Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 208

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 208
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 208
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 208
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 208

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At the age of twenty years, Francis M. Waz- ner began life for himself as a huckster, buying and selling produce, but he continued to reside with his- parents for ten years longer. He then removed to his present farm at South Canaan Corners, Wayne county, continuing to follow his former business. in connection with its operation. He has prospered. in his undertakings, and besides his property here he now owns the old homestead in Luzerne county, a large and valuable piece of property, which he recently purchased. He is a progressive business. man, and his success may be attributed to his en- ergy and industry. Politically he follows in the- footsteps of his father, being a pronounced Re -. publican, and for the past nine years he has most satisfactorily filled the office of tax collector in South Canaan township.

At Harveyville, Luzerne county, Mr. Wagner- was married, March 30, 1879, to Miss Adelaide Swingle, the ceremony being performed by Rev. C. H. Bashford, a Methodist Episcopal minister .. To their union have come four children: Leona, born April 11, 1880, who was married May 30. 1898,. to Francis Albert Downing, of Carbondale, and re- sides in Hancock, N. Y. ; Minnie, born September 10, 1881 ; George, born January 16, 1891, and Helen, born February 12, 1899, all at home.

Mrs. Wagner is a native of South Canaan township, Wayne county. and a daughter of Prof. Tra W. and Charlotte J. (Davenport) Swingle. Her father was born December 1, 1839, on the old Swingle homestead in the same township and is a great-grandson of Hans Ulrich Swingle, the found- er of the family in America. His grandparents were. Conrad and Lucy ( Bunton) Swingle, whose son Jo- seph was born in South Canaan township, April 16, 1800, and became the father of Prof. Swingle. He died in 1886, and was blind for about sixteen years previous. He was three times married, his second wife, Orilla Parish, being the mother of the Professor. For many years Prof. Swingle has been one of the most prominent and successful educators of this section of the State, and during the Civil war was one of the valiant defenders of his country. He was married in Huntington, Penn., March 22, 1858, by Rev. Mr. Rutan, a Christian minister, to Miss Charlotte J. Davenport, who was born in that place, April II, 1841, and is a daughter of Stephen and Elizabeth ( Tubbs) Davenport. Mrs. Wagner- is the eldest of the five children born of this union,.

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the others being as follows: (2) Elsa married T. K. Swingle, a merchant of Carbondale, Penn. (3) Orilla married Charles Benjamin, a contractor of Carbondale, and they liave one child. (4) Helen, a trained nurse, resides in Carbondale. (5) Ira W., Jr., a leading business man of South Canaan Cor- ners, left home at the age of sixteen to make his own way in the world, commencing as a clerk in the employ of Thomas K. Swingle, a merchant of Car- bondale. Since 1895 he has been a successful mer- chant of South Canaan Corners, having built up a large trade through his judicious management.

WILLIAM H. HALL, one of the honored veterans of the Civil war, and a leading farmer of Scott township, Wayne county, is a native of that county, born November 26, 1847, in Buckingham township, and is a representative of a family which for five generations has been numbered among the Yankees.

Our subject's father, Daniel Hall, was born in 1805, in Connecticut, and he was reared on a farm in that State, acquiring his education in the schools of the neighborhood. On reaching manhood he married Miss Sophia Lewis, who was born in the same State in 1804, and was a member of an old Connecticut family of Welsh origin. The father never enjoyed good health, and throughout the greater part of his life engaged in peddling, as he was unable to attend to more arduous labor. With a three-horse team and wagon he moved his house- hold goods and family to Buckingham township, Wayne county, his son David riding the leading horse. He died at the toll-house on the river, in Buckingham township, in 1884, and his wife de- parted this life March 12, 1880, at the age of seven- ty-six years. They were earnest and faithful mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, while po- litically he was identified with the Republican party. In their family were eleven children, namely : Eliza- beth, deceased, who first married Sherman Mal- lory, and second George Le Barr ; David L., a resident of Washington, D. C .; Mrs. Fanny Travis, who died in Wilkes Barre, Penn .; Mrs. Mary Willcox, of Connecticut ; Mrs. Margaret E. Edwards, who died in New York; Frederick, a resident of San Fran- cisco, Cal., who died there in 1899; Aaron B., who was a member of the 50th New York Engineering Corps during the Civil war and met his death while in the service, passing away May 15, 1862, on the Pamunkey river (he is buried under a mulberry tree near White House Landing, Va.) : Daniel C., who also aided his country during the dark days of the Rebellion, and is now operating the old home- stead in Wayne county: Mrs. Sophia Cole, of Chi- cago, Ill. ; Marcellus, of Boston, Mass. ; and Will- iam H., the subject of this sketch.

