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 30
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
€
1372
JOHN RICHARD JONES.
and school districts in that vicinity. Strict integrity and fidelity have characterized all his dealings with his clients, and he has the respect and esteem of everybody who knows him. He is a member of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, a member of the United States Circuit Court for the western district of Pennsyl- vania, and was recently admitted as a member of the Supreme Court of the United States, at Washington, D. C. In politics Mr. Jones is a republican. At present he is the chairman of the Republican Committee of the Fourth legislative district. He has represented his ward as delegate in nearly every republican county convention for the past five or six years, and has prob- ably made more nominating speeches than any other person during those years ; notably among them was the second to the nomination of R. W. Archbald, for additional law judge in the convention of July, 1884, in an effective speech which is still re- membered by all who heard it; the nomination of Hon. Joseph A. Scranton for congress in the convention of August, 1885, and on the same day the nomination of Hon. J. B. Van Bergen for county treasurer. He was secretary of the convention of 1884, and was a member of the republican county committee for the same year, and did excellent service for his party. The repub- lican electors of the Fourth legislative district (old Eighth dis- trict) have frequently unanimously chosen him to represent them in state conventions. He was a delegate to the state conven- tion which met at Harrisburg, July 8, 1885, when Hon. Matthew Stanley Quay was nominated for state treasurer. This conven- tion made him a member of the state committee for Lackawanna county. Again he represented his district in the state conven- vention held at the same place June 30, 1886, and was made one of the vice-presidents of the same. In this convention he sec- onded the nomination of General E. S. Osborne for congressman- at-large in a strong and vigorous speech. Hon. Lazarus D. Shoemaker, of Wilkes-Barre, made the nominating speech. He was one of the three delegates from Lackawanna county that voted for Senator Davis, thus securing to him the nomination of lieutenant governor. Had the three delegates-Dale, Mitchell and Jones-voted against the senator, the nomination would have gone to Major Montooth, of Pittsburg, so close was the
--
I373
GEORGE BAKER HILLMAN.
contest waged. In the state convention held August 17, 1887, he was a delegate and was appointed a member of the commit- tee on permanent organization. He represented his district in the republican state convention held at Harrisburg, Pa., August 7, 1889, and was again appointed one of the vice- presidents of that body. He was first commissioned a notary public by Governor Henry M. Hoyt and has continued to hold that office for the past seven years. He is a member of the Blakely school board, having been reelected for a second term, and has served as secretary of said board for three years. He is also a director of the poor of Blakely Poor District, and is secretary of that body. Thus it will be seen that he has the re- spect and confidence of the people. The committee of Veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic selected him to deliver the address of welcome at Olyphant on August 17, 1888, the occa- sion being the tenth annual reunion of the Five-County Veteran Association. In 1888 he was spoken of as an available candidate for district attorney of Lackawanna county, Pa. Had H. M. Ed- wards accepted the nomination of additional law judge of Lacka- wanna county, which was tendered him, Mr. Jones would have been nominated for district attorney. He married, December 4, 1884, Lizzie Eugenia Kenyon, a daughter of Rev. Jefferson B. Kenyon, a native of Pawling, N. Y. He removed to Blakely in 1832, and in 1836 married Rhoda H. Callender, a daughter of Samuel Callender, of Blakely. Mr. Kenyon was one of the earliest resident pastors of the Baptist church of Blakely, and retired from active service in 1871. He was an active member of the Blakely poor board and was the first burgess of that borough. Mr. and Mrs. Jones have a family of two children-Marshall Gray Jones and Helen Payne Jones.
GEORGE BAKER HILLMAN.
George Baker Hillman was born in this city May 21, 1867. He is the great-grandson of Joseph Hillman, whose son, H. B. Hillman was a native of Montgomery Square, Pa., where he spent his young manhood. At an early day he removed to
!
I374
GEORGE BAKER HILLMAN.
