Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 67

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 67
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 67
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 67
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1 > Part 67

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Mr. Riefler was born May 2, 1832, in Wurtem- berg, Germany, where his ancestors had made their home for many generations. Henry Riefler, our subject's grandfather, was a laborer in the vine- yards of that locality, and he and his wife Anna reared a large family of children, as follows:

Philip Henry, who is mentioned below; George, a weaver by trade, who died in Germany; Michael, who came to America in 1851, and died in Cherry Ridge township, Wayne county; Katrina, Jacob and Frederick, all of whom died in the Fatherland ; John, a resident of Cherry Ridge township, Wayne county ; Annie, who married, and died in Germany.

Philip Henry Riefler, the father of our sub- ject, was born at Wurtemberg in 1808, and died in 1852. He was a stone mason by trade, and ac- cumulated a small property. A naturally religious man, he faithfully followed the teachings of Mar- tin Luther. His wife, Katherine Bauman, was born September 15, 1811, and died in 1892. She was of French Huguenot descent, and tradition says that her grandfather was a native of the pro- vince of Alsace, then in France, but went to Ger- many to escape religious persecution, locating in Gomaringen, Reutlingen. His children were Jo- hannes, Mrs. Riefler's father ; Johan M., who came to America in 1846, and died in Wayne county ; and Elizabeth, who married Frederick Weyney, and died in Germany. Mrs. Riefler's father was born in 1785, and became a weaver at Gomaringen, where he died in 1878. He married Barbara Aukle. Neither Philip Riefler nor his wife ever came to America.

Our subject was the eldest in the family of five children born to Philip Henry and Katherine Riefler. (2) Henry, born January 13, 1836, now resides in Frewsburg, Chautauqua Co., N. Y. He married Katherine Slach, and they have had four children, Jane, Emma, Henry, and George. (3) Margaret, born in June, 1839, married Charles Abbott, now deceased, and resides at Fort Smith, Ark. She has four children, Carrie, Henry, Will- iam, and Flora. (4) Jacob, born December 14, 1842, is a farmer in Germany. He married Bar- bara Bauman, and they have five children, Jacob, Jr., Kate, Barbara, Henry, and John. (5) Doro- thy, born in 1848, married George Younger, and has four children, George, Katherine, Amelia, and Mary (who lives in Johnstown, Pennsylvania).

Mr. Riefler was educated in Germany, where he attended school. until he reached the age of four- teen. He then learned the weaver's trade with his grandfather Bauman, and this business he followed for about five years. On October 8, 1851, he started for America with his uncle Michael and family, embarking at Bremen in the sailing vessel "Gustaf," and spent forty-two days upon the water, the voyage being rough and dangerous, as well as long and tedious. His father had advanced his passage money, and on arriving at New York he was obliged to borrow the amout of the fare to Honesdale, Penn., where his uncle, John M. Bau- man, who has since been treasurer of Wayne coun- ty, had located the previous spring. Mr. Riefler arrived at Honesdale in December, 1851, and in the following January he obtained his first perma- nent employment in the Hungarian tannery, his first earnings being sent to his father to repay the

John Rifler

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

loan of his passage money. After working in the establishment for some years, in various capacities, he was made foreman in 1860, and this position he held for nine years, a fact which speaks volumes for his reliability. In the meantime he was pre- paring for an independent business career, and in 1867 he and his brother Henry bought the sawmill connected with the tannery, together, and twenty- eight acres of land surrounding it. In 1869, hav- ing given up his position as foreman, our subject purchased his brother's interest and moved upon the property, devoting his attention for a time to building up a large lumber business. He logged and sawed maple, beech, and hemlock chiefly, and as time passed he extended his operations, purchas- ing large tracts of timber land. In 1891 he bought the old tannery at Tanners Falls, Wayne county, with 7.300 acres of land, and in September, 1893, he transformed the plant into a wood alcohol mill, which he is now conducting successfully, turning out about 100 gallons per day. He has recently built an addition to this factory, doubling its capa- city. He also manufactures umbrella and parasol handles, and in all gives employment to over fifty- seven men, besides the wood choppers, who prepare some 6,000 cords of wood per year, using in win- ter 105 teams. At his own sawmill Mr. Riefler cuts nearly two million feet of logs, chiefly maple. In these enterprises he has associated with him his sons, John G. and William F., and his son-in-law, Joseph L. Taylor. On the old homestead, in Ore- gon township, he conducts another alcohol factorv. in company with his son-in-law, E. D. Penwarden ; this plant has a capacity of some eighty gallons. In connection with each of his factories he carried on a general store. In addition to these interests he has undertaken agricultural work on an exten- sive scale, and he now owns several farms, includ- ing the Baird and Carbon estates, and he has over 600 acres under cultivation.

