Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 229

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 229
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 229
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 229
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 229

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Mr. Howell is independent in politics, always voting for the man whom he thinks best qualified to fill the office, regardless of party lines, and he himself has acceptably served as a member of the school board for three years. He is broad and progressive in his views, is intelligent and well in- formed on topics of general interest as well as the leading questions and issues of the day, and these qualifications make him one of the most influen- tial citizens of his community.

ROBERT F. SPANGENBERG, one of the sticcessful farmers and enterprising business men of Hamlinton, has spent his entire life in Wayne county, his birth occurring in Lake township, Au- gust 1, 1863. His parents, Clayton R. and Esther (Foote) Spangenberg, are now prominent and highly respected citizens of Salem township, their sketch appearing elsewhere.

Our subject was reared and educated in much the usual manner of farmer boys. He remained with his parents until his marriage, at Hamlinton, June 19, 1889, to Miss Carrie L. Haag, who was born at that place December 21, 1866, daughter of Matthias and Alice A. ( Morgan) Haag. Mr. Haag was a native of Weidersheim, Germany, and at the age of twelve years accompanied his father, broth- ers and sister on the emigration to America, the mother having died in Germany. At the age of sixteen years he commenced to learn the black- smith's trade in Honesdale, continuing to follow same the greater part of his days, running a black- smith and wheelwright shop of his own in Hamlin- ton for several years, though the last sixteen years of his life were principally devoted to the under- taking business. He prospered financially, and left his family in comfortable circumstances. He had only two children, and the elder, Clarence M., died

in infancy. During the war of the Rebellion he manifested his love for his adopted country by en- listing, February 27, 1864, in Company B, 2nd P. V. H. A., under Capt. R. C. Horner, and remained in the service until honorably discharged, January 29, 1866; although he was in several hard-fought battles, he was fortunately never wounded. He was a sincere and earnest Christian, a faithful mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was the lead- er of the Church choir for many years, superintend- ent of the Sunday-school, and assisted in organiz- ing several Sunday-schools in Wayne county. He was a very kind-hearted, charitable gentleman, always ready to grant a favor, and it is safe to say that no man in his community was more highly re- spected or honored than Mr. Haag. He died July 6, 1885, at the age of forty-nine years, widely and deeply mourned. His wife, who was a native of Salem township, Wayne county, passed away March 14, 1893, aged fifty-eight years, and was laid by his side in the Salem Corners cemetery.

Mrs. Spangenberg's maternal great-grandpar- ents, Samuel and Mary ( Mason) Morgan, spent their entire lives in New London, Conn. Her grandparents, Aaron and Ruby W. (Rathbone) Morgan, removed from New London county, Conn., to Wayne county, Penn., at an early day, and the former became a prominent and extensive farmer and landowner in Salem township. He died Oc- tober 8, 1850, at the age of fifty-seven years, and his wife October 3, 1867, at the age of seventy- three. In their family were five children, namely : Ruby J., a resident of Hamlinton, Wayne county ; Sarah A., who married Henry Abbey, but both are now deceased; Lucia M., who lives with her sister in Hamlinton; Augustus, who died at the age of nine years; and Alice A., the mother of Mrs. Spangenberg.

For two years after his marriage Mr. Spang- enberg operated his present farm, and then went to Long Island, where he followed carpentering with Henry Purday for the same length of time, his wife meanwhile keeping a milliner shop. Return- ing to his farm he has since devoted his energies to the cultivation and improvement of the place, which consists of seventy acres of rich and arable land, supplied with a good set of farm buildings. In his political affiliations Mr. Spangenberg is in- dependent, preferring not to be bound by party ties. He and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in the social cir- cles of the community occupy an enviable position.

MERCER B. McCARTY owns and conducts one of the finest farms in Delaware township, Pike county, where he is regarded as one of the represen- tative thrifty agriculturists of his section, and he comes of a family which has for several generations past borne an honorable and useful part in the ad- vancement of Pike county. He is a son of Cornelius McCarty, who in his day was one of the most promi- nent men in and around Dingman's Ferry, and a

PHILIP MCCARTY

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grandson of Philip McCarty, whose father, also named Philip, was the original owner of the old McCarty homestead in Dingman township, where he died. The place is now occupied by another great-grandson.

