USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Families of the Wyoming Valley: biographical, genealogical and historical. Sketches of the bench and bar of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, vol. I > Part 16
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45
167
EDWIN SYLVANUS OSBORNE.
In 1870, when the organization of the National Guard was authorized by the General Assembly, he was appointed by Gov. Geary, with the consent of the Senate, Major General of the Third Division, covering the northeastern portion of the State. This position he held for ten years. In the exercise of the duties of this office he has been prominently before the public on several occasions, but more particularly during the long strike among the miners in 1871. At this time the military, consisting of three regiments and a battery of artillery, were stationed in Scranton for several months. It was during this strike that two men were killed, presumably by a miner named Kearns, while being escorted with W. W. Scranton, then Superintendent of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, to Briggs' shaft, which was being ope- rated under the protection of the military. Kearns was indicted and tried for murdering the two men, but was successfully defended by Gen. Orborne and acquitted, and the strike was con- cluded. When the difficulties between the New York and Erie Railroad Company and their shop men at Susquehanna Depot, in March, 1874, assumed such a shape as to make it necessary to invoke the military power of the State, Governor Hartranft ordered Maj. Gen. Osborne to the scene of action, and placed him in command. Two regiments, one of which was the First Regi- ment of National Guards of Pennsylvania, were stationed there. They were from Philadelphia, and commanded by Col. R. Dale Benson. There was also a battery of artillery. Without any attempt at display or offense in the exercise of military authority, in a very short time and without accident, he succeeded in open- ing. the railroad to travel, and in settling the difficulties between the parties by amicable adjustment. In the spring of 1875 another strike occurred at Hazleton, in this county, and Gen. Osborne was placed in command of the same men he had at Susquehanna Depot. They were stationed there for two months, and the strike was subdued without the loss a single man, or the destruction of any property.
Gen. Osborne was the originator of the system of the National Guards of Pennsylvania, and it was by his efforts that the Legis- lature, in 1873, repealed the militia tax.
In 1874 he received the unanimous nomination of the Repub-
168
EDWIN SYLVANUS OSBORNE.
lican party for Additional Law Judge of Luzerne county, but was defeated, it is claimed by many, through prejudice against him caused by his being at the head of the military during the strikes in the coal regions. In this city, where he was best known, he received a majority of four hundred and ninety-six votes, although the political parties were about equally divided.
Gen. Osborne is the Commander of the Department of Penn- sylvania of the Grand Army of the Republic, and also one of the Directors of the Public Schools of the Third School District of this city.
Edward Ball came from England and settled in Branford, Connecticut, prior to 1640. He was one of the commissioners sent in 1660 from Branford and Milford, in Connecticut, to view the country and lands in New Jersey. They returned and reported favorably, and were sent back with power to select a site for a town and make a purchase. The result at that time was a purchase of the township of Newark by its ancient boun- daries. The Indians called the town Passaic, but the inhabitants called it Newark, after a town in England, from which the Rev. Mr. Pierson, their pastor, had come. Trumbull, the historian, says that Mr. Pierson and almost his whole church and congre- gation soon removed from Connecticut to Newark, and carried with them the church records. This removal took place some time previous to the 24th of June, 1667. Edward Ball lived in Newark, N. J .; was Sheriff of the county of Essex in 1693. In 1678 Edward Ball and Daniel Dodd were appointed to run the northern line of the town of Newark from Passaic river to the mountains. He had a son, Thomas, who had a son, David, who had a son, Stephen, who was put to death by the British at Bergen Point, January 29, 1781, in consequence of his activity and daring as a partizan patriot. He left a widow, two daughters, and a son, Ezekiel, who was the father of William. William Ball settled in Carbondale in its early days, and for many years occu- `pied an important position with the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company. He was a first-class man in every respect, and stood in the front rank with the men of energy and enterprise who projected and opened the coal mines at Carbondale, and built and operated the railroad from that place to Honesdale. He
169
EDWIN SYLVANUS OSBORNE.
married Mary Ann Smith, a daughter of Capt. Charles Smith, a sister of John B. Smith, superintendent of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, at Dunmore, and of Mrs. Jasper B. Stark, of Wilkes- Barre. He died at Carbondale May 1I, 1858. Gen. Osborne was married to Ruth Ann Ball October 12, 1865. She is the daughter of William Ball, and a lineal descendant of Edward Ball, above alluded to. They have a family of six children, four boys and two girls. The eldest of whom, John Ball Osborne, is at this writing sixteen years of age.
