Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 14

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 14
USA > Wyoming > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 14

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interest in everything that pertains to the city's welfare. He is a member of the Penn Avenue Baptist Church and is one of its board of dea- cons. He is a member of Griffin Post, Grand Army of the Republic, the largest post of this order in the state of Pennsylvania. He is also a member of the Sons of the Revolution. He is a charter member of the New England Society, and has been one of its most active members.

He married, December 25, 1866, Jennie L. Powers, daughter of Benjamin and Ann Powers, of Perry, Ohio. To this union one child was born, Ernest Ira Paine, November 12, 1867.

Ernest I. Paine is now the junior member of the firm of H. E. Paine & Son. He is also inter- ested in other business matters with his father. He is a past master of Peter Williamson Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Scranton. He was married, October 14, 1891, to Nettie Moore, daughter of John and Fannie Moore, of Scran- ton, Pennsylvania. To this union has been born two children : Harriet Eleanor Paine and Arthur Ernest Paine.

Thus the family tree of Paines, planted by Stephen Paine on the rugged coast of old New England in the year 1635, has blossomed and seeded and grown, until it covers a large portion of our country from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It is found in all the various walks of life, always doing what it could for the uplifting of human- ity everywhere, and the perpetuation of American institutions. It has stood in the front rank of the defenders of the Republic. It has never faltered when called upon to unite with others in giving to the people of this nation the best the world can produce.

WILLIAM M. STEVENSON, senior mem- ber of the firm of Stevenson & Hallston, is a man who by virtue of his integrity and straight- forward life has hewed out for himself a large place in the respect and esteem of the citizens of the borough of Moosic, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, where he is serving in the ca- pacity of postmaster, having been appointed to that office in February, 1902. He was born in Scotland, September 22, 1871, a son of Andrew and Mary ( Martin) Stevenson, natives of Scot- land, to whom were born four children, namely : Andrew, David, William M., and John. An- drew Stevenson (father) was engaged in the mercantile business in Patna, Scotland, and in 1884, shortly after his death, his widow and sons emigrated to the United States, locating at Moosic, Pennsylvania ; later Mrs. Stevenson be- came the wife of F. B. Sharps, of Ransom town- ship.

Amf Richmonel Bom 1821, Photo taken 1899

MR AND MRS WILLIAM HPICHMOND. IN THE LIBRARY AT THEIR HOME. RICHMOND HILL . SCRANTON.

RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM H. RICHMOND

THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

William M. Stevenson was thirteen years of -age when he accompanied his mother and brotli- «ers to this country, and the first six months he was employed as breaker boy. The following year, 1885, he entered the employ of McCrindle & McMillan, general merchandise, continuing with them up to the time they sold out to Mc- Crindle & Company, when his services were transferred to the new firm. He remained with this company until March, 1904, when he, in partnership with Mr. Hallston, purchased the stock and good will of the business, in which he had served as a clerk faithfully and conscien- tiously for nearly twenty years. This is a rec- ord well worthy of emulation, for with no aid ·except a good name and spotless character, which was bequeathed to him by his worthy parents, he has by his diligence, industry and intelligent management risen to the place he now occupies as senior member of an extensive establishment, which is the best equipped and carries the largest stock of any in the borough. The stock con- sists of the best products of factory and farm, sold at the lowest margin possible, and these facts account for the large and steadily increas- ing patronage afforded them. Mr. Stevenson is a member of Acacia Lodge, No. 579, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is past master. In 1894 Mr. Stevenson was united in marriage to Mrs. Ella Wilz, nee Sutliffe.

WILLIAM H. RICHMOND. The family .of which William H. Richmond, an influential and honored resident of Scranton, Pennsylvania, is a representative has long been identified with the history of America, and successive generations by their progressive and practical methods, pa- triotic spirit and unimpeachable integrity have made the name honored and respected.

The Richmond family had its origin in Brit- tany, France. The genealogy dates back to the year 1040, and the village of Ashton-Keynes, Wiltshire, England, and vicinity belonged to this branch of the Richmond family. The Richmond Manor House was owned and occupied by Oliffe Richmond in the early part of the nineteenth cen- tury. The manor comprised four hundred acres of arable land, and the house, which is still stand- ing in a good state of preservation and was visited by William H. Richmond and his family in 1900, later passed into the possession of the Nichols family, who in 1856 disposed of it to the Duke of Cleveland.

