Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 3

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 3
USA > Wyoming > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 3

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. Dickson became prominently identified with various local enterprises of first impor-

tance after his locating in Scranton. In Oc- tober, 1863, he aided in the organization of the First National Bank, and was a director in the same from that time until his death, and he occupied the same relationship to the Moosic Powder Company, of which he was al- so an incorporator, in 1865.

Mr. Dickson married, August 31, 1846, Miss Mary Augusta Marvine, daughter of Deacon Roswell E. and Sophia (Raymond) Marvine, natives of Delaware county, New York. She is owner of a beautiful country seat in Morristown, New Jersey, purchased by Mr. Dickson in 1880, and there Mr. Dickson died, July 31, 1884, four months after the com- pletion of his sixtieth year. The deep respect with which he was regarded was evident at Scranton, to which place the remains were conveyed, and where they lay in state for two days prior to the interment in Dunmore ceme- tery. Thousands visited the temporary rest- ing-place of the lamented dead, who was known in some degree to the entire populace. The larger achievements of his signally use- ful life were known to all, and all knew, be- sides, of his many excellences of personal character. As a master of large affairs he handled vast sums of money which floated out into every avenue of commerce and in- dustry. As an individual his influence and means reached out into fully as many channels. During his day not a church in the city or neighborhood but numbered him among its most liberal benefactors, and some there were which without him would never have had existence. To benevolent and philanthropic institutions he was a glad and bountiful con- tributor. His feelings of genuine humanity made him responsive to every need that came to his attention. To the young he afforded . encouragement and wise counsel; and, to many, aid in their struggles for an honorable establishment in life. Those stricken of for- tune, distressed in body and mind, he relieved as lay in his power, dispensing his charities after the scriptural fashion, with no witness or hearer to speak of his countless deeds of

THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

merciful kindness. The earlier paragraphs of this narrative afford the closest insight to his loveliness of character. His heart was at- tuned to the Music of Nature. He looked from Nature up to Nature's God, and thence back to his brother man, in whom he ever dis- cerned one worthy of his love, his sympathy, or his aid.

GEORGE LINEN DICKSON is to be numbered among the leaders of that splendid company of men of phenomenal ability through whose untiring industry, unconquer- able resolution and wise judgment the city of Scranton was brought to a foremost place among the industrial centres of the United States. His activity has been witnessed in the founding and developing of many of its most important manufacturing enterprises, and in that of various of its principal financial insti- tutions, while his strong influence has ever been exerted in the promotion of the higher interests of the community along religious, educational and philanthropic lines.

The Dickson family originated in Scotland, and its American members have ever exhibited those sterling traits of character which pecu- liarly mark the race whence it sprang. Thomas Dickson, paternal grandfather of George L. Dickson, was a magnificent . type of the Brit- ish soldier. His service covered a period of twenty-three years, and included the great war in which Napoleon was overthrown at Water- loo. In that battle Sergeant Thomas Dickson, of the Ninety-second Gordon Highlander Regiment, bore himself with such gallantry that he received the medal for signal valor, and on four other occasions he received similar medals for meritorious conduct. The same . qualities which distinguished this intrepid sol- dier,-courage, resolution, and entire devotion to the duty of the hour-were those which marked his descendants in the peaceful but arduous pursuits of peace.

Sergeant Thomas Dickson, referred to above, had for his eldest son James Dickson, who was born and reared in Scotland, and was

