Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 2

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 2
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 2
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 2
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 2

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Young "Alec" McCollum completed his edu- cation in the Harford Academy, under the instruc- tion of Lyman Richardson. He read law with his brother, J. B. McCollum, and was admitted to the Bar in Susquehanna county at the August term of Court, 1869. In 1871 he formed a partnership with his brother, which continued until the latter was elected Judge of Susquehanna county, in 1878. The law firm of McCollum & Watson was formed January 1, 1879, and was succeeded May 1, 1883, by that of McCollum, Searle & Smith. The election of Mr. Searle as President Judge of Susquehanna coun- ty in 1888 reduced the firm to McCollum & Smith, Having had thorough commercial training, Mr. McCollum as a lawyer in all questions of business has the faculty almost intuitively to grasp the right line of conduct of a case to the advantage and bene- fit of his client. He is quick to comprehend and grasp all legal questions involved, relying upon the main and prominent features of a case, and techni- calities which he is quick to see in favor of his client he generally disregards, placing his reliance on the main points-on the controlling questions. He is an exceptionally fine business lawyer, and a very industrious lawyer. He is a student. Since his ad- mission to the Bar he has stuck closely to the prac- tice of the Law, and not allowed himself to be drawn into politics or business enterprises any farther than is prompted by good citizenship. He is a stanch Democrat, and has shared in the local work necessary in the conduct of the affairs of the party. He has been prompt and faithful in caring for the business intrusted to his care, and has had an ex- tensive practice, in which he has met with merited success. As a lawyer he is second to none now at the Susquehanna Bar, if equalled by any. In the trial of a cause he is aggressive. In his relations to the community he is very liberal when a good cause is shown to call that trait out, but when not he can readily, with emphasis, decline. He always re- members his obligations, and is prompt in meet- ing them and complying with his agreements. He is of an odd character, strong in his likes and dis- likes; when he trusts "he trusts implicitly," but when once deceived he never relents. In his family relations he is most kind, affectionate and liberal. Though his family has been small, he has manifested his enterprise in the erection of a commodious and elegant home, one of the most beautiful in Montrose.

Mr. McCollum has been engaged in many of the most important cases that have come before the courts of Susquehanna county since he came to the

Bar. He was the attorney for the Commonwealth in the trial of John Kelly for the murder of Leon Gage, on August 15, 1896, at Brackneyville, Penn. The trial came off at the April term of Court, 1897, at Montrose, and the prisoner was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter. The Independent Repub- lican of Montrose, in referring to Mr. McCollum, said :

Mr. McCollum has appeard as counsel in nearly every case of importance, both civil and criminal, for more than a quarter of a century. The ripe experience thus acquired, together with the rare legal ability for which Mr. McCollum is noted, were never displayed to better advantage than in the masterly way in which he managed the case for the Commonwealth. In the closing address Mr. McCollum embellished a brilliant argument till it sparkled with sub- lime eloquence.

Mr. McCollum was counsel for the Common- wealth in the trial of Cornelius W. Shew and J. James Eagan, for the murder of Jackson Pepper, conducted at Montrose at the November term of Court, 1898, in which both were found guilty of murder in the first degree. The Press remarked:

Those who have met and heard Mr. McCollum know of his marked personality and fervid eloquence as a trial lawyer. For an hour he held the vast audience spell-bound by his convincing logic, close reasoning and most able pres- entation of this important case, and when his argument was concluded it seemed that by no possibility could the end of justice be thwarted.

On November 14, 1855, at Susquehanna, Penn., Mr. McCollum was married to Fidelia L. Under- wood, daughter of Riley Underwood, and a native of Connecticut. To this union one child, Hugh, was born June 28, 1867. The son received a good education, studied Law, was admitted to the Bar, and established himself in the practice at Mont- rose. He was bright, frank, and a very promising young man, of a cheerful and winning disposition. He served as Deputy United States Revenue Col- lector, and was most popular. He married Miss Irene, daughter of John R. Raynsford, of Mont- rose. Mr. McCollum died on November 19, 1894, at the early age of twenty-seven years, leaving a widow but no children. His grave has ever since been one veritable flower-garden-a mother's de- votion.

