Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 63

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 63
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 63
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 63
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 63

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Mr. Ames was married October 26, 1854, to Harriet N. Woodward, of Paupack township, Wayne county, who was born March 7, 1836. Their children are Gaston W. Ames, merchant and banker ; Helen Augusta, born in 1856, died in 1878; and Hattie Florine, born in 1875, died in 1880. Mrs. Ames' father, Amzi L. Woodward (born in 1806, died in 1878), was a resident of Paupack township, Wayne county, and was a son of John Woodward, of Cherry Ridge township, where Enos Woodward was one of the first settlers. Amzi L. Woodward was a cousin of the late Judge Wood- ward, of Wilkes Barre, and belonged to the same family as the late Judges Warren J. and George W. Woodward, of the Supreme Court of Pennsyl- vania, whose ancestors were also among the first settlers of Cherry Ridge township. Mrs. Ames' mother, Irene R. (Kellam), was a native of Pau- pack settlement, on the Wallenpaupack, where the family settled during the early days of the county. The children of Amzi L. and Irene R. Woodward were Helen, deceased; Melissa, wife of John H. Ames, of Hawley; Harriet N., wife of Jacob S. Ames, the subject of this sketch: Adelia; Robert Bruce, who died on the homestead in Paupack town- ship, Wayne county, February II, 1896; Moses, deceased ; Ellen, deceased ; and Cassius H. Wood- ward, a leading grocer at Hawley, whose sketch appears elsewhere. Mrs. Ames' maternal grand-

father was Moses Kellam, Esq., born in 1792 and died in 1862, a prominent and esteemed citizen, who was justice of the peace at Paupack settlement for many years, and county surveyor.

Nearly the whole Ames family of North Ston- ington remained there and spent their lives in their native place. Hon. E. B. Ames, ex-judge of the courts of Minneapolis, Minn., and ex-minister to Germany, during President Pierce's administration, is a cousin of Jacob S. Ames, and his father was William Ames, who settled in Rockford, Ill. Judge E. B. Ames was the law partner, at Springfield, Ill., of Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, candidate for Presi- dent of the United States in 1860. The Ames family of Wayne county, Penn., are of the same stock as the late Bishop Ames, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the religious persuasion of the family generally is of the same Church. Jacob S. Ames, however, is a member of the Presbyterian denomination, with which he united eighteen years ago. Fraternally he belongs to the F. & A. M. at Hawley, and he was at one time an Odd Fellow. His political sympathies are with the Republican party, but he takes no part in its workings except as a voter, having steadfastly refused office, for which the demands of his vast and varied commer- cial affairs leave him no time.

Mr. Ames has given to Hawley and surround- ing country more enterprise and labor to those classes depending upon work for a livelihood than any other citizen in the community, and his success in life challenges the admiration of all. Success always does so. It matters not whether in the pro- fession of law, medicine or literature, or in the theological domain, in military or in civil life, or in mercantile pursuits, success is the one distinguisha- ble and distinctive characteristic of all business transactions. In the commercial world, alone, Jacob S. Ames has, in his sphere of labor and activity, distinguished himself as an active, ener- getic business man, and demonstrated the fact that to the man of merit belongs the full measure of success and worldly prosperity. In conclusion it may also truly be said of him that his honorable purpose in life's work. his integrity in his business, and his sterling habits bring to him the esteem of all who know him.

HON. BENJAMIN S. BENTLEY, late of Williamsport, but whose earlier professional life was passed at Montrose, Susquehanna county, was born at Cairo, N. Y. He received his education in the seminary at Hamilton, N. Y. From 1833 to 1836 he was principal of the Montrose (Penn.) Academy. He read law under the direction of the late Judge William Jessup, of Montrose, and was admitted to the Bar of Susquehanna court in 1859, from which time, until 1866, he was engaged in practice at Montrose, winning his way to the front in the profession. In 1866 he located at Williams- port. He became President Judge, by appointment, of Lycoming county, serving for a little less than one

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year. From 1878 to 1880, also by appointment, he was President Judge of Lackawanna county. The Judge was a gentleman of culture, and a bright lawyer. He was affable, kind and courteous, and a Christian man. "From the bench he administered the law with authority, and we all remember with what firmness and impartiality he performed his judicial duties, and with what gentleness he ruled against us when he knew he was wrong. He was a sound lawyer, a righteous judge, a kind and in- dulgent husband and father, a warm friend and a useful citizen, and a good man." Judge Bentley died at Williamsport, Penn., in 1882.

