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 20
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 | Part 46 | Part 47
١٫٤-
٣
هـ .
٠٠٠١٢٧ ٢٠٠
1
716
CECIL REYNOLDS BANKS.
were all closed while his funeral ceremonies were being performed. Judge Banks was loved by the democracy of the state, but was honored alike by men of all parties. His natural gifts were marked; he was a gentleman of the highest style of manners-dig- nified, yet genial. The first wife of Judge Banks was Mary Keiser. She was the daughter of Andrew Keiser and Jane Phillips, who were married in Philadelphia May 28, 1792, by Rev. Joseph Pil- more, of St. Paul's church. Jane Phillips was the daughter of John and Hester Phillips (nee Reese), and was born in this country. Andrew Keiser was the son of Jacob Keiser, a native of Germany, who probably emigrated to this country September 16, 1751, in the ship Edinburg. The wife of Jacob Keiser was Mary Matter, and on the ship just named was Jacob Matter and Hans Adam Matter, probably relatives of Mrs. Keiser. Judge Banks had five sons, all now in the "land of the hereafter " except E. Nelson Banks, M. D., of this city, who is the " hero of two wars." As a comparative boy he served through the Mexican war. The doctor was in the forlorn hope or storm- ing party at Chapultepec and helped storm the heights and castle. This was done without any priming in their guns. After the fall of Chapultepec the storming party was ordered to take the gate of San Cosme, one of the main entrances to the city of Mexico. Doctor Banks was wounded while helping to take a battery at the English burying ground, near the San Cosme gate. He soon rallied and caught up with the storming party, and was one of the very few who stormed and took the batteries and gate at sundown on September 13, 1847, and had the honor of sleep- ing with the little band in the city of Mexico that night-the first in the city. The next morning the whole army entered the city. For this service Doctor Banks was appointed by President Polk a second lieutenant in the regular army, but before confir- mation by the United States Senate the war was ended. He then read medicine and was graduated at the medical depart- ment of the University of Pennsylvania, and then removed to Peru, Indiana, and practiced his profession. When the late civil war was upon us he was appointed regimental surgeon and served with much zeal in his profession during the war. . Colonel James A. Banks, the second son of Judge Banks, was a
:
11
1
.
1.
-.
.)
717
CECIL REYNOLDS BANKS.
brilliant young lawyer. He read law with his father, and shortly after his admission he sailed for California around Cape Horn. The voyage was long and tiresome. When he landed at San Francisco he was selected by the late Governor Geary, who was then Alcalde of San Francisco, to become his counsel in a trial between him and the vigilance committee. The trial lasted a week and resulted in Governor Geary's favor. At its close young Mr. Banks, who had become weak by his long journey, went to bed and in a few days died. Governor Geary placed a monu- ment over his grave. Enoch A. Banks, the youngest son of Judge Banks, read law with his brother, Thaddeus Banks, was admitted to the Blair county bar, and soon thereafter removed to Norristown, where he made character particularly as a criminal lawyer. He was district attorney of Montgomery county for a term of three years. He married Miss Ray Bean, and died in a few years, leaving one son-B. Stanley Banks-an attorney at law residing in Philadelphia. Alexander A. Banks, another son of Judge Banks, was a druggist at Lewistown. Judge Banks had two daughters-Mary, who married Mr. Stinsen, of Evansville, Indiana, and Mrs. G. W. Bates, of Washington, D. C. Thaddeus Banks was the eldest son of Judge Banks. He was born in Lewistown in 1815. He read law with his father, was admitted to the bar of Mifflin county in 1839, and shortly after removed to Hollidaysburg, and in 1841 married Miss Delia Cromwell Reynolds, of Maryland. He was one of the leading lawyers of the state, was a safe counselor, an able advocate, and had the highest conception of ethics and conscience. His mind was stored from almost every department of literature. He was a member of the state agricultural society, and took great interest in all that pertained to agriculture. He owned a beautiful farm near Hollidaysburg, and took much pride in keeping it well stocked with choice live stock and fruit, which before were unknown in Blair county. In 1861 he was elected, by the demo- cratic party, a member of the state legislature. In 1871 he was the democratic candidate for president judge of his county, but was defeated. He was frequently a candidate for presidential elector and other offices in the gift of his party, but it was his eminent integrity that shed its greatest luster on his character.
