USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of Pennsylvania, Vol. I > Part 53
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" Col. Benjamin Dorrance is no more, The place on earth that once knew him shall know him no more forever. On Thursday, August 24th, while conversing cheerfully at his own house with a mem- ber of his family, lie was seized with an apoplectic fit; he fell, and in a few moments the vital spark was extinct. There are few indeed whose depar- ture could have occasioned so deep a void, so wide a chasm in society. Universally known, every- where respected and beloved, not by his relations alone, but by a numerous circle of friends, the bereavement is deeply felt. Yet why should sor- row prevail ? Who in life has been more success- ful ? Who more useful in his day and generation ? How few, with his fine health, live to so great an age? Col. Dorrance was about seventy years old. He was born in Plainfield, State of Connecticut, in 1767, and came to Wyoming when quite a lad with his father's family. In the Indian battle his father, Lieut .- Col. George Dorrance, who was third in command, standing next to Butler and Dennison, was slain. The day after, when Forty Fort was surrendered, the object of this notice was in the fortification, and used to describe with graphic clearness the entry of the British at one gate and of the Indians at the other. But this belongs rather to his biography than to an obituary paragraph. Col. Benjamin Dorrance was a man of sterling good sense, remarkably pleasing in his manners, emi- nently hospitable, liberal and benevolent. The
offices of Sheriff, Commissioner, and Member of Assembly, as often as he would accept a seat, show the estimation in which he was held by his fellow- citizens. No man enjoyed society and the good things of this life with a higher relish than Col. Dorrance, yet using them as subservient, and never allowing pleasure to mislead from the moral path, or to interfere with health or business. If asked who, for the last half century, has been the happi- est man in the county, the county, I think, would say Col. Dorrance. Yet was he careful, active, intelligent and shrewd in business, a strict econo- mist, and was abundantly blessed with this world's goods. In fine, Col. Dorrance was an extraordinary man, mingling in his character the pleasant and the useful, liberal expenditures with fair and steady acquisition, sweetening labor with enjoyment, and heightening pleasure by a prompt and energetic devotion to business, and throughout life popular without envy, without an enemy and never yielding his independence or integrity. Honor and affection to his memory. His funeral took place on Satur- day the 26th inst. A sermon suited to the solemn occasion was preached by the Rev. Mr. Snowden. The remains were attended to their last resting place by a very large concourse of friends. It is said to have been the largest funeral procession ever seen in the Valley."
Of the children of Col. Benjamin Dorrance, George died in his childhood, John, the eldest, born in 1800, became a Presbyterian minister, and after good work in other fields of labor, was called to the charge of the First Presbyterian Church of Wilkes- Barre, succeeding the Rev. Dr. Nicholas Murray, in August, 1833. He married Penelope Mercer of New Orleans, by whom he had eight children, only
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two of whom (daugliters) survive. A man of much more than ordinary attainments, he was very suc- cessful in his ministry, the duties of which he dis- charged until his death in 1861. His scholarship and ability were recognized by Princeton College, whichi conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. Charles Dorrance, the second son, and subject of this sketch, first saw thic liglit of day on the homestead farm which has been in his family since the troublous times of the pioneer days of Wyoming Valley, and which, by frequent additions, has come to be one of the most extensive, tasteful and valuable in Kingston. Although brought up on a farm, he received a liberal education, which amply equipped him for the active business life which he chose to pursue in conjunction with his occupation as a farmer. In agriculture he has achieved distinguished success, and has made his farm the model farm of the whole Wyoming Valley. He is an admirer of fancy stock aud early intro- duced on his farm a choice breed of short horn cattle, which he has taken great pains to maintain in its original purity. His herd has been drawn upon very largely in the neighboring country, and with the extending of the strain a marked improve- ment in the stock is plainly discernible. Moved by the historic associations of the beautiful valley in which his life has been spent, and yielding no doubt to the martial instinct which he must inherit, he early joined the militia of the State, and from the rank of Captain has progressed through the various grades to that of Colonel, which title he has held over forty years. In 1858, upon the organization of the Luzerne County Agricultural Society, he was the unanimous choice of its members for the office of President, and for ten years he lent the weight of his influence in that position to the work of build- ing up and strengthening the society's prosperity, and broadening its scope and usefulness. " He
