Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 419

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 419
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 419
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 419
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 419

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Politically Mr. Skinner has always affiliated with the Republican party, and he has been called upon to serve in several local offices of honor and trust, such as supervisor, road master, auditor of Oakland Borough, and school director. Religiously he and his daughter are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which his wife was also an active and prominent member. She belonged to the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Oakland, and for a time served as its president. Our subject is widely and favorably known, and is a worthy representative of an honored pioneer family of the county. As tillers of the soil they bore their part in transforming the wild timber land into productive farms, and they were men of integrity and sterling worth whose kindly acts will long be remembered and their names revered.

The residence now occupied by Mr. Skinner was once occupied by Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormanism, and it was here that he wrote the book of Mormanism. He was born in New York State, but an early day purchased the present home of our subject, and lived here until his removal to Nauvoo, Ill., where he was finally killed. He married Emma Hall, who was reared in Oakland township, a daugh- ter of Isaac Hall, long since dead, who was known as the great hunter of this country.

FRANK C. BROWN, an enterprising and "up-to-date" business man of Cherry Ridge town- ship, Wayne county, is successfully engaged in agriculture and in mercantile pursuits, and at this writing for some time past has held the office of postmaster at Clemo, in which he has served with satisfaction to all concerned.

Mr. Brown comes of good New England an- cestry ; his great-grandfather, Reuben Brown, a resident of Connecticut, was a private in the Revo-

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

lutionary army. The patriotic spirit of this old hero survives in his descendants, for our subject's father and two uncles served in the Civil war, while two aunts married soldiers. Reuben Brown (2), the grandfather of our subjcet, was born in Con- necticut, and after his marriage to Susan S. Clark, removed, about 1832, to Pennsylvania, spending some years in Susquehanna and Luzerne counties, and locating permanently in 1845 in Cherry Ridge township, Wayne county, where he followed farm- ing upon a place which is now occupied by his son Eben.

Perry Brown, our subject's father, was born January 1, 1831, and the greater portion of his life was spent in Wayne county. By occupation he was a sawyer and for twenty-five years he was in the employ of the Pennsylvania Coal Co. He was a man of fine physique, weighing about 190 pounds, and was noted for his industry. He was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war. His death occurred December 31, 1889, when he was in his fifty-ninth year, and his wife died November 21, 1894, aged sixty-two, the remains of both being in- terred in the cemetery at Cherry Ridge. Our sub- ject was the eldest of a family of four children, the others being Andrew W., deceased ; Helen, wife of Thomas Brock, a contractor and builder of Elk- land, Penn .; and Harriet, wife of Vint L. Breese, of Wyoming, Penn., who is employed as weigh- master for a coal company.

Frank C. Brown was born July 15, 1853, in Wayne county, and at an early age began working for the Pennsylvania Coal Co. Industry and econ- omy enabled him to secure the capital for independ- ent enterprise, and in 1890 he purchased his present homestead, an attractive farm of forty acres. He has also established himself in mercantile business at Clemo, and in 18- he was appointed postmaster of that place. In all these lines of effort he is meet- ing with marked success, and while he possessed only $150 in 1880 he is now worth about $5,000. His ability and sound judgment are appreciated by his fellow citizens and he is both active and influen- tial in local affairs. Politically he is a Republican, but he is not a strict partisan and sometimes "scratches the ticket" in order to support the best man. Socially he and his wife are prominent, and he is a member of the Knights of Honor.

In 1880 our subject was married in Wayne county to Miss Catherine Bonear, by whom he has had four children : Sarah, Lillia, Charles and Kittie. Mrs. Brown was born in 1856, in Cherry Ridge township, the daughter of Francis and Cyn- thia (Kirby ) Bonear, prominent residents of that locality. On the paternal side she is of English descent; her father, who was born in Cornwall, England, accompanied his parents, Moses and Cath- erine (May) Bonear, to America in 1832. Her ancestors on the maternal side settled in this coun- try during the Colonial period, and her great-graud- father, James Kirby, was a soldier in the Revolu- tionary army.

HENRY T. ASHER (deceased), for a num- ber of years a leading and highly-esteemed citizen of Lackawaxen, Pike county, was born May 19, 1831, in Westphalia, Germany, and before coming to this country served in the Crimean war. It was some time during the early 'sixties that he landed in New York City, where he engaged in the clothing business for a time, but finally deciding to go South he located in Baltimore, Md., where he opened a small clothing store. Disposing of his stock after a short time, however, he removed to New Orleans, La., where he engaged in the same business for a period of four or five years. He then traveled from city to city until becoming tired of the South, and, as the climate did not agree with his health, he re- turned to New York, where he resumed his former. business.

