Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 354

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 354
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 354
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 354
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 354

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William Gregory, one of the leading citizens of Polk township, was born May 8, 1836, on the farm where he still makes his home, and is a son of David and Catherine (Marstella) Gregory, who were born, reared and married in Berks county, Penn., and on leaving there in 1820 came to Mon- roe county and settled on the farm in Polk town- ship, now owned and occupied by their son. The father was a farmer and lumberman by occupation, a Democrat in politics and held several township offices. He died in 1866, aged eighty-one years, his wife in 1860, aged sixty-seven, and both were buried in Pleasant Valley cemetery. Religiously

they were faithful members of the Reformed Church. Their children were Sally A., deceased wife of J. W. Kresge; David, who died unmarried when over fifty years of age; John, Reuben and Henry, all deceased; Lydia, who married Thomas Kresge, and both are now deceased; Nellie, who married James Kresge, and both are now deceased ; Peter, a resident of Akron, Ohio; James, deceased ; Catherine, wife of Levi Slutter, of Hamilton town- ship, Monroe county ; and William, father of Mrs. Meitzler. The paternal grandfather of William Gregory was John Gregory, a life long resident of Berks county, Penn., who was buried at Huffs Church. He was a government official whose duty it was to look after the welfare of the Indians.

William Gregory has spent his entire life on his present farm and has given his attention almost ex- clusively to agriculture. He is quite prominent in his community, is a supporter of the Democratic party, and has served his fellow citizens in the capacity of school director and poormaster. He is a devout member of the Reformed Church, and has served as deacon and elder for several years. In the fall of 1856, he married Elizabeth Shaffer, who was born in Monroe county, in 1835, a daughter of Jesse and Marie (Kresge) Shaffer, who always made their home in that county. To Mr. and Mrs. Gregory were born the following children: Amos F. married Anna Berlin and is engaged in farming at Weatherley, Penn .; David, a farmer of Polk township, Monroe county, married Susan Berlin ; Mary Permelia is the wife of Jacob B. Meitzler, our subject ; Edna is the wife of Cyrus Shupp, a farmer of Polk township ; William H., a farmer of Weath- erley, married Sarah Kresge; Agnes is the wife of Allen Barthold, a wire manufacturer of Philadel- phia ; and Lydia and John E. are both at home with their parents.

WILLIAM B. WEBB, a well-known wagon manufacturer, horseshoer and general blacksmith of Franklin township, Susquehanna county, is a prominent citizen of the community, winning this place by his superior ingenuity, mechanical skill and business ability, and the success that he has achieved in life is due entirely to his own well- directed efforts.

Mr. Webb was born in Franklin township, April 23, 1857, and belongs to one of its most honored and highly respected families, his par- ents being Capt. Joseph E. and Susannah (Hinds) Webb, also natives of Susquehanna county. The father was born in Bridgewater township, October 2, 1817, later in life became one of the leading farmers of Franklin township, and there died March 4, 1882, but was buried in Bridgewater cemetery. As a Democrat he took a prominent part in local politics, and was honored with several township offices. Religiously, he was an earnest member of the Baptist Church, to which his widow also belongs. She was born in Bridgewater township, November 25, 1819, and now lives on the old home-

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

stead in Franklin township. The children born to them were as follows : George W., deceased; Henry E., who lives with his mother; Stephen G., a carpenter of Binghamton, N. Y .; Elizabeth P., who first married Asa Kenyon, and second H. E. Pittsley, a carpenter of Sayre, Penn. ; Frederick M., who is also with his mother; William B., our sub- ject ; Hulda M., who is the widow of Byron Green and also lives on the old homestead; and James Harry, a farmer of Bridgewater township. A more extended mention of the family is given in the sketch of Capt. Joseph E. Webb on another page of this work.

William B. Webb continued to make his home with his parents until his marriage, which was cele- brated at Montrose, December 25, 1879, Miss Ina A. Cosier, becoming his wife. They have had three children : Lloyd, at home ; Harry E., deceased, and Paul W., at home. Mrs. Webb was born in Apola- chin, Susquehanna county, May 7, 1860, and is a daughter of James S. and Mary A. (Bellerby) Cosier, the former a native of Middletown, Susque- hanna county, the latter of England. The mother died in Silver Lake township, in 1863, at the early age of twenty-seven years, and was buried in that township, while the father departed this life at Bing- hamton N. Y., May 23, 1893, at the age of fifty-nine, and was buried there. Only two children were born to them : Emily, wife of Harrison Darrow, of Bridgewater township; and Ina A., wife of our subject. Mrs. Webb's paternal grandparents, Em- bra and Emeline Cosier, were born in Susque- hanna county, and died in Ohio. Her maternal grandparents, William and Mary E. Bellerby, were natives of England, and on their emigration to America located in Forest Lake township, Sus- quehanna county.

