Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 32

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 32
USA > Wyoming > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 32

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).

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Pennsylvania, and associate judge of Susque- hanna county. Ile had Edward R. and Freder -. ick R.

Gen. Edward Raynsford Warner graduated from the West Point Military Academy, class of 1857. He was an officer in the Civil war, and served in the Third Artillery and First New York Light Artillery Volunteers. He was bre- veted "Captain. July 3. 1863, for Gallant and Meritorious Services at the Battle of Gettys- burg, Pa." Breveted "Colonel, U. S. Volim- teers, August 1, 1864. for Distinguished and Gallant Services at the Battle of Gettsburg, and in the Operations before Petersburg." Breveted "Major, March 13, 1865. for Gallant and Meri- torions Services at the Siege of Petersburg, Va." Breveted "Lieut. Colonel, March 13, 1865, for Good Conduct and Gallant Services during the

Rebellion." And also breveted "Brig .- General. U. S. Volunteers. April 9, 1865, for Faithful and Meritorious Services during the Operations re- sulting in the Fall of Richmond. Va., and the Surrender of the Insurgent Army under General R. E. L.cc." General Warner, after a military service of more than thirty years, retired to his .old home in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania. He died in New York city, January 2, 1905. respected and sincerely mourned by comrades and friends, and now sleeps in Montrose com- etery. Under his last will and testament he left a large sum of money to found a public library and to erect a public building at Montrose, the place of his birth, a lasting monument to the memory of a brave and gallant soldier who fought in the armies of the Union.

Frederick Raynsford Warner, U. S. V .. son of Davis Dimock Warner, served as a first lieu- tenant in Captain Telford's company, Fiftieth Regiment. Pennsylvania Volunteers, recruited in Bradford county, Pennsylvania. He is now a resident of Chicago, Illinois, and a successful broker and grain dealer.

V111. Nelson Clarke Warner, son of Phi- neas and Lydia (Clarke) Warner, became a prominent citizen of Susquehanna county of which he was elected sheriff in the year 1845. He had four children.

Capt. Charles Nelson Warner, U. S. V., son of Nelson Clarke Warner, graduated from the West Point Military Academy, class of 1862. In the Civil war he served in the Second and Fourth Artillery. He was breveted "First Lient. July 3. 1863. for Gallant and Meritorious Services at the Battle of Gettysburg. Pa. : " and also brevet- ved "Captain, April 2. 1865. for Gallant and Mer-

itorious Services at the Capture of Selma, Ala- bama." Captain Warner resides at Montrose. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic, and is a member of the Susquehanna bar.

Fletcher Gustavus Warner, U. S. V .. son of Nelson Clarke Warner, served as a private in Company G, Fiftieth Pennsylvania Infantry, and fought in the battles of Second Bull Run ( Ma- nassa), Chantilly, South Mountain and An- tietam, Sharpsburg ( Missouri), where he was dangerously wounded. After recovering from his wounds he received an honorable discharge from the army. He is a resident of Montrose, and a member of the Grand Army of the Re- public.

Capt. Edson Scott Warner, U. S. V., son of Nelson Clarke Warner, served at captain of Com- pany K, Fifty-sixth Regiment Pennsylvania In- fantry, which fired the first volley at Gettysburg. Since the close of the Civil war he has held the office of postmaster at Montrose.

IX. Sidney Haswell Warner, M. D., son of Phineas and Lydia (Clarke) Warner, born Saybrook, Connecticut, January 26, 1806, came to Bridgewater township. Susquehanna county, 1809. In his boyhood he helped his father clear up the land on the North road, adjoining the Elder Davis Dimock clearing. In early pioncer times the schoolmaster followed the vanguard of civilization, and soon log school houses were erected here and there in the new settlements. Sidney Haswell Warner early became a teacher, and achieved a lasting reputation for learning and . literary ability among those who were fortunate to hecome his scholars. While engaged in the honorable calling of a school teacher among the rugged hills of Susquehanna county he com- menced the study of medicine. He was mar- ried to Hannah Loomis, of Springville, Susque- hanna county, October 1. 1835, a daughter of Horatio Porter Loomis, born in Claremont. New Hampshire, July 8, 1808.