Gen. Osborne is a man of medium size, and of such a deport- ment as must needs commend a man to any company. He is fluent of tongue, and ready at any time to employ its powers in any good cause. As the head of the Grand Army of the Republic in Pennsylvania, he has done a duty and achieved a popularity that will cause him to be long and greatfully remembered, not only by the war-worn veterans of the Keystone State and their kin, but by all who have an interest in the maintenance of free institutions. He is a well read lawyer, ardent and eloquent as a pleader, logical and forcible as a reasoner, and one who, before any jury, would establish whatever was merit in his case. His quietness and resolution are his marked characteristics, and no man or woman. ever gave him a fee without feeling, when the case was ended, that he had earned it. As a soldier, he earned 1 laurels that will remain ever green in many memories. He was not of those who were in the front only when they could not get in the rear. This was, perhaps, inherited, as one of his great- grandfathers was killed at the battle of Monmouth fighting for the independence of his country. In connection with the build- ing up and sustenance of the military organizations of our State, organized since the war, his soldierly qualities have been almost invaluable. He is, and has for some time been, a School Director in the district in which he resides, and no man sitting on the board with him is more urgent that everything done should be for the best possible education of the children of the masses, or is better posted as to the manner in which that result could be achieved. To sum it all up, as a soldier, a lawyer, and an educa- tor, Wilkes-Barre has had few citizens who have contributed as much to its glory and its advancement as Gen. E. S. Osborne.
170
DANIEL LA PORTE RHONE.
DANIEL LA PORTE RHONE.
Daniel La Porte 'Rhone was born near the village of Cambra, in the township of Huntington, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, January 19, 1838. His grandfather, Matthias Rahn, as the name was then spelled, was a native of Lehigh county. The Rahns, a somewhat numerous family even at that early day, lived at and near the city of Allentown. In his early manhood, Matthias Rahn removed to and settled on Raven Creek, in Benton town- ship, Columbia county. This township of Columbia adjoins Luzerne, and is adjacent to Cambra. Here the father of Judge Rhone was born, August 4, 1804. The wife of Matthias, and grandmother of the subject of our sketch, was Naomi La Porte. In the "History of Pennsylvania," by William H. Egle, M. D., under the head of "Bradford County," we find the following :
"The echoes of the war of our Revolution scarcely had died away, ere they were answered back from the other side of the Atlantic. France had been among the first of the great European nations to recognize our independence, and with men and money had generously assisted the new-born government in its conflict with her ancient rival. The watchwords of liberty, freedom, and equal rights had been caught up by a people suffering from the evils of a mismanaged and extravagant government, until they were ready not only to reform the abuses with which centuries of profligacy had burdened the nation, but to run into the other extreme of riot and anarchy. The story of the French Revolution is too familiar with all readers of history to be here repeated. Multitudes who were in sympathy with the ancient order of things, or preferred reformation to revolution, fled the country, and many of them turned their steps toward our own land for protection and a home.
-
"The insurrection of the blacks in the French colony at St. Domingo sent another company of French refugees to our shores. Many of these were not only homeless, but without means, hav- ing left everything behind them, and fled for their lives. To the
-
ยท
171
DANIEL LA PORTE RHONE.
more favored of their countrymen it became a serious question how they could best provide for the necessities of their unfortu- nate friends, without having them pensioners upon their bounty.