was, in conjunction with A. C. Laning, appointed by the late Judge Conyngham, as his last official act, a Commissioner of the Luzerne County Prison, which position he held by successive yearly ap- pointmeuts until it was disposed of as a reward for political services." During the entire period of his connection with this Board he was its President, and by his dignified management of its deliberations maintained perfect harmony and greatly increased its power of usefulness. In the world of finance Col. Dorraucc is uo unknown figure. For fifty years a member of the Board of Directors of the Wyoming Bank of Wilkes-Barre, which was nation- alized in 1865, he served as Vice-President for ten years, aud in 1878 became its President, aud has
since worthily and ably filled this responsible posi- tion, wearing with dignity the mantle which, after the lapse of fifty years, descends to liim from his honored father, onc of the chief founders and first President of the institution. In the patriotic move- ment which culminated, in 1843, in the erection of a suitable monument to commemorate the battle and massacre of Wyoming, Col. Dorrance took a leading part and evinced a patriotic enthusiasm which went far towards making the project successful. Upon the organization of the Wyoming Commemorative Association he was the unanimous choice of its members for the office of President, and in that official capacity had the honor of welcoming the President of the United States and Cabinet to the celebration. As the head of this Association Col. Dorrauce devoted himself with zeal and assiduity to the project in hand, and aided it with generous contributions of money. It is not too much to assert that to his patriotic example and brave words the project was largely indebted for its success. During the ceremonies attending the One Hundredth Year Commemoration of the Battle aud Massacre of Wyoming, his hospitality was lavishly extended to mect the requirements of the occasion, which, from its own historic character, and from the official sta- tion and large number of those who participated, was one of National importance. An euumeration, specifically, of all the positions of honor and trust to which Colonel Dorrance has been called, and which he has filled with high acceptability, cannot be attempted in a mere biographical sketch. It must suffice to say that whatever he has undertaken he has done well, and not only well but in such a manner as to reflect the highest credit upon his manhood and his honor. Faithful and honest in every trust, he has earned a reputation which is un- assailable, and, after the lapse of more than four score years, he stands before the world with the unsullied record of an honest man. In the social life of the community he is noted for his geniality and kindness of heart. His tender sympathies go out to every worthy object and deed. His home is one in which taste and the highest refinements have a permanent abode, and the large and generous hos- pitality, for which its owuer and his family are noted, is dispensed with a grace and dignity befitting the surroundings, and always tempered with sincerity. Farming is the labor in which Colonel Dorrance takes most delight, but he is earnestly concerned in all affairs of public importauce, whether affectiug the State or Nation, or the locality in which he resides, and his views are held in the highest esteem.
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CORNELIUS EARLE.
REV. CORNELIUS EARLE, D.D., a prominent Presbyterian clergyman, the first, and, up to this date, more than thirty-six years, the only settled pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Catasauqua, was born in New York city, July 11, 1823. His ances- try on both sides is clearly traced to very ancient times. The Earles are descended from John de Erlegh, temp. 1132, whose crest, a wounded lion, with the motto- Vulneratus non victus,-is still pre- served in the family. Edward Earle, the founder of the American branch of the family and one of the descendants of this ancestor, came to America from England about 1671-3. He was undoubtedly a man of substance and position, as appears from the official records of the Province of New Jersey, where he is first mentioned, in colonial documents, as the purchaser of the Island of Seacaucus (in the Indian tongue Ci-ka-kus) for "the sum of two thousand Dutch dollars, together with the stock thereon and a number of negro and Christian ser- vants." This island contained about three thou- sand acres. In the history of those days it is de- scribed as " the bravest plantation in the Province." The oldest house upon the island at the present time contains a stone tablet bearing the inscrip- tion, "EDWARD EARLE, 1678." From the ap- pearance of this tablet antiquarians believe that it has been taken from a house built prior to the one in which it is found. The subject of this sketch was the fifth of the seven children (four sons and three daughters) of Cornelius Earle, of New York city ; and the great-great-great-grandson of Edward Earle mentioned above. His mother, whose maid- en name was Maria Lent, was the great-great-grand- daughter of Baron Resolved Waldron, who came to New Amsterdam (now New York) in the year 1647, in the suite of Governor Peter Stuyvesant, whose Private Secretary he was for a period of sixteen years. The family records of the Waldrons, like that of the Earles, run back to the beginning of the twelfth century, when under date 1120, the Dutch Government ennobled Rudolph Waldron, then the head of the family, by letters patent creat- ing him Baron; and, under date 1156, the same title was conferred upon his son Richard, by the English government. The Waldron crest is a tiger rampant, and the motto-Nec beneficii immemor, nec injuriae. One of the most ancient landmarks in the city of New York, up to 1870, was the Waldron mansion, built in 1660, by Baron Waldron. Its site was on the shore of the East River near the foot of Eighty- sixth street. The subject of this sketch pursued his early education under the most happy auspices.
