USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Families of the Wyoming Valley: biographical, genealogical and historical. Sketches of the bench and bar of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, vol. II > Part 19
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Though this system of servitude possessed its advantages, espe- cially to a people residing in a new and unsettled country, it had its attending drawbacks. It was a relic that originated in the long past of Europe, and, like slavery, was continued and en- forced in the colonies. For the main facts concerning the redemptioners we are indebted to William J. Buck, Esq., in the history of Montgomery county, Pa.
These redemptioners were in the main honest men and feared God. They were not socialists, anarchists, or others of that ilk. They were satisfied with their condition, and had an idea that property that belonged to others did not belong to them. They came to this country to make a home for themselves, and took great pride in the fact that they became American citizens, and for this reason they were always honored and respected. Re- demptioners were not confined to Pennsylvania alone. They were to be found in all of the colonies, and represented nearly all the nationalities of Europe.
After this time Henry Geck, now spelled Keck, came to what
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is now Lehigh county, and settled on the tract of land in Salis- bury township which he subsequently purchased, and is still owned by one of his descendants. There was on the place a clearing, a log barn, apple orchard, and a log house. About ten or fifteen years after his purchase he built a two-story stone house, which stood until 1818, when it was torn down by his grandson, Solomon Keck, who built another stone house on the site, and which is still standing. When Henry Keck first came to Lehigh county, and for several years after, all his grist was taken to White Marsh, Sandy Run, now Montgomery county, to be ground. In 1828 he purchased four hundred acres of land adjoining his farm.
John Keck, one of the sons of Henry Keck, was on the first grand jury that was held in Lehigh county. Andrew Keck, son of Henry Keck, purchased the old homestead, married Barbara, daughter of George Blank, and settled there. The Blank family were from Saucon township. Andrew lived on his farm until his death in 1828, being at that time seventy-six years of age. His youngest son, Charles Keck, was elected treasurer, and sub- sequently one of the associate judges of Lehigh county. George Keck was the eldest son of Andrew Keck. In 1823 he was commissioned one of the justices of the peace for Lehigh county. This was at a time when the governor of the state always selected the leading citizens, and they were commissioned for life. He married Elizabeth Levan, of Maxatawny, Berks county, Pa. Her great-grandfather was Jacob Levan, the founder of the Maxa- tawny branch of the family. He was the owner of two large tracts of land in Maxatawny. Parts of Kutztown and Eagle Point are now on these tracts. He was also the builder and owner of the first grist mill west of the Skippack, and was one of the judges of the Berks county court from the erection of that county, in 1752, until 1762. The Levans were a French Reformed family, commonly known as Huguenots. They left France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and came to Pennsylvania in the early part of the eighteenth century. Col. Sebastian Levan was the son of Jacob Levan. He was an officer in the Revolution- ary war, and also a member of the colonial assembly. Mrs. George Keck was the second daughter of Jacob Levan, son of Col. Se-
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bastian Levan and his wife, Magdalena, who was a daughter of Daniel Levan.
Charles Levan Keck is the youngest son of George Keck, and was born in Allentown March 18, 1827. For many years he has been a resident of White Haven. He was for twenty years a mer- chant, but is now exclusively engaged in the manufacture of lum- ber in the latter place. He is one of the directors and secretary and treasurer of the Lehigh Boom Company, and also one of the directors and vice president of the White Haven Savings Bank. He is the president of the White Haven Water Company, and president and one of the directors of the Laurel Cemetery Asso- ciation. He was for twenty years president of the school board, and for the same length of time one of the school directors of White Haven borough. He is also one of the trustees of the Presbyterian church. His wife is Eleanor, daughter of the late John King, of Freemansburg, a native of Haycock township, Bucks county, Pa., where he was born February 16, 1790. His father was Frederick King, also a native of the same county. Soon after the birth of John King, Frederick King moved to Hellerstown, Northampton county, and after residing there some time was elected sheriff of Northampton county, then consisting of Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, Pike and Wayne counties. John King acted as a deputy sheriff under his father.
