Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4, Part 102

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1058

USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4 > Part 102
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4 > Part 102
USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4 > Part 102
USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4 > Part 102

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THOMAS H. HOAR, who died November 23, 1897, at Hawley, Wayne county, was one of the most respected of the early settlers of that town, where he had resided since 1849.

Mr. Hoar was a native of Ireland, born Novem- ber 17, 1829, in Roscommon, County Roscommon, where his parents. James and Della ( Kennedy) Hoar, were farming people and passed all their lives. They died in 1831 and 1844, respectively. Of their six children, Mary, Mrs. Patrick Lyons, died in Ireland : John died at Scranton, Penn .; Patrick died at Hawley ; James is a farmer at Ledgedale, Penn. : Catherine married Patrick McNamara, and both are deceased; Thomas H. was the youngest. Mr. Hoar's paternal grandparents were James and Julia ( Fallard) Hoar, of Ireland, the latter of whom lived to be over ninety years of age, active and well preserved to the last. His maternal grandfather, John Kennedy, followed farming in Ireland all his days.

Thomas H. Hoar was fourteen years of age when he came to America with his brothers John, Patrick and James, and for the first six months after their arrival they lived at Richmond, on Staten

Island. Removing to New York City, Thomas re- mained there fifteen months, with Chatfield Smith, and then came to Carbondale, Penn., where lie worked at house carpentering until August, 1849, tlie date of his settlement in Hawley. Here he entered the employ of the Pennsylvania Coal Co., as car builder, and continued with them in that capacity until, in 1886, they removed their shops to Scranton, Penn. For the next five years Mr. Hoar gave his attention to the cultivation of a piece of land which he owned, and in 1891 lie accepted the position of night watchman for the Erie & Wyoming Railway Co., which he continued to hold until his death. He enjoyed good health up to within a short time before his decease, and he was known everywhere as a most active, industrious man, one who made his success by steady work and careful manage- ment, for he advanced himself from comparatively humble circumstances to a comfortable position in life, and had a beautiful home in Hawley, which his widow now occupies. Mr. Hoar was a member of the Catholic Church. In his political preferences he was a Democrat.

On November 1, 1850. Mr. Hoar was united in marriage, at Honesdale, Wayne county, by Rev. Father Maloney, with Miss Catherine Brady, and they reared a family whose members are all use- ful and respected residents of the communities in which they make their home and a credit to their par- ents. There were ten children, of whom the first- born, Julia, died young. Mary died at the age of five years. Julia (2) died young. Bridget is the wife of M. J. McAndrew, the station agent at Hawley, and has nine children : they occupy a fine home just across the street from the Hoar residence. Jane, unmarried, lives with her mother. Anna mar- ried Richard Halligan, and has three children : Mr. Halligan is foreman of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western car shops at Scranton. William J. is also in the employ of the Delaware. Lackawanna & West- ern Co. at Scranton ; he married Miss Jennie Ken- nedy, and they have two children. Thomas B. is car inspector for the same company at Scranton. Lydia is the wife of Eugene Leonard, who conducts a restaurant in Brooklyn, N. Y .; they have one child. Nellie lives with her mother.

Mrs. Catherine ( Brady) Hoar was born March 6. 1831, in County Sligo, Ireland, and was one of the ten children of John and Julia ( McHugh) Brady, who lived and died in Ireland. The father ran an express, using several cars in his business. He died in March, 1878, at the advanced age of eighty years, the mother in 1849. Of the children. William. Michael, John, Andrew and Frank died in Treland. James came to this country and served in the Civil war, went West after leaving the serv- ice, and has not been heard from since. Patrick died in ireland. Mary married Patrick Hoar. brother of Thomas H. Hoar. and after ly's death. which oc- curred in Hawley, became the wife of Michael Tage: they both died in Hawley. Catherine is the willow of Thomas II. Hoar. Jane married Peter Carr, and

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she and her husband both died in California. Mrs. Hoar's paternal grandparents, John and Ann (Knoughton ) Brady, were farming people of County Sligo. On her mother's side she is a granddaughter of Frank and Nora McHugh, the former of whom was a freeholder in County Sligo, owning about 700 acres of land.

