Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 122

Author: Hayden, Horace Edwin, 1837-1917; Hand, Alfred, 1835-; Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921; Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 1026

USA > Pennsylvania > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 122
USA > Wyoming > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 122

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).

John M. Armstrong, son of Amon and Emeline M. (Buckingham) Armstrong, was reared in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, where he began his education in the public schools and later completed it in the Wyom- ing Seminary at Kingston, Pennsylvania. Then going to McKean county, he embarked in the oil business as an operator in crude oil. This he continued successfully from 1877 to 1890, when he came to Pittston and organized the Pittston Slate Company for the quarrying of slate, and going to Slatington, Pennsylvania, he purchased a tract of land and opened the present quarries of this company, which he has continued to operate with signal success up to the present time. Starting this enterprise with the opening of the quarry, he has developed

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it to its present point, employing about one hundred and fifty men and doing a prosperous and constantly growing business. Not only does he look after all the other details of the business, but also finds the market for the en- tire output of the plant amounting to thou- sands of dollars monthly, and yet this busi- ness is only in its infancy, and it is not too much to say that if all goes well Mr. Arm- strong bids fair to take a place with the larg- est business men in this line in the state. Besides the office in Slatington he has an office in Pitts- ton, in which city he makes his home and spends a part of his time each week and where he is held in high regard by all of the leading business men.

Mr. Armstrong married, March 6, 1890, Adelia Weaver, who was born in Pittston, where her family were residents for many years. Of this marriage two children have been born: Mary E., December 29, 1890 ; and Arthur Amon (named for his grandfather ). September 20, 1896. H. E. H.

WILLIAM IRVIN HIBBS, a prominent lawyer of Pittston, Pennsylvania, was born in Greenwood township, near Thompsontown, Penn- sylvania, June 3, 1851.

Jacob Hibbs, grandfather of William I. Hibbs, was a native of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, from whence he removed to Greenwood township, Juniata county, more than half a century ago. . He followed the occupation of farming in his na- tive county, and the communities in which he re- sided found him a very useful citizen. He mar- ried Margaret Sisom, and five children were born to them : John : Edward Montgomery, mentioned hereafter: Sarah A., who became the wife of John McNulty : Anna, who became the wife of John Louther ; and a child who died in infancy.

Edward Montgomery Hibbs, father of Will- iam I. Hibbs, was born in Bensalem township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. December 21. 1819. He followed the useful calling of agriculture, gaining a comfortable livelihood for his family. He was united in marriage to Anna C. Potter, daughter of John and Anna (Harman) Potter, of Delaware township, Juniata county, Pennsyl- vania. Their children are as follows. I John Edward, who died in infancy. 2. William I., mentioned hereafter. 3. Margaret Jane, a resi- dent of Thompsontown, Pennsylvania. 4. Henry P., an engineer on the Pennsylvania Railroad. He married Anna Bogenrief, who bore him four children, as follows : Charles, an engineer for the

Pennsylvania Railroad ; Lloyd, a student at Car- lisle College ; Addison Ray, a passenger brakeman for the Pennsylvania Railroad; Harry, who re- sides at home. Henry P. Hibbs and his fam- ily reside at Cresson Springs, Pennsylvania. 5. George S., a ticket agent at Thompsontown, Pennsylvania ; he married Alice Smith, and their children are : Frank, assistant ticket agent at Har- risburg, Pennsylvania, for the Pennsylvania Rail- road ; George, who assists his father ; and Hazel, a student at Irwin College, Harrisburg.

William Irvin Hibbs received his educa- tion at the Millersville ( Pennsylvania) Normal school. He followed the vocation of teaching for about seventeen years, and during this period he acquired much information of value to him in the pursuit of his legal studies, and also yielded him a clear insight into human nature which after- wards proved to be of great practical use to him. His first school was a district school in Walker township at a place called Red Rock, where he taught one term. His second school was in Fernanaugh township, where he taught two terms. He then went to the town of Mcveigh where he was principal one year in the high school, after which he was principal for two years in the high school in the town of Patterson, Juniata county. The following four years he served as teacher in Mifflin county, later was principal of the high school in Northumberland county for two years, and in 1883 came to West Pittston where he was principal till 1888, when he resigned. Desiring to become a legal prac- titioner he read law with L. E. Atkinson, while teaching, and February 4, 1889, was admitted to the bar of Juniata county, Pennsylvania. March 11, 1890, he opened an office in Pittston, Pennsylvania, where he has since practiced his profession, attaining an excellent position among his professional brethren. He is a Democrat in politics. For many years he held the position of school director in West Pittston and aided ma- terially in the advancement of the schools of that place. He is a member of the board of managers of the West Pittston Cemetery Association, pres- ident of the Kewanee Home Telephone Company, and one of the directors of the Ft. West Tele- phone Company, in which he serves as chairman of the executive committee. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and for a number of years has served as president of the board of trustees. He is a member of Valley Lodge, No. 199, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is past master : a member of the Chapter, of which he is past high priest ; also a Knight Templar.