The wife of John King was Hannah Jones, who was born August 16, 1789. She was a descendant of John Jones, who was born in Skippack, in what is now Montgomery county, Pa., June 21, 1714. His father, says Mr. Reichel, " had emigrated from Wales with other persons of excellent and worthy character, descendants of the ancient Britons, principally from Radnor, Bryn Mawr, and Haverford in Merionethshire." This company founded a settle- ment in Montgomery county, and in 1690 purchased a tract of forty thousand acres from William Penn. Of the early history of Griffith Jones, the father of John Jones, we know little or nothing. He died in 1720. Where John Jones spent his childhood and early youth cannot now be ascertained, but subsequent events render it probable that he found a home with relatives in the Welsh settlement at Upper Merion, which was familiarly known as " over Schuylkill." His opportunities of acquiring an educa-
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tion must have been limited, but he learned to write a beautiful hand and to express himself in good English. He also learned the trade of a blacksmith, and is said to have been an excellent workman, though in his late years he devoted himself almost exclusively to agricultural pursuits. At an early age John Jones was married to Eleanor Godfrey, a daughter of Thomas Godfrey, of Tredyfryn township, Chester county, Pa. Mr. Godfrey was descended from a highly respectable family in the county of Kent, England. He married in England, and his first child was born at sea while they were voyaging to this country. In Amer- ica the Godfreys grew prosperous and wealthy. Besides the ' daughter born on the sea they had eight children, of whom Eleanor was the third. Thomas Godfrey died in 1756. His wife, Jane, lived to a great age and died in 1771. In her will she bequeaths " five pounds to the vestry of the church at Rad- nor, two pounds to St. Peter's church at Great Valley, and two pounds to the minister who shall officiate at my funeral."
John Jones and his wife, Eleanor, began housekeeping in New Providence, Montgomery county, probably on the land he inher- ited from his father. In 1749 they removed to Bethlehem, Pa. Here they built a massive stone house which stood until 1835, when it was taken down by one of their descendants and a mod- ern mansion erected on its substantial foundations. The black- smith shop erected by John Jones is still standing. Here he did a great deal of work for the Indians, especially during the time when the Moravian Indian converts occupied the village of Nain, ir' the vicinity of Bethlehem. The Jones house was a place of considerable importance during the Indian wars. Again and again it was crowded with refugees fleeing from the frontier. On July 7, 1757, an Indian boy, the son of the old chief Tattamy, was recklessly shot by a white boy at Craig's Settlement while on his way to Easton with a party of friendly Indians. Danger- ously wounded, the Indian boy was brought to the Jones house to be nursed, while his companions encamped around the house, breathing threats of the direst vengeance in case of the death of their young chieftain. It was a matter of the greatest importance that his life should, if possible, be saved, and Dr. Bodo Otto was engaged, at the expense of the government, to give him his un-
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divided attention. For more than a month young Tattamy lingered between life and death. The Indians could wait no longer, so they hurried away to their hunting grounds, greatly to the relief of the family which had entertained them. Three days afterwards the young chief died and was buried in the grave-yard on the opposite side of the river.
John Jones soon became a man of wealth and consideration. In 1752 he was appointed by an Act of Assembly one of the commissioners to secure a piece of land upon which to build a court house and prison for Northampton county, at Easton, " to accommodate the public service, and for the ease and convenience of the inhabitants." He died June 2, 1781, and is buried in the ' grave-yard at Bethlehem.
Joseph Jones, the youngest son of John Jones, was born April 22, 1755, in Bethlehem township. He married, in 1775, Hannah Horn, of Upper Merion. We need not say that the first years of their married life fell in troubled times. In 1777, when their eldest child was an infant, Joseph Jones was required by the authorities to take a wagon load of flour to camp for the relief of the army. He left home in good spirits, expecting to return in a few days, but when the flour was out they loaded him with can- dles, and he was compelled to follow the army for many months. One day during his absence a company of French soldiers came to his house, and by signs demanded food and lodging. They were a part of the suite of General Lafayette, who had been wounded at the battle of Brandywine, and was at this time under surgical treatment at Bethlehem. These French soldiers were polite and respectful, but it is not surprising that Mrs. Jones was afraid of them. At night she crept into a closet hidden by the wainscoting, in deadly fear lest her hiding place should be dis- covered by the crying of her child. One night she heard a noise in the garden, and, looking out of the window, saw that a party of tories were engaged in stealing a row of hives full of honey. Without a moment's hesitation she called "Messieurs " at the top of her voice, and in a few moments the soldiers came running down stairs. Unable to make herself understood she pointed to the window, when they raised their muskets and fired a volley through the panes. Next morning the hives were found scattered
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along the garden walk stained with blood, but whether any one of the thieves was seriously wounded was never discovered. Though never in public life Mr. Jones was a man of great influence. He had read much, and was widely known as an excellent surveyor. His flow of spirit was remarkable, and many stories are still related which illustrate his keen sense of humor. In short, he was an excellent example of a good humored, intelligent country gentle- man. He was made sole heir of his father's landed estate, includ- ing farms in Saucon and Williams townships, and comprising nearly eight hundred acres of excellent land. He had, however, to pay out a considerable number of legacies, and in those days "land was cheap but money dear." He died December 17, 1824. His youngest daughter, Hannah, was the wife of John King.