NICHOLAS HESS, SR., a prominent citizen of Shohola township, Pike county, now retired front aetive business cares, is one of the men who make old age seem the better portion of life. For many years he was actively identified with the agricult- ural and industrial interests of this region and is now enjoying the fruits of his former toil, while he makes his home with his children.

Mr. Hess was born July 22, 1820, in Hessen, Germany, of which province his parents, Conrad and Ellen (Adolph) Hess, were also natives. In their family were five children, four sons and one daugh- ter, and with the exception of Jacob, who was drowned in Germany, all came to the New World. Our subject served for seven years in the German army, but at the age of twenty-six he bade good-by to home and native land and sailed for America. Loeating near Albany, N. Y., he secured employ- ment on the Boston railroad, with which he was con- neeted .. for a year or two, and then came to Pike county, Penn., and aceepted a position as foreman on the Erie road, remaining with it nearly two years. At the end of that time he enlisted in Company B, 15Ist P. V. I., and for II months valiantly fought for his adopted country, participating in two severe engagements, those of Chancellorsville and Gettys- burg. On receiving an honorable discharge he re- turned to Shohola township, Pike county, and pur- ehased land, dividing his time between farm work and railroad employment for many years. For sev- eral years, however, he has now lived retired, and now spends a part of his time in Peckville, Penn., and the remainder with his children in Shohola township.

On November 8, 1847, in Albany, N. Y., Mr. Hess was united in marriage with Miss Mary Spawn, daughter of Henry Spawn. After a happy married life of almost half a century, she was called to her final rest November 28, 1896. The children born to them were as follows: ( 1) Mary, born July I. 1848, is now the wife of Charles Wallack, general coal inspector living at Peckville, Penn. (2) Ellen, born August 8, 1850, is the wife of Edward Shadler, blacksmith, of Peckville. (3) Eve, born June 4, 1853, was married March 1, 1874, to George C. Mc- Kean, and has had ten children, namely-Francis, who was born May 20, 1875, and is now the wife of Jaeob Greening, of Peckville : Jessie, who died in infaney ; Lafayette, born May 7. 1878; Katie Flor- ence, born March 27, 1880: George N., who died in infancy ; Gusta, born May 20, 1883 ; Cleveland, born July 30, 1885; Warren, born June 14, 1887; Eliza, born April 5, 1889; and Everett N., born April 3, 1893. (4) Jolin married Annie Keller, and is a

farmer of Sholiola township. (5) Nicholas, Jr., married Annie Mckean and is a farmer of the same township. (6) Christana is the wife of Philip Coon, also an agriculturist of Shohola township. The family is highly respected wherever known, and Mr. Hess' many friends appreciate hiis sterling worth and many excellencies of character. In po- litical sentiment he is a strong Republican, and he has always given his support to all enterprises cal- culated to prove of public benefit. He affiliates with the Grand Army of the Republic, and is a faithful member of the Presbyterian Church.

ISAAC PETERS ( deceased ) was a well-known farmer and honored citizen of Price township, Mon- roe county. He was born at Newton, N. J., in 1830, the only son of Henry and Mary Peters, of that place, in whose family were also three daughters. namely: Elizabeth, Mrs. Aukeman, of New York State; Sarah, wife of Samuel Bland, of Paterson, N. J. ; and Susan.

In his native place Mr. Peters was reared to manliood, and received a common-school education. On November 30, 1865, he married Miss Anna Bates, daughter of Aaron and Emily ( Quakenbush ) Bates, of an old and prominent family of Camden county, N. J. In 1863 her father removed to a farmi in Price township, Monroe Co., Penn., for which he ~ had traded some real eastate in Philadelphia in 1854. His wife died in early life. leaving him with three small children, whom he reared to habits of usefulness, and with whom he made his home dur- ing his deelining years, dying on the old homestead in Price township in 1885. The sons, Joseph and William, live together on a farm in that township, and the latter is married. Mrs. Peters, the only daughter, was born in July, 1840, and was reared in Haddonfield, N. J., her education being completed in the high school at that place.

