Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 28

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 28
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 28
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 28
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 28

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Abraham Benner was born in Northampton county, Penn., in 1810. He was a prosperous and lifelong farmer of that county. He married Susan- nah Smith, who was born in Lehigh county in 1809, a daughter of George and Susannah (Lindener) Smith, lifelong residents of Lehigh county, where Mr. Smith followed the trade of a carpenter. He had three daughters: Elizabeth, who married Peter Lynn; Polly A., who became the wife of Daniel Batliet ; and Susannah, the mother of our subject. The children of Abraham and Susannah Benner were as follows: Julia Ann, who married John Snyder, is now deceased; Louis G. is the subject of this sketch; Edwin T. is proprietor of a hotel at West Fountain Hill, Penn., and the husband of Maria Jacoba ; Diana is the wife of Benjamin Wile, a contractor and lumberman of Bethlehem; Abra- ham, married to Amanda Delong, served during the Civil war in the 153rd P. V. I., and was in bat- tle shot through the arm ; James was a brick mant- facturer of Lehigh county, and the husband of Amanda Toole; Asher, who married Mary Slemt- mer, is now a furnaceman at South Bethlehem; Morris, who married Catherine Slusher, is a brick layer at South Bethlehem; and Emma died at the age of sixteen years. Abraham Benner died in Northampton county in 1862, aged fifty-two years, and is buried at Friedensville. His wife survived many years, death coming to her September 7, 1890, and she was buried in Fountain Hill ceme- tery, Lehigh county.

Louis G. Benner, the subject of this sketch, is now engaged extensively and prosperously in farming in Chestnut Hill township, Monroe coun .. ty. He was born in Northampton county Deceni-

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ber 7, 1831. Comparatively young in life, he left the home farm to make his way in life, for in 1849, when seventeen years of age he entered upon a three-years apprenticeship to the blacksmith's trade with Michael Ulmstead, at South Bethlehem, re- ceiving for his faithful labor the munificent wage of $30 per year and board. His trade acquired, he worked for a year in the shop of John Rice, a boat builder. But to the thinking of the young man agriculture seemed to offer much better prospects for success than the trade he had learned; accord- ingly he began the business of farming and garden- ing. Perhaps his efforts to get along in the world were stimulated by his late marriage. In North- ampton county, Penn., December 5, 1852, he was married to Miss Hannah Shupp, who was born in Chestnut Hill township, March 27, 1830, daughter of Peter and Susannah (Aish) Shupp. To our subject and wife were born four children, as fol- lows : Wilson, a Lehigh Valley Railroad conductor, who married Ellen Eichelberger; Melvina, wife of Henry Christman, a farmer ; Bainbridge, who mar- ried Viola Lovejoy, and is a bookkeeper at Fores- ton, Minn .; and Louisa, who died young. The mother of these children died January 16, 1893, aged sixty-two years, and was buried in Fountain Hill cemetery, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

After his marriage Mr. Benner removed to Staten Island, N. Y., where for six years he was en- gaged in farming. Then for seven years he was engaged in bottling mineral water in Franklin county, Vt. Returning to Bethlehem, Penn., in 1875, he there engaged in farming until 1878 when he purchased from the Gregory estate and moved to his present farm, which for the past twenty years he has successfully operated. For many years he has served as supervisor in Chestnut Hill township. He is a prominent member of the Lu- theran Church, and for six years has been an elder in the congregation. In politics he is a Democrat. He is a prominent citizen, and in thought and pub- lic spirit one of the leaders of the community in which he lives.

NORMAN JENKINS, a prominent and high- ly respected citizen of Canaan township, Wayne county, was for many years successfully engaged in blacksmithing in connection with his father, but now gives his entire time and attention to general farming, owning and operating the old Jenkins homestead in Canaan township, where he was born October 24, 1833. He is a worthy representative of an honored and distinguished old family, his parents being Samuel and Mary (Buckland) Jen- kins, natives of Connecticut who came to Wayne county in the early part of the nineteenth century, the former locating here in 1813, the latter in 1818.

