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 28
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of our coal-fields, and for a cheap and rapid mode of getting the coal to market, and his pen was ever busy advocating both to the general public. Although much had been said and written on anthracite coal prior to 1821, Mr. Cist himself having published a pamphlet on the subject in 1815, yet in that year the first ex- haustive and scientific article on the subject was prepared by Mr. Cist, being two letters, one to Professor Silliman and the other to M. A. Brongniart. These, with extracts from Mr. Cist's pamph- let of 1815, were published in the American Journal of Science, Vol. IV, and created no little excitement and discussion at the time. In this article he gives the mode and cost of mining the coal and the getting it to market. He gives three carefully taken sections of the strata at "Smith's bed," "Bowman's mine," and at "Blackman's bed." He attached a map showing that the coal formation "extends in a S. S. westerly direction, from its com- mencement at the upper part of Lackawanna river, near the Wayne county line, down the course of that river to its junction with the Susquehanna ; thence along the Susquehanna, keeping chiefly the east side, leaving this river about eighteen miles below this place (Wilkes-Barre) it passes in a southward course to the head-waters of the Schuylkill river, etc., and from thence, after its crossing three main branches, becomes lost, a small seam of it only appearing at Peter's mountain, a few miles above Harris- burg." He then gives a list of the minerals found in this belt, together with the dip of the coal and superincumbent strata. He gives a list of rocks of which the gravel in the river's bed con- sists. Then follows a long description of the vegetable impres- sions. He gives the specific gravity of the coal exactly as it is accepted to-day, and is the first to call attention to the fact that the true fracture of the pure coal is conchoidal, and when appear- ing angular, lamellar, and cubical it is due to impurities. Alto- gether the article is an exceedingly interesting one.
James Pierce, in an article in Hasard's Register, in 1828, Vol. I, page three hundred and fourteen, says : "The valley of Wyom- ing and its valuable beds and veins of coal have been correctly described in No. I, Vol. IV, of the Journal of Science, by Mr. Cist, an able naturalist, whose recent death is lamented by all · acquainted with his merit."
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The correspondence here begun with Monsieur Brongniart continued until Mr. Cist's death. He sent a number of new species of fossil plants to Paris to M. Brongniart, who did him the courtesy to name them after him. In sending some speci- mens of the coal flora to Professor Silliman in 1825 Mr. Cist makes a strong point of urging the vegetable origin to the notice of the professor. His pen was at an early date busy in suggest- ing plans to get the coal to market. He was one of the first to lend his hearty cooperation to the internal improvement of the state. He took a lively interest in all the meetings held in the eastern part of the state, and was one of the committee of cor- respondence and afterwards a delegate from Luzerne, together with Nathan Beach, to the state convention, held at Harrisburg in August, 1825. At first he was a strong advocate of the canal system or a slack water navigation of the river. In writing to the Baltimore American, under date of December 5, 1822, he says : "From partial geological survey, the county of Luzerne possesses coal, level free, which, estimated at the low rate of twenty-five cents per ton in the mine, would amount to above one hundred millions of dollars, the value of which would be enhanced from twenty-five to thirty fold on its arrival at Baltimore or Phil- adelphia. In addition to the coal, level free, there is from ten to fifteen times that quantity accessible by the aid of steam engine, thus presenting an object alone sufficient to warrant the expense of rendering the river completely navigable, were the lumber, the wheat, pork, whiskey, iron, and the long list of other articles thrown totally out of view."
As early as 1814 he corresponded with Oliver Evans as to the practicability of using a steam engine and railroad at the mines on the Lehigh. In a letter to Evans, written December, 1814, he says : "I would thank you also for an estimate of the expense of your steam wagon for drawing out a number of low carts, say twenty to twenty-five, each containing one and one-half or two tons of coal, on a wooden railroad, with a descent of about one- third of an inch in a yard" (or forty-six feet to mile) ; to which Mr. Evans answers from Washington, January 3, 1815 : "I would suppose that a descent of one-third inch to a yard could do with- out cogging the ways, which would save much expense. I had .
