USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Families of the Wyoming Valley: biographical, genealogical and historical. Sketches of the bench and bar of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, vol. III > Part 13
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1172
SAMUEL FREEMAN HEADLEY.
his fellow soldiers. He was engaged in the battles of White Plains, Germantown, Brandywine and Stony Point, and in all engagements with the enemy which took place previous to 1781. He was one of the "twenty" who composed the "forlorn hope," led by Anthony Wayne at Stony Point, who met within the fort. He was at West Point and saw the unfortunate Andre executed. He was one of the few surviving officers of the revolution who enjoyed the provisions of the act of congress of May, 1828. During the war he served one year as collector of the excise tax for Northumberland county. After the restoration of peace, in part- nership with Colonel William Wilson, he entered into merchan- dizing at the town of Northumberland and in a mill at the mouth of Chillisquaque creek. They manufactured large quantities of potash, which they shipped to Philadelphia, where it met with a ready sale, but the difficulties of transportation compelled them to relinquish this enterprise. He served as a member of the supreme executive council of the state from 1783 to 1786. He was a member of the house of representatives from 1790 to 1792, and a presidential elector at the second election, in 1792, and was one of the original members of the Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati. He was also register and recorder of Northumber- land county under appointment of Governor Mckean. Mrs. Sarah Boyd, the mother of Captain Boyd, presented to the legis- lature of Pennsylvania a petition, which reads as follows, as extracted from the journal of the house of representatives : "A petition of Sarah Boyd, of the town of Northumberland, in the county of Northumberland, widow, was read, representing that, at an early period of life, she had the misfortune of being deprived of her husband, and was left to struggle with many difficulties to support herself and three sons, her only children; that at the commencement of the present war all of her said sons took an early and decided part in the grand contest, and she cheerfully consented to their serving their distressed country; that her youngest son, William Boyd, a lieutenant in the Twelfth Penn- sylvania Regiment, fell in the battle of Brandywine, September II, 1777 ; that her son Thomas Boyd, after having shared in all the dangers and fatigues of the Canada expedition, fell a sacrifice to Indian barbarity in the expedition commanded by General
1173
SAMUEL FREEMAN HEADLEY.
Sullivan ; and that her remaining son, John Boyd, now commands a company appointed for the defense of the frontiers of this state ; and praying that she may be allowed the depreciation of the pay of her deceased sons, the same having been transferred to her by her surviving son." Captain Boyd died at Northumberland, Pa., February 13, 1831. He married, May 13, 1794, at Northumber- land, Rebecca Bull, a daughter of John Bull, son of John Bull, who was born in 1730, in Providence township, now in Montgomery county, Pa. He was appointed captain in the provincial service . May 12, 1758, and in June was in command at Fort Allen. The same year he accompanied General Forbes' expedition for the reduction of Fort DuQuesne, and rendered important service in the negotiations with the Indians. In 1771 he owned the Norris plantation and mill, now the borough of Norristown, Pa., and was residing there at the opening of the revolution. He was a delegate to the provincial conference of January 23, 1775, and of June 18, 1775, a member of the convention of July 15, 1776, that framed the constitution of the state, and of the Pennsylvania board of war, March 14, 1777. In 1775 he was appointed colonel of the First Pennsylvania Battalion, which he resigned January 20, 1776, on account of bad treatment from his officers. He was one of the commissioners at the Indian treaty held at Easton Jan- uary 30, 1777 ; in February was in command of the works at Billingsport, and on July 16 was appointed adjutant general of the state. In October of this year his barns were burned and stock carried away by the enemy. In December, when General James Irvine was captured, General Bull succeeded to the com- mand of the second brigade of the Pennsylvania militia, under General Armstrong. He was confirmed a justice of the courts by the assembly August 31, 1778. In 1778 and 1779 he was engaged in directing the defenses for Philadelphia, and in 1780 was commissary of purchases at that city. In 1785 he removed to Northumberland county, Pa., and in 1805 was elected to the assembly, and in 1808 was the federal candidate for congress, but was defeated. General Bull died at Northumberland August 9, 1824, aged ninety-four years. His wife Mary (nee Phillips) died February 23, 1811. Benjamin Rittenhouse, a brother of the cel- ebrated philosopher, and who was commissioned by Governor
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1174
MATTHEW HALE JONES.