In 1882 Mr. Riefler spent two months in Ger- many, revisiting the scenes of his youth, and dur- ing his absence his barns with their contents were destroyed by fire. He has always taken keen in- terest in public questions, being thoroughly in sym- pathy with all movements which promise to pro- mote the welfare of his adopted country. In pol- itics he was first a Democrat, but since Lincoln's second campaign he has given his support to the Republican party. At times he has held township offices, serving many terms as school director, and in 1878, during the celebrated "Anti-Courthouse" campaign, he was elected county commissioner, being a member of the board which completed the courthouse. He is also active in religious work, and for many years he has been a leading member of the German Lutheran Church. Socially he be- longs to the Royal Arcanum.

On July 24, 1853, Mr. Riefler married Miss Catherine Follmer, who was born February 6, 1830, in Dusslingen, Wurtemberg, Germany, daughter of David and Dorothy (Relling) Follmer,

and granddaughter of Martin Follmer, who owned a large farm in that vicinity. Fourteen children have blessed this union, thirteen of whom lived to maturity, the others dying in infancy: (I) Henry died June 23, 1889; he married Miss Thirza Law- ton, and had two children, Nellie and Vernon, of whom the former died at the age of twelve years. (2) John G., born July 13, 1854, married Miss Frankie Schoonover, and they have four children, Florence S., Dorothy V., John F., and Delsey. (3) Margaret, born March 4, 1856, married Henry Tamblyn, and has six children, William, Emerson, Millie, Nellie, Margaret and Harrv. (4) Mary Catherine, born June 5, 1857, married Dr. Frank Boyden, and had two children, Ruth (who died May I, 1898) and Arthur (who died in infancy). (5) Caroline D., born November 3, 1858, married Edmund Lee, and has four children, Lindon, Wal- ter, Roland and Howard. (6) Matilda U., born January 29, 1860, is at home. (7) Elizabeth, born May 15, 1861, married Joseph Taylor and has had three children, Lester and Edna, and one who died in infancy. (8) Anna B. died in infancy. (9) Pauline A., born May 18, 1864, married Eu- gene H. Gates and has four children, Everett L., Marie, Frances and Gordon. (10) Sopha D., born February 27, 1867, and (II) Lydia, born April 9, 1868, are at home. (12) Charlotte, born March 10, 1870, married E. D. Penwarden, and has one child, Catherine. (13) William F., born Sep- tember 19, 1871, married Carrie Adams, and has one child, William F., Jr. (14) Annie, born De- cember 27, 1872, married Alvin B. Transue, and has three children, Earl, Ralph and Rachel.

MATHIAS HEITZMANN, a retired wheel- wright and wagonmaker of Matamoras, Pike coun- ty, was for many years a most active and ener- getic business man, and through his own efforts succeeded in accumulating a comfortable property. As a young man he came to America with no capi- tal, and started out in a strange land to overcome the difficulties and obstacles in the path to prosperi- ty. His dreams of the future have been realized, and his now enabled to lay aside all business cares and spend his last years in retirement.

Mr. Heitzmann was born in Wittenberg, Germany, September 7, 1827, and is a son of George and Anna (Sherrer) Heitzmann, farming people who spent their entire lives in Germany. The fa- ther died November 4, 1863, aged eighty-two years, the mother May 3, 1837, aged fifty-three. Their children were Anna, Barbara, Christina, Christian, Jacob, George and Mathias.

The subject of this sketch was reared in his native land, but in early life decided to try his fortune on this side of the Atlantic, and on October 17, 1848, landed in New York City. Locating first at Port Jervis, N. Y., he worked for the Erie Rail- road Company for two months, and then went to Milford, Penn., where he worked at the wheel- wright's trade for John Heller for three years.

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

When that gentleman moved his shop to Port Jervis, our subject accompanied him, remaining in his em- ploy four years longer. The following six years he was engaged in the wheelwright business at Spar- rowbush, Orange Co., N. Y., and for a year and a half engaged in the manufacture of wheelbarrows. He then returned to Port Jervis, and worked at re- pairing cars for the Erie Railroad Company for ten years. His next employment was with the South Side Railway Company, of Brooklyn, N. Y., with whome he remained ten years, and he subsequently engaged in carpentering at intervals until 1895, when he laid aside all business cares, and is now liv- ing retired at his pleasant home in Matamoras. Socially he is a Master Mason, politically a stalwart Democrat, and in religious connection a member of the Lutheran Church. Wherever known he is held in high regard, and his friends are many in the community where he makes his home.