The paternal grandfather, Benjamin Jenkins, a native of Massachusetts, was married in Con- necticut to Elizabeth Boyd, of Little Britain, N. Y., and in 1813 migrated to Wayne county, Penn., lo- cating near Prompton, where he took up 500 acres

of timberland. Upon this place he and his son Samuel built a log house, containing but one door and one window, and they were the first to make a clearing at Prompton. They visited both Hones- dale and Bethany, Wayne county, with the view of locating, but were better satisfied with Prompton and so returned to that place. Two years after his arrival the grandfather brought his family to his new home in the midst of the forest. He took quite an active and prominent part in the early development and progress of the county, and for some time served as postmaster of Prompton. For many years while living in Connecticut he and his brother-in-law, James Boyd, owned and operated a scythe and axe factory in Winsted, and after com- ing to Prompton erected a similar factory here. Benjamin Jenkins and his wife both died and were buried at this place. Their children were Benja- min, Jr., deceased; Samuel, the father of our sub- ject; Edward, who died while serving as treasurer of Wayne county ; John, deceased; Mrs. Henrietta Hubbell, a widow, who is now living in Minnesota at the advanced age of eighty-eight years; Louisa, who married Jacob S. Davis, both being now de- ceased; Maria, who married Ralph Case, both now deceased; Mariette, who married Maj. Benjamin Jenkins (a distant relative), both now deceased ; and Susan, Elizabeth and Lionel, all of whom died in Connecticut.

Samuel Jenkins (our subject's father) followed the occupations of farming and blacksmithing throughout life, and met with a fair degree of suc- cess in his undertakings. He was one of the lead- ing and representative citizens of his community, and was held in high regard by all who knew him. Originally he was a Democrat in politics, but he joined the Republican party on its organization and continued one of its stanch supporters. In religious faith he was a Universalist.

Samuel Jenkins was first married, in February, 1821, to Miss Anna Buckland, and to them were born four children, namely: George, born April 20, 1823, is deceased; Ann Elizabeth, born June 7, 1825, married William H. Sweet (now deceased), and died January 29, 1892; Nelson, born March 10, 1830, died from fever while serving as a Union soldier in the Civil war; and Everett, born Septem- ber 9, 1831, died August 15, 1848. The father was again married, December 17, 1832, to a sister of his first wife, Miss Mary Buckland. Our sub- ject is the eldest of the children born to this union, the others being as follows: Edward, born Febru- ary 3, 1836, died March 18, 1848; Mary Jane, born June 14, 1839, is the wife of George M. Keen, a farmer of Elrod, S. Dak .; Horace, born May 2, 1842; served three years in the Civil war as a mem- ber of Company M, 17th Pennsylvania Cavalry, was for six months confined in Salisbury prison, and died September 9, 1868; Albert, born June 12, 1844, is superintendent of the farming and mine department of the Erie & Wyoming Railroad Co., at Dunmore, Penn .; Lillie, born July 4, 1847,

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died February 23, 1848; Ara H., born July 14, 1850, is a carpenter of Peckville, Penn .; and Louise, born May 4, 1852, is the wife of George W. Penwarden, a brakeman on the Gravity railroad. The father of these children died December 15, 1879, aged eighty-two years, the mother August 7, 1886, aged seventy-two, and both were laid to rest in Keens cemetery, Canaan township.

The maternal great-grandfather of our sub- ject, George Buckland, was born in Connecticut, September 25, 1757, and his wife Elizabeth was born September 25, 1756. The names and dates of birth of their children are as follows : Chester, April 14, 1782 ; Anna, December 3, 1783; Warren, Sep- tember 1, 1785; Cheve, July 26, 1787; Elizabeth, August 10, 1789; Willard, August 9, 1791 ; Milly, August 9, 1793; Walter, December 10, 1794; Nor- man, 1796; and Cyrus, August 9, 1799. Of this family, Chester Buckland was the maternal grand- father of our subject. He was married January 25, 1804, to Sarah Hills, who was born August 31, 1785, and died April 17, 1873, and he died May 25, 1854, the remains of both being interred in Keens cemetery, Canaan township. Their children were as follows: Anna, born November 1, 1804, was the first wife of Samuel Jenkins, and died June 20, 1832; Horace, born October 23, 1806, died May II, 1884 ; Lyman, born December 4, 1808, died February 8, 1859; Belden, born February II, 18II, died October 25, 1889; Louis, born January 13, 1813, died September 13, 1896; Mary, born july 27, 1814, was the mother of our subject, and died August 7, 1886; and Charles, born January 30, 1817, died August 28, 1848.

. JEREMIAH DARLING. Among the in- fluential members of the farming community of Clinton township, Wayne county, and one of its prosperous citizens, is the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch. He was born in Luzerne, Warren Co., N. Y., March 18, 1832, a son of Ger- sham and Harriett (Snediker) Darling, and was the eldest of three children, the others being Will- iam, a resident of Binghamton, N. Y .; and Charles, who many years ago went to California, where he was still living when last heard from.