an intimate friend of the great author, Sir Walter Scott. In 1832 James Dickson and his family, with others, emigrated to Canada,. taking passage in the ,ship "Chieftain," which after a protracted voyage of eleven weeks cast anchor at Quebec. It is to be noted that this- was the vessel's first voyage, and that on its second it absolutely disappeared, no trace of it or of its passengers or crew having been found to the present day. After two years. residence in Toronto, James Dickson removed with his family to the United States, locating in Pennsylvania, in the iron and coal region at Dundaff, six miles above Carbondale. After working for a time upon a farm, he secured employment with the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company at Carbondale, and acquitted himself so satisfactorily that he was advanced to the position of general master mechanic, in which capacity he was efficiently serving at the time of his death, in 1880. His wife, Eliza- beth Linen, was born in Berwickshire, Scot- land, and died in 1866. She was related to the- Scottish poet, James Hogg, and was an aunt of James Linen, president of the First National Bank of Scranton. She was a most estimable- woman, possessing the characteristic Scotch traits of honesty, frugality and energy, and: she gave to her children a most careful train- ing. The children of James and Elizabeth" Dickson were: I. Thomas, who was super- intendent of the mine department of the Dela- ware & Hudson Canal Company from 1859 to 1864, when he became general superinten- dent ; in 1868 he became president of the com- pany, and removed his office to New York ; he- died at his summer residence in Morristown, New Jersey, July 31, 1884. 2. Isabel, who. became the wife of John R. Fordham, of Green Ridge. 3. Mary, who became the wife of J. B. Van Bergen, of Carbondale. 4. John. A., who for the several years from its organi- zation until his death in 1867 was general man- ager of the Dickson Manufacturing Company .. 5. George Linen, to be further referred to- hereinafter. The two youngest children died! in infancy.

4 Sichron C

THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

George Linen Dickson was born in Lauder, Berwickshire, Scotland, August 3, 1830, and was two years old when he was brought to this country by his parents. His education was obtained in greater part in the Carbon- dale schools, and at the age of fifteen years he entered upon a self-supporting career. For six years he served as clerk in à country store, and the expiration of this period found him of age, when he in connection with his brothers, opened a mercantile business which was con- ducted under the name of G. L. Dickson & Company. This he disposed of in 1856, and entered the partnership of J. Benjamin & Company, in what afterward became known as Van Bergen & Company, limited. In 1860 he located permanently in the city of Scran- ton, and entered into partnership with his father and brothers in the business which in the 'following years was incorporated as the Dickson Manufacturing Company, and which was soon operating the largest plant of its class in the state. He was general manager for some years, and in 1867 was made presi- dent, a position which he occupied until 1882, when he resigned. It was under his manage- ment that these mammoth works attained their greatest magnitude and importance, re- sults in which he was the leading factor. After relinquishing the presidency of the company he became general agent for various of the leading iron manufacturing companies of the country, including the National Tube Works of New York, the Standard Steel Tire Works of Philadelphia, the Otis Steel Works of Cleve- land, Ohio, and others, maintaining offices in New York city. He was one of the original stockholders in the organization of the Scran- ton Steel Company, which by subsequent con- solidation became the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company. Mr. Dickson also extended his activities to various other enterprises, among them the First National Bank of Scran- ton, which he aided in organizing, and of which he was one of the first directors, and vice-president since 1887. In all his business relations Mr. Dickson was known as the soul

of honor, and his masterly executive abilities were widely recognized. He was among the charter members of the Scranton Board of Trade, and one of the most efficient members of that body whose admirable work is attested. by the great success attending its efforts in the fostering, and establishment of various manufacturing and financial enterprises and the forwarding of public interests generally. In politics he is a Republican, and is known as an earnest and capable exponent of the prin- ciples of his party, but not at all to be classed among the selfseekers who aspire to official. position. He has for many years been a lib- eral supporter of St. Luke's Protestant Epis- copal Church, in which he has been a vestry- man for over forty years. He is affiliated with. the local lodge of the Masonic fraternity.

Mr. Dickson married, September 16, 1856, Miss Lydia M. Poore. Of this marriage were born three children, of whom the only one living is Walter M. Dickson, who was edit- cated at Cornell University. The Dickson family are held in high personal regard in the- community, and are among the most sympa- thetic and helpful of its people in all those- works of benevolence which are called forth. by the suffering of the poor and needy in body, mind and estate.

Mrs. Dickson is a representative of one of the oldest and most honored New England families. She was born in Palmyra, Wayne county, New York, and is a first cousin of Major Ben Perley Poore, who was one of the most lovable authors and humorists of a pre- ceding generation. The Poore family is of English origin, and was represented among the early colonists in Massachusetts, where its members purchased from the Indians land. which is yet in possession of their descendants. Mrs. Dickson's paternal grandfather, Dr. Dan -- iel Noyes Poore, was a native of Massachu- setts, a graduate of Harvard College, and a well known physician. Hon. John M. Poore, father of Mrs. Dickson, was born in Essex, Massachusetts; aided in building the Erie- Canal through Chenango county, New York,.

THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

as a contractor with his father-in-law, E. M. Townsend; resided some years in the south, where he followed farming; and in 1846 lo- cated in Carbondale, Pennsylvania. He was for many years a prosperous merchant in that city, of which he was at one time mayor. In his later years he removed to Scranton, and died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Dick- son, when he was eighty years of age. His wife, Harriet Townsend, was born near the Hudson river, in New York, a daughter of E. M. Townsend. Mr. Townsend was enrolled as a soldier in the war of 1812. He was a pioneer settler in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, where he kept an inn in an old log house long ago disappeared. He subsequently became sergeant-at-arms of the United States senate, and was well acquainted with Henry Clay and other famous statesmen of that historic per- iod. He died in Baltimore, Maryland, at the age of fifty-six years. Mrs. Dickson's pater- nal grandfather, the Rev. Jesse Townsend, D. D., was a graduate of Yale College, and a noted Presbyterian clergyman. A brother of Mrs. Dickson, Townsend Poore, of Scranton, was long and prominently connected with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company. A distinguished member of the Townsend family was Hon. Martin I. Town- send, ex-member of congress from New York.

JAMES. L. CRAWFORD, deceased, for many years president of the People's Coal Com- pany, Scranton, and one of the most widely known coal operators in the anthracite region, was a striking figure among the truly remarka- ble men who have been conspicuous in the coal industry of Pennsylvania during the past quarter of a century. Of great force of character, broad sympathy and public-spirit, he was an American of the highest type, in thought, word, deed, and ambition. Without favoritism to aid him, he carved out his own career, beginning in the hum- blest walks of severe manual labor, and lifting himself to a position of wealth and commanding influence quite notable even in these days of great accomplishments. Through all and to the last,

he was tinashamed of his beginning, and his own experiences but warmed his sympathy for work- ing men, and made him their friend. He died in the prime of life, at a time when he might have determined, had he seen fit, to retire from active occupations and rest in the enjoyment of the fruits of his labors. His life in his later years was a contribution to the comfort and happiness of all about him, and the narrative of his unvaried success and the uses to which he put his effort and means should serve as an encouragement and inspiration to the unaided toiler in all this region.

Mr. Crawford was born in Noxen, Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, in 1851, a son of the late Ira and Elizabeth Crawford, both natives of the same county, and a grandson of Benjamin Craw- ford, who during his boyhood days removed with his parents from Connecticut to Pennsylvania, in which state he resided until his death at the ex- treme old age of ninety-six years. Ira and Eliz- abeth Crawford were the parents of four children.

Early thrown upon his own resources, James L. Crawford was afforded little in the way of school education. Of such opportunities for self- information as came to him he made the best pos- sible use, and when he entered upon an inde- pendent career his mental equipment proved am- ply sufficient for his every need, enabling him to successfully cope with men whose advantages at the outset, in training and means, far exceeded his own. He was but a boy when he secured em- ployment in the old Seneca mine of the Pittston and Elmira Coal Company in Pittston, and he continued to work here for some years, passing through the various gradations of door-tender, laborer and miner, at each step demonstrating his efficiency and his capability for more important tasks. His preparation was so complete that he was called to the superintendency of the Wyom- ing Valley Coal Company, which he also served in the capacity of civil engineer. In 1876 and for two years thereafter he was a contractor for the building of breakers, and there are many of these structures in the anthracite region to-day which stand as monuments to his ability in that line. Later he removed to Bradford, where he built derricks and speculated in oil. In the spring of

RESIDENCE OF MRS. JAMES L. CRAWFORD

LNGD BY 73. HALLNEW LINK

IL Crawford

THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

1879 he returned to the anthracite coal belt and for four years served as mine foreman for the Charles Hutchings collieries. In 1883 he entered the employ of J. H. Swoyer & Company, and three years later took up his residence in Jermyn, where he remained for eight years.

