Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 27

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 27
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 27
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 27
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 27

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ica (being a past officer in each of these), and Junior Order of American Mechanics. Politically he is a Democrat. He was recently elected to the office of school director, a position he had previ- ously held with complete satisfaction to his fellow citizens.

On April 18, 1882, Dr. Miller married Miss Rachel Kunkel, and three children have blessed the union: Joseph Franklin, born July 27, 1883 ; Nettie Florence, born June 13, 1885; and Estella May, born February 7, 1892, died February II, 1894. He also has a son, Adin Ralph, born Feb- ruary 18, 1873, by a former marriage, who mar- ried Jennie Riebsame, of Wilkes Barre, Penn. Mrs. Rachel (Kunkel) Miller was born February 25, 1856, in Hamilton township, Monroe county. daughter of Peter Kunkel, and granddaughter of John Kunkel, who was born January 5, 1776, and died April 15, 1846, at his home in Monroe county. John Kunkel married Rebecca Huston, who was born October 3, 1783, daughter of John and Cath- arine (Anderson) Huston, and died July 20, 1850. John Huston was born three days after his parents arrived here from Ireland. They had the following children: Peter, father of our subject's wife, Emily, wife of Nathan Frantz, born October 31, 1824; Mary, born January 20, 1803; Rachel, wife of John Kern, born January 13, 1805; Rebecca, wife of Saul Rinker, born January 7, 1808; John Kunkel, born January 29, 1811 ; Elizabeth K., wife of William Clements, born October 22, 1813; Sarah, wife of Hiram Clements, born April 8, 1816; and George J. Kunkel, born October 19, 1819. Peter Kunkel, the father of Mrs. Miller, was born in Monroe county, April 12, 1822, and became a farmer there, his death occurring April 25, 1874. He was a prominent member of the Masonic fra- ternity in his locality. He married Miss Julia Ann Walter (August 18, 1823-November 24, 1892), who was a daughter of Jacob Walter (April 16, 1799-September 22, 1842) and his wife Margaret (Smith) ( February 2, 1788-April 17, 1867) ; the last named was a daughter of John Smith, who came from Holland, and his wife Catharine (Arnst). Jacob Walter and his wife had the fol- lowing children: Catharine, wife of Philip Garris, born April 16, 1809 .; Mary, wife of William Hus- ton, born July 17, 1810; John, born August 17, 1812; Peter, born May 25, 1814; Jacob, born Au- gust 16, 1816; Daniel S., born September 16, 1818; Elizabeth, wife of Amos Shafer, born December 29, 1820; Juliann, mother of Mrs. D. Miller, born August 16, 1825; Sarah; Chauncey ; Oliver ; Bar- ney ; Margaret, wife of Jacob Edinger. Mrs Miller is the fourth in a family of six children, the others being: Mary, deceased wife of William Bitten- bender ; John, who married Miss Ellen Fetherman, daughter of Jacob H. Fetherman, and resides in Cherry Valley. Penn. ; Rosetta, who married Will- iam Kautz, of Stroudsburg; Susan, the wife of Thomas Schermerhorn, of Athens, Penn .; and

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Peter, a machinist of Stroudsburg, who married Miss Serena Scheller.

The Fetherman family, of whom our subject is a lineal descendant, originated in Holland, the name having been Vetterman, and later changed to Fetterman, before the present spelling was adopted. The Doctor's great-great-grandfather, Balthasar Vetterman, was born in Rotterdam, Holland. Early in the year 1750 he came to America in company with his brothers, Casper (who located in Berwick, Penn.) and Philip (who located in Ohio), in the ship "Patience," under Capt. Hugh Steel. They landed in Philadelphia on August II, following, Balthasar settling in Upper Milford township, Le- high( then Northampton) county, near the village of Old Zionsville. On April 22, 1751, he married Catharina Margaretha, a daughter of Johann George Huft and his wife Margaretha. In the year 1769 he bought at sheriff's sale the farm at present owned by Levi Fetherman, a great-grandson. This place has passed from father to son ever since. Balthasar Vetterman and wife are buried at or near Dillin- gersville, Lehigh Co., Penn. Their children were: Johann George, born February 22, 1752; Anna Barbara, born January 7, 1853; Johann Michael, born January 9, 1755; Anna Mariah, born in 1758; Johann Philip, who is mentioned below; Mariah Salome, born July 29, 1762; Anna Margaretha, baptized May 26, 1765; and Johannas, born June 25, 1767.

