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 23
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1291
GEORGE SANDERSON.
only sadness and distress. Yet it was only dear and familiar inti- mates who realized his full value as a man, for after the death of his oldest daughter, whom he very tenderly loved, he became more and more self-contained and reticent. He died April I, 1866. In 1835 Mr. Sanderson married Marion W. Kingsbury, a descendant of Joseph Kingsbury, of Enfield, Connecticut, whose son, Lemuel Kingsbury, was the father of Colonel Joseph Kings- bury, father of Mrs. Sanderson. Colonel Kingsbury was born at Enfield, May 19, 1774. His grandfather, Joseph Kingsbury, offered to send him to Yale college if he would prepare for the ministry, but the offer, tempting as it was, had too many condi- tions attached for the young man, who looked upon a minister, as most people did then, as a little less than a demagogue, and felt that he was not of that material of which gods were made, and the offer was declined. At the age of nineteen he left the friends of his youth, and with a horse, a small sum of money, and a compass, he turned his face towards the Susquehanna to find a home and employment. He arrived at Sheshequin in the spring of 1793, and on the very day he was nineteen years old. He engaged at once with General Simon Spalding as a surveyor, and began a career that culminated in his appointment as agent for the vast landed estates of Vincent LeRay de Chaumont, known as the LeRay lands, Count de Chastelleux, McEwen and David- son, the Bank of North America, and others. From an early period to his death he was a member and generous contributor to the religious denomination of Universalists. He was for many years a colonel of militia and postmaster of the town. He died June 22, 1849. The wife of Colonel Joseph Kingsbury, whom he married February 1, 1797, was Ann Spalding, a daughter of General Simon Spalding, who was born at Plainfield, Connecticut, January 16, 1742. He emigrated to Wyoming about 1774, and settled in Standing Stone in 1775. He was in command of a company of troops during the revolutionary war, and was in General Sullivan's expedition in 1779, and as it passed through Sheshequin valley he was so favorably impressed with its appear- ance and location that he then resolved to make it his future ·place of residence. He was a captain in the revolutionary army and was made a general of militia after the war closed. He
1292
JOHN BRISBIN.
entered the army September 11, 1776, and remained in service during the whole war. He was at the battles of Germantown, Brandywine, and others. His wife was Ruth Shepherd, whom he married April 15, 1761. Mrs. Sanderson died at her residence in Scranton, June 23, 1886. She was a consistent member of the Episcopal church, as was also her husband, who was a vest- ryman in the church of the Good Shepherd, and donated the ' land upon which the church was built. Mr. and Mrs. Sander- son had a family of five children, of whom four are living-J. Gardner Sanderson, George Sanderson, who was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county November 19, 1870 (See page 936); Anna Sanderson, and Mrs. E. B. Sturges. (See page 925.) 1
JOHN BRISBIN.
John Brisbin was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., in 1857. He was a native of Chenango county, N. Y., where he was born in 1818. He remained at home, working as a farmer's boy, enjoying only the usual advantages of a common school education, until he was fifteen years old, after which he attended an academy for two years, teaching a country school in the winter ; then went to New York as a clerk in a wholesale grocery and provision store, where he remained for two years, married his wife there, and went to Tunkhannock, Pa., where he read law, teaching school to pay his board. He was admitted to the bar of Wyoming county, Pa., in 1843. He continued in the practice of his profession there until 1855, when he received the appoint- ment of counsel and general land agent of the Delaware, Lacka- wanna and Western Railroad Company, and removed to Scran- ton, where he opened a law office. He served in that capacity for two years, when he was appointed general superintendent, which position he occupied until 1863, when he was chosen pres- ident of the company, and continued in that capacity for about . five years ; he then resigned, and was appointed counsel and gen-
1293
WILLIAM H. PRATT.
eral adviser, which position he occupied until the time of his death, which occurred at Newark, N. J., where he then resided, February 3, 1880. In 1850, upon the death of Chester Butler, he was elected to fill the vacancy in congress for this district, and served in that capacity until March 4, 1851. Mr. Brisbin left no children. After making ample provision for his wife, he left a large estate to numerous charities.
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GEORGE DOUGHERTY HAUGHAWOUT.
George Dougherty Haughawout, son of Peter Haughawout, was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., January 18, 1858. He was a native of Rush township, Northumberland county, Pa., where he was born March 16, 1827. He was educated at the Danville, Pa., academy, and the university at Lewisburg, Pa. He read law with John C. Neville, at Pottsville, and was admitted to the Schuylkill county bar in 1854, and practiced in Schuylkill county until his removal to Scranton in 1857. He subsequently returned to Schuylkill county and practiced in Ashland until his death, which occurred August 8, 1886. He married, in 1885, Kate Leisenring, a daughter of Jacob and Mary Leisening, of Bear Gap, Northumberland county, Pa.