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devised a cheap way of rising an ascent by means of a rope, as I apprehended no company could yet be formed in this country to lay iron and cogged railways for any distance. I therefore fixed on wooden ways, one for going, the other for coming back, as close to each other as will admit, and to cover the whole with a shed. This would, in the first making, cost little more than a Penn- sylvania turnpike, and much less in ten years. I cannot state to - you the expense of a carriage." Mr. Cist ran the levels from here to Mauch Chunk for one, and at the time of his death he was planning with a Mr. Mccullough, of New Jersey, to organize a company to lay a railroad up the Lehigh to Wyoming valley. One of his daughters, when a little girl while at play in his study, remembers asking him "what he was so busy at." His answer was : "My child, I am building a railroad to pull things on over the mountain." Mr. Mccullough, in writing to Mr. Hollenback shortly after Mr. Cist's death, intimates that in the death of Mr. Cist the railroad had met with its death, which was a fact.
In the year 1810 Jacob Cist, together with Jesse Fell, Matthias Hollenback, Thomas Dyer, Peleg Tracy, and others, founded the Luzerne County Agricultural Society, and he, with Dr. Robert H. Rose, was one of the first corresponding secretaries of the society. He did much towards the introduction of finer grades of fruit trees in our valley, joining with Washington Lee, Charles Streater, E. Covell, George Cahoon and many others of the old citizens of Wilkes-Barre and vicinity, who took pride and pleasure in their fruit gardens. He was accustomed every year to get for himself and friends quantities of the choicest fruit trees. He knew the value of the New York gypsum as a fertilizer and ad- vocated its superiority in a paper read before the state agricul- tural society, January 12, 1813. This article was republished in the Record of the Times, at Wilkes-Barre, January 8, 1868. He was treasurer of the county of Luzerne for 1816, and treasurer of the Wilkes-Barre Bridge Company, 1816, 1817, 1818, of which he was one of the original stockholders and founders. He was one of the charter members of the old Susquehanna bank and its first cashier, appointed 1817, at a salary of $600. He drew the designs for the notes of the bridge company and of the bank. He geologized this whole section of country for miles up and down
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the river, finding, besides manganese and clays, a number of iron beds, in many instances purchasing the land outright, in others only leasing, and at the time of his death he owned large bodies of iron lands. As early as 1815 he entered into an arrangement with Samuel Messemer, of Northampton county, Pa., and John Vernet, of New London, Conn., to establish iron works on the site of the present town of Shickshinny. In the year 1822 he entered into a similar arrangement with D. C. Woodin, but I can- not learn that anything ever came of either. He early conceived the idea of preparing a work on American Entomology, and labored assiduously at this task until the year preceding his death, when it was so far completed that he contemplated publishing it, and sent his manuscript with several thousand drawings to a well-known English scientist for inspection ; the letter acknowl- edging its receipt arrived in Wilkes-Barre after Mr. Cist's decease, but the manuscript and drawings have never been returned. They are now supposed to be in the collection of the East India Company, to whom the scientist left his collection at his death, some twenty years ago. He corresponded for a number of years with Prof. Say and Mr. Melsheimer, the later writing on ento- mology, under date October 6, 1818, speaking of the beauty and correctness of the drawings of insects by Mr. Cist, says : "Good and correct figures are undoubtedly well calculated to advance the knowledge of entomology. I am, therefore, the more solicit- ous that you would give to the world your promising labor on, and accompanied with descriptions, etc., of, the North American insects. Such a work would be very serviceable to the student of American insects." On the 15th of April, 1807, with Andrew and George Way, and others, he founded the Washington city glass works, drawing all the plans himself. On his settlement at Wilkes-Barre he tried for several years to found glass works and a pottery at that point, but failed, though he found within easy distance the clays, sand, manganese, etc., requisite to the successful carrying on of these enterprises. Jacob Cist did not know what it was to be idle; he was busy from sunrise until late in the night, either at science, music, poetry or painting, and during business hours at his business; he was a man ahead of his times, and an enigma to the good people of Wilkes-Barre,
