Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 43

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 43
USA > Wyoming > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 43

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. Minton married in 1890 Lillian G., daughter of Joseph and Elida Reynolds, and two children have been born to them: Victor and Lois.

WILLIAM H. DAVIS, one of the leading florists of Scranton, also one of its most enter- prising and progressive citizens, was born in

212

THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

Bloomsburg, Columbia county, Pennsylvania, January 27, 1871, a son of Joseph and Emma (Kearnes) Davis, grandson of James Davis, a soldier in the Mexican war, a farmer in early life, and afterward an employee in the iron works at Danville, and great-grandson of one of the heroes of the Revolutionary war, who was a resident of Columbia county. Joseph Davis ( father) was a native of Bloomsburg, and was there engaged as a machinist and contract miner. During the Civil war he twice enlisted in the Union army and served as a member of the cav- alry. His death occurred in 1879, his wife hav- ing passed away prior to his decease. Their family consisted of five children, namely : James T., William H., John W., Hannah Cathrine, and Harriet J.

Being orphaned at the age of eight years, William H. Davis was early thrown upon his own resources. He attended the common schools, where he fitted himself for a life of future use- fulness. His early days were spent in agricul- tural pursuits, and in 1886 he was apprenticed to J. L. Dillon, a leading florist of Bloomsburg. Here he became familiar with every department and acquired a thorough knowledge of the entire work. In 1892 he removed to Scranton and two years later formed a partnership with John W. Beagle, purchasing a florist's business, which he has since enlarged in every department, and in which success has followed his every effort. His office is situated at No. 427 Spruce street, where in a beautiful and artistic manner is displayed the . product of his extensive hot-houses which are lo- cated on Washburn street and Fillmore avenue, near the Washburn street cemetery. He has thirty thousand square feet of glass, the largest greenhouses in the city of Scranton, under which he raises the most choice flowers and plants of all variety suited to this climate. His business in cut flowers is quite extensive, while his trade in potted plants has grown to phenomenal propor- tions. He occupies seven houses which average one hundred and fifty feet in length and twenty- eight feet in width each. Two are for roses, two for chrysanthemums and seed plants, one for carnations, one for ferns, palms, smilax and as- paragus, and one for geraniums. He makes a specialty of roses. In addition to his large city trade he conducts an extensive cemetery busi- ness. He occupies in connection with his green- houses three acres.

Mr. Davis is thoroughly conversant with his business, a business which brings us so close to the great Creator, for in these beautiful plants and

flowers we see the power and workmanship of his hands and in their cultivation we think and read his thoughts after him. In addition to the cultivation of flowers, he carries a line of shrubs. and trees and does considerable business as a nurseryman ; in decorative work his services are also in demand. Mr. Davis is a staunch adherent of the principles of Republicanism. He holds. membership in the Royal Arcanum, Knights of Malta, and Knights of the Golden Eagle. Mr. Davis is unmarried.

HON. WILLOUGHBY W. WATSON is numbered among the foremost men of large af- fairs of the Lackawanna valley. Recognized as a lawyer of commanding ability, he is also ac -. tively identified with many of the leading indus- trial, commercial and financial enterprises of that region, and has rendered efficient service to the. public in various important stations.

Mr. Watson comes of a distinguished Scotch ancestry and is of Pennsylvania parentage and birth. The family name is perpetuated in that of John Watson University of Edinburgh, one of the most famous institutions of learning in Great Britain, and which was founded by one of his ancestors, John Watson. Walter Watson, great-grandfather of Willoughby W. Watson, was a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, graduated in medicine and surgery from the famous uni- versity of that city, and practiced his profession there his life through, excepting during the Rev- olutionary period, when he served as surgeon in the British army. One of his lineal descendants is to-day the most eminent medical practitioner in Edinburgh.

Walter Watson (second) was even more dis- tinguished than was his father, above named. He was born in New York City, while his par- ents were temporarily sojourning in this country. He was educated in Scotland, completing his studies in the University of Edinburg, where he 'was a student for seven years, and from which he was graduated with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Medicine. He was an excellent classical scholar and an accom- plished linguist, speaking seven different lan- guages with fluency. Soon after his graduation he came to the United States, settling in Cold Spring, New York, where he practiced his pro- fession with much success. He came to his death by accident at the age of seventy-five years, by his bed taking fire.