He was prepared for college at the University Grammar School in his native city, of which the Rev. Cyrus Mason, D.D., was then the Rector. In 1841 he entered the University of the City of New York, of which Hon. Theodore Frelinghuysen, LL.D., was at this time Chancellor, and was grad- uated there as an "honor man," in the class of 1845, delivering on the occasion "the Philosophical Ora- tion." In the fall of 1845 he began his studies for the ministry in the Union Theological Seminary, New York city, and three years later was licensed to preach the gospel by the Third Presbytery of the same city. On December 7, 1848, he was duly in- stalled as pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Unionville, Chester County, Pa., his charge-a very modest one-including Kennett Square, then a mis- sion station attached to it. On October 1, 1852, he resigned this pastorate and removed to Catasauqua, Pa., where, on the 14th of the same month, he en- tered upon his duties as "pastor elect." In May, 1853, he was duly installed as pastor of the First Church of Catasauqua, the congregation of which
then worshipped in a little frame edifice. Under Rev. Mr. Earle's ministrations the church increased in numbers, and a larger structure becoming a ne- cessity, the corner stone of a new house of worship was laid September 23, 1854, at the corner of Second and Pine streets. This building was ready for oc- cupation in the spring of 1856, and was formally dedicated May 11 of that year. In the summer of 1887 it was the second time enlarged and improved, and now ranks with the most commodious and beautiful religious edifices in the Commonwealth. Rev. Mr. Earle's ministry has been marked by many important services to the cause of religion. He or- ganized the "Presbyterian Church of Hokendau- qua," the congregation of which consisted at the beginning of seven members of the Catasauqua Church who had removed to Hokendauqua, after the founding there of the Thomas Iron Works. He ministered to this little Christian flock for twelve years. Through his labors and influence the build- ing now owned there by the Presbyterian Church was erected and a site for a parsonage secured. Al- though this work drew heavily upon his time and strength, he did not relinquish it until it was an as- sured success in every particular and had been placed upon a firm foundation. His next efforts were in connection with the founding of a church at Lockridge or Alburtis-seventeen miles from Cat- asauqua, -where the building of a furnace had de- veloped a small town. Here he began services on Wednesday evening, in an old schoolhouse which was suitably fitted up for the purpose. Later on he secured the co-operation of the Rev. Mr. Little, and
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they preached on alternate Sundays, reaching the place from Catasauqua by means of a small locomo- tive which was placed at their disposal by the Thomas Iron Company. This arrangement contin- ued for a year or more, at the end of which time the services of the Rev. Mr. Walker, of Allentown, were engaged. Before Rev. Mr. Earle retired from his conection with the project he had been success- ful in obtaining from the Thomas Iron Company a grant of land for church and cemetery purposes, and also a liberal contribution of money for the furtherance of the work. His next labors were in connection with the founding of the "Ferndale Presbyterian Church." Beginning religious services in a small barn fitted up as a church at Ferndale- Fullerton-he soon drew around him a congregation of ardent Christians; and, on October 14, 1871, the nineteenth anniversary of his settling in Catasau- qua, he organized the church under the above name. A long and severe illness broke off his connection with this church, from the care of which he was, upon his recovery, relieved at his own request by the Presbytery of Lehigh. Several years later a few members of his congregation at Catasauqua re- moved to Bethlehem. His interest in them contin- ued, and finding that there were a sufficient number of Presbyterians residing at the latter place to jus- tify the step, he brought his influence to bear upon them with such excellent results that "The First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem " was duly or- ganized in November, 1875. For some months Rev. Mr. Earle served this congregation without salary as a volunteer pastor, withdrawing only when the present pastor, the Rev. Mr. Moore, was ready to assume charge. Rev. Mr. Earle was generously sustained in his own pastorate, and, so far as in- come