The knowledge which William H. Hall ac- quired in the public schools during his boyhood and youth has been greatly supplemented by reading and observation in later years. In 1864, at the age of seventeen years, he enlisted in the 16th New York

Artillery, and for some time was stationed at Fort Fisher, under the command of Gen. Butler and la- ter of Gen. Terry. He was also on duty in Vir- ginia, Maryland and North Carolina, and when the war was over received an honorable discharge at Elmira, N. Y. Returning to his home he was in the employ of the New Jersey Railroad Co., at Port Jervis, N. Y., for two years, and for the same length of time was subsequently connected with the New York & Erie railroad. He was then variously employed until 1889, when he located upon his pres- ent farm of sixty-five acres of well-cultivated land in Scott township, Wayne county, and has since de- voted his energies to agricultural pursuits, meeting with good success. The fields, pastures and mead- ows are all in an excellent condition, and the build- ings upon the place are models of convenience.

In November, 1877, Mr. Hall was united in marriage with Miss Mary Bury, of Hancock, N. Y., who was born in Rockland, that State, of German ancestry. To them have been born three children : Florence, now a successful teacher ; Lelia, and Ray- mond. Originally, Mr. Hall was a Republican in political sentiment but he now gives his allegiance to the Prohibition party. He is an honored member of Starrucca Post, G. A. R., and is one of the most highly-respected citizens of Scott township.

SILAS E. BUCKLAND. The agricultural in- terests of Clinton township, Wayne county, find a worthy representative in this gentleman. He belongs to one of the honored pioneer families of this sec- tion of the State, his paternal grandfather having come from Connecticut at an early day and taken up his residence in the wilderness of Canaan town- ship, Wayne county. He married a Miss Jenkins, and to them were born five sons: Charles, Louis, Horace, Belden and Lyman. The last named, who was the father of our subject, was born in Connecti- cut December 4, 1808, and came with his parents to Canaan township, Wayne county, where he later engaged in farming. He was married, December 29, 1829, to Phoebe M. Corey, and they became the parents of three children: Harvey, a resident of Forest City, Susquehanna Co., Penn. ; Catherine M., wife of Simeon M. Carpenter, a well-to-do farm- er of Clinton township, Wayne county ; and Silas E., the subject of this sketch.

On a farm in Clinton township, Silas E. Buck- · land was born June 6, 1845, and he obtained his education in the common schools of the neighbor- hood. At the age of sixteen he began working for the Delaware & Hudson Canal Co., but in 1864 he laid aside all personal interests to aid in the defense of his country, and went to the front as a member of Company G, 3rd Pennsylvania Artillery, faithfully serving until the war ended. The year following he was in the railroad employ, at the end of that time purchasing his present farm in Clinton township, and he has since devoted his energies to agricul- tural pursuits with good results.

Mr. Buckland was married July 4, 1866, to

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Miss Augusta E. Ogden, the wedding ceremony be- ing performed at Carbondale, Penn., by Rev. Ira T. Walker. She was born in Clinton township, July 7, 1848, a daughter of Jesse and Elizabeth ( Engle ) Ogden. Four children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Buckland, namely: Edward, born May 7, 1867, died September 15, 1887 ; Jennie A., born May 11. 1809. died May 9, 1887: John, born May 24, 1876, and Lyman, born January 20, 1884, are both at home.