Walter Watson, son of Dr. Walter Watson (second), was born in Cold Spring, Putnam

M.M. Watson

213

THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

county, New York. He removed to New Mil- ford, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, where · he improved a farm upon which he lived for more than fifty years. He was active in com- munity affairs, particularly such as related to education, and was called to various township offices. Like his father, his death was occasioned by an accident. He married Candace Hammond, a native of Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania. Her father, Col. Asa Hammond, was of an old New England family ; he was a farmer and mer- chant, an enterprising and successful man, and derived his military title from service in the militia. He died at the age of ninety-six years.

Willoughby W. Watson, in point of birth second of the eight children of Dr. Walter and Candace (Hammond) Watson, was born Octo- ber 6, 1842, in New Milford, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, and was reared to habits of industry and upon the paternal farm. He be- gan his school studies in his native village, and after his fifteenth year attended the Normal School at Montrose, Pennsylvania, and the Sus- quehanna Seminary at Binghamton, New York, supporting himself and defraying his tuition by teaching school during the winters. At the age of nineteen he entered the Millersville (Penn- sylvania ) State Normal School, where he com- pleted the full course. He had already rendered efficient service as a teacher, and he was now so thoroughly equipped that his abilities found recognition in his election as superintendent of schools of Susquehanna county in June, 1866, at the age of twenty-four years. While capably discharging the duties of this position he also read law under the preceptorship of Judge Bent- ley and Senator Fitch, of Montrose. He was admitted to the bar in 1868, resigned the school superintendency and at once entered upon the practice of his profession. In 1870 he became a member of the law firm of Fitch & Watson, an association which was terminated in 1874. That year marked the turning point in Mr. Watson's career, and introduced him to a field of new op- portunities, in which he was destined to acquit himself with conspicuous usefulness and credit. Made the Republican candidate for the legisla- ture from the Forty-second district (counties of Susquehanna and Wayne), he was elected by a large majority, carrying Wayne county by a plurality of twenty-one votes in face of an op- posing party plurality of eight hundred. Serving in the legislative sessions of 1875-76, in both he was a member of the judiciary and other im- portant committees. In his second year he in-

troduced seven bills, all of which have been pre- served upon the statute books to the present time, one of these providing for the foreclosure of mortgages on railroads partly in Pennsylvania and partly in other states. Among other of his bills was one for re-establishing the New York and Pennsylvania boundary line ; one for regu- lating attorneys' fees on judgments under one hundred dollars, and another for making certain offices incompatible. He was again the choice of Susquehanna county to succeed himself, but in the joint convention of the two counties the nomination went to Wayne county. In 1878 he was the choice of his county ( Susquehanna ) for congress, but the nomination went to Colonel Overton. While in Susquehanna county Mr. Watson served upon the Republican central com- mittee and was a recognized leader in the county and district, and was for some time editor of the Independent Republican. In 1879 he formed a law partnership with A. H. McCollum, of Montrose, which continued until May 1. 1883, when Mr. Watson removed to Scranton.

Since locating in Scranton, Mr. Watson has been recognized as one of the most industrious and successful practitioners at the bar of that city and district. An indefatigable student, he keeps fully abreast with the most recent elaborations of the law, particularly with reference to indus- tries, commerce and finance, which enter so large- ly into the business life of the Lackawanna val- ley, with its multifarious interests and their com- plex relationship. In his pleadings he is clear and convincing, placing his reliance upon reason and logic, before oratorical effort, and, as a re- sult in various instances, the adjudication of his cases has been given permanent worth in the es- tablishment of precedents. While having in his care the interests of an extensive and important clientele, including large industrial and financial corporations, Mr. Watson has taken an active part in advancing various interests entering into the commercial life of the community. He was instrumental in organizing the Traders' Na- tional Bank of Scranton, of which he was the original vice-president, a position he has occu- pied to the present time. He is also secretary and treasurer of the Moosic Mountain Coal Company ; treasurer of the Mount Jessup Coal Company, Limited ; was manager of the Florence Coal Company ; treasurer and one of the man- agers of the Providence and Abington Turnpike and Plankroad Company, and the Northern Boulevard Company : treasurer and a director of the Whitehall Land and Improvement Company,