Mifflin in 1791 as one of the associate judges of the court of Common Pleas of Montgomery county, was married to a daugh- ter of General Bull.
Mr. and Mrs. Headley had a family of three children-1. John Boyd Headley, born February 22, 1834 ; died August 6, 1870. He married, September 16, 1857, Helen M. Thomas, a daughter of Abraham Thomas, of Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (See page 835.) He had two children-William Thomas Headley and Nellie Boyd Headley. 2. Benjamin Franklin Headley, born May 25, 1836; married Rose J. McGoldrick, of Morristown, N. J., who died December 10, 1876. He had four children-Mary Elizabeth Headley, Maria Josepha Headley, Benjamin Franklin Headley and John Boyd Headley. 3. Elizabeth Boyd Headley, born May 19, 1842; married, first, James F. Bentley, second, Sayes J. Bowen. She has had four children-Charles Freeman Bentley, Bessie Boyd Bentley, Josepha Boyd Bentley, and Helen Louise Bentley.
MATTHEW HALE JONES.
Matthew Hale Jones was admitted to the Luzerne county, Pa., bar August 6, 1833. He was a native of Hebron, Conn., where he was born September 11, 1811. He was educated at the Wilkes-Barre Academy and at Rutgers College, New Brunswick, New Jersey, graduating in the class of 1830. He read law in this city with Chester Butler and with his brother, Joel Jones. (See page 1130.) He was admitted to the bar of Northampton county, Pa., August 22, 1833, where he practiced continually until his death, June 1, 1883. In his profession he was conspic- uous for his comprehensive and exact knowledge, sound judg- ment, and keen and sensitive conception of honor. He magnified his calling by assiduous attention, constant vigilance, and a thorough intellectual honesty which never allowed the moral sentiment to be obscured or perverted. Mr. Jones was the son of Amassa Jones, and was a brother of Judge Joel Jones, Rev. Joseph H. Jones, D. D., at one time principal of the Wilkes-Barre
1175
LUTHER KIDDER.
Academy, and Samuel Jones, M. D., all of whom are now deceased. Matthew Hale Jones married, in early life, Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Innes, of Easton, Pa. He was the son of Robert Innes, sr., who came to America from Scotland. The children of Mr. Jones are Robert Innes Jones and Matthew Hale Jones, attorneys at law, Easton, and Elizabeth Huntington Jones, the wife of Hon. William S. Kirkpatrick, of the North . ampton county bar, residing at Easton, Pa.
LUTHER KIDDER.
Luther Kidder was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., -
November 5, 1833. He was the son of Luther and Phebe Kid- der, and was born in Waterford, Vermont, November 19, 1808. Luther Kidder was a descendant of James Kidder, who was born at East Grinstead, in Sussex, England, in 1626. He may be con- sidered as the patriarch of the family and the ancestor of all who bear the name in this country. In what year or by what ship he made his advent to New England cannot now be ascertained. It is certain that he was at Cambridge, Mass., as early as 1649. In that year he married Anna Moore, daughter of Elder Francis Moore. In 1653 he was occupying a farm of two hundred and eighty-nine acres in what is now known as West Cambridge. In the same year the general court granted Shawshire, now Billerica, to Cambridge, and for several years it continued to form a part of that town, many of its older residents receiving grants of land soon after removing there. It is most likely that James Kidder was among the first to take up his abode in that wilderness, and it is quite probable he may have gone there as early as 1653. It is certain that he was residing there with his family in 1656, and this place may be considered as the home of his family for over one hundred years. Both he and his wife were members of the church in Cambridge, and when a church was organized at Bil- lerica they were the first to become members of it. In 1662 he was a juror of the court holden in Cambridge, and in the court
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LUTHER KIDDER.