Philip McCarty, grandfather of Mercer B. Mc- Carty, was a native of Pike county, and passed his entire life here, dying March 22, 1885, at the ad- vanced age of eighty years and three months. He was a lifelong farmer. He married Rachel Van- Etten, who was also a native of Pike county, born August 4, 1803, died January 7, 1880, and six chil- dren blessed this union, as follows: Cornelius, born July 12, 1825; Margaret, born May 17, 1828, de- ceased January 1, 1898; Jacob, born April 1, 1831, deceased at the age of nine years; Amanda, born December 19, 1833, deceased at the age of twenty- six, unmarried ; Martha A., born March 6, 1837, who died young ; and Ralph B., born October 2, 1841.

Cornelius McCarty was reared and educated in his native county, and his name became a well- known and respected one in this vicinity. For thirty-five years he successfully conducted an ex- tensive mercantile business at Dingman's Ferry, and he also engaged in lumbering on a large scale, ac- quiring a very fair share of this world's goods dur- ing his long commercial career. He was as active ir, public life as in business circles, held many local positions of trust and responsibility, filling the of- fice of school director up to the time of his decease, and was looked up to by all who knew him as a man of keen judgment, a good manager, and one per- fectly honorable and trustworthy in all his trans- actions.

Cornelius McCarty was first married to Miss Jane Stoll, a native of Sussex county, N. J., and a (laughter of Robert Stoll, who passed his entire life in New Jersey. She died March 31, 1862, the moth- er of three children : Savilla, who died at the age of three years ; Beraldi, who carries on the old McCartv homestead in Dingman township; and Mercer B., whose name introduces this sketch. For his second wife Mr. McCarty wedded Mrs. Mary A. (Daniels) Stoll; no children were born to this union. Mrs. McCarty had one child by her first husband, George Stoll. Mr. McCarty passed away January 9, 1885, at the age of fifty-nine years, deeply mourned by a wide circle of friends and neighbors throughout this region, and was laid to rest in Milford cemetery.

Mercer B. McCarty was born October 25, 1859, at Dingman's Ferry, Pike Co., Penn., grew to man- hood here, receiving his education in the common schools, and has engaged in farming since commenc- ing life on his own account. His mother dying when he was scarcely three years old, his great- aunt, Miss Catherine Van Etten, assumed the care of him, and they still reside together; she is now eighty-four years of age. Mr. McCarty has never enlisted in the army of Benedicts. He devotes the greater part of his time and attention to the care of his farm and the management of his business in- terests, and he has a reputation among all who have 62

had dealings with him as a man of unusually good judgment, upright and honest in all his methods. His farm work is done in a systematic, modern way, everything about the property indicating the personal pride which the owner takes in its appear- ance, and the fertility of the land speaks volumes for the thorough knowledge he has on all matters per- taining to farming. Mr. McCarty takes the interest which every public-spirited citizen should feel in the affairs of his town and county, and he has held the office of supervisor in Delaware township. His po- litical sympathies are with the Democratic party.

LEWIS ROBERTS, a well known and suc- cessful dairyman and farmer of Manchester town- ship, Wayne county, was born in Ulster county, N. Y., in February, 1837. His father, Richard Roberts, was a native of Dutchess county, that State, and a son of John and Catharine Roberts, who were born, reared and married in Wales, and after living in Delaware county, N. Y., for some years, removed to Michigan, where their last days were passed. They reared a large family of chil- dren : Shadrack, Robert, John, Margaret, Annie, Eva, David, Catharine and Richard. With the ex- ception of the eldest, who remained in Wales, all died in this country.

In Delaware county, N. Y., Richard Roberts married Annie Woolheater, a native of that coun- ty, and they made their home in Ulster county, N. Y., where he followed farming until 1851. He then purchased a farm in Sullivan county, that State, and on selling that place, in 1880, came to Man- chester township, Wayne county, Penn., where his death occurred in 1892. His wife passed away in 1885. In their family were five children, all born in Ulster county, N. Y .: (1) Dinghee A., born in 1835, was educated in the public schools of Ulster and Sullivan counties, and now owns and operates a farm in Manchester township, Wayne Co., Penn. He is unmarried. (2) Lewis is second in the family. (3) Phoebe, born in 1840, married John Wood, of Sullivan county, N. Y., who died during his service in the Union army in the Civil war, leaving a wife and two sons, Richard B. and David H., both residents of New York State. (4) Catharine, born in 1843, was educated in Sullivan county, and now keeps house for her brother Dinghee A. (5) John W. died at the age of seventeen years.