Since casting his first Presidential vote Mr. Buckland has been a stanch supporter of the Re- publican party, and his fellow citizens, recognizing his worth and ability, have called upon him to serve as overseer of the poor, supervisor, constable and school director, the duties of which offices he most capably performed.

EDWARD A. OPPELT, a substantial and en- terprising farmer of Dreher township, Wayne coun- tv, resides on the farm where he was born Novem- ber 15, 1852. Our subject's father, Francis A. Op- pelt, was born March 15, 1813, in Gnadenhutten, Ohio, and on April 7, 1835, was married, in Naza- reth, Penn., to Louisa Beitel, who was born Decem- ber 30, 1814. in Schoeneck, Northampton Co., Penn. The father was a harnessmaker by trade, and followed that occupation in his younger years in connection with school teaching, but later in life engaged in farming. From 1875 until 1879 he was a commissioner of Wayne county, was a justice of the peace thirty years, and held other local offices, in- cluding that of county auditor. He was one of the most influential and prominent citizens of his com- munity, and an ardent supporter of the Republican party. He died June 22, 1897, his wife July 22, 1806, and as they were members of the Moravian Church, their remains were buried in that cemetery. In their family were the following children: An- gelica, born July 19, 1837, is the wife of Frederick Ehrhart, a merchant of Newfoundland, Wayne county : Caroline J., born August 27, 1839, is the wife of Christian Lange, a prominent business man of Newfoundland ; Lawrence V., born February 13, 1842. died March 5, 1851 ; Annie E., born Novem- ber 25. 1843, is the widow of Isadore Kastner, and a resident of Brooklyn, N. Y. ; Henry S., born No- vember 24, 1845, resides on the old homestead : Sarah A., born November 12, 1847, is a resident of Brooklyn, N. Y. ; James B., born February 10, 1850, died March 10, 1851 ; Mary L., born March 30, 1851. is the wife of Emil Walter, who is engaged in the millinery business in Newfoundland: Ed- ward A. is next in the order of birth ; and Celia L., born May 10. 1854, is the wife of William Heber- ling, a laborer of Newfoundland.

Our subject's paternal grandparents were Rev. Godfrey and Anna ( Westhaffer) Oppelt, the for- mer a native of Saxony, Germany, the latter of Lan- caster county, Penn. Early in the nineteenth cen- tury the grandfather came to America as a mis- sionary of the Moravian Church, and located in

Northampton county, Penn., where his death oc- curred. Later, on April 7, 1840, his wife came to Wayne county, where she spent her remaining days. Their children were William, Charles, Benjamin, Jlerman, Charlotte (wife of Rev. Decker), and Francis A. (our subject's father ). Our subject's maternal grandparents, Frederick and Mary ( Fry ) Beitel, spent their entire lives in Northampton county, where the former engaged in blacksmithing. Their children were Henry, James, Edwin, William, Louisa (mother of our subject), Sarah (wife of Amos Seigler ), and Lucetta (who first married John White, and after his death a Mr. Fetter ).

Reared on the home farm, Edward A. Oppelt carly became familiar with every department of farm work, and is to-day recognized as one of the most thorough and skillful agriculturists of Dreher township. In the spring of 1884 he left the old homestead and removed to Greene township, Pike county, following his chosen calling there until 1896, when he returned to his birthplace, which he has since successfully managed. He is a worthy representative of one of the most highly respected families of Wayne county, and is justly deserving of the high regard in which he is held. He, too, is a faithful member of the Moravian Church, and a stanch Republican in politics.