Johann Philip Vetterman, the third son of Balthasar, was born May 8, 1761, at the home of his father in Lehigh county, and was baptized on the roth of the same month. On arriving at the proper age he learned the business of making sickles, that instrument being much in demand be- fore the era of the cradle, and its successor, the present highly perfected reaper and self-binder. He located in Montgomery county, at or near North Wales, where he married Mary Sarah, a daughter of Abraham Dannahower, he and his wife subse- quently removing to Lehigh county. In the year 1804 Mr. Vetterman took his family to Hamilton township, Monroe county, and settled upon a farm at present owned by Abraham H. Fetherman and Frank Fetherman, it having been divided. Here he followed his trade and carried on farming. In the year 1808 he built a sawmill along the stream, at a point about midway between the present residence of Frank Fetherman and the public road leading from Stroudsburg to Bossardsville. During the year 1810 he built the large barn, still standing and in good repair, at present owned by A. H. Fether- man. In 1814 he rebuilt the gristmill at present owned by Frank Fetherman, which, in 1829, was enlarged by Balsar Fetherman, and in the year 1816 he put up a building, above and near the sawmill, which for a number of years was used as a distillery. While he was thus engaged in erecting his different manufacturing establishments, his faithful wife was ever busy at her loom, weaving fancy blankets and linen goods. Mr. Vetterman died at his home Oc-

tober 27, 1821, and his wife, who was born January 20, 1758, died September 8, 1840. Both were de- vout Lutherans throughout life, and their remains now rest in the old graveyard in the rear of the Hamilton church, eight miles west of Stroudsburg. They had ten children (nine of whom survived them) : Jacob, born August 15, 1784, died April 26, 1865; Balsar, born January 23, 1786, died Sep- tember 2, 1867; Johann, born September 17, 1787, died April 12, 1860; Rosina, born October 16, 1789; Anna Catherina, born August 17, 1790 (married Charles Miller), died March 26, 1875; Abraham, born January 13, 1792, died September 6, 1852; Sally, born January 27, 1795 (married Anthony Hel- ler), died March 6, 1889; Elizabeth ( married Nich- olas Metzgar) died January 1, 1863; Philip, born in 1804, died in 1855; Lydia, born September 15, 1802, died January 19, 1889 (married Peter Shafer).

Anna Catherina Fetherman, daughter of Johann Philip and Mary Sarah (Dannahower) Fetherman, was born August 17, 1790, at New Milford, Lehigh Co., Penn. She was baptized September 26, same year (her godmother being Anna Catherina Danna- hower, after whom she was named), and in August, 1814, married Charles, son of Sebastian Miller.

JACOB S. SMITH, retired, than whom no one is better known or more highly respected in Wayne county, where for many years he followed farming, lumbering and hotel-keeping, is a native of New York State, born April 24, 1826, in Broome county.

Calvin Smith, father of our subject, was also born in Broome county, and was a lifelong farmer. He there married Delaney Springsteen, of that coun- ty, and they had children as follows: Melvina, the widow of William English, who was a stone mason in Broome county; Electa, deceased wife of Peter Dingee, a retired farmer of South Canaan; Sarah, deceased wife of William Wentz, a Methodist Epis- copal clergyman, also deceased; Jacob S., our sub- ject; Hannah, deceased wife of Sanford Dustein, of Sanford, N. Y .; Adeline, deceased wife of Ed- ward Hooker, also deceased; and Calvin, a black- smith of Johnson Creek, N. Y., who married Mary The father of this family dying in 1836, aged forty years, the mother afterward married An- drew Barger, a farmer, now also deceased, and the children by this union were: George, a blacksmith in Michigan; and Jane, who wedded Henry Gates, a farmer and ex-butcher of Windsor, N. Y. The mother passed from earth in February, 1887, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years.

Arbey Smith, grandfather of our subject, was born in Connecticut, of English extraction. He was a farmer by occupation, and went to the West when Jacob S. was eight years old. The maternal grand- father, Jacob Springsteen, was of Holland descent, and born in Pennsylvania. A man of means, he pur- chased a large tract of land on the Susquehanna river. He died in Windsor, N. Y., at that time known as Dutch Town.

