USA > Pennsylvania > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 42
USA > Wyoming > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 42
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While thus busied with the development and management of a great enterprise, Mr. Van- Bergen at the same time devoted his effort to the advancement of various other interests which were to the material advantage of the commun- ity. He aided in the establishment of the fine water works system of the Crystal Lake Water Com-
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pany, of which he was president, and of the Car- bondale Gas Company, in which he was a di- rector, and for fourteen years was treasurer of the Providence and Carbondale Plank Road Company.
Mr. Van Bergen was called to various posi- tions of honor and trust, and in all acquitted him- self with great credit and rare usefulness. His interest in educational affairs is attested by the fact that for eleven years he served on the board of education, and was recognized as one of the most zealous and intelligent members of that body. He was one of the founders of the Car- bondale Library Association, and for many years was its principal encourager and supporter. He served upon the city council for several terms, and occupied the mayoralty for four years, and during this period projected and successfully for- warded various new enterprises conducing to the advantage of the city. In 1863, 1864 and 1865 he was United States deputy collector of internal revenue for the twelfth congressional district of Pennsylvania. In 1866 he was elected treas- urer of Lackawanna county, his popularity being attested by a plurality of more than one thousand votes over his competitor. With this long record of official service it is not to be concluded that he was a political aspirant. He only consented to stand as a candidate when it seemed to be his duty so to do, when his service was commanded by his neighbors and friends. He was frequently and urgently solicited to per- mit the use of his name for more important posi- tions than he accepted. but resolutely declined. A seat in the legislature, the state senate and con- gress were more than once offered him, but were declined with a grace which expressed his grati- tude to his supporters. Nor was his popularity due to any of the arts of the political "trimmer," or to any modification of his political opinions to catch the popular breeze of the moment. He had the courage of his convictions, and never swerved from the path into which they led' him. His hold upon the public regard was solely due to appreciation of his solid worth, and recognition of his uniform kindheartedness and suavity manner. He was a staunch Republican from the formation of the party in 1856, when he cast his vote for its first presidential candidate, John C. Fremont, and he was ever among its most active and intelligent supporters. His influence in poli- tical affairs was widespread, and he served upon various committees of his party and sat as a del- egate in various conventions, among them the na- tional convention of 1876 which nominated Ruth- erford B. Hayes for the presidency.
Mr. Van Bergen was an ardent adherent of the Presbyterian faith, held many official positions in the First Church, and was always one of the most cheerful and generous contributors to its support. His christian charity was all-embrac- ing, and was bounded only by his means. It is said of him by an intimate friend that he gave away several small fortunes, yet so modestly that none learned of his gifts from him. When any worthy cause seemed to lag, he was the one to furnish fresh stimulus and substantial aid. He was a foremost figure in the two great beneficial orders, those of Masonry and Odd Fellowship, in the former having served as master of the lodge, high priest of the chapter, and chief officer of the commandery ; and in the latter chief patriarch of the encampment, its highest body. Local branches of several other bodies, beneficial, patriotic, mili- tary and social, were proud to bear his name.
In October, 1851, Mr. Van Bergen married Miss Mary F. Boal, daughter of a retired mer- chant of Cincinnati, Ohio. She died in June, 1888, having borne five children, three of whom died in infancy. The survivors are: Robert B., who became a member of the Van Bergen Com- pany ; and Dr. Henry, a graduate of the Hack- ettstown Collegiate Institute and the Homoeo- pathic Medical College of New York.
In August, 1890, Mr. Van Bergen married Mary Helen, daughter of James and Mary Dick- son, and widow of the late Andrew Watt.
Mr. Van Bergen died April 25, 1899. Thus was closed a rarely useful and exemplary career that will long be cherished. The onders and other bodies with whom he had been identified, as well as the clergy and press, paid fervent tributes to his memory. Crippled physically, every mental attribute was healthy and warm, and he was universally esteemed. He was fore- most in every good work calculated to benefit his fellowman. To quote a mourning friend, "His genial disposition, his friendliness, his generosity, his integrity, all springing from his faith in Christ, made him 'everybody's friend.' He was a part of the great living library of the Gospel of God, and on his heart was stamped that matchless enlogy of love." His life was a benediction to the community, and it is to its credit that the honors due him were not delayed until after his decease. To quote from the tribute of his mourning friend, "it is no discredit to the many other citizens of the town who have been of last- ing benefit to it, that Mr. Van Bergen, by the unanimous voice of the community has been re- garded as 'our first citizen,' and entitled to every meed of praise they could bestow." Yet above
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all sense of loss and praise there must arise the realization that what is best in man survives the incident we call death, and does so not only in some distant and future sphere, but here and now. In such abiding influence a life is most valuable to humanity, and through them the memory of Joseph B. Van Bergen will be present among friends who loved him, and the public which he served.