"Viscount Louis de Noailles, who was a brother-in-law to Lafayette, a general in the French army which assisted in the war of the Revolution, and was selected on the part of the French to receive the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, and Omer Talon, a banker of Paris, in consultation with John Nicholson and Robert Morris, decided to form a company, purchase a large tract of unimproved land, and selecting a favorable location, col- onize such of the refugees as were not otherwise provided for. Accordingly negotiations were entered into with Messrs. Nichol- son and Morris for the purchase of one million acres of wild land, provided a location suitable for a settlement could be secured. The plan which was attempted to be carried out was, that each colonist should have the privilege of purchasing a home lot in the town, or could rent it of the company, and by improving a given number of acres of the wild land should have liberty of purchasing four hundred acres, at a stipulated price. This plan, which they were led to believe would result in great fortunes to the com- pany, it was found necessary to modify, and finally to abandon. The place selected for the settlement was a comparatively level plain, lying in the bend of the river, opposite and above the old Indian meadows. On account of the conflicting titles, Mr. Morris applied to Judge Hollenback to negotiate the purchase of both the Connecticut and Pennsylvania claims of several hundred acres. This was regularly laid out into village lots, and M. Talon was sent on to oversee the arrangements necessary to be made for the reception of the colonists. The first tree was cut December I, 1793. Before spring a number of log houses were erected, and the colonists began to flock to their new homes. They called their town Asylum, which name it has ever since retained. They immediately set about surrounding themselves with the appliances of comfort and refinement to which they had been accustomed at home. Stores and shops were opened and filled with goods brought directly from Philadelphia, to which the people flocked from all the surrounding country. They cleared and improved their house lots, and soon transformed the partially cultivated
172
DANIEL LA PORTE RHONE.
fields into beautiful gardens and meadows. A mill, with a bolt for making flour, was erected and driven by horse-power. They set up a bakery, where bread, pastry, and even confectionery were made for the settlement, and a brewery was put in operation for making ale. A weekly post was established with Philadelphia, by which they were kept in communication with the outside world. Quite a number of clearings were commenced on their wild lands, in the back part of Terry township, where some houses were built, in Albany township, and Sullivan county. A saw mill was erected at Laddsburg, but not completed. Although the unfortunate Louis XVI. and his accomplished Queen had passed under the guillotine before the settlement had been com- menced, yet the news of that event did not reach here until some time after, and the colonists entertained high expectations of being able to afford a secure retreat for the royal family until the storm of the Revolution had passed over. For this purpose large buildings were put up at the settlement in Terry, but their hopes, as many other which had been awakened in reference to their enterprise, were doomed to disappointment. Most of the emi- grants having been wealthy gentlemen in Paris, and some of them members of the royal household, entirely ignorant of farming, and unused to manual labor, found great difficulty in adapting themselves to their new condition. Yet they endured their pri- vations with fortitude, and cheerfully set about the laborious task of clearing and cultivating the heavily timbered lands, from which they had been led to expect immediately such large returns.
"About the same time that Asylum was founded, M. Brevost, a Parisian gentleman of great wealth, celebrated for his benevo- lence, contracted for a large tract of land on the Chenango river, in the State of New York, where he founded another colony, composed of eight or ten families. But failure to receive from France expected funds, the unfavorable character of the location, discouraged the colonists, and led them to abandon their planta- tions and remove to Asylum, which, although thus increased in numbers, was not much strengthened in wealth or working force.
"It is said a Frenchman never forgets the sunny vales of his native land, and never goes to any country where he does not long to return to his own beloved France. In addition to this
173
DANIEL LA PORTE RHONE.
characteristic love for his native home, there was much to render the colonists discontented with their situation. Ignorance of our language, and of the prices which ought to be paid for labor and supplies, led them often to be imposed upon by the cupidity of their Yankee neighbors. Exposure to such unaccustomed hard- ships and privations was attended with pain and suffering. Then they were disappointed in their expectations of income from their investment, many of them having expended everything in the purchase of land, which was a burden instead of a revenue, annoyed by the poverty of the country, and the difficulty of ob- taining supplies, it is no wonder that most of them regarded Asylum as a place to be endured rather than one in which it was desirable to live; and when Napoleon came into power and repealed the laws of expatriation which had been passed against the emigrants, with the promise of the restoration of their confis- cated estates on their return, the greater part gladly embraced the opportunity and went back to France. Some of them removed to Philadelphia, and two or three to other parts of the country, but three remained in the vicinity of Asylum."
Naomi La Porte was a descendant of one of these families, and was born in what is now Sullivan county. Her relative, Hon. John La Porte, was Speaker of the General Assembly of Pennsylvania in 1832, the fifth term of his membership, from 1832 to 1836 a member of Congress, and Surveyor General of Pennsylvania in the years 1845 to 1851.