After his marriage Mr. Peters located upon the farm in Price township, Monroe county. where his widow is still living, and toits improvement and eulti- vation he devoted his energies until life's labors were over, passing away on that place in 1894. He was a consistent member of the Baptist Church, and was a man well worthy of the high regard in whichi he was held by all who knew him. Always a patriotic and loyal citizen. he served for over a year in the Union army during the Civil war. and participated in a number of engagements, in which he did his duty nobly on the field of battle. As a citizen lie was highly respected by all who came under his genial influence, and nowhere was his love more felt than in the home circle. where wife and family were liis first consideration. In politics he was a Republi- can, and he acceptably served as supervisor of his township.

Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Peters : ( 1) Sarah, born in 1869, married Conrad Peters, of Stroudsburg, who is now engaged in farming in Stroud township. Monroe county, and they have two children, Clara and Burnie. (2) Lewis, born

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in 1871, married Katie Batchelor, of Smithfield township, Monroe county, and they reside in Price township. Their children are George and Louisa. (3) Isaac, born in February, 1875, received the bene- fitsof a public-school education, and after his father's death became manager of the homestead, in the operation of which he has displayed good business ability and sound judgment. (4) Daisy, born in October, 1877, was educated in the home schools, and is a refined and accomplished young lady ; she is a favorite among her companions, a comfort to her mother and brother in their home, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Reared by picus and religious parents, the children have be- come honored and useful members of society.

PRENTICE GAVITT was one of the brave men who laid down their lives on the altar of their country during the dark days of the Rebellion. Al- ways a patriotic and loyal citizen, he joined the Union army in the spring of 1861, soon after the opening of hostilities, and died in the service of his country November 17, 1861, honored and respected .. by all who knew him.

Mr. Gavitt was born May 17, 1824. His father, Richard Gavitt, was a native of Rhode Island, born April 22, 1796, and was married in Connecticut to Rebecca Williams, whose birth occurred October 6, 1794. At an early day they came to Susquehanna county, Penn., and took up their residence in Dimock township, where they spent their remaining days, the father dying August 4, 1847, the mother- December 16, 1863. The children born to them were as follows: Temperance, now the widow of William Stone, of Lanesboro, Penn .; Prentice, our subject ; Peter, who was born July 10, 1827, and is now a resident of Sullivan county, Penn .; Mary, who was born June 24. 1830, and is the widow of Francis Rosencrants; Nancy: John, who was born May 3, 1832, and married Nancy Moore, by whom he has three children-Frederick, of Bridgewater township, Susquehanna county, and Clementine and Homer, both of Scranton, Penn .; and Thankful, wife of Albert Conklin, of Laporte, Sullivan county.

On attaining to man's estate Prentice Gavitt was married in Dimock township, July 12, 1846, to Miss Emiline Parke, who was born February 17, 1827, a daughter of Aaron Thomas and Elizabeth ( Phillips ) Parke. The father was born in Wyoming county, Penn., June 28, 1803, while the mother was born in Pittston, Penn., February 3, 1808, and died March 1, 1841. Mrs. Gavitt is the oldest of their children, the others being as follows : Jolin, born February 6, 1820, lives in Dimock township ; Rosella (deceased ) was the wife of Benjamin Ely ; Frances is the widow of Thomas Percell, of White Haven, Penn. : Chester (deceased ) made his home in Dimock township; and Lorenzo D. died while serving as a member of a cavalry regiment during the Civil war. By a second marriage the father had five children, namely: Mel- issa, Orlando, Betsy. Burton and Cornelia. He made liis home in Luzerne county, Penn., until

1842, when he removed to Bridgewater township, Susquehanna county, and throughout life he fol- lowed the occupation of farming. His father was Thomas Parke, a native of Connecticut, who mar- ried Lucy Eggleston, and died in Pittston, Penn. Mrs. Gavitt's maternal grandparents were Ozie and Levina (Davis) Phillips, who lived and died in Pittston, Penn., and her great-grandfather was John Phillips, a native of Vermont.