was concerned was totally independent of these outside congregations. His interest in them was based solely upon a desire to promote the great- er honor and glory of God and the salvation of souls, and was continued in each case until the new church was placed upon a self-sustaining basis. The cause of religion was ever dear to his heart, and the devo- tion of nearly all his leisure time to this outside mis- sion work was the best proof of the fact. But in other directions he was not idle. In order that the " First Church " in Catasauqua might be lighted by gas he brought about the organization of the Catasauqua Gas Company, before unthought of. The outbreak of the Civil War found him a zealous and devoted adherent of the National Government. With Col. M. H. Horn he called the first public meeting at Catasauqua-in High School Hall-and made the first speech and the first call for volun- teers on that occasion. "The bugle-call thus
sounded, the First Church and its pastor stood to- gether during all the weary struggle, and again and again the old church bell rang out the peal of victo- ry, or summoned the friends of the Union to fresh efforts in its defence until peace came." Immedi- ately after this event, July 4, 1865, Rev. Mr. Earle promptly carried out a suggestion of Mr. Samuel Thomas, by organizing the Soldiers' Monument As- sociation in Catasauqua; was one of its moving spirits, and served throughout as its Secretary. He drew up the Constitution and by-laws, named its members, arranged the inscriptions and singu- larly appropriate texts on the four sides of the mon- ument ; also the order of exercises on the day of dedication, and delivered the historical address, Major A. R. Calhoun being the orator of the day. This monument is very beautiful and one of the first erected in the State to the memory of the heroes of the War for the Union. That neither his name nor that of any civilian member of the Com- mittee appears anywhere upon the monument is due to his decision that "no man's name should be in- scribed on the monument unless he had been sworn into the service of the United States, and had been under the enemy's fire." For a period of seven or cight years he was Chaplain of the Fourth Regiment, National Guard of Pennsylvania, obtaining his com- mission from Gov. Hoyt, and resigning it under Gov. Pattison. On November 7, 1887, Rev. Mr. Earle's scholarship and devotion to the cause of religion was appropriately honored by Lafayette College of Easton, Pa., which conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. The foregoing meagre details serve to give only a glimpse of the active and beneficent life of Dr. Earle. His pastor- ate of thirty-six years' duration, covering several crises of the most momentous kind, both labor and political, including the Civil War, has been as hap- py and harmonious as it has been long. It has been marked by a number of successful revivals which have resulted in permanently augmenting the fold and have been prolific in good, material as well as spiritual, to the community. The church itself is composed of five or six different nationalities, and members from as many denominations, now happily blended in one. During all the years of its exist- ence the rich and poor, the employer and the em- ployed, have sat side by side within its sacred pre- cincts and have peacefully worshiped together. From the official records of the denomination it ap- pears that "in the numbers added to its member- ship, and in the amount of money contributed for home support and to the benevolent causes of the denomination, the First Church is behind few and in advance of many sister churches, if judged by its
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numbers and abilities." The prosperity of the church is equally noteworthy. Its property, con- sisting of church, chapel and manse, is valuable, beautiful, and finely situated. The buildings them- selves are monuments of the zeal, foresight, taste, and executive ability of Dr. Earle, and of the noble generosity of his devoted parishioners. In the Pres- bytery of Lehigh no clergyman is held in greater respect and esteem than Dr. Earle. He has been its Treasurer since its formation in 1870 and since 1880 has also been President of its Board of Trustees. In personal characteristics Dr. Earle strongly bears out the motto of his family. He is never dismayed by obstacles nor cast down by reverses. His stead- fastness of purpose invariably leads him to victory. All who come within the sphere of his Christian ministrations have for him only the