Jacob S. Smith, whose name opens this sketch,

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remained at home with his mother until he was twelve years old, and then commenced working among the farmers by the month, at Windsor, N. Y., so continuing until he was fifteen years of age. At that period of his life he bound himself out to David Hoadly, at Windsor, for three and one-half years, for $100 and one year's schooling. His term of apprenticeship over, he came to Pennsylvania, and made his home at Stevens Point (then known as Copley's Tannery), in Susquehanna county, for two years, working in the lumber woods peeling bark, etc. From there he went to Aldenville, Wayne county, and chopped cordwood, one remarkable chopping he has a record for being 300 cords, 4 feet long, in 100 days. Thence he removed to Sullivan county, and there was employed peeling bark, etc., for three years. In 1850 he once more came to Wayne county, and while visiting his brother-in-law, Peter Dingee, at Robinson's Tannery, in Cherry Ridge township, he took a contract to clear and peel bark from 100 acres of heavily-timbered land, and when that was completed he remained at Cherry Ridge some eight years, jobbing, etc. We next find him in South Canaan township, where he purchased some woodland, which by industry and perseverance he converted into a fine farm, during spring-time working at peeling bark for Robinson's tannery. Here he remained until 1872, in which year he pur- chased, from Samuel Dimmock, of Honesdale, a hotel at "No. 19," now known as Lake Ariel, which he conducted for twenty years. During that time he extended his business considerably, operating a blacksmith shop and sawmills, as well as his farm. In 1887 he moved to Dunmore, Lackawanna county, and purchased the "Exchange Hotel," which he conducted six years, or until 1893, when he sold out and came to his present farm of twenty-six acres in Lake township.

Mr. Smith married Sarah Maines, by whom he has had four children, a brief record of whom is as follows : (1) Lee C., a clerk in Scranton, Penn., born March 4, 1858, married Elizabeth Jones, and they have two children, Roy and Grace. (2) Orr P., a farmer in Lake township, born March 27, 1860, married Emma Calahan, and they have four chil- dren, Elsie, John, Jacob and Otis. (3) Katie D., born August 30, 1865, married James Hess, a drug- gist of East Mauch Chunk, Penn., and they have one son, Monroe. (4) Minnie, born January 22, 1872, married Frederick Townsend, who is a railroad em- ploye at Dunmore, Penn., and they have two chil- dren, Jessie and Willis.

Mrs. Sarah (Maines) Smith was born October 28, 1839, in South Canaan township, Wayne county, daughter of Peter and Catherine (Swingle) Maines, natives of New Jersey and South Canaan township, respectively. Mr. Maines came to Wayne county when a young man, and was a well-to-do farmer. He died January 19, 1872, aged eighty- four years; his wife was called from earth Decem- ber 26, 1892, aged eighty-seven years. A brief rec- ord of their children is as follows: John married

Emeline Pickson, and both are now deceased. Will- iam was twice married, first to Jane Shaffer, second to Lena Jennings; they live at Germany, Warren Co., Penn. Andrew was also twice married; he served in the army. Jane married James Hazelton, and both are now deceased. Sarah, wife of our sub- ject, is next in the order of birth. Margaret married Derman Pickron, and they live in Susquehanna county. Mary married Peter Brotes, a farmer of Uniondale, Penn. Elizabeth married George Jack- son, street commissioner of Dunmore, Penn. Mrs. Smith's maternal ancestry will be found elsewhere.

While engaged in lumbering our subject gave employment to as many as thirty-five men, which fact will give some idea of the extent of his work in the woods, and so well liked was he that many of his hands remained in his employ a long time, one man, D. Proper, having worked for him for the past forty years. In politics Mr. Smith is a Republican, but he has never aspired to office, although he has served as assessor of South Canaan township one term, and as school director in South Canaan town- ship some seven years, and the school building there he says "had a hard time getting erected." During the war of the Rebellion he was drafted, but pre- ferred to pay $400 rather than leave his thriving business, which required so much of his personal superintendence and guidance. A typical self-made man, one who has built up his prosperity by his own individual efforts, it is his pride to be most honored where he is best known, and, as his influence has extended, none have given him more hearty appre- ciation than the people who have watched his prog- ress from boyhood.

'JACOB K. SHAFER, proprietor of "Indian Queen Hotel," at Stroudsburg, is one of Monroe county's most esteemed citizens, and has frequently been chosen to offices of trust and responsibility, in- cluding those of sheriff and county commissioner.

Mr. Shafer was born May 14, 1824, in Monroe county, and belongs to a good old Pennsylvania- Dutch family, of whom a more extended account is given elsewhere. George Shafer, our subject's grandfather, was born in Northampton county, be- fore Monroe county was separated, and made his home at Saylorsburg, where he died when about eighty years old. He had the following children: John, Adam, Jacob and George, and all emigrated to New York State except George, who settled in Cherry Valley.