HON. GALUSHA A. GROW, a lawyer and statesman, of Glenwood, Susquehanna county, is a native of old Windham county, Conn., a county in which lived such men as Putnam and Knowlton, of Revolutionary fame.

Mr. Grow was born in May, 1823, in what was then the town of Ashford, a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Robbins) Grow. At the age of ten years he came to Susquehanna county, Penn., with his widowed mother, his eldest brother, Ed- win, and his youngest sister, the other three chil- dren of the family having remained in Connecti- cut. Mrs. Grow bought and settled on a farm in Lenox township, where she died in 1864; she was a woman of uncommon worth. Galusha attended

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the district school of that neighborhood, and when a boy assisted his brother in a country store at Glen- wood established through the energy of the mother. In the spring of the year he also accompanied his brother in rafting lumber down the Susquehanna to Port Deposit, Md. He completed his studies for ad- mission to College in the famous Franklin Academy (later Harford University), then under the care of Preston and Rev. Willard Richardson, respectively, and in 1840 entered Amherst College, from which he was graduated, with high honors in his class, and with the reputation of being a ready debater and a fine extemporaneous speaker. In the winter of 1845 he commenced the study of law in the of- fice of Hon. F. B. Streeter, of Montrose, in April, 1847, was admitted to the Bar of Susquehanna, and is now the oldest member of that Bar. Some years ago his fellow members of the Bar had a life-size portrait of their distinguished colleague painted, and it now adorns the court room at Montrose. Young Grow after two years in practice at the Bar of Susquehanna county, associated himself with Hon. David Wilmot, of the Wilmot Proviso fame, and later a United States senator from Pennsyl- vania. In 1850 Mr. Wilmot withdrew as a candi- date for Congress in the Twelfth District with the understanding that both the Free-soil and Hunker divisions of the party would support Mr. Grow. He was nominated and elected in October, 1850, tak- ing his seat in December, 1851, and continued to represent that district in Congress until March 4, 1863, having failed to be re-elected the previous fall, owing to the Congressional apportionment which united Susquehanna county with Luzerne and gave a preponderating Democratic majority. Mr. Grow had opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, and left the Democratic party after the repeal of the Missouri Compromise in that Bill. In July, 1861, he was elected Speaker of the House. When first elected to Congress Mr. Grow was but twenty- six years of age, and was the youngest member of that body. His entry into political life and services in Congress covered a most eventful period in the history of the country-the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, election of Banks Speaker, the Kan- sas troubles, Lecompton Bill, the Homestead Bill, the Fremont and Lincoln campaigns, and the first two years of the Civil war. He took his stand from the outset in his public career on the side of free- dom and the interests of the laboring classes, and adhered to it steadfastly to the end. "He was al- wavs a ready champion of justice and humanity, with a sympathy deep as human suffering, a cour- age that hurled defiance in the face of Southern bravadoes, and an eloquence that charmed the na- tion." He made his "maiden speech" in Congress on the Homestead Bill, which speech was reported as one of the ablest in its behalf. This measure Mr. Grow persistently advocated, and he brought for- ward a Bill every Congress for ten years, and fin- ally as Speaker signed the law. His zeal and un- wavering devotion to this measure endeared his

name to the people everywhere. He made five set speeches in five different Congresses in its advo- cacy. Under his leadership four Bills, at four dif- ferent sessions of Congress, passed the House be- fore it was finally adopted by both Houses, so as to become a Law. The name of Galusha A. Grow will be remembered in history among those who have zealously struggled to benefit mankind. To Mr. Grow the country is indebted in a great degree for the final success of the homestead policy in the Legislature of the country, and the Republican party for one of its fundamental doctrines. Through his whole Congressional service he op- posed strongly and persistently any and all disposi- tion of the public lands except in homesteads for actual settlers. He was one of the most potent influences in securing to the Republican party the majority in all the new States and the Territories. He was a participant in all the exciting discussions of public affairs during the twelve history-making years of his Congressional career previous to 1863, especially active and influential in those relating to the extension or perpetuity of slavery. One of the New York papers wrote of him: "Mr. Grow is a young man enthusiastic in his attachment to prin- ciple, bold in giving utterance to truth in presence of its friends or foes, felicitous in address, pos- sessed of a clear, logical mind, a vivid imagination, and that sympathy which Wirt describes as 'the requisite of every true orator.'"