Judge McCollum, in referring to lawyers who were at the Montrose Bar, when he came to it in 1858, thus spoke of Mr. Bentley : "His popularity and influence with our juries have never been sur- passed by anyone ; he afterward made a creditable record as President Judge of the Lycoming Dis- trict."

HON. JACOB KLAER, associate judge of Pike county, is one of the leading citizens of his section, being prominent alike in business and po- litical circles, and he wields an influence which has long been a recognized factor on the side of progress.

The Judge is of German ancestry, and his pa- ternal grandfather, Jacob Klaer, was a wealthy resi- dent of the Rhine district in the Fatherland, owning a vineyard on the banks of that famous river. He fought as a soldier under Napoleon, and took part in the battle of Waterloo.

Jacob Klaer, our subject's father, was born in Germany, June 6, 1818, and came to America in 1840, locating first in New York City, where he operated a file factory for four years. He then re- moved to this section, purchasing a farm in Ding- man township, Pike county ; but after eight years he settled in Milford, where he followed the wheel- wright's trade for a time in Heller's wagon shop. He was a skilled mechanic, and before coming to Pike county was engaged in Quimby's coach works, at Newark, N. J. In 1858 he purchased and re- fitted an old woolen-mill on the Sawkill, which was built at an early day by Judge John Biddis, and in it he conducted a spoke and hub establish- ment for years. He prospered in business and bought the grist-mill adjoining, which, however, burned down in October, 1867. He immediately rebuilt it on a more modern plan, and it is known now as the Sawkill mill. After the burning down of the grist-mill business reverses overtook him, and the accumulations of his untiring industry were swept away. He died December 31, 1889, when he was seventy-one years and seven months old, his remains being interred in Milford cemetery. As a citizen, he was much respected, and though never an office seeker he was an influential member of the local Democratic organization, and served in the first council of the borough of Milford.

Soon after his arrival in America he was mar- ried in New York City to Miss Anna M. Huhn,

who was born in Bavaria in January, 1818, and is now living with a daughter in New York. She came to America on the same ship as did her future husband, accompanied by her parents, John and Anna Huhn, who spent their last years in New York City. Her father was also a soldier under Napoleon, was wounded at Waterloo, and lay on the field three days. Jacob and Anna M. Klaer had the following children: John (deceased), who mar- ried Maria Bull, now a resident of Stroudsburg; Caroline, widow of J. McNichol, of New York; Jacob, our subject; Mary Louisa, wife of Rev. Frank Dickson, a minister of the Presbyterian Church; Marian, widow of Thomas H. Hawes, formerly a hotel keeper in New York; Louis, who died at the age of twenty-six; Charles, foreman of a spoke factory at Eddyville, Ky., one of the largest establishments of the kind in America; Henry (de- ceased), who married Emily L. Smith; and Mag- gie, deceased.

Our subject was born September 14, 1845, in Dingman township, Pike county, and was six years old at the time of the removal of the family to Mil- ford, where he received a public-school education. At sixteen he began to learn the blacksmith's trade with G. P. Heller, of Milford, but the breaking out of the Civil war brought changes in the busi- ness, and he returned home to assist his father. When twenty-seven years old he went to Bushkill, Monroe county, where he bought and operated a spoke factory for five years ; this was his first busi- ness venture. He then returned to Milford, and purchased his father's spoke and hub factory and gristmill, which he continued until 1897. In all of his enterprises he has met with uniform success, and he has accumulated a fine property. In 1897 he purchased the Rose farm, a fine estate lying in the bottom lands along the Delaware river, and comprising 1,000 acres of some of the finest farm- ing soil in Pike county. His sound judgment and public spirit have made him prominent in local affairs, and at various times he has been a candi- date without defeat on the Democratic ticket. He served acceptably as school director over twenty years, also served on the town council a number of terms; besides one term as chief burgess of Mil- ford, also one term as justice of the peace, and in 1896 he was elected to his present office, that of associate judge.

On April 25, 1877, Mr. Klaer was married, at Egypt Mills, Pike county, to Miss Mary J. Nyce, and five children have blessed the union: Fred Harlan, born February 7, 1878, is now attending Amherst College ; Linda Nyce is at home ; Mary L. is a student in the Normal school at Stroudsburg ; and Edna M. and Henry J. are at home. Mrs. Klaer was born at Egypt Mills, a daughter of Ja- cob Nyce, a well-known citizen of that place, who died April 16, 1880; her mother, whose maiden name was Linda Peters, now resides in Strouds- burg.