While traveling through northeastern Penn- sylvania, on business, Mr. Asher stopped at Lack- awaxen, and seeing. that the village would be a favorable location for a hotel he bought property there. He enlarged the hotel which he had pur- chased, and for many years successfully conducted what is known as the "Lackawaxen House," a hostelry favorably known and largely patronized. The proprietor also became widely known up and down the Delaware Valley, and along the line of the Erie railroad, and made a host of warm friends, who esteemed him highly for his sterling worth and many excellencies of character. He was a public-spirited citizen, and gave liberally of his means to advance the interest of whatever was likely to benefit his town. He was also kind-hearted and hospitable, and was held in high regard by all who knew him. For twenty years he filled the position of school director in Lackawaxen town- ship, and was treasurer of the school board at the time of his death. Socially he held membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in Napthala Lodge No. 10, Independent Order of Free Sons of Israel, New York City. He died January 21, 1897, and his body was cremated at Fresh Pond, Long Island, N. Y., after which his ashes were buried in Cypress Hills cemetery beside his wife, who had passed away November 20, 1896.

Mr. Asher was married in New York to Miss Sarah Richard, a native of Baden, Germany, and they removed to Lackawaxen in the later 'sixties. To this worthy couple were born thirteen children, but only three now survive, all the others dying in infancy with the exception of Samuel, who was drowned in the Delaware river in 1877, while play- ing with some boys in a boat. The eldest now liv- ing is Rose, wife of J. C. Pier, a business man of New York City, by whom she has two daughters- Isabella, born March 19, 1893; and Marion, born April 23, 1898. Bell assists her brother in con- ducting the hotel at Lackawaxen. E. H. completes the family.

E. H. ASHER was born in Lackawaxen town- ship, Pike county, October 23, 1872, obtained his early education in the village schools, and later at-

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tended the Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, Penn., for one year. He then assisted his father in the hotel, which he has successfully managed since the latter's death. Politically he follows in his father's footsteps, voting the Democratic ticket, and is now efficiently serving his first term on the school board. He is a wide-awake young business man, and a brilliant future no doubt awaits him.

WILLIAM O. MEDLER. At Glenwood, Susquehanna county, the subject of this sketch has for the past fourteen years combined the occupa- tions of farmer and carpenter and lawyer. He is a man of active temperament, and through life has been largely identified with milling operations. As a boy of seventeen years he enlisted in the army during the Civil war and participated in many of its severest and most critical battles. He was pres- ent at the supreme moment of Lee's surrender and witnessed that momentous event.

Mr. Medler is a descendant of one of the early Dutch families. His grandfather, Zachariah Med- ler, was a native of Dutchess county, there married and remained until late in life, when he removed to Sullivan county, N. Y. He was a farmer, and his eight children were as follows: Rebecca, John, Charles, Peter, Maria, Peggy, Samuel and Julia.

John Medler, the father of our subject, was born in Dutchess county, August 26, 1796. In Sullivan county, N. Y., he married Delia Rexford, who was born March 6, 1800, daughter of John Rexford. John Medler purchased a farm in Sul- livan county and there lived until his death, in 1874, surviving his wife two years. He was a man of great force of character, and besides farming he followed millwrighting, wagon-making and lumber- ing, owning a sawmill in Sullivan county, and being largely instrumental in the clearing of the farms in the vicinity of his home. In politics he was a Re- publican. His children were as follows: Eliza- beth, who married Henry Davis, of Sullivan coun- ty, N. Y., and is now deceased; Louisa, widow of -- , of Brooklyn, N. Y .; John, deceased ; Mary Ann, who married George Carley, of Sullivan county, N. Y., and is now deceased ; Charles, who was a soldier in the Civil war, and died in Kansas City, Mo .; Cordelia, wife of H. J. Cox, of Sullivan county, N. Y .; James, a resident of Illinois ; Julia, wife of J. M. Fibbs, of Ida Grove, Ia .; William O., our subject ; and George, a resi- dent of East Branch, Delaware Co., New York.

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William O. Medler was born March 16, 1845, in Sullivan county, N. Y. He attended the district schools in his youth, and August 14, 1862, he en- listed in Company C, 143rd N. Y. V. I., serving until honorably discharged in April, 1863. He re-enlisted February 2, 1864, in Company M, 15th Heavy Ar- tillery, with which he remained until the close of the war. Mr. Medler saw a great deal of active service. He participated in the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Bethesda Church, North Anna River, South Anna River, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Wel-

don Railroad, Pebbles Farms, Elm Station, Five Forks, White Oaks and Plank Road. Before Peters- burgh a bullet passed through his coat sleeve. He was present at Appomattox and witnessed the sur- render of Gen. Lee.