In 1884 Mr. Crawford became identified with the collieries in which Simpson and Watkins were interested, and while serving as their superintend- ent he had charge of the opening and develop- ment of the following colleries: The Edgerton, Northwest, Grassy Island, Sterrick Creek, Lack- awanna, Babylon, Mount Lookout, Forty Fort and Harry E. He was financially interested in these collieries, and remained as general super- intendent of the company until 1899, when Simp- son and Watkins sold their interests to the Tem- ple Iron Company. Mr. Crawford was superin- tendent of the last named company for one year, when he resigned on account of ill health.

In 1901, Mr. Crawford became the principal owner of the People's Coal Company, of which he was also president, with his step-son, James G. Shepherd, as secretary and treasurer. It was during this period that Mr. Crawford became a prominent figure in the public view, his manage- ment of the Oxford mine being marked by two distinct successes-a quick accumulation of great wealth, and his marked victory over the Miners' Union during the great strike of 1902. During the six months duration of this great contest the Oxford was the only mine in the entire region which was kept in operation, and his conduct gave exhibition of his strongest traits of character. His determination to keep the colliery in opera- tion was not due to a spirit of defiance. As he stated at the time, he held to the conviction that a man possessed the unrestricted right to work or not to work, at his own election, without re- gard to the mandates of any organized body, es- pecially when he was personally satisfied with his wages and condition. He maintained that the Oxford miners were satisfied, and were not de- manding either increase of wages or adjustment of any differences, and that under these conditions if the workmen were content to continue their labor, he was determined that they should do so

without molestation and with full protection. Many of his friends considered the conditions confronting him as insurmountable, but his cour- age and determination seemed to increase as the. obstacles grew, and he was soon engaged in one. of the most gigantic struggles which marked the- great strike. He first gathered about him his old and trusted employees, who trusted in him so implicitly that they expressed their determination to stand by him to the last. Keeping the mine at work to its accustomed capacity, he provided for the safety and comfort of his men by erecting. sleeping and eating quarters at the colliery. He. also organized an armed force for patrol duty about the premises, which he enclosed with a strong barricade, and operated a large searchlight for the discovery of an attacking force. His pre- parations were so complete that the plans of the would-be attackers were set at naught, and the Oxford mine remained in operation throughout the strike period, while numerous other collier- ies were obliged to close down and ultimately yield to the demands of the Union. As a reward .Mr. Crawford made a large fortune as the result of his continuing mining during these fateful times, and in recognition of the fidelity of his. employees he distributed among them some thirty thousand dollars prorated according to their re- spective earnings. The giving of this bonus was remarkable in view of the fact that no mine in the region, or probably in the entire country, paid out such large sums in wages to their miners, one miner earning as much as $2,800 in one year. Mr. Crawford frequently explained, when ques- tioned, that his bonus to his men was in recogni- tion of their fidelity to him during the strike. His relations with them were the happiest that could be conceived. One of his friends relates that when the strike was at its height he went with Mr. Crawford to every chamber in the mine. In each instance Mr. Crawford addressed the miner by name, and their manner in responding was full assurance that they were prepared to go much farther than they did to aid him in con- quering success. It is further a notable fact that, as a result of his effort and success, the Oxford mine is the only one in the anthracite region,

THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

where there is no local branch of the United Mine Workers' Union.

While Mr. Crawford was a large stockholder in various corporations, he was only identified with one in an official way-the Spring Brook Water Supply Company, in which he was a direc- tor. In all others he was represented by his step- son, James G. Shepherd. He never sought or held a public office, being entirely averse to offi- cial distinction. He was, however, broadly pub- lic-spirited, and liberally aided every movement tending to benefit the community. Few if any could estimate the extent of his philanthropy. He rejoiced in giving without display, and frequently made it a condition that his donations should not be given publicity. Scarcely a church of the Methodist denomination in the Wyoming Valley .but was materially assisted by him, and, in some instances, where a new church building had been ·erected, he contributed the greater portion of the expense, and askd that his contribution be un- named. He was one of the best friends of the Florence Mission, the Hahnemann Hospital, and other local charitable and humanitarian institu- tions, which never appealed to him in vain. He was a man with a remarkably sympathetic heart, afforded aid with counsel and means to many young men, and rejoiced in their success, while he sudiously refrained from displaying the fact that their good fortune was grounded upon aid which he had extended to them. He was in all things a practical Christian, and an exemplary member of the Elm Park Methodist Episcopal Church of Scranton.