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who pretty generally thought him an enthusiast, who was wast- ing his time on bugs and stones. Many people have lived to judge differently of him, and to appreciate his worth. He died on Friday, the 30th day of December, 1825, aged forty-three years. An obituary notice, published at the time, says: "In the death of Mr. Cist, society has lost one of its most valuable mem- bers, science one of its most ornamental and industrious cultiva- tors, and the cause of public and internal improvements one of its most able and zealous supporters. Modest and unassuming in his manners, he sought no political preferment-was ambitious of no public distinction. But like a true lover of science, sought her in her quiet paths of peace. His researches into the geologi- cal structure and formation of our portion of the country, and par- ticularly into the anthracite coal regions of Pennsylvania, have been extensive and indefatigable; and while they have contrib- uted to enrich the cabinets of many scientific men, both in this country and in Europe, with mineralogical specimens, they have also been a means of calling the attention of our citizens to those vast mines of combustible treasures with which our mountains abound, and which we trust under Providence of giving employ- ment to thousands of industrious men and prosperity and wealth to our county." The other local paper says: "In the death of Mr. Cist the community has sustained the loss of an able and industrious supporter of the cause of internal improvements. His indefatigable zeal in devising and perfecting plans for the im- provement of our country by-roads and inland navigation, and by disseminating a knowledge of the extent, situation and value of our extensive regions of coal, have rendered him a public ben- efactor to our country. As a lover of the arts and sciences, his loss will be no less felt by those persons at home and abroad with whom he has been so extensively connected in their cultivation and support. Unambitious of public distinction, he has sought to render himself useful by devoting a considerable portion of his time and services for the common benefit of his fellow citizens, and by them will his loss long be regretted and his memory affectionately cherished." He left to survive him the following children : Mary Ann Cist, now deceased, intermarried with Na- thaniel Rutter; Ellen E. Cist, now deceased, first married to Rev.
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Robert Dunlap, D. D., and secondly to Nathaniel Rutter; Emily L. Cist, married to Harrison Wright; Augusta Cist, married to Andrew T. McClintock; and Sarah A. Cist, now deceased, in- termarried with Peter T. Woodbury.
Matthias Hollenback, the father of Mrs. Jacob Cist, was the grandson of George Hollenback, a German settler, "who owned lands and paid quit-rents prior to 1734," in the township of Han- over, Philadelphia (now Montgomery) county, Pa. John Hol- lenback, a son of George Hollenback, was born about 1720, and probably emigrated with his father to this country when but a lad. The date of his arrival in this country is not known, but it was before the year 1729. In 1750 John- Hollenback took up land in Lebanon township, Lancaster (now Lebanon) county, Pa., and in 1772 removed from that section of country to Martins- burg, Berkeley county, Va., where he died. The wife of John Hollenback was Eleanor Jones, of Welsh descent. Matthias Hollenback, the second son of John Hollenback, was born at Jonestown, Lancaster (now Lebanon) county, February 17, 1752. He came to Wyoming in 1769, in a company of forty young men from that part of the country. They were Stewarts, Espys and others, and they came with the intention of settling and becom- ing citizens under Connecticut laws, and aiding the Yankees in keeping possession of this section of our state. They became entitled to lands under a grant from the Susquehanna Land Com- pany, which they acquired after they had been a short time in the valley. On their way to Wyoming the company encamped where Mauch Chunk is now situated, and after the coal interest had called into existence a thriving town there, Mr. Hollenback often humorously remarked that he ought to put in a claim to that place, for he was first in possession. The forty adventurers came into Wyoming through a notch of the mountains in what is now Hanover; and when the beautiful valley first broke upon their sight, young Hollenback, the youngest of the company, threw up his hat and exclaimed : "Hurrah, that's the place for me." He began business at Mill Creek, but soon removed to Wilkes-Barre ; and having purchased a lot on what is now the west side of the Public Square, built a large frame house for a store and dwelling. He purchased his goods in Philadelphia,