After the war Mr. Medler attended two terms of school at Monticello Academy. He then began lumbering in the sawmills, continuing until 1872. He was married, in Sullivan county, to Miss Ger- trude Chandler, daughter of Martin and Ann (Ste- phens) Chandler, and to our subject and wife have been born five children, namely: Frederick O., a miller of Glenburn, Penn .; James M., a barber of Binghamton, N. Y .; Mabel A., Maud A., and Julia, at home.

In 1872 Mr. Medler removed to Lake Como, Wayne county, where he operated a mill, and later- he operated one in Delaware county. In 1881 he came to Lenox township, Susquehanna county, and for five years served in the Glenwood mill. Then in 1886 he purchased 53 acres of land, partly im- proved, and for fourteen years he has farmed in connection with carpenter work and milling in the Glenwood mill. In politics Mr. Medler is a stanch Republican. He served as township clerk two terms and declined a re-election. He is a member of Capt. Lyons Post, G. A. R., at Glenwood, and at one time was active in the P. O. S. of A. Mr. Medler is a public-spirited and representative citizen and holds the esteem and respect of all who know him.

JACOB I. SMITH is one of Monroe county's energetic and enterprising citizens whose early home was on the other side of the Atlantic, his birth occur- ring December 8,1857, in one of the Rhine provinces, Germany. When a lad of fifteen years he came to America with his parents, Jacob D. and Margaret (Isler) Smith, who located in Monroe county, Penn. The father is now a prosperous farmer and highly respected citizen of Tobyhanna township, and has cleared a large tract of land in that section. Besides our subject there were four other children in the family, as follows : Balsor, now a resident of Lopez, Sullivan Co., Penn .; John, deceased; Emma, wife of Henry Miller; and Theresa, wife of Charles Noll.

At the age of seventeen years Jacob I. Smith began to assist his father in the lumber woods, re- maining with him until he attained his majority, and then engaged in lumbering on his own account. In 1878 he bought sixty acres of improved land in Tobyhanna township, and now has thirty acres cleared and under a high state of cultivation. His summers are now devoted to agricultural pursuits, while through the winter season he is still employed. in the lumber woods of Monroe county, where he has done a great deal of work. In connection with his farming operations he is also engaged in stock raising on quite a large scale, and in all his under- takings has met with fair success. As a Democrat he takes quite an active interest in political affairs, but has never aspired to office.

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD

On February 19, 1881, in Tobyhanna town- ship, Mr. Smith was united in marriage with Miss Mary Ann Argott, who was born in that township, February 1, 1858. Her parents, Adam and Eliza- beth (Smith) Argott, were both natives of Ger- many, but were married in Monroe county. Of the seven children born to them, five are still living, namely: Michael, a resident of Tobyhanna town- ship ; Mary Ann, wife of subject ; Louisa ; Lizzie, wife of Marlor Dreher; and Jacob, a resident of Sulli- van county, Penn. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have an interesting family of six children, whose names and dates of birth are as follows: Louisa, born No- vember 22, 1881; Michael, January 8, 1883; Mah- lon, August 14, 1891 ; Adam, March 21, 1893; Mar- garet, October 15, 1895; and one whose name is not given, August 14, 1898.

AARON SINGER, the well-known postmaster and merchant at Reeders, Monroe county, is a man of sound judgment and good executive ability, carrying forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes. This characteristic, combined with his undoubted integrity, has brought him prosperity, and has given him an honorable position among his fellow men.

Mr. Singer is a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of Jackson township. The first of the Singers to come to Monroe county was his grandfather, Christian Singer, who was born in Germantown, Penn., in 1777, on the day of the bat- tle of Germantown, and there grew to manhood. At an early day he came to Monroe county, being one of the first settlers in the vicinity of Reeders, Jackson township, where he followed coopering and farming until called from this life, at the age of sixty-three years. In Hamilton township, Monroe county, he married a Miss Woodling, a native of that township, who died in 183 -. The children born to them were Andrew; Peter; Jacob, father of our subject; Hannah, wife of John Dailey, of Pocono township, Monroe county; and Samuel. All are now deceased. For his second wife Chris- tian Singer married Rachel Van Horn, by whom he had the following named children: Christian ; Benjamin ; Eunice ; Eliza Ann, wife of Reuben Pos- singer, of Jackson township; Mary, wife of Jacob Frounfelter, of Tobyhanna Mills; and Amos, the only one now living, who makes his home in Scran- ton, Pennsylvania.