WILLIAM H. PRATT.
William H. Pratt was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., January 4, 1859. His residence was in Dunmore, Pa. At the commencement of the late civil war he entered the service and lost an arm. His wife was Catharine, daughter of John Sherman.
I294
JOSEPH WRIGHT.
ISAAC McCORD CAKE.
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Isaac McCord Cake, who was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., January 4, 1859, was a native of Northumberland, Pa., where he was born January 6, 1817. His paternal grand- father, John Cake, was a native of Berks county, Pa. His wife was Susan Kirk, a native of Perkiomen Cross Roads, Chester county, Pa. John Cake, son of John Cake, and father of Isaac M. Cake, was born in Berks county January 1, 1789. He was brought to Northumberland in the same year, where he resided until his death, June 20, 1864. He was a justice of the peace there for twenty-five years. His wife, whom he married February 22, 1811, at Northumberland, was Sarah McCord, who was born at Easton, Pa., July S, 1789. She was the daughter of Joseph McCord, a native of Stuartstown, Tyrone county, Ireland, whose wife was Sarah Jane Green, a native of Cornwall, England. They were married in Dublin, and were members of a Methodist colony that settled on the Lehigh river, in this state. Isaac M. Cake read law with Charles W. Hegins, at Sunbury, Pa., and was ad- mitted to practice in the courts of Northumberland county in 1844. During President Polk's administration he was revenue agent and custom house inspector at Philadelphia. During the late civil war he was captain of Company I, Ninety-sixth Regi- ment Pennsylvania Volunteers. He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence, well read, of sedentary habits, and a con- firmed bachelor. While practicing his profession in this county he resided at Scranton. He died at Northumberland July 2, 1888.
JOSEPH WRIGHT.
Joseph Wright was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., January 2, 1860. He was born in this city June 18, 1839, and was the son of Hendrick B. Wright. (See page 2.) His mother was Mary Ann Bradley Robinson, a daughter of John
1295
ARTHUR HAMILTON.
W. Robinson. (See page 1184) Joseph Wright practiced his profession in this city until April 23, 1861, when he was appoint- ed adjutant of the Eighth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, in the three months' service. He was mustered out with his regi- ment, July 29, 1861. On September 13, 1861, he was appointed captain of Company D, Seventieth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. He served in that capacity until his death, which occurred May IS, 1862, at the home of H. R. Coggshall, in Ger- mantown, Pa., of typhoid fever contracted in camp before York- town, Va. He was buried in this city with military honors, May 20, 1862. Mr. Wright was an unmarried man.
JOHN PERRY CRAIG.
John Perry Craig was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., January 3, 1860. His grandfather, John Craig, was a native of the north of Ireland, and at an early age emigrated to this country and settled in Columbia county, Pa. His son, John Craig, was a native of Columbia county. His wife was Mary Engle, a daughter of Silas Engle, a native of Germantown, Pa. John P. Craig, son of John Craig, was a native of Briar Creek township, Columbia county, Pa., where he was born February 18, 1829. He was educated in the public schools of his native township, at the academy at Berwick, Pa., and a law school at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and read law with M. E. Jackson, at Ber- wick. He was first admitted to the bar at North Bend, Indiana, then at Pottsville, Pa., and finally settled in Shickshinny, in this county. He was an unmarried man. He died February 21, 1862.
ARTHUR HAMILTON.
Arthur Hamilton, who was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., February 20, 1860, was a native of Scotland. He came to this country about 1852, and was for some time engaged
1296
CORYDON HIRAM WELLS.
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in the works of Dickson & Company, in Scranton, as a faithful and ingenious machinist. Leaving this occupation and becom- ing a citizen of the United States, he turned his attention to the study of the law. On October 26, 1861, he entered the army as captain of Company H, Seventy-sixth Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. He was killed at the battle of Coosawhatchie, South Carolina, October 22, 1862. He was an unmarried man.
CHESTER BUTLER BRUNDAGE. .
Chester Butler Brundage was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., May 8, 1860. He was born in the village of Con- yngham, in this county, September 4, 1838, and was the son of Moses S. Brundage and his wife, Jane Broadhead, and the brother of Asa R. Brundage, of the Luzerne bar. (See page. 62.) He was educated at the Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, Pa., and Eastman's Business College, Poughkeepsie, New York. C. B. Brundage read law with his brother in this city, and after his admission practiced here and in Poughkeepsie. He married, January 3, 1861, Marie J. Mitchell, a daughter of Jethro Mitchell, of Poughkeepsie. They had one daughter, Gertrude M. Brund- age, who is now the wife of John S. Streeper, of Pottstown, Pa. Mr. Brundage died January 27, 1871, in the city of New York.
