USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Vol. VII > Part 19
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Children of Abram and Sara Myers (Goodwin) Nesbitt: 1. Walter J., died in infancy. 2. George Francis, born in Kingston, January 24, 1865, died Novem- ber 27, 1900. He was a graduate of Yale University, A. B., class of '87, and in 1890, after study under the eminent lawyers, E. P. and J. V. Darling, of Wilkes-Barre, was admitted to the Luzerne county bar, practicing until his death. He was
director of the Second National Bank, director of the Spring Brook Water Sup- ply Company, and member of the West- moreland Club. He shared his father". interest in the welfare of Wyoming Semi- nary and manifested that interest in a substantial way. He was one of seven friends of the seminary who presented to the institution the athletic field at the corner of Chestnut and Pringle streets, Kingston, that was formally opened May 12, 1894. He also established two cash prizes to be awarded annually for the best and second best original orations delivered by students at the Washing- ton's Birthday public exercises. 3. Abram Francis, born November 18, 1866, edu- cated at Wyoming Seminary and for several years has been the strong right arm upon which his father has leaned in the conduct of his varied business in- terests. 4. Ralph, born January 9, 1869; died February 18, 1875. 5. Sara, married, March 28, 1875, Hugh Clayton Smith, a lawyer of Wilkes-Barre. 6. Frederick, born June 23, 1875, entered Lafayette College, class of '96, but in the middle of his senior year left college to become a partner in the Easton Foundry and Ma- chine Company, of which he is treasurer. He married, November 20, 1900, Margaret K. Lachenour.
CARHART, Phineas MacMiller,
Financier, Man of Sterling Character.
Fifteen years have elapsed since the earthly career of Mr. Carhart ended, but his memory is green as the flowers that bloom perennially at his grave. Although born in a neighboring State, he finished his education in Kingston, Pennsylvania, and there spent the last thirty-five years of his life engaged in the banking busi- ness, rising through merit from the posi- tion of clerk in a private bank to that of cashier of one of the principal national
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banks of Wilkes-Barre. He was highly honored and esteemed in the business world by all with whom he came in con- tact. In church and in the Sunday school of Kingston Methodist Episcopal Church as trustee, class leader, teacher and super- intendent, his earnestness and devotion found full and free expression. He was an able business man, sterling in his in- tegrity, pure and upright in his private life, a loyal useful citizen. a Christian whose example led men to strive for better things.
Mr. Carhart was of English descent, tracing his American ancestry to Anthony Carhart, of Cornwall, England, who was private secretary to Colonel Thomas Don- gan, Governor of New Amsterdam (New York), 1682-83. The line of descent from the founder was through his son, Thomas Carhart, his son Robert Carhart, his son, Cornelius Carhart, who was chap- lain of the Third Regiment, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, militia, in 1777, and major of the Second Regiment of Hunter- don county troops, commissioned April 20, 1778. Major Carhart had a son, Robert, also a soldier of the Revolution serving with New Jersey troops from 1775 to 1783 ; whose son, William P. Car- hart (born 1779, died 1863) had a son, Theodore Carhart, the father of Phineas M. Carhart. Theodore married Rachel Albright, and resided in Belvidere, New Jersey, where his son, Phineas M., was born.
Phineas M. Carhart was born Septem- ber 21, 1842, died in Kingston, Pennsyl- vania, May 2, 1901. He obtained his early training in the public schools, com- pleting his studies at Wyoming Semi- nary, Kingston, in 1867, having been a student there for two years. He began business life as clerk in the private bank- ing house of Bennett, Phelps & Company, Wilkes-Barre, was promoted teller, then
cashier, holding the latter position until that house liquidated in 1879. During those twelve years he had proved his quality, and had found favor with the banking public. When Bennet, Phelps & Company closed out their business, the Wyoming National Bank of Wilkes- Barre secured his services, retaining them from 1880 until 1885. In October of the latter year he was appointed teller of the First National Bank of Wilkes-Barre, was promoted to the position of cashier April 12, 1887, and held that important post until his death. Nearly thirty-five years of his life were thus spent, his record unstained by unworthy act, his character shining the more brightly under this severest of tests, under which so many men have fallen. No man in the Wyoming Valley was held in higher esteem and no man more justly deserved his reputation.