214

THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

and the Lackawanna Land Company; and a di- rector of the Whitehall Water Company, the Whitehall Portland Cement Company, the Dal- ton and Allendale Railway Company, and the Pennsylvania Casualty Company. He is a mem- ber of the Scranton Board of Trade. He is a member of the Second Presbyterian Church, the Scranton and Country Clubs, is a Republican in politics, and is affiliated with Warren Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Montrose. Of even disposition and exemplary habits, he has re- tained his physical vigor in remarkable degree, and is in the zenith of his mental powers. He is widely known and universally esteemed for his professional and business abilities, and his ex- cellent personal characteristics.

Mr. Watson married, in Upper Lehigh, No- vember 26, 1868, Miss Annie M. Kemmerer, born in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Charles Kemmerer. Of this marriage were born six children, of whom two are deceased. Those living are: Walter L., was assistant su- perintendent of the Mid-Valley Coal Company, Wilberton, Pennsylvania. He is manager of the Lackawanna Land Company and of the Clear Springs Water Company. Albert L., a grad- uate of Amherst College, class of 1900, is an at- torney-at-law and member of the. firm of Watson, Diehl & Kemmerer. Annie M., who was edu- cated in New York City, and Candace A. The family reside at No. 504 Monroe avenue, Scran- ton.

HENRY BELIN, Jr., president of the E. I. Du Pont de Nemours & Company, of Penn- sylvania, powder manufacturers, is the repre- sentative of a family which has been connected with the industry carried on by that great cor- poration from its very founding, and is other- wise known as a leading factor in finance and industry in northeastern Pennsylvania.

His family is of French origin, and his great- grandfather, John Belin, was a planter in the island of San Domingo, West Indies. His son Augustus was driven out by the great uprising of 1791, and came to the United States. He was first engaged in business in Philadelphia, and later removed to Wilmington, Delaware, where he resided during the remainder of his life, be- coming connected with the famous Du Pont powder works. His wife was Alletta Hedrick, a Philadelphia lady of German parentage, and their children were Ann, Charles and Henry. The father died in 1843, aged seventy-three years.

Henry Belin, son of Augustus and Alletta: (Hedrick) Belin, was born in Philadelphia, and educated at the United States Military Acad- emy at West Point. He joined the corps of topographical engineers, with which he was con- nected until 1843, and during this period sur- veyed the Maine and Canadian boundary line,. one of the notable undertakings of that day. On leaving the army he became identified with the- Du Pont powder works in Wilmington, Dela- ware, continuing until 1865, when he located in St. Louis, where he was engaged in business. for ten years. He then returned to Wilmington, where he resided until his death, in 1891. He- married Isabella d'Andelot, a daughter of Henry d'Andelot, and their children were: Gratiot,. Louisa, Mary, Henry, Jr., and d'Andelot. The mother died in 1863, aged fifty years.

Henry Belin, Jr., was born September 23, 1843, at West Point, New York, while the father- was there stationed. He prepared for college at the Hopkins Grammar School, at New Haven,. Connecticut, and then entered Yale College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1863, at the age of twenty years. He at once became- identified with E. I. Du Pont de Nemours & Com- pany, powder manufacturers. After seven years. residence in Wilmington, Delaware, he removed to Scranton, where he has now resided for thirty- five years. Shortly after his coming he identified himself with the principal financial and indus- trial enterprises of that day, and has continued to afford his aid to the establishment of various. others in the intervening time. He is president of E. I. Du Pont de Nemours & Company, of Pennsylvania, powder manufacturers ; vice-pres- ident of the Third National Bank of Scranton, a director in the Lackawanna Trust and Safe De- posit Company, vice-president of the Cherry River Boom and Lumber Company, president of the Wyoming Shovel Works, vice-president of the Scranton Lace Curtain Company, director and treasurer of the Scranton Forging Company. His humanitarian disposition is attested by his continued labors in behalf of various praise- worthy institutions, and his liberality in contrib- uting to their support. He was a leading figure- in the movements which resulted in the estab- lishment of the Pennsylvania Oral School, was one of its founders, and from the first has been a member of its board of trustees and its treas- urer. His services to the Hahnemann Hospital have also been of great value, and he has long been a member of its advisory board. He is also a trustee and the treasurer of the Scranton Pub-