Mauch Chunk, Pa., where he was a partner in the mercantile business with Asa Packer, under the firm name of Packer & Hillman. Before the days of railroading in the Lehigh Valley, he ran packet boats between Mauch Chunk and Easton, and also between White Haven and Mauch Chunk. In 1842 he removed to this city and was one of the early coal operators in the Wyom- ing Valley. In 1847 he shipped ten thousand tons of coal from the old Blackman and Solomons Gap or Ross mines, to New York and Philadelphia on the Lehigh & Susquehanna Railroad. This was the first considerable amount of coal sent from this val- ley by that route. He for a time kept the old Eagle Hotel at the corner of Market and Franklin streets; where the Second National Bank now stands, but his principal business was that of a coal operator during his lifetime. In 1853 and 1854 he was burgess of the borough of Wilkes-Barre. In 1861 he was a mem- ber of the house of representatives, and was at one time a colonel in the militia, and he was known by young and old as Colonel Hillman. He died March 17, 1882. He married, May 4, 1831, Elizabeth Pryor, a daughter of John Pryor, a native of Mount Holly, N. J. His wife was Keziah Woodbury, a daughter of Richard Woodbury, of Mount Holly, and from whom the vil- lage of Woodbury, N. J. received its name. Mrs. Hillman is still living. H. B. Hillman, son of Colonel H. B. Hillman was born in Mauch Chunk, Pa., April 12, 1834. He has been en- gaged in the coal business the greater part of his manhood. In 1 886 he lost his eldest son, Harry G. Hillman, twenty years of age, a bright and promising student of the Wilkes-Barre academy. As a memorial of this son the Harry Hillman academy owes its existence. We quote from its catalogue: "The admirable school building of the academy was erected by Mr. H. Baker Hillman, of this city. It is designed as a memorial of his eldest son, Harry Grant Hillman, a devoted pupil of the academy, whose untimely death was lamented by all who knew him. The lot and the building upon it are solely Mr. Hillman's gift. It is situated- near the corner of West River and Terrace streets. The build- ing, with a heavy foundation of stone, is of brick laid in red mortar. The cornices and sills are of cut stone ; the ornamenta- tion is of terra-cotta. Externally it is of a handsome appearance,
I375
GEORGE BAKER HILLMAN.
and is highly creditable to the generosity which gave it, and to the public appreciation which maintains it. The interior of the building is planned from sketches made by the teachers, and is therefore well adapted to its special uses. The first floor con- tains a large study room, with ample space for one hundred and thirty-five single desks, two capacious cloak rooms, and a sepa- rate room in the rear for the primary department. On the second floor are four large recitation rooms, an office, a reception room, and a library room. The chapel and two large rooms for the literary and scientific societies of the academy occupy the third floor. Throughout the building there is plenty of air-space. The ceilings are high; the hall-ways are wide; the- rooms are spacious. The building is heated and lighted throughout and well furnished." H. B. Hillman is president of the board of trustees of the Harry Hillman academy ; a director of the Peoples' Bank; secretary and director of the Vulcan Iron Works ; vice president and director of the Glen Summit Hotel Company, and a director of the Electric Light Company. He is also a vestryman in St. Stephen's Protestant Episcopal church. In 1871 and 1872 he was a councilman in this city. His wife, whom he married February 19, 1862, is Josephine A. Hillman, daughter of Joseph Hillman, of Nazareth, Pa., where he resided until he was elected sheriff of Northampton county, Pa., when he removed to Easton, Pa. George Baker Hillman, son of H. B. Hillman, was educated in the public schools of this city and the Harry Hill- man academy. He received his law education at the law de- partment of the University of Pennsylvania, and was under the instruction of Wayne McVeigh, of Philadelphia, and Dickson (A. H.), and Atherton (T. H.), of this city. He was admitted to the Luzerne county bar December 10, 1888. He is now in Europe travelling with his father's family. It is too soon, per- haps, to make an entirely safe prediction as to Mr. Hillman's future in his chosen profession. He appears, however, to have inherited, in large part, the keen and prudent business instincts of his father, and these, with the exceptional advantages he has had in the dis- tinguished legal standing of the gentlemen who were his tutors, constitute an equipment that should open up to him a succcess- ful and prosperous career.
1376
WILLIAM JOHN TREMBATH.
GEORGE WASHINGTON MOON.
George Washington Moon was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., December 10, ISSS. He was educated in the public schools and high school, Easton, Pa., and Lafayette college, Eas- ton, Pa., from which he graduated in the class of ISS5, and read law with N. Taylor in this city. Mr. Moon was born in Scranton, Pa., July 4, 1860, and is the son of Silas R. Moon, a native of Scott township, Luzerne (now Lackawanna) county, Pa., who was the son of Henry Moon, a native of Dutchess county, N. Y. His mother is Mary E. Ward, a native of Scranton, and daughter of Conrad Ward, of that city. Mr. Moon has had the benefit of a good practical education as above shown, and is possessed of a patient energy that is invaluable in any walk of life, and especially in that of an attorney seeking to establish a practice. In the op- portunities his professional career has thus far afforded (neces- sarily limited, because of the brief period that has elapsed since his admission), he has evinced an aptitude in analyzing a case and applying the features of the law that most closely fit it, that presage an ultimately paying and successful business.