records of that year we find the following entry: "James Kidder is allowed to be sergeant of the military company at Billerica." This may be thought to be a small affair for the courts to take cognizance of, but the organization of the military of that day was a matter of the first importance, and none but men of the most reliable character were entrusted with any office in it. He afterwards rose to the rank of ensign, his name often appearing in the town records of Billerica, where he was appointed on vari- ous committees. He was also selectman for six years. In 1675. when King Philip's war took place, he was in the public service, and kept guard over the small tribe of Indians at Wameset, now forming part of Lowell, and soon after was appointed to the com- mand of a garrison house which contained seven families, including his own and that of his son James. He died April 16, 1676, in the midst of the war, aged about fifty years. John Kidder, son of James Kidder and Anna, his wife, was born in Cambridge about 1656. He moved to Chelmsford, Mass., when a young man, and in 1681 he bought of Jonathan Tyng five hundred acres of land lying on the west side of Concord river, in Chelmsford, where he afterwards resided. He married, December 3, 1684, in Chelmsford, Lydia Parker, daughter of Abraham Parker and his wife, Rose Whit- lock, of Woburn. Thomas Kidder, son of John and Lydia Kid- der, was born in Chelmsford October 30, 1690. He was admitted to the church in Westford April 7, 1728. He married Joanna Keyes, at Chelmsford, December 31, 1716. Aaron Kidder, son of Thomas and Joanna Kidder, was born in Chelmsford Decem- ber 22, 1719; died in New Ipswich, N. H., November 16, 1769. He went to New Ipswich about 1750. He was one of the first commanders of the military company, and held some other town offices. He died very suddenly at the age of fifty years. He married Rachel Bush, at Marlboro, May 19, 1749. She died in 1815, aged ninety years. Luther Kidder, son of Aaron and Rachel Kidder, was born at New Ipswich June 29, 1767; died at Pike, Bradford county, Pa., September 2, 1831. He married Phebe Church, at Windham, Conn., September 25, 1788. She died at Worcester October 13, 1851, and was the daughter of Asa Church and Abia Pease. She was born in Stafford, Conn., November 11, 1768.
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1177
DAVID WILMOT.
From 1841 to 1844 Luther Kidder was a member of the senate of Pennsylvania. From 1845 to 1851 he was president judge of the courts of Carbon, Monroe and Schuylkill counties. He married, October 13, 1835, in Wilkes-Barre, Martha Ann Scott, daughter of Judge David Scott. (See page 392.) Judge Kidder died Sep- tember 30, 1854. His only surviving child is Rev. Charles Hol- land Kidder, of Asbury Park, N. J.
DWIGHT NOBLE LATHROP.
Dwight Noble Lathrop, who was admitted to the bar of Lu- zerne county, Pa., November 5, 1833, was a son of Salmon La- throp and his wife, Aurelia Noble. (See page 857.) D. N. Lathrop was born July 28, 1811, at Sherburne, Chenango county, N. Y. He was educated at the Wilkes-Barre Academy, and read law with George Denison, in this city. He practiced prin- cipally in the city of Carbondale. He was appointed postmaster of that city in 1861 and held the office until 1864. From 1862 to 1865 he was district attorney, and from 1870 to 1872 recorder of the mayor's court of the city of Carbondale. The wife of D. N. Lathrop was Harriet Ridgway, a native of White county, Iil., and daughter of John Ridgway, who was born near Walnford, N. J. The wife of John Ridgway was Mary Grant, of Inverness, Scotland, daughter of John Grant. D. N. Lathrop died October 8, 1887. Mr. and Mrs. Lathrop had a family of five children- William W. Lathrope, a member of the Lackawanna bar; Thomas R. Lathrope; Mary G., wife of Israel Crane; Aurelia N., wife of Eugene Scates ; and Harriet J. Lathrope.