At Chucktown, Pike county, Mr. Heitzmann was married, March 3, 1851, to Miss Mary A. Böhme, and the children born to them are as fol- lows: Cecelia died at the age of four and a half years; Mathias died at the age one year; John, a painter, of Brooklyn, N. Y., married Eva Ludusky ; Charles F., a wagon and sign decorator of Brook- lyn, married Tillie Beehler; George, a partner of his brother Charles, married Carrie Comstock ; Mary is the wife of George Miller, a manufacturer of machine belts at Brooklyn; Emma is the wife of Charles Gamber, an upholsterer of the same place; Martha is the wife of Philip Geware, also of Brook- lyn, who is clerk for a steamship company ; Rose is the wife of Henry Pullman, a lithographer of Brooklyn; and Anna is the wife of Ed Weiss, a tobacco merchant of Providence, R. I. The family are all filling useful and honorable positions in life and are widely and favorable known.

JAMES T. ROBINSON. There is no class of biographies more interesting to read than that of the industrious and enterprising farmer's boy who has risen unaided from an humble position to one of affluence and comfort. Prominent among the men of Susquehanna county who have thus toiled on- ward and upward, is the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch, and who is now able to lay aside all business cares and enjoy a well-earned rest at his pleasant home in Fairdale.

A native of Susquehanna county, Mr. Robin- son was born in Forest Lake townsnip, September 3, 1838, and on the paternal side is a grandson of Sabins Robinson, of Connecticut, who was a farm- er by occupation and became a resident of Susque- hanna county in 1840. The parents, Alvin and Lois (Tuttle) Robinson, were born, reared and married in Delaware county, N. Y., where they continued to make their home until 1836, in which year they removed to Susquehanna county, Penn. For a short time they lived in Jessup township, then in Forest Lake township, and later in Bridgewater township, where the father, who followed farming as a life

work, died in 1870, at the age of seventy-four years. The mother passed away in 1874, at the age of sev- enty-seven, and now sleeps by his side in the Bridge- water township cemetery. She was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he was a Republican in politics. In their family were six children, namely : Acksie, deceased wife of Syl- vester Rhinevault ; Adney, a farmer of Forest Lake township; Almeda, wife of Robert Strange, a. farmer of Jessup township; James T., our subject ; Mary, wife of Asa Rhinevault, a farmer of Frank- lin township, Susquehanna county ; and Barrett, a farmer of Bridgewater township.

During his minority, James T. Robinson re- mained with his parents, acquiring an excellent knowledge of everything pertaining to the operation of a farm. At the age of twenty-one he bought fifty-two acres of wild land, in Bridgewater town- ship, which was covered with valuable hard-wood timber, which he manufactured into eighteen-inch lumber. This proved a profitable investment and upon that place he made his home for fifteen years, transforming the cleared land into cultivated fields. Selling at the end of that time, he removed to. Jessup township, where he operated a farm on shares for five years, and then purchased a farm in the same township, to the further improvement and cultivation of which he devoted his time and atten- tion for thirteen years with marked success. Since then he has made his home in Fairdale, and lived retired.

In 1862, in Bridgewater township, Mr. Rob- inson married Miss Elsa Harper, by whom he had the following children : Gilbert E., a farmer of South Dakota; George D., a farmer of Jessup township; Margaret, a resident of Binghamton, N. Y .; By- ron and Bert (twins), the former on the old home -. stead, the latter, a soldier of the Cuban war, now with our subject; Harry H., a resident of Jessup township; and Glenn and Lee, both at home. The wife and mother, who was a native of New Jersey, died in 1891, aged forty-four years, and was buried in Fairdale cemetery. She was a daughter of Alex- ander Harper, a farmer, who came from New Jer- sey to Susquehanna county in 1851.

At Fairdale, in June, 1894, Mr. Robinson was. again married, his second union being with Mrs. Ellen (Sheets) Stull, who was born in Sussex coun- ty, N. J., May 3, 1841, a daughter of Samuel and Eliza (Shaffer) Sheets, also natives of Sussex county, where the father, who was born May 5, 1818, is now living retired. During his active business life he followed the occupation of a car- penter. The mother, who was a consistent mem- ber of the Presbyterian Church, died in May, 1868, at the age of fifty years, and was laid to rest in Waupack cemetery, Sussex county. Mrs. Robin- son is the eldest of their children, the others being Sarah, wife of John Garris, of Millbrook, N. J .; Jane, wife of George Lundy, of Sussex county ; John T., who died young; Catherine A., deceased wife of Obediah House; Susan L. and Arminda,