Sidney Haswell Warner completed his med- ical studies in 1836: passed his examination be- fore the Massachusetts Medical Society in 1836. and was licensed by this society as a "practi- tioner of medicine," in Lenox, Massachusetts, November 5. 1836. He soon afterwards removed to Huntington township, Luzerne county, Penn- sylvania, where he became prominent in his pro- fession. His certificate is still preserved. He had five children as follows : Geraldine. Theodo- sia, Adelaide. Hannah and Jared Dimock War- ner. Hannah (Loomis) Warner died April 13, 1844. She was a faithful wife, an affectionate

E AI HA DIA N _WL IK

J.Itis Protection

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mother and a true friend. She died respected -and loved by all who knew her, and is buried in the Warner family plot in Pine Grove cemetery, Huntington township. Dr. Sidney Haswell Warner was married, in Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania, January 3, 1845, to Cornelia Machette, born June 10, 1810, and soon afterwards, accom- panied by his wife, returned to his home in Hunt- ington township. Mrs. Warner was of French ancestry, a daughter of Samuel T. Machette, and his wife, Susan Nice, of Trenton, New Jersey, whose father was the founder of Nicetown, now a part of the city of Philadelphia. Samuel T. Machette was born November 8, 1786, and died December 28, 1827. Susan (Nice) Ma- chette was born October 27, 1786, and died De- cember 18, 1859. Paymaster Henry C. Machette, United States Navy, was a grandson of Samuel T. and Susan (Nice) Machette. He was pay- master United States Navy 1864-1869. He was retired, and died October 23, 1903. Dr. and Mrs. Warner were members of the Baptist Church, Huntington township, and lived happily together until January 19, 1881, when, after a successful professional career, he passed to his final reward. Mrs. Warner survived her husband until her death, May 9, 1897. She now rests in Pine Grove cemetery.

X. James Nelson Warner, D. D. S., son of Dr. Sidney Haswell and Cornelia (Machette) Warner, was born in Huntington township, Lu- zerne county, Pennsylvania, December 5, 1845. After receiving an academical education he en- tered the Pennsylvania College of Dental Sur- gery, Philadelphia, and graduated D. D. S. with honors in the class of 1873. After leaving college Dr. Warner located in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, where he practiced his profession until the year 1875, when he removed to Wilkes-Barre, where his reputation became so well established that patrons came to him from Bradford, Columbia, Susquehanna, Wyoming and other counties of Pennsylvania. He belonged to the Pennsylvania Dental Association and the Susquehanna County Dental Association, was a prominent member and took an active part in the annual conven- tions of both societies. He was married by the Rev. Young C. Smith, D. D., November 7, 1883, to Jennie Edith Stark, daughter of John Michael and Sarah (Davidson) Stark, of Wyoming. Pennsylvania. She was educated at Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, Pennsylvania, and gradu- ated therefrom in the class of 1877. She is a member of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Wilkes-Barre. Dr. James Nelson and Jennie Edith (Stark) Warner had three sons: Sidney

S., a graduate of Harry Hillman Academy, Wilkes-Barre, class of 1905, now a student in the University of Pennsylvania ; Benjamin S., born November 21, 1889, died January 25, 1891 ; and James Stark Warner, now a student in the Harry Hillman Academy, Wilkes-Barre. (See John M. Stark.)

Dr. James Nelson Warner was a good citi- zen, a kind and affectionate husband and father, and in society a favorite with all who had the privilege of knowing him. He was a popular member of the Westmoreland Club, upon whose roll of membership there are many of the prom- inent business and professional men of the Wyo- ming valley. For years he was a regular com- municant of the St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Wilkes-Barre, and won the friendship, respect and esteem of his pastor and congregation. In the Masonic fraternity he was prominent, being a member of Landmark Lodge, No. 442, F. and A. M., Wilkes-Barre; Shekinah Chapter, No. 182, R. A. M., Wilkes-Barre: Dieu Le Veut Commandery, No. 45, K. T., Wilkes-Barre, and an illustrious noble of Irem Temple (Mystic Shrine), A. A. O. N. M. S., Wilkes-Barre.

He was a member of the Republican party, and its principles as enunciated by Lincoln and eloquently expounded by Blaine and other great statesmen received his approval and loyal sup- port. He never allowed politics to interfere with the practice of the profession, to which he ap- plied his time with energy and ability. In life's battle he was an active participant. His knowl- edge and surgical skill brought relief and com- fort to thousands of his fellow-men. The time that comes to all men to stand alone upon the threshold of eternity at last came to him. On Saturday, March 4, 1905, he was stricken with pleuro-pneumonia, and for weeks bravely fought death and stayed the Omnipotent decree just long enough to receive the sincere congratula- tions of friends who hoped he would remain with them for a number of years to come. After he had partially regained his health, under the ad- vice of physicians, he went to New York, and upon arriving there again became prostrated with pneumonia. An illness of three weeks duration followed, until April 28, 1905, when he peace- fully passed away, and Wilkes-Barre, the home of his adoption, mourned the loss of one of its foremost professional men and prominent citizens.