DAVID WILMOT.
David Wilmot was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., August 5, 1834. He was the son of Randall Wilmot and his wife, a daughter of James Carr, of Canaan, Wayne county, Pa. David Wilmot was born in Bethany, Wayne county, Pa., January
1178
DAVID WILMOT.
20, 1814. He was educated in the schools of his native town and at the Aurora (N. Y.) Academy. At the age of eighteen he removed to Wilkes-Barre and read law in the office of George W. Woodward. Soon after his admission to the Luzerne bar he removed to Towanda, Pa., where he immediately took a promi- nent position as a democratic politician. For several years he occupied a commanding position in the political affairs of the county, and won a wide reputation as an able and effective speaker. In 1844 Mr. Wilmot received the unanimous nomina- tion of the democracy for congress in the district composed of the counties of Bradford, Susquehanna and Tioga, henceforth known as the "Wilmot district." He was elected by a large majority, and took his seat at the opening of the twenty-ninth con- gress in 1845, where, in common with the democratic party, he favored the annexation of Texas. On August 4, 1846, the pres- ident sent to the senate a confidential message asking an appro- priation to negotiate a peace with Mexico. A bill was introduced in the house appropriating two million dollars for the purpose specified. It had now become so apparent that the proposition was intended to strengthen the pro-slavery influence in the gen- eral government, that, at Mr. Wilmot's suggestion, a consultation was held by a few of the northern representatives who were opposed to the extension of slavery, the result of which was the offering by Mr. Wilmot of the celebrated proviso which has been so generally known as the "Wilmot Proviso," which provided that in any territory acquired from Mexico "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any part of the territory except for crime," etc. This proviso was adopted in committee, and the two million bill containing the proviso was sent to the senate, where it was killed by John Davis, of Massachusetts, talking against time and preventing its passage. In 1846 Mr. Wilmot again received the unanimous nomination of his party for congress and was re-elected. In 1848 the question of slavery began to be agitated, and the free soil party was formed, which nominated Martin Van Buren for the presidency. Wilmot again received the unanimous nomination for congress, and was re- elected by a large majority. He was succeeded by G. A. Grow in 1850. On the formation of the republican party Mr. Wilmot
u
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DAVID WILMOT.
very soon espoused its principles and identified himself with the movement. In fact, the very measures he had proposed in con- gress in 1846 had no small influence in leading to its existence. At the republican national convention held in Philadelphia in 1856 Mr. Wilmot was proposed as the candidate for vice presi- dent on the ticket with Fremont. He could have commanded the unanimous nomination, but was averse to it. He was chair- man of the committee on resolutions, and drew up the platform adopted by that convention. The next year, 1857, Mr. Wilmot - was nominated for governor. He had, under the provisions of the amended constitution creating an elective judiciary, been chosen president judge of the judicial district composed of the counties of Bradford, Susquehanna and Sullivan in 1851, but resigned the office for the purpose of entering the gubernatorial contest. Although defeated by William F. Packer, his speeches made throughout the state had awakened a deep interest in the principles of the republican party, and the party was strengthened by the canvass. In 1860 Simon Cameron was named in the Pennsylvania republican convention as their first choice for president, and according to usage Mr. Cameron selected Mr. Wilmot as delegate at large to the Chicago conven- tion, of which he was made temporary chairman, and when Mr. Cameron's name was withdrawn, used his great influence to secure the nomination of Abraham Lincoln, whose confidence he enjoyed during his administration. The selection of General Cameron to be secretary of war created a vacancy in the United States senate, which Mr. Wilmot was elected to fill, and took his seat in that body March 18, 1861. He was a delegate to the peace convention the same year. A wide field of honor and usefulness seemed opened before him. But at the outset of his senatorial career his health began gradually to fail, until it was almost impossible for him to attend to the routine of his duties. He served two years on the committees of foreign affairs, claims and pensions, and was succeeded in 1863 by Charles R. Bucka- lew. At the conclusion of his senatorial term Mr. Wilmot was appointed by President Lincoln a judge of the court of claims, which office he held up to the time of his death, March 16, 1868. His wife was Ann, a daughter of Thomas W. Morgan, an old-time
1180
HENRY HILL WELLS.