While a student at Wyoming Seminary, Mr. Carhart was converted and became a member of Kingston Methodist Episco- pal Church. From that time until his death he met every Christian obligation squarely, and fulfilled them gladly. He was a tireless worker for the church, and- gave loyal service to every department. He taught the adult Bible class for several years, and was leader of the Sun- day school work as superintendent for several more. He served the church as secretary and treasurer, and was a popular class leader, a form of Christian service peculiar to the Methodist church. To his personal service he added liberal con- tributions to all the church benevolences and support. He was a member of the Royal Society of Good Fellows No. 19, of Wilkes-Barre, and of the Wyoming His- torical and Geological Society, elected October 4, 1895.
Mr. Carhart married, at Kingston, May 23, 1872, Elizabeth Helme, daughter of
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Frank Helme, who survives him with an only daughter, Helen Helme, wife of Jared Warner Stark, of Detroit, Michigan.
The following tribute was presented to Mrs. Carhart by the directors of the First National Bank, the beautiful brochure bearing in letters of gold the words "In Memoriam," and on the last page the seal and the signatures of president, William S. McLean, and secretary, Charles P. Hunt.
At a special meeting of the Board of Directors of The First National Bank of this city, called to take action upon the death of our late cashier, Mr. P. M. Carhart, the following preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted :
The expected has come to pass. Our cashier so long a sufferer has passed away. Mr. Carhart has been connected with this bank for more than fifteen years, first as teller, October 1, 1885; as- sistant cashier, January 12, 1886; and cashier from April 13, 1887, to the date of his death.
Since September, 1899, he has been a constant, patient sufferer, and while we deplore his death just in the prime of life, we feel that it must have been a great relief, and that our loss is his gain. During his connection with this bank, Mr. Car- hart has always been characterized by the manners of a Christian gentleman, conscientious and faith- ful in all the duties appertaining to his position, intelligent and clear-headed, understanding well the business over which he presided with dignified urbanity. We feel that it is but proper and fitting to place upon our minutes the following resolu- tion :
Resolved, That while we are again called upon to record the death of an officer of this bank, we would most seriously add our estimation of his worth and character and convey to his family our deepest sympathy under this severe affliction.
From his brethren of the official board of the First Methodist Episcopal Church came the following tribute, beautifully engrossed and bound in leather, bearing the signatures of Abraham Nesbitt, C. Bach, W. R. Billings, C. W. Laycock and Leonard Murdock:
Quarterly Conference of the First Methodist Episcopal Church at Kingston, Pennsylvania,
which was held in the church edifice Monday evening, May 13, 1901, unanimously authorized the following resolutions regarding the decease of Brother Phineas M. Carhart.
Whereas, our Heavenly Father, in His wise providence, has removed from our midst Phineas M. Carhart, a brother respected and beloved, we desire to express our sorrow in this bereavement, and our appreciation of the life and character of the deceased, and our Christian sympathy for his afflicted family. Brother Carhart was a man whom all that came to know must respect. His life appeared to be above reproach. We shall miss his counsel in our official meetings, his prayers and testimony in the prayer circle, and his sound advice and ardent exhortation in the class. We know, however, that most of all, he will be missed from the home. Our prayers are offered for the consolation of Divine grace in behalf of those who were so dear to him, and we wish to record that in our sorrow we find com- fort in the memory of so good a life, and his life a benediction to us. In Christian influence he still lives among us, while in the new and Heavenly kingdom we trust that he lives a citizen, faithful, obedient and happy. For these comfort- ing assurances we are grateful to our blessed Lord.
Resolved, That these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of the Conference and that an en- grossed copy be presented to the family.
SON, William Hanna,
Head of Important Industry.
In the hurry and stress of American business life often too little time is given to the personal relation, and often men of large affairs make but little personal im- pression upon the lives of those in their employ. But in December, 1913, an inci- dent of exceptional pathos and useful lesson was enacted at the plant of the Sheldon Axle Company in Wilkes-Barre when the funeral train bearing the casket of the chief who had fought so well and so bravely passed slowly between a mile of sorrowing employees lining both sides of the track. This action of love, respect and sorrow was decided upon by special vote of the men as a touching tribute to their chief, William H. Son, whose
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triumphs they had shared, whose friend- ship they valued, whose memory they honored. Those four thousand silent mourners who stood with uncovered heads while the train slowly bore him away, spoke eloquently of the deep im- press he had made upon their lives, and was a fitting tribute to a man who loved his fellow men.
