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 43
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PATRICK HENRY CAMPBELL.
ill-health to resign, and George N. Reichard was chosen captain, John Treffeisen, who now resides in Pittston, first lieutenant, and Gustav Hahn second lieutenant. The company served its three months and was honorably discharged."
Mr. Coons, as will be seen, is a scion of one of the first of the Jewish families to locate in this part of Pennsylvania, where that people have made themselves conspicuously useful in every pro- fession and walk of life. In each locality throughout this broad land, and in almost every nation on earth, as is well-known, Hebrews have distinguished themselves in law and state craft, as well as in commerce and the arts. Tens of thousands of the faith have left the impress of their industry, enterprise, and genius upon the cities and towns of their residence in the United States; and tens of thousands are still contributing to our pro- gress and glory. Mr. Coons is a not unworthy representative of this energetic, talented, and useful people. Though yet a young man he has achieved an enviable standing at our bar, and a prac- tice which should net him a very respectable income. He has sat at the feet of his elders in the profession and imbibed of the lessons of their experience to good purpose, so that he finds himself to-day formidably equipped to bring order out of the tangle of law and litigation to the mutual profit of himself and those who have his services. He is a democrat in politics, and can always be depended upon for such service as every good cit- izen should render to the party of his choice, but has as yet evinced no ambition for political honors, though his name has been not infrequently suggested as that of one in every way worthy thereof. He is a lover of good literature, is always well informed on all topics of general interest, is socially a good fel- : low, and as yet a bachelor. .
PATRICK HENRY CAMPBELL.
Patrick Henry Campbell was born in Scranton, Pa., November 24, 1845. Thomas Campbell, the father of Mr. Campbell, was born near the city of Edinburg, Scotland, and emigrated to this
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PATRICK HENRY CAMPBELL.
country at the age of sixteen, landing in Boston. He came im- mediately to Pennsylvania, which was about the time the North Branch Canal was in process of construction, and obtained em- ployment on the same as a foreman, which position he retained until the completion of the work. He removed to Scranton about 1840, and was in the employment of the Scrantons until November, 1847, when he purchased a farm in Covington town- ship, Luzerne (now Lackawanna) county, and where he continued to reside until his death in 1875. He married, in 1844, Julia Ban- ning, a native of the parish of Cullen, in the county of Louth, Ireland, who remembers as a child her father returning from the battle of Waterloo wounded. Like her husband, she came to this country when quite young. The father of Thomas Camp- bell was Michael Campbell, a brewer in the town of Ardee, near Dublin, Ireland. He resided for a time near the city of Edin- burg, leaving his business in Ireland in charge of his oldest son, who, joining his regiment in the Peninsula, necessitated the father's return to Ireland to continue his business. The
son fought through the Peninsular wars, and rose to the rank of lieutenant in the Royal Artillery, and was killed in the Sepoy campaign in India. P. H. Campbell worked on his father's farm in the summer months and attended school in winter until July, 1862, when, with others of his neighbors' sons, he enlisted in Company F, one hundred and seventh regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, for three years. At the expiration of his term of ser- vice he re-enlisted for another term of three years, and served until July 1, 1865, when he was mustered out of service, being promoted in the meantime to sergeant. He participated in the battles of Cedar Mountain, Rapahannock Station, Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellors- ville, Gettysburg, Mine Run, The Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, Petersburg, and Weldon Railroad. At Gettysburg he was wounded, and at Weldon Railroad, on August 19, 1864, was captured with fourteen of his company, and kept in several different prisons in the South-Libby, Salisbury, and Anderson- ville among the number. Colonel T. F. McCoy, who commanded the regiment to which Mr. Campbell belonged, says of him, "As the colonel and commanding officer of the regiment in which he
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PATRICK HENRY CAMPBELL.