CORYDON HIRAM WELLS.
Corydon Hiram Wells, who was admitted to the bar of Lu- zerne county, Pa., August 30, 1860, is a son of John W. Wells. (See page 978.) Mr. Wells was born in Dundaff, Pa., October 1, 1826. He was educated at Madison Academy, Waverly, Pa.,
1297
JOHN HOLMES KETCHAM.
and studied law with Hendrick B. Wright, in this city, but imme- diately located in Scranton, where he resided until his death, March 24, 1888. His wife was Mary G. Bass. Mr. and Mrs. Wells had a family of two children-Thomas F. Wells, for- merly of the Luzerne bar, now of the Lackawanna county bar, and Jennie R., wife of Rev. W. I. Stearns, pastor of the Wash- burn street Presbyterian church, Scranton, Pa. The Scranton Republican, in speaking of the death of Mr. Wells, said: "C. H. . Wells was one of the most upright and most thoroughly respected men in this city, having spent a large share of his life here. He was always active in business and invariably just in every trans- action. No one had aught to say against Corydon H. Wells. He was a highly revered member of the Washburn street Presby- terian church, and that congregation has lost a stalwart supporter of its spiritual and temporal needs. Politically, he was a demo- crat, but not pronounced in his views on any governmental ques- tion, and hence his opinions were respected by men of every political complexion, because of the well-known honesty of pur- pose which he ever maintained therein. He sought no office, but the responsible position of assessor sought and found in him one who was acceptable to all his fellow citizens, and by his death the city loses an able, upright, and experienced official. The city, the church, his neighborhood, his acquaintances, and his friends will all sincerely unite with his relatives in mourning the death of Corydon H. Wells." George A. Wells, of this city, and John C. Wells, of Ashley, are brothers of C. H. Wells.
JOHN HOLMES KETCHAM.
John Holmes Ketcham, who was admitted to the bar of Lu- zerne county, Pa., August 20, 1861, was a native of Wilkes- Barre, Pa., where he was born March 24, 1830. He read law with A. T. McClintock, of this city. He was educated at Wyom-
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129S
ALBERT CHAMBERLAIN.
ing Seminary, Kingston, Pa., and was for many years a clerk in the prothonotary's office, in this city. He was a brother of the late Winthrop Welles Ketcham, of the Luzerne bar.
ALBERT CHAMBERLAIN.
Albert Chamberlain, who was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., September 3, 1861, was a native of Bennington, Vermont, where he was born December 29, ISII. He was a grandson of Benjamin Chamberlain, a native of Rhode Island, who was a soldier in the revolutionary war, and for a period of three months was a prisoner on board a prison ship in the East river, near New York. He died in 1822. His occupation was a scythe maker. Lewis Chamberlain, son of Benjamin Chamber- lain, was a native of Rhode Island, who removed to Vermont in 1800, and married there, in 1810, Nancy Palmer. In 1813, with his wife and son Albert, he removed to Choconut, Susquehanna county, Pa., where he died, March 20, 1871, aged eighty-seven years. During the presidency of Andrew Jackson he received a commission as postmaster, which office he held without intermis- sion or reappointment until his death, a period of forty-two years. Albert Chamberlain, son of Lewis Chamberlain, was educated in the public schools of his neighborhood, and studied law with Bentley & Richards, at Montrose, Pa. He was admitted to the bar of Susquehanna county August 21, 1843. He was district attorney of Susquehanna county for six years, and was also for a number of years a justice of the peace at Montrose. From 1869 to 1873 he was the United States assessor of internal reve- nue for the twelfth congressional district of Pennsylvania, and during this period he removed to Scranton from Montrose. While a resident of Scranton he was a member of the school board of that city. Mr. Chamberlain married, in 1851, at Mid- dletown, N. Y., Harriet Durbrow, daughter of Joseph Durbrow. One son, Edward F. Chamberlain, is the issue of this marriage. Mr. Chamberlain died in Scranton December 21, 1877. His widow and son survive him.
I299
JOHN REICHARD.
SANFORD GRANT.