"During the continuance of the settlement, it was visited by several distinguished personages, who since have obtained a world- wide reputation. In 1795, Louis Philippe spent several weeks at Asylum, enjoying the hospitality of M. Talon. Talleyrand spent some time there; Count de la Rochefoucauld was several days at Asylum while on his journey through the States in 1795-6, and his observations on the character of the colonists afford the fullest account that has been given of them.
"In 1796 the town consisted of fifty log houses, occupied by about forty families. Among the most noted of these, besides those already mentioned, were M. De Blacons, a member of the French Constituent Assembly from Dauphine; M. De Montule, a captain of a troop of horse; M. Beaulieu, a captain of infantry in
..
174
DANIEL LA PORTE RHONE.
the French service, and who served in this country under Potosky; Dr. Buzzard, a planter from St. Domingo, and M. Dandelot, an officer in the French infantry. But perhaps the best known of all, at least in this country, was M. Dupetit-Thouars, or, as he was generally called by the Americans, the Admiral. Wrecked while on voyage in search of La Perouse, he reached Asylum destitute of everything but an unfaltering courage, a genial temper, and the chivalrous pride of a Frenchman. Disdaining to be a pensioner on the bounty of his countrymen, he obtained a grant of four hundred acres in the dense wilderness of now Sullivan county, and went out literally single-handed, having lost an arm in the French naval service, commenced a clearing, built himself a house, returning to Asylum once a week for necessary food and change of apparel. He returned to his native country, obtained a position in the navy, saying he had yet another arm to give to France, was placed in command of the ship Le Tonnant, and killed at the battle of the Nile. The borough of Dushore, in Sullivan county, which includes the clearings of this indomitable Frenchman, was named in honor of him, this being nearly the anglicised pronunciation of his name."
The given name of Judge Rhone's father was George. He was a farmer, and lived nearly the whole of a long life in the township of Huntington. He died, however, in this city, in the year 1881, aged nearly 78. He reared a family of eight children, all of whom are comfortably settled in life. Samuel M. Rhone, of the Luzerne bar, and Rev. Z. S. Rhone, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, are among the sons. B. M. Trescott, resident in Huntington, and at present County Surveyor of Luzerne county, is a son-in-law.
The mother of Judge Rhone was Mary Bowman Stevens, a daughter of Zebulon Hall Stevens. He was a descendant of Henry Stevens, who came to this country from England, April 4, 1669, with his father and two brothers, Nicholas and Thomas, and settled in Taunton, Mass. Henry Stevens married Eliza or Elizabeth, a daughter of Capt. John Gallup, a son of Capt. John Gallup, of Boston, Mass., and both father and son were noted as Indian fighters. He came to Pequot in 1651, where he lived until 1654, when he removed to Mystic, and built him a house
.
175
DANIEL LA PORTE RHONE.
on a tract of land given him by the town of Pequot. Capt. Gallup was a brave and valuable officer, and was loved and respected by his men. He lost his life in the terrible swamp fight during King Philip's war, at South Kingston, R. I., December 25, 1675. He married Hannah Lake, a relative of Governor Winthrop. Henry Stevens settled in Stonington, Conn., and had three sons, Thomas, Richard, and Henry. Thomas married Mary Hall, and settled in Plainfield, Conn, and had seven sons, Thomas, Phineas, Uriah, Caleb, Benjamin, Samuel, and Zebulon. Zebulon was born June 14, 1717, and married Miriam Fellows, November 25, 1743. Thomas, son of Zebulon, was born May 5, 1760, at Canaan, Litchfield county, Conn., and emigrated to Wyoming before the close of the last century, and when the county of Luzerne was but sparsely settled, and its denizens far removed from the centers of civilization. The name of Thomas Stevens appears in the list of taxable inhabitants of Huntington for 1796, and many of that name, descendants of these intrepid pioneers, have figured in the county tax lists since. He married Lucy Miller, December 2, 1784. Zebulon Hall Stevens, son of Thomas, was born January 12, 1791, and married Parmelia Bowman, daughter of John Bow- man, October 28, 1813. He was the uncle of Rev. Thomas Bowman, D. D., LL. D., one of the Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and, during the years 1864-5, Chaplain of the United States Senate. Mary Bowman Stevens, the mother of Judge Rhone, was born October 26, 1816. She is still living, and celebrated her sixty-seventh birthday in this city on the 26th of October, 1883.