"So wait, our trammeled souls, with bated breath, And but one master can unbar the door.
Why fear him, though his dreaded name is Death? He sets the spirit free forever more."
WILCOX FAMILY. The founder of the Wilcox family of the line under consideration in these pages was Edward Wilcox, admitted as an inhabitant of Rhode Island in 1637.
Among Edward Wilcox's children was Stephen, of Portsmouth, Rhode Island ; freeman there in 1658, and of the colony at Westerly on the organization of that town, 1669. His farm at Watch Hill, Westerly, passed out of the family since 1880. He was born about 1633, and died, 1672 ; was deputy to the general assembly in 1670 and 1672. He married Hannah Hazard, of Rhode Island, and had children: Edward, born 1662, died November 5, 1715; married Mary, daughter of Robert Hazard. Thomas, died 1728, married Martha, daughter of Robert Haz- ard. Daniel, married, 1697, Mary Wodell. Will- iam, married, January 25, 1698, Dorothy Pal- mer. Stephen, married, 1704, Elizabeth Cran- dall. Hannah, married Samuel, son of Jeremiah Clark and Ann Audley. Jeremiah, married Mary, daughter of Thomas Mallett.
Edward Wilcox, eldest son of Stephen Wil- cox and Hannah Hazard, married (first) Mary Hazard, daughter of Robert Hazard and Mary Brownell: married (second) Thomasin Stevens, daughter of Richard Stevens, of Taunton, Mass- achusetts. There were four children of the first marriage-Mary, Hannah, Stephen and Edward -and six by the second marriage-Sarah, Thomas, Hezekiah, Elisha, Amy, and Susannah. Lieutenant-Governor Edward Wilcox, of Char- lestown, Rhode Island, was great-grandson of this Edward. He was a prominent merchant ; served many terms in the legislature between 1794 and 1823; and was presidential elector, 1816.
Stephen Wilcox, third child, eldest son of Edward Wilcox and Mary Hazard, married, July 12, 1716, Mercie Randall, daughter of Matthew Randall, of Stonington, and had children : David, born February 3, 1720. Mercie, born August
6, 1724. Eunice, born May 22, 1726. Stephen, bori April 21, 1728. Valentine, born February 14, 1733. Isaiah, born about 1738, died March 3, 1793.
Isaiah Wilcox is shown by Rhode Island mili- tary records to have been an ensign in the first company of militia at Westerly, 1775, and his brother, Valentine, a private in Captain John Gavitt's Westerly company, 1776. While the identification is not entirely certain, it is never- theless probable that these were the sons of Stephen and Mercie. Isaiah Wilcox entered the Baptist ministry; was baptized in February, 1706, and ordained February 14, 1771 ; was first pastor of the "Wilcox Church" of Westerly, and in 1785, under his ministry, more than two hun- dred members were added to the church. He was a man of much power and influence, and his death at the untimely age of fifty-five years was much mourned. He married, October 15, 1761, Sarah, daughter of John Lewis, of Westerly. After his death she married Captain Joseph Wil- cox (son of Edward, who was son of Edward). She died May 2, 1815. Rev. Isaiah Wilcox and wife Sarah Lewis had children :
Isaiah, born January 31, 1763.
Asa, born September 1, 1764; a Baptist min- ister ; died in Essex, Connecticut.
Nathan, born April 10, 1766, died June 25, 1842 ; married, Westerly, Rhode Island, February 17, 1790, Anna, daughter of Hezekiah Lewis; removed in 1792 with his brother to Danube.
Sally (Sarah), born March 23, 1769, died September 18, 1789.
Stephen, born October 10, 1770. His sons, Stephen, born May 7, 1796, and Thomas Jeffer- son, born August 15, 1800, were merchants, and also directors of the Phoenix Bank. Stephen was representative, senator, and once a candidate for governor. His son Stephen was a manufacturer and inventor of prominence, and founded and endowed the Westerly public library.
Oliver, born June 26, 1773; succeeded by purchase to the old homestead at Watch Hill.
Prudence, born March 10, 1775, died March .19, 1816; married Joshua Vose, third.
Polly (Mary), born January 8, 1777, died June 13, 1789.