Sanford Grant, who was commissioned an associate judge of Luzerne county, Pa., November 23, 1861, was a native of Vernon, Tolland county, Connecticut, where he was born in 1800. He resided in Scranton the greater part of his life, of which he was one of the original proprietors. (See page 526.) He conducted the store of Scranton, Grant & Company, and in 1841 removed his family there. In September, 1845, Joseph H. Scranton pur- chased the interest of Mr. Grant and he retired from the firm. Sanford Grant was the son of Augustus Grant, a native of Ver- non, and his wife Asenath Fuller, a native of East Haddam, Con- necticut. Sanford Grant married, in 1827, Anna King, daughter of Lemuel King. His wife dying, he married a second time, in 1837, Mary McKinney, a daughter of Justus McKinney, a native of Ellington, Connecticut, whose wife was Phila Fuller, a native of East Haddam. Mr. Grant died January 29, 1886. He left two sons to survive him-James C. Grant, now deceased, and Hezekiah K. Grant, who resides at Phillipsburg, Pa.
JOHN REICHARD.
John Reichard was commissioned an associate judge of the courts of Luzerne county, Pa., November 23, 1861. He was a native of Frankenthal, Bavaria, now Prussia, where he was born May 24, 1807, and was a son of George Reichard, who kept the Red Lion hotel on the public square in that place. Judge Reichard left his native place in 1833, to come to America. He lived for a time with George F. Bamberger, now of this city, but then of Lower Smith- field township, Northampton county, Pa., who had preceded him from his native town three years, and in 1834 he came to this city. After his arrival here he established himself as a brewer, and from a small beginning it grew under his immediate direc- tion and that of his sons, Colonel George N. Reichard and Henry
1300
JOIN REICHARD.
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C. Reichard, to be one of the principal business enterprises of this city. Judge Reichard was not, however, the pioneer in the brewery business in Wilkes-Barre. At an early day Thomas Ingham started a brewery on River street, below Union, which he carried on for several years. He was succeeded by Judge Reichard's cousin, Christian Reichard, who conducted the busi- ness until 1834, up to which time all the materials used had to be hauled in wagons from Philadelphia. Judge Reichard soon pur- chased the establishment from his relative, where, after recon- structing and enlarging the works very materially, he continued the business until 1874, when the buildings were torn down and the machinery removed to the more spacious quarters now occu- pied by Reichards and Company (consisting of George N. Reich- ard, Jennie Reichard and George Weaver), on Water street, be- yond the county prison. Mr. Reichard married, in April, 1834, Wilhemina Schrader, a daughter of John Nicholas Schrader, who died in this city, October 3, 1874. Mrs. Reichard was also a native of Frankenthal.
She had a right to claim some identity with the early history of our valley, she being a relative of Captain Philip Schrader, who was a conspicuous figure in the early history of Pennsylvania, and who accompanied General Sullivan as captain-lieutenant of the German battalion, in his expedition against the Indians in 1779. The following commissions of Captain Schrader are in the possession of John Reichard, a son of Judge Reichard: One as captain-lieutenant in the German regiment, dated June 16, 1779; one as captain of a company of rangers, dated September 10, 1781 ; one as captain in the corps of infantry commanded by Major James Moore, dated September 25, 1783 ; and one as one of the justices of the peace for Northampton county, dated April I, 1806. The Wyoming Jaegers was one of the earliest and for many years most prominent of German organizations in this city. It came into being in 1843, and at its first meeting John Reichard was chosen captain. This position he held for several years. He was also the first president of the Concordia society, an honorary member of the Saengerbund, as well as being prom- inently connected with other social organizations. In 1853 and 1854 Judge Reichard was postmaster of the borough of Wilkes-
I301
IRA D. RICHARDS.
Barre. In 1867 he was appointed by President Johnson consul to Ravenna, Italy. For more than half a century Captain Reichard, as he was familiarly called, had been an active and leading business man in Wilkes-Barre, during which time his honesty and integrity as a man had never been doubted or brought in question. During the later years of his life Judge Reichard spent much of his time in the land of his nativity. He died on shipboard on returning to this country, August 19, 1884, his final voyage being his twenty-sixth trip across the Atlantic. He left to survive him the following children-Colonel George Nicholas Reichard, married to Grizzy Gilchrist, daughter of P. Mc. Gilchrist ; Henry Colt Reichard, married to Jenny Griffin, daugh- ter of Elias Griffin ; John Reichard, married to Eliza C. Parrish, daughter of Gould P. Parrish (see page 593); Charles Wolf Reichard, married to Carrie E. Harrington, daughter of David C. Harrington (see page 874); Albertina L. Reichard, wife of the late J. H. Swoyer ; Catharine F. Reichard, wife of C. H. Leonard. Helena, wife of the late M. A. Holmes. She became the second wife of J. H. Swoyer. Julia Reichard, another daughter, married Colonel E. A. Hancock, of Philadelphia. She is now deceased, leaving one son, James Hancock, a graduate of Princeton Col- lege of the class of 1888.