Jacob Singer was born in Monroe county, Au- gust 5, 1805, and was reared in Jackson township, where he was united in marriage with Miss Eliza- beth Van Horn, a daughter of John Van Horn. She was born in that township, May 26, 1811,, but her parents were natives of Berks county, Penn. After his marriage Mr. Singer continued to make his home in Jackson township, where he engaged in business as a farmer and cooper, and also followed . lumbering for some years. In his family were nine children, namely: Josiah, who married, and died at Tobyhanna Mills; William, a resident of Salem

township, Wayne Co., Penn .; Susanna, wife of Elias Kresge, of Newfield, N. Y .; Mary, widow of Francis Stein, and a resident of Tobyhanna Mills; Almyra, wife of Sylvester Kresge, of Chestnut Hill township, Monroe county; Jacob, a resident of Gouldsboro, Wayne county; Aaron, our subject; Louis, a resident of Jackson township; and James, of Chestnut Hill township.

Aaron Singer, whose name introduces this re- view, was born in Jackson township, November 6, 1849, and was reared in much the usual manner of farmer lads, assisting in the labors of the fields and attending the common schools of the neighborhood. At the age of twenty he began work in the lumber woods at Tobyhanna Mills, where he was employed for eighteen years, at the end of that time coming to Jackson township and embarking in farming on his own account, on a tract of seventy acres, a part of which is timber land ; the remainder is under cul- tivation. In 1890 he became interested in general merchandising at Reeders, and now gives the greater part of his time to that business, in which he has met with gratifying success, receiving a lib- eral share of the public patronage.

On July 25, 1867, in Chestnut Hill township, Mr. Singer married Miss Lydia Kresge, a daughter of Michael and Sarah Ann (Shick ) Kresge, and to them were born five children: Francis, who mar- ried Clara Sleicker, and lives in Pocono township, Monroe county ; Jennie Izelia, who married Thomas Kresge, and died in 1890, leaving two children, Mamie and Archie; Marilla, who died young; Til- ton, at home; and Nettie, wife of Arthur Arnold, of Stroud township, Monroe county. The wife and mother, who was a consistent member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, departed this life May 26, 1897.

Mr. Singer is also a member of the M. E. Church, and socially he has been identified with the Patriotic Order Sons of America for a number of years. Like his father, he is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party and its principles, and has most capably served his fellow citizens two years as constable and as township auditor for the same length of time. In 1890 he was appointed post- master at Reeders, and is still filling that office, to the entire satisfaction of all concerned.

JOHN WILBUR. The continuous residence of the subject of this sketch in Lathrop township, Susquehanna county, dates from the close of the Civil war. He served for over three years in the great conflict and participated in some of its fiercest and most destructive engagements, and when mus- tered out he returned to Pennsylvania, married and began a career as an agriculturist which has con- tinued for about thirty-four years, and which has been crowned not only with material success but with an established character for sound judgment and public spirit, which ranks as one of the most valuable assets of the community.

Mr. Wilbur was born January 17, 1844, in

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Nicholson township, Wyoming county, the son of Ira and Mary ( Woodruff) Wilbur, and the grand- son of Samuel and Holly (Halstead) Wilbur. Samuel Wilbur, the grandfather, was a pioneer settler and extensive lumberman of Nicholson. He owned property where the village of Nicholson now stands. While at work in the woods he was acci- dentally killed by a falling tree. To Samuel and Holly Wilbur were born nine children:

Ira Wilbur, the father of our subject, was born in 1817, in Wyoming county. He was married in Lenox township, Susquehanna county, to Mary Woodruff, who was born in 1823, in Lenox town- ship, daughter of Isaac and Polly (Raught) Wood- ruff. After his marriage he bought land in Lenox township, and there engaged in farming for many years. In early life he was a Democrat, but later a Republican. He died January 17, 1898, aged eighty-one years; his wife died in 1863, aged forty years. Their children were as follows: A-, a farmer and quarry owner, of Wyoming county, and a soldier of the Civil war; John, our subject ; Charlotte, wife of W. D. Saxon, of Scranton, Penn .; Ira, a farmer, of Wilmot township, Bradford coun- ty ; Justin, a railroad employe, of Nicholson ; Mary, who married Edgar Fisk, of Wyoming county, and is now deceased ; Daniel, a farmer in Lathrop town- ship; and Harrison Allen, a farmer, of Lathrop township.