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which were taken to Middletown in wagons and then transported by water to this and other places, where he had established stores. The first method of transportation was by Indian canoes; and he literally "paddled his own canoe" up the winding, rapid Susquehanna the whole distance, one hundred and fifty miles, many times, before he was able to procure a more capacious ves- sel and to employ men to manage it. Then he purchased a Durham boat, which he kept steadily employed. The present road leading through the swamp was but a little path. Mr. Hol- lenback in his business enterprises was prospered in a remarkable manner, and soon acquired distinction and was promoted to po- sitions of public trust and responsibility. On October 17, 1775, he was commissioned as ensign in the "train-band in the 24th regiment in his Majesty's colony of Connecticut." On August 26, 1776, he was appointed by congress to serve as ensign in Captain Durkee's company of "minute men," a band raised for the protection of the people in the valley. These Wyoming com- panies were subsequently ordered to join General Washington's army. Mr. Hollenback was with the army in New Jersey in 1776 and 1777, and took part in several battles. He was in the battles of Millstone, Trenton, Princeton and Brandywine. That he was a man of more than ordinary courage and tact is evident from the fact that he was several times employed by Washington to visit the frontier settlements and outposts and report upon their condition. About the close of 1777, the settlement of Wyoming being menaced by the enemy, many of the men who were with the army came home, and among them was Mr. Hol- lenback. During the spring of 1778 fears were entertained for the safety of the frontier settlement of Wyoming, and as summer · approached a sense of insecurity and alarm pervaded the com- munity. Frequent scouting parties were sent out to ascertain the position of the enemy. On the Ist of July Mr. Hollenback, with a companion, was selected for the perilous duty. He pro- ceeded sixteen miles up the river, where he came upon the fresh trail of the Indians and tories on their march to attack the settle- ment, and discovered also the bodies of several settlers who had been killed and scalped. Taking these bodies into his canoe, he immediately returned home and reported the presence of the
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enemy in great force. The inhabitants had already begun to assemble at Forty Fort, and were actively preparing for the de- fense of the valley. On the 3d of July, under the command of Colonels Butler and Denison, the little band marched forth to the memorable battle of Wyoming. Mr. Hollenback took a promi- nent part in this tragic action, acquitting himself with great gal- lantry and honor. He escaped the terrible slaughter which fol- lowed the defeat of the settlers, and after many thrilling adventures and hardships reached his home late in the night. From there he went directly to the fort situated on what is now the Public Square of this city. He announced his name at the gate, heard it repeated within. "Hollenback has come," was the joyful ex- clamation. "No, no," responded the familiar voice of Nathan Carey, "you'll never see Hollenback again ; he was on the right" wing ; I am sure he is killed." The gate was opened, however, and Mr. Hollenback stepped in. It being dark, and there being no candles, Mr. Carey lit a pine knot to see if it was really Mr. Hollenback, and then, overwhelmed with joy, embraced him with a brother's affection. At four o'clock he set out on an Indian path to meet Spalding with his seventy men, for the pur- pose of getting them into the fort at Wilkes-Barre. He met them at Bear creek, but Captain Spalding declined the hazard. Mr. Hollenback, however, so far prevailed as to induce fifteen or twenty of the men to accompany him. On reaching the slope of the mountain near Prospect Rock, he discovered his own house on fire and savages in possession of the fort. Seeing all lost, he promptly directed his energies to the relief of the sufferers. He had procured from Spalding's commissary all the provisions he could pack on his horse, and following the fugitives, mostly women and children, he overtook them and led theni through the wilderness. After a few weeks he returned to the valley and set about repairing his loss. His credit at Philadelphia being good, he obtained a few goods and began the world anew. He established his principal store at Wilkes-Barre, and branch stores at Tioga Point (now Athens), at Newtown (now Elmira), and at other places. He had partners in his various enterprises, several of whom in after years became prominent in the business world. In 1791 he was the business manager and purveyor for Pickering,
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while he was holding a treaty with the Indians at Newtown creek. He was made a justice of the peace after the establishment of the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania in Wyoming, and when the new con- stitution was formed, was appointed an associate judge of Lu- zerne county, in which capacity he served until the time of his death, February 18, 1829, the day after he was seventy- seven years of age. His first commission as lieutenant colonel is dated in 1787, another is dated in 1792, and still another is dated in 1793. The first of them was given by the executive council of Pennsylvania, and bears the autograph of Benjamin Franklin. He was a member of the board of trustees of the old Wilkes-Barre academy from 1807 to 1829, and was the first treasurer of Luzerne county. Colonel Hollenback always took `great interest in religious affairs and the welfare of the church. He gave largely toward building the first church built in Wilkes- Barre, and was generally punctual in his attendance upon the services. His home was the home of ministers, and his hand always open to them. He was in many respects an extraordinary man, endowed