Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 3, Part 20

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1000

USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 3 > Part 20
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 3 > Part 20
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 3 > Part 20
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 3 > Part 20

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The Edinger ancestors came from Holland at the time of the Revolutionary war with England ; there were two brothers. After the war one of them settled in Bucks county, the other in Monroe county. The Edinger family being of Dutch descent they are naturally of a quick temper, but otherwise good citi- zens, so much so that in a very few cases have they ever had a law stit that the Squire could not set-

tle. They were naturally talented, with voiees for singing, and quick to learn musie. They were also good walkers. Working at their trade as masons in the country, it was necessary for theni to go a great distance at times, and this they did mostly before daylight, going as far as fifteen miles, and eating breakfast by candlelight. In one instance the father of our subject, together with two of his brothers, went forty-five miles to erect a wall, starting from home at midnight, and when they returned setting , out in the evening, walking all night, and getting home in the morning.

ALBERT F. HARWOOD, one of the most prominent and successful agriculturists of Lake township, Wayne county, and an ex-lumberman of wide reputation, noted for his shrewdness and in- tegrity, is a native of Massachusetts, born March 22, 1842, in North Adams.

Mr. Harwood comes of Scotch ancestry, and the first of the family in this country appears to have been a well-to-do farmer in Massachusetts, where he settled some time during the eighteenth century. Our subject's maternal grandfather, Granville B. Green, also of Massachusetts, served in the war of 1812. Hastings Harwood, father of Albert F., was also born in the Bay State, and died there in Au- gust, 1845, at the early age of thirty years. He was a stone eutter by occupation. He married Miss Roxanna Green, of the same locality, and children as follows were born to them: Louisa E .. wife of John R. Wickham, a farmer of Texas township. Wayne county ; Albert F., our subjeet ; and Elmer E., a farmer at Beach Lake, Wayne county. After the death of the father the mother wedded Silas W. Gary, who served in the Civil war, and died in 1892 ; there were no children by this marriage. Mrs. Gary died August. 1, 1853, aged forty years.

On February 27, 1865, at Hawley, Penn .. Al- bert F. Harwood, our subject, was married to Miss Rebecca Shaffer, and a brief record of their family is as follows : Harry H., born July 5, 1868, operates a gristmill at Waymart, Wayne county : he married Florence Griffeth, and they have two children. Har- old and Eva Ruth. Charles M., born February 21. 1870, is a blacksmith by trade, but runs the engine in his brother Harry's mill. Clara E., born October 6. 1871, married Dahlgren Kizer, a lumberman at Kizertown, Penn., and has three children. Edith, Lulu and Rebecca. Susie, born October 17. 1875, died April 9, 1876. Bessie, born January 29. 1877, married M. Abby, a farmer of Salem township. Wayne county, and has one child, Otis. John. born July 14, 1879, is attending school at Lebanon. Penn. Mrs. Harwood was born December 12, 1841. in Cherry Ridge township, Wayne county, a daughter of Samuel and Mary .A. ( Curtis) Shaffer. natives of South Canaan township, Wayne county, well-to- do farming people, and consistent members of the M. E. Church : the father was also prominent as a Democrat. He died in 1845. at the age of thirty- two, the mother in September. 1881. aged sixty-

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two years, and they rest from their labors in the burying ground in Canaan township. The children born to this honored couple were as follows: Eliza married William Fitzsimmons, a farmer in Dunning. l'enn. ; Sidney married Catherine Simons, and both are deceased ; Rebecca is now Mrs. Harwood; and Sophrona is deceased. After the death of the fa- ther of these the mother married Louis Loubshire, who died December, 1877, aged fifty-eight years. Their children were Lury ( deceased ), who married George Ferris, of Maplewood, Penn. ; Caroline ( de- ceased ), who married Adam Drake, a carpenter, of' Long Island; Rutus, who died at the age of nine years; George, connected with a railroad in Chi- cago, Ill. ; and Byron, an employe on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad, at Clark's Sum- mit, Penn. [Mention of Mrs. Harwood's paternal grandfather, Moses Shaffer, will be found in the sketch of Joseph Shaffer, of South Canaan township, and for mention of her maternal grandparents, Jeremialı and Catherine ( Wagner ) Curtis, see sketch of W. N. Curtis, of South Canaan town- ship.]

