Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 393

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 393
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 393
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 393
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 393

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interests of the community, but is now living retired in the quiet enjoyment of a well-earned rest.

This honored veteran was born at his present home, September 19, 1844, a son of Jacob and Eliza (Sult) Sieg, natives of Germany and Weissport, Penn., respectively. In 1838 the father came to America and first located at weissport, but at the end of two years came to Newfoundland, where he made his home throughout the remainder of his life. His father, Jacob Sieg, also came to the New World at an early day, but subsequently returned to Germany, where his death occurred. In his native land Jacob Sieg learned the blacksmith's trade, which he fol- lowed as a life work, and also served some time in the German army. He died in January, 1887, aged seventy-two years, his wife in March, 1889, aged. seventy-one, and both were laid to rest in the Al- bright Methodist Episcopal Church burying ground. The children born to this worthy couple were as follows: John, who died in infancy; Jacob, who married Sarah Hazelton and is a blacksmith of Sul- livan county, Penn. ; Reuben, the subject of this re- view ; Louisa, wife of Samuel Sholl, a retired farm- er of Daleville, Penn. ; Mary, who died at the age of two years; Louis, who married Louisa De Witt and is now deceased; Lavine, who wedded Mary Crazer and is a farmer and blacksmith, of Greentown, Pike Co., Penn .; Emma, widow of Frank Climer, and a resident of Philadelphia ; Caroline, deceased wife of James Dawson ; and Salinda, deceased wife of Frank Berger.

During his boyhood and youth Reuben Sieg learned the blacksmith's trade with his father and remained with him until he reached the age of twen- ty-two years, when he took charge of the shop and carried on operations alone for many years, meeting with a well-deserved success, for he was a skilled mechanic, and upright and honorable in all his deal- ings. Recently he sold out his business to his son-in- law, Andrew Beisecker.

On December 24, 1866, Mr. Sieg was married, to Miss Angelica Beehn, the ceremony being per- formed by Rev. Mr. Detterer, a Moravian minister. Five children blessed this union, namely: Effic, now the wife of Andrew Beisecker ; Franklin, who married Phobe Beisher, and is engaged in black- smithing and farming in Greene township, Pike Co., Penn. ; Angeline, deceased wife of Horace Beisecker, of Tobyhanna, Penn., by whom she had one daughter who is now living with our subject ; Charles A., who married Eliza Marsh, and is engaged in blacksmith- ing in Newton, N. J .; and Reuben, who died in in- fancy. Mrs. Sieg was born on the old Beehn home- stead in Dreher township, Wayne county, April 9, 1844, a daughter of John and Angeline ( Belling) Beehn, the former a native of Baden, Germany, the latter of Northampton county, Penn. The father was a wheelwright by trade, but after coming to Wayne county gave his attention principally to farming. He was born in 1812 and died in March, 1887, and the mother was born in 1815 and died in March, 1855, both being buried in the Moravian Church cemetery.

They were members of that denomination and most highly respected people. Their children were Charles A., of Dreher township; Frances, who died in in- fancy ; Amelia, who lives with her brother Charles, Adelaide, wife of Philip Eck, of Dreher township; Angelica, wife of our subject; Henry A., who died in 1873; John W., who lives with Charles; Edward and Lewis, who both died young ; and Caroline, wife of William Graser, of Greene township, Pike county,

In August, 1862, when not quite eighteen years of age, Mr. Sieg manifested his love of country by enlisting in Pike county in Company B, 15Ist P. V. 1., under Capt. Oscar Mott, and was ater under the command of Capt. Lafayette Westbrooke. He participated in a number of important engagements, including the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettys- burg, and at the latter he was taken prisoner, being held during the first day of the battle, but he was afterward released by some of his comrades. During that engagement his company lost more men than any other company on the field. Mr. Sieg was honora- bly discharged at Harrisburg, in 1863, and returned . home with a war record of which he may be justly proud. He is an ardent Republican in politics, but has never aspired to office, though he has been a member of the election board. Socially he belongs to Wallenpaupack Lodge, I. O. O. F., and religious- ly is a member of the Moravian Church.

WALLACE CASE, a well-known resident of Waymart, Wayne county, has for half a century been a trusted and faithful employe of the Gravity Railroad Co., now serving as foreman of a gang of carpenters. He is a native of Wayne Co., Penn., born in Prompton, September 25, 1829. His par- ents, Ralph and Maria (Jenkins) Case, were natives of Winsted, Conn., but became acquainted and were married in Prompton, Penn., and both died on the present site of Aldenville, the father in January, 1866, aged sixty-eight years, the mother in 1874, aged sixty-seven years, the remains of both being interred in the cemetery at that place. In religious faith they were Universalists. During his youth the father served an apprenticeship to the blacksmith's trade, and after coming to Wayne county was made foreman of the men who built the reservoir for the Gravity Railroad Co. At one time he served as postmaster of Aldenville.