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who both died young; Elizabeth A., widow of Alexander Westbrooke, of New Jersey ; and Dakon, a resident of Jessup township, Susquehanna county. Mrs. Robinson's paternal grandfather was Jacob S. Sheets, a native of Bucks county, Penn., who married Susan A. Easterline, and died in New Jer- sey. Her maternal grandparents, George and Catherine (Hemp) Shaffer, were also born in Bucks county, and died in New Jersey. Mrs. Rob- inson was first married September 29, 1869, to Wil- lard T. Stull, a farmer and cooper, who died July 8, 1877, and was buried in Bowles cemetery, Jessup township. To them were born three children, namely: Katie, now the wife of George M. Brutz- man, a farmer of Auburn township, Susquehanna county ; Lida, wife of Byron Horton, a farmer of Jessup township; and Eva, wife of Edward Tay- lor, a farmer of Forest Lake township.

Mr. Robinson is a leading and active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Fairdale, in which he has served as steward, and being a strong temperance man, he casts his ballot with the Prohi- bition party. He served as supervisor of his town- ship three years, discharging the duties of the office in a most commendable manner, and as a public- spirited and progressive citizen he has done much to advance the interests of the communities in which he has lived.

WILBUR F. LYMAN is a well known resi- dent of Auburn township, Susquehanna county, and belongs to a family which has been identified with the history of this part of the county from an early day, and whose members have always held an honorable place among its industrious and valuable citizens. He is a grandson of Gideon Lyman, who was born about 1785 at Lymanville, in Springville township, where he passed his early life. He died at the age of forty-six years, in Washington town- ship, Wyoming county. By his first wife, Keziah Earl, he had four children, viz .: Llewellyn, a min- ister of the M. E. Church, who died in early man- hood; Fannie, deceased, who was the wife of Zurah Travis, of Wyoming county ; Landers, father of our subject ; and George, who died at the age of sev- enteen years. For his second wife Gideon Lyman married Harriet Lee, of Easton, Pennsylvania.

Landers Lyman was November 10, 1814, in Washington township, Wyoming Co., Penn., where he was reared to manhood, and there he married Miss Eliza Sanders, a native of Ohio, born June 5, 1816. He followed farming in Wyoming county, where he owned land, until his son Wilbur was about seven years of age, when he came to Susque-

hanna county, settling in Springville township, where he passed the remainder of his life and where his widow still makes her home. His death, which was very sudden, occurred August 31, 1877, while he was in the field sowing wheat. Landers Lyman was a prominent man in Springville township in his day, a citizen who was respected and trusted by his fellowmen, and he held the offices of tax col-

lector, assessor and school director with ability and general satisfaction. He was active in local pol- itics, first as a Whig and later as a Republican, and in the days of the Abolitionist party assisted by his means and influence in the workings of the "under- ground railroad" to Canada. He was equally zeal- ous in Church work, he and his wife holding mem- bership with the M. E. Society, and served for years as trustee, class-leader, steward and superintendent of Sunday-school. Of his four children, Wilbur F. was the eldest; Adelaide, now deceased, was the wife of S. Bunnell; Lucy is the widow of Rev. L. L. Peck, of Bradford county, Penn .; Prentice died young.

Wilbur F. Lyman was born July 7, 1839, in Washington township, Wyoming county, and as above stated came to Springville township, Susque- hanna county, when seven years old. He received his early education in the district schools of that township, finishing with study at the Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, Penn. He was reared to ag- ricultural pursuits, and in 1858 commenced on his own account, buying 100 acres of wild land in the southeast part of Auburn township, where he has since engaged in lumbering and farming, having now sixty acres under cultivation. He has added thirty acres to the original tract. In addition to general farming Mr. Lyman has engaged quite ex- tensively in sheep raising and also in dairying, at present keeping ten cows, all young stock and full- blooded Jerseys. In 1899 he bought a steam mill of fifteen-horse power, 20 x 75 feet in dimensions, where he carries on sawing and planing both for himself and others, and altogether he is a very busy man. He has been well repaid, however, for the care and time he has devoted to his various enter- prises, for he gains a comfortable competence by industry and thrifty management, and he ranks among the substantial citizens of his community. He is a systematic and energetic business man, and he has a reputation second to none for honesty and fairness in all his dealings, having the confidence and respect of all who know him. He has never sought office and does not give much attention to public affairs.