served, it affords me pleasure to say that he stood high with his comrades as a brave and faithful soldier, and it has been said of him by a gallant officer of the regiment, that he was never known to shirk any duty, either in the camp, on the march, or on the battle-field. It was his good fortune to participate in all the battles with his regiment and company until the battle of the 19th day of August, 1864, at the Weldon Railroad, near Peters- burg, Va., when he was made prisoner." In August following his discharge from the army he entered Wyoming Seminary, where he remained until 1869, with the exception of one year when he was a teacher in the Washington Grammar School in this city. He was one of the first teachers in that building. From 1870 to 1873 he was superintendent of the schools of the Second school district in the city of Wilkes-Barre. Mr. Camp- bell read law with D. L. Rhone, and was admitted to the Luzerne bar September 14, 1874. For four years he held the responsible position of examiner in the Orphans' Court of this county, and . now occupies the position of one of the " seven years auditors." Mr. 'Campbell is a democrat in politics, and in 1884 was a dele- gate to the state democratic convention. He married, December 14, 1874, Frances McDonald, a daughter of the late Patrick McDonald, of Union township, in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell have four children living, Thomas Edgar Campbell, Stanley Campbell, John Campbell, and Francis Campbell. D. L. O'Neill and Michael Cannon, of the Luzerne bar, are broth- ers-in-law of Mr. Campbell. Of the numerous representatives of the Irish-American element in our midst who have become members of the legal profession, none of his age have a better standing, or deserve a better one, than Mr. Campbell. His demeanor is unusually unobtrusive. His quiet manners are, in fact, the first of his traits to attract the attention of an observer. But beneath his calm exterior, and behind his easy-going habits, are a fund of legal and general information, and a wit to put it to good use, that can only be appreciated by those who have had occasion to call them into service. With much attendant bustle and apparent activity many of his contemporaries do but half the business. Mr. Campbell was an exemplary soldier with, perhaps, no special affection for the bearing of arms, but endowed with
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473
GEORGE HENRY TROUTMAN.
a high appreciation of a soldier's duty and a courage to perform it, no matter what the risks or the severity of the labor involved. Being possessed of a robust constitution, his captivity by the confederates, though it brought him many privations and much suffering, left no impress upon his health. Though not given to loud political professions he may be depended upon for any reasonable service asked in the name of his party. He has been frequently spoken of by his friends and brother professionals as a probable candidate for district attorney, but has never been formally brought forward for that honor, though he would un- doubtedly wear it and discharge the accompanying duties with credit. As soldier, lawyer, and citizen his record is one of which his friends are excusably proud.
GEORGE HENRY TROUTMAN.
George Henry Troutman was born in Philadelphia, January 18, 1842. His paternal great-grandfather, John George Trautman, came to this country from Vienna, Austria, September 16, 1736, in the ship Princess from Rotterdam, last from Cowes. He was a German baron. His sister married Marshal Siroc, of France. His grandfather, George C. Troutman, was a native of Reading, Pa. His father was J. Hamilton Troutman, a native of Philadelphia, who was at the time of his death, in 1865, a mem- ber of the firm of Kay & Brothers, law booksellers and publish- ers. The widow of J. Hamilton Troutman, and the mother of the subject of our sketch, is Elizabeth Esler, who now resides at Washington, D. C. She is a native of Philadelphia, and was the daughter of Benjamin Esler, a native of county Antrim, Ireland. George H. Troutman was educated in the public schools of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania, grad- uating from the latter institution in 1862. On April 22, 1861, he enlisted as a private in the first regiment Commonwealth ( Penn- sylvania) artillery, and served for three months. In 1862 he en- listed for three years in the fifteenth cavalry regiment, one hundred
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GEORGE HENRY TROUTMAN.