Lewis Roberts is indebted to the public schools of Ulster and Sullivan counties, N. Y., for his edu- cational privileges. Always a patriotic and loyal citizen, having the interests of his country at heart, he enlisted, in the fall of 1861, in Company H, 56th N. Y. V. I., and was sworn into the United States service at Newburg, N. Y., where the regiment was assigned to the Army of the Potomac, under com- mand of Gen. McClellan. He participated in the battles of Yorktown, Fair Oaks and the seven-days' fight, after which the regiment returned to York- town, and remained there until December, 1862,

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

when it was sent to Newbern, N. C. It was next at Hilton Head, under Gen. Gilmore, and after tak- ing part in the engagements at John's Island went to Folly Island, where they were on picket duty un- til the spring of 1863. They were next in the bat- tle of Honey Hill and the engagement on the Charleston railroad, and after the surrender of Lee remained in Charleston for a time, thence proceed- ing to Summerville, and later to Columbia and Orangeburg, S. C. They were next at Windsboro, remaining there until the fall of 1865, when they returned to New York and were honorably dis- charged. Our subject became corporal and later second sergeant.

Mr. Roberts returned to Sullivan county, where he was married, in June, 1870, to Miss Olive Smith, of that county, and a daughter of Harry and Lou- isa Smith, natives of Connecticut. Her father has been dead some years, but her mother is still liv- ing, and finds a pleasant home with our subject. Having no children of their own, Mr. and Mrs. Roberts have given homes to three of her sister's children who were left motherless, and are now ten- derly cared for by them.

In 1870 Mr. Roberts came to Wayne county, Penn., and purchased the George Price farm of 150 acres in Manchester township, on which he has erected good and substantial buildings and made many other excellent improvements, so that it is now one of the most desirable places in the locality. Here he is extensively engaged in the dairy business, keeping on hand for this purpose twenty-five cows at the present time. He is a prominent member of Scudder Post, G. A. R., and in politics is an ardent Republican. He is now filling the office of overseer of the poor in a most creditable manner. He and his wife are sincere and earnest Christian people, and are leading members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Braman, taking an active and prominent part in its work, while their lives have ever been in harmony with its teachings.

LANCELOT W. ARMSTRONG. The charming little city of Milford contains some of the most beautiful homes in Pike county, and that of our subject, a prominent business man of New York City, is a model of elegance and comfort. One could scarcely imagine a more pleasant spot in which to recuperate from the strain of business life, and Mr. Armstrong makes it a rule to spend there the interval from Friday night to Monday morning. As a native of Milford and a member of one of its oldest families he holds a high place as a citizen, and his fine abilities and unassuming yet genial manners have won for him a host of friends.

Mr. Armstrong is a descendant of the Arm- strong clan of Scotland which furnished many noted warriors in the struggles between that coun- try and England, and according to good authority he is of the same stock as the Armstrongs who were established at Liddesdale, in the "Debatable coun-

try," as early as 1376. In 1377 Robert Arm- strong and his wife, Margaret Temple, were the owners of the town of Whithaugh, in Thorpe, Eng- land, and lands adjoining, and this estate remained in the possession of the family until 1730. A branch of the Clan Armstrong settled in the North of Ireland at an early day, and our subject's grand- father, Lancelot Armstrong, was born in Gortin, County Tyrone, Ireland. But little is known of him beyond the fact that he left seven children: John, Andrew, James, Thomas, William, Mary (who married Edward Warwick), and Sarah. Andrew came to America about 1825 and settled at Milford, where he constructed some of the first buildings. William Armstrong, the father of our subject, was married at Gortin, Ireland, in 1833, to Miss Eliza- beth Graham, and they started on the same day for America. For many years he was engaged in con- tracting in masonry at Milford, retiring in 1876, and he died there May 21, 1886. He had the repu- tation of being one of the most skillful workmen, in his line, to be found in this section, while as a cit- izen he was much esteemed for his excellent qual- ities of character. His widow passed from earth April 30, 1888. They had the following children : Catherine (who died in infancy), Lancelot W., Eliza, Catherine, Thomas, Sarah, William, Mary, Wilhelmina, and Annie.

