Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 124

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 124
USA > Wyoming > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 124

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).

Mr. Machell has never made a niggardly use of his means, but has enjoyed the fruits of his labor in extensive travel both in America and Europe, and he has given his full share for the comfort of persons less fortunate than himself. No worthy charity has appealed in vain to him, and all measures for the public welfare have found in him a generous supporter. In politics he is a Democrat, and has held several minor offices, such as school director, tax collector and town- ship treasurer. His consent has been asked for a candidacy for the county commissionership and

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also for the legislature of the state, but he has steadfastly held åloof from the allurements of politics except as he deems it the duty of all good citizens to make some personal sacrifice for the benefit of local government.

Leonard Machell was a son of Thomas Ma- chell and wife Mary Ranson, and one-now the only surviving one-of their sixteen children, of whom twelve grew to maturity. In England the Machells were of an old and prominent family, among whose members were men of wealth and influence. Thomas Machell, father of Leonard, was a farmer and extensive sheep grower, his flock at times numbering as many as fifteen hun- dred ; hence he was a successful man and in his business undertakings acquired a fortune. He provided well for his children, gave each of them a good education, and made generous provision for them when they started out to make their own way in life; and when Leonard Machell came to America in 1850 he was not empty-handed, al- though his ambition then was to work indepen- dently and without the employment of that which had been given him. In this laudable endeavor he has been successful, and he has earned success by his own persistent and well directed effort. He lived many years in Lehman township and sub- sequently removed to Dallas, where he now re- sides, surrrounded with family and friends and assured in his old age of all the comforts of life.

Mr. Machell married Ellen Hunter, born in Westmoreland, England, October 27, 1825, who came to America with her parents when she was a child. The family settled first in Lehman and later removed to Dallas, where her father, Ed- ward Hunter, was an extensive farmer and land owner. Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Machell, of whom six are now living, viz: George, a farmer of Dallas, married Isabel Sheppard; Mary, at home; Thomas, at home ; Sterling, at home; Elizabeth, married C. S. Hil- debrant, of Lehman, Pennsylvania ; and Alice, at home. The deceased members of the family were : James, Roland, Elmer and an infant.

H. E. H.

JEROME B. WEIDA, M. D., of Luzerne, is a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania, the date of his birth being February 20, 1862. Dan- iel Weida, grandfather of Dr. Weida, was born at Maxatawny, Berks county, Pennsylvania, where he lived a useful and honorable life, and passed away at the advanced age of eighty-nine years. By his marriage to Eliza Weiler of the same town, the following named children were born : Elizabeth, who became the wife of John

Smith, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Sarah, de- ceased, who was the wife of Charles Hammond, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, also deceased ; Louisa, who became the wife of William Bigo- ney, of Kutztown, Pennsylvania ; John, mentioned hereinafter ; Daniel, a resident of Ohio; Peter, a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and James, who enlisted in the Civil war, served as captain of Company K, One Hundred and Fifty- first Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, under the command of General Reynolds, who was killed during the first days engagement at the battle of Gettysburg. - In the same battle Cap- tain Weida was shot through the body, the ball passing through the liver, but is still living. Eliza (Weiler) Weida died in 1892.

John Weida, father of Dr. Weida, was born. in Longswamp, Berks county, Pennsylvania, in the same house as his son, Dr. Weida. He was a cigar and tobacco dealer at Reading, Pennsyl- vania, for a number of years, was the first to make the business a success, but later disposed of it to a Mr. Brenheiser, and returned to the old homestead, the same on which subject was born. He was an influential and highly respected citizen of the community, and aided to the best of his ability every enterprise that tended toward its welfare. He was united in marriage to Jane Butz, who bore him four children: Jerome B., mentioned hereafter ; Isadore, born 1867, a grad- uate of the University of Pennsylvania, and is. now a physician of Emaus, Lehigh county, Penn- sylvania. He married Jennie Long, daughter of Marcus Long, of Longswamp, and they are the parents of two children: Jennie and Esther WVeida. Jennie, who died at the age of three years. Paul, residing on old homestead.