Albert F. Harwood, whose name introduces this sketch, when nine years of age, in 1851, accompa- nied his mother, stepfather, brother and sister to Wayne county, and they remained one year at Honesdale, in Berlin township, where the mother died, and the family became separated. Prior to her death, however, the mother had thoughtfully made provision to have her children properly reared, and accordingly young Albert was brought up and educated under the care of Galard Russell, a farm- er. whose home was one-halt mile distant from Honesdale, Penn., remaining with him until he was aged eighteen years. At that time he returned to

Berlin township and worked for his brother-in-law. J. R. Wickkam, the better part of two years, and thence moved to Lake township, where he found em- ployment with Alvin Leonard, at Sand Pond, lum- bering in the woods six months; thence went to Salem township. where he worked at lumbering for John McFarland two and one-half years. He was next employed by the Delaware & Hudson Coal Co., hewing lumber. also helping to erect the first mill for that corporation, at Forest City. Penn .. then a wilderness, and was with them in all five months. We next find Mr. Harwood at Scranton. Penn., doing carpenter work for the Scranton Coal Co., nine months, after which he worked for the Penn- sylvania Coal Co., repairing railroad tracks for that corporation ; but owing to a strike among the em- ployes of the road he left, and removing to Elk county, Penn., followed lumbering there four years. From Elk county he betook himself to Lackawanna county, where he bought a tract of land, chiefly woodland, for which he paid $1.ojo cash, and re- mained there. farming and lumbering. until the spring of 1886. in that year purchasing his present farm of eighty-five acres, and there is no better land to be found in Wayne county. As we have just mentioned, Mr. Ilarwood paid $1.050 for his prop-

erty in Lackawanna county, and after taking $2,- 500 worth of lumber off same he sold the farm for $2,000. Ile moved to his Lake township purchase in 1888, and worked both places together about three years. Since coming to Lake township he has made his home here without intermission, al- though he continued his lumbering interests at various places, retiring therefrom only in about 1896. In 1892 he purchased one thousand acres of land in Pike county, which he succeeded in clear- ing within three years.

In 1863, during the war of the Rebellion. Mr. Harwood was drafted, but paid $350-commuta- tion money. Politically he has always been a loyal Democrat ; socially a member of the F. & A. M., uniting with Blue Lodge at Salem, and also of the 1. O. O. F., uniting with Lodge No. 307, at Mos- cow, Penn. In religious faith he and Mrs. Ilar- wood are prominently identified with the Method- ist Protestant Church, of which he is a trustee. Although an ever busy man with his extensive farn- ing, lumbering and other interests, he has yet found time to devote to the public good in many ways, in which connection it may be mentioned that he is a director of the Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Co., of Wayne county, also a stockholder in and presi- dent of the Georgetown Creamery Association. Taken all in all, he is a publie-spirited, enterprising man, as is evidenced in his biography, one who takes an active interest in everything which seems to promise a benefit to the community, and enjoys the esteem and confidence of all who know him.

WILLIAM DOUD, a skillful and prominent artist of Waymart, Wayne county, was born July 28, 1834, in Clifford township, Susquehanna Co., Penn., where his parents, Franklin and Jemima ( Halstead ) Doud, spent their entire lives. He is a representative of an old and honored family of northeastern Pennsylvania, his great-grandfather, Jude Doud. a native of Connecticut, having located at Lenoxville, Susquehanna county, in 1799. He crossed the river at that place on the rocks below the mill dam. He built and operated the mill known as Doud's mill, and also owned and cultivated 400 acres of land.

Near his father's mill John Doud, our subject's grandfather, was born, reared and remained throughout life, while he engaged in both farming and milling. Ile died at the ripe old age of eighty- seven years. Ile married Miss Elizabeth Baker, and to them were born ten children, of whom are mentioned : Franklin. Thomas N., Harrison. George, Elizabeth ( who first married Skidmore Thompkins, and after his death Rev. Gray, a Baptist minister ). Susan ( wife of Edmun Worth), Ann (wife of Ethen Warren), and John. The survivors are Thomas, who is living retired in Clifford. Penn .; and Elizabeth, now a widow, living in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania.

Franklin Doud. our subject's father, was a progressive and enterprising farmer, an honored

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and valued citizen of his community, and a Repub- liean in politics. He died March 4. 1873. aged sixty-five years, his wife in 1850 aged thirty-seven years, and both were buried in Chfford township, Susquehanna county. William is the eldest of their children ; Joseph still resides on the old homestead in Clifford township; Martin, now a resident of Long Island, N. Y., was a private in the Union army during the Civil war, and was for six months a prisoner in Andersonville; Marietta died at the age of two years : Maria E. is the widow of Charles Niles, and is a resident of Portland, Oregon : Jack- ' son is in the geographical survey at Donbolia. Aus- tralia. For his second wife the father of these children married Mrs. Dorothy Reily, who is now living in Lenoxville, Susquehanna county.