Our subject was the oldest of the children born to his parents, the others being: John, who died at the age of two years ; Georgiana, who died in child- hood; Lucy, who died unmarried; Benjamin F., a retired horse dealer of Brown county, S. Dak .; Elizabeth J., who married Frank Gernell, now a resident of Bay City, Mich. (she died in Arizona) ; and Agnes, wife of Charles Taylor, a jeweler, of Binghamton, N. Y. The paternal grandparents of our subject, Fisher and Lucy (Roberts) Case, were natives of Winsted, Conn., but in 1813 came to Wayne county, Penn., locating on the present site of Aldenville, where the grandfather engaged in farming. The maternal grandparents, Benjamin

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and Elizabeth (Boyd) Jenkins, were natives of Massachusetts, and became pioneer settlers of Wayne county, Pennsylvania.

At the early age of twelve years Wallace Case began earning his own livelihood by driving a team, and was thus employed until he attained the age of twenty-three. Since 1848 he has been in the em- ploy of the Delaware & Hudson Company, at first working under his father, but at the age of twenty- three was given charge of sixty-five men engaged in building the reservoir. Since then he has been with the company uninterruptedly with the excep- tion of the years 1865 and 1866, when he engaged in lumbering at Aldenville.

On March 17, 1853, in Mt. Pleasant, Wayne county, Mr. Case was married to Miss Lillis Jane Hawkins, Rev. Wilcox, a Methodist Episcopal min- ister, officiating. She died at that place in 1866. Her parents, Samuel and ( White) Hawkins, died in Valparaiso, Ind. For thirty-two years her father was in the employ of the government, being with the regular army in Massachusetts. By this union Mr. Case had the following children : Georgi- ana is now the wife of Charles Fowler, a farmer of Lake Ariel, Wayne county ; John B., a conductor on the D. &. H. R. R., married Sarah Heistead and lives in Carbondale, Penn .; Maria is the wife of Clarence Shaffer, a carpenter in the employ of the Gravity Railroad Company, residing in Waymart, and with them our subject now resides; Miles T., a conductor on the Chicago & Northwestern rail- road, is married and lives in Minnesota ; Henrietta is successfully engaged in teaching in the Waymart Normal School; and Jane is teaching in Minnesota. On June 4, 1868, at Waymart, Mr. Case was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Emily (Bennett) Stanton, by whom he had one son, Ed- ward, who died at the age of nine years. The wife and mother died July 8, 1892, aged sixty years. She passed away at Bozeman, Mont., where she had gone for her health. By her first husband, Harvey Stanton, she had one son, Berwin T., now a mer- chant and implement dealer of Bozeman, Montana.

Mr. Case has made his home in Waymart since 1867, and as one of the leading and influential citi- zens of the place, he has been prominently identified with its upbuilding and prosperity. He was one of the organizers of the Waymart Normal School, and has most acceptably served in many official positions, including those of councilman, poormaster, and school director for two years while in Aldenville. The cause of education has always found in him an earnest advocate, and he provided his children with excellent advantages along that line, all becoming successful teachers with the exception of two sons. He has been a member of the F. & A. M. for almost thirty years, joining the order at Salem, Wayne county, and he is now a Knight Templar. Politic- ally he is identified with the Republican party. Among his valued possessions is a sea chest, which once belonged to his great-grandfather Boyd in Ireland, and which was given him with the under-

standing that he would hand it down as a relic to one of his children-the one who would take best care of it.

CHARLES DANIELS has throughout the greater part of his life been prominently ident- fied with the growth and devolpment of Hawley, Wayne county, and few, if any, have done more for for its advancement.

Mr. Daniels was born March 1, 1820, in an old log house on the present site of the village, where had been celebrated the marriage of his parents, Lemuel and Anna (Chapman) Daniels, natives of Connecticut. The father was born April 1, 1786, of English ancestry, and came to Wayne county, Penn., with his parents, who were among the earliest set- tlers of this region, the country at that time being an almost unbroken wilderness. Lemuel Daniels was a good mechanic, and for many years was en- gaged in contracting and building in Wayne county. In 1852 he removed to Michigan, where he died April 28, 1858. He was a Democrat in politics, and both he and his wife were faithful members of the Baptist Church, earnest Christian people. After the father's death, our subject brought his mother back to Hawley, where she spent her remaining days. She was born April 28, 1795, and died March 3, 1868.