Jacob Ylaen

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LUKE WHITTAKER, a lifelong farmer and lumberman of this section of Pike county, was born February 19, 1836, in Delaware township, a son of William and Mary ( Brierley) Whittaker, and is of English descent.

His grandparents, Rev. John and Sarah (Kase) Whittaker, were natives of "the tight little isle," the former born May 25, 1766, the latter June 4, 1764. They came to America in the year 1818, locating for a time in New York City, where Mrs. Whittaker died August 15, same year, and within a short time he came to Pike county, taking up his residence in Delaware township, and living there for some time. He took an active part in religious movements here, holding church services in the basement of the old academy at Dingman's Ferry, also acting as Sunday- school superintendent, and he won the golden opin- ions of all with whom he came in contact, becoming a most prominent and esteemed member of the com- munity. He finally went to Newark, N. J., where he ended his days, dying in 1841, and his remains rest in the cemetery at Cedar Grove, that State. He and his wife reared a large family of children, of whom we give a brief record: John, Jr., born July 7, 1789, died in infancy. Jane, born June 3, 1791, died September 12, 1818, in Pike county, Penn. William, born December 15, 1793, died in August, 1860. James, born September 27, 1795, is deceased. Luke, born September 17, 1797, died in November, 1839, in Philadelphia. John, born June 30, 1799, died July 9, 1834. Mary, born September II, 1800, died January 2, 1822. James (2), born June 27, 1802, died July 21, 1831, in Pike county. Thomas, born March 25, 1804, and Sarah, born De- cember 17, 1805, are also deceased.

William Whittaker, father of Luke Whittaker, was born December 15, 1793, in Bernley, England, and was there married, on September 26, 1818, to Miss Mary Brierley, a native of the same place, born September 22, 1802. They remained in their native country until 1830, and on coming to America lived for a time at Cedar Grove, N. J., thence removing to Pike county and settling in Delaware township, of which place they became permanent residents. Mr. Whittaker was a farmer and lumberman by vo- cation. His family consisted of ten children (only three of whom survive), namely: Sarah, born De- cember 18, 1819, became the wife of William Har- ker : she is deceased. John, born September 25, 1821, is a retired farmer ; he was twice married, (first) to Miss Jane Drake, and (second) to Miss Helen Decker, of Dingman township. Mary, born July 10, 1824, married John Layton, and died in March, 1898. Priscilla, born September 25, 1827, is the de- ceased wife of Simeon Rosencrans. William, born April 24, 1830, married Eliza Hardin; he is de- ceased. Martha E., born March 16, 1833, married John Walkus, and is now dead. Luke was born February 19, 1836. James, born February 9, 1837, died unmarried. Thomas, born in 1839, married Nancy Drake, of Dingman township. Harrison, born in 1841, died in 1893 in Michigan; he mar-

ried Lillie Drake. The father and mother died in August, 1860, and in 1841, respectively, and they sleep their last sleep in the cemetery in Delaware township. Mr. Whittaker was a member of the M. E. Church ; politically he was a Republican.

Luke Whittaker received his education in the district schools of his native township, remaining on the old homestead up to the age of twenty-two years, after which for a time he worked among farmers. Then for two years he was engaged in lumbering, after which he moved to a farm owned by his fa- ther, near Silver Lake, carrying on same for five years. During the next five years he was engaged on the old homestead, following which he rented a farm, adjoining, which he continued to occupy for seven years, thence removing to another rented farm, which he resided on for six years; he also rented a sawmill for six years and conducted same successfully. For the seven years preceding his re- moval to the place in Porter township, which he now owns and occupies, he lived on a rented farm on Pine Ridge, in Lehman township. Mr. Whit- taker purchased his present place, a good farm of fifty-five acres, from Warren Cortright, and he has since made his home here. He has worked hard to beautify and improve his property, which is located in the midst of a wilderness, and by incessant and persistent toil he has succeeded in raising its value materially, for he is a thoroughly up-to-date farmer and a good manager. He is considered one of the intelligent and valuable citizens of the community in which he resides, and he is well and favorably known among his fellow citizens in Porter and neighboring townships. Mr. Whittaker has not taken any par- ticularly active part in the public or political life of the neighborhood, though he has held the office of school director. His worthy wife has had no small share in the success which he has made, for she, too, is a tireless worker, and she shares no less in the esteem and regard of the neighbors and friends. Mr. Whittaker has made two trips to the old family home in England.