215

THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

lic Library, and a member of the Pennsylvania State Library Commission. He is connected with the Second Presbyterian Church, and is a trustee of that body. For some years he was actively identified with the National Guard of Pennsylvania, having served for two years in the Thirteenth Regiment, and for one year as aide-de-camp on the staff of Brigadier General Sigfried. He is a member of the Scranton Club, the Country Club and the Bicycle Club. His personal characteristics are such as mark the highest type of citizen. He is the embodiment of inflexible principle and lofty integrity, and his sympathy and charity are freely extended upon every worthy call. He is of modest and retiring disposition, and without ambition as re- gards public preferment.

Mr. Belin married Miss Margaret Lammot, a daughter of Ferdinand Lammot, and to them have been born nine children: Mary, Isabella, died in infancy ; Alice; Henry, died at the age of five years ; Paul, Charles, Lammot, Margaretta and d'Andelot.

J. ALBERT KADZ, who has borne a most useful part in the community among whom his years have been spent, is an honored representa- tive of families which have been identified with the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania since about the middle of the seventeenth century. The Von Katz (as the name was then spelled) family was among the first settlers of Germantown. Both the Kadz and Dungan families were loyal to the colonies during the dark and dreadful period of the Revolutionary war, and played well and ably their part in bringing about the freedom and liberty which we enjoy today.

The paternal great-great-grandfather of J. Albert Kadz spelled his name Von Katz, which was changed in the course of events to the Angli- sized way of the present day, Kadz. He was a native of Germany and of noble birth. He started the first paper-mill in Germantown, which is stated on good authority as being the first mill in the state of Pennsylvania. The maternal great- grandfather of J. Albert Kadz was a Mr. Dun- gan, a native of Ireland, and a converted Catho- lic priest. The Dungans settled in Germantown, Pennsylvania, previous to the Revolutionary war. They first migrated to Scotland, and from thence to America, making Germantown their place of destination.

The paternal grandfather of J. Albert Kadz - was William Kadz, a native of Germantown. He.

was a cooper by trade and also operated a stone quarry. His wife was Miss Christine Bowman, to whom were born three children: Silas, Mary and Paul W. The latter is paying teller in the Germantown National Bank. The maternal grandfather of J. Albert Kadz was Benjamin Dungan, a native of Germantown, who was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Minnick, a descendant of a German ancestry.

Silas Kadz, father of J. Albert Kadz, was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania. In 1866 he removed to Monroe county, same state, where he followed his trade, that of millwright. He was also a practical machinist, and these branches of industry he followed during the greater part of his life. He was a veteran of the Civil war, hav- ing served as a member of Company H, One Hundred and Seventy-sixth Regiment Pennsyl- vania Volunteer Infantry ; he served as hospital steward during the last year of the war, and was honorably discharged from the service of the United States government. His death occurred in 1900. His widow is living at the present time (1904). Their family consisted of twelve chil- dren, five of whom are living, namely: Mrs. Mary E. Miller, William, J. Albert, Mrs. Alice Featherman, and Charles Kadz.

J. Albert Kadz was born in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, July 7, 1867. He was reared in his native town and enjoyyed the advantages of a common school education. In 1877 he moved to Scranton and applied himself to the carpenter trade, which he mastered to perfection and which he has successfully conducted up to the present time. In 1902, seeing the advantage of broaden- ing his sphere of work, he became a contractor and has since gained considerable prominence. At the present time ( 1904) he has in process of construction six buildings, on which are em- ployed twenty-five men. In 1903 he erected six- teen dwelling houses in the city, and these facts are ample evidences of the wisdom of his new enterprise. His work takes him into the various sections of the city, in all of which he is becoming well known as a master mechanic. Mr. Kadz is a member of the First Christian Science Church of Scranton, upholds by his vote the principles of the Republican party, and holds membership in the Patriotic Order Sons of America.

In November, 1889, Mr. Kadz was united in marriage to Miss Nellie W. Williams, daughter of Minor Williams, of Foster, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania. Their children are : Bessie Irene, born 1894 ; Harold D., born 1897.