and sixtieth regiment Pennsylvania volunteers. In the campaign of Stone river he was wounded, and in June, 1862, he was taken prisoner at Huntsville, Ala., remaining as such for six months. After his release he was in the quartermaster's department under General G. S. Dodge. He remained in the service until March 1866, when he returned to Philadelphia. Mr. Troutman read law with Edward Hopper, of the Philadelphia bar, and was admitted to practice March 20, 1862. In 1868 he removed to Mahonoy City, Schuylkill county, Pa., and practiced in the courts of that county until April, 1879, when he removed to Hazleton in this county, where he has since resided. He was admitted to the Luzerne county bar September 16, 1874. Mr. Troutman is an exception- ably good public speaker, and being an enthusiastic republican, is frequently summoned by the management of that party to ser- vice on the stump in political campaigns." In such capacity he acquits himself with great credit, being powerful in invective and quick to appreciate and take advantage of the temper of the crowd he is addressing. He is an equally good talker before a jury, and capable of symmetrical and incisive argument or ap- peal. He served in the army with all proper courage and devo- tion to duty. His first practice as a lawyer was in the neighboring county of Schuylkill, at whose bar he quickly reached a conspic- uous place. Seeing, however, what he deemed a better opening, he renioved to Hazleton, and in a comparatively few years has succeeded in putting himself in the forefront of the profession there. He is retained on one side or the other in a very large proportion of the causes, both civil and criminal, that come from that vicinity to the county seat for adjudication, and never fails in close application to, and energy in the performance of, the duty for which he has been retained. Mr. Troutman has never held any public office, but he has been active in county conven- tions and committees, and if his ambition shall lie in that direc- tion, is likely to be some day the candidate of his party for district attorney of the county. Personally, Mr. Troutman is a favorite with those who know him, being good-natured, a pleas- ant conversationalist, and otherwise " good company."
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LEWIS BARTZ LANDMESSER.
LEWIS BARTZ LANDMESSER.
Lewis Bartz Landmesser was born in Hanover township, now the borough of Ashley, Luzerne county, Pa., March 5, 1850. He was educated at the Wilkes-Barre Institute, Hopkin's Gram- mar School, New Haven, Conn., and at Yale College, graduating from the latter institution in the class of 1871. He is the son of Lewis Landmesser, of this city, who emigrated in 1836 in com- pany with his father, John Nicholas Landmesser, from Spiesen, Prussia, of which place he is a native, settling in what is now the borough of Ashley. Lewis Landmesser, sen., is, and has been for many years, a prominent citizen of his adopted country, and has filled many positions of public trust-amongst others that of postmaster at Hendricksburg, and as member of the town coun- cil of the city of Wilkes-Barre. In 1877 he was the republican candidate for sheriff of Luzerne county, but was defeated by Patrick J. Kinney, labor reformer, the vote standing : Landmes- ser, 5,838 ; M. W. Brittain, democrat, 5,341 ; Kinney, 14,393; and J. R. Colvin, prohibitionist, 340. The mother of the subject of our sketch was Margaret Greenley, daughter of William Greenley, who was a native of Yorkshire, England. Mr. Land- messer after graduation spent a year in Germany and attended lec- tures at the university at Heidelburg and the university at Berlin, dividing the time equally between them. He then returned to Wilkes- Barre and entered the law office of L. D. Shoemaker as a student at law. He subsequently read law with H. B. Payne and Stanley Woodward, and was admitted to the Luzerne county bar April 5, 1875. Mr. Landmesser is a republican in politics, and has been a member of the county committee of that party, serving as its secretary for two years in succession. Mr. Land- messer married, February 9, 1876, Caroline Fewsmith, daughter of Rev. Joseph Fewsmith, D. D., of Newark, N. J. Joseph Few- smith Landmesser is their only surviving child. He again mar- ried, December 10, 1879, Millicent Worrall, daughter of George Worrall, of Elmira, N. Y. Mr. Worrall is a native of Wilkes-
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SELIGMAN JOSEPH STRAUSS.
Barre. By his second marriage Mr. Landmesser has two children, Bessie Irene Landmesser and Ralph Worrall Landmesser. Mr. Landmesser was fortunate in having a father who was among the earliest, most enterprising, and most successful of the German settlers of the valley ; one who by continuous and well directed effort soon managed to place himself among the most prosperous and conspicuous citizens. This gave the son opportunity to ac- quire an excellent education for the direction and development of such natural talents as he should be found to possess. - No ex- pense was spared in this connection, and as a consequence Mr. Landmesser came to the study of the law far better prepared than most young men to master its intricacies. He is a good practitioner, preferring, however, what is called office practice to pleading in the open court. He is one of the examiners of the Orphans' Court, and in that capacity does much useful and rea- sonably profitable work, requiring no little research and care in the preparation of the cases submitted to him. As already stated Mr. Landmesser is a republican in politics and, though not much given to public speaking, has done committee work with such skill and acceptance as to win the hearty plaudits of his co-par- tizans. He is young, ambitious, has influential friends, and his future should be rich with the fruits of professional success.