Our subject was born October 24, 1835, at Mil- ford, and when eighteen months old he was adopt- ed by an uncle, Edward Warwick, of whom further mention is made below. His education was begun in the schools of Milford, but in 1847 he accom- panied his uncle to New York City, where he at- tended school for about three years. In 1850 he found employment in a straw-hat factory, but he only remained a few months, as the work was not congenial. For six months he was in the office of Austin & Bradford, attorneys in New York, where he made himself useful at copying and other work, and on September II, 1851, he began an appren- ticeship to the mason's trade with Theodore Hunt, a prominent contractor of the same city. He soon showed marked aptitude for his chosen line of work, and his executive ability brought him pro- motion to the position of foreman. In 1858 he was taken into partership with Mr. Hunt, the arrange- ment continuing until 1860, after which for five years he was in business alone. In 1865 he formed a partnership with Owen Moran, under the firm name of Moran & Armstrong, and since Mr. Moran's death, in 1891, he has conducted the business alone. He has an extensive and lucrative trade among the best people of the metropolis, and has erected many of the costliest buildings in the city, prominent among which we may mention the New York Produce Exchange, built in 1882-83; the Insane Asylum buildings on Wards Island, 1869-1873; St. Bartholomew's church and rectory ; the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum; New York Life Insurance building ; the Art Musenm at Central Park; St. Agnes Catholic church, and West Wash-

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ington Market. Politically Mr. Armstrong is a Democrat, and socially he is identified with Archi- tect Blue Lodge No. 519, F. & A. M., at New York City.

On September 17, 1863, Mr. Armstrong was married in New York to Miss Mary Ann Souza, and the following children have blessed the union : Sarah E., who died in infancy and was buried in Greenwood cemetery, New York City: Mary E., wife of Frederick B. Wilson, of New York, who is in the employ of our subject; Edward L., a ma- son in New York, who is unmarried; Joseph T., who married Ellen A. Mahony, and settled in New York, where he was accidentally killed August 26, 1895, by falling from a window; Carrie (I), de- ceased ; Miss Carrie (2), who resides with her par- · ents ; William, who was in the employ of the Con- solidlated Gas Co. at New York, but is now a sol- dier in Grimes Battery, stationed at Huntsville, Ala .; Lancelot W., a clerk in New York; Miss Mabel, who resides in New York; George W., a resident of New York, who is employed in the Naval office; Frank, who died in childhood; and Mattie, who died at the age of eleven months. Mrs. Armstrong is a native of New York City, and a daughter of Nicholas Souza, who was born in Por- tugal and came to New York in early manhood. There he met and married Miss Sarah Armstrong, a native of Ireland, who died in 1855, aged forty- five years ; his death occurred in 1870, when he was seventy-two years of age, and the remains of both were interred in a cemetery at New York. They had four children: John (deceased), who married Ellen Crittengton; Joseph, a government appraiser at New York, who married Martha Hamilton; Mary A. (Mrs. Armstrong) ; and Nicholas, an em- ploye of the Asbury Park Co., New Jersey.

EDWARD WARWICK, our subject's uncle, was born August 15, 1803, at Gortin, Ireland, and died in April, 1891 (in New York City), at the home of our subject. By occupation he was a farmer, but for some years previous to his death he lived in retirement. He was married in Ireland to Miss Mary Armstrong, who died at Milford in 1885, aged eighty years, and their remains now repose in the cemetery at Milford. They came to Pike county in 1832, and resided at Milford until 1847, when they removed to New York. As they had no children of their own, they centered their affection upon our subject, who in his turn watched over them in their declining years with true filial devotion.

THOMAS VALENTINE TAFT, of Hawley, Wayne county, is the possessor of a handsome prop- erty which now enables him to spend his years in the pleasurable enjoyment of his accumulations. The record of his life previous to 1889 is that of an active, enterprising, methodical and sagacious busi- ness man, who bent his energies to the honorable acquirement of a comfortable competence for him- self and family.