The family was founded in America by John Richmond, who in 1635 came on a trading expe-

dition to Saco, Maine, and there engaged in trade. He was one of the purchasers of Taun- ton, Massachusetts, in 1637, and tradition says he later returned to England and engaged in the civil wars of 1643-55 and attained the rank of colonel, by which cognomen he was familiarly known in the community. He was a large land- holder, attained great wealth, and was held in high esteem as a reliable and upright man, whose record was a credit to himself and an inspiration to others. His two sons, John and Edward, be- came large landholders, purchasing extensive tracts from the Indians in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. John was prominent in colonial affairs, and Edward served in the capacity of crown solicitor and attorney general.

John Richmond, son of the pioneer ancestor, born 1627, married Abigail Rogers, born 1641, daughter of John Rogers, of Duxbury, Massa- chusetts, and granddaughter of Thomas Rogers, who signed the "Mayflower" compact. Among the children born of this marriage was a son Ebenezer.

Ebenezer Richmond, son of John and Abigail (Rogers) Richmond, was born in Newport, Rhode Island, May 12, 1676. He married in 1701, Ann Sproat, born 1671, daughter of Rob- ert and Elizabeth (Sampson) Sproat, and six children were born to them: Ebenezer, Robert, Anna, Rachel, Elizabeth and Sylvester. He was a man of honorable and upright character, and was chosen to represent the people in various offices of trust and responsibility.

Robert Richmond, second son of Ebenezer and Ann (Sproat) Richmond, was born in Mid- dleboro, Massachusetts, September 18, 1702. He married, May 17, 1733, Martha Washburn, of Bridgewater, born 1709, daughter of James and Mary (Bowden) Washburn, and the children of this union were: Elizabeth, Lucia, Robert and Martha. Mr. Richmond married for his second wife Dorcas Jones, who bore him three children : Mary, Ezra and Anna. Mr. Richmond was in the King's service in the expedition against Que- bec, and faithfully and conscientiously performed the duties allotted to him.

Robert Richmond, only son of Robert and Martha (Washburn) Richmond, was born in Middleboro, Massachusetts, April 19, 1738. He served three years with credit and distinction in the Revolutionary war, and took an active inter- est in everything conducing to the prosperity of the people and the welfare of his native state. He married, November 4, 1766, Martha Hinde, born July 18, 1743, daughter of John and Alice

THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

Hinde, of Brookfield, Massachusetts. Their children were: John, a physician, mentioned hereinafter; Lucy, married Benjamin Gilbert : Eunice, married Barnard Gilbert ; Martha ; Rob- ert, drowned in Boston at the age of twenty years ; Abner, died in early life ; Esther, married Elijah Morgan ; and Alice, married Nehemiah Howe.

Dr. John Richmond, eldest son of Robert and Martha ( Hinde) Richmond, was born in West Brookfield, Worcester county, Massachusetts, December 9, 1767 . He married, May 14, 1794, Prudence, daughter of William and Jemima Wadsworth, of East Hartford, Connecticut. She was born January 29, 1772. John Richmond was reared and educated in his native town, and later pursued a course of study in medicine, re- ceiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1795. He commenced the practice of his profession in the town of Chatham, East Hampton Society, Connecticut, and until his death in 1821 was the principal physician in that vicinity. He was a man of broad intellect and keen insight, and the prominence he attained in his chosen profession was solely due to his unaided exertions. (See Medical Library and Historical Journal, Brook- lyn, New York, July, 1903.) The children of Dr. John and Prudence ( Wadsworth) Richmond were :

I. William Wadsworth, born October 27, 1797, referred to hereinafter.

2. Hiram, born East Hampton, Connecticut, September 3, 1799, died July 19, 1856. He mar- ried, November, 1822, Phœbe A. Edwards, of East Hampton, Connecticut, born August 6, 1804, and their children were: James Gould, born December 16, 1823; Charles Conklin, born November 8. 1824; Abigail W., born November 30, 1826, married Titus M. Pratt ; Frances E., born November 30, 1827, married Christopher Washburn; Anna Estelle, born June 17, 1829 ; Louise Barton, born January 15, 1832, married David Jones: John, born February 19, 1834; Hiram Wadsworth, born September 8, 1836; Eunice Tryphena, born April 18, 1838; Newell Smith, born August 6, 1840: Franklin Com- stock, born June 4, 1842; Mary Jane, born Feb- ruary 19. 1848.

3. Eunice Richmond, born Chatham, August 21, 1801, married (first), December 14, 1820, Dr. Richard M. Smith, son of Simon and Ruth (Mayo) Smith, of Chatham, Connecticut, and he succeeded to the practice of his father-in-law, Dr. John Richmond: Dr. Smith died in 1822. She married (second), 1835, David Kellogg, of

Marlboro, Connecticut. She married (third). George P. Heap, 1875. Her death occurred in 1887. By these several marriages only one child was born, Prudence M., who married Daniel Lord.