SELIGMAN JOSEPH STRAUSS.
Seligman Joseph Strauss was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Au- gust 19, 1852. He was educated in the public schools of Wilkes- Barre, at the academy of the late E. B. Harvey, in the public schools of New York, and the college of the city of New York, graduating from the latter institution in the class of 1872, receiv- ing the degrees of A. B. and B. S., having passed, in addition to the regular classical course, an examination in French, Spanish, and German. Three years later he received the degree of A. M., his thesis being " The Writ of Habeas Corpus, its History and Nature." His father, Abraham Strauss, was born in the village
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SELIGMAN JOSEPH STRAUSS.
of Kirchschoenbach, Bavaria, April 21, 1824. During his school days, though long before the liberal legislation known under the general name " Jewish Emancipation," the Bavarian laws pressed less heavily upon the Jews than those of other German states. While in many respects they were still severely restrictive, some scope was given for acquiring a popular education, and for ad- vancement in various fields of usefulness. Thus it was that he received an average common school training, and in addition to it was familiarized with the elements of music and became a fair amateur violinist. It was, however, a period and a country of practical education as well. No vocation in the ordinary paths of life was more respected or sought after than that of a master in one of the many necessary and useful trades ; whether the boy . chose to become a machinist or a weaver, a blacksmith, a shoe- maker, or a tailor there was before him a career of modest and (if thrifty) comfortable usefulness and of general respect. Nor was it left to the mere caprice who should arrive at that station. The guilds, which during the middle ages had wielded so great an influence, though they themselves had lost much prestige, had produced such a system of far-reaching and beneficent legis- lation, that honor and success as an artizan was only the result of industry and efficiency. The apprentice, the journeyman, the master-each degree was protected and regulated by the law of the land. Therefore, when at thirteen years of age, the moder- ate means and large family of his parents necessitated this more practical education, he was bound as an apprentice to the tailor's trade, in which capacity he served until May 29, 1839, when he received a certificate of proficiency, usually awarded only after three full years of service. It was by him regarded as a great triumph, when at this early age, by reason of his diligence and skill, the strict rules requiring a three year's apprenticeship were in his case suspended, and when he, as a reward of merit, thus prematurely became a journeyman by virtue of a certificate granted by the Royal Circuit Court at Gerolshofen, in the king- dom of Bavaria, inscribed in an official " Journey Book," or " Wan- der Book," which is still preserved by his family. This certifi- cate states "that the bearer, who has not yet done military duty, receives permission to journey in the states of the German Con-
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SELIGMAN JOSEPH STRAUSS.
federation for a period of three years." Other states, however, are requested, if he is found outside his journey limits, to take this book from him and supply him with a passport direct to his home. He has been instructed in the duties of a journeyman and begins his " wandering (Wanderschaft) next Saturday, the 2nd of June, on which day he goes to Wurzburg." The title page of this " Wander Book" is as follows : " Wander Book issued under the Supreme Regulations passed the 20th day of November, 1809 (containing forty numbered pages), for Abra- ham Strauss, journeyman tailor, born in Kirchschoenbach in the year 1824." Then follows a description of his stature, face, nose, hair, eyes, distinguishing marks, and his signature. All this was in accordance with the very strict laws whereby trades, each of which had at that time its guild in Germany, were supposed to be protected and encouraged. If any journeyman during the period of his statutory wanderings violated any of the guild or journey laws, or if he had worked but little at his trade and had spent " the greater part of his time in mere roving," as is stated in the rules on the third and fourth pages of the book before us, when he sought admission to the rank of a master in his vocation, he was subordinated to those journeymen " who had wandered as it was prescribed to them." In each incorporated town where he sought employment, or through which he necessarily passed, he had to submit this book to the local court, or to the burgomaster, for inspection or " visa," and a record of the act attested by the official seal was invariably inscribed before he left the town. In case he had actually found work there, the officer set forth since what date and with what credit to himself he had tarried. At the end of the whole period, upon official examination of the book, it was required that none of its pages should be missing, that it should show no signs of erasures or corrections, and that all the entries of " visa " should, with the employers' certificates, form an unbroken history. On June 2, 1839, then commissioned and protected by this book, weak in body and suffering from a congenital lameness, the fifteen-year-old lad, taking his pilgrim's staff, left home to finish in this way his industrial education. The next entry dated July 22, 1839, informs us that " the bearer has worked at his trade at master Gottfried Hanspach's, at Wurzburg,
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SELIGMAN JOSEPH STRAUSS.