1
٠٠٫٠٠٫٢٢
١٠٠١
.
1
٠٥ ١٢
1'1
٨٠٠١
:1.
1.
1
1
718
CECIL REYNOLDS BANKS.
He was a zealous christian and a member of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Banks died in 18So. He left one son, the subject of this sketch, and four daughters-Kathleen, who married C. H. Porter, of Hollidaysburg ; Juniata, who married Ambrose Ewing, of Maryland; Mary, who married Colonel M. H. Stacey, United States army, who died in 1885 while in command of Fort Ontario. Colonel Stacey made a brilliant record as a soldier and officer, brave and magnanimous, and by his example and pen labored for the highest interests of all branches of the service. The Loyal Legion of the United States closes their memoriam of Colonel Stacey with this sentiment: "We have tears for the bereaved ones, but we remember with pride the luster he shed on our escutcheon." Mrs. Stacey now resides in Washington, D. C. Delia Cromwell, the youngest daughter, is the wife of G. W. Saddler, a prominent merchant of Baltimore.
Mrs. Delia C. Banks, mother of C. R. Banks, and wife of Thaddeus Banks, is the daughter of Reuben Reynolds and Hen- rietta Maria Cromwell. Henry Reynolds, the progenitor of the Reynolds family in America, was a distinguished minister of the society of Friends in England. He was a man of great wealth, and with his wife emigrated from Nottingham, England, and settled in Nottingham, Cecil county, Maryland. His brother William afterwards came to America and settled in New York ; another brother, John, came later and settled in Carolina. Reu- ben Reynolds was the son of Jacob, who was a son of said Henry. He married Henrietta Maria Cromwell, daughter of John Ham- mond Cromwell, of England, and Mary Hammond Dorsey, of Joppa, Maryland. J. H. Cromwell was born about 1750, came to America previous to the revolution, married his cousin, Miss Dorsey, and settled first on the Gunpowder river, Baltimore county, Maryland. Subsequently he bought an extensive tract of land in Cecil county, where he afterwards resided, and where he and his family are interred. He was a lineal descendant of Oliver Cromwell, who, Lamertine says, was more than king. He was descended through Oliver's son, Sir Henry, and Lady Eliz- abeth Russell. They had four sons, one of whom, Richard, was the more immediate progenitor of J. H. Cromwell. The grand- father of Mrs. Thaddeus Banks, John H. Cromwell, was a man of
bm aramb andnos 6 264
.
1.
;
٠٠
:
2.11.
٢٠١٤٠٠٠٠
719
SAMUEL MAXWELL PARKE.
profound learning, a great aristocrat, and lived pretty much iso- lated except in his immediate family. He died a monarchist, thus losing the sympathy of his granddaughter, Mrs. Banks, who was one of the most zealous friends of the soldiers in the late war. She gave her time, her money, her pen, all her energies to the interests of soldiers in the field, in hospitals, to their fam- ilies at home, and to their orphans. The Dorseys were origi- nally French, and went over to England with William the Con- queror. The name was D'Arcy, and the first of the American D'Arcys came to Baltimore with Lord Baltimore and were intermarried in his family.
Cecil R. Banks read law with his father, and was admitted to the bar of Blair county in 1873. He was educated at the Tus- carora Academy, Pennsylvania State College, and at Dickinson Seminary, Williamsport, Pa. He practiced law with his father during his lifetime, and after his father's death removed to this county, and was admitted to the Luzerne county bar January 10, 1883. He comes, as the foregoing narrative attests, from a long line of lawyers, many of whom were eminently successful and achieved distinction both in their profession and otherwise in public life. He has good natural abilities, and has had the advantage of excellent training, both before and since his admis- sion to practice. In his younger days he wrote much for the local press, and in this line of endeavor displayed unusual talent. He is a careful investigator, argues his causes well, and may rea- sonably look forward to good success.