George Shafer, our subject's father, married Susan Kresge, daughter of William Kresge, and granddaughter of Philip Kresge, a native of Ger- many, who settled at Effort, in what is now Monroe county, long before the Indians moved from that neighborhood, one of his brothers being killed by them. William Kresge, father of Susan, was born probably within the present limits of Monroe coun- ty, and his wife, Hannah ( Serfass), was a daughter of John Serfass, a German by birth, who settled about six miles from the Kresge homestead at a

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very early period. William and Hannah Kresge had eight children : William, Jacob, George, Joseph, Betsey, Sallie, Susan and Hannah.

Our subject was reared at the old home of his grandfather, William Kresge, his education being obtained in the subscription schools of the day. He was reared to farm work, the hard toil on the home- stead developing habits of industry, and at the age of eighteen he began to learn the carpenter's trade, which he followed for some years in Carbon county, and later in the western part of Monroe county. A few years were spent in mercantile business at Pleas- ant Valley (now known as Gilbert), and for three years he was employed as a rectifier of whiskey ; but he has since been engaged in the hotel business. He first purchased a hotel at Pleasant Valley, which he conducted six years, and in 1868 he bought the "In- dian Queen Hotel" at Stroudsburg. He has greatly improved the place, and during the thirty years in which he has had it in charge it has maintained the reputation of being the leading hotel in the city. Of late he has left much of the details of management to his sons, but he continues to reside at the hotel. Mr. Shafer is a man of slender build and fine ap- pearance, and his countenance shows refinement and wisdom gathered from long experience. Genial and hospitable in disposition, he has hosts of friends, and socially he is connected with the Masonic fraternity and the Improved Order of Red Men. From his youth up he has taken keen interest in politics, and he has not missed an election since he cast his first vote for James K. Polk. In 1874 he was chosen as sheriff of Monroe county, taking the office in the following year and serving the full term of three years. Since that time he has served three years as county commissioner, at various times he has held other offices, including that of constable while re- siding in Chestnut Hill township. While at Gilbert he had the postoffice in his store, and he also served as a school teacher in the western part of Monroe county. For three years he was a member of the Stroudsburg city council, serving as treasurer of that body, and for one year he held the office of chief burgess. In 1846 he married Miss Maria An- drew, who was born in Ross township, Monroe county, April 17, 1827, and died December 11, 1897. Of their five children, (1) Nathan married Miss Marsh, and has had two children-Estella and J. Clarence. (2) Malon S. died in childhood. (3) Amanda married Doc George Lesh, and had one son, who is now dead. (4) Edward married Miss Dreher. (5) Spearing, who now conducts the hotel, married Miss Gertrude Stauffer, and has two children. Myrtle and Jacob K.

HON. RICHARD F. SCHWARZ. This well- known horticulturist is a leading resident of Stroud township, Monroe county, his excellent qualities having won the recognition of his fellow citizens to an enviable degree. While making a success. of business, he has not failed in the wider lines of thought and effort which make a man a useful fac-

tor in the life of a community, and his prominence in local affairs gives assurances of greater honors in the future.

Mr. Schwarz comes of thrifty German ances- try. His father, Frederick Schwarz, was born in Goslar, Germany, October 20, 819, and after secur- ing a good common-school education he became a commercial traveler. Later he invested his savings in a wall-paper factory, which he conducted for many years with marked success, ranking among the foremost men in Germany in that line of business. He died in 1879 ; his widow, Ida (Schmidt), a native of Anhalt, Germany, is still living. This couple had four children: Oscar F., Helen, Melanie and Richard F.

Our subject was born in Anhalt, Germany, Oc- tober 31, 1853, and his education was begun in the public schools of that locality. At the age of thir- teen he entered the Ducal Gymnasium in Anhalt, from which he was graduated in 1867. Subse- quently he studied for two years in the Mercantile College at Dessau, graduating in 1869, and on leav- ing that institution he entered a school at Geneva, Switzerland, to study languages. Mr. Schwarz then engaged in business as a clerk in the office of L. Moosbach, a wholesale dry-goods merchant. In May, 1871, he left his native land on the steamer "Rhien," and after a voyage of thirteen days he landed at New York City. At that time he was totally unacquainted with the English language, but he secured employment as a traveling agent for K. Kuhn, a wholesale tobacconst of New York. In six weeks he managed to acquire a good English vocabulary, and for two years he remained with Mr. Kuhn. For a time he was engaged in other enter- prises, meeting with success, and on his marriage in 1873 he took a trip to his native land in company with his bride. On his return to the United States he made a prospecting tour through the West and located in Chicago as bookkeeper and traveling agent for Mr. Kronburge, a wholesale jeweler. After two years, his health failing, he came to Monroe county, Penn., to visit a brother-in-law, Mr. Savage, of Stroud township. The salubrious air and attractive surroundings, together with the prospect of whole- some outdoor life, led him to purchase five acres of land in the spring of 1875, and although he had not expected to realize any profit from it, he soon dis- covered that his garden, which he had planted as a diversion, could be made to bring him a fair return. Encouraged by the advice and interest of the late Peter Henderson, of New York, and of Luke W. Brodhead, the owner of the famous "Water Gap House," he engaged in truck farming with such success that in 1878 he added thirteen acres to his original purchase. His place is now under fine cul- tivation, small fruits and vegetables being his spe- cialty, and he finds a good market for his products in Binghampton, Scranton, Carbondale, Strouds- burg, Water Gap and the surrounding country. Finding the water supply insufficient, he irrigates his land by a complete system of pipes, hose and ditch,