has given no cause for complaint, and now intends to return home by chance conveyance." Thus, after seven weeks of absence, he again found himself in the father's house, though the father was no longer there. Probably he was urged to this speedy return by homesickness ; for, notwithstanding the presumption which the hard law had raised in his favor, he was only a boy in years and heart, though forced to assume a man's burthens. There in the modest village he found employment, and it is written that he " was at master tailor John Christ's " and conducted himself well until his departure October 17, 1839. Thence by way of several small towns he proceeded to the city of Erlangen, where he re- mained more than a year and a half, until May 26, 1841, at the establishment of the master tailor's widow, Sophia Maiss. Two years more were spent in the house of master tailor George Dachs, in Altenschoenbach, and here it is certified that the bearer has during his sojourn "led an entirely blameless life." More than three years he had at that time " wandered." Yet, not being physically able to perform actual military service, he was com- pelled by the enslaving law to add another period to his proba- tion. He now found employment successively in Umstadt, Hed- denheim, Altenschoenbach, Furth, Harburg, and Krumbach, and visited many other places among the more important of which were Donanwoerth, Bamberg, Mayence, and Frankfort on the Main. Thus it happened that not until June 25, 1846, do we find the entry that, " having satisfied the demands of the military laws, the bearer now receives permission to travel in home and foreign parts for an indefinite period. He goes to Wurzburg." He had now attained the rank of a master tailor in his village ; but he was also a freeman, and by the shortest route he sought a free land. He lost no time. Taking leave of two sisters who still remained behind, he hastened to join and assist two brothers and one sister who had already begun to found a new and better home in America. The very next day, June 26, he went "by steamboat to Mayence," on June 30 to Dusseldorf, and on July 10, the last entry in this book, made at Havre, relates in the French language that he is about to depart on the ship Scotland, bound for New York. There he arrived September 1, 1846, after a voyage of exactly seven weeks. About one month later he
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SELIGMAN JOSEPH STRAUSS.
came to Wilkes-Barre, and obtained employment with Captain Joseph Coons, who was then, and still is, a successful merchant in this city. In the employment of Mr. Coons as a tailor he re- mained about two years, and then established, in a very small way, the business that, without interruption and with uniform success, he carried on until his death, August 12, 1874. Abra- ham Strauss was a member of the school board of this city for six years, and at the expiration of his last term refused a re-elec- tion. He was a member of the board with the writer and others when the schools took an upward start and became really schools instead of places where school was supposed to be kept. Mr. Strauss was a leading citizen of this city, devoted to its interests, rejoicing in its prosperity, and his death caused great regret to its citizens. The mother of Seligman J. Strauss, who is still living, is Emilie Bodenheimer, daughter of the late Jacob Boden- heimer, of the village of Baierthal, near Sinsheim, in the grand duchy of Baden, Germany. She came to this city in 1850, where her sister, Mrs. Henry Ansbacher, resided, and who had preceded her to this country. She married, July 28, 1851, Abra- ham Strauss. S. J. Strauss read law with Henry W. Palmer, and was admitted to the Luzerne county bar September 6, 1875.
Of the younger members of the Luzerne bar Mr. Strauss is one of the very brightest and best. Of most of our junior law- yers we may observe with truth that this one has talent in one direction, that one fitness in another. Of Mr. Strauss it is not too much to say that he has adaptability for everything that comes within the limits of a lawyer's practice. His mind is one that at once takes stern grasp of the subject he essays to understand, however multifarious its incidents, or differing its phases. There is nothing superficial in his methods. He goes at once to the mar- row of a question, tests it in every light, measures it in its every possibility, and rises from his research prepared to defend his cause, however or from whatever direction it may be attacked. Many men would be incapable of this thoroughness, no matter how earnestly they should seek to acquire it. Many minds have the necessary qualities latent, but, in sympathy with the hurry and bustle of our country and times, make no effort to develop them. There is a popular tendency to the acquirement of a
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