When the subject of this sketch was about seven years old his father died. A year after, his mother, with her three little boys, moved to Otsego county, N. Y., where she had two brothers living. When Jeremiah was thirteen years old he went to live with a man by the name of Lyman Green, stay- ing with him until he was eighteen, after which he lived with Joseph Lippet until he attained his ma- jority. The first year after he was twenty-one he spent in traveling through the State of Connecti- cut, selling medicine for a physician of his acquaint- ance. When twenty-two years of age he came to Clinton, Wayne Co., Penn., where his mother and some other relatives were living. The next year he married, and about the same time purchased a farm in Mt. Pleasant township, Wayne county,

where he lived thirteen years. On selling out he went to Sanford, Broome Co., N. Y., where within a year he bought another farm on which the four succeeding years were passed, at the end of that time selling out and returning to Clinton. In 1874 he purchased the farm where he now resides. Mr. Darling has always been hard-working and indus- trious, has met with good success in his undertak- ings, and is now one of the well-to-do citizens of Wayne county. He is a Democrat in politics, but has never sought office nor taken part in the events of the day, owing in part, perhaps, to the fact that his hearing was impaired by scarlet fever when he was a young child.

Mr. Darling was married, December 25, 1854, to Miss Marietta Blanding, a descendant of one of the earliest families of Clinton township. The first of her ancestors of whom he have any definite record was Michael Grenell, who was born in Say- brook, Conn., March 20, 1752, and died in Clinton township, Wayne Co., Penn., February 12, 1858, at the extreme old age of one hundred and five years and ten months. His son Rufus was born in Litchfield county, Conn., May 2, 1778, and married Anna Marshall, who was born July 16, 1777. He died July 16, 1865, and she passed away January 12, 1837. In the summer of 1812 the entire Grenell family left their Connecticut home and traveled through the wilderness to Wayne county, Penn., where they arrived in October of that year. They have always been identified with the upbuilding of the county, and have been honored with many po- litical positions in county and State.

In the family of Rufus and Anna (Marshall) Grenell were the following children: Susan, who died in Clinton township, Wayne county ; Virgil, who died in Delaware; Homer, who died in Carbon- dale, Penn .; Ovid, who died in Missouri ; Olive and Jasper, who died in Pennsylvania; Beulah, the mother of Mrs. Darling; and Michael and Rufus Marshall, who died in Illinois. On September 4, 1826, Beulah Grenell became the wife of Reba Blanding, and to them were born seven children: Virgil M., a resident of Rock Island, Ill .; Martin, who died in Eugene City, Ore .; Marietta, wife of our subject ; Roselette, wife of W. K. Johnson, of Cordova, Ill. ; Horace J., of Herrick, Susquehanna Co., Penn .; Chester D., who is living in New Mil- ford, Susquehanna county; and Laura V., who makes her home with Mrs. Darling, as does also the mother. Mrs. Blanding possesses an excellent memory, in fact, is very bright for a lady so far advanced in life.

SAMUEL A. ESCHENBACH is one of the leading and influential citizens of Tobyhanna town- ship, Monroe county, where he successfully carries on operations as a farmer and lumberman, and like many of its most enterprising and progressive busi- ness men has converted his beautiful home into an attractive boarding-house which is well filled throughout the summer months, being liberally pat-

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ronized by people mostly from Philadelphia. The accommodations are sufficient for thirty guests, and our subject does all in his power to make their stay with him a pleasant one.

Andrew Eschenbach, his grandfather, spent the greater part of his life near Philadelphia, and was living there during the Revolutionary war, in which his brother John took an active part as a member of the patriot army. He engaged in lumbering and in manufacturing hand-made shingles. When an old man he came to Tobyhanna township, Monroe county, where he died before the birth of our sub- ject. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Susan Fink, survived him for some years. Their children were: David, John, Nathaniel, Andrew, Joseph, Thomas, Samuel and Polly.

Andrew Eschenbach, our subject's father, was born near Allentown, Northampton Co., Penn., and when a young man came to Tobyhanna township, Monroe county, where he was united in marriage with Miss Lydia Bond, a native of Hamilton town- ship, Monroe county, and a daughter of Lewis and Rachel Bond. She died in 1881, aged seventy- three years, and Mr. Eschenbach passed away in 1886, aged eighty-three. He also followed farming and lumbering, and continued to reside upon his first purchase of 170 acres in Tobyhanna township, of which fifty acres had been cleared. He was a supporter of the Republican party, and most accept- ably filled the offices of overseer of the poor, and supervisor for several terms. Both he and his wife were consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and were held in high regard by all who knew them. In company with Samuel Bond, he built a sawmill in Tobyhanna township, which he conducted for about four years. In the family were five children, Samuel A., our subject, being the eld- est ; Ann is the widow of Robert Warner, and re- sides in Tobyhanna township; Maria died in child- hood ; Martha (deceased) was the wife of Jacob Bonser, a pioneer settler of Tobyhanna township; and Henry is conducting a summer boarding-house at Thornhurst, Lackawanna Co., Pennsylvania.