Of Mr. Grow's work in 1859 against the effort in the Senate to increase postage rates, Horace Greeley said: "Mr. Grow this session has evinced a fertility of resource, a command of parliamentary tactics, a promptitude in seizing an opportunity, a wisdom in action, and a brevity of speech, such as have rarely been exhibited on that floor. The pas- sage of the Homestead Bill under his leadership would of itself have sufficed to confer honorable distinction, so the Senate's attempt to force the House to raise the rates of postage was met by Mr. Grow in a manner and spirit that at once de- cided the contest. We rejoice that Mr. Grow is to be a member of the next House." His Congres- sional career is admirably summed up in the "Men of Our Day" as "marked by a persistent advocacy of free homesteads, free territory, human freedom, cheap postage, and indeed every measure by which the people were to be made wiser, purer and happier."

On leaving Congress Mr. Grow, being in feeble health, was for several years engaged in the lum- ber business in Luzerne county, and later he was

in business in the oil region in Venango county. From 1871 to 1875 he was in Texas as president of the Houston & Great North- ern railroad. Returning to his old home in Pennsylvania, he entered actively into the canvass for the election of Hartranft in the fall of 1875, and for Hayes in the Presidential election of 1876. In 1878 he was urged for the nomina- tion for Governor. He entered into the political

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

canvass of 1879 with his accustomed zeal and power, speaking in Maine, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. He declined that fall the mission to Russia, tendered by President Hayes. He was a candidate for United States Senator in 1881, but after a protracted contest John I. Mitchell was elected as a compromise candidate. Mr. Grow has continuously taken an active part in the canvass at every State and National election. For many years past he has been largely interested in de- veloping bituminous coal lands, and is now a large producer. He retains his home at Glenwood, Penn., and has never voted elsewhere. In Febru- ary, 1894, he was elected Congressman-at-large, and in November following was re-elected; in 1896 he was re-elected by the largest majority ever given in any State of the Union to any candidate for any office ; he was re-nominated and re-elected in 1898. "In the recent Congressional debate on the question of annexing Hawaii, one of the best ar- guments in favor of annexation was made by our distinguished Congressman-at-large Galusha A. Grow, in fact, no argument so terse and yet con- vincing has been made upon the question as that delivered by Mr. Grow. Besides its clearness and strength, the speech breathes the spirit of a higher patriotism and a broad statesmanship, clothed in words of stirring eloquence."

Mr. Grow believes that inasmuch as the fortune of war has forced upon us a larger America, and with it large responsibilities, we should meet the new condition in a manner becoming a great nation, and fulfill a destiny that the progress of events has clearly marked out for us. In the course of his speech he said: "The starry banner of our fa- thers, baptized in patriot blood in the first and sec- ond war of American independence, and rechristen- ed in this generation in the mightier conflict of arms in the history of the race, will henceforth, over whatever portion of the earth's surface it may float, be the emblem of liberty, justice and the in- alienable rights of mankind."

JUDGE PETER GRUVER has for many years been identified with the progress and growth of Monroe county, Penn., as one of her most active and influential citizens, and he has since boyhood made his home in Ross township, where he is now living in semi-retirement on his beautiful farm near the village of Saylorsburg. The Judge is a native of Northampton county, this State, born in 1833 in Lower Mt. Bethel township, and he is a grandson of William Gruver, who was born in Bucks county, Penn., and settled in Northampton county in an early day. William Gruver had two sons, Daniel and John, who were reared in Northampton county, Dan- iel passing his entire life there.