Jerome B. Weida received his preliminary education in the common schools of his neigh- borhood, and pursued advanced studies at the Keystone Normal school, at Kutztown, which he entered in 1877, and the University of Vermont,. at Burlington, which he entered in 1880 and from which he was graduated in 1883. Prior to his becoming a student at the latter named institu- tion he read medicine with Drs. F. J. and P. W. Wertz, of Longswamp township, and continued the same during vacations up to the year of his graduation. In 1883 he located in the city of Philadelphia and practiced his profession there for one year, after which he took up his abode in Freeland, Luzerne county, remaining there and continuing his practice until April, 1885, when he took up his residence in Luzerne, where he has since resided. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, of Kingston, and of the-

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chapter, commandery and shrine at Wilkes-Barre. October 1, 1885, Dr. Weida was married to Miss Emily Hemsath, a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Hemsath. The ceremony was per- formed on the day that the license law went into effect in Pennsylvania, and his was the first mar- riage license isssued in the county. Henry Hem- sath emigrated to this country from Germany in 1859 ; he was a carpenter and contractor and built the Roman Catholic church at Eckley, also a number of the dwelling houses in the town. He built the public school at White Haven, also the Upper Lehigh Hotel in the town of Foster. He resides at Zeliner postoffice. His wife was a na- tive of Monroe county, Pennsylvania, and a de- scendant of the old pioneer stock. H. E. H.

REV. TIMOTHY JOSEPH DONAHOE, pastor of St. Vincent's Roman Catholic Church, Plymouth, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, was born in New York city, May 16, 1839, the son of Cornelius and Mary (Sheehan) Donahoe, both natives of county Cork, Ireland, who emigrated to this country in 1835.

Cornelius Donahoe was the son of Timothy and Mary (Desmond) Donahoe, of Cork, Ire- and, and was born in 1812. He was one of three children. Ellen, Cornelius and James. He was educated in the national schools of his native place, and followed the occupation of a farmer in Ireland. In 1837, at the age of twenty-five years, he emigrated to this country, locating in New York city, New York, and remained there for two and a half years. He then removed to Schuylkill county, and for the succeeding three and a half years was there engaged in the coal mines. Later he removed to Sullivan county, three miles from Dushore, Pennsylvania, and there purchased a farm, in the cultivation of which he engaged for twenty-two years, when he became incapacitated for work and retired to Dushore, where he spent the remainder of his days. In political relations Mr. Donahoe was a strong defender of the principles of the Democratic party, and in religious faith was a devout Roman Catholic. He was an honorable, reliable man and well thought of throughout the community. Cornelius Donahoe married Mary Sheehan, who was the daughter of Thomas and Mary (Mc- Carthy) Sheehan, natives of the county of Cork, and a descendant of a long line of Sheehans of the same locality. The family of McCarthy, of which Mary (McCarthy) Sheehan is a member, trace their lineage back for many generations

from the province of Munster, Ireland, which in- cludes the counties of Cork, Carey, Waterford, and Tipperary, the section in which Thomas Sheehan and Timothy Donahoe both followed farming. Cornelius and Mary (Sheehan) Don- ahoe had children as follows : A daughter, born in Ireland, January 12, 1837; Timothy Joseph, further mentioned hereinafter; and four who died in infancy. The eldest child obtained her education in Dushore. She is unmarried and re- sides in Philadelphia.