On May 19, 1858, our subject was united in marriage, at Port Jervis, N. Y., with Miss Sarah E. Bensley, who was born October 18, 1834, in Lehman township, daughter of Jacob and Sallie A. ( Clif- ford) Bensley, and this union has been blessed with six children, viz .: William H., born October 8, 1859, is a lumberman in Sullivan county, Penn. ; he married Maggie Wagner. Ella, born May 5, 1861, is the wife of Robert Gurley, of New York City. .Romain, born August 13, 1864, is a resident of Lehman township; he married Jennie Schoonover. John T., born in 1863. died young. Jennie (de- ceased) was the wife of William J. Reinhart. Ed- ward R., born October 1, 1870, is a lumberman in Sullivan county, and is unmarried. Mr. Whittaker is a Republican in political affiliation.

JAMES KUNKEL, of the well known firm of Kunkel & Brother, of Kresgeville, Monroe coun- ty, is a man whose enterprise and ability have won

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for him a high standing in business circles. For many years he and his brother have been success- fully engaged in lumbering, farming and mercantile business, and have also operated a gristmill, their business in all these lines being constantly extend- ing under their able management.

Mr. Kunkel was born August 17, 1843, at the old Kunkel homestead in Polk township, Monroe county, where the family has resided for over 150 years. His grandfather, John George Kunkel, who came from Germany about 1740, was the first set- tler at Kresgeville, and a more complete account of his family appears elsewhere. John Kunkel, our subject's father, was born February 14, 1815, at Kresgeville, and died December 7, 1896. He was a successful business man, and was influential in local affairs, holding various offices in the town- ship. He married Miss Sarah Kresge (a member of an old pioneer family), who still resides at Kresgeville. This worthy couple had ten children : William, James, Jacob (our subject's partner in business), George, David, Catherine (Mrs. Sebas- tine Kresge), Sarah (Mrs. Mahlon Serfass), Mary Ann (Mrs. Reuben Kunkel), Ellen (Mrs. E. P. Kresge), and Emeline ( Mrs. Jerome Serfass).

During his youth our subject became acquaint- ed with the management of the farm under his fa- ther's direction, while the work of the sawmill and gristmill on the estate also occupied much of his time. When sixteen years old he was hired out by his father to work around a store, continuing thus some two years, after which he returned home and worked in the gristmill, learning the trade. At the age of twenty-one he purchased the gristmill, which he operated alone some four years, and later he engaged in his present lines of business in part- nership with his brother. Politically he is a Dem- ocrat, and he has been chosen to various offices in his locality, having served one year as road master, three years as school director, one year as super- visor, and two years as overseer of the poor. He is a leading member of the Lutheran Church at Kresgeville, with which his family has been iden- tified for many years, and in many ways he has man- ifested his interests in the work of the denomina- tion.

On July 9, 1865, Mr. Kunkel was married in Northampton county, by Rev. Eisenberger, a min- ister of the German Reformed Church, to Miss Elizabeth Kresge, who was born February 3, 1843, in Chestnut Hill township, Monroe county. Her parents, Peter and Elizabeth (Brong) Kresge (now . deceased), were highly esteemed residents of that locality, and her brother, Timothy Kresge, of whom mention is made elsewhere, still resides there. Twelve children have blessed this marriage: Jen- nie T., born May 24, 1867, died September 22, 1867 ; Edwin T., born September 16, 1869, is a well known teacher in Chestnut Hill township; Sarah E., born September 28, 1869, died October 13, 1870; How- ard, born November II, 1870, is attending college at Allentown, Penn .; Mary E., born March 26,

1872, died September 16, 1873; George B., born July 9, 1873, is a graduate of the East Stroudsburg Normal School, and is a professor of music; Eve Anna, born February 7, 1875, is a successful school teacher ; James E., born December 3, 1876, died March 5, 1877; Jeremiah B., born January 9, 1878, is teaching school; and Katie J., born January 16, 1880, Lizzie L., born July 25, 1881, and Amelia, born June 7, 1886, are all at home.

REV. ALBERT L. POST, late of Montrose, Susquehanna county, was born there in 1809, son of Isaac Post. He was educated at Union College, then read law under the direction of the late Judge William Jessup, at Montrose, and was admitted to the Bar in 1833, engaging in practice for some. years. He served as deputy attorney-general of the State. in 1836. For a period following 1837 he published the Spectator, a paper devoted to the free- dom of the negro, being himself a strong Abolition- ist. He not only wrote and talked in favor of the freedom of the colored man, but assisted the fugi- tives in making their escape. In 1841 he was or- dained to the Christian ministry, and gave much time to evangelistic labors in connection with the Baptist Church. He was courageous in defending what he believed to be right, and would suffer rather than sacrifice a principle. He was ever a great friend to the oppressed, and seemed to live for the benefit of others. He married a daughter of Jo- seph Williams, an early settler of Bridgewater town- ship, and their only son was Isaac J. Rev. Mr. Post died in 1887.