warmest feel- ings of respect and love. By the laity he is regard- ed as a citizen of the highest worth-strong in pat- riotic love for his country, a fearless and energetic supporter of law and order, and a sincere and de- voted laborer for the good of his fellow-creatures. In his student days he won the cordial friendship of his tutors and professors by his sterling merits, even then noticeable in a striking degree; and in later life he commands the regard and appreciation of a wide and increasing circle of those with whom his work brings him in contact. Dr. Earle married his first wife, Miss Maria Louisa Lent, daughter of John A. and Catherine Van Buren Lent, of New York city, November 12, 1849. Two children were born to this marriage,-Alletta M. Earle and Ed- ward Mortimer Earle. The first named died in her twenty-first year. The last, born in Catasauqua, Pa., is now in business in Allentown, Pa., as a member of the firm of Earle & Graffin. Mrs. Earle died in Catasauqua, December 18, 1856. She was a woman of the highest Christian_character, amiable, educated and refined; and her death was sincerely mourned. Dr. Earle married his second wife, Miss Elizabeth Fullager, daughter of John and Mary Langley Fullager, of Schenectady, N. Y., April 26, 1860. This greatly beloved and deeply lamented lady died at Catasauqua, April 29, 1872. The Doc- tor's home life is now in the hands of his sister- Mrs. Cynthia M. Brinckerhoff, widow of the late John Brinkckerhoff, M.D., of New Rochelle, N. Y. This most estimable Christian lady is a worthy co- adjutor of her zealous and energetic brother in every good and noble work in which he is engaged; and justly shares in the esteem and love in which he is held. Dr. Earle has one brother living: Justus D. Earle, of Philadelphia, and one sister, Mrs. M. Lindsley, wife of Rev. Charles E. Lindsley, D.D., of New Rochelle, N. Y.
JOSHUA HUNT.
JOSHUA HUNT, the subject of this sketch, was born in Downington, Chester County, Pa., on May 14, 1820, and died at his home in Catasauqua, July 18, 1886. He was one of three children of Thomas and Rachel Evans Hunt. Thomas Hunt was born in the Hunt mansion, Downington, December 9, 1791, and died in Wilmington, Del., October 5, 1858. Rachel Evans Hunt, his wife, was born in Lancas- ter County, Pa., December 25, 1790, and died Feb- ruary 14, 1823. Joshua was sent to the Quaker Boarding School at West-town, Chester County, at an early age, where he finished his studies, leaving there when but sixteen years of age to take charge of a rolling mill owned by his father, at Harrisburg, Pa. After managing the business for six years, acquir- ing while there a thorough knowledge of it, he, in the year 1842, went to Philadelphia, where he en- gaged in the same business for a time, removing thence to Catasauqua, a town which had been start- ed but four years previous-1839. Some details of his business calling him to Poughkeepsie, N. Y., he went there, returning the same year to Catasauqua, where he remained, and was identified with the building of the place; holding prominent offices in nearly all the business enterprises of that community. He was President of the Catasauqua & Folgelsville Railroad Company ; President of the Catasauqua Gas Company ; also of the Fire Brick Works ; Pres- ident of the Bryden Forged Horse Shoe Co. (Lim- ited), and a director in the Catasauqua Water Board for a number of years. He was Assistant Superin- tendent of the extensive Crane Iron Works, for al- most a quarter of a century, and General Manager thereafter until his resignation, January 1, 1882. He married in 1844, Gwenllian, a daughter of David Thomas, who came to Catasauqua, from Ynesced- win, Brecknockshire, Wales, and was known as the founder of Catasauqua. Of this union eleven chil- dren were born, viz .: Thomas, Samuel, John, Eliz- abeth (now Mrs. Hepbourn), David, Joshua, Roger, William, George Evans, Joseph and Gwenllian; of whom five are now living, viz .: Elizabeth, David, Joshua, Roger and Gwenllian. Joshua Hunt was a Republican, and though taking no prominent part in political affairs himself, could claim a line of ancestry who were prominent and active in the affairs of his party. He was a nephew of Joshua Hunt, a native of East Caln, Chester County, Pa., who in the years 1818, 1820, 1823 and 1825, was elected a member of the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania, and a member of the State Senate, in 1826, in which he served four years. He was a great-nephew of Roger Hunt, who during the
Lashua Durch
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