Mr. Taft was born in New York City, Febru-

ary 2, 1819, a son of Royal and Sarah ( Valentine) Taft. His paternal grandparents, Daniel and Rhoda (Ellis) Taft, were residents of Woodstock, Mass., while the maternal grandparents, James and Sarah (Werner) Valentine, who were of Holland origin, made their home in Westchester county, N. Y. The father of our subject was a native of Massachusetts, and when a young man went to Westchester coun- ty, N. Y., where he was married. In 1812 he re- moved to New York City, making his home there for seven years, and then started for the lake re- gions, but for some reason finally located at Wil- sonville, Pike Co., Penn., where he engaged in merchandising, hauling his goods from Newburg, N. Y. Later he located on a farm one mile from that village, and there conducted a store and also engaged in the hotel business. When the mail route was established he was appointed postmaster, and continued to serve as such until his death, when our subject was appointed, serving from 1841 to 1867. In his. honor the village of Tafton was named. He died in 1841, aged fifty-one years, his wife in 1853, aged fifty-six, and both were laid to rest in the cemetery at Tafton. She was first an Episcopalian in religious belief, but later joined the Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically the father was an ardent Whig. In their family were eight children, namely: (1) James died in in- fancy. (2) Thomas V. is our subject. (3) Adeline, who was born November 19, 1820, (4) Amanda, who was born January 6, 1822, and (5) Elizabeth A., who was born October 18, 1823, all died unmarried. (6) Charles V., born June 6, 1825, died in Hawley, Penn., in March, 1874, leav- ing a widow, one son and three daughters. He married Eunice K. Atkinson, daughter of Joseph Atkinson, an early settler and lumberman of Wayne county, who was connected until his death with mercantile business in Hawley. (7) Theodore W., born March 6, 1828, is now living retired in Jersey City. He married Miss Sarah Shouse, and after her decease Miss Emma Spry, and is the father of seven children, two sons and three daugh- ters now living. (8) Eliza A., born May 4, 1833, died unmarried.

The subject of this sketch was only nine months old when brought by his parents to Pennsylvania, and he grew to manhood upon the home farm, aid- ing his father in the store and hotel until twenty- two years of age, when he was admitted to a part- nership in the business. Several months later the father died, and as administrator our subject con- tinued to conduct the store and other branches of his father's late business, the younger brothers be- ing sent to the Wyoming Seminary, at Kingston, Penn., where better educational opportunities were afforded. In 1866 Thomas V. Taft removed his family to the then new village of Hawley, in order to secure better educational facilities for his chil- dren, leaving the store in charge of his brother, and his farm and stock in charge of a farmer who shared in the increased avails. In 1867, with

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Abram Shimer as partner, Mr. Taft engaged in the milling business, handling grain, flour and feed, Mr. Shimer subsequently selling his interest in the mill and business to Wesley N. Pierson, our sub- ject's son-in-law. The firm of Taft & Pierson dis- solved July 1, 1879, Mr. Taft withdrawing and sell- ing his interest to Mr. Pierson. Some years after the death of their mother the Taft brothers aban- doned business at Tafton and sold the Tafton homestead-originally comprising 444 acres-in parcels, reserving the burial plat.

In Tafton, Pike Co., Penn., Mr. Taft was mar- ried, April 20, 1845, to Miss Dian Labar, who was born in Paupack township, Wayne county, Septem- ber 18, 1823, and the ceremony was performed by Rev. Elbert Young, a Methodist Episcopal minis- ter. Three children have blessed this union: (I) Mary Adelaide is the wife of Wesley N. Pierson, a miller of Hawley. (2) Pernina J. is the wife of Friend Tuttle, a merchant and farmer of Hawley, by whom she has had five children, three still liv- ing, Marcus T., Thomas T., and Friend L. (3) Sarah Ella is with her parents.

The Republican party always finds in Mr. Taft a stanch supporter, and his aid is never withheld from any enterprise which he believes calculated to advance the moral or material welfare of the community. He owns one of the handsomest res- idences in the borough, and there the many friends of the family delight to congregate, always feeling sure of a hearty welcome.

WILLIAM H. DETRICK, a well known con- tractor and builder of Price township, Monroe county, and an honored veteran of the Civil war, is a native of the county, having been born in Poco- no township, in January, 1840.

George Detrick, father of our subject, was born in Germany, in 1815, there grew to manhood, and served as a soldier in the regular army for a time. Coming to the United States, he took up his resi- dence in Tannersville, Monroe Co., Penn., where he worked at his trade as a tanner for ten years, dur- ing which time he married Miss Barbara Prong. He then located in Paradise township, Monroe county, where he purchased a farm and spent his remaining days, dying there in 1888. His wife had passed away in 1871, leaving him with two children, John having died prior to his mother, at the age of twenty years. Hannah, the only daughter, was born in Pocono township, in 1844, and is now the wife of Joseph Evans, justice of the peace of East Stroudsburg. Out of the seven children born to them, only one daughter is now living, Effie, wife of Abram Smith, of East Stroudsburg; Edward and George both reached manhood, but the former was accidentally killed on the Lackawanna & Western railroad, and the latter died when a young man.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 229

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