P. O.Schwarz wars

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bringing the water from a point half a mile away. A few years ago he added forty acres to his domain for orchard purposes. He is a man of fine intellect- ual gifts, and at times he contributes to the public press. An interesting series of letters appeared from his pen in the Monroe Journal during his sec- ond trip to Europe in 1881, which included a visit to the capitals of various countries and other points of interest. Politically he is a Democrat, and for many years he has been regarded as one of the lead- ers of the local organization. He served eight years on the county committee, two years on the State committee, and has also held numerous town- ship offices.

In 1893 Mr. Schwarz was elected to the State Legislature, and re-elected in 1895. He was an act- ive and efficient legislator, and one of the public measures which was secured directly by Mr. Schwarz was the Act establishing the State Normal School at East Stroudsburg. He was appointed, by Gov- ernor Hastings, one of the trustees of this school, and he still retains that position, for which he was eminently qualified ; on April 3, 1899, he was elected vice-president of the institution. In 1895 he was a candidate for the nomination for the State Senate, but he was defeated at the primaries, as his opponent was an old soldier. He has served on various occa- sions as a delegate to the Democratic State conven- tions.

As one of the leading agriculturists of the coun- ty Mr. Schwarz was elected president of the Mon- roe County Agricultural Society ; he is also a promi- nent member of the State Horticultural Society. Mr. Schwarz is one of the leading society men of Monroe county, having been actively affiliated with many of its fraternities. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a Knight Templar, and was a charter member of the Royal Arch Chapter of Stroudsburg. He is mem- ber of the Fort Penn Lodge, I. O. O. F., at Strouds- burg, of the Knights of Pythias, the Elks, and the Farmers' Alliance. He is one of the State speakers appointed by the State Agricultural Department to conduct Farmers Institutes, and spends several months yearly in the effort to improve Pennsylvania farming methods on modern lines.

Mr. Schwarz was married, August 4, 1873, to Miss Rosine C. Savage, daughter of John and Eliza- beth Savage, and they have one son, Frederick J. O., born January 17, 1884, now a student at the public schools of Stroudsburg.

LOUIS G. BENNER. The Keystone State owes its prosperity in large measure to the hardy German pioneers, by whom labor was cheerfully and acceptably performed, and to whom came the just rewards of patient industry. The sturdy char- acter of this early race lingers to the present gen- eration, modified, it is true, by changing condi- tions, but nowise lacking in the integrity, the in- dustry, the intelligence and the other virtues of the forefathers. And in the growth of the great com- monwealth, in its advancement and wealth, in edu-

cation and in strength, the people have shared, and the descendants of the men who fashioned its sterling principles now hold the same relation of responsibility and prosperity. Of Louis G. Benner it may be said that his character is above reproach, that his career has been eminent and successful, that he honors the community in which he lives, and the family, the fourth generation of which in America he represents.

Jacob Benner, his great-grandfather, was a na- tive of Switzerland, and more than a century ago migrated to America, settling in Bucks county, Penn. There he became a farmer, and also for some years operated a sawmill. He had five chil- dren-three sons and two daughters. One of the former, Louis, born in 1768, was the grandfather of our subject. He came from Bucks county when a young man, and married Hannah Stump, of Northampton county, who blessed him with a family of twelve children, as follows: Daniel, Elizabeth, Elias, Louis, Henry, Thomas (who died young), Joseph, Hannah, Abraham ( father of our subject), Isaac, Joshua and Joel. The grandfather followed farming, but with the characteristic application of his father became also a manufacturer of willow baskets. He served in the war of 1812. He died in 1853, and was buried at Friedensville

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 27

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