IRA D. RICHARDS.
Ira D. Richards was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., November 26, 1861. He was born in 1826, and was a mem- ber of the Tioga county bar, and when admitted here he removed to Carbondale, where he resided up to the time of his death. From 1865 to 1869 he was district attorney of the recorder's court of Carbondale. In 1873 he was elected recorder, and on February 9, 1874, as he was entering the court house to dis- charge his duties, was taken with a severe hemorrhage which caused his death in about two hours. He was an able counsel- lor, a studious lawyer, and an upright judge. He left a widow but no children to survive him.
WYOMING
WILKES-BARRE
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CANFIELD HARRISON.
JOHN L. GORE.
John L. Gore was admitted to the Luzerne county, Pa., bar, January 22, 1862. He was the grandson of John Gore and his wife, Elizabeth Ross, and the son of John Gore and his wife, Ruth Scarle. (See page 435.) His father was born in 1799, and died December 20, 1879. John L. Gore resided in Carbondale, Pa., and died there May 15, 1862. He was an unmarried man.
CANFIELD HARRISON.
Canfield Harrison, who was commissioned an associate judge of Luzerne county, Pa., July 3, 1862, was the grandson of Stephen Harrison, of Canaan, Connecticut, who moved with his wife and children to what is now Huntington township, this county, in April, 1778. After the battle and massacre he and his family returned to their former home in Connecticut, where they remained until 1789, when they returned to their former home in Huntington. His wife was Susanna Franklin, a sister of Colonel John Franklin. They had a son Jarius Harrison, whose wife was Huldah Fuller, who was the father of Canfield Harrison. He was born in Huntington in 1800. Mr. Harrison, in his early manhood, was a merchant, and in after years a hotel keeper. He resided in Carbondale for many years, and the Harrison house in that city derived its name from him. In 1861 he was mayor of the city of Carbondale. He married, in early life, Deborah Koons, a sister of Hon. John Koons. She was born in Monroe county May 7, 1811. They had no children. In the latter years of their life they resided in Bloomsburg, Pa., where they died ; Mr. Harrison on February 28, 1880, and Mrs. Harrison September 2, 1887.
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I 303
EDGAR LEROY MERRIMAN.
EDGAR LEROY MERRIMAN.
Edgar Leroy Merriman, who was admitted to the bar of Lu- zerne county, Pa., September 1, 1864, was a native of Franklin, Sus- quehanna county, Pa., where he was born January 7, 1844. His grandfather, Theophilus Merriman, was a native of Cheshire, New Haven county, Connecticut. He removed to Franklin township, Susquehanna county, Pa., in 1800. His wife was Susan Smith, a daughter of Captain Roswell Smith, also of Cheshire. The father of E. L. Merriman is Joseph L. Merriman (son of Theop- hilus Merriman), who was born in Franklin, September 1, 1817. His wife was Mercy Baker, a native of Greenfield township, Lu- zerne (now Lackawanna) county, where she was born February 14, 1816. Mr. Merriman was formerly a farmer, but has been engaged in the mercantile business for many years. During his early years Edgar was the brightest boy in the neighborhood. He was sent to a common school, where he received the first rudiments of his education. His fondness for study soon made him a good scholar, and he always stood at the head of his class. At twelve he was sent to the Montrose academy, and here again he applied himself diligently to his studies, and very soon pushed forward until he was among the foremost students. From Mont- rose he was sent to the Wyoming seminary, at Kingston, where he completed his education.
Expressing a desire to study law, his father managed, fortu- nately, to get him into the office of Hon. Charles Denison, who, at the time, was one of the most prominent lawyers in Luzerne county. Here he began his studies with a determination to suc- ceed in the profession which he had chosen. Gifted with a natu- ral love for the intricate details of the rather dry rudiments of the text-books, the ambitious student applied himself faithfully to his task. It was a proud day for him when he first entered court as a full fledged lawyer, and prouder yet when he was made aware of the flattering opinions entertained for him by the exper- ienced and critical minds who applauded his efforts, and prophe- sied a brilliant future for him.
I 304
EDGAR LEROY MERRIMAN.
One thing which aided Mr. Merriman in his earlier career was the fact that he possessed a natural love for dignity, which led him to seek his associates among the older and more experienced members of the bar. He had an agreeable presence, and a bright, breezy way with him that won the regard of his legal friends, and all of them took a deep interest in his welfare, and were ever ready with their superior wisdom to enlighten him on any ab- struse questions which puzzled him.
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