4. Robert U. Richmond, born East Hampton, October 30, 1803, married, November, 1825, Caroline Smith, and their children were: Cyn- thia, Henry. Rebecca, Mary, Robert, William, Sarah and Elizabeth

5. Abner Hall, born East Hampton, March 7. 1806, married, June 7, 1828, Electa Parsons,. and their children were: Sarah M., Electa N., Pomeroy C., Rosetta L., and Adeline E. The family resided in city of New York.

6. Mima, born East Hampton, Connecticut March 7, 1806, married Ebenezer Hopkins, and their children were: John R., Lucien, George, Henry and Maria.

7. John, twin to Mima, born at East Hamp- ton, Connecticut, November 7, 1806, died at Litchfield, Connecticut ; he was the father of two sons.

8. Leonard Richmond, born East Hampton, Connecticut, March 17, 1808, died September, 1838. He was a manufacturer of woolen goods. He married Edna Wright, who bore him two. children : Burton and John.

9. Nelson Clark, born September 17, 1812, married, September 22, 1835, Mary Ann Cone, born December 29, 1815, daughter of Sylvester- Cone. Their children were: John E., Eliza C.,. Evelyn C., George, M. C., and Wadsworth C. Richmond.

William Wadsworth Richmond eldest son of Dr. John and Prudence (Wadsworth) Rich- mond, was born in Chatham, East Hampton So- ciety, Connecticut, October 27, 1797. His edu- cation was acquired in the common schools of that town, and later served an apprenticeship at the trade of blacksmith and foundryman, which line of work he followed in addition to farming at Marlborough, Connecticut, where he settled in 1820. His business prospered greatly and was in a flourishing condition at the time of the finan- cial panic of 1837, when, like so many other busi- ness men, the accumulation of years of industry and thrift was swept away. November 10, 1819, Mr. Richmond married Clarissa Bailey, born in Chatham, Connecticut, April 19. 1800, daughter of Nathaniel and Rachel (Sears) Bailey, men- tioned at length in the following paragraph, and five children were the issue. as follows: William H., referred to hereinafter. Harriet K., born December 31, 1823, married George W. Cheney,

DRAWING ROOM

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DINING ROOM

THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

and their children are: Wells W., Louis R .. and George Herbert; the family reside in South Manchester, Connecticut. Emily F., born No- vember 17, 1826, died January, 1858; she was the wife of William E. Jones, of Marlboro, and they were the parents of one son. Frances A .. born May 1, 1828, died July 6, 1857; she was the wife of Augustus S. Smith ; there are no liv- ing children of this marriage. Albert Wads- worth, born June 30, 1831, died November 25, 1868, in Carbondale, Pennsylvania ; he was mar- ried to Lanra Packer, of Carbondale, Pennsyl- vania, and they were the parents of one daugh- ter. Fanny, who was married to Dr. William S. Gillam, and they live in South Manchester, Con- necticut. William W. Richmond ( father) died at his home in Marlborough, May 31, 1843. He survived his wife several years, she having passed away October 26, 1834.

Joshua Bailey, grandfather of Mrs. William Wadsworth Richmond, and great-grandfather of William H. Richmond, married Ann Foote, daughter of Nathaniel Foote (sixth generation ) and his wife Patience Gates, and for many years was one of the prominent and leading citizens of East Hampton, Connecticut. The children of Nathaniel and Patience (Gates) Foote were : I. Patience, who was the grandmother of John Bigelow, minister to France, and president of the board of trustees of Astor, Lenox and Tilden Libraries of the city of New York after their consolidation, and he was also the executor of the Tilden estate. A bust of John Bigclow was erected in Bryant Squire, New York. 2. Ann, aforementioned as the wife of Joshua Bailey. 3. Martha. 4. Aaron. 5. Margaret. 6. Esther. the great-grandmother of Rev. Caleb Frank Gates, who was president of Euphrates College at Harport, Turkey, the buildings of which were burned in 1894 or 1895 and rebuilt by him. In 1903 he was made president of Robert College, Constantinople, Turkey, and is still serving in that capacity. 7. Lucy. 8. Mary. 9. Dan, the grandfather of Rev. Lewis Ray Foote, for thirty years pastor of the Throop Avenue Presbyterian Church, Brooklyn, New York, and still serving in that capacity.