In 1874 Mr. Webb entered a blacksmith shop at Montrose to learn the trade with A. Jackson Brewster, remaining with him two years, and he continued to work for others along the same line until 1879, when he opened a shop of his own in Bridgewater township, carrying on business at that place for fifteen months. During the following fourteen months he was in partnership with Mr. Brewster at Montrose, and at the end of that time removed to Franklin Forks, where he conducted a shop for four years. In 1885 he commenced business at his present place in Franklin township, and was not long in building up a good trade, which he still enjoys. He casts his ballot with the Demo- cratic party, and has most creditably and satisfac- torily filled the offices of constable five years, tax collector five terms, and assessor for the past six years. In religious faith they are Baptists.

HERBERT EIKE, one of the most reliable and highly esteemed citizens of Jackson township, Monroe county, belongs to an old New Jersey family, which was founded in that State by his paternal grandfather Eike, who was born, reared and married in Germany. On his emigration to

America he located in Somerset county, N. J., where he engaged in farming and where both he and his wife died at a ripe old age. Their children were Jacob, the father of our subject ; William, still a resident of Somerset county, N. J .; John, who died in that county ; Herbert, a resident of White House, N. J .; Catherine, who married and removed to New York State; Effie, wife of William Murf, of Somerset county, N. J. ; and Elizabeth, who mar- ried and lived near the old homestead.

Jacob Eike, our subject's father, was a native of Somerset county, N. J., where he grew to man- hood and married Miss Sarah Tagger, a daughter of George Tagger. Her mother lived to the ex- treme old age of one hundred and ten years. After his marriage Mr. Eike engaged in farming in Mor- ris county, N. J., near the Warren county line, and there died at the age of eighty-four years. His political support was always given the Whig party. The children born to himself and wife were as follows: Jacob, a retired farmer of Lanark, Ill., died in 1896; William, a laborer, died at Waterloo, N. J., in 1868; George, a tanner in early life and later a laborer, lived in Sussex county, N. J., but died in Morris county ; John is a farmer of Carroll county, Ill. ; Herbert, our subject, is the next of the family ; Isaac, a laborer in a powder mill, resides in Morris county ; Sarah died in infancy, and was buried in the Methodist Episcopal Church yard at Hackettstown, N. J .; Sarah (second) is the widow of Nathaniel Best, of Dover, N. J .; and Margaret, deceased, married George Money and lived in Mor- ris county.

Herbert Eike was born in Morris county, N. J., near the Warren county line, October 10, 1822, and as there was a large family and his parents were in limited circumstances, he was provided with very meager educational privileges. At the early age of eleven years he began to provide for his own maintenance, and has since made his own way in the world unaided. When a boy he came to Lu- zerne county, Penn., where he spent the winters in the lumber woods for some time, and later was made a mule driver on the Morris canal, the con- struction of which he well remembers. He con- tinued to work on the canal until 1844, when he came to Monroe county, where as a farm hand he was employed for some years. His first purchase consisted of three and a half acres of land in Jack- son township, to which he has added until he now owns twenty-seven acres, on which he is now en- gaged in general farming and stock raising. He does not follow lumbering at present as he did in years past.

In 1843, in Monroe county, Mr. Eike was mar- ried to Miss Catherine Miller, who was born in Baden, Germany, July 18, 1824, and when a child of seven years came to the United States with her parents, George and Elizabeth (Hemberling) Mil- ler. Eleven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Eike, namely: Jacob R., now a farmer of Butler county, Kan .; George H., an engineer of

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Ashley, Luzerne Co., Penn .; John T., a resident of White Haven, Carbon Co., Penn. ; Samuel Herbert, of Ashley, Penn .; Annetta, wife of Oliver Pease, of Topeka, Kan .; Alice, who married John Singer, of Jackson township, Monroe county, and died in 1892; Edward, who died at the age of twenty- three years; Sidenham, who lives in Scranton, Penn .; Ira, who married Ida Bellis, a representa- tive of a pioneer family of the county, and is en- gaged in farming in Jackson township; Jennie, at home; and Franklin, who died in infancy. The Republican party always finds in Mr. Eike a stanch supporter of its principles, and he has been hon- ored with a number of local offices, serving as supervisor two terms in Monroe county ; school director in both Luzerne and Monroe counties for three years ; and supervisor of Luzerne county. He has also been a member of the election board sev- eral times. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Evangelical Church, in which he has been class leader for a number of years, and has also served as trustee and steward. His life has ever been such as to commend him to the confidence and respect of all with whom he has come in contact, and his friends are many throughout Monroe county.