Seven children constituted the family of Mr. and Mrs. Gavitt: Charles, born July 10, 1847, en- listed, during the Civil war, in the 11th P. V. I., and also died in the service of his country in 1864; John, born February 26, 1849, is a farmer and car- penter, of Bridgewater township. Susquehanna coun- ty ; Jane, born December 30. 1851, died at the age of thirteen years; Libby, born January 12, 1853, is the wife of J. Ely, of Brooklyn township, Susque- lianna county ; Leroy, born December 26, 1855. lives in Hazleton, Penn., and was the first mayor of the city ; Willis ( now deceased), born February Io, 1857, married Ellen Newbegal, of Wilkes Barre, Penn., and Ida, born May 1, 1861, is living with her mother in Dimock township. The family were liv- ing in Jessup township when Mr. Gavitt entered the army, and there he followed farming as a lite work. He was a supporter of the Republican party, and was recognized as one of the most useful and valu- able citizens of his community. always willing to aid any enterprise which he believed would prove of public benefit. After his death his wife and chil- dren removed to Dimock township. where she pur- chased six and three-quarters acres of land, on which she has now made her home for thirty-three years. She has displayed good business ability in the management of her affairs, and has won the resepct and esteem of all who know her.

E. J. MESSENGER, a successful farmer and highly-respected citizen of Ararat township, Sus- quehanna county, was born in Thompson. Penn .. in 1841, a son of John W. and Susan ( Funk ) Messen- ger. The father was born in the Mohawk Valley, N. Y .. in 1818, and was a son of Ebenezer Messenger, a native of Vermont and pioneer of Susquehanna county, Penn. Throughout life the father followed the occupation of farming, and made his home in Thompson and Ararat townships. Susquehanna connty, and later in Sullivan county, Penn. His death occurred in Ararat township. in 1894. His wife is still living and makes her home with her son Avery, in that township.

Our subject was reared and educated in Sus- quehanna county, and was there engaged in farm- ing when the Civil war broke out. Feeling that his country needed his services, he laid aside all personal interests, and in 1861, in Bridgewater township, enlisted, in the three months service, as a member of Company D. 56th P. V. I. At Harrisburg. he re- enlisted for three years in the same company and regiment, and was assigned to Gen. Burnside's com- mand. Later hie veteranized in the regiment, and

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participated in all the battles in which the command was engaged. During the battle of the Wilderness he received a gunshot wound. He was honorably discharged in October, 1865, at Harrisburg, and on leaving the service went to Montrose, Penn. In 1869 he located near La Porte, Sullivan Co., Penn., where he opened up a good farm which he still owns. He continued to actively engage in agricul- tural pursuits at that place until 1898, when he came to Ararat township, Susquehanna county, and purchased a farm of thirty acres on which he now resides. He has met with good success in his chosen calling and has become quite well-to-do.

Mr. Messenger was united in marriage in Sulli- van county, with Miss Polly Gould, a native of Dimock township, Susquehanna county, and to them were born two children: John, now a resident of Binghamton, N. Y .; and a daughter who is now Mrs. Mead, of Wayne county, Penn. Politically Mr. Messenger is a Republican. The various enterprises inaugurated for the general welfare of the people have invariably, enlisted his sympathies and atten- tion, and he has manifested the same loyalty in days of peace as in time of war.

ANDREW HALLET, a highly-respected resi- dent of East Stroudsburg, Monroe county, is promi- nently identified with the slate-roofing industry, and, in addition to an extensive trade as a dealer in materials connected with that business, he fills many contracts in his own and neighboring counties.