216

THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

OTTO D. MYERS. No better type of the energetic business man and popular citizen can be found than is presented by Otto D. Myers, of Scranton. To say that Mr. Myers comes of Ger- man ancestry is equivalent to saying that he rep- resents an element which has been a forceful one in the history of Pennsylvania almost since the period of its inception as a colony.

George Myers (father), a native of Ger- many, emigrated to the United States early in the nineteenth century and settled in Philadelphia. In the course of time he removed to what was then Luzerne county and made his home in South Abington township, where he purchased from the government four hundred acres of land, and a great part of this he cultivated with the help of his sturdy sons. Their crops were plentiful and commanded good prices in the markets of Car- bondale, Honesdale and Wilkes-Barre, to which places they travelled in wagons drawn by oxen. He married Susanna Bond, also a native of Ger- many, and the following children were born to them: 1. Jacob, who married Mary Hutemaker and had nine children. 2. Adam, who married Harriet Garrison and became the father of three children. 3. Elizabeth, who became the wife of Green Griffin and had five children; after the death of her husband she married Z. Vosburg, by whom she had four children. 4. Samuel, who married Susan Ross and had three children. 5. John, mentioned at length hereinafter. 6. Peter, who died in infancy. On the death of Mr. Myers his land was divided among his children, who became good, useful and loyal citizens as their descendants are at the present day.

John Myers, son of George and Susanna (Bond) Myers, was born June 16, 1823, and be- came the owner of one hundred acres of the orig- inal tract of land purchased by his father. He was a practical and successful farmer. He up- held by his vote and influence the principles of the Republican party, and was a member of the Baptist Church. He married Judith M. Ross, who was born January 23, 1826, and was the sister of Susan Ross, mentioned above as the wife of Samuel Myers. Mr. and Mrs. Myers were the parents of the following children: I. George W., born March 7. 1847, a contractor, married Abi Slocum, and has two children. 2. Orpha, born December 18, 1849, deceased. 3. Susan A., born July 15, 1851, is the wife of John Kealor, and has one son John D. 4. Eugene A., born March 7, 1854. a farmer, married Clara Fish, and has one child. 5. Otto D., mentioned

at length hereinafter. 6. Oscar J., born June 4, 1859, deceased. 7. Benjamin S., born April 12, 1861, married Mary Leonard and has two chil- dren. 8. Leonard E., born February 3, 1863, de- ceased. 9. Carrie B., born April 30, 1868, died at two years of age. Mr. Myers, the father of the family, died November 10, 1888, and his widow passed away September 25, 1900. They were respected and loved by all who knew them.

Otto D. Myers, fifth child of John and Judith M. ( Ross) Myers, was born March 20, 1856, and received his education in his native township. His early years were spent on his father's farm, and he was subsequently employed by the D. & H. Company, in whose service he remained for eighteen years as conductor between Wilkes- Barre and Carbondale. In 1878 he received an inujry to his leg by which he was for a time dis- abled, but after recovering resumed his work with the company. In 1893 he went to Califor- nia, where he was employed for one year by the Southern Pacific Railroad. During this time he met with another accident by which he lost two fingers of his left hand. After his return to the Lackawanna Valley he was engaged for five years in the grocery business. Mr. Myers has al- ways taken an active part in public affairs, and is a trusted and popular citizen. In 1889 he was appointed to fill a vacancy as alderman of the second ward, and in 1900 was elected to the same office for five years. He is president of the Al- dermen's Association and is a member of the I. O. O. F., wearing a veteran jewel, a mark of distinction conferred on every member who has been for twenty-five consecutive years connected with the lodge. He belongs to the Encampment and is past grand patriarch. He is past councilor of the Modern Woodmen of America, and a charter member of the I. O. R. M.

Mr. Myers married, March 20, 1879. Ida, daughter of Celinda A. Vail. This union was dissolved in 1886 by the death of Mrs. Myers, and in 1889 Mr. Myers married Lelia L. Vail, a sister of his first wife. There were no children by either marriage.

CHARLES SUMNER WOOLWORTH, prominently identified with leading business in- terests in the city of Scranton, and widely known throughout the country for his connection with the Woolworth Five- and Ten-Cent Stores, an innovation with which he was connected from the beginning, is descended from a notable an- cestry dated back to the early colonial period of New England. Members of the family were

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 43

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