Mr. Lyman was married November 2, 1858, in Springville township, to Miss Margaret C. Mc- Kean, and they are the parents of the following named children: Fred B., born May 18, 1860, is a farmer and railroad employe and lives in Lemon township, Wyoming county (he married Julia Aus- tin and has two children, Addison W. and Grace) ; Edward W., born November 3, 1862, died at the age of ten years ; Fannie E., born September 2, 1867, is the wife of George Berry, of Wyoming county, and has two children, Thomas W. and Landis A .; Grace, born July 19, 1870, is the wife of Henry Ells- worth, of Wyoming county, and has two children, Carrie E. and Thomas W .; Lottie, who married Edward Bowman, has one child, Burton W .; Lan- ders, born May 5, 1878, assists in the work of the home farm; Emma, born October 5, 1880, lives at

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home. Mr. and Mrs. Lyman take an active part in Church work, and he held the office of steward at one time; he joined the Free Methodist Society in 1893, and Mrs. Lyman is a member of the M. E. Church. Mr. Lyman's political support was for- merly given to the Republican party, but he is now an ardent Prohibitionist, and he is always interested in any project which will advance the moral and material interests of his community. On July 30, 1863, he enlisted in Company D, 35th P. V. I., un- der Capt. C. C. Halstead. This was an emergency regiment, and after the battle of Gettysburg guard- ed the prisoners and buried the dead.

Mrs. Margaret C. (McKean) Lyman is the daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Angle) Mckean, natives of Sussex county, N. J., and granddaugh- ter of Daniel and Margaret Mckean. She is the second youngest in a family of eight children, of whom Charles G., born February 2, 1826, is de- ceased ; Euphemia A., born October 9, 1827, is de- ceased; Jeremiah, born November 7, 1829, is de- ceased ; Sarah Ann, born January 3, 1833, deceased, was the wife of Elisha Lyman, of Wyoming county ; Daniel, born May 18, 1834, is deceased ; John H., born September 13, 1836, is an editor, living in Kokomo, Ind .; Margaret C. was born October 2, 1839; Martha I., born May 3, 1843, married Bloom- field Lyman, of Sayre, Bradford county, Pennsyl- vania.

JOHN G. RIEFLER, a member of the well known firm of Riefler & Sons, of Tanners Falls, Wayne county, has a wide reputation as a most capable business man, and occupies a position of no little prominence in commercial circles. His life demonstrates what may be accomplished through energy, careful management, keen foresight and. the utilization of the powers with which nature has endowed a man, and the opportunities with which the times surround him.

A native of Wayne county, Mr. Riefler was born in Oregon township, July 13, 1854, and was educated in the common schools until he was thir- teen years of age. He assisted his father in lum- bering and clearing land, and after reaching the age of twenty-one received wages for his services. In 1881 he went to Erie, Penn., and in company with an uncle bought a hotel, but he sold out at the end of a year and returned to Wayne county, where he ran his father's sawmill. In 1890 the firm of Riefler & Sons began operations at Tanners Falls, Dyberry township, their original purchase consist- ing of 7,338 acres of land, mills, shops, a store, dwelling houses, etc. The sawmill has been in con- tinual operation, and in 1893 the acid factory was built. It is supplied with sixteen huge retorts, which after being filled with hard wood are sub- jected to intense heat for twenty-four hours, dur- ing which time the smoke, etc., passes through pipes immersed in water, and the alcohol, being more easily condensed than other liquids, is drawn off. The wood when removed from the retorts is

charcoal, and by means of this and other substances acted upon by very expensive machinery, acetate of lime is made-a substance used extensively in the dyeing of calico, as it produces a fast color, and also in the manufacture of paris green, smokeless powder, etc. A second factory of the same capa- city was erected in 1898. On January 26, 1900, application was made by Hon. Joel Hill, his son Louis, John Riefler and his sons John G. and Will- iam F., and Joseph Taylor for the charter of an intended corporation to be called the Duck Harbor Lumber & Chemical Co., to be formed for the pur- pose of manufacturing and selling lumber, wood alcohol, acetates, charcoal and other products made from wood by destructive distillation. The stock company recently purchased a large tract of timber land at Duck Harbor, and will erect another large factory at Lookout during the summer of 1900, contracts already being let and much wood pre- pared.

Mr. Riefler was married, May 15, 1889, to Miss Frances E. Schoonover, the ceremony being performed by Rev. W. H. Swift, pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Honesdale. Mrs. Riefler was born April 17, 1864, at Prompton borough, a daughter of Levi L. and Delcve ( Barheit) Schoon- over, the former a native of Oregon township, Wayne county, and the latter of Windham, Greene Co., N. Y. To Mr. and Mrs. Riefler have been born five children, whose names and dates of births are as follows: Florence Schoonover, September 26, 1891; Dorothy Vollmer, July 31, 1893; John Franklin, October 21, 1894; Delcye Marjorie, June I, 1897; Robert Bruce, February 10, 1899.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 1, Part 67

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