Timothy Josepli Donahoe, second child and eldest son of Cornelius and Mary (Sheehan) Donahoe, obtained his early education in the pub- · lic schools of Sullivan county, Pennsylvania, which he attended until he was twenty-one years of age. He engaged in school-teaching for two. years, after which he entered St. Vincent's Col- lege in Westmoreland county, remaining there for two years. He then entered the college of St. Bonaventure, Cattaraugus county, New York, in which he remained seven and a half years, and at the close of his studies in this institution was ordained into the priesthood November 4, 1873. He was immediately thereafter appointed as- sistant in St. Peter's Cathedral in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in the duties of which position he was engaged for ten months. He was then ap- pointed assistant to the late Father O'Haran, pastor of St. Mary's Church, Wilkes-Barre, Au- gust 27, 1874. Three years later, September I, 1877, he was removed to Plymouth, Pennsyl- vania, where he assumed the duties of pastor of St. Vincent's Church, where he has since re- mained. He is an indefatigable worker, and has made remarkable progress since locating in Plymouth. Upon his arrival in his new field Father Donahoe found the church to be too small, badly lighted and ventilated. He immediately set himself the task of rebuilding, and with this end in view purchased a fine site on the corner of Eno and Church streets, where he has erected one of the finest edifices in the state at a cost of $77,000. Being a man of mechanical genius as well as spiritual talent. Father Donahoe de- signed much of the inside work himself. The windows are of the finest quality. eleven of them being imported from Munich. The pulpit is of white marble, and the church is in all respects ar- tistically beautiful. Besides the erection of this splendid church Father Donahoe has also built a parsonage at a cost of $18,000, and converted the old church into a parochial school, which has an average attendance of over five hundred chil-

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dren at a cost of $10,000, and the maintenance of which has cost $50,000. This school is free to all and is under the charge of the Sisters of Mercy. The erection of a new convent is now in progress, this having been begun June 1, 1904. and will be completed in the early part of 1905. the most imposing and beautiful convents in this part of Pennsylvania. It will have seven hand- some windows imported from Munich at a cost ·of $1,375, and a beautiful marble altar costing $1,200. Father Donahoe's work for his church and people has indeed been wonderful, and the erection of the beautiful buildings above men- tioned has been accomplished wholly through . subscriptions which Father Donahoe started in his own congregation. He arrived in the parish at a time when the conditions were most unfav- orable, but his indomitable will and untiring en- · ergy soon surmounted all obstacles, and his kind and loving attention has endeared him to the hearts of his parishioners. He passed through three serious epidemics in Plymouth, one of ty- phoid fever, one of small-pox in 1882, and another of small-pox in 1901, caring for the sick in his · congregation during these periods with unusual fortitude. Politically Father Donahoe is bound to no party, reserving the right to cast his vote for the man whom he considers best adapted to the office sought. H. E. H.

LLOYD ELLSWORTH MARKS, one of the representative business men of Plymouth, son of Adam and Margaret Jane ( Kostenbander ) Marks, was born in Locust township, Columbia county, Pennsylvania, November 13, 1863.

He spent his early life in the vicinity of his birthplace, and was educated in the common schools of Columbia county, and the Bloomsburg State Normal school, completing his studies there at the age of twenty years. He began work at an early age on his father's farm, continuing the same during the summer months and attending school during the winter months, as is the com- mon custom with boys reared in the country. After his graduation from the normal school he taught school one term in Locust township, dur- ing the years 1883-84. In the latter named year he came to Plymouth, where he engaged in car- penter work for five years, being meanwhile in the employ of the Plymouth Planing Mill Com- pany for three years. For one year he was an employee of the firm of Weir & Gordon, con- tractors, and for a similar period of time was in the employ of J. W. Campbell, a contractor. In 1889 he began contracting and building houses

on his own account, and has so continued up to the present time. He has built a large number of residences, which is his specialty, and other buildings in Plymouth and surrounding territory, particularly in Wilkes-Barre, Hanover township and Plymouth borough and township, and these stand as monuments to his skill and ability along the line of his profession. Mr. Marks has been active in politics for many years, casts his vote for the candidates of the Republican party, and has served as councilman three terms, having been elected in 1894, and served as president of the council in 1897. He was a private in the Ninth Regiment, Pennsylvania National Guard, Morris J. Keck, colonel, during and including 1886 to 1888, having enlisted for three years. He was at Washington, D. C., with the regiment at President Harrison's inauguration, the Pennsyl- vania National Guard being the only state guard represented at that time. He is a member of Goodwill Lodge, No. 310, Independent Order 'of Odd Fellows, of Numidia, Locust township, Co- lumbia county, and attends in Plymouth, having been initiated in 1885. Mr. Marks married, Oc- tober 30, 1888, Ella Stiff, born October 17, 1866, daughter of Robert E. and Harriet Elizabeth (Major) Stiff, of Plymouth, and one child was the issue, Elvina, born April 23, 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Marks attend the Methodist Episcopal church, in which Mrs. Marks and her mother hold membership.