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William I. Hibbs married, October 28, 1891, Sarah L. McGuire, daughter of David and Sarah (Lowry) McGuire, of Northumberland county, Pennsylvania. They are the parents of two chil- dren : Anna L., born November 25, 1892, and Helen .P., born July 27, 1894; died May 30, 1895. H. E. H.

THOMAS MANGAN. The late Thomas Mangan, one of the best known and most re- spected residents of Pittston, Pennsylvania, was born in county Mayo, Ireland, and in 1855, when seventeen years of age, emigrated to America, settling in Hawley, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, where he became engaged in the mercantile busi- ness with his uncle, Thomas Mangan. In 1865 he came to Pittston, Pennsylvania, and pur- chased the present homestead and established a general store, which he conducted with signal suc- cess until 1899, when he retired from business, and was succeeded by his son, John O'D. Man- gan. He was a director in the Miner's Savings Bank until his death, and was also a director of the Citizens' Illuminating Company of Pittston, of which he was one of the organizers. Mr. Mangan was appointed tax receiver by Judge Harding when Pittston was a borough, and served two years. On several occasions he was requested to become a candidate for burgess and other positions in the city government, but he declined all of them. preferring to devote his time to other business. He regarded his citizenship in the light of a solemn responsibility, and had a profound sense of its dignity and obligations. In local politics he cast his vote for the candidates of the Democratic party, but in national and state offices he supported the candidates of the Repub- lican party. For a number of years he served as treasurer of the board of trade, holding the office at the time of his death.

Mr. Mangan was prominent in charity and in church affairs, and was a wise advisor and coun- selor when the occasion required. In the work of St. John's parish he was an active and in- fluential factor, and when the Jubilee collection was taken up in the fall of 1904 for the benefit of the schools he acted as treasurer. He was a member of the advisory committee of the Par- ochial Schools Society, and was one of the trus- tees of the Holy Name Society and of the Knights of Columbus. In 1893 he was appointed by Bishop O'Hara to attend the conference of laity and clergymen at the World's Fair in Chicago. In 1877 he started on a pilgrimage to Rome and the Holy Land with several others, but the ship

met with an accident, and they spent thirty-three days in reaching Liverpool. The pilgrimage was delayed so long that Mr. Mangan was obliged to abandon the trip on account of his health. He, however, visited Ireland and the scenes of his youth before he returned to his adopted country.

Mr. Mangan married Mary O'Donnell, a daughter of James and Bridget O'Donnell, and six children were born to them, two of whom are liv- ing, namely: Margaret M., the wife of Martin J. Mulhall, a well-known lawyer of Wilkes- Barre. and John O'D., who married Grace O'Malley, a daughter of the late Dr. Peter O'Mal- ley, and granddaughter of the late Michael Reap, first president of the Miners' Savings Bank of Pittston, Pennsylvania. Two children were born of this union : Thomas and Mary Grace Mangan.

Thomas Mangan died June 1, 1905, in the six- ty-eighth year of his age. His death caused much sorrow in Pittston, where throughout his many years residence he was regarded as a man of noble impulses, generous nature, frank and sin- cerely attached to those once admitted within the circle of his friendship. The funeral services were conducted in St. John's Church and con- sisted of a solemn requiem mass, and the inter- ment was made in Market Street cemetery, Pitts- ton. At the conclusion of the services Bishop Hoban, of Scranton, officiated, blessing the re- mains, and the visiting clergy sang the responses in unison. Bishop Hoban made many touching remarks on the christian and manly character of Mr. Mangan, among which were the following : "I have known Mr. Mangan for many years and in all that time regarded him as a christian gen- tleman in the highest sense. He was a man of unostentatious charity and kindness of heart, who took thought on the poor and made religion part of his daily life." H. E. H.

JONATHAN SHEPHERD FAMILY. The :period of immigration to America of the mem- bers of the Shepherd family of the branch under consideration here must have begun some time between 1830 and 1850. So far as present ob- tainable data indicates, the head of the English branch of the family was Jonathan Shepherd, a farmer of Yorkshire, a good sturdy specimen of English yeomanry. This Jonathan had seven children-John, Thomas, Lawrence, James, Jane, Ann, and Rachel, all born in Yorkshire.