In Greene township, Pike county. Mr. Oppelt was married, February 23, 1882, to Miss Caroline M. Grimm, the ceremony being performed by Rev. Charles Moench, a Moravian minister. They have three children : Katie L. ; Francis E. ; and Lawrence H., born June 27, 1899, in Dreher township. Mrs. Oppelt was born in Greene township, Pike county, May II, 1859, and is a daughter of Christian H. and Catherine (Ehrbaugh) Grimm. The mother died in 1862; the father is still living and makes his home in Greene township.

JOSEPH G. SMITH, a worthy representative of the farming and stock-raising interests of Berlin township, Wayne county, is a man of more than ordinary business capacity, intelligent and well in- formed. He was born in that township, in No- vember, 1858, a son of John and Catharine ( Probst ) Smith, natives of Bavaria and Prussia, Germany, respectively. Mr. Smith's paternal grandparents, Joseph Smith and wife, emigrated from Germany to America and located in Albany, N. Y., where the former died. His wife then came to Honesdale, Penn., where her son, our subject's father, was em- ployed as a boatman on the Delaware & Hudson canal for a number of years. Her other son was killed on the canal near Port Jervis, N. Y., leaving a wife ( who afterward married Henry Gumper, of Berlin, Wayne county) and four children, Peter, Jacob, Michael and Maggie.

John Smith finally purchased a tract of wild land in Berlin township, from which he developed a good farm, erecting thereon substantial and com- modious buildings, and he still resides there and is numbered among the highly respected citizens. His

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

children were: Rachel, who married Frank Gidline, of Honesdale, where she died at the age of twenty- three years; Margaret, now the wife of A. Fritch, of Oregon township, Wayne county; Joseph G., of this sketch; Peter, who was drowned at Honesdale in the Delaware & Hudson canal; John, Jacob, William, Frederick and Claud, glass cutters by trade, who are all married and live in Berlin township; and Victor, who is single, and is still with his parents on the old homestead.

When a young man Joseph G. Smith also learned the glass cutter's trade, with Dorflinger & Son, and became an expert in that line, successfully following the trade for ten years. In 1885 he bought the William Huffsetter farm of 125 acres in Berlin township, locating thereon after his marriage, and he has made many excellent improvements upon the place, including a large addition to the barn ; he now has one of the best farms of the locality, well stocked with a high grade of horses, cattle, etc.

In 1888 Mr. Smith was united in marriage with Miss Annie Houth, of Texas township, Wayne county, where her parents, Nicholas and Malatine Houth, located in 1871, on their emigration from France to the United States. Three children have blessed this union: Annie, born August 7, 1891 ; Mamie, born December 16, 1894; and John Fred- erick, born April 23, 1898. The parents are both devout members of the Catholic Church. Since attaining his majority Mr. Smith has affiliated with the Democratic party, and in 1896 he was elected to the office of supervisor of Berlin township, the du- ties of which position he is still most creditably fill- ing, having been re-elected in 1899. Through his own industry and careful management he has al- ready accumulated a comfortable competence, and being a man of sterling worth, upright and honor- able in all things, he enjoys the confidence and es- teem of all who know him.

JOHN LERCH. "Lerch's Hotel," a popular hostelry at South Canaan Corners, Wayne county, is one of the landmarks of that region, having stood for more than half a century, during which time it has been continuously in the possession of the same family. It is still in successful operation under the able management of the subject of this sketch, one of the leading business men of the town, and attracts a large patronage, especially in the summer season. The locality was formerly known as Lerch's Cor- ners, and at one time boasted the only postoffice in South Canaan township.