Nathaniel Bailey, father of Mrs. William Wadsworth Richmond, and grandfather of Wil- liam H. Richmond, was born at Colchester, East Hampton Society, Connecticut, September 6, 1768. He married Rachel Sears, born East Hampton, Connecticut, September 9. 1768. daughter of Captain Elkanah and Ruth (White) Sears, and their children were: I. Henry, born

1785. died in West Chester, Connecticut, mar- ried. no children. 2. Rhoda, born 1794, married Henry Roberts, of Massachusetts, and settled in Middle Haddam, Connecticut, about 1835. 3. Clarissa, born 1800, died 1834. aforementioned as the wife of William Wadsworth Richmond, and the mother of William H. Richmond. 4. Harriet, married Alfred Williams, about 1832- 33, and lived at East Hampton, Connecticut. Their children : Nathaniel, Newton, Eugene and Charles. Nathaniel Bailey was drowned in the year 1817, aged forty-nine years; his wife died September 19, 1850, at East Hampton, Con - necticut, aged eighty-two years.

Captain Elkanah Sears, father of Rachel (Sears) Bailey, was a direct descendant of Rich- ard Sears, of Yarmouth, Massachusetts. He was born April 12, 1734, died November 24, 1816, East Hampton, Connecticut, aged eighty- three years. In 1789 he was a member of the committee appointed to provide for the wants of the Continental army. At the breaking out of the Revolutionary war he equipped and com- manded a vessel, which preyed upon British convoys. His vessel was captured by a British ship and he and his partner were made prisoners. Overhearing the discussion of their execution in the morning they swam ashore and thus made their escape. His partner in this desperate at- tempt at escape gave out in the water, and Cap- tain Sears, under fire from the guns on board the British vessel, which had discovered their escape, went to the rescue of his partner and brought him safely ashore. He later fitted out another privateering vessel, in which he did good service. In 1794 he purchased land in Freehold, Albany county, New York, and engaged in mechanical and agricultural pursuits.

Captain Sears married, January 6, 1757, Ruth White, daughter of Joseph White, of Mid- dletown, and her death occurred March 9, 1823, at the age of ninety years. Their children were : Isaac, born 1757; Willard, born 1760; Ruth, born 1763; also Ruth, born March 17, 1765, died at Meredith, New York, 1830; married. November 5, 1784, Joshua Bailey, who with his brother Timothy were the inventors and paten- tees of machinery for making knitted underwear, and were the first manufacturers of that wear in this country, at Cohoes, New York; and Rachel, born East Hampton, Connecticut, Sep- tember 9, 1768, became the wife of Nathaniel Bailey, as before stated, and died September 19, 1850. at East Hampton, Connecticut, aged eighty-two years.

THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

William H. Richmond was born in Marlbor- borough, Hartford county, Connecticut, October 23, 1821. During his boyhood he enjoyed the advantages afforded by the public and select schools of that day, the same being usually in charge of men who had been educated in Bacon Academy. His teacher in the select school was the late Israel M. Buckingham, brother of a former governor of Connecticut. At the age of thirteen he entered the employ of a merchant at Middle Haddam, Connecticut, where he re- mained as clerk for three years, or until the panic of 1837, when he returned home, concluded his studies, and worked on the farm and in his father's blacksmith and foundry shops. In 1842 he went to the city of Hartford, Connecticut, but failing to secure employment there, paid a visit to an uncle in Dutchess county, New York, with whom he went to Saugerties, where he made the acquaintance of Robert H. Moore, merchant, and with him went to Honesdale, Pennsylvania, in May, 1842, remaining in his employ for three years. At the expiration of this period of time he commenced business in Carbondale, Pennsyl- vania, under the firm name of Richmond & Rob- inson, general country store, but never sold in- toxicating drinks, in a storehouse built by Solo- mon Lathrope, said to be the first store building erected in the town, and this connection con- tinued until 1853, in which year Mr. Robinson retired. About this time Mr. Richmond added an additional business, a factory for manufact- uring sashes, doors, blinds, coal cars, etc., which he continued to operate until 1861. This was the first wood working machinery installed in North- eastern Pennsylvania, except a factory at Hones- dale, Pennsylvania, and in 1851 or 1852 he made thc sashes for the Lackawanna Railroad shops at Scranton. September 15, 1855, his store and buildings upon the lots, save his dwelling house, were burned, involving considerable loss. On January 15, 1856, he completed a new store building, one hundred by sixty feet, which was finished in a style superior to any other then known in northern Pennsylvania, and in 1867, eleven years hence, he disposed of it to the pres- ent owners.

In January, 1860, Mr. Richmond commenced mining anthracite coal in Blakely township, near Scranton, under the firm name of Richmond & Co., having for partner Charles P. Wurts, late general superintendent of the Delaware & Hud- son Canal Company, and in 1863 the business was transferred to the Elk Hill Coal & Iron Com- pany, with Mr. Wurts as president, and Mr.