Their family numbered the following children : Durinda first married a Mr. Hoddenkaup, and after his death wedded again, but she and her husband are now deceased. Daniel died in New Chicago, Kans. Chauncey died in Hawley. William died in childhood. Charles is next in the family. Ellen, who married, is deceased. Lemuel was drowned in the Lackawaxen river. Lemuel (2) died in Michigan. Cortland is a contractor and builder of Three Rivers, Michigan.

The subject of this sketch was reared amidst pioneer scenes in Wayne county, and as his parents were in rather limited circumstances he started out early in life to make his own way in the world. At the age of fourteen he began boating on the canal, and after being thus employed for five years he was given a position as lock tender, having charge of the second lock above Hawley for two summers. One winter he made a contract with Mecago Wise to put lumber into Middle creek for the sawmills, and in this venture cleared about $400. He then pur- chased a yoke of oxen, and engaged in lumbering for Joseph Atkinson for three years. After his mar- riage Mr. Daniels purchased a small farm for $350 at the present site of Shanty Hill, Wayne county, and when the Pennsylvania Coal Co. built their railroad through that place they paid for his farm $3,000. For seven years he worked at the carpenter trade for that company, receiving at first only twelve shill- ings per day, and later was appointed foreman of a crew of men. In 1854 he embarked in merchan- dising in Hawley, but three years later sold out and bought two farms in Pike county, Penn., for specu- lation, selling them at a good profit at the end of six

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years. Contrary to the advice of his friends, he then invested $4,000 in the lumber business, and a few months later sold, realizing $4,000 on the investment. Returning to Hawley he began loaning money and speculating in general. and is now doing a profitable business along that line.

Mr. Daniels was married July 4, 1840, to Miss Mary Smith, who was born in Purdytown, Palmyra township, Wayne county, August 25, 1815, and died January 2, 1864, her remains being interred in the cemetery at Hawley. Her parents were John and Betsy (Everts) Smith, natives of Connecticut and. early settlers of Wayne county. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Daniels: Lott, born May 20, 1841, married Mariette Yale, has a large family and is engaged in farming in Pike county, Penn .; Elizabeth, born August 22, 1843, died February 18, 1844; George, born March 25, 1845, died October 11, 1861 ; Janet, born July 19, 1847, is the wife of William Shardt, a merchant of Hawley ; Charles, born July 18, 1850, married Maria Simison, and is engaged in farming in Wayne coun- ty ; William, born August 27, 1853, married Sarah Rosekrants, has ten children, and is engaged in farming in Wayne county ; Mary A., born February 28, 1855, died October 10, 1863; and Emma J., born August 2, 1860, died August 7, 1861. In 1870, Mr. Daniels was married to Miss Mary E. Moore, a native of Canaan township. Wayne county, who died in 1872, aged fifty years. Her father, James Moore, was also a native of Connecticut and an early settler of Wayne county. The third wife of our subject was in her maidenhood Miss Alvina Schardt. She was born in Germany, in 1847, and is a daughter of Martin Schardt.

In his political affiliations, Mr. Daniels is a pronounced Republican, and he has often been called upon to serve in official position. In 1864, on his return to Hawley, he was elected justice of the peace, but at the end of five years declined a re- election in order to give his undivided attention to his business interests. He has served as supervisor, auditor, and in 1893 was burgess, discharging the duties of these various position in a prompt and able manner that has won the commendation of the entire community. He has been a champion of every movement designed to promote the public welfare, a supporter of any enterprise for the general good.

GEORGE RUEGGER, a leading and represen- tative citizen of Matamoras, Pike county, who for the past four years has held a position as engineer on the Delaware division of the Erie railroad, is a na- tive of Pike county, born in Shohola township, May 26, 1864. His paternal grandparents, Abram and Elizabeth Ruegger, were both natives of Switzer- land, and there remained until death claimed them, the grandfather following his trade of weaving the greater part of his life. He died in 1846, his wife a few years later. Their children were : Jacob, Samuel and Abraham, who all died of consumption; Isaac;

John, deceased; Elizabeth; and John W., the father of our subject.