JOHN ATTICUS ROBERTSON, deceased, lived a conspicuously useful life, and his lofty character found witness in the high measure of honor paid him by the first citizens of Scranton.

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A biographer said of him: "Probably no man with his limited means, as the world now esti- mates wealth, ever did more for the good of others, ever accomplished more with the means and instrumentalities at his command, than did this man. His life bore witness to the truth that there are those who amass great wealth or who win fame and power, yet are themselves the poorer for it, and whose loss brings little or no regret ; and there are those who, not making wealth or fame or power their first object, so live that the world is richer for their lives and poorer in their loss-men and women, like this one, for whom the 'Well Done' of the Master finds an echo in every heart about them.

Mr. Robertson came of a distinguished Scot- tish ancestry, the Robertsons of Struan, in the Highlands of Perth, who were descended from the ancient Celtic Earls of Atholl. The Clan Robertson (or Dinnochie) were a powerful fan- ily before Bruce was king, fought under the patriot king in the war that secured the independ- ence of Scotland, and were noted for their un- flinching loyalty and devotion to the Stuart dy- nasty. The name of Robertson was derived from Robert, son of Duncan (de Atholia), who cap- tured two of the murderers of James I, and for that service received a royal charter erecting his lands into a free barony, A. D., 1451. His son adopted the surname. of Robertson, which the family has since retained. The coat-of-arms of the family is preserved by both the northern and southern branches of the family in America, and the motto, "Virtutis gloria merces," applies well to the life work of the subject of this sketch. In the rebellion of 1715 and 1745 the Clan Robertson turned out seven hundred claymores under their most noted chief, Alaster Robertson, who, famed for his learning, chivalrous heroism and political abilities, became the prototype of the Baron of Bradwardin in Scott's "Waverly." The Clach na Bratach, or Stone of the Standard, famous heirloom in the family, was found in the twelfth century. This talisman, or rather palladium of the Clan, has been worn in battle by its chief for more than six hundred years, and is yet in the possession of the present Robertson of Struan. The last lineal chief, Alexander Robertson, died without issue in 1749, and the estates and title went to Duncan Robertson, of Drumachune. For political reasons he left the country and took refuge in France. His son, Colonel Alexander Robertson, obtained a restitution of the Struan estates and died unmarried in 1822.

Patrick, youngest son of the above-named

Duncan Robertson, came to America, and died in 1775. One of his sons, Arthur, was killed under Paul Jones in the engagement between the Bon Homme Richard and the Serapis. Another son, John, settled in New York, and became a man of prominence. At the age of seventeen he became a midshipman in the United States navy during the Revolutionary war, and after five years of gallant service was captured in the ship-of-war Confederacy, and was held prisoner on board the Jersey prison-ship in the Wallabout for two years. He attracted the favorable attention of the British officers, and was enabled to greatly alleviate the sufferings of his companions in mis- fortune. After the war he became a ship-master, sailing from New York, and subsequently was a merchant there. He died December 28, 1836, leaving a fortune to his children, and as recorded in his obituary, "unstained by a single act that they might blush for." He was twice married. First to Maria Sperry, a native of Switzerland, and second to Catherine Prentiss, of New Lon- don, Connecticut.

The Rev. John Jacob Robertson, son of Pat- rick and Maria ( Sperry) Robertson, was born March 6, 1797. He graduated from Columbia College, New York, at the age of sixteen years, and afterward made two voyages abroad for the benefit of his health, and made the enduring friendship of many of the leading men in church and science. He was ordained in the ministry in 1818, and was in charge of a par- ish in Winchester, Virginia, until 1824, when he was appointed professor of languages in the Uni- versity of Vermont. He served in that capacity for a year. during which time he drew together each Sunday for divine worship, at a private house, a few of the students and townspeople, and thus laid the foundation of the present flour- ishing parish of St. Paul's in Middlebury, Ver- mont. Ill health demanding his removal to a warmer climate, in 1826 he located in Baltimore, Maryland, where he opened a school. In 1827 he was appointed by the Episcopal Missionary and Education Society a missionary to Greece, and in 1828 by the Church Missionary Society of the United States a "missionary to the shores of the Mediterranean sea." In 1829 he made a tour of exploration through Greece, and on his return made a report to the societies, whereupon he and, at his own request, the Rev. J. M. Hills, of Bal- timore, were appointed to the direction of the "Mission of the American Episcopal Church in Greece." He was thus the first foreign mission- ary of the Episcopal Church in America, though