GEORGE H. RITTENHOUSE, head clerk for Isaac Stauffer, at Houser Mill, Monroe county, was born at Milford, N. J., September 5, 1856, and is a son of Charles Rittenhouse, who was born and reared in Philadelphia and received a good educa- tion in the city schools. When a young man the latter removed to Milford, N. J., where he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Kemery, a native of that place and a daughter of Wilson and Annie Kemery.

Charles Rittenhouse began his business career as an employe in a hotel, and later in partnership with William Runyon dealt in horses, making large sales in Philadelphia and New York City. Subse- quently he conducted a restaurant in Milford, N. J., and was engaged in that business at the time of his death, which occurred in 1883, when he was forty- eight years of age. His wife passed away in 1889, at the age of sixty-seven years. They attended and supported the Presbyterian Church, and their chil- dren were reared in the same. In national politics the father was a stanch Republican, but at local elections usually voted independent of party ties, endeavoring to support the best man for the office. In his family were five children, namely: George H., our subject ; Ella, who died at the age of four years ; Oran and Jennie, twins, the former of whom is now employed in a hardware store in Milford, N. J., while the latter is the wife of Joseph Heed, of Philadelphia; and Margaret, also a resident of Philadelphia.

During his boyhood and youth George H. Rittenhouse pursued his studies in the common schools, and at the age of sixteen accepted a posi- tion as clerk in the general store of William Cole,

with whom he remained for ten years. At the end of that time he went to Delaware Station, N. J., where he was employed in a mercantile house for three months, and from there came to Tobyhanna Mills, Monroe Co., Penn., where he secured em- ployment in the store of the Tobyhanna & Lehigh Lumber Company for six years. For the past four years he has made his home in Houser Mill and has filled the position of head clerk in the store of Isaac Stauffer. Politically he is identified with the Demo- cratic party, and socially has affiliated with the Masonic Lodge of Moscow, Penn., for the past ten years, and is a charter member of the Patriotic Order Sons of America at Houser Mill. As a busi- ness man he is prompt and notably reliable, and he has made many warm friends during his short resi- dence in Houser Mill.

In Milford, N. J., Mr. Rittenhouse married Miss Ella De Roach, a native of Bridgeton, Penn., and they have become the parents of four children, whose names and dates of birth are as follows : Charles, September 25, 1882; Roscoe, March 9, 1884 ; Hazel, October 23, 1885 ; and Coral, Novem- ber 3, 1887. Roscoe is deceased, and the others are all at home.

Joseph De Roach, father of Mrs. Rittenhouse, was born and reared near Milford, N. J., for many years was engaged in the confectionery business and also followed boating on the canal, but is now interested in farming. He married Jane Foor, a daughter of Michael and Jennie (Holdren) Foor, and they became the parents of the following chil- dren : Jennie, deceased; Annie, wife of Levi Van Syckle; John, who married Emma Zimmerman; Peter, who married Mary Shupp; Ella, who was born in 1861, and gave her hand in marriage to our subject July 6, 1880; Mary, wife of John Hoffman ; Livera, wife of Julius Hammerman; Amelia, wife of George Hurstine; Alma, wife of Lloyd Cramer ; and Willie, who married Lizzie Shively.

SANFORD S. CODDINGTON is success- fully engaged in agricultural pursuits in Oakland township, Susquehanna county, and is also serving as justice of the peace, a position which he fills with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of the general public. He is thoroughly impartial in meting out justice, his opinions being unbiased by either fear or favor, and his fidelity to the trust reposed in him is above question.

Mr. Coddington was born in Bridgeville, Sul- livan Co., N. Y., in June, 1858, and is a son of Benjamin S.and Martha J. (Miller) Coddington, also natives of that State, the former born in Burling- ton, Ulster county, the latter in Orange county. During the Civil war the father enlisted in the 123d N. Y. V. I., and was in the service for three years and three months, doing his duty as a faithful soldier. After his marriage he lived for a short time in Orange county, N. Y., and then moved to Bridgeville, Sullivan county, where he worked at the blacksmith's trade for a number of years.