Mr. Hallet was born November 9, 1832, in Monroe county, son of James Hallet and grandson of Isaac Hallet. His ancestors settled at an early day in Orange county, N. Y., where Isaac Hallet passed his entire life, he and his wife, Margaret ( Hal- lock), both dying there. This worthy couple had the following children: James, our subject's father ; William, a farmer, who died in Northampton coun- ty, Penn .; Abbie, who married Thomas Jacobus, of New York City; Daniel. deceased, who remained in Orange county, N. Y .; and Phoebe, who mar- ried Horace Peck, a shoemaker in New York City, and later of Slateford, Penn., where both died.

James Hallet was born in Orange county, N.Y., in 1791, and engaged in farming in what is now Stroud township, Monroe county. His last days were spent in retirement at Slateford, where he died at the advanced age of eighty-two years and nine months. Politically he was a Republican, and in religious faith he was a Methodist. He married Rachel La Barre, who was born in 1796, daughter of Joseph LaBarre, and died in 1883. Of their eight children, all lived to maturity, and all but one survive. The eldest, William, a farmer by occupa- tion, .died in Pocono township, Monroe coun- ty : Margaret married John Williams, of Slateford ; Ellen married Morgan Williams, and also resides at Slateford; Mary Jane married Hugh Williams, of Portland, Penn .; Abigail married Henry Matti- son, of Monroe county, now deceased ; Joseph re- sides upon a farm in Warren county, N. J .; An-

drew, our subject, was seventh in the order of birth ; Charles occupies the old homestead in Stroud town- ship, Monroe county.

Our subject's youth was spent at the old home- stead, and farm work alternated with an attendance at the district school near by. He learned the car- penter's trade, but soon afterward became interested in the slate-roofing business, in which he has met with marked success. Since 1870 he has resided 111 East Stroudsburg, where he built his present resi- dence, and he and his family are much esteemed in the social circles of that city. He is a member of the M. E. Church and also belongs to the Senior Order of United American Mechanics, at Centre- ville, Penn. In politics he is a stanch Republican. He is of robust constitution, weighing 190 pounds, and at one time he."tipped the beam" at 205 pounds.

In 1859 Mr. Hallet married Miss Emily Meloy, a native of Orange county, N. Y., born August II, 1836, and five children have blessed the union : ( I ) Mary married Daniel Sayre, and died leaving one child, Mazie. (2) Ella married William Foster, of . Springfield, Mass., and has one child, Delaphene. (3) Maggie married Willis J. Slater, of East Stroudsburg, and has two children, Harry and Carl. (4) John W., who is a slater by trade, is a young man of fine mental ability, and has recently patented an invention which promises to be valuable. He is unmarried, and resides at home. (5) Willis L. is a student in a business college at Springfield, Massa- chusetts.

SEYMOUR H. LAWRENCE. The subject of this sketch is one of the most prominent farmers of Lenox township, Susquehanna county.

For about a half a century Mr. Lawrence has been a resident of the county and for twenty-one years he has occupied his present spacious residence. The great-grandfather of our subject. Thomas Lawrence, was a wealthy Hollander, who prior to the Revolutionary war emigrated to America, and during that memorable struggle was living on land which is now a part of the City of Philadelphia. His son, Thomas Lawrence, the grandfather of our subject. settled with other members of the family on the Walkill river, Sussex county, purchasing a tract of one thousand acres, eight hundred and eighty of which are still held by the family and comprise one of the finest farms of New Jersey. He married for his third wife. Catherine Morris, of Morrisania, N. Y. He died in Sussex county. N. J .. at the age of seventy-two years. His children were Maria, who married Judge Shea, of Philadelphia : Richard M., father of our subject ; Thomas; and Catherine, who died a spinster.