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he disliked the term "missionary," considering himself simply as an envoy to the Eastern or Greek Church. He had previously married (June 10, 1821), Julia Ann Henshaw, and Mr. Robertson and his wife and Mr. and Mrs. Hills sailed in 1830 for Athens, where they began their work in August of the following year. Mr. and Mrs. Robertson occupied the lower rooms of the old Venetian Tower in the ancient city, then par- tially ruined, but since restored. It was here that John Atticus Robertson was born, December 25. 1831. Mrs. Robertson and Mrs. Hills organized the girls' school in Athens, which has become notably useful, and in the island of Syra in- structed the Greek children in home duties as well as ordinary studies.

Mrs. Robertson also came of an ancient and honored family. The Henshaws from whom the American branch of the family is descended, came from the English family of Heronshaw, or Hern- shaw-Thomas Henshaw, of Cheshire. He was a captain in the service of James I, who for "his faithful and able service" granted him the arms previously borne by the family, and added a crest. Thomas Henshaw died in 1639, leaving a large fortune. From him was descended Benjamin Henshaw, died in 1781, who was a lieutenant in the Connecticut line during the Revolution, fought in the battle of Bennington, and whose report of the capture of prisoners and munitions of war is still extant. He married (first) Eliza- beth Lord, and (second) Huldah Sumner, of Middletown, and had two children by his first wife and six by his second. Daniel, son of Ben- jamin Henshaw by his second marriage, was born March 26, 1762. He was a merchant in Middle- town, but removed to Middlebury, Vermont. He married Sarah Esther Prentiss, of New London, Connecticut. Their third child, Julia Ann, became the wife of the Rev. John Jacob Robertson. She accompanied her husband on his foreign mission, and through all the trials of a life of more than usual vicissitude was his wise counsellor and lov- ing assistant. Bishop Southgate wrote of "her genial, courteous, open disposition, her practical sagacity, her contentment with solid unshowy usefulness, her kindness to all, her unsuspicious- ness, her charity which could think of no one with enmity," and adds that "she died as she had lived. calmly, with patient faith and cloudless serenity."

From such excellent lineage and parentage came John Atticus Robertson. During his first twelve years he lived with his parents in Athens, the Island of Syra, and Constantinople, taking

even at that early age a deep interest in the won- ders of the past as well as present, and receiving careful instruction from his parents. The family returning to the United States in 1843, he was shortly afterward sent to Dr. Ten Broeck's school in Georgetown, D. C. At the age of nineteen he entered Trinity College, at Hartford, Connecti- cut, and graduated in 1854. During these years he had taken great interest in engineering, spend- ing some of his vacations in field work with his cousin, McRce Swift, a noted civil engineer, and a few months on the Hartford water works. After his graduation he made engineering his profession, and followed it for the next fourteen years of his life. In 1854-55 he was engaged in the survey of the Alabama and Florida Railroad, and while in Florida his feet were severely pois- oned, from which he suffered more or less for some years. He was next employed by some cap- italists, among them his cousin, William Good- rich, of New Orleans, Louisiana, to make an ex- ploration up Red river into Texas, in search of petroleum fields, from which he derived an expe- rience which was of after use. June 1, 1855, he engaged with the Missouri Pacific Railway Com- pany, with which he continued until July, 1856. November 1, 1855, occurred the dreadful Gas- conade disaster, in which a special train loaded with many of the most prominent citizens of St. Louis, making an excursion to Jefferson City, the capital of Missouri, to celebrate the opening of the road to that point, was precipitated into the Gasconade river by the breaking down of the bridge over the Gasconade river, resulting in the death of forty people, and serious injuries to about one hundred and thirty more. Mr. Robert- son, who had been ill at the east, had journeyed for St. Louis, against the advice of his physician, but on account of a delay en route did not reach the city until the excursion train had left. But for this delay he would have been on the ill-fated train, and might have shared the fate of his chief (Mr. Thomas O'Sullivan, the engineer of the road), who was killed. His uncle, the Rev. Tru- man Marcellus Post, pastor of the First Congre- gational Church of St. Louis, escaped with his life. but was much cut and bruised.