In 1882 Mr. Crawford married Huldah A. Wilcox, daughter of James and Sarah Wilcox. Of this marriage were born two children, Byron and Norma, both of whom are deceased. Mr. Crawford died February 19, 1905, at Indianola, Florida, from heart failure. His sudden demise was a great shock to the community, to which it was also an irreparable loss. The remains were interred in the family plot at Dunmore cemetery, Scranton, Pennsylvania. The tributes to his memory were many and fervent. It was said of him that his gospel of work was annotated by a large measure of human interest in everything

that concerned the moral and physical welfare of the community. He never forgot that he rose from the lowest round of the industrial ladder, and those who worked under him he regarded and treated as co-laborers. He earned the grati- tude of every one who is sufficiently just to see in his example the promptings of a kindly heart.

Mrs. Crawford, who survives her husband, possesses in a marked degree the characteristics of a Christian woman, and in the various capaci- ties of daughter, wife and mother has ever faith- fully and earnestly performed all duties and re- sponsibilities devolving upon her. She is among the foremost of the charitable and generous women of Scranton, constantly performing some deed of charity; and all philanthropic and hu- mane institutions, also private demands, and, in fact everything calculated to uplift mankind and elevate humanity, ever receive from her a prompt and generous response. She is dispensing Fer ample means with the same generous hand which characterized the actions of her late husband dur- ing the latter years of his useful life, and in every way possible is endeavoring to fulfill his wishes and intentions. She is greatly beloved by all who enjoy a close and intimate acquaintance, and highly respected by all classes in the community.

JAMES G. SHEPHERD, the active head of the People's Coal Company, and prominently identified with other large business and financial interests, also an art connoisseur of more than ordinary knowledge and capability, is one of the most popular men in Scranton, and there are few whose influence has been more often sought and who have been more instrumental in the develop- ment and progress of affairs than has Mr. Shep- herd. He was born in Nanticoke, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, in 1867.

He attended the common schools of his native town, and completed his education at Wyoming Seminary, Kingston. He left home to make his way in the world at the age of seventeen years, and in 1884 came to Jermyn, Pennsylvania, where he entered the employ of Simpson & Watkins as clerk in the stores which they conducted in con- nection with their coal operations in that locality.

NGD D A- BHAL NINIOK

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RESIDENCE OF JAMES G. SHEPHERD

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THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

While so serving he attended night school, and in Scranton pursued a business course, giving special attention to bookkeeping. Shortly after- ward he obtained a position with the Edgerton Coal Company, and two years later was made outside foreman of the Edgerton colliery. In less than one year after this appointment he was given supervision of all of Simpson & Watkins' mining interests in that locality, later was given charge of the Northwest Coal Company, near Carbondale, and subsequently, when the firm of Simpson & Watkins purchased the collieries of the Sterrick Creek Coal Company at Peckville, and the Lackawanna Coal Company at Olyphant, he was superintendent of both operations, and when they were sold to the Temple Iron Company he was made superintendent of all their collieries north of Scranton, in which position he remained until, in partnership with the late James L. Craw- ford, they purchased the People's Coal Company, of which he is now ( 1906) president and practi- cally the owner.

December 22, 1905, the following notice was posted at the office of the Oxford colliery of the People's Coal Company: "All employees who are now in our employ and who have been on the payroll for ninety days or longer will receive a share of the distributions of profits by calling at the office any time on Saturday." The amount divided among the seven hundred employees was between fifteen and twenty thousand dollars, and was equivalent to about two week's wages for each miner, laborer and boy in the employ of the company. A similar amount was distributed in the same manner the preceding Christmas. While the officials of the company do not discuss the matter, it is understood that the gifts are made to the employees as a reward for their faithful serv- ice during the year. The colliery is operated upon a unique plan, there being no other coal property in the anthracite region where the same methods prevail. The opportunity is given to each contract miner to earn as much as he can. If a miner demonstrates that he can work more than one chamber and is anxious to take charge of two or more, he is granted his desire without delay, and he can hold the additional chambers so

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Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 3

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