The Lerch family is of German origin, sev- eral brothers of the name having come from the Fatherland in Colonial times. Among these was Daniel Lerch, our subject's grandfather, who served as a soldier in the war of 1812, and was one of the early settlers in Northampton county, Penn. Daniel Lerch was born in Germany September 3, 1785, lo- cated for a time in New Jersey, and finally settled at Nanticoke, Penn. He was an energetic man, and for many years was extensively engaged in business

as a miller and millwright, though in his later years he suffered some financial reverses. He was acci- dentally drowned while crossing the Susquehanna river, near Nanticoke, to do some work at his trade of millwright. On January 1I, 1805, he married Rachel Case, who was born in Hackettstown, N. J., September 3, 1788, and they became the parents of eight children, all now deceased: Anna, born in 1805, married Charles Smith ; Philip W., born Sep- tember 12, 1807, became the father of our subject ; Jacob was born in 1809; Sarah, born in 1811, mar- ried a Mr. Wade: Catherine, born in 1813, died at the age of sixteen years ; William, born in 1815, was married ; Louise was born in 1817 ; Andrew, born in 1819, died unmarried. Daniel Lerch passed away at the age of fifty, his wife, Rachel, at the age of seventy-six years and ten months. William Case, her father, was a soldier in the Revolution ; he was killed on a Fourth of July by the explosion of a cannon.

Philip W. Lerch was born in Hunterdon county, N. J., and received an excellent education in his youth. In early manhood he taught school in New Jersey, and for a time he was employed as a book- keeper at Oxford, that State. Later he conducted a boarding house at Lafayette College, Penn., and on April 3, 1846, he settled at the present site of South Canaan, purchasing the Gabriel Howell estate. He built and operated the "Lerch Hotel" and a store, which formed the nucleus of the present thriving village of South Canaan Corners, and he also owned a gristmill in the township, and conducted it for many years, while he was at times extensively en- gaged in farming. He ran the hotel for eighteen years, and then rented it to a tenant for about fifteen years, and until a year and a half previous to his death, on November 18, 1873, he was actively inter- ested in numerous business enterprises. He took an influential part in local affairs, and at times held offices in the township. On June 20, 1835, he was married, at Greenwich, N. J., to Miss Anna Winters, a native of that locality, who has now reached the advanced age of eighty-three, being an honored member of our subject's household. Mrs. Lerch's father, Michael Winters, a resident of New Jersey, was born February 3, 1780, and died September 28, 1818; her mother, whose maiden name was Mar- garet Brakeley, was born June 11, 1788, of Holland ancestry, and died October 7, 1866. Michael and Margaret Winters had five children : Jorn, born De- cember 16, 1807, died in February, 1878; Catherine, born December 23, 1809, married Spencer Carter (both are deceased) ; Anna (Mrs. Lerch), born March 6, 1816, in Warren county, N. J., was third in the order of birth ; George, born October 23, 1813, is deceased; and Margaret C., born June 3, 1818, married Henry Hance (both are deceased).

Our subject, who was born November 16, 1836, at Stewartsville, N. J., was the eldest in a family of five children : (2) Margaret Lerch, born April 13, 1840, now widow of Thales K. Varney, resides with our subject. She has two children, Lulu, wife of

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

William Erk, formerly of Seelyville and now a res- ident of South Canaan Corners ( they have one child, Reinhold Varney ) ; and Edward M., a physician at White Mills. (3) Henry Lerch, born July 11, 1844, is in business with our subject. (4) Spencer C. Lerch, born July 10, 1848, died May 9, 1880, unmar- clied. (5) Miss Annetta Lerch, born August 31, 1852, resides with our subject.

John Lerch remained with his parents until he reached the age of twenty-two, when he engaged in mercantile business on his own account in South Canaan Corners. He continued thus from 1859 to 1869, when he went to Honesdale and established a similar enterprise in partnership with Henry Stan- ton. After a few years he returned to South Canaan Corners and worked for a time as a clerk, but later he began to manufacture the celebrated "Dony's British Universal Salve," which belonged to P. W. Lerch's estate, and which has an extensive sale in all parts of the United States. In 1881 he took charge of the hotel on behalf of the estate, and he has since con- ducted it with marked success. He is a man of fine intelligence, fond of reading, and is prominent in local affairs, having served as town clerk for thirty years past. In politics he is a Republican, and so- cially he is identified with the Masonic fraternity as a member of the Blue Lodge at Salem, Wayne county.