Charles Edmund Keck was educated in the public schools of his native borough and at Muhlenburg college (Allentown, Pa.). graduating from the latter institution in the class of 1883. He studied law with Gaius L. Halsey, and was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county October 18, 1886. He is an unmarried man, and a republican in politics.
The courage and perseverance that enabled the ancestry of Mr. Keck, as here related, to overcome the difficulties by which their lives were surrounded, and found a numerous and pros- perous family, are said, by those who know him best, to be reflected in the character of their young descendant. He has been a faithful student, and his examination was creditably met. He begins professional life surrounded by friends and circum- stances that give promise of success therein.
ALFRED EUGENE CHAPIN.
Alfred Eugene Chapin was born in New Columbus, Luzerne county, Pa., August 7, 1853. He is a descendant of John Chapin, a native of Springfield, Mass., where he married Hannah Rock- wood, and resided in that state and in Connecticut until several
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of his family of twelve children grew large enough to assist in the labors needed in successfully building up a home in the then nearly unbroken forest of Huntington township, in this county. They obtained a pleasant, healthful location on the western hill, where some of his descendants still hold possession of the paternal acres. John Chapin is in the list of taxable inhabitants of Huntington township in 1796, and it is probable that he re- moved there prior to that time. Samuel Chapin, son of John Chapin, was a native of Litchfield county, Conn., and removed with his father to Huntington township. He married Hannah, the only daughter of Solon Trescott, in 1795. Solon Tres- cott was the son of Samuel Trescott and his wife Hannah Whipple, both of Sheffield, Berkshire county, Mass. They. re- moved to Huntington in June, 1778, and the Trescott family was one of the representative families there. Solon Trescott, with his brother Samuel Trescott, served in Washington's army dur- ing the campaigns of 1776 and 1777. They were in the many engagements during those two disastrous years. After their term of enlistment expired the brothers returned to Huntington, and both enrolled in the company of Captain John Franklin, and with him marched to Forty Fort to participate in the efforts to save the Susquehanna settlements from destruction by the tories and their Indian allies. After their escape from Forty Fort, where they were held as prisoners a short time after John Butler was in possession of the fort, they returned to Hunting- ton, and assisted others to escape who were still remaining there. They had been preceded by bands of roving Indians, who were busy in robbing, burning, and devastating the homes that had been deserted. Several of the people the Trescott brothers ex- pected to find were gone, and of some of them no tidings were ever obtained. The brothers went down the river some distance, then taking an easterly course, eventually reached Connecticut. Samuel Trescott soon after married and never returned to Hun- tington. Solon also married soon after, returning to his native place, and remained there until 1794. His wife was Margaret Lewis, of Ashford, Conn. When they returned to Huntington they brought with them their six children, Hannah being among the number.
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Dyer Lewis Chapin, father of A. E. Chapin, was the youngest child of Samuel Chapin and his wife, Hannah Trescott. He is a prominent citizen and merchant of the borough of New Colum- bus, and represented Luzerne county in the legislature of the state in 1860. He was also a candidate for the same office in 1861, but was defeated by his republican competitor. He is one of the trustees of the New Columbus Academy, and has been a justice of the peace for twenty years and over. He has also held the position of town councilman and other offices. His wife is Amanda M. Fellows, a granddaughter of Abiel Fellows, one of the active men of the Susquehanna company, and also a trusted business man for the early settlers. He came to Huntington as a proprietor to improve his claim as early as 1784. In his evi- dence before the Pennsylvania commissioners in 1802 he says eighteen years previous to that date. However, during several years after that period he was not a constant resident. About 1815 he was one of the commissioners of Luzerne county. His family record says he was born October 1, 1764. He married his second wife February 17, 1791. His first wife, whom he married November 12, 1786, was Anna Downing Andrews. She left no children. Andrus Fellows was the eldest son of Abiel Fel- lows by his second wife, Caty Mann. He married Sally Smith and cleared up a home a short distance north of New Columbus, where he raised his family and spent an industrious, useful life. He was the father of Amanda M. Chapin, who is the mother of the subject of our sketch.