Lewis, born January 4, 1785 : died George- town, South Carolina, January 29, 1829.
Mercy, born November 27, 1789, died New- ville, New York, July 20, 1879; married Heze- kiah Lewis.
Isaiah Wilcox, son of Rev. Isaiah Wilcox and wife Sarah Lewis, though less than fourteen at the beginning of the Revolution, served short
toA boilex.
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periods during the war; enlisted as minuteman about February 10, 1778, in Captain Walter White's company of Colonel Joseph Noyes' regi- ment, at Westerly, and was frequently called into service between that time and the close of the war. After his marriage he removed to New London, thence to Norwich, thence to Pres- ton, in Connecticut, and finally to the town of Danube, Herkimer county, New York. He was a deacon of the Baptist Church, and a man highly esteemed by his townsmen. He died in Danube, July 13. 1844. He married, January 22, 1788, Polly Pendleton, born, Stonington, Connecticut, November 14, 1766, died, Danube, New York, November 18, 1847, daughter of William and Judith Pendleton. They had children: Polly, born Preston, Connecticut, January 4, 1789; married, November 22, 1806, Isaac Brown. Among their grandchildren are Hon. W. W. Brown, LL. D., of Bradford, Pennsylvania ; Ma- jor Isaac Brownell Brown, secretary of internal affairs, of Pennsylvania ; and the late Jefferson L. Brown, banker, of Wilcox, Pennsylvania. Isaiah, born Preston, November 31, 1790. William Pendleton, born Danube, New York, May 30, 1794, was speaker of the senate of Pennsylvania in 1845. His son, Alonzo Isaiah, of Elk and McKean counties, was also a man of much prom- inence. Asa, born Danube, March 9, 1797, was a member of the New York legislature. His son, Isaiah Alonzo, went to California in 1849 and became a large fruit grower in San Jose. He did much in the improvement of small fruits and extending their market in the east. Lydia, born Danube, October 10, 1799, died September 6, 1865 : married Henry Weightman. Nancy, born Danube, January 31, 1802, died August 25, 1842: married Enoch Mount. Nathan Pendle- ton, born Danube, May 3, 1804.
Nathan Pendleton Wilcox, youngest child of Isaiah Wilcox and wife Polly Pendleton, removed from Danube to Nunda, New York, where he was an architect and building contractor. He died April 4, 1833, aged twenty-nine years. He married. October 9, 1828, Laurancie, daughter of William Richardson and wife Sarah Nor- ton, of Madison county, New York ; and they had children : Thomas Jefferson, born April 29, 1830, died July 30, 1830. Nathan Pendleton, born May 16, 1832, at Nunda, New York.
Nathan Pendleton Wilcox was educated at Nunda Academy, and in Rochester, New York, and began his business career as a merchant in Olean, New York. In 1862 he removed to Nicholson, Pennsylvania, where he was in the hardware trade many years, and also was a lead-
ing and influential man in the community. Prob- ably no man in the county outside of profession and official circles was more generally known, and certainly none was more universally respect- ed. From its organization in 1865 to the time of his death, a period of more than thirty-five years, was an elder of the Presbyterian Church. In 1869 he was a delegate to the general assembly in New York City that effected the union of the old and new school Presbyterians, and he was again a delegate to the general assembly at Sar- atoga, New York, in 1879. He was past master of Nicholson Lodge, No. 438, Free and Accepted Masons, and a member of Temple Commandery of Tunkhannock. In more recent years Mr. Wilcox gave his attention to land surveying and conveyancing. He died April 25, 1904. He married, Coventry, New York, October 6, 1856, Celestine Birge, daughter of John Birge and wife Nancy Little, of Coventry. Their children : William Alonzo, born Olean, New York, July 25, 1857. Clara Birge, born Olean, March 28, 1859: unmarried. Henry Pendleton, born Olean, December 28, 1860. Anna Janet, born Nichol- son, Pennsylvania, July 25, 1862 ; unmarried.