Richard Morris Lawrence, the father of our subject, was born in 1778, in Sussex county, N. J. He acquired the profession of surveying and in that capacity assisted in establishing the boundary line between the United States and Canada. On the St. Lawrence river he lost his horse through the ice while engaged in this work. He also assisted in sur-

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veying the Milford & Oswego turnpikes. Politically he was a Whig, and he resided permanently in Sus- sex county, N. J. He was a candidate for Assembly- man, but the district was too strongly Democratic for his election. He married Betsey Hamilton, and his three children were: Lewis M., who re- sided in Sussex county, and is now deceased ; Will- iam, who also died in Sussex county ; and Seymour H., the subject of this sketch. The father died in 1857, aged seventy-nine years.

Seymour H. Lawrence, our subject, was born June 17, 1829, in Sussex county, N. J. His early education he received in a log school house withi a stone fire-place. He began farm work early in life, and in Sussex county married Hannah A. Pad- dock, daughter of John and Elizabeth ( Shaw) Pad- dock. At the age of twenty-two, he migrated to Franklin township, Susquehanna county, and cleven years later removed to Harford township. Thence in 1865 he came to Lenox township, purchasing 130 acres of land, most of which was wild, and engaging in the arduous undertaking of clearing the property. For thirteen years he lived on that property, then in 1878 purchased near by seventy-four acres of land, most of which was cleared. There he has lived dur- ing the past twenty-one years. He, is engaged in general and dairy farming and is one of the influen- tial and highly esteemed agriculturists of the town- ship.

To our subject and his wife have been born three children : W. D., a merchant of Lenox town- ship; Gus S., of Lenox township; and Alma. wife of Harry Shipman, of Montrose, Penn. An adopt- ed daughter, Alida Harding Lawrence, married A. W. Miles. In politics Mr. Lawrence is a stanch Democrat.

JOHN REYNOLDS, a retired farmer and hon- ored citizen of Oakland township, Susquehanna county, was born in March, 1819, in the town of Coxsackie, Greene Co., N. Y., a son of Jacob and Maria (Vannoten ) Reynolds.

Jacob Reynolds, Sr., the grandfather of our subject, was a native of England, who on his emigration to America settled in Greene coun- ty, N. Y., where he followed farming for many years He left a family of four sons, namely : Reuben, Richard, Jesse and Jacob. Reuben located in Canada. The parents of our sub- ject both died upon the home farm in Greene coun- tv. In their family were eight children, all born in that county, namely: Eliza is now the widow of Isaac McGuire, by whom she had several children, and she is still a resident of Greene county, N. Y. ; William married Rachel Garner, and lives in the same countty ; Caroline died unmarried in Greene county : Isaac also died there leaving one son who still resides on the old homestead : Peter died unnar- ried on the home farm: Andrew also lived on the old homestead throughout life: Elmyra married Walter Youman, and died in Athens, N. Y .. leav- ing one son, Williani, a well-to-do farmer living

on the Hudson river; and John, our subject, com- pletes the family.

John Reynolds was reared on the old homestead in Greene county, and during his early hie fol- lowed farming and lumbering there. In 1843 he married Miss Zilpha Walters, a daugliter of Jonas and Betsy Walters, who belonged to a prominent old family of Greene county, where she was born in August, 1827, and was educated in the district schools. Mr. Reynolds continued his residence in his native county for two years after his marriage and then, in 1846, removed to Delaware county, .V. Y., and purchased 100 acres of land near Mason- ville, where he cleared and improved a farm. He erected upon the place a good house and barn, and in connection with general farming, ne run a sugar camp in the spring, remaining there for twelve years. At the end of that time he came to Susquehanna county, Penn., and bought a farm ncar the town of Susquehanna, upon which he made his home until 1866. Since then he has purchased property in Oakland township, where, after having engaged in agricultural pursuits for many years with good re- sults, he now lives retired.

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Commemorative biographical record of northeastern Pennsylvania, including the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne, Pike and Monroe, Pt. 4, Part 102

Author: Publication date: 1900 Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1058

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1058