The maternal grandparents of our subject were Joseph and Maria Halstead, of Susquehanna county, the former of whom, a lumberman was killed by lightning while engaged in rafting on the Susque- hanna river, his hat band being cut in four different places, and a hole cut in the tip of his boot, but the skin of his body was not broken.

William Doud remained on the home farm with his parents until February, 1862, when he enlisted in Company K, 56th P. V. I., under Capt. Mitchell. He was never wounded, but was taken ill on the march to Slaughter Mountains, Va., and was sent to hospital, where he remained until honorably! discharged, February 4. 1863, when he returned home. With Mall Wells, at Clifford, he began learning photography, serving a six-months appren- ticeship, and was later with S. S. Hull, at Carbon- dale, for four months. He then began for himself in a wagon, at Gibson, Penn., at which place he remained for four years, and in 1879 came to Way- mart, where he has since successfully engaged in busi- ness. In 1885 he also opened a gallery at Far View, which is located 2.300 feet above sea level. He thor- oughly understands his profession, and his work is pronounced by competent judges to be of a high order and to possess genuine artistic merit. He is an active and capable business man, possessing a clear judgment, and is amply endowed with those qualities which make an honorable citizen, and in- sure for him the highest respect and regard of his fellow men. Socially he affiliates with Waymart Lodge No. 542, F. & A. M., and politically is iden- tified with the Republican party. In 1890 he was elected a member of the town council, two years later was elected assessor, and is now acceptably serving as president of the board of health.

At Nicholson, Penn., Mr. Doud was married, September 25, 1860, to Miss Adeline A. Tennant. Rev. L. Pease, a Methodist Episcopal minister, of- ficiating. They have one daughter, Viola, now the wife of Frederick C. Shaffer, a fireman on the Dela- ware & Hudson River railroad, living in Carbon- dale, Pennsylvania.

Mrs. Doud was born in Clinton township, Wayne county, December 20, 1834, a daughter of John A. and Abigail (Ilerd ) Tennant, natives of

Connecticut and New York, respectively, who were married in Newburg, N. Y. The father came to Wayne county with. his parents in 1812. Mrs. Doud's parents spent their remaining days upon a farm in Clinton township. The mother died De- cember 25, 1843, aged thirty years and was laid to rest in Keens cemetery, Canaan township, but the father long survived her, dying December 6, 1896, at the extreme old age of ninety-three years, seven months and nineteen days, being laid to rest in the Baptist Church burying-ground, Clinton township. He was one of the prominent and honored pioneers of Wayne county, and was honored with a number of township offices. By his first marriage he had six children, namely: Adeline A., the wife of our subject ; Mabel, who died at the age of one year ; William, deceased; Lyman, who died aged two years ; and Abigail and Andrew ( twins), who died in infancy. For his second wife Mr. Tennant mar- ried Adeline Tanner, and to them were born the following children : Emma, whomarried James Janes, and both are now deceased ; George, a retired farmer of Honesdale, Penn .; Russell, a farmer of Nebras- ka; Everal, who was a soldier during the Civil war, and is now a lumberman of Wilkes Barre, Penn .; Abigail, wife of Alvin Loomis, a farmer of Pleasant Mount, Wayne county; M. A., the wife of Abel Wilcox, a carpenter and farmer, of Clinton township; Lorin, a fireman on the Gravity railroad, living in Ashley, Penn. ; and Ella and Ella (2) who both died at the age of one year.

The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Doud, Charles and Betsy ( Beckworth) Tennant. were na- tives of Connecticut who became residents of Clin- ton township, Wayne Co., Penn., in 1812, but later migrated to Illinois, where the grandfather died. He was twice married, his second wife being a Mrs. Meredith. His children were Charles; Abel; John A .; Lyman ; Betsy, wife of Horace Buckland ; Sal- lie. wife of Pierce Sloan; Laura, who was three times married. first to Castle Peck, second to a Mr. Lynch, of New York, and third to a gentle- man out West : and Ann J., who first married Hi- ram Brown and later Nelson Carpenter.

The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Doud were Hon. William and Mabel Herd, of New York State, the former of whom was associate judge at New- burg. His daughters were Sallie, wife of Jona- than Gates; Nancy, wife of E. Fitch: Betsy, wife of G. Sherwood ; and Abigail, mother of Mrs. Doud ; there were also ten sons in the family. The grand- mother was twice married, her second husband be- ing a Mr. Sherwood.

JOHN ANDREW FISHER is a wide-awake and progressive agriculturist of Dingman township. Pike county, carrying on operations on the old Fish- er homestead, where he was born May 24. 1861, a son of Andrew and Sophia ( Gampert ) Fisher.