John Gruver, father of Judge Gruver, was born in Northampton county and by occupation was a lifelong farmer, following that vocation in his na- tive county until 1849, in which year he moved to Monroe county, settling in Ross township, where

he purchased the farm on which he made his home until his death, in 1861. He was twice married, his first wife being a Miss Houck, by whom he had twelve children, namely: Abram, who resided near Allentown, Penn., where he died leaving a family ; William J., who married and lived in Northampton county ; John, born in Northampton county, who lived on his farm near Bartonsville, Monroe county, till his death (he left a family) ; Joseph, who moved to the State of Indiana, where he is still living (he married a native of his own State, Pennsylvania) ; Michael, born in Northampton county, who married and settled in Easton, that county, where he died, leaving six children; Henry, who died unmarried; Christian, who was drowned in the Delaware river when a young man, while bathing; Barbara, Mrs. John Good, of Northampton county; Lena, Mrs. Charles Shannon, of Williamsburg, Northampton county ; Catherine, wife of Daniel Knecht, of Naz- areth, Penn .; Susan, Mrs. Thomas Harper, of Scranton, Penn., and Elizabeth, wife of Samuel Knecht, of Newburg, Northampton county. The mother of these dying, Mr. Gruver wedded Miss Sarah Holland, of Plainfield, Northampton county, and to this union were born five children, of whom Peter is the eldest. Margaret, born in Northampton county, married Barnet Michael, who enlisted for service in the Civil war and died during his term, of fever ; he left four sons and one daughter-Will- iam, Edward, Abram, Jeremiah and Alice (who lives in New Jersey). Amanda was first married to William Smith, of Ross township, Monroe county, who died some years ago, and she is now the wife of Frank Corzell, of Northampton county; by her first marriage she had ten children-Frank, Stephen, Theodore, Peter, Ezra, Alvin, Freeman, Adam, Emma (Mrs. Adam Corzell, of Hazleton, Penn.) and Alice (Mrs. John Vanbuskirk). Mrs. Sarah Gruver survived her husband many years, her death occurring in 1887 at the home of Judge Gruver, whom she was visiting at the time.

Up to the age of sixteen years Peter Gruver remained in the county of his birth, where he attend- ed the public schools, and after coming with his par- ents to Monroe county he took up the teacher's pro- fession, which he followed with unusual success for a period of sixteen years. He was united in marriage, June 16, 1855, with Miss Annamarie Alte- mus, of Ross township, whose parents, Joseph and Catherine Altemus, were prominent residents of that part of Monroe county, and in about 1858 Mr. Gru- ver bought and settled upon the Jos. Altemus farm, near the village of Saylorsburg, where he has ever since resided. The Judge has been engaged in various enterprises, merchandising, etc., and has held numerous offices of trust in his township and county, but he has never neglected his farm, and its appearance and fertility amply repay him for the care and attention he has bestowed upon it. The land is thoroughly and systematically cultivated, and has been materially improved by its present owner, who has erected a large bank barn, substantial out-

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

buildings and a commodious two-story residence, provided with all modern comforts and known far and wide as one of the most pleasant and hospitable in Monroe county.

From early manhood Mr. Gruver's natural fit- ness and capability for public service were recog- nized by his fellow citizens, and he was chosen by his townsmen to fill various positions of responsibility in the local civil administration, in all of which he distinguished himself as a man of high integrity and sterling worth. He served as township assessor and for fifteen years as justice of the peace, and so com- pletely satisfactory was his service in these incum- bencies that in 1868 he was honored with election to the office of county treasurer, which he held for one term. At its expiration he was elected associate judge of the county, and subsequently re-elected, discharging the duties of this incumbency with be- coming dignity for ten successive years. Judge

Gruver has also served the people as county auditor, and throughout his career as a public servant he dis- played a capacity for management, a fidelity to duty and a regard for the wishes of his constituents that called forth the respect and admiration of all who came in contact with him, making a record second to none as an honorable and competent official. He has always been one of the active political workers of his county, and he is widely and favorably known as one of the most useful and enterprising citizens within her borders.

In 1880 Judge Gruver embarked in the general mercantile business in McIlhaney, Monroe county, continuing there for two and a half years, and in 1884 he and Joseph Titus opened a general store in the village of Saylorsburg, this partnership lasting for three years, when our subject disposed of his share to Mr. Titus. He remained with the business, however, as superintendent, and after a year formed a partnership with Mr. Keller and bought back the store, which they carried on thus for two years, when it was again purchased by Mr. Titus. The latter leased part and sold part of the stock to Sydenham Mengle, the Judge continuing as before as superintendent and clerk for one year. Mr. Mengle was in the business about two years, at the end of which time he leased his interest to S. D. Newhart, with whom our subject remained as superintendent and clerk for near- lv three years, since when he had devoted his time to his extensive agricultural interests. Judge Gruver has in all his undertakings given evidence of his great executive ability, adaptability and faculty for successful management, and these, in connection with his wonderful energy, have brought him an enviable degree of prosperity, which he is now en- joying to the full on his fine farm in Ross township. He has done much by his influence for the advance- ment of his town and county, and he is as progressive in his own affairs as in public matters, being a man of the period in every sense and thoroughly up-to-date in his ideas and methods, and though now retired from the more active cares of life, he still holds his own as a valuable citizen, whose worth is appreci-