resident of Wilkes-Barre, who at one time kept the Arndt hotel, which stood on the ground now occupied by the residence of E. P. Darling, on River street. He was also proprietor of " Morgan's mill," on Solomon's creek, since known as "Petty's mill." Mrs. Wilmot died March 25, 1888. Of the Wilmot family no sons or daughters remain to transmit to posterity the honored name. One son born to the house died in boyhood, having been accidentally poisoned by eating the root of the wild parsnip, mistaking it for an edible root.
HENRY HILL WELLS.
Henry Hill Wells, who was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., August 4, 1835, was a descendant of Gideon Wells, M. D., of Cottness, near Hull, England, by his wife Mary, daugh- ter of Richard Partidge, of London, who was at one time agent of the colonies of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, in London. Richard Wells, son of Dr. Wells, emigrated to America, and became a merchant in Philadelphia. He was secretary of the American philosophical society, and a director of the library company of Philadelphia. He was a mem- ber of the Pennsylvania assembly and for a long while cashier of the bank of North America. He died February 13, 1801. His wife was Rachel Hill, a daughter of Henry Hill, who was one of the original members of the city troop of Philadelphia, and was made colonel of the Fourth Pennsylvania regiment in 1776. He took part in the convention which gave Pennsylvania the constitution which succeeded the proprietary government, and for several years served in the Pennsylvania legislature. His wife was Anne, daughter of Reese Meredith, and she was a sister of Samuel Meredith, at one time treasurer of the United States. William Hill Wells, son of Richard and Rachael Wells, was born in Philadelphia January 7, 1769. He was an attorney, but where and when admitted is not known. He first appeared in Dags- borough Hundred, Sussex county, Delaware, where he married Elizabeth the daughter of General John Dagsworthy. He resided part of the time at Dover and Georgetown and the remainder of
118I
ISRAEL DICKINSON.
the time at the Dagsworthy homestead, of which his wife came in possession. He succeeded Dr. Joshua Clayton in the United States senate for the state of Delaware January 18, 1799, resigned November 6, 1804, after which he resided in Tioga county, Pa. He was again elected United States senator from Delaware on May 28, 1813, to succeed James A. Bayard. He was a member of the house of representatives for Sussex county in 1794, 1795, 1796, 1797, 1798, 1810, 1811, and 1819, and in 1812 and 1813 was a . member of the state senate. He died March 11, 1829, in Dags- borough, and is buried in Prince George's churchyard. He was- the father of Henry Hill Wells. While the latter resided in Wilkes-Barre, one son, Richard Jones Wells, was born, June 23, 1843. Henry Hill Wells was born in Sussex county, Delaware, February 18, 1797, and died at Skaneateles, N. Y. He was sec- retary of the state of Delaware in 1823. His wife was Mary Putman.
PIERCE BUTLER MALLERY.
Pierce Butler Mallery was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., January 5, 1836. He was born in Wilkes-Barre in 1812. He read law with his father, Garrick Mallery, and prac- ticed for a short time in Philadelphia, but his health failed him and he was sent to Havana, Cuba, where he died in 1838 of con- sumption. (For particulars of his ancestry see page 1083). He entered Yale college but did not graduate. He was an unmar- ried man.
ISRAEL DICKINSON.