Samuel A. Eschenbach was born in Tobyhanna township September 6, 1834, and acquired his edu- cation in the common schools. Until thirty years of age he continued to assist his father in the work at home, and then began life for himself as a farmer and lumberman, in which occupations he has met with well-merited success. At Stroudsburg, Penn., he was married by Rev. H. D. Fernley, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to Miss Elizabeth Warner, a daughter of William and Ellen (Agen) Warner. She died March 8, 1897, at the age of fifty-four years, leaving two children, Margaret and Howard, both at home.

Since old enough to handle an ax Mr. Eschen- bach has worked in the lumber woods, and his win- ters are still devoted to that occupation. In 1863 he bought 222 acres of wild land in Tobyhanna township, forty acres of which he has cleared and converted into a productive farm. In connection

with his other business he is also interested in stock raising to some extent. Soon after he purchased the land previously mentioned, he erected thereon a house, which he has since remodeled and enlarged several times, making a commodious and comfortable residence where he now entertains his summer boarders. He is a man of good business ability and broad resources, and the prosperity that has crowned his efforts is due entirely to his industry, enterprise and good management. . In his political views he is a strong Republican, and for several terms he has most creditably and satisfactorily served as super- visor.

IRVINE R. BUSH, M. D., a leading physician of East Stroudsburg, is prominent as a citizen as well as in professional work, and during four years of service on the board of health he promoted many sanitary changes which have resulted most advan- tageously to his town. He is a man of fine presence, his countenance suggesting culture and refinement, and his sterling worth has won for him the con- fidence of all classes of people.

In the paternal line he is of German descent, and his great-grandfather, George Bush, an early settler at Shawnee, Monroe county, was the first of the family to leave the Fatherland. This worthy pioneer served in the Revolutionary war, and for many years conducted a hotel at Shawnee, where he also engaged in farming. He died at the age of eighty-six leaving one daughter, Sallie, and four sons-Benjamin, George, Henry and John.

George Bush, the Doctor's grandfather, was born and reared at Shawnee, and became a farmer, undertaker and cabinet maker. At one time he was a captain of a local militia company. He died at eighty-two years of age, and his wife, Anna ( Stet- ler), a native of Germany, was about seventy-five years old at the time of her death. They were mem- bers of the German Reformed Church, but attended the Presbyterian Church in their vicinity. Six chil- dren were born to this worthy couple : Findlay, our subject's father; Hiram, who died in his fifty-sev- enth year; Susan, who married John Zimmerman ; Anna M., wife of Thomas Brodhead, of Water Gap; Miss Jane, a resident of Water Gap; and Sallie Ann, wife of Judge La Bar.

Findlay Bush, the father of our subject, was born September 18, 1818, and grew to manhood at Shawnee, receiving a common-school education. He learned the carpenter's trade, and for many years has been engaged in business in Smithfield township, Monroe county, as a cabinet maker and undertaker. Politically he is a Democrat, but he has not been especially active in. party affairs. His wife, whose maiden name was Anna Maria Ribbel, was born in 1824, at Pahaquarry, N. J. Our subject is the youngest of three children, the others being : George A., who is connected with the United States Express office at Wilkesbarre; and Mary, wife of Chester Stover, of Bristol, Bucks Co., Pennsylvania.

Dr. Bush was born April 14, 1859, at the old

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homestead at Shawnee, and on completing his com- mon-school course he, in the spring of 1879, entered the State Normal School at Millersville. In the fall of the same year he began the study of medi- cine with Dr. Lewis Bush, of East Stroudsburg (no relation ), and in the following year he matriculated in the Medical Department of the University of Michigan. Later he entered Jefferson Medical Col- lege at Philadelphia, and on graduating in the spring of 1883 he located in East Stroudsburg, forming a partnership with Dr. Lewis Bush. After three years the firm dissolved, and since July 1, 1886, our subject has been in practice alone, his work includ- ing all classes of cases. On October 18, 1881, he married Olivia W. Greene, who was born Decem- ber 25, 1864, in Westchester, Penn., and two chil- dren brighten their home-Lemos and Irvine Rus- sell. Dr. Bush served as a school director for three years, from 1885 to 1887.