Robert E. Stiff, father of Mrs. Marks, was born February 3, 1840, a son of Samuel and Ella Stiff, of England, and a descendant of a long line of English ancestry. Samuel and Ella Stiff were the parents of six children, among whom were the following: Henry, who mar- ried Lena Hoffmaster, issue: William, Aaron, John, Mary Ann and a child now deceased. They reside near Dushore, Pennsylvania. George, who married and reared a large family; they reside in Minnesota. Elizabeth, deceased, was the wife of David Evans, and mother of the fol- lowing children: John, William, David, Samuel, Mary Ann and Elizabeth. They reside in Arnot, Pennsylvania. Robert E., mentioned hereafter. Robert E. Stiff was engaged in the coal mining business in Plymouth from 1866 to 1893, when he became an invalid and was thus incapacitated for active pursuits. He married. December 25, 1865, Harriet Elizabeth Major, born August 4, 1849, at Ringold, Pennsylvania, and three chil- dren were the issue: Ella, born October 17, 1866, aforementioned as the wife of Lloyd E. Marks. George David, born February 3, 1870.

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Elvina, born February 11, 1873, died April 24, 1885, aged twelve years. Harriet Elizabeth (Major) Stiff was a daughter of David and Harriet (Knapp) Major, of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, but who moved to Plymouth, Pennsylvania, in 1865, where Mr. Major fol- lowed coal mining. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, April 8, 1813, a son of Benjamin Major, of Reading, once sheriff. Mr. and Mrs. Major were the parents of the following chil- dren : Sarah, born January 4, 1841, became the wife of William Rehrig, now deceased, and their children were: Agnes and Missouri. She married for her second husband Owen Jones. Mary, born January 25, 1845, became the wife of George Tanner, issue : Mellon, William, Har- riet, Ellen, Elizabeth, Sarah, George, Amanda, Fanny, Missouri, and one who died in infancy. Harriet Elizabeth born August 4, 1849, above mentioned as the wife of Robert E. Stiff. Mellon David, born June 30, 1854, married Mary Fine, issue : Harriet and Mary. Alice, born May, 1857, became the wife of Thomas Reed, issue : Albert, deceased ; Mellon. George, deceased ; Orion, and William. Amanda, born April 8, 1861, became the wife of John Pickett, issue, David M. Harriet (Knapp) Major, born De- cember 20, 1822. was a daughter of Peter and Joanna (Keiser) Knapp, of New Jersey. The Knapp line is descended from Pennsylvania stock, and the Keiser line from an old Holland line of ancestry. The father of Joanna Keiser was a soldier in the revolutionary war, and Peter Knapp was a private in the war of 1812, and three of his sons participated in the civil war. The children of Peter and Joanna Knapp were as follows: Harriet, above mentioned as the wife of David Major. Mark died in infancy. Henry. Ann, who became the wife of Stephen O. Rider. Nathan, who married Katherine Shu- inan, issue: Ulysses Grant, Margaret and Nathan. Mary, deceased, was the wife of Abra- ham Shuman and mother of six children. Nel- son, who married Barbara Lewis, issue : Rinaldo, Elmer, Annie, Sarah, Lizzie, Nelson, John, Sam- uel, Missouri, deceased ; and Peter, deceased. David, who died young. Peter, who married Amanda Knecht, issue: Clark, deceased ; Sarah, Lillie, and Earl.

IN MEMORIAM.