ISAAC J. POST, son of Rev. Albert L. Post, was born in 1837, at Montrose. He was graduated from Yale College in 1860, read law with William and William H. Jessup, and was admitted to the Bar in 1862. He served one year in the Union army during the Civil war, then for a time held a position in the Treasury Department, Washington, D. C., resigning which he located at Scranton, Penn., and there practiced his profession, first with Alfred Hand, and later with Judge William H. Jessup, his preceptor. He was a lawyer of ability and merit, well read, a close student, possessed a classical mind, and as a real-estate lawyer was second to none of the lawyers then at the Lackawanna Bar. He was a man of candor and integrity, which aided him in gaining a large clientage among the business men in his section of the State, and possessed a genial and happy disposition which won him hosts of friends. He was a close observer of scientific progress. In 1868 he married Elvia Blake Todd. He died at Montrose in 1885.

RICHARD W. HOFFMAN is one of the most esteemed citizens of Dingman township, Pike county, and for many years he was prominently identified with its agricultural interests. At pres- ent he is not actively engaged in business, but a good judge of human nature will observe under his habitual quiet and unassuming manner the reserve

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force which indicates both ability and energy. He is now living retired with his son John M. on the old homestead, enjoying the fruits of his former toil.

Mr. Hoffman was born in Montague, Sussex Co., N. J., April 6, 1814, a son of Zachariah W. and Hannah (Dennis) Hoffman, natives of Kingston, N. Y., and New Jersey, respectively. During boy- hood the father removed to Sussex county, N. J., with his parents, Zachariah and Ann (Dewitt) Hoff- man, of old Shokan, N. Y. Our subject's great- grandfather, Jacob Hoffman, was a native of Hol- land, and the founder of the family in this coun- try. He served as baggage master in the Revolu- tionary war. The maternal grandparents. of our subject were Anthony and Rachel (Van Sickle) Dennis, the former a .native of Germany, the latter of Sussex county, N. J. He came to America dur- ing boyhood with his parents. Zachariah Hoffman, Jr., our subject's father, died in 1861, aged eighty- three years, his wife in 1878, aged seventy-nine, and both were laid to rest in Salem, N. J. Their children were: Mary, who died at the age of three years; Sarah, who married Louis Van Sickle, and died at the age of eighty-six; Levi, who married Phoebe Mathews, and died in 1859; Stephen, who died at the age of eighteen months; Rosanna, who married James Brink, and died in 1850; Catherine, who married Jacob Brink, and died at the age of fifty-one years; Richard W., the subject of this sketch; Lydia, who married Jerome B. Gilson, and died in 1896; Ann, who is the widow of Squire Northrup, and is living in Bradford county, Penn., at the age of eighty-two years ; and Ira D., who died at the age of seventy-one.

Richard W. Hoffman came to Pike county, Penn., in 1840, and located upon what is known as Newmans Hill, which, nowever, he sold and then purchased the farm which he has since sold to his son John, and resides with him. He has taken an active and prominent part in public affairs, has served as justice of the peace for fifteen years, has filled all of the township offices, and for three years was a county commissioner, during which time the court house was erected at Milford. In political sentiment he is a Democrat, and in religious faith a Universalist. Although eighty-four years of age, he retains his mental and physical vigor scarcely un- impaired, possesses an excellent memory, and is well versed on the leading questions and issues of the day.

In Ulster county, N. Y., in 1839, Mr. Hoff- man married Miss Sarah Casterlane, who was born in Sussex county, N. J., in November, 1814, and died in 1847, being buried at Mt. Salem, N. J. Her parents, John and Charlotte (Meadow) Caster- lane, spent their entire lives in Sussex county, N. J. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman were Margarett Ann, who died at the age of ten years; John M., who is mentioned below; Sarah J., wife of George W. Chamberland, a farmer of Lehman township, Pike county; and Richard J.,

who died at the age of three years. For his second wife Mr. Hoffman married Mrs. Joanna (Smith) Tutton, who died at Matamoras, Penn., in June, 1878. The only child born of this union was Mary, who wedded James Quintro, and died at the age of thirty years.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 63

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