The father of our subject was born in Saxony, Germany, October 24, 1823, and died on the pres- ent farm of our subject, May 10, 1888, being laid

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John a Frischer

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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

to rest in Laurel Hill cemetery. At the age of twen- ty-two he emigrated to America and located in New York City, where he learned the cabinet maker's trade, following that occupation there for ten years, lle then traded his home in New York for a farm of seventy-five acres in Dingman township, Pike Co., Peun .. to which he removed, and afterward gave his attention to agricultural pursuits, having previ- ously engaged in farming in his native land. At the time of his death lie was the owner of two good farms in Dingman township, Pike county, the other, which has since been sold, being in Delaware town- ship. Though he came to this country a poor boy. he prospered in his undertakings. and was able to leave his family in comfortable circumstances. He was one of the most prominent and influential citi- zens of his community, and was called upon to serve in several township offices. acting as road supervisor one term and as school director for ten years. In religious belief he was a Presbyterian.

Andrew Fisher was united in marriage at New York City, in April. 1851. with Miss Sophia Gam- pert, who was born in Weisenbrun, Germany, May 3, 1830. a daughter of Frederick and Wilhelmina (Snyder) Gampert. who spent their entire lives in Germany, where the father engaged in the occu- pations of milling and farming. He died in 1841, aged thirty-nine years, the mother in 1839, at the same age. Their children were as follows : Christo- pher. an upholsterer. who died in New York City; Anna, widow of John Reiderick, of New York; Sophia. mother of our subject : Jenette, wife of An- thony Reisert. of New York, a manufacturer of brewery material : Dorothy. deceased wife of Lieut. Charles Wolfe; Ernest. who is married and is con- ducting a large boarding house in Germany; and Jolin, who is married and lives on the old home- stead in the Fatherland. In 1850 Mrs. Fisher came with her sisters Anna and Dorothy to the United States. and located in New York. By her marriage to Mr. Fisher she became the mother of the following children : Barbara, who died at the age of six years ; Jenette, who married George Major. a carpenter of New York, where she died : Charles, who died at the age of sixteen months: Dorothy, who is now the widow of William Quinn, and resides with her mother and our subject : Louisa D., deceased wife of David Newman. ex-sheriff of Pike county, resid- ing in Dingman township: John A., our subject : Helen. who died at the age of twenty-six years ; Augusta, who died at the age of nineteen years : Sophia. wife of Bernaldi McCarty, a farmer of Dingman township; Rosa, who died at the age of nineteen years ; and Anna, who died at the age of six years.

came prominently identified with public affairs, at that time being elected constable, in which office he served one year, and he was re-elected to the posi- tion in 1893 and in 1896, serving seven years in all. He has been inspector of elections two years, judge of elections one year, overseer of the poor five years, in 1896 was made county mercantile appraiser, and for the past four years has been school director, act- ing as secretary of the board one year. Politically he is a Democrat, and socially he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Milford (be- ing past grand of his lodge), and the Daughters of Rebekah. In December, 1892, he represented Sawkill Grange of his town in the annual convention at Harrisburg, Penn., and since 1890 he has been the regular correspondent for Dingman township to the United States Department of Agriculture, at Washington, D. C., to which he has rendered val- uable services.

JOHN W. SANDERCOCK. The subject of this sketch finds an appropriate place among those men of business and enterprise in Wayne county whose force of character, sterling integrity, and ex- cellent executive ability, have contributed in an eminent degree to the development and prosperity of this section. He is to-day the leading general merchant of Lake Ariel, and the success that he has achieved in life is due entirely to his own efforts.

Mr. Sandercock was born in Berlin township, Wayne county, November 11, 1850, a son of George and Mary ( Ballemy) Sandercock, who were na- tives of Cornwall, England, but became acquainted and were married in Wayne county, having come to this country in 1819. Our subject remained with his father until he reached the age of twenty-three years, when he came to Lake Ariel and embarked in his present business. He has a large and well-ap- pointed store, and by fair dealing and courteous treatment of his customers has gained a liberal patronage.

In 1875 Mr. Sandercock was married. at Hones- dale. by Rev. Mr. Cridenwise. a Methodist Epis- copal clergyman, to Miss Susan Greene. a native of Lake township, Wayne county, and a daughter of Giles Greene, whose sketch appears elsewhere. Seven children graced this union: Bertha. who is now attending Wells College : Rosa, at home : Har- riet and Julia, both deceased : and Agnes, Homer and Helen. all at home.