SAMUEL MAXWELL PARKE.
Samuel Maxwell Parke was born in Pittston, Pa., May 4, 1859. He is a descendant of Arthur Park, a native of Ballylagby, in the county of Donegal, Ireland, who came to this country prior to 1724, and settled in Upper Octoraro, Chester county, Pa. Hon. J. Smith Futhey, in a historical discourse delivered on the occa- sion of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Upper
£
1.
1
....
. 0.00 /1 00 11. 1. !
720
SAMUEL MAXWELL PARKE.
Octoraro Presbyterian church, says: "The entire Parke family in this section of the country, together with many families bear- ing other honored surnames, are their descendants. It has fur- nished this church with five ruling elders, in five successive gen- erations, and has also furnished four ministers-the late Rev. Samuel Parke and his son, Rev. Nathan Grier Parke, the Rev. Samuel T. Lowrie, and the Rev. John L. Withrow. The name was originally spelled Park, but the later generation spell it Parke. Members of the family of the seventh generation, from the original Arthur Park, are present within these walls to-day." His grandson, Joseph Park, was a member of the Penn- sylvania legislature from Chester county in the years 1779, 1780, 1783, 1784, 1802, and 1807.
Rev. Samuel Parke, son of Joseph Park, was born November 25, 1788, near Parkesburg, Pa. He graduated at Dickinson col- lege in 1809, studied divinity under the direction and instruction of Rev. Nathan Grier, of Forks of Brandywine-there being then no theological seminaries in the church-and was licensed by the presbytery of New Castle in 1813. He was ordained and installed pastor of the Slate Ridge church, in York county, in August, 1814 and sustained that relation for forty-three years. He dis- charged the duties of the ministry with great fidelity and to the acceptance of his congregation until 1857, when, on account of the infirmities of age, he resigned. He died on the 20th of De- cember, 1869, in the eighty-second year of his age. His wife was a daughter of his preceptor-Rev. Nathan Grier-a native of Bucks county, where he was born in September, 1760. His parents were John and Agnes (Caldwell) Grier, who, after their marriage, came to this country from Ireland. Devoted to God in his youth by humble faith, he chose the ministry of the gospel as the best means of promoting the glory of God and the benefit of his fellow men. His classical and theological education was conducted by his elder brother, the Rev. James Grier, of Deep Run. He entered the University of Pennsylvania about 1781, and was graduated in 1783. He was licensed to preach by the presbytery of Philadelphia in 1786. In the same year he received and accepted a call from the congregation of the Forks of Brandy- wine, and was installed as their pastor in 1787-a union for life.
ثابت
٢١٠٠٦
. 1. 1
-
as bon
.
.103
- 1,
721
SAMUEL MAXWELL PARKE.
He died March 31, 1814, in the fifty-fourth year of his age, having served his congregation for twenty-seven years. He married Susanna Smith, a daughter of Robert and Margaret Smith, whose biography may be found under the head of . Edward P. Darling, in these pages. He left five children-three daughters and two sons. Two of his daughters became the estimable wives of Presbyterian ministers. His sons were Rev. Robert S. Grier and the Rev. John N. C. Grier, D. D. Rev. John Ferguson Grier, D. D., was his nephew.