James Shepherd, like his father, was a farmer, and he also was a sheep raiser. Indeed, the fam- ily name indicates that even back to remote gener- ations the Shepherds were sheep raisers, for when

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surnames were adopted about the time of the Con- queror, or about the midde of the eleventh cen- tury, there must have been at least one ancestor in the direct line who was a "sheep herd," the ten- der of a flock, from which origin springs the name Shepherd, which is a contraction and derivation of the quoted words. But, however, James Shepherd was a sheep grower as well as farmer, and he had a wife, Eleanor, whose father, Miles Turner, also was a farmer. James and Eleanor had children: Jonathan, who died in Ross township, Pennsylvania, aged sixty-nine years ; Miles, born in Yorkshire, England ; Jane, who married Thomas Park, of Lehman township, Pennsylvania ; John, who lived and died in Leh- man township; and Thomas, of Dallas township, Pennsylvania. James Shepherd immigrated to America in 1842 and brought with him the sons and daughters whose names are noted above. He lived a short time in Wilkes-Barre and then pur- chased a farm in Ross township, where except for two years he afterward lived. He was a farmer and farrier, something of a mason (stone), and withal a good, honorable citizen.

Miles Shepherd, son of James Shepherd and wife Eleanor Turner, born in Yorkshire, England, December 22, 1834, was less than eight years old when he came with his parents to America, they settling in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. His schooling in the classrooms began in old York- shire, and was continued when the family had set- tled in Luzerne county. He was brought up to work, at first on his father's farm, and then, when he was seventeen years old, he began to learn the trade of carpenter and millwright. This was for many years his chief occupation in life, and he also owned and carried on a farm in Lehman township, following the ancient custom of his fathers. Now he is a contracting carpenter and builder, living in Kingston, Pennsylvania. In 1862 he married Susan Wenner, daughter of Jon- athan Wenner, a farmer living in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania. Three children were born to Miles Shepherd and wife Susan Wenner: James M., born Lehman, formerly employed by his father, and now a contractor and builder in Kingston, Pennsylvania. He married Maude Collins, and they have four children-Blanche, Irene, Miles, and James Shepherd. Susan E., born Lehman, married James S. Monks, who was Miles Shep- herd's partner in business. Lorenzo D., born Luzerne borough, married and is now living in Newark, New Jersey. In 1857 Miles Shepherd returned to his old home in Yorkshire, England, and visited there about nine months. Mr. Shep- herd's family are members of the Methodist Epis-

copal Church. In politics he is a Democrat, and' ås such was elected borough councilman in Kingston two terms. He is a member of the so- ciety of the Knights of Honor, and an ex-member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

H. E. H. -

HARRY CORNELL, one of the leading bus- iness men of Nanticoke borough, is a son of Will- iam E. and Sarah (Perry) Cornell, natives of New York and Connecticut, respectively. They. were the parents of six sons and five daughters, all of whom grew to maturity, and among whom were the following: Huldah, who became the wife of George A. Ingersoll, resides in Nichols, New York; Adelia, who became the wife of George Steele, of Owego, New York; Jane, who became the wife of William Ward, of Bingham- ton, New York; John, a resident of Owego, New York; David, also a resident of Owego, New · York; Harry, whose name heads this sketch ; and Lyman, a resident of Broome county, New York .. The death of William E. Cornell occurred in 1872 and that of his widow in 1894.

Harry Cornell, born in Schoharie county, New York, 1839, was removed by his parents in, 1841 to Owego, Tioga county, where he was reared and educated. In 1880 he went to the borough of Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, in order to engage in the lumber business. Of this enter- prise he has made a complete success, and is now one of the large lumber dealers of the Wyoming Valley. He had a large planing-mill, where he manufactured doors, sash and blinds. His plant covered twelve large lots, and a side-track from the Pennsylvania Railroad ran into the yards. His lumber came from the west, north and south, and he handled Michigan and Wisconsin pine of superior quality, which was fitted for the builders in his own planing-mill. Through the Baltimore markets he purchased southern pine, and his shingles of red cedar were shipped from Seattle, Washington. He also carried a full line of build- ers' supplies. This business was organized in 1880 by Jones, Bergen & Company, Mr. Cornell being one of the firm. Mr. Bergen subsequently sold out his interest to his partners, and in 1904 Mr. Cornell purchased the interest of Mr. Ber- gen, but disposed of the same June 1, 1905. On August 1, 1905. Mr. Cornell purchased his pres- ent plant, which is about the same dimensions as his former one, and is now conducting the same line of business which is constantly developing and increasing. Mr. Cornell is one of the citi- zens whose past contains a war record. In 1862 he responded to the call to arms by enlisting in

Harry Mannell

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the One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Regiment New York Volunteers, but on account of disabil- ity was discharged in 1863. He is a member of Nanticoke Lodge, Knights of Malta. In politics lie is a stanch Republican.