A. E. Chapin was educated at the New Columbus Academy. He entered the law office of Stanley Woodward, of this city, and subsequently that of Charles R. Buckalew, of Bloomsburg. He was admitted to the bar of Columbia county, and shortly after removed to the borough of Nanticoke, in this county, where, in addition to his law practice, he fills the position of justice of the peace. He was admitted to the Luzerne county bar October 19, 1881. He married, October 15, 1874, Lydia Augusta Sutliff, daughter of John D. Sutliff, of Huntington. He is a grandson of Miles Sutliff, an early Connecticut settler, who is on the list of tax- ables of Huntington township in 1796. Stiles Sutliff, son of Miles Sutliff, was the father of John D. Sutliff. The mother of Mrs. A.
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E. Chapin, and wife of John D. Sutliff, is Catharine Larrish, a daughter of George Larrish, of Columbia county, Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Chapin have no children.
Mr. Chapin comes, as will be seen, from an old family in the county, many of whose members have been prominently identified with its growth and prosperity. He is a justice of the peace, as we have already said, in Nanticoke, a position that in a place so important and away from the county seat is of much conse- quence both to its incumbent and to the people whose causes are preliminarily adjudicated before him. He fills it with dignity and with satisfaction to those by whose votes it was conferred upon him. Where men read in the law and regularly admitted to practice can be secured to accept these offices a necessary and distinct advantage to the community accrues. The original juris- diction of a justice of the peace under existing statutes in Penn- sylvania is sufficiently broad to make it a matter of great import- ance that he should have more than an ordinary knowledge of the law and its gravity, and it is a fact notorious to every judge in a court of record and every lawyer in active practice that a very large percentage of the expensive and worse than useless litigation with which the higher courts are constantly burdened comes from gross ignorance and almost criminal carelessness on the part of the justices by whom the cases are " sent up." Every well-posted and well-intentioned lawyer would be glad of such change in the law as would enlarge the jurisdiction of the justices and aldermen, provided it were accompanied by the requirement that those who fill such offices be qualified in an understanding of the law they are to administer. Mr. Chapin's success as a justice is an illustration of the wisdom of these suggestions.
JAMES NOTEMAN ANDERSON.
James Noteman Anderson was born in Pittston, Pa., January 7, 1856. He is the son of John Anderson, a native of Dum- frieshire, Scotland, who emigrated to America in 1851, and has resided in Pittston ever since. He was for many years in the
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employ of the Pennsylvania Coal Company as one of its super- intendents, and has also been superintendent of the Pittston Water Company since its incorporation. The mother of J. N. Ander- son, and wife of John Anderson, is Mary, daughter of James N. Bryden, also of Pittston. She is a native of Ayrshire, Scotland. James N. Anderson was educated at Newton, N. J., Collegiate Institute, and in the college of New Jersey, at Princeton, grad- uating from the latter institution in the class of 1880. He read law with E. P. & J. V. Darling, and was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county June 5, 1882. He married April 27, 1886, Carrie A. Westcott, of Oneida, N. Y. She is the daughter of John H. Westcott, a native of Connecticut. The wife of John H. Westcott is Helen Williams, a daughter of James Williams, also of Connecticut. After the admission of Mr. Anderson to the bar of this county his health failed him and he resided in the terri- tories of Wyoming and Montana for nearly three years. He then returned to this county and resumed the practice of law. having his office in Pittston.
Mr. Anderson exhibits in his practice all the sturdy traits of the race from which he has sprung. His residence in the terri- tories did much to restore him his lost physical vigor, and, being a man of sound and active mind, and impressed with the seriousness of professional life, industrious, and of affable demeanor, he has already gathered about him a clientage of respectable proportions. Members of the bar are multiplying quite rapidiy in Pittston, but Mr. Anderson is among the best and brightest of them and can be depended upon to hold his own in a fair field against any of his competitors.