Israel Dickinson was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., April 16, 1836. He was a teacher in the old Wilkes-Barre academy for several years. In 1851 he resided in Wheeling, W. Va., and in 1854 was a resident of Lafayette, Ind. The christian name of his wife was Lucia.
IIS2
CHARLES HENRY SILKMAN.
JONATHAN W. PARKER.
Jonathan W. Parker was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., August 8, 1836. He read law with John N. Conyngham, and subsequently removed to Davenport, Iowa.
JONATHAN JOSEPH SLOCUM.
Jonathan Joseph Slocum, who was admitted to the bar of Lu- zerne county, Pa., August 12, 1837, was a native of Wilkes- Barre, Pa., where he was born January 27, 1815. He was edu- cated at Dickinson college, Carlisle, Pa., and Kenyon college, Ohio, and read law with Ebenezer W. Sturdevant in this city, where he practiced up to a short time before his death. He was the son of Joseph Slocum, of this city. (See page 339.) He married, September 12, 1840, Elizabeth Cutter LeClerc. Her father was Joseph Philip LeClerc, and his wife Rachel Manning Cutter, of New York. (See sketch of Edward E. LeClerc for a further sketch of the LeClerc family.) Mr. Slocum removed to Philadelphia shortly before his death, which occurred in that city February 27, 1860. Mr. and Mrs. Slocum had two children, Sallie L. Slocum, married to John B. Love, of Philadelphia, and Edward LeClerc Slocum, married to Emily Carpenter, also of Philadelphia.
ยท CHARLES HENRY SILKMAN.
Charles Henry Silkman was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., January 1, 1838. He was born in Bedford, West Chester county, N. Y., July 24, 1809, and came to Luzerne county in the spring of 1835, locating at Providence (now Scran- ton), Pa. He read law here and at once took an advanced posi-
1183
CHARLES HENRY SILKMAN.
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tion among the lawyers as an advocate and counsel. Daniel Ran- kin, E. S. M. Hill and D. R. Randall, all deceased, and David S. Koon, of this city, all emerged from his office at Providence as young lawyers of acknowledged ability and integrity. In 1845, 1846, and 1847 the Lackawanna valley was agitated by two excit- ing projects of which Silkman, by his superior qualifications as a ready writer and debater, was recognized as the organic head. One was to frustrate the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company from extending their gravity railroad and coal works down the valley below Archbald, and the other was to form a new county from the upper end of Luzerne, to be called Lacka- wanna. A weekly newspaper was started in 1845 in Providence by F. B. Woodward, and its columns were marked by the keen, incisive and not over benevolent pen wielded by Silkman in reference to these and other matters. The old settlers, of whom few are left, can never forget the repeated public meetings held in Hyde Park, Providence, and Cannon's tavern in Blakeley during these years, in which the persuasive eloquence of this gifted gentleman appeared to great advantage. He married for his first wife Lucilla S. Tripp, a daughter of Holden Tripp, whose mother was Martha Tuttle, a daughter of John Tuttle, whose father was Henry Tuttle, born in Basking Ridge. N. J., November 24, 1733. (See page 461.) The wife of John Tuttle was Mary, daughter of Thomas Bennett, of Forty Fort, who was born August 15, 1772. (See page 630.) Mr. Silkman removed west in 1854, resid- ing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for about ten years. He afterwards lived in the. oil regions of Pennsylvania. He then returned to Scranton. Some three years before his death his bright and active brain began to weaken. The immediate cause of his death was softening of the brain. Mr. Silkman was a good friend-a dangerous man for an enemy. His power of sarcasm was tre- mendous. He could annihilate a foe by giving merely a ridicu- lous name. Controversy was his natural element. For this he had distinguished powers and went into the conflict with ardor and delight. His energy was untiring-the blows he dealt heavy and frequent. He died March 8, 1877. He left two children to survive him by his first wife-Charles P. Silkman, of Chicago, Ill., and Martha, wife of Lemuel Curtis, also of Chicago.
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