Richmond as treasurer and manager, but the fol- lowing year Mr. Wurts withdrew, and George- L. Morse, brother-in-law of Mr. Richmond, be- came president and served until 1880, since- which time Mr. Richmond has been president of the company. In 1860 Mr. Richmond erected one of the first coal breakers on the line of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company. Previous to this time the company had shipped their coal in lump as it came from the mine, running it. over screens to clean from culm, and then com- menced the practice of breaking, sorting and cleaning the coal for market. In 1883 the coal breaker was destroyed by fire, and in the follow- ing year another was built in the second ward of Scranton, near the Brisbin colliery. This was sold in 1889 and another commenced on the ground in Dickson City where the first was lo- cated in 1860. The shaft from which the coal was taken was sunk on lands of the Carter es- tate in the first ward, and with great difficulty and expense, it being necessary to go through some ninety feet of drift, the greater part of it quicksand, before reaching the rock. The ca- pacity of this colliery is a thousand or more tons per day of superior anthracite coal of every sizc. In 1891 he made a lease of about one thousand acres of coal lands owned by the estate of the late G. L. Morss, in Fell township, about five miles above Carbondale, the following year com- menced to sink shafts and build a coal breaker and works, and in October, 1893, he commenced shipping coal. This colliery has a capacity of fifteen hundred tons per day, and the product from both collieries was shipped over the New York, Ontario & Western and other roads to all the different markets. At the last named col- liery Mr. Richmond conceived the plan of piit- ting up a steel tower over the shaft which was sunk some two hundred and twenty-two feet to two veins of coal seven and eight feet thick, and connecting the tower with the coal breaker two hundred feet away by a steel chute supported' on two intermediate towers. At a height of one hundred and fifty feet by automatic arrangement the carriage and car is tilted and the coal dis- charged into the chute and it then gravitates to. the large breaking rolls, and thence through the many screens to size thie same and prepare it for shipment. One man is located at the point where the carriage is tilted who takes the ticket from the car and directs the engineer, who is located' in engine room in leanto of coal breaker, by a signal bell to operate the carriage which again goes to the bottom of the mine, while another

THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

car ascends through the adjoining opening of the shaft with its load of coal. The steel tower is one hundred and eighty-seven feet high and about fifty feet square at its base. The steel chute is made necessary by reason of the mine laws of Pennsylvania, which stipulates that coal breakers must not be nearer than two hundred feet of the shaft.

When ground was broken for the colliery it was covered with timber. A saw-mill was erected and much of the timber for the improve- ments, two or three million feet, was made. They also erected about fifty tenements, besides shops, barns, and a store in which a general stock of goods was kept for sale. The cost of mining at Carbondale and transporting coal by gravity railroad to Honesdale (from whence it went by canal to North river, Kingston,), at the time when Mr. Richmond first came to Honesdale, Pennsylvania, in 1842, was not more than a dol- lar per ton. Cost of placing coal in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, $1.00 a ton. Mining was done at Carbondale for thirty-five cents a ton in sum- mer and twenty-eight cents in winter, when the mines were permitted to work. In addition to the industries above named Mr. Richmond was engaged in the business of making files for a number of years, his plant being finally destroyed by fire, entailing considerable loss. Among the first bills of dry goods bought in the city of New York was of Messrs. Stone & Starr, then located on Pine street, and Mr. Richmond continued pur- chasing from this firm and its successors for a period of forty-nine years. He also purchased goods continuously for about thirty-five years of E. S. Jaffrey & Co., and their predecessors. His business dealings, large and small, have al- ways been characterized by blunt integrity and an open hand. He was endowed with an unus- ual foresight, a predisposition to properly apply the means at his command, and an aptitude to grasp details and apply them quickly, and thus he won an enviable reputation for himself and a handsome competency. He was the first presi- dent of the Crystal Lake Water Company, of the city of Carbondale, Pennsylvania, in the early fifties, and gave it its name. He was also active in the management of the Carbondale Gas Com- pany about same time, and one of the original stockholders. He was for many years director in the Third National Bank, Scranton ; inember of the American Jersey Cattle Club some twenty- five years ; the New England Society of North- eastern Pennsylvania ; the American Institute of

Mining Engineers ; Franklin Institute ; National Geographic Society; American Bible Society ; American Association for the Advancement of Science ; Sons of the American Revolution, May- flower Society and others. He is a patron of the Egyptian Exploration fund.

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Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 14

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