"Robert E. Stiff-our comrade-died of pa- ralysis January 14. 1896, aged fifty-six . years,

eleven months and six days. He was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, February 3, 1840, and when six months old returned to England with his parents. His mother died there and his uncle adopting him, he returned with him at the age of six years to the United States. He lived with Vastine Boone below Bloomsburg for seven years, then at Mt. Pleasant with James Boone. Afterwards he made his home below Catawissa with his sister, Mrs. David Evans. He was working in the Danville Rolling Mills when the civil war broke out, and enlisted in the Eighth Cavalry, and then re-enlisted in Company F, Twelfth Regiment, Volunteer Cavalry, as a pri- vate. He was at the battle of Bristow Station, August 22, 1862, Manassas, South Mountain and Antietam, 1862; in 1863 at the battles and skir- mishes at Strasburg, Jane Lieu, Winchester, Mc- Connelsburg, Pennsylvania, and Tomahawk ; in 1863 at Maryland Line two hundred cavalry were captured, six hundred and forty-eight prisoners, five hundred horses and mules, three brass twelve pounders, and one hundred and twenty-five wag- ons without the loss of a man. In 1864 he partic- ipated in the battles of Bolivar, Frederick City, Monocacy Bridge, Winchester and Charlestown. He was the last man to cross the Potomac in July, 1864. when driven back, the shells from Ft. Dun- can having cut the pontoon bridge loose from Harper's Ferry.

The longest ride he had on one feed was from Harper's Ferry to Cedar Creek, just before the battle of Cedar Creek. Just before the battle of Gettysburg the whole regiment was captured ex- cept two hundred troopers with General Melroy, who cut their way out of Point of Rocks to Chambersburg. They went right into Gettys- burg at the time of the battle. In the battle against the advancing lines of the Confederates our comrade had a horse shot under him as he was crossing the stone wall that separated the opposing forces. He fell under his horse. A shell from the Confederate battery struck the wall, the debris blinded his eyes and wounded him, leaving him badly ruptured, bleeding and unconscious.

"When he came to consciousness he found himself in the Hagerstown Hospital with the Hagerstown physician ministering to him and some kind friend volunteering as nurse. Thus by a kind providence and the ministry of human hands and love he lived to return home and tell the story of his perils and conflicts. He was dis- charged July 20, 1865. and when he returned

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home he joined the Methodist Episcopal church of Plymouth, having in his youth joined the Methodist Episcopal church in Light street, Phil- adelphia. Sober, honest, upright and industri- ous, he died as he had lived. He said before his deatlı, 'The Lord was always with me. He raised me up friends when in my youth my mother was taken from me. He preserved me in the battles and skirmishes of the late war and kept me to this day.' We can say of him as of our great National Hero: 'Life's race well run, Life's work well done-now comes rest.' H. E. H.

ROBERT ROBINSON, deceased, was one of the most conspicuously useful and honored of the young business men of Scranton. Not thirty years old when he passed away, he had already taken a foremost place in commercial and finan- cial circles, had rendered honorable service in municipal affairs, and in the many fraternal and social organizations with which he was affiliated was held in peculiar affection for his many ex- cellencies of personal character. Such was his character and position that the future held out for him most auspicious assurances, and the all too early closing of his career, unexpected as it was. came upon the community with a deep sense of irreparable loss.

Mr. Robinson was a native of the city of 'Scranton, born December 18, 1869, son of Philip and Mina (Schimpff) Robinson. His ancestry and parentage are referred to in the sketch of his brother, Edmund J. Robinson, also deceased. to be found on another page. He was educated in the city schools, but his ambition and industry as a reader and observer furnished him a men- tal equipment for superior to that afforded by mere scholastic training. He entered upon an active career at an unusually early age, when only fourteen years old taking employment as a clerk in the insurance office of C. G. Boland. He was afterward a bookkeeper in the Merchants' and Mechanics' Bank for a period of three years, and left that institution to take an active part in the management of the large brewing business of M. Robinson & Company. Known as one of the most progressive and capable business men of the city. his qualities quickly found recognition by the community at large, and his calling to official life at a remarably early age affords abundant evidence of his abilities, his worth, and the con- fidence reposed in him by the people of the city in which he was born and reared. He had barely attained his majority when he was elected to