John W. Ruegger was born May 21, 1829, in the northern part of Switzerland, where he grew to manhood and was united in marriage with Walborga Schnadt, who was born in Germany, January 17, 1832, a daughter of Albon Schnadt, a cabinet maker by trade. Her parents were both natives of Baden, Germany, and she was the only one in the family of eight children to come to America. By her mar- riage she has become the mother of six children: Mary, born November 16, 1859, is now the wife of William Keller, of Barryville, N. Y .; George, our subject, is second in the order of birth ; Valentine J., born July 27, 1866, married Hattie Hornbeck, and is an engineer on the Erie railroad with residence at Matamoras; Jacob J., born August 23, 1870, and married to Katie Eckhart, is also connected with the Erie railroad and makes his home in Matamoras; Charles H., born July 4, 1875, married Bertha Hips- man, and like his brothers resides in Matamoras and is in the employ of the Erie railroad; and Emma A., born March 18, 1878, is at home. In the fall of 1857 the parents emigrated to America, landing in New York, where they remained for about six months, and then moved to Pike county, Penn. The father secured employment on the Erie railroad as repairman along the line, and purchased his present home near the village of Shohola, in the township of the same name, his place comprising six and two- thirds acres of land. For many years he remained in the service of the railroad company, but is now practi- cally living retired from active labor, contenting himself principally with gardening. Upon his place he has erected a substantial barn and pleasant home, where he is now enjoying a well-earned rest, sur- rounded by all of the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. He is a great reader, is well in- formed on the leading questions and issues of the day, and in political belief is a Democrat. Himself, wife and daughter all hold membership in the Ger- man Lutheran Church.

George Ruegger began his business career at the age of fourteen as a railroad trackman, and was thus employed until 1888. He then went to Port Jervis, N. Y., and in December of that year was made fireman on the Erie railroad. After serving in that position for some six years, he was promoted to engineer on the Delaware division of the same road, and as such he has remained up to the present time, giving entire satisfaction to all parties concerned. In his social relations he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Brotherhood of Railway Fire- men, while in politics he is identified with the Democratic party. In all the relations of life he is a genial, pleasant gentleman, and has made a host of warm friends.

At Bullville, N. Y., Mr. Ruegger was married, August 2, 1893, to Miss Jennie Ayres, a daughter of David and Rebecca (Drake) Ayers, the former a- native of Orange county, N. Y., the latter of Sulli- van county. The father, who spent his entire life in

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Orange county, and was an extensive lumberman and farmer, was killed by a train June 26, 1897, at the age of fifty-five years. Mrs. Ruegger, who was born November 1I, 1870, is the eldest of his three children ; George, born May 26, 1874, operates the home farm at Bullville, Orange county ; and Lillian, born January 21, 1879, completes the family.

SIMEON BURDICK, inventor of the cele- brated Burdick Plow, is a leading citizen of New Milford township, Susquehanna county, and for many years has been actively identified with the agricultural and general business interests of this section. Born March 28, 1817, in Clifford town- ship, Susquehanna county, he has seen the region developed from a wilderness into a thickly settled community, and his own share in the work of trans- formation does him credit.

Mr. Burdick comes of hardy New England stock, and his grandparents, Billings and Hannah Burdick, were lifelong residents of Rhode Island, the grandmother attaining the remarkable age of 104 years. Simeon Burdick, our subject's father, was born and reared in Rhode Island, and came to Susquehanna county in 1816, locating in the wilder- ness in Clifford township. He built a log cabin, and he and his wife, Catherine (Broton), who was also a native of Rhode Island, passed through all the hardships of the pioneer farmer's life, but their thrift and industry finally gained for them a com- fortable homestead. They were members of the Baptist Church, and did much to promote the cause of religion in this locality. The mother died in 1858, the father on December 24, 1870, at the age of eighty-two, and the remains of both were buried in Clifford cemetery. This worthy couple had twelve children, as follows: Louise (deceased) married Henry Reynolds; Simeon is our subject ; Thomas is a resident of Clifford township; Caroline (de- ceased) married Rufus Burritt; Mrs. Sarah Rich- ardson, a widow, comes next; Jeremiah married Sarah Stevens, and died in Scranton, Penn .; Alfred settled in the West; Elmira is the wife of Joseph Avery, of Carbondale, Penn .: Gilbert is deceased ; Billings is a farmer in New Milford township; Miss Fanny is a resident of Dundaff ; and Charles resides in Honesdale, Pennsylvania.