LOUIS DALLOZ, deceased. Among the most attractive summer resorts to be found in this fa- vored region is the Dalloz homestead, on the Ray- mondskill, three and one-half miles from Milford, formerly known as the Rigny homestead, adjoining the Nobs farm, the estate comprising 130 acres of land, upon which many grand old forest trees still stand, while a stream of water running through the place affords excellent fishing. Summer tourists have already noted its advantages, and two houses, containing thirty-eight rooms, are annually filled with appreciative guests, for the most part French residents of the cities.

Mr. Dalloz was born April 26, 1831, at Besan- con, France, a son of Joseph Dalloz, a polisher of valuable jewels, who died at Besancon in 1863. Our subject's mother, whose maiden name was Jeanette Roland, died in 1849, leaving two sons, Louis, our subject, and John, a resident of Switzer- land. Mr. Dalloz came to America in 1868, and for two years was employed as a diamond polisher in New York City. He then came to Milford, and after working for a few days among the farmers of that vicinity he purchased a farm in Dingman township, Pike county, where he remained until 1892. Later he sold the place to Charles Nobs, of Newark, N. J., who has built a handsome residence there. Politically Mr. Dalloz was a Democrat, and he was a leading member of the Catholic Church near his home, to which his widow also belongs. Though quiet in disposition, he was well known throughout the township, and he was highly re- spected by all who enjoyed his acquaintance.

Mr. Dalloz was first married in France, to Suzanne (maiden name unknown), who died in 1891. The son Albert, born in France, died at about the age of thirty-eight or forty years.

On December 15, 1892, Mr. Dalloz was married at Milford to Miss Loetine Rigny, a lady of fine men- tal gifts and rare executive ability. She was born September 20, 1841, at the present homestead, and is a descendant of an old French family, her ancestors

having made their home at Besancon, France, for many generations. Her grandparents, John B. and Josephine (Simon) Rigny, and her parents, Joseph and Marie Pierette (nce Pras) Rigny, came to America in November, 1840, and settled in the fol- lowing year at the present farm, where they spent their remaining days. The father died there on September 24, 1893, aged seventy-four, and the mother on April 13, 1891, aged seventy-one, their re- mains being interred in the cemetery near Union school house in Dingman township. This worthy couple had the following named children : Leontine (I), who died in infancy ; Alfred, a wholesale wine merchant in New York City, who married Miss Ermense Cleret; Leontine (2), now Mrs. Dalloz; Napoleon, a carpenter in New York, who married Miss Emily Briard; Ernest, a farmer in Dingman township, Pike county; Hortense, wife of Joseph Briard, a farmer and carpenter in Dingman town- ship ; and Jennie, who married John Hanna, a farmer in Delaware township, Pike county.

Mr. Dalloz passed away Thursday afternoon, January 5, 1899, his death being caused by organic heart trouble and liver complaint, with which he had suffered for some time. The funeral services, held at the house the following Sunday, were con- ducted by Rev. W. R. Neff, and he was laid to rest in the cemetery near Union Schoolhouse.

DELAVAN WOODWARD, one of Hones- dale's most respected citizens, has held for a number of years a responsible position with the Grand Union Tea Co., at that place, and his popularity among the residents of the thriving town is a lead- ing factor in the success of the firm. He is a man of high character, and his enviable standing in the community has been won through his own efforts, as the brief account of his early life given below will show.

John and Sarah Woodward, his grandparents, were early settlers at Cherry Ridge, Wayne county. John Woodward, his father, was born in that locality about 1817, and was married in Honesdale, in 1839, to Miss Catherine Longstreet, who was born in New Jersey in 1815. After his marriage he resided for a few years at Cherry Ridge, and then removed to Luzerne county, Penn., where he spent about six years in the lumber business. Later he returned to Honesdale, but finally settled at Prompton, Wayne county, where his wife died in 1878. He passed away in 1887. He had three sons, two of whom are living : (I) Delos, born in 1840 at Cherry Ridge, was, educated in Wayne and Luzerne coun- ties, and in early manhood gave promise of a most successful life. He was a great favorite among his companions, his excellent qualities of mind and heart winning the esteem of all who knew him. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company G, 14Ist P. V. I., and went to the front, his first engagement being the battle of Fredericksburg, and on May 3, 1863, he met a soldier's death at the battle of Chan- cellorsville. (2) Delavan, our subject, is mentioned

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 28

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