the common council, and during his two years term rendered efficient service as a member of various of its most important committees. A warm advocate of municipal improvements, he aided so ably in promoting the interests of the community that on the expiration of his term he was re-elected in 1893 for another two years term. At the expiration of the first year, how- ever, he resigned in order to accept nomination for a seat in the board of select councilmen, to which he was elected by a flattering vote. Again in 1896 he was re-elected to succeed himself, and he was yet occupying that position when death called him away. The youngest member of the select council, and one who had been continu- ally in the public service from the day he was qualified by age to enter thereupon, he was rec- ognized as one of the most progressive, energetic and able public servants, and among the first of the public-spirited men of the city. A man of great originality and firmness of character, he made a deep impression upon all with whom he was brought in contact, whether in a business, official or social capacity. Unobtrusive, and rather quiet of manner, he was deliberate in arriving at conclusions, but when his opinion was once formed it was so well founded in intelligence and conscientiousness that he was stalwart in its maintenance. Active, industrious, capable and honest, in his official as well as in his personal business relations, he shirked no duty and per- formed the most arduous duties with cheerful alacrity. So firm fixed was he in inherent hon- esty and practical faithfulness to duty that no colleague ever thought of questioning the mo- tives which actuated him, and his approval or disapproval of a measure or course of action was sufficient to draw to his side, on many occasions, those who were halting or uncertain. There were instances where he was obliged to differ from those about him, and these, if not convinced of the feasibility of that which he favored, in no case attributed to him other motives than those founded in honor. A Democrat in politics, he maintained the principles of his party with con- fidence and dignity, yet never disparaging or questioning the honesty of those whom he felt it his duty to oppose.

Mr. Robinson was actively identified with various commercial and financial institutions in Scranton. He was also a prominent member of the leading local fraternal and social organiza- tions-Schiller Lodge. No. 345. Free and Ac- cepted Masons; Nay Ang Tribe, Improved

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JAMES CONNELL

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THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

Order of Red Men; Camp No. 430, Patriotic Order Sons of America: Electric City Coun- cil, Royal Arcanum ; the Scranton Athletic Club, of which he was treasurer ; the Scranton Saeng- erbund; Crystal Hose Company; and the Fif- teen Friends' Club.

Mr. Robinson passed away on the eve of Christmas Day, 1898. His illness was so brief that to all except nearest friends the announce- ment of his untimely death was the first intima- tion that he was not occupied with his accus- tomed business and official duties as was his wont. The funeral took place from the family home, and was attended by hundreds of the friends of the deceased, including representative men of every walk in the life of the city. It was said by many that the attendance was the largest in the knowledge of the community upon such an occasion. The floral tributes were most profuse, and of exquisite beauty, from all the bodies with which the deceased had been con- nected, as well as from individual friends. The services were conducted by the Rev. W. A. Nordt, pastor of the Hickory Street Presbyter- ian Church, assisted by the Rev. James Hughes, and the hymns were touchingly sung by a sex- tette from the Scranton Saengerbund. The re- inains were followed to the Pittston Avenue Cemetery by a large procession, including every city official and member of councils and board of control, and the various societies to which the deceased had been attached in life. The last rites at the grave were performed after the im- pressive and time-honored ritual of the Masonic fraternity.

The tributes to the worth of the departed were many and fervent. Said one of the local newspapers : "While he was a member of a just- ly prominent family which for many decades has been identified with the hest aspirations of the city, yet he possessed in himself attributes which were sterling in quality and interesting in anal- ysis. Appreciation mourns, and all who respect unaffected modesty and instilled integrity will linger as a tribute of esteem to him who sleeps under the sod. The select council held a special session, at which were adopted resolutions pre- sented by Hon. John E. Roche, testifying to the pleasant and intimate relations which deceased hield to that body, to his usefulnesss as an official and his worth as a man. Similar expressions were voiced by the various fraternal and social bodies with which the deceased had been con- nected."

Mr. Robinson left to mourn his loss, one child ; his deeply bereaved mother ; two brothers, Philip and Otto; and a sister, Magdelina.