Mr. Cornell married in 1861, Frances D. Mason, and three children were born to them : I. Lillie, who became the wife of Lloyd Boone, and they are the parents of three children : Amelia, Harry, and Verna. 2. Lulu, who be- came the wife of Frederick Quoos, and they are the parents of two children : Howard and Jessico. 3. Lee H., who is with his father ; he married Margaret Evans, and two children have been born to them: Thelma and Ruth. Mrs. Cornell, the mother of these children, died July 26, 1902. Mr. Cornell married (second), Janu- ary 9, 1904, Bertha Klump, daughter of Charles A. Klump of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

H. E. H.

PALMER HARDING, who for a quarter of a century has efficiently served as justice of the peace at West Pittston, has spent his entire life in the Wyoming Valley, where his ancestors lo- cated prior to the Revolutionary war. His great- grandfather, Stephen Harding, came from Con- necticut to the Wyoming Valley in 1774, and set- tled with his family on a farm bordering the Sus- quehanna river, there carrying on agricultural pursuits throughout his remaining days. At the time of the Indian massacre he and his family took refuge in the old Jenkins fort. His wife, Amy Gardner, was a sister of Captain John Gard- ner, who was captured and killed by the Indians. The children of the family were as follows: Stephen, born in 1749; Thomas, in 1751 ; Benja- min, in 1753, who was massacred by the Red Men at the time when so many of the settlers of the valley were victims of their atrocious cruelty ; Stukey, in 1755, who was killed by the Indians ; Israel, in 1756; Micajah, in 1761; Elisha, in 1763; John, in 1765; William, in 1767; Amy, Jemima, Liddie, and Esther. (See Harding Family).

Israel Harding, the grandfather, enlisted in the Continental army in 1775 in defense of the rights of the colonists, and served until the close of the war. He married Liddie Read, and throughout his entire life followed farming. Their children were : Benjamin, James, Stephen, Israel. Clara, Liddie, Amy, Sallie, and Jemima, died young, unmarried.

Stephen Harding, father of Palmer Harding, was born December 26, 1800, learned the car- penter's trade and followed it in connection with

farming until his death, which occurred De- cember 1, 1879. He married Elsie Wyman and their eldest son is Palmer Harding. The other members of the family are as follows: Isaac B., born in December, 1823; Sarah E., born in 1826, and married Daniel Bursell; Mary C., born in 1827, and is the wife of Josiah Beidler; John W., born in 1830, married Elizabeth Wood ; Jane L., born in 1834, the wife of William Tabor ; Eleanor C., born in 1837, wife of Abram Houck ; and William A., who was born in 1840, and en- listed for service in the Union army in the Civil war in 1862. He was shot and instantly killed at the battle of Hatcher's Run, Virginia.

Palmer Harding attended the public schools and spent one term in the Franklin Academy, at Harford, Pennsylvania. He spent the years of his minority on the home farm, and on attaining adult age started out in life on his own account, teaching school through the winter months and working at farm labor in the summer. In 1846 he entered the employ of Brown & Thompson, general merchants, for whom he clerked for a year, and after his marriage in 1847 he resumed farming, which he followed until 1859. In that year he established a shoe store, which he con- ducted until 1866, when he purchased a tract of land and began its cultivation, but on account of his wife's health he was obliged to leave the farm after four years. In 1870 he removed to West Pittston, where he still resides, and since 1879 has held the office of justice of the peace. Dur- ing the twenty-five consecutive years of his service, he has never had a decision reversed by the higher courts. July 1, 1847, Mr. Harding was married to Miss Mary Seward, and they had seven children: Prudence C., born March 25, 1848, is the wife of Edwin Compton: Elsie J., born February 21, 1850, wife of William H. Herrmann : Charles, born June 16, 1852, died March 5, 1853 ; Addie E., born March 25, 1855, is the wife of Charles Huntington ; Alanson B., born March 29, 1857, died March 25, 1860; Daniel P., born May 20, 1860, married Katie James, May 20, 1885, and Harry W., born July 30, 1864, died April 6, 1867. H. E. H.