Our subject was reared to farm work at the old homestead in Clifford township, and at the age of twenty-two he took charge of the place. When twen- ty-four years old he became interested in the mill- wright's trade, which he followed for eighteen years, and for four years he also operated a mill he had built at Starrucca, Wayne county. His ability in mechanical lines won for him a high reputation, ex- tending far beyond local limits. Among mills con- structed by him was a sawmill at Carbondale, and he was often called upon to assist on other buldings including the court house at Montrose. Since 1866 he has made his home at his present farm, an at- tractive place containing about 65 acres, where he is surrounded by well-earned comforts. In 1892 he

perfected his plow, a reversible one, which is highly commended in agricultural circles, and which took the premium at the Susquehanna County Fair. He has always shown keen interest in the questions of the day, and is a stanch Democrat ; but when urged to become a candidate for office he has invariably de- clined. On March 14, 1841, he was married at Star- rucca, to Miss Mahala Sampson, who was born in Wayne county, October 26, 1820, and died May 17, 1853. On November 24, 1858, Mr. Burdick mar- ried Miss Caroline Price, the ceremony being per- formed at the bride's home in Gibson township, Sus- quehanna county. By his first marriage he had three children : Coranna, Euphrosine, and Elnora (Mrs. Giles Stanton) all now deceased. There were also three children by the second marriage: Jennie, wife of William Cobb, of New Milford township; Net- tie, who married Moses Cortright, a farmer at Hart Lake; and Miss Bertha, who is at home.

Mrs. Caroline (Price) Burdick was born in Wayne county, March 14, 1832, and belongs to a well-known family. Her paternal grandfather, Stephen Price, resided upon a farm in New York State, and her father, Stephen Price (2) was born in Cortland county, N. Y., in 1794, and was married there Triphena Green- man. In 1827 they removed to this section, settling in Wayne county, where the mother died in 1848 at the age of fifty-two. In 1855 the father made his home in Gibson township, Susquehanna county, and died there in 1865. His occupation was that of a farmer and carpenter, and his ster- ling qualities as a citizen made him prominent in local affairs. At times he held office of various kinds, and he served as postmaster at Manchester, Penn., for some years. Mrs. Burdick was the young- est in a family of six children, the others being: Harvey L., a farmer in New York State; Jane, wid- ow of Jesse D. Bush, of Honesdale; Rowena (de- ceased), who married Cornelius Boalts ; Stephen, a farmer in Illinois; and Andrew J., deceased.

DYER LATHROP (deceased) was in his life- time one of the well-known and prosperous agricult- urists of Auburn township, and he belonged to a family which has been identified with Susquehanna county for almost a century. He was a grandson of Ezekiel Lathrop, and his wife, whose maiden name was Crocker, the former of whom came from his home in the vicinity of Norwich, Conn., to Penn- sylvania in 1801, taking up 225 acres of land in the wilderness in what is now Dimock township, Sus- quehanna county. He made a clearing and after building a log cabin returned for his family, bringing them hither in 1802. He was the fa- ther of seven children-Spencer; Nehemiah M .; Dyer, born near Norwich, Conn., who came to Sus- quehanna county with the family and married Eunice Smith; Ezekiel; John, father of our subject ; Lydia, wife of John Newman; and Lois, who married Am- brose Gaylor. Ezekiel Lathrop followed farming all his life.

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John Lathrop was a lifelong farmer, for many years cultivating the place afterward owned by his son Dyer. He married Polly Cooley, and they both died on the farm, the father in 1873, at the age of sixty-four years, the mother in March, 1874, and the remains of both were interred in the Frink bury- ing-ground. To their union were born children as follows : Helen, who died at the age of twenty years ; Kinney, who died while serving in the Civil war; Benton, who ded yiung ; Permelia, who died young ; Adelaide, Mrs. Horace Conrad, deceased ; and Dyer, the subject proper of this sketch.

Dyer Lathrop passed his entire life on the farm where he was born January 2, 1844, and was reared to farm life, during his boyhood attending the com- mon schools. He was an industrious and systematic farmer, and by good management and hard work gained a comfortable livelihood from his land. He was highly respected for his many sterling traits of character and was well known and liked throughout the township, ranking among its substantial and progressive citizens. On February 18, 1874, Mr. Lathrop was married, in Auburn township, to Miss Ursula A. Lemon, daughter of Lewis S. and Theda (Cogswell) Lemon, farming people of the town- ship, and seven children blessed this union, viz .: Bertha, Benton, Leslie, Edward, Lewis, Lelia and Grace. The eldest daughter is the wife of Francis Mitchell, a farmer of Springville township; the others are living with their mother on the home farm. Mr. Lathrop passed away January 1, 1888, and was laid to rest in Bunnell's cemetery in Au- burn township. Religiously he was a zealous mem- ber of the M. E. Church, in which he held the office of steward. In political sentiment he was a Repub- lican. The family are prominent and widely ac- quainted in Auburn township.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 393

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