William Alonzo Wilcox, son and eldest child of Nathan Pendleton Wilcox and wife Celestine Birge, was educated in the public schools of Nicholson, Keystone Academy at Factoryville, and entered the legal profession. Since 1880 he. has been a member of the Lackawanna county bar, in active practice in the city of Scranton. He was one of the corporators of the Lackawanna Law and Library Association ; of the Pennsyl- vania Bar Association, and a member of the American Bar Association ; was ruling elder of the Presbyterian Church at Wyoming. Since May, 1901, has been title officer of The Title Guaranty & Trust Company of Scranton, Penn- sylvania, and is now also trust officer of The Scranton Trust Company ; is a director of the Farmers' National Bank of Montrose, Pennsyl- vania ; member and past master of Nicholson Lodge, No. 438, Free and Accepted Masons ; past high priest of Factoryville Chapter, No. 205, Royal Arch Masons; member of the Scranton Club: corresponding member of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society ; vice president of the Wyoming Commemorative Association, and member of the New England Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania. He was a member of the national guard of Pennsylvania from 1880 to 1889, and resigned as first lieutenant.
Mr. Wilcox married, Wyoming, Pennsyl- vania, April 22, 1885, Katherine Maria Jenkins. (educated at the Wyoming Presbyterian Insti --
2-14
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tute), daughter of Steuben and Catherine (Breese) Jenkins. Mr. Jenkins served in the Pennsylvania legislature, 1857-58, and 1882-83. He was a scholar, a careful student of local his- tory and genealogy, and a lawyer of reputation. He was grandson of Colonel John Jenkins, an of- ficer of the Revolutionary army, and great-grand- son of Judge John Jenkins, first Connecticut judge of Westmoreland county in Pennsylvania. William Alonzo Wilcox and Katherine Wil- cox had children : William Jenkins, born Wy- oming, Pennsylvania, March 17, 1886. Emily, born Wyoming, Pennsylvania, January 7, 1889. Helen, born Scranton, Pennsylvania, March 4, 1892. Stephen (twin) born Scranton, Pennsyl- vania, January 31, 1898, died January 7, 1899. Henry (twin), born Scranton, Pennsylvania, January 31, 1898, died April 23, 1899.
BENJAMIN G. MORGAN, deceased, was a fine type of Welsh character, and reflected throughout his life the striking characteristics of that remarkably vigorous and morally consti- tuted race from which he came. His entire career was an exemplification of the best con- duct of the entirely consecrated Christian. He held to the loftiest standards of personal be- havior, and which he inculcated both by example and precept. He abominated ardent spirits, and by every effort in his power sought to lessen the injuries growing out of the liquor traffic; and his ideas as to health and personal cleanli- ness made him almost as earnest an antagonist of tobacco, in whatever form. In brief, his was an ideal life.
He was born in Merthyr Tydvil, Wales, Feb- ruary 25, 1839, and he acquired a practical edu- cation in his native land. He was a grown-up man of twenty-five years when he emigrated to the United States, settling in Minersville, Lack- awanna county, Pennsylvania. He soon after- ward removed to Scranton, and shortly after his coming went to Ohio, where he attended a com- mercial college, preparatory to entering upon a business career. In 1868 he located in West Scranton, where he engaged in a drug business in partnership with Col. T. D. Lewis. This as- sociation was subsequently terminated, and Mr. Morgan remained in business alone during the remainder of his active career, about eight years prior to his death. He made his the principal establishment of its kind in that part of the city, and brought to its conduct the same strict con- scientiousness which marked his personal be- havior. His antipathy to liquor and tobacco
have been already mentioned. So deep were his convictions with reference to these evils, as he deemed them, that, druggist as he was, he would never permit himself to deal in them, thereby depriving himself of a large and highly profita- ble item of trade. While engaged in business he erected for it a handsome building which was one of the ornaments of the town. In later years he conducted an insurance business, and served as notary public and steamship agent.
Mr. Morgan was a consistent Christian from his childhood. In 1888 he connected himself with the First Baptist Church of Scranton, and thenceforward gave to it his best effort, serving as a deacon and in other capacities, and as a Bible teacher in the Sunday school, where his remarkable familiarity with the sacred volume made him a most interesting and impressive ex- ponent of its most unfamiliar passages. His kindly and liberal charities were not only dis- pensed through the church and benevolent or- ganizations to which he was attached, but out of his own hand, simply and with entire want of ostentation. His views as to the liquor traf- fic, of which he was an tinceasing and implacable foe, drew him to the Prohibition party, yet he bore himself so simply and consistently that his motives were ever unquestioned, and he made no personal enemies. He was for many years a member of the executive committee of the Pro- hibition party in Lackawanna county, and was numbered "as one of the faithful few who have continued active, where so many have deserted or have grown indifferent and inactive." In all pertaining to this cause, in which he was so deep- ly interested, his judgment was ever sound, and he never faltered in his allegiance. He was a firm friend of education, and served efficiently as a director of the Keystone Academy, and a trustee of the Pennsylvania Oral School. He was a highly esteemed member of various benev- olent societies-Square and Compass Lodge, No. 339, Free and Accepted Masons; Lackawanna Council, No. 112, Royal Arcanum, and others.