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After the war he bought property in Glen Wild, Sullivan county, where he made his home until his death, which occurred in March, 1866. He left his wife with six children, and as a true mother she reared them in a most careful manner at her home in Glen Wild. She now resides with one of her sons at Circleville, Orange Co., New York.

The children were as follows: (1) John, born in Orange county, married Libbie Smith, of Sulli- van county, N. Y., and located in Brownville, where he died, leaving one son, H. S., now a resi- dent of Susquehanna, Penn., who is married and has a son-Harold. (2) William, born in Ulster county, N. Y., married Rachel Dowlway, of Orange county, and located in Circleville, where she died, leaving one daughter, Nellie, now the wife of Frank Brown. For his second wife William Coddington married Maggie Decker, of Orange county, N. Y., by whom he has two children-Emma and Ira. He now resides in Pine Bush, N. Y., where he owns a fine property. (3) Minnie, born in Sullivan coun- ty, N. Y., married Luther Weld, of that county, and they now live on his farm in Fair Oaks, Orange county. They have three children: Jennie, wife of Judson Gillen, of Fair Oaks; Freddie and Luther, both at home. (4) Eugene, born in Bridgeville, Sullivan county, married Lizzie Lozall, of Circleville, N. Y., where he now follows farming. (5) Frank, born in Sullivan county, was princi- pally educated in the schools of Glen Wild and is now engaged in business as a carpenter and builder, making his home with his mother in Circleville. He married Mary Babcock, of Orange county.

Sanford S. Coddington, the subject of this sketch, completes the family. He was only eight years old when his father died, but remained with his mother until old enough to start out in life for himself, his education being obtained in the schools of Glen Wild. He first worked as a farm hand by the month, and during early life also picked up a good knowledge of the blacksmith's trade, which he followed to some extent. In 1880 he was united in marriage with Miss Amelia Miller, of Orange county, N. Y., a daughter of Levi and Araminta (Travis) Miller. Her father, who is a farmer by occupation, is a representative of an old and promi- nent family of Wallkill, Orange county. Our sub- ject and his wife have two children: Frank M., who was born in Susquehanna, Penn., in October, 1881 ; and Cora M., born in Oakland, in December, 1883. Both are now students in the home schools.

After his marriage Mr. Coddington located in Susquehanna, Penn., where for a year and a half he worked at the carpenter's and mason's trades, and then, in 1883, purchased the A. K. Perine farm in Oakland township, Susquehanna county. Until 1897 he devoted considerable attention to the dairy and milk business, which he disposed of during that year, and has since successfully engaged in general farming. He has remodeled his barns and erected new buildings upon the place, and the neat and thrifty appearance of the farm plainly indicates his

careful supervision and shows him to be a man who thoroughly understands his chosen calling. He commenced life for himself without capital, but being honest, upright and industrious he has be- come the owner of a good property. Politically he follows in the footsteps of his father, always voting the Republican ticket, and in 1896 he was elected justice of the peace in Oakland township for a term of five years. Religiously he and his wife are faithful members of the North Jackson Meth- odist Episcopal Church, and socially he belongs to Cannawacta Tribe, No. 246, I. O. R. M., of Sus- quehanna.

GEORGE A. WRIGHT. Five generations of the Wrights have lived in the southern portion of Susquehanna county, clearing and cultivating the soil and successively presented to their fellow- citizens characters exemplary and inspiring. The great-grandfather of our subject was Samuel Wright, who had been a captain in the Revolution- ary war, fighting its battles while in charge of a Connecticut company. He had three sons, An- thony, Wise and Samuel, who prior to 1809 migrated from Somers, Conn., and settled in Lathrop township, the father coming a little later.

Anthony Wright, the grandfather of our sub- ject, was born in Litchfield county, Connecticut, about 1784. He married Sally Swetland, of Chau- tauqua county, New York, occupied his farm in Lathrop township, Susquehanna county, for forty- eight years, dying in December, 1857, aged nearly seventy-four years. Himself and wife were among the pioneer Methodists of the township and he was one of its most enterprising citizens. He selected his own burial spot, which has since become the beautiful Lathrop cemetery. The children of An- thony and Sally Wright were as follows: Loren, father of our subject; Caroline, who married D. Davis and moved to Illinois; Doctor Samuel ; Amanda, who married George Sweet, of Lathrop township, and now resides at Bridgewater; Lois, who married James Conrad, of Lenox township ; Polly, who married Lewis Baker and died in South Dakota ; and Salley, who married Joseph Hawley, and died in Lenox.