LAZARUS R. YOUNG, one of the substan- tial general merchants of Plymouth, Pennsyl- vania, was born in Plymouth, November 10, 1861, the son of Charles E. and Frances (Gabriel) Young, and grandson of Charles and Susan (Madiera) Young, the former a native of Ger- many and the latter of Pennsylvania and of Dutch extraction.

Charles E. Young was born February 24,

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1803, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and there received his educational training. After attain- ing his majority Mr. Young removed to Ply- mouth, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in the coal business. During the time the Nanticoke dam and canal were in course of construction, Mr. Young followed the occupation of contractor. After they were completed he followed canaling between Wilkes-Barre and Columbia until 1862, when he retired from active business life. De- cember 24, 1838, he was united in marriage to Frances Gabriel, who was born in Plymouth, the daughter of Henry and Edith (VanLoon) Ga- briel, natives of Connecticut and Pennsylvania, respectively. Mrs. Young is the sister of Albert Gabriel, whose death occurred May 18, 1890. The following named children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Young: Oscar, who resides in Michigan City, Indiana ; Susan E., the wife of Peter Garrahan, of Wilkes-Barre ; Emma, who married John Hutchinson, of Zenorsville, Iowa ; Mary, the wife of W. Lowe, of Plymouth, Penn- sylvania ; John C., who holds the position of fore- man at No. 12 shaft in Plymouth Coal Company ; Frances H., the wife of William Connor, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania ; Lazarus D., de- ceased ; Lazarus R., mentioned at length herein- after. The death of Charles E. Young occurred in 1874, and that of his wife September 25. 1900. The father of Mrs. Young is deceased and her mother's death occurred January 12, 1886.

Lazarus R. Young obtained his education in the common schools of Plymouth, Pennsylvania, and after leaving the school room entered into his first regular employment as a slate picker in the Old Washington breaker in Plymouth, remaining there one summer. He then entered the general store of Turner Brothers in Plymouth, being en- gaged as clerk and continuing there until Ang- 11st, 1879. In that year he entered the employ of Harvey Yeager. (See sketch elsewhere). In April, 1886, Darius Yeager, brother of Harvey, succeeded to the business, and Mr. Young con- tinned with him until March 21 of the following year, when he established himself in the general merchandise business. During his service in the two establishments above mentioned Mr. Young, being naturally observing and quick to catch new ideas, learned much that has been of inestimable value to him when he embarked in business for himself. March 21, 1887, Mr. Young opened a general store at 450 West Main street, Plymouth, associating himself with Mr. P. H. Garrahan, his brother-in-law, of Wilkes-Barre, and conducting business under the firm name of L. R. Young &

Co. This arrangement existed until June 27, 1889, when Mr. Young succeeded to the entire business. September, 1895, Mr. Young removed his business to 353 West Main street, opposite the store of Turner Brothers, where Mr. Young clerked as a boy. From the very outset his busi- ness career has been wholly successful. Mr. Young is pre-eminently a self-made man. Start- ing in life with few advantages, his is a shining example of what those success-bringing qualities, indomitable will, tenacity of purpose and honest industry can do in the way of aiding a man to attain to the highest success in any enterprise. Mr. Young is a man of broad and liberal views, and is held in the highest regard by his fellow townsmen. He is the oldest in business of any man in Plymouth. In politics he accords with the principles of the Republican party. August 28, 1881, Mr. Young was united in marriage to Paul- ine A. Prudhoe, daughter of William L. and Mary (Ross) Prudhoe, natives of England and Penn- sylvania, respectively, and who were the parents of the following named children: Joseph W., Lauretta, Pauline A. (Mrs. L. R. Young), Jessie B., deceased ; Ida May, deceased ; James L., Jen- nie, George, deceased ; and William, deceased. Mr. Young and his wife attend the Christian church. Mrs. Young is a descendant of revolti- tionary stock, one of her ancestors on the Ross line having been killed in the Wyoming mas- sacre. H. E. H.

ALFRED HENRY COON, of Kingston, a contractor, who has been connected with many notable improvements in various parts of the United States, was born in Greenfield, then Lu- zerne, now Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, May 28, 1829. He is a son of Jacob and Comfort (Bolton) Coon, and grandson of Henry and Margaret (Snyder) Coon.

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Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 122

Author: Hayden, Horace Edwin, 1837-1917; Hand, Alfred, 1835-; Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921; Lewis Publishing Company Publication date: 1906 Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 1026

Author: Hayden, Horace Edwin, 1837-1917; Hand, Alfred, 1835-; Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921; Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 1026