In 1870 Mr. Morgan married Miss Emily Wade, of Montrose, and to them were born a son, who became associated with his father in the real estate and insurance business, and a daugh- ter, Miss Anna Morgan. A sister, Mrs. David Williams, resides in Hudson, New York.
Mr. Morgan died on April 14, 1905. His leath was due to a liver complaint which proved incurable, and his last illness of four weeks' dur- ation gave only assurance of the dreaded result. The public press pronounced the loss to the city
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as inestimable, as that of one of its most con- spicuous and honored citizens. Though unob- trusive, he filled a large place in all of the varied relations of his life, and, said a biographer, "how large a place we could not realize until he was removed ; but now we miss him, and are aston- ished at our emptiness and loneliness without him." The funeral was attended by a large con- course drawn from all walks of life, conducted by his pastor, the Rev. J. S. Wrightnour, and the services were most touching. The charac- ter of the lamented deceased was summed up by the Rev. W. G. Watkins, who said that it would be impossible to think of Mr. Morgan separate from Christianity, the Christian life in him was so luminous as to be unmistakably rec- ognized by all. and only from this viewpoint can be fully appreciated the beauty of his char- ·acter, the loveableness of his disposition and the genuineness of his religion-the complete sym- metry of his life. His home life was ideal. He was the most considerate of husbands, the most tender of fathers. His family was bound to- gether in the bonds of a pure and sacred love. Said the reverend writer in conclusion: The immortal bard's tribute to another is the measure . of our brother's sterling character :
"His life was gentle, and the elements So mixed in him that nature might stand up And say to all the world, 'This was a man.
Further, what Pope and Burns regarded as ""the noblest work of God," namely, "an honest man," also fittingly characterizes him. But in- finitely more to be coveted than the tenderest hunian tribute is God's own encomium pro- nounced upon one of his servants of old, and which suffers nothing in its application to the dead man : "A man after mine own heart."
SILAS J. MINTON. In all probability there is not in Lackawanna county a better example of what may be accomplished by perseverance, pluck and integrity than is furnished by the ca- reer of Silas J. Minton, of Scranton. By the possession and exercise of these traits of char- acter Mr. Minton has risen from one of the lower rounds of the ladder to a place in which he is recognized as one of the leading men in his line of business.
John Minton was born in New Jersey, where he passed the greater portion of his life, moving in 1877 to the Lackawanna Valley. He married in 1862 Victoria, born in 1842, in Scranton,
daughter of Thomas and Ann Nicholas, both na- tives of England. They were married in their native country, whence they emigrated to the United States after the birth of four children. Mr. Nicholas was one of the pioneer miners in the Wyoming Valley and one of the first in Slocum Hollow. His children, born in England and America, were ten in number, nine of whom were the following : Harriet, Mary, Elizabeth, John, Henry, Jane, Susan, Victoria, who became the wife of John Minton as mentioned above : and William. Of these John, Jane, Susan and Vic- toria are still living. Mr. Nicholas, the father of this large family, died in 1853, at the age of fifty-five years, and his wife survived him many years, passing away in 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Minton were the parents of three sons: John C., Silas J., mentioned at length hereinafter ; and John H. Of these Silas J. is the only one now living. In 1892, after the death of John Minton, in Newark, New Jersey, his widow married Thomas M. Oakley, who died February 28, 1904. Mrs. Oakley died July 13, 1905.
Silas J. Minton, son of John and Victoria ( Nicholas) Minton, was born October 8, 1864, in Essex county, New Jersey, and received his education partly in his native county and partly in the Lackawanna Valley, whither he was taken by his parents when thirteen years of age. Like many if not all boys in the anthracite region, his first occupation was that of picking slate. Sub- sequently he worked for a time in the Spencer rolling mills, and then became one of the first drivers of Fenner & Chappel Ready Pay stores. His natural aptitude for mechanical pursuits caused him to learn the carpenter's trade, which he mastered without such instruction as appren- tices generally receive. In 1892 he opened a shop, and in 1899 engaged in business as a con- tractor, since which time he has succeeded be- vond his most sanguine expectations. He is the owner of one of the most desirable residences to be found in the section of the city in which he makes his home. As a citizen he possesses the cordial liking and full esteem of his neighbors. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., and in politics affiliates with the Republicans. He is a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
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