with great capacity and courage, and with an indomitable will which overcame all obstacles. In all his busi- ness relations he was a pattern of punctuality, scrupulously faith- ful to public trusts and private confidence. His powers of en- durance were very remarkable; he took all his journeys on horseback, and his business interests called him from Niagara to Philadelphia. Between Wyoming and the New York state line he owned immense tracts of wild land, which he often visited unattended, traveling for days and even weeks through the wilds of northern Pennsylvania, and being as much at home in the wilderness as in his counting-room. Judge Hollenback exerted much influence upon the progress and elevation of the country. He provided employment for many poor laborers ; he furnished supplies to multitudes of new settlers ; he took an active part in the early public improvements . he kept in circulation a large ' capital; and he was a living, almost ever-present example of industry and economy. Not Wyoming alone, but the whole country between Wilkes-Barre and Elmira, owes much of its early development and present prosperity to the business arrangements and the indomitable perseverance of Matthias Hollenback. Judge
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Hollenback was employed by Robert Morris, the agent of Louis the Sixteenth, to provide a place of retreat for the royal house- hold at some secluded spot on the Susquehanna. This was in 1793. He accordingly purchased twelve hundred acres of land lying in the present county of Bradford (then Luzerne), and em- bracing the locality where Frenchtown, in the township of Asy- lum, was subsequently built. The unfortunate monarch, however, never occupied this asylum in the wilds of Pennsylvania, albeit many of his subjects did. Louis Philippe, the late "King of the French," in 1795, came through "the Wind Gap" on horseback to Wilkes-Barre, and then made his way up to Frenchtown. [The children of Matthias Hollenback were Eleanor Jones Hol- lenback, now deceased, married to Charles F. Welles, father of Rev. H. H. Welles, of Kingston, John Welles Hollenback and Edward Welles of this city. He had other children also-Mary Ann Hollenback, married first to John Deshong, secondly to John Laning ; Sarah Hollenback, married first to Jacob Cist, and secondly to Hon. Chester Butler ; and Hon. George Matson Hol- lenback.]
The only son of Judge Hollenback, and the brother of Mrs. Jacob Cist, was George Matson Hollenback, who, inheriting a large fortune from his father, succeded him in many of his busi- ness pursuits. In 1820 and 1821 he was treasurer of the county of Luzerne. In 1824 and 1825 he represented the same county in the legislature of the state. In 1842 he was appointed by Governor Porter one of the canal commissioners of the state, but his other business affairs allowed him to hold the commission but a short time. He was president of the Wyoming bank at the time of his decease, November 7, 1866, and had occupied that responsible position for more than thirty years, and for nearly a half century was connected with all the public affairs of the Wy- oming valley.
Harrison Wright, the subject of our sketch, was the eldest son of Harrison Wright and Emily Cist. He early developed those mental traits which characterized his maturer manhood. Before he was fifteen years of age he had acquired a marked taste for history and the natural sciences, and he formed at that time an interesting cabinet of specimens and objects illustrative of his
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several pursuits. After a preparatory course of study at his home, he was, in 1867, matriculated as a student of philosophy at the university of Heidelberg, Germany. Upon the completion of four years of studious application in his chosen branches of learning, he was graduated in the spring of 1871, with the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy. During his course at the university he became remarkably proficient in the German language and literature, and his natural aptitude for languages led him to the study of the French and Italian tongues, with both of which he became familiar. His especial study at Hei- delberg was mineralogy; his excellence in his pursuit of this science induced his preceptor, the late Professor Blum-the lead- ing mineralogist of his time-to select Mr. Wright as assistant professor of mineralogy; but a prolonged summer's absence from the university led to the appointment of another. Much of his time during vacation was spent in travel ; he visited many of the capitals of Europe, and in seeking needed relaxation from the duties of the university, he acquired much practical knowledge of the customs and manners of the several countries. During the time he spent in Rome, he studied the archaeology and ex- plored many of the remains of the Ancient City. In this research he became associated with the members of the Archaeological Society of Rome, who, in appreciation of his tastes and scholarly attainments, elected him a member of their society. He became also an honorary member of the Papal Club, a social organization of the officers of the Papal Guard.
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