WILLIAM JOHN TREMBATH.
William John Trembath was admitted to the Luzerne county bar December 10, 1888. He is the son of Thomas Trembath, a prominent hotel keeper of this city, a native of Penzance, Corn- wall, England, who left his home at the age of nineteen, and was among the early adventurers to the gold fields of Cali- fornia and Australia. He came to this city in 1873, and has re- sided here since. His wife, the mother of W. J. Trembath, whom he married at Penzance, was Adelaide Love, of the same place. She was the daughter of Samuel Love, captain of a merchant vessel trading at Penzance. He was lost at sea. W. J. Trem- bath, son of Thomas Trembath, was born at Ballarat in the province of Victoria, Australia, December 16, 1859. At three
1377
WILLIAM IRWIN HIBBS.
years of age his father removed again to England, where he re- mained until William was six years of age, when he removed to this country. . W. J. Trembath was educated in the public schools of this city, at Wyoming seminary, Kingston, Pa., and at Lafayette college, Easton Pa., graduating from the latter institution in the class of 1885. He read law with Nathaniel Taylor in this city. Among the quieter, hard-working younger members of the Luzerne bar, Mr. Trembath has already attracted no little attention. He is in no degree averse to, or afraid of the persistent and often wearisome labor that almost invariably is re- quired in the building up of a legal practice, where high social influence or other adventitious aids are lacking, and herein dis- plays a characteristic that almost always presages victory in the profession. He is a close student, has keen perceptions, is a ready reasoner and handles a case with much skill.
WILLIAM IRWIN HIBBS.
William Irwin Hibbs was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., March 11, 1889. He is the son of Edward Mont- gomery Hibbs, a native of Bucks county, Pa., and grandson of John Hibbs, a native of the same county, who removed to Greenwood township, Juniata county, Pa., over fifty years since. The wife of E. M. Hibbs and mother of WV. I. Hibbs, is Catha- rine Potter, daughter of John Potter, of Delaware township, Ju- niata county, Pa. W. I. Hibbs was born in Greenwood town- ship, near Thompsontown, Pa., June 3, IS51. He was educated at the Millersville (Pa.) normal school and followed the occu- pation of a teacher for seventeen years. He read law with L. E. Atkinson, and was admitted to the bar of Juniata county, Pa., February 4, 1889. Mr. Hibbs' office is in Pittston, Pa. Nearly a score of years devoted to educational matters are not a bad groundwork for a legal career. The profession of school teach- ing is one in the pursuit of which there are many opportunities for acquiring knowledge that practice at the bar will develop profitable use for. It yields also a knowledge of human nature,
.
1378
JAMES LINCOLN MORRIS.
which is not by any means the least useful accomplishment a lawyer can have. Mr. Hibbs has taken hold in the rapidly grown town to the north of us in a way that seems to premise the ulti- mate attainment by him of a first-class position in the line of prac- ticing attorneys.
JAMES LINCOLN MORRIS.
James Lincoln Morris was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., April 22, 1889. He is the son of Michael W. Morris, a native of Loughcurra, in the county of Galway, Ireland, where he was born March 1, 1830. The latter emigrated to this country in 1847, and located in Hawley, Pa. For six years he was engaged as clerk in a store and post office; for two years in the office of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, and for one year was in business for himself. In 1856 he removed to Pittston, where he has resided since. His principal business since he has resided in this county has been the mercantile and milling business. He is at present a niember of the firm of Morris & Walsh, proprietors of the Keystone Roller Mills in this city. Mr. Morris has been a member of the school board of Pittston for fifteen years, and about all the school buildings that have been erected in that borough were erected during the time that Mr. Morris was on the board. He was treasurer of the Pittston school board for five years, and about the same length of time he was treasurer of the borough. He has been a director and treasurer of the Pittston Street Railway Company for fifteen years, and a director for eighteen years and one of the organizers of the Miners' Savings Bank, of Pittston. He is one of the most prominent Father Mat- thew men in the county, having taken the pledge from Father Matthew in 1842. He was for eighteen years treasurer of the Catholic Total Abstinence Union, of Pennsylvania. This office he resigned in June last. Mr. Morris was an original abolitionist, and on the organization of the republican party became one of its most active workers. In 1861 he was the candidate of the republican party for treasurer of Luzerne county. He was elected with the aid of the army vote, but that vote being de-
I379
THOMAS DARLING.