ated in the community to whose interests so many of the best years of his life have been given

To Judge and Mrs. Gruver have been born two children, Emma and Ellen. The eldest daugh- ter became the wife of Charles E. Vanbuskirk, of Ross township, and they resided in that township, where he died in 1897; he left two children-Peter, who married Miss Nettie J. Green, of Monroe coun- ty, and has one son, Ralph; and A. D., unmarried, who is engaged in teaching in Monroe county. Ellen married James Altemus, of Saylorsburg, and they make their home on his farm near that village; they have four children living-Floyd P., Melvin, Arthur and Beulah.

JUDGE SAMUEL S. DREHER, deceased. This distinguished jurist, who died at his home in Stroudsburg, Monroe county, June 28, 1893, was for twenty-three years the President Judge of the Twenty-second Judicial District of Pennsylvania, his election to that office following a successful ca- reer as a general practitioner and as district at- torney. Few judges have served so long a period, and none perhaps have won such widespread ap- probation. His unspotted integrity and broad com- prehension of legal principles were united with gen- uine kindliness of heart, and his words and deeds were marked by an habitual courtesy which gained the friendship and confidence of men of every grade and condition. Judge Dreher was a native of Strouds- burg, and belonged to one of the oldest families of that town, his grandparents, George and Lydia Dreher, having been prominent among the old- time residents. Michael Dreher, the father of our subject, passed his life in Stroudsburg, engaging in business first as a tailor and later as a merchant, and he and his wife, whose maiden name was Eliza -. beth Smith, reared a family of nine children, of whom our subject was the eldest.

Samuel S. Dreher was born April 10, 1824, and he received his literary education at Strouds- burg and Bloomsburg. When a boy he assisted his father in the tailor shop, but on leaving school he taught for a time, receiving at first $II per month, of which he gave $10 to his father. He had al- ready determined upon the law as a profession, and while teaching he devoted his spare time to his legal studies with Attorney Dimmick as pre- ceptor. In May, 1846, he was admitted to the Bar, and at once engaged in practice at Stroudsburg in partnership with his preceptor, under the firm name of Dimmick & Dreher. This arrangement lasted until 1854, and in the meantime Mr. Dreher served two terms as district attorney. On the dissolution of the firm he continued his practice alone until his election, in 1870, to the office of President Judge of the Twenty-second Judicial District, composed of the counties of Wayne, Pike, Monroe and Car- bon. His extensive practice had already won him a wide acquaintance, especially in the three coun- ties last named, and in his new position he gained the esteem and confidence of a wider circle. In

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Samle Dreher

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

April, 1874, the old Twenty-second District was di- vided, the counties of Monroe and Carbon forming a new district, and in the fall of 1880, at the expira- tion of the Judge's first term of ten years, he was re-elected. In the fall of 1890 he was again chosen, and at the time of his death he had served nearly three years on this term, making one of the longest periods of continuous service ever spent in the State in a similar position. During the famous Mollie McGuire trials, in Carbon county, he gained a na- tional reputation by his fearless and straightforward rulings, which resulted in the breaking up of the society, through the execution of some of the lead- ers and the imprisonment of others for long terms. The Judge was distinctly a self-made man, for he arose to his eminent position by diligence, persever- ance and the exercise of his native ability. Politi- cally he was a Democrat, and for many years he wielded a strong influence in public affairs in this section. Before his election as judge he served as president of the Stroudsburg National Bank. In religious faith he was a Methodist, he and his wife having joined the Church at the same time. Fra- ternally he was a member of the Masonic lodge at Stroudsburg, the members of which attended his funeral in a body.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 2

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