consisting of five sons and four daughters, all of whom reached years of maturity.

John Miller, grandfather of our subject, was born in Jackson township, in 1802, and there mar- ried Miss Catherine Beishline, a daughter of Mich- ael Beishline. She died in 1836, and he passed away in 1860. Both were faithful members of the Lutheran Church, and in political sentiment he was a Democrat. He spent his entire life in Jackson township engaged in agricultural pursuits. His children were Lucinda, wife of Henry Getz, of Iowa ; Michael, a farmer of Jackson township ; Will- iam (deceased), who made his home in Iowa ; Susan, who married Daniel Titus, of Jackson township, and died in 1897; Levi, father of our subject ; Jeremiah,

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

a resident of East Stroudsburg, Monroe county ; Maria ( deceased ), who married Daniel Engler, and lived in New York; Hannah, widow of Patrick Gil- ick, and a resident of Carbon county, Penn. ; and Jacob, who was killed in a sawmill at the age of twenty-three years.

Levi Miller, born in Jackson township, Decem- ber 6, 1834, wedded Mary Wolbert, by whom he had two children: Mary Elizabeth, our subject; and Franklin, who is represented elsewhere. For twenty years during early life Mr. Miller worked in the lumber woods. In 1862 he enlisted in the Union army for nine months, and on the expiration of that term re-enlisted, valiantly fighting for the preservation of the Union until the war was over and peace once more restored. He participated in several severe engagements, including the two bat- tles of Hatcher's Run, also those at White Oak Roads and Jerusalem Plank Road, besides in the Petersburg campaign, and was present at the sur- render of Gen. Lee. On his return home he en- gaged in farming in Jackson township, where he still resides. Politically he is an ardent Republican.

Mary Elizabeth Miller was born in Jackson township, August 22, 1858, and during girlhood went to Stroudsburg, Monroe county, where she was employed at housework for some years, and also in Easton, Penn., also at housework, for some time. In Jackson township she married Joseph Rustine, a son of Jacob and Polly Rustine. He was also a native of that township, and died there in 1893. The children born to them were Rosana Miller, and John A. Kresge, who are both attending school in Jack- son township. The mother is now the owner of eighty-seven acres of good land in Jackson township, of which thirty acres are cleared, and in connection with general farming she is also interested in stock raising, including sheep, horses and pigs. She is a woman of excellent business ability, and the suc- cess that she has achieved is certainly well deserved, it being due to her own enterprise, industry and good management.

MRS. ISABELLA WILSON SMITH, widow of the late Frank D. Smith, of Paradise township, Monroe county, is still a much esteemed resident of that locality, and her financial ability, as shown in the administration of her large property, commands respect in business circles.

Her fine farm near Mt. Pocono is kept in an ex- cellent state of cultivation, and for three years past she and her son have conducted a summer hotel, known as the "Meadowside House," to which a large num- ber of city visitors are attracted annually. A three- story house containing thirteen rooms, large and well situated, was recently completed, and its wide halls and shady verandas which surround the entire build- ing make it especially desirable as a resort in the warm season. The building stands on a knoll a few yards west of the old farm house, and the place combines all the advantages of a modern hotel with the freedom of a genuine country home. The fur-

nishings are tasteful and selected with an eye to com- fort, and the table is supplied with every delicacy of the city markets near by, while the farm produces an abundance of fresh fruit, vegetables, cream and milk. A fine tennis court affords recreation for lovers of that game, and a livery stable is maintained for the benefit of the guests. The locality is famous for its beauty, rivalling the Catskills of the North, or the Cumberland mountain region of the South, and the house commands one of the most charming views to be found in this picturesque section. Be- ing. 2,000 feet above the level of the sea, the air is pure and dry, making it an ideal spot for either sick of well, and the genial and kindly hospitality which permeates the house adds not a little to the benefi- cial effect of a visit there. The place is easily ac- cessible, being on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad, three hours' ride from New York City and four from Philadelphia, and many of the wealthy people of those cities make it their summer home.

The late Frank D. Smith was born March 4, 1840, in Monroe county, a son of Oliver D. and Eleanor (Trivley) Smith, early settlers in Cool- baugh township. His early life was spent chiefly in Paradise township, and after his marriage in 1863 he located in Tobyhanna, where he engaged in lumbering. A few years later he returned to the present homestead in Paradise township, which he had purchased previous to his marriage. Politically he was identified with the Democratic party, but he did not seek official honors. During the Civil war he served one year in the Union army, winning an honorable record. He was a man of high moral character, and in religious faith inclined to the Christian Church, in which he has been reared. He and his family have always occupied an enviable po- sition in social life, and he was an active member of the I. O. O. F. at Cresco or Mountain Home. He passed to the unseen world in 1884, his death being sincerely mourned among a large circle of friends. Three children survive him, two of whom still re- side with their widowed mother: (I) Mittie, born in Paradise township, February 5, 1869, received a good public-school education, and in 1894 was mar- ried to George Michael Schoemaker, of Scranton. They now reside at Pocono Summit, where he is en- gaged as operator and manager of the Wilkesbarre & Eastern railroad. (2) Edward H. Smith, born in Paradise township February 21, 1872, was educat- ed in the public schools, and since the death of his father had acted as manager of his mother's farm. He is a young man of steady habits, and of more than ordinary business ability, being much respected in the community. (3) Frances, born February 23, 1875. was partly educated in the local schools, and later attended the high school, where she grad- uated in 1895. She is a bright scholarly young lady, refined and accomplished, and is a favorite among her companions.

Mrs. Isabella Smith was born August 9, 1844, in the city of Philadelphia, the daughter of James

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and Isabelle Wilson. During her childhood her parents removed to Paradise township, Monroe county, where her father was engaged in agricult- ural pursuits for some years. Their last days were spent at the present homestead of Mrs. Smith, the mother dying in December, 1873, and the father in 1883. Mrs. Smith was one of a family of six chil- dren, the others being John, born in Philadelphia, who died in 1882, unmarried; Maria, now the wife of George Wagner, of Paradise township; James, who married Miss Angeline Warner, and was engaged in the hotel business at Mt. Pocono, where he died Sep- tember 7, 1897 ; Sarah, wife of George Fanseen, of Paradise township, and Rachel, who married Hari- son Scotch, of Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania.

JOHN S. MOSHER. The record of the lives of its progressive citizens forms the history of a town, and in recording the sketch of Mr. Mosher and his life work we tell of one who has been a prominent factor in commercial circles in Damascus, Wayne county.

Our subject was born in Dutchess county, N. Y., June 4, 1843, and is a son of James Mosher, and grandson of John Mosher, who loyally served his country in the war of 1812. The father, James Mosher, served in the Rebellion, being a member of Company I, 84th P. V. I. In politics he was a Re- publican ; socially he was connected with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows; and in religious faith he was a Methodist, firm in his convictions of right and true to his belief. He died in Pennsyl- vania at the age of eighty-four years, and his widow is living on the old homestead, now owned by her son, John S. Mosher.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 196

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