From this intermingling of French, Pennsylvania German, and Yankee blood came a young man of slight, but sturdy build, whose early training on his father's farm contributed much to fit him physically for the studious and industrious habits to which he has since devoted himself. His primary education was gotten in the public schools of Huntington, and having mastered all that it was possible to learn therein, he attended Dickinson Seminary at Williamsport, and afterwards Wyoming Seminary at Kingston. In 1859 he began the study of the law in the office of the late Hon. Charles Denison, and on April 1, 1861, he was regularly admitted to practice in the courts of Luzerne. Just sixteen days
176
DANIEL LA PORTE RHONE.
later he enlisted as a private in Company C (Captain Brisbane), Eighth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. He was employed in the commissary department during the greater part of his term of service, and at its expiration, being honorably discharged, he returned to Wilkes-Barre, rented an office, and hung out his professional shingle.
In 1864, being at the time but twenty-six years of age, he was a candidate before the Democratic County Convention for the nomination for District Attorney, and lacked but two votes on the first ballot of the number necessary to secure him the coveted honor, which was carried off by the late David R. Randall.
The following year he was chosen a Director of the Public Schools of Wilkes-Barre. Rev. Geo. D. Miles, since deceased, and the writer were elected Directors at the same time. To the happy chance which carried Mr. Rhone into the board, the citi- zens of Wilkes-Barre are indebted more than to anything or any one else for the admirable school system of which their children are now enjoying the advantages. It was he who first suggested to the writer the many deficiencies in the then system, and the lamentable insufficiency and grossly ill condition of the buildings at that time in use for school purposes. It was his intercessions, in fact, that induced Mr. Miles and the writer to become candi- dates for membership in the board.
In the " History of Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Wyoming Coun- ties," published in 1880, appears an article on the Wilkes-Barre public schools, written by G. W. Guthrie, M. D., of the city, which fully exemplifies the school system of this city at the time Messrs. Miles and Rhone and the writer were elected School Directors. We here reproduce a portion of the article: "The history of the old borough schools is really the history of the schools of this district. In 1834 this district, in common with nearly all the . districts of Luzerne county, approved of the provisions of the common school law, and the school board levied a school tax and set the school in operation. For over thirty years the schools were devoid of anything to distinguish them-unless it might have been their general inefficiency. Teachers were paid very poor salaries ; the school term was very short; the buildings were either miserable old frame hulks, or rooms rented here and
177
DANIEL LA PORTE RHONE.
there over the town as necessity might determine for the accom- modation of pupils. .. . The statement of the school board for 1864-5 reveals the following facts: Number of schools, II; number of months taught, 4; number of female teachers, 14; male teachers, 3; average salary of male teachers per month, $50; average salary of female teachers per month, $35; whole number of pupils attending school, 187. Is it to be wondered at that private and select schools were in a flourishing condition? An old settlement like Wilkes-Barre, possessed of a high degree of culture, demanded education for its children, and the private schools furnished what the public schools could not. But a new era was dawning even in 1865."
And, it may be added, that much was accomplished before that year had ended. On the 5th of June, 1865, Messrs. Miles, Rhone, and the writer took their seats as Directors. On June 12, Mr. Miles presiding, it was decided by the Board of School Directors, consisting of nine members, to erect a new school building on Washington street, just north of Market. On August 1, Mr. Miles again presiding, the size of the building was agreed upon, and a building committee appointed. September 19, it was deter- mined that the projected main building should be three stories high, with an addition in the rear, also of three stories, for recita- tion rooms. Out of these prompt and energetic proceedings came, early in the succeeding year, what is now known as the Washington school building, the first structure really fitted for public school purposes Wilkes-Barre ever owned. It accom- modated ten schools, and had six recitation rooms besides, that could be used as school rooms if desired. It was substantially built, and so appointed as to subserve the comfort and conveni- ence of both tutors and scholars. The article written by Dr. Guthrie, from which the foregoing extract is taken, is, in the main, a fair recital of the facts of the case. It is deficient, how- ever, in that it omits to mention that Judge Rhone and the writer were members of the board when the first practical step forward was made, and that to them, as also to Mr. Miles, the citizens of Wilkes-Barre are largely indebted for the highly satisfactory present condition of their public schools, which are nearly equal, as to their accommodations and efficiency, to the best of our
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.