Rev. Nathan Grier Parke, D. D., is a native of Slate Ridge, York county, where he was born December 16th, 1820. He graduated from Jefferson College before he had completed his twentieth year, and four years later, in the spring of 1844, he received his diploma in theology from Princeton College. He was licensed to preach the gospel on the 30th of April, 1843, by the presby- tery of Donegal. He was ordained in Pittston as an evangelist by the presbytery of Luzerne July 7, 1846, and was installed pastor of the church at Pittston June 6, 1847. He preached his first sermon in Pittston in June, 1844, and has been pastor of the Presbyterian church in that place since, a period of over forty years. In 1884 Washington and Jefferson College conferred upon Mr. Parke the degree of D. D. In the early days of his ministry his field covered Pittston, Lackawanna, Scranton, Hyde Park, Providence, Newton, and Abington, a section of the country now thickly dotted with Presbyterian churches. Mr. Parke married, June 8, 1847, Ann E. Gildersleeve, daughter of the late William C. Gildersleeve, of Wilkes-Barre, and granddaughter of Rev. Cyrus Gildersleeve. Mr. Gildersleeve was of an old New Jersey family, his ancestors having settled in Orange about 1660. Rev. Cyrus Gilder- sleeve, a son of Ezra Gildersleeve, was born April 14, 1768, and grad- uated from Rutgers College. After studying theology he removed south, and for twenty-one years was pastor of the Midway Pres- byterian church, at McIntosh, Liberty county, Ga. While there he married Mrs. Renchie Elliott, who had been previously mar- ried to Thomas Quarterman. Her maiden name was Norman, and she belonged to one of the old slave-holding families of Georgia. She was the daughter of William Norman, who removed from Dorchester, South Carolina, to Midway March 22, 1721.
٠١٠ ٠ ٠٠٠٠
1:
. 3.
:
1
٢٠
722
SAMUEL MAXWELL PARKE.
The family belonged to the New England colony that first settled in South Carolina and afterwards removed to Georgia. The wife of William Norman was a Miss Boyd, of Charleston, S. C. Mrs. Renchie Elliott was but twenty-three years of age when she married Mr. Gildersleeve. Five children were born to Mrs. Gil- dersleeve. She died in 1807. By this marriage Mr. Gildersleeve became a slaveholder and a grower of cotton. One of these slaves Mr. Gildersleeve brought with him to Wilkes-Barre. She was known as " Mam Helen," and lived to an advanced age- something over a hundred years-and spoke with confidence of being " assisher " to entertain General Washington in the home of her old master in Georgia. In 1810 Rev. Cyrus Gildersleeve settled in Bloomfield, N. J., and was pastor of the church in that place for about ten years. In 1820 Mr. Gildersleeve settled in Wilkes-Barre and became the pastor of the Congregational (now Presbyterian) church in this city. Desiring to extend the borders of the church he occasionally preached to the people in Hanover, Newport, Plains, Pittston, and Plymouth. The earliest regular Presbyterian preaching in the Lackawanna valley was by Mr. Gil- dersleeve, who was there as early as 1827, and the few Presby- terians in the lower half of the valley were connected with the church in Wilkes-Barre. Once in four or six weeks Mr. Gilder- sleeve traversed the valley and preached on week days in school houses, barns, and private dwellings, and the open air at Lacka- wanna, Hyde Park, and Providence. For more than ten years following Mr. Gildersleeve's ministry there were not more than six families residing east of the Lackawanna river, in what is now the main part of the city of Scranton. In 1829 Mr. Gildersleeve was succeeded in the pastorate of the church in Wilkes-Barre by Rev. Nicholas Murray, D. D., author of the "Kirwan letters." Mr. Gildersleeve subsequently removed to Bloomfield, where he preached until the time of his death, January 15, 1837. He mar- ried his second wife, Frances C. Wilkinson, May 12, 1808. This wife was a widow whose maiden name was Kennady. Eight children were the fruits of this marriage.