CECIL REYNOLDS BANKS.
Cecil Reynolds Banks was born in Hollidaysburg, Blair county, Pa., November 3, 1849. He is a descendant of Hugh Banks, who was born in the early part of the seventeenth century in Ayrshire, Scotland. He had one son, James-if more, we are not informed. General James Banks was born in Ayrshire
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about 1732. " He was a man (so the record runs) of great learning, high toned and honorable, exceedingly handsome, and a devout Presbyterian. In early manhood he was a great traveler, passing much of his time in England, where, in 1754, he married Ann Small, and sailed for America." His first home in this country was in Chester county, Pa. After living there a year he joined the army and went with Washington's forces for the protection of the frontier (now Pittsburgh) against the French and Indians. He spent three years in the service. Upon leaving it he bought a farm in York county, Pa., and in 1772 he bought the Cedar Spring farm, in Mifflin (now Juniata) county, Pa., and moved his family there. He died in 1793. He had six children.
Andrew Banks, son of James Banks, was the father of the late John Banks, of Reading, who was a representative in congress from 1831 to 1836, president judge of the Berks district from 1836 to 1847, the latter year becoming state treasurer. In 1841 he was the candidate of the whig party for governor, but was defeated. He died in Reading April 3, 1864. James Banks, another son of General James Banks, was the father of Ephraim Banks. In 1817 James Banks was a presidential elector, and voted for James Monroe for president. Susan Banks, daughter of James Banks, became the wife of Christopher Bowman, the ancestor of Thomas Bowman, one of the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal church, and of D. L. Rhone, judge of the Orphans' Court of this county, and John Quincy Creveling, of the Luzerne county bar. In the "Bowman Family" it is incorrectly stated that Susan Banks was the sister of Judge Banks, of Reading. He had no sisters, but Susan Bowman was the aunt of Judge Banks. We have no knowledge of the other children of James Banks. The late Hon. Linn Banks, of Virginia, said he belonged to the same family, so it is supposed that one of the sons of James Banks went to Virginia ; and General N. P. Banks, of Massachusetts, also said the same, and his physique so indicates. In the law reports, during Queen Elizabeth's reign, we find that Sir John Banks was queen's counsel, and down to the present day we find in Scotland and England among the Bankses many lawyers and jurists, thus proving that the heredity of taste in learning and in the professions is as imperative as the physique of a family.
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Ephraim Banks was the eldest son of General James Banks and Catharine Nelson, daughter of Robert Nelson, who came to America about the time of Braddock's war and defeat, and shortly after married Martha Patterson, sister of john Patterson, grand- father of Madam Bonaparte (Betsey Patterson). Madam Bona- parte, before her marriage, who was well known as a most beau- tiful girl, used to visit her cousin, Catharine Nelson Banks, at Cedar Spring. The elder ladies of Harrisburg used to tell some pleasing reminiscences of those days. Ephraim Banks was born in Lost Creek Valley, then a part of Mifflin (now Juniata) county, January 17, 1791. He removed to Lewistown in 1817, and was appointed prothonotary by Governor Findley in 1818, serving three years, and commenced the practice of law at Lewistown in 1823. He was elected to the legislature in 1826, 1827, and 1828. He was a member, by election, of the convention which assembled at Harrisburg May 2, 1837, to reform the state constitution. He was elected auditor general of the state in 1850, and re-elected in 1853, serving six years, and finally was elected associate judge of Mifflin county in 1866, which office he held at the time of his death, which occurred January 6, 1871. Judge Banks was a sincere and devoted christian. He was an elder in the Presby- terian church at Lewistown for many years. He often repre- sented the church in the meetings of presbytery, and as often, perhaps, as any other elder represented the presbytery in the meetings of the general assembly. As a member of church judicatories his opinions were always looked for and respected. and he was always appointed on the most important committees. In the church at home he was always as the pastor's right hand. According to his Scoth-Irish Presbyterian training he was firmly settled in the well known doctrines of the Confession of Faith and catechisms of the Presbyterian church. Not only was he faithful in his position as an elder of the church, but he refused not the humblest service by which he could promote the cause of the Master. He was a diligent and faithful teacher in the Sabbath school till the infirmities of age compelled him to desist. Immediately upon his death the members of the county court held a meeting and passed resolutions expressive of their high appreciation of his character, and the business places of the town
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