John Wilbur, our subject, was reared in Wyom- ing and Susquehanna counties. He received a good common-school education and at the age of sixteen years began life for himself. Two years later, August 22, 1862, he enlisted in Company K, 143rd P. V. I., under Capt. Isaac Little, and served throughout the war, being mustered out at Hart's Island, N. Y., June 20, 1865. Mr. Wilbur partici- pated in the battles of Gettysburg, the Wilderness from Culpeper to Petersburg, the Weldon Railroad and Hatcher's Run. The regiment started through the Wilderness with over 1,000 men and at the close of that march had but 180 men and one commis- sioned officer, Lieut. O. E. Vaughn.

After he was mustered out Mr. Wilbur re- turned to Susquehanna county and there, in Lathrop township, he was married, in September, 1865, to Arminda Glaze, daughter of Samuel and Mary Ann (Ferris) Glaze, and granddaughter of Charles and Molly (States) Glaze. The grandfather was a native of New Jersey, and died in Abington, Penn. Z. Ferris, the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Wilbur, was a native of Orange county, N. Y. He died March 19, 1883. His wife, Tama, was born in Greenfield township, Lackawanna county, and died February 10, 1889. She was the daughter of John and Sally Calb Laurey. John Laurey was one of the pioneer settlers of northeastern Pennsylvania, and lived to the age of one hundred years and twen- ty-three days. His wife Sally died May 20, 1860, aged seventy years. The family of Z. and Tama Ferris was as follows: Mary Ann (the mother of Mrs. Wilbur), born June 23, 1827; Rebecca, who

died young; Jane T., who married M. K. Miller, of Lackawanna county, and is now deceased ; Sarah E., wife of James Kennedy, of Scranton; Myra, who died when young; Zylpena, who died when young ; George W., who died also when young ; and Lewis, who died in infancy. The children of Samuel and Mary Ann Glaze were as follows: Arminda, wife of our subject, born April 18, 1848; Emma, born Oc- tober 25, 1850, died November 23, 1851 ; and Selma, born August 16, 1865, died January 19, 1871.

To our subject and his wife were born ehil- dren as follows: Nettie M., born June 10, 1869, wife of Philip Bacon, of Scranton, Penn .; Tama, born January 4, 1873, died November 23, 1880; Samuel Glaze, born July 16, 1880, at home. Mr. Wilbur began housekeeping on a tract of 63 acres which he purchased in Lathrop township. This he afterward sold and bought a farm of 53 acres. He now owns a well-cultivated place of over 110 acres, most of which is cleared; upon this farm he has made extensive improvements. He is engaged in general and dairy farming, and by his industry, good judgment and enterprise he ranks as one of the best farmers of the township. Mr. Wilbur is a stockholder in the creamery at Lathrop. He is a member of the Grange and of Billings Post, G. A. R. In politics he is a Republican.

THOMAS J. DANIELS, a veteran of the Civil war and one of the most highly-esteemed residents of Gibson township, Susquehanna county, is a worthy representative of a family whose patriot- ism has been proved in many a hard-fought battle. Isaac Daniels, his grandfather, who died in New York State, at the age of one hundred and nine years, was a soldier in the Revolutionary army, and Isaac Daniels (2), the father of our subject, served in the war of 1812, and had six sons with the Union army during the Rebellion.

Isaac Daniels (2) was born and reared in Orange county, N. Y., and came to Susquehanna county in 1837, locating first in Harford township and then in Lenox township. For some time he followed the shoemaker's trade but in later years engaged in farming. He married (first) Miss Patience Vance, and (second) Elvira Vance, a native of Orange county, N. Y., who died in July, 1852. His death occurred in November, 1865, at the age of eighty-four, and his remains were interred in the family plot in the cemetery at South Gibson. In religious faith he was a Baptist. By his first marriage he had four children: Harvey, born April 25, 1824, who resides with our subject; Harriet, who married Edward R. Tingley, of Los Angeles, Cal .; Joseph, a retired farmer residing in Los An- geles; and Calvin, who died in Clinton county, Iowa. By his second marriage there were ten chil- dren, as follows: Thomas J., our subject ; Mary, who married Ephraim Pickering, a farmer in Wis- consin, now retired; Ezeriah, a farmer, in Jackson township, Susquehanna county; Lyon, who mar- ried Robert Young, a farmer in Iowa ; Phœbe (de- ceased), who married Luke Reed, of Lenox town-

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 419

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