A son of John W. and Agnes (Bowie) Son, William H. Son united the Holland strain of his paternal ancestors with the Scotch blood of his mother's family. He was born in Ames, New York, May 18, 1863, and died at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsyl- vania, November 30, 1913, after a lifelong connection with manufacturing in the State of his birth and in Wilkes-Barre. Educated in the schools of Amsterdam, New York, he was a youth of eighteen years when he laid aside his books for the practical things of life and entered the employ of D. W. Shuler & Company, of Amsterdam, manufacturers of springs. In the period between his entrance in 1881 and until 1892 he served in every department of the factory, attaining to such a degree of efficiency and knowledge that he was made superintendent, for several years being entrusted with the entire management of the plant. He was valued by his employers, and through considerate and manly treatment of those under his direction won their respect and affection. Upon the death of D. W. Shu- ler, head of this business, Mr. Son formed an association with the Sheldon Axle Company, of Wilkes-Barre, contracting for the erection of a plant for the manu- facture of springs. The scope of the busi- ness thus inaugurated in connection with the manufacture of axles widened so rapidly and proved such a profitable line to carry in conjunction with the axle business that generous provisions were made for its development and growth. Under Mr. Son's direction a superior
grade of carriage spring was placed upon the market, the worth of which was speedily impressed upon carriage builders, with the result that the Sheldon product usurped almost entirely the place of the cheaper grades that had been formerly in use. The immediate popularity of auto- mobiles afforded a new field for the activ- ities of the company, and here the same success attended their efforts as in the former operations. In 1901 Mr. Son's estimate of the required output of the factory was placed at two thousand tons, while nine years later, in 1910, the com- pany manufactured and sold of carriage springs alone eighteen thousand tons. In 1908 Mr. Son accepted the vice-presidency and general managership of the Sheldon Axle Company, in whose marvelous growth he had played so important and so conspicuous a part, and continued in the discharge of the duties of these offices until his death. In his managerial ca- pacity he was as thoroughly and com- pletely in touch with all of the mammoth Sheldon plant as he had been with his own department years before and his administration of his responsible office showed the tireless nature of his in- dustry, the strength of his intellect, and the height of his ideals. To his work he gave of his best, and the attribute that makes him worthy of position with the greatest men of industry and business of to-day, was his appreciation of the neces- sity for close cooperation between em- ployer and employee. At no time in his rise from ordinary station to authority was he above consideration of the welfare of those below him, and he used the term below in no other sense than that of authority in business. In that fact lay the secret of much of his industrial suc- cess.
Mr. Son had few business interests out- side of the Sheldon Axle Company, but for some time served the Dime Savings
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Bank as a director. He was a member of the Society of Auto-Engineers, and also belonged to the Knights of Pythias, the Young Men's Christian Association, the Wilkes-Barre Auto and the Westmore- land and Franklin clubs. His circle of friends was wide, and held within its limits many of the most prominent men in business and civil life of the locality. He was a gentleman of cultured tastes and pleasing manner, the courtesy and kindliness of his address, the outward re- flection of a heart filled with good will and friendship toward all. His intimate acquaintance was a privilege prized by those who knew its delights, and to these his death was a severe blow.
William H. Son married (first) Emma Rida Shadbolt, who bore him one daugh- ter, deceased; (second) February 28; 1900, Mary Elizabeth Whittaker, of Am- sterdam, New York, who survives him, a resident of Wilkes-Barre.
HOWE, Lyman H.,
Pioneer in Moving Picture Business.
Now that the value of "moving pic- tures" as an educational force and a widely popular form of entertainment is so firmly established, let us not forget the pioneers who with faith in the invention, took it with all its crudities and imperfec- tions, risked and lost fortunes, but finally established it as the greatest medium on earth for the dissemination of a true knowledge of the world and the inhabit- ants thereof. Among these pioneers who encouraged the inventors to perfect their ideas and who taught the public the value of the "screen" as an educator and an en- tertainer, Lyman H. Howe, of Wilkes- Barre, stands preeminent. He is to-day one of the most prominent figures in the amusement world, his agents literally scouring the world for films, his several companies exhibiting in every part of
the United States, thereby conferring pleasure and benefit upon millions. Books can tell of the wonders of the world, lecturers can narrate the wonders they have seen, but by his enterprise and genius Mr. Howe has brought these things to us and has made them as real as when they were imprisoned in the camera. Did his work end with enter- tainment it would be all sufficient, but when the educational value is added, the moving picture becomes a university, teaching old and young the wonders, glories and beauties of nature and of created life on the earth, beneath the earth, under the sea, and in the air. He has, in the development of his immense business, traversed the Old and New Worlds, seek- ing and securing attractive views and locations, and as an expert in the me- chanical and electrical details of his work has few equals. He has expanded and developed his natural talent with the years until as executive and business manager he duplicates his success as a purveyor to the great public of useful, pleasing, and popular entertainment.