From July, 1856, to March, 1858, Mr. Rob- ertson was actively engaged, largely in the con- struction of waterworks, and on the latter date became assistant engineer of the Brooklyn (New York) waterworks. In April, 1859, he became assistant to Frederick Law Olmstead in the laying out and direction of work on the great Central Park, in New York City-a most congenial occu-

2-II

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pation-and resided near the park. The work on the park being suspended on account of the Civil war, in February, 1863, he was engaged on the harbor defences of New York, mainly at Castle William, on Governor's Island, and was subsequently appointed by General Totten to the position of government inspector of engineering. In January, 1865, he was connected with the Duck Creek Petroleum Company, and in the fall of the same year with the Texas Coal Oil and Petroleum Company. In May, 1866, he opened an office as consulting engineer in New York, but in February, 1867, accepted a position with the Union Coal Company and surveyed and built the road between Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, now owned by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Com- pany. On the completion of this work he was appointed superintendent, and served in that posi- tion until 1871, when he resigned to take charge of the Forest Hill cemetery at Scranton, complet- ing the work of laying out which had been begun by J. Gardner Sanderson, and becoming superin- tendent, a position in which he rendered efficient service during the remainder of his life. About the same time he made the survey for the Ridge Turnpike, now known as the Boulevard, between Green Ridge and Priceburg. He had also taken up his residence in Green Ridge, and become in- terested in a real estate business. In 1872 he was associated with the Georgia Manufacturing and Mining Company, and spent some time at Gaines- ville, near Atlanta, an experience he always spoke of with pleasure. In 1881 he formed a real es- tate and insurance partnership with Colonel Fred- erick L. Hitchcock, which continued until the time of his death. For years the firm of Robert- son & Hitchcock were agents for the Barber As- phalt Company, and were instrumental in having the first asphalt pavements laid in the city.

Active and energetic as he was in all that brain and hand found to do in his ordinary busi- ness. there was another side of his life work in which he was more deeply interested and to which he gave unsparingly of his time, his ability and his means. This was his work for the church he loved. During his residence in New York he at- tended the Church of the Redeemer ( Protestant Episcopal), in which he served as warden. On first coming to Scranton he attended St. Luke's. which was within the city proper, and he and others conceived the idea that there was place for a new parish at Green Ridge. June 12, 1868, a service was held in the dining room of his resi- dence. Rev. John Long officiating. Later the same month a service was held in the station of

what is now the Delaware and Hudson Canal Railway, of which Mr. Robertson was then super- intendent. A third service was held in a passen- ger car drawn up in front of the station, and in the afternoon a Sunday school was organized. Later a new carriage house belonging to J. Gard- ner Sanderson was utilized as a chapel. Novem- ber 29, 1868, the parish of the Church of the Good Shepherd was organized, and in the fol- lowing year, on August 26, the corner stone of a chapel was laid. Services were first held therein on June 5, 1870. In 1891 a stone church built by the Presbyterians at Green Ridge was purchased, and its renovation was made under the personal direction of Mr. Robertson. He was a foremost factor in all the work of parish development and church improvement, serving as warden and treasurer from the organization of the parish to the time of his death, and was a standing delegate to the diocesan convention of Central Pennsylva- nia from the time it was formed. He also took an active part in forwarding the general interests of the community, and was a member of the Board of Trade and the Scranton Underwriters. He cherished a loyal pride in his ancestry, and made a close study of the history of his Clan, as attested by the construction of the genealogical tree, showing without a single break his descent from Duncan, in the twelfth century, and justify- ing the claim that he was the real Struan Robert- son, and Chief of the Clan Dinnochie. He was married, in St. Thomas Church, New York City, on December 29, 1858, to Margaret Schenck, of an old family of that state, whose ancestors came from Holland and France early in the seventeenth century.

In the midst of his activities, Mr. Robertson was stricken down with an attack of pneumonia on December 23. 1896, from which he recovered in some degree, and in March following was taken to Florida, whence he returned two months afterward, little if any benefitted by the trip. His life was henceforth one of constant pain, though his iron will enabled him to resume his business and church duties. In October he became worse, and late in the month suffered a severe hemorr- hage. He again rallied, but on November 9 the sad end came. He had passed the morning in pleasant converse with his family, his principal interest being in the special convention then being held in South Bethlehem for the election of a successor to his own beloved Bishop Rulison, wno had passed away not long before. The same night he was seized with another hemorrhage, and passed into the infinite future. The sad news

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Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 32

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