clared unconstitutional, he was defeated by James Walsh, his democratic competitor. Mr. Morris was an ardent admirer of Horace Greely, and when he became a candidate for president, . was active in the canvass, and upon his defeat became a demo- crat and has been active in its organization since. He married, June 11, 1857, Bridget E. Mulligan, a daughter of James Mulli- gan. He has a family of four children-James L., John W., Alice, wife of Eugene Mulligan, of this city, and Mary .. James L. Morris, son of M. W. Morris, was born in Pittston, Pa., May 12, 1860. He was educated in the academy of the Immaculate Heart, at Pittston ; in the public schools; and attended, for three years, the college of St. Hyancinthe, near Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He graduated .from the Georgetown (D. C.) Univer- sity in the class of 1882. He spent one year in the law depart- ment of Georgetown University and completed his law studies in the office of E. P. and J. V. Darling in this city. He has been a correspondent of the Scranton Republican, and of the Union- Leader of this city, and is at present one of the editors of the Plainspeaker, at Hazleton. He is also one of the court clerks. In 1888 he was secretary of the democratic county committee.
Mr. Morris is a young man of many excellent attainments. He has a wide acquaintance in all parts of the county, following upon his journalistic experience and his occupancy of the position of court clerk, and being of sunny disposition and genial manners, has made himself generally liked. His court clerkship neces- sarily gave him no little knowledge of the law and a familiarity with the methods of practice that must needs stand any observant and intelligent young man in good stead. His tastes incline him to continue giving part of his time to newspaper work, but his chances at the bar are among the best, if he shall see fit to give his attention chiefly to them.
THOMAS DARLING.
Thomas Darling, who was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., April 22, 1889, is a son of the late E. P. Darling, of
1 380
THOMAS DARLING.
.
this city. (See page 88). The mother of Thomas Darling was Emily H. Rutter, a daughter of Nathaniel Rutter of this city. He was a native of Salisbury township, Lancaster county, Pa., where he was born in 1806. He came to this city in 1825, and has resided here since. He was first engaged as a clerk by Mat- thias Hollenback, and afterwards was a clerk for Ziba Bennett. He subsequently engaged in business with James D. Haff, as general merchants, under the firm name of Haff & Rutter, and when Judge David Scott became a partner, the firm was Haff, Rutter & Scott. In 1833 he went into business with George M. Hollenback, under the firm name of Hollenback & Rutter. This partnership continued until 1846, when Mr. Rutter went into business for himself, which he continued until 1888, when he retired. The grandfather of Nathaniel Rutter was George Rutter, a native of Germany. He came to this country and set- tled in Salisbury township, where Adam Rutter, the father of Nathaniel Rutter, was born. The mother of Mrs. Darling was Mary Ann Cist, a daughter of Jacob Cist. (See page 1353). Thomas Darling was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., May 29, 1863. He was educated in the public schools of this city, at the Wilkes- Barre academy, and Yale college, from which he graduated in the class of 1886. He read law with E. P. and J. V. Darling. A graduate of one of our leading universities, and the son and pupil of such eminent lawyers as his father and uncle, could not well help starting upon his professional career, if otherwise at all qualified, with success more than half won. The young man in this case has evidently fallen heir to not a few of the qualities that were the principal factors in the father's achieve- ment of what was probably the most important practice (import- ant in respect to the vast interests involved) enjoyed by any member of the Luzerne bar. He is only a beginner as yet, but his manner and bearing have made a good impression upon those of the older lawyers with whom he has been brought into con- tact in connection with his late father's and uncle's business, and these are generally agreed that he is destined to a leading place at the bar, if that object shall continue to be the goal of his am- bition.
-
عم
1381
ADDITIONS, ALTERATIONS AND CORRECTIONS.
ADDITIONS, ALTERATIONS AND CORRECTIONS.