Loren Wright, the father of our subject, was born in Lathrop township in April, 1809. He was reared in that township and purchased a farm of 196 acres of wild land in Lenox township, a large portion of which he cleared. He was three times married. By his first wife, M. Farrer, he had three children : Mary, who married A. Reynolds, of Waverly, Penn .; Jane, who married B. Fessenden ; and a child, who died in infancy. His second wife was Esther (Philips) Marcy, daughter of Noah. Philips, and widow of Simon Marcy. By her first marriage she had one son, S. Marcy, and two daughters, Angeline and Olive. To Loren and Esther Wright were born the following children: Lucetta, deceased; Ellen, who married first J. Wicks and later Thomas Stewart, of Scranton ;

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

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Addie, wife of James Russell, of Allentown ; George A., our subject; and Loren, of Lenox township. The mother died in May, 1858, and for his third wife the father married Mary Dickson, by whom he had one son, D. W. Wright.

George A. Wright was born in Lenox town- ship, June 20, 1853. He received a common school education and remained at home to the age of twenty-two years, when he began farming. He was married July 17, 1875, to Miss Lamorie H. Snyder, who was born July 15, 1855, daughter of Horace and Caroline (Cole) Snyder, who migrated from New York State to Lenox township, Susque- hanna county, where they died. Their five chil- dren were Horace P., a physician of Grand Rapids, Michigan; H. Newell, of Nicholson township, Wyoming county ; F. A., of Lenox township ; Caro- line, who died young ; and Lamorie H., wife of our subject. To Mr. and Mrs. George Wright have been born the following children: George Hayes, who died at the age of two years and nine months ; Caroline May, wife of Eugene Lewis, of Harford township, Susquehanna county; Lester S., who died aged one year and four months; and Jennie, Charles W., Ossie, Elsie F., Harold, Retta Belle, and Clarence H., at home.

Mr. Wright first purchased property in La- throp township. Five years later he removed to Lenox township, where he has since cultivated fifty-eight acres of the old homestead and made many improvements in buildings, fences and in clearing the land. He is engaged in general farm- ing, and has an apiary of one hundred and twenty- five swarms of bees, having been unusually success- ful in the culture of bees. His daughter Jennie is engaged extensively in poultry raising and Mr. Wright includes dairying in his farming operations. He has been most successful with his diversified farming, and by the combination of intelligence, enthusiasm and energy, he has made his well- tilled acres one of the most productive spots in the township. In politics Mr. Wright is an uncompro- mising Democrat. He is an active worker in the Free Methodist Church, of which he is now steward and exhorter.

JAMES E. LYNCH. Sterling virtues have been cultivated among the picturesque hills of Apolacon township, Susquehanna county. The pioneers who performed the arduous labors neces- sary to reduce the wilderness to fruitful farms, were men and women of determined purpose, who stead- fastly bore the brunt of labor, which in time has placed them in positions of comfort and ease. Only as time passes can full credit be bestowed upon these earnest people, for the important result of their work becomes more conspicuous as the years glide by. The Lynch family is included in the number of prominent citizens, to whom the present generation in Apolacon township owes its debt of gratitude for the present agricultural development.

Martin Lynch, the father of our subject, was

born in County Clare, Ireland, in 1808. He was reared and educated in his native land and there in 1833 married Mary McCarty. Soon after their marriage the young couple came to America in a sailing vessel. They landed at New York, where Mr. Lynch worked at his trade of bricklayer, plas- terer and stone cutter. While residing in New York he worked at his trade in the Southern States during the winter months, returning for summer work to New York, where his family resided. In 1842 he moved to what is now Apolacon, then Choconut township, where he purchased wild land, cleared up a farm and established a home for his wife and family. While in New York he was pros- perous in business and he brought with him to Susquehanna county enough money to pay for the land he purchased. He lived in the home in Apola- con township until his death, in 1886, his wife sur- viving him two years, passing away in 1888. Politi- cally Mr. Lynch was a Democrat, and held a nun- ber of local offices in his town. In religion he and his wife were consistent members of the Catholic Church, and gave liberally of his means in the building and support of the church, helping to build both the old and the present new edifice of Friendsville.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 354

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