Wilkes-Barre, the place of his birth, is the home center of his great business, a four-story building on West River street being necessary to house properly its many departments. His beautiful modern home, exquisitely furnished and adorned, is on Riverside Drive, Wilkes-Barre, the scenes of his boyhood proving more at- tractive to him than the usual resorts of the wealthy.
Lyman H. Howe was born in Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania, June 9, 1856, son of Nathan G. and Margaret (Robins) Howe, a direct descendant of Puritan ancestors. Nathan G. Howe was born in Boylston, Massachusetts, August 10, 1810, died in Wilkes-Barre, October 18, 1873. He came to the Wyoming Valley in 1835, settling at Kingston, and as manufacturer, con- tractor, and builder attained prominence.
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Among his works were the first water works at Laurel Run and the laying of the first system of water pipes for Wilkes- Barre, the building of the Delaware & Hudson railroad from South Wilkes- Barre to Plymouth, and other sections of railroads at Nanticoke, and the creation of the beautiful river Common from the unsightly South street river bank. He was engaged in many other business en- terprises, ranking among the "builders of Wilkes-Barre," and holding the esteem of his townsmen. He married, in 1840, Mar- garet, daughter of John and Margaret (Garrison) Robins, who was born in Han- over township, Luzerne county, August 30, 1814, died in Wilkes-Barre, October 15, 1898.
Lyman H., eighth and youngest child of Nathan G. and Margaret (Robins) Howe, spent his youthful days in Wilkes- Barre, acquiring his education in the pub- lic schools and at Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, Pennsylvania. His natural ar- tistic ability asserted itself early, and at once had its effect upon his business re- lations, his attention being turned to sign painting. Subsequently he formed a part- nership with J. J. McCormick in this line under the firm name of Howe & McCor- mick, the business they founded at Bow- man's Corner on the Public Square and West Market street, developing into a concern employing a large force of men. Both of the partners later entered dif- ferent paths of activity, Mr. Howe becom- ing a traveling salesman. The panic that then swept the country compelled him. to retire from the road, and for three years he was in the employ of the Central Rail- road of New Jersey.
Leaving the railroad, he began his ca- reer as a caterer to the public entertain- ment, and there found his true sphere, one in which he has won world-wide fame. His first venture was with Robert M. Colburn, with whom he purchased a
miniature coal breaker. They improved and perfected it until they had a faithful working model of a complete coal mining industry, and together they toured the State of Pennsylvania, exhibiting their model. Disaster attended them, their venture failed, and they returned to Wilkes-Barre through the aid of friendly freight' train crews. But Mr. Howe be- lieved in his project and, arranging with his partner for sole ownership, began anew his attempt to prove to the public that his "breaker" was an entertaining and instructive exposition of coal mining. Finally he interested the officials of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, and for nine years the "breaker" was one of the popular attractions at Glen Onoko, that interesting mountain resort near Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania. Ultimately he sold the "breaker" to the Reading Railroad Company for the purpose of ex- hibiting it at the World's Fair, in Chicago, in 1893. Before Mr. Howe disposed of the "breaker" he became interested in Edison's phonograph, during the winter seasons being engaged in giving exhibi- tions, and was one of the first persons to demonstrate the possibility of entertain- ing a large audience with a phonograph by using a horn. His nine years of suc- cess as an exhibitor at Glen Onoko had brought him both experience and capital, so that when he disposed of the "breaker" to the Reading Railroad Company, he then gave his entire attention to phono- graphic entertainment, and later was at- tracted to Edison's Kinetoscope while visiting the World's Fair in Chicago. The Kinetoscope was then in its infancy, but Mr. Howe saw in it new possibilities, and quickly conceived the idea of casting pic- tures upon a screen. Communicating with Mr. Edison upon the subject, that inventor told him that he would in the course of time construct a machine that would make this idea a reality. After