J. A. GORDON, p. 1. Mr. Gordon died at his residence in Plymouth, Pa., February 4, 1882.
H. B. WRIGHT, p. 2. Mr. Wright died at his residence in this city Sep- tember 2, 1881.
E. W. STURDEVANT, p. 14. Mr. Sturdevant died at his residence in this city October 30, 1882.
E. L. DANA, p. 31. Judge Dana died at his residence in this city April 25, 1889.
STEUBEN JENKINS, p. 52. Mr. Jenkins was elected to the legislature of the state of Pennsylvania in 1882, and served in the regular session, and also in the extra session of 1883. He was appointed by Governor Pattison trus- tee for the State Hospital for the Insane at Danville for three years, and at the expiration of his term by Governor Beaver for an additional term of three years. He is the author of the following publications :
1878. Historical Address at the Wyoming Monument at the Centennial Commemorative Exercises, July 3, 1878, in pamphlet.
1879. Historical Address at the Centennial Celebration of the Battle of Newtown of August 29, 1779, etc. Published by the State of New York, in a large volume, page 451, etc.
1881. "A Celebration in ye Olden Time." Prepared by request of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, read at a meeting of that society and published in its proceedings.
1885. "The Pittston Fort." Prepared for and published by the same so- ciety.
1884. "Wyoming, Connecticut, Western Reserve." Published in the His- torical Register, Harrisburg, by Dr. Wm. H. Egle, Vol. II, No. I.
1888. "The Old Forty Fort Church"-Its history as a Presbyterian place of worship, etc., in pamphlet.
1889. Address at the Centennial Reunion of the Breese Family, at Horse- heads, June 19, 1889. Published in Chemung Valley Reporter, June 20, 1889.
He is also author of the following biographies and genealogies of old Wyoming families, published in History of Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyo- ming Counties : The Dana family, the Dorrance family, the Pettebone fam- ily, the Swetland family, the Slocum family, and some others in whole or in part. Also the Jenkins family of Rhode Island and Wyoming, published in the Historical Register of Rhode Island, and in pamphlet. He delivered an address before the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, at the court house in the city of Wilkes-Barre, September 25, 1887, on the occasion
1382
ADDITIONS, ALTERATIONS AND CORRECTIONS.
of the celebration of the centennial of the formation of Luzerne county, which is to be published by that society with the other proceedings. "Mr. Jenkins the poet historian, has written much and well, but published little. Full of vigor, originality and dramatic power, his verses breathe the crispness of the morning air and the pungency of spring buds, and however defective we may find the finish of his work, we cannot but admit that their author possesses a well-stored mind and a high degree of poetic inspiration, which is always drawn from nature's great fountains. "Wyoming," a tale of the revolutionary war, "Manitou of Wyoming," and "The Concord Chase," his longest poems, contain many delightful descriptive passages. "The Forest of Life" is a collection of his shorter bits of verse, many of which evince a fair degree of lyric power."
GARRICK M. HARDING, p. 70. We were in error in stating that Judge Harding was born July 12, 1830. He was born July 12, 1827.
H. M. HOYT, p. 74. Ex-Governor Hoyt now resides in Philadelphia, Pa.
ALEXANDER FARNHAM, p. 84. See page 225 for Mr. Farnham's military record. After Mr. Ricketts' refusal to be mustered into the United States service, E. W. Finch was elected captain and Alexander Farnham first lieu- tenant. John D. Farnham, eldest son of Alexander Farnham, is now a senior in Yale University.
E. P. DARLING, p. 94. We were in error in stating that Colonel John Bull was the father of Rev. Levi Bull, D. D .; neither was his wife the daughter of Robert Smith. The wife of John Smith, the maternal grandfather of E. P. Darling, was Elizabeth Bull, daughter of Thomas Bull, of Chester county, Pa., who was born June 9, 1744, the son of William Bull, an early settler in that county. He received the meagre education afforded in his day, and learned the trade of a stonemason. Prior to the revolution he was the man- ager of Warwick furnace. When that struggle came he entered heartily into the contest, and assisted in organizing the Chester county Battalion of Asso- ciators of the "Flying Camp," commanded by Colonel William Montgomery, of which he was commissioned lieutenant colonel. He was taken prisoner at Fort Washington in November, 1776, and confined on the Jersey prison ship. After several months he was properly exchanged. He subsequently returned to his position as manager of Warwick furnace, where he remained several years. In 1780 he was appointed by the general assembly one of the commissioners for the removal of the county seat. He was elected a dele- gate to the Pennsylvania convention to ratify the federal constitution in 1787, and served as a member of the state constitutional convention of 1789-90. He was chosen a presidential elector in 1792, and from 1795 to 1801 repre- sented Chester county in the legislature of the state. Prior to this he had purchased a fine tract of land on the head-waters of French creek, erecting thereon a grist and saw-mill, besides a large mansion, where he passed the evening of his days. Colonel Bull was one of the men of mark in Chester county, and prominent in public affairs for half a century. In business affairs
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.