On April 24, 1860, he was married, at Promp- ton, Wayne county, to Miss Rena J. Arnold, by whom he has had two children: ( I) Anna married F. C. Niles, a traveling salesman, and moved to Wichita, Kans., but returned to her old home in South Canaan, where she died January 23, 1897, leaving no children. (2) Miss Rena S., a success- ful oral teacher, resides with her father., Our sub- ject's wife passed to the unseen life January 31, 1867, at the early age of twenty-eight, her remains being interred at South Canaan Corners. She was highly esteemed by her acquaintances for her many fine qualities of mind and heart. Her parents, Phineas and Jane (Wood) Arnold, were both natives of Wayne county, of which her father once served as associate judge. The ancestors of Phineas and Jane Arnold came from Connecticut.

JOHN CATTERSON, a resident of Salem township, Wayne county, is one of the worthy citi- zens that Ireland has furnished to the New World. He inherited some of the strong, rugged, persever- ing characteristics developed by his earlier environ- ments, which, coupled with the livelier impulses of his Celtic blood, made him at an early day seek a wider field in which to give scope to his ambition and industry, his dominant qualities. He is now thoroughly American in thought and feeling, and is patriotic and sincere in his love for the stars and stripes.

Our subject's grandfather, William Catterson, was born in Scotland, but when a young man crossed the channel to Ireland, and there engaged in farming throughout the remainder of his life. John Cat-

terson, the father of our subject, was born near Mount Charles, in County Donegal, Ireland, and on reaching manhood married Catherine Lockart, who was also of Scotch ancestry. The children born to them were William, who died in Ireland at the age of sixteen years; Ann, deceased; John, of this sketch; James, a resident of Gouldsboro, Wayne Co., Penn. ; Andrew, of New York State; Thomas, who died in Scotland at the age of twenty-four years; two daughters who died in Ireland when young ; and Alexander, still living on the old home- stead in Ireland.

At the age of sixteen years the subject of this sketch came to America, but before leaving the Em- erald Isle he married Ellen Baskin, a daughter of Moses and Sarah ( McAlwee) Baskin, natives of England. After reaching New York City Mr. Cat- terson became a seaman on a coasting schooner, and on leaving the water he worked in marble yards for some months. He then came to Ledgedale, Wayne Co., Penn., and for five years was employed by the tannery company there, at the end of that period purchasing 150 acres of woodland in Salem town- ship upon which he began lumbering, and he now has a well-improved farm, under a high state of cultivation.

To Mr. and Mrs. Catterson were born the fol- lowing children: John, born October 30, 1849, is now a resident of Lackawanna county, Penn. ; Al- exander, born in 1851, makes his home in Salem township, Wayne county; Sarah, born September 8, 1853, is deceased ; Matilda, born August 26, 1855, married John Sosenhamer, and died April 10, 1885; Eliza Jane, born March 2, 1858, is the wife of U. S. Dixon, of Port Jervis, N. Y .; Mary, born March 2, 1860, died September 25, 1881 ; William, born September 10, 1862, lives in Tioga county, Penn .; Margaret, born September 25, 1865, died January 16, 1867: and Fannie, born February 21, 1869, is the wife of Henry Simons, of Greene town- ship, Pike Co., Penn. The mother of these children died September 2, 1895, leaving many friends as well as her immediate family to mourn her demise. Mr. Catterson is a stalwart Democrat, and at one time took considerable interest in politics and served as a delegate to the county conventions of his party. He is a member of the Episcopal Church, and has been trustee of the same for fifteen years. He has traveled quite extensively over this country, visiting seven States, and in 1897 made a visit to his old home in Ireland and at the same time went to Scotland. He is a man of industrious habits, one whose career has ever been such as to command the confidence and respect of all who know him.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 208

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