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waiting two years Mr. Edison did make such a machine, named it the Vitascope, organized a company to handle the inven- tion, and through his agents, Raff & Gam- mon, informed Mr. Howe that he might have the first choice of territory in which to exhibit. His terms were $5,000 for the State of Pennsylvania, exclusive of Phil- adelphia and Pittsburgh. This price Mr. Howe deemed exorbitant for so small a territory, and he then built a machine along his own lines that was more satis- factory to him than anything he could obtain elsewhere at that time. In 1896 he organized his first company to exhibit moving pictures. With this company he toured the New England and Middle At- lantic States, and so won his spectators that he returned again and again to the same localities, making semi-annual visits. The success of his exhibitions created an ever-increasing demand from other States, and in 1902 he organized another com- pany to cover Maryland, Virginia, and the Middle Western States. This com- pany duplicated the success of the first, and in 1904 another company was formed to tour the far west and northwest. Later years have but added to the magnitude of his enterprises, and his companies have now consolidated under two distinct branches as the Lyman H. Howe Attrac- tions and the Lyman H. Howe Films Company. The earth has been laid under contribution, and the results of the trav- els of Mr. Howe and his lieutenants have been given to his countrymen in the form of moving pictures, travelogues and lec- tures. In 1911 Mr. Howe admitted as partner his former manager, S. M. Wilkin- shaw, who had long been identified with Mr. Howe's moving picture activities, and who in the past few years has re- lieved Mr. Howe of many of the burdens of active management and at the present time is managing and directing Mr. Howe's entire moving picture interests.
Mr. Howe is closely connected with Wilkes-Barre enterprises, and makes every effort to advance the interests of his native city. On June 17, 1913, Mr. Howe was tendered a testimonial dinner by the Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Com- merce, on which occasion he was pre- sented with a silver loving cup and beau- tifully engrossed resolutions expressive of his fellow members' appreciation of his services as general manager of the first Greater Wilkes-Barre Industrial Exposi- tion. He is a director of the Miners' Bank, chairman of the River Improve- ment Committee, president of the Susque- hanna River Improvement Association of the Wyoming Valley, chairman of the Art Jury, member of the Chamber of Commerce, and elected president of that body October, 1915; belongs to Lodge No. 61, and to chapter, commandery and temple of the Masonic order in Wilkes- Barre, and is a noble of Irem, Temple, of the Mystic Shrine, and a member of the Pennsylvania Society of New York. In all these fraternal and business bodies he is highly regarded and popular, his genial, affable nature endearing him to his fel- lows, his public spirit, wide experience, and executive ability gaining him the highest standing among men of affairs.
One of the greatest public recognitions of Mr. Howe's achievements came in the action of the authorities of the Panama California Exposition at San Diego, Cali- fornia, when July 7, 1915, was given over to his honor as "Lyman H. Howe Day." Mr. Howe was represented at the Exposi- tion by Mr. C. P. Bosworth, a fellow citi- zen of Wilkes-Barre, who, on Mr. Howe's behalf, presented the historian of the ex- position with moving picture prints of the principal incidents of the day-to-day operation of the Panama Canal. These pictures, which required three months in the making, were only made complete through the cooperation of Secretary of
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War Lindley M. Garrison, and show each step in the passing of a steamer through the canal, the occupation of the canal by the United States army, incidents of army life in the jungle, and scenes at Colon and Panama City. The pictures were en- closed in a copper box, so sealed that the films should be in an excellent state of preservation when opened in 1965, as in- tended, and viewed by the people then living at San Diego. In addition there was placed in the receptacle a moving picture record of the day at the exposi- tion. In this unique and original manner Mr. Howe made acknowledgment of the courtesy of the directors of the exposi- tion. It is interesting and worthy of men- tion that the detailed account of "Lyman H. Howe Day" at the San Diego Exposi- tion received at the Wilkes-Barre office of the Western Union Telegraph Com- pany was the longest telegraph circuit ever made up out of Wilkes-Barre to handle a message, the wire being routed from Wilkes-Barre to New York, Chi- cago, Kansas City, Denver, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, to San Diego. The wire was a special to the Wilkes-Barre "Times-Leader," and the operator who received it stated that notwithstanding the great amount of mileage represented the Morse characters from the San Diego operator came in perfectly.
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