William C. Gildersleeve, son of Rev. Cyrus Gildersleeve, and grandfather of Samuel Maxwell Parke, was born in McIntosh, Liberty county, Ga., December 6, 1795, and there lived until he
:1
1
:
723
SAMUEL MAXWELL PARKE.
was fourteen years of age. ' His father then removed to Bloom- field, N. J., with a view to educating his children. After com- pleting his education Mr. Gildersleeve entered the store of Israel Crane, in Newark, N. J., where he spent several years. He mar- ried Nancy Riggs, of Mendham, N. J., a daughter of Preserve Riggs, a sister of Rev. Elias Riggs, a graduate of Princeton College in 1795, who received his license to preach from the presbytery of New York in March, 1802, and for some time supplied the Presby- terian church at Perth Amboy, N. J. In 1806 he removed to New Providence, N. J., and continued this pastoral charge to the end of his life. He died February 25, 1825. Mr. Riggs was eminently a Godly man and a faithful pastor, and commanded, by his exemplary life and conversation, the affection of his people and the respect of the community. He entailed upon the world a well-trained family that does honor to his name and has done good to the church and the world. His two sons became Pres- byterian ministers, the younger one being the distinguished missionary at Constantinople since 1832-the Rev. Elias Riggs, D. D., L. L. D. The Riggs are descended from Edward Riggs, who emigrated from England and settled at Roxbury, Mass., early in the summer of 1663. Some of his descendants removed to Newark and Orange, N. J., as early as 1667. The Riggs are and were a very highly respectable family. As one has written : "The Riggs family is one of which no member of it need be ashamed. It is distinguished for its great array of men and women of solid worth, with few 'black sheep' among them. As a general attribute they may be said to have lived up to a high moral standard, and to have had strong religious convictions. It has been liberally represented in the three leading professions -- physic, law, and theology, especially the latter. It has spread and, literally, has its branches in all the states. Although the early generations were neither wealthy nor polished, they were honest, brave, and strong in their convictions, just such blood as a true man is proud of possessing."
W. C. Gildersleeve, whose daughter Rev. Mr. Parke married, was a decided anti-slavery man. He knew something of it from personal observation on his father's plantation and other planta- tions in Georgia, and did not hesitate to denounce it as unright-
1
1
.
:1
Bất ngờ Mig mì
.
1
٢٠١٢١٠٠٠-
.. 1
724
SAMUEL MAXWELL PARKE.
eous and an abomination, although by so doing he became alienated from all his kindred in Georgia. He was a pronounced abolitionist, as much so as Garrison or Wendell Phillips, at a time when it cost something to take such a position, and as such he stood almost alone in this city. For forty years he was ostra- cized politically and religiously. He associated himself with the abolitionists of the country, invited them to his house, and did what he could to aid fugitive slaves who were fleeing to the north. His residence on Main street was the depot of what was known as the Underground Railroad, and he did not attempt to conceal the fact. He frequently met slaveholders from the south in this city, and did not hesitate to tell them that they would never carry their slaves back if he could prevent it. It was while he was entertaining C. C. Burleigh, an abolition lecturer, that his house was mobbed and he was ridden on a rail through the streets of this city. A full account of this disgraceful matter was given at the time in The Spectator and Freeman's Journal, an anti- slavery paper published in Montrose, Pa. An attempt was made to bring the leaders of this mob to justice, but the pro-slavery sentiment was too strong. Many of the very men who offered such indignities to Mr. Gildersleeve subsequently became aboli- tionists themselves. The fugitive slave law was passed subse- quently to the mobbing of Mr. Gildersleeve, and it was thought that this pro-slavery law was so framed that it would certainly quiet abolitionists. It made no change in Mr. Gildersleeve. He continued to harbor the fugitives and help them in their flight from slavery. The result was that he was brought before the Supreme Court and attempts made to punish him, but he escaped both fine and imprisonment and lived to see slavery abolished. Mr. Gil- dersleeve was eminently a charitable man, and gave largely of his means to assist the poor and unfortunate. He was the main agitator and founder of the Home for Friendless Children in this city, and contributed $10,000 towards the same. For many years he was prominently connected with the Presbyterian church in this city and served as the superintendent of its Sabbath school. The church here in its early day was considered by him to be too conservative on the slavery question, and he, therefore, with- drew from it and associated himself with the church at Montrose, Pa. He died in Wilkes-Barre October 7, 1871.