111 1800 Mr. Sandercock was appointed post- master of Lake Ariel, and most acceptably filled that office for six years. two years under President Cleveland's administration. although he is a stanch Republican in politics. For fifteen years he has been treasurer of Lake township, and for three years school director, filling both positions with the utmost fidelity to duty and to the entire satisfac- tion of all concerned. Socially he belongs to the Odd Fellows Lodge at Hamlinton, Wayne county, and in religious connection is a member of the Meth-

Tolin A. Fisher early became familiar with all the duties which fall to the lot of the agriculturist, and is now successfully operating the old homestead and another farm which the family own. lle is a thorough and skillful farmer. an upright and reliable business man, and a citizen of whom any community might be proud. At the age of twenty-one he be- . odist Episcopal Church. He has ever been an im-

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portant factor in the business circles of his com- munity, and in all the relations of life has been found true and faithful to every trust reposed in him, whether public or private.

HENRY O. SILKMAN, an enterprising, pub- lic-spirited business man of Maplewood, Wayne county, who has won success through his own ef- forts, is a man of influence and prominence in his community.

Born January 6, 1831, at Katonalı, Westchester Co., N. Y., Mr. Silkman is a son of William and Mary Jane ( Bailey) Silkman, both born in West- chester county, N. Y. William Silkman's father was John Silkman, and his mother was of the Hitch- cock family of New York; both lived and died at Cross River, Westchester Co., that State.

William Silkman came with his family to Penn- sylvania in 1838, locating on the site of Scranton, then a wilderness, where he cleared and improved a farm. He not only farmed, but engaged in con- tracting and the real estate business. He and his wife were members of the M. E. Church, and were respected members of society and esteemed citizens. He died in 1877, when aged sixty-five years, and she in 1895, at the age of eighty-two years. Their children were: John ( deceased) married Elizabeth Thatcher; Henry O. is our subject ; William, who married a Miss Ettinge, is a retired hardware mer- chant of Scranton ; Frank B., a merchant of Prov- idence ( now Scranton), Penn., married Lida Ful- ler; Caroline E. and Augusta reside at Scranton ; Theodore, deceased, was the youngest of the family.

The family, as stated above, moved to what is now Scranton, Penn., when Henry O. Silkman was about seven years old. Our subject went to school summer and winter until fourteen years old. and lived on a farm until fifteen. He then worked one year at the carpenter's trade, and after one year at Wyoming Seminary went into an engineer corps under James Archibald and John B. Smith, on the Pennsylvania Coal Co.'s railroad. He was employed as civil engineer for several years on different rail- roads in the Lackawanna and Wyoming valleys. making the first survey of the Scranton & Blooms- burg railroad, and at the age of twenty-five was the chief engineer of that road, continuing thus for two years. On the completion of the road he was for three years engaged in surveys in the West and Northwest, in the vicinity of St. Paul, making the survey for the first road from Duluth to St. Paul. Returning East in 1860, he engaged in and built up a large stove business at Scranton, Penn., mak- ing and selling in eight years twenty-five thousand stoves. His large factory and patterns. were burned and not rebuilt. In 1887 he moved into Wayne county, on a tract of lumiber and farming land of 1,500 acres, on which there was a large chair fac- tory, a sawmill, a small village of tenement houses, two churches, and a lake of three hundred acres now called Lake Henry. The place was built up by

Washburn & Norman, and then called Forest Mills, now changed to Maplewood. Mr. Silkman was the financial partner of the Maplewood Chair Company, which did a large business, employing some thirty men and boys; Jacob Schantz, deceased, was the managing partner of the company. Lake Henry, owned by Mr. Silkman, on which he and six others have their summer cottages, is an attractive sheet of water, noted for its pickerel and perch fishing, its numerous floating islands, and as a summer re- , sort for fishernien and small private parties all along its pleasant shores. The Consumers Ice Company, in which Mr. Silkman has a large interest, has erect- ed at the lake one of the largest ice houses in the State, and ship therefrom thirty thousand tors per annum.

MIr. Silkman and all the family are Republi- cans; he was elected to the first council of Scran- ton City, but generally he has avoided office and active political life. his own business requiring all his personal attention. Mr. Silkman has been a hard-working, active, successful business man, and belongs to the class that is neither rich nor poor. He was one of the original surveyors of Scranton. laving out the first streets in the primeval timber. His financial standing and reputation have always been unquestioned, and the property that he now owns has been honestly miade and none of it inherit- ed. In 1862 Mr. Silkman volunteered to defend his State and served for three months. Previous to this he had been drafted, but paid three hundred dollars, as his private affairs would not permit his leaving them. When the State was invaded he vol- unteered, leaving his stove business with his partners.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 3, Part 20

Author: Publication date: 1900 Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1000

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1000