JAMES CONNELL was born in April, 1822, at Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. His father was a native of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, who left home very early in life and shipped aboard an English vessel as cabin boy, visiting inany foreign ports during his cruises, and final- ly coming to Nova Scotia, where he sought em- ployment on a farm. He belonged to a good old Scotch family. One of his uncles was a Presbyterian minister. and from what was known of his people they were possessed of singular force of character and intelligence. Ex-Con- gressman William Connell was the second son in the family of three, of which James was the eldest. Their mother, Susan Melvin, was of Irish descent, with an admixture of French, and both parents were devoutly religious in a com- munity where religion was a most important fac- tor. for in this land of Acadia, even the In- dians at the time of Mr. Connell's boyhood, were devoted Catholics who held meetings in their birch-bark tents pitched on the shores of Bras D'Or Lake. Mr. Connell's parents were Protest- ants. There were no public schools in Sydney, and the only means of education afforded the children was established by the English mining company and sustained by assessment of the min- ers. There was no railroad, and the postage on a letter cost a dollar. The people lived a life of simplicity and toil, literally in the "Forest primeval."

James Connell worked with his father in the mines for a number of years, when mining was conducted in the most primitive fashion. The pumping and hoisting of coal were carried on by means of one-horse power, and the man who afterward became congressman used to drive the horse which furnished the power for the mine, while his elder brother worked below the surface in digging the coal from the earth. James became dissatisfied, and, hearing of the possibilities to be attained in the Pennsylvania coal fields, came to the Schuylkill region about 1840, later persuading his parents to remove the family thither. They started on their voyage in a little sailing vessel and were eighteen days reaching New York City. From there they went to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, on another sail- ing vessel, and then took a railroad, the rails of which were made of wood, later boarding a

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Reading train in which the seats were planks running alongside the car. They took up their residence in Pottsville, the father and his two sons going to work in the mines. This was be- fore the days of coal breakers, when the huge jumps were broken by hand on a cast-iron plate punctured with square holes through which the pieces were hammered. All the labor about the mine was of the very hardest type, and in its many departments James Connell served ap- prenticeship.

He married Jessie English in December, 1846, in the little mining town of Llewellyn, Pennsylvania. His wife was the daughter of Thomas English, of Sydney. Cape Breton. Her mother was May Frazier, who belonged to a distinguished Scottish family closely related to the Stuarts, and who was an heiress of wealth in. those times. Misfortune, however, pursued the sailing vessel in which her fortune was sent to the new country, and it was lost with all on board.

James Connell and his family came to Scran- ton in the early sixties, and even at that time had begun to lay the foundations of the great wealth which the three brothers amassed in the coal business. They lived at Minooka, now on the outskirts of Scranton, some years subsequent removing to the handsome home on Clay avenue now occupied by Hon. W. L. Connell. Mr. and Mrs. James Connell had ten children, five of

whom lived to attain maturity. They were : James Alexander, now the foremost physician of this region; Edgar, born in 1858, died in 189 -; Harry A., whose jewelry establishment is the oldest house of the kind in Scranton; William Lawrence, ex-mayor of Scranton, president of the Board of Conciliation for the settlement of the difference between anthracite operators and miners ; and Miss Jessie Grant Connell, the only daughter, who is identified closely with the re- ligious and charitable work of the city.

James Connell, who continued to be prom- inently connected with the coal business in which he and his brothers were engaged, died March 28, 1878, deeply mourned and regretted by all who knew him. Of a most amiable and lovable disposition, Mr. Connell was idolized! by his family, in which he was a favorite companion of his children. His wife, who is deceased, was a woman of remarkable personality, strong and fine and true; one who enjoyed the respect of the community and the singularly strong devo- tion of her children, who looked upon their gra- cious mother with her dignity, reserve and strength of character, much as they would have regarded a saint. Her children, who occupy a prominent place in the community, reflect credit on their name and race. They have set a beau- tiful memorial window in Elm Park Church in grateful remembrance of their parents.

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Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 124

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