- -
1
. .
725
GEORGE DRUM HEDIAN.
Samuel Maxwell Parke was educated at. the Newton, N. J., Collegiate Institute, the Hill School, Pottstown, Pa., and Yale College, graduating from the latter institution in the class of 1882, having maintained a position in the first division of his class during his entire college course. He read law with George R. Bedford, and was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county June 9, 1885. Mr. Parke is an unmarried man and a republican in politics. He is a brother-in-law of Thomas H. Atherton, of the Luzerne bar.
The energy and activity that marked the careers of the gener- ations of men whose blood has descended to the subject of this brief sketch find reflection in him, manifest to his friends and as- sociates, though he can scarcely be said as yet to have fairly started on his career. His tutor gives him credit for having been a very close and intelligent and even ardent student, and in the cases in which he has been employed he has shown the fruits of that application. He is a well-informed young man generally, moves in an influential social circle, and may safely be said to be on the high road to success in his chosen profession.
GEORGE DRUM HEDIAN.
George Drum Hedian was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Decem- ber 8, 1856. He is the son of Robert Emmet Hedian, who was the son of James Hedian and his wife Bridget, who was a daugh- ter of Patrick Hedian and his wife Annie Taft. Patrick Hedian lived in county Roscommon, Ireland, where he owned consider- able property, the homestead being known as Ballenaheglish, which means " The priest's home." He had three sons and three daugh- ters. His daughter Bridget was sought in marriage by a relative- James Hedian-to whom her father strongly objected, partly on political grounds, for he was in favor of the governing power, while James and his family were against it, his brother Peter having been wounded and captured when captain of a company of Red Ribbon men,, and was publicly flogged for refusing to
! !
127.1
٠٠
..
11
:
..
726
GEORGE DRUM HEDIAN.
reveal his comrades. Finding her father inflexible, Bridget eloped with James, and they were married. The family afterwards re- moved to Baltimore, Md., and the children (who were all born in Ireland), Patrick, Martin, Robert E., Thomas, Annie, and Mollie, were brought up, and the sons entered business in that city. Patrick became senior member of the firm of Hedian & Piatt, editors and publishers of The Catholic Mirror. Martin became a gold beater, Robert E. a potter, and Thomas a mem- ber of the firm of Myers & Hedian, art importers. The daughter Annie married Thomas Faherty, and Mollie married F. G. Cum- mins. Robert E. Hedian came to Wilkes-Barre, where he estab- ished a pottery. He was afterwards appointed deputy sheriff by Abraham Drum, who was sheriff of Luzerne county from 1853 to 1856. In the early days of the late civil war he took an active part in recruiting Company I of the Fifty-eighth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. He was appointed second lieutenant of the same company June 5, 1863. Not being mustered in he re-enlisted in the Fifth New York Heavy Artillery, in which he remained until the end of the war. His brothers were active sympathizers with the confederacy, and made frequent appeals to Robert E. to join them, and at one time when receiving one of their letters upon which was printed a confederate flag, which was observed by bystanders, the feeling ran so high that he nar- rowly escaped being mobbed. He has been employed at Wash- ington, D. C., in the pension department. He now resides in the same city.
The mother of George Drum Hedian was Eleanor Drum, who died in this city on the 31st day of last March, a daugh- ter of Abraham Drum, who was a son of George Drum, who was born June 15, 1762, in Williams township, Northampton county, Pa. The family of the father of George Drum consisted of father, mother, two daughters, and the one son, George. The father entered the Continental army, and shortly afterwards, at a time when the son was visiting with a neighbor, his home was burned and mother and sisters disappeared. It was supposed they were carried off by Indians. The son was adopted by the neighbor he was visiting, a man by the name of Steinbach, with whom he remained till of age. His father was never heard of
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.