Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 61

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 61
USA > Wyoming > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 61

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).

303

THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

Wells was a self-made man in every respect. He was a strong Abolitionist during the time when it took courage to express those convictions. He was a man who possessed the faculty of making and retaining many friends. During his busi- ness career he accumulated sufficient money and real estate to enrich his children, whose names were as follows : Charles, Ida, Mary E., deceased ; Mary A., deceased ; Emma, and Martha B., afore- mentioned as the wife of John E. Watt, and the mother of four children, namely : 1. William E., born July 26, 1871 ; he was graduated from Car- bondale high school in 1888, from Wyoming Seminary in 1890, from the Western University, Connecticut, in 1894, and graduated with honors from the law department of the University of Michigan in 1896. He was admitted a member of the Lackawanna County bar in 1899. In 1896 he was married to Caroline Innis, of Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania, and they are the parents of one daughter, Martha, born in 1898. 2. Mary E., born 1873, wife of Dr. J. J. Thompson. 3. Fred- erick G., born 1878. 4. Clara I., born 1884, was a student at Mount Vernon Seminary, of Wash- ington, D. C., Mrs. Summers, principal, and in 1904 received the highest honors which that in- stitution could confer upon its pupils, namely : membership in the "Order of the Lily." John E. Watt died at his home in Carbondale, Pennsyl- vania, June 5, 1901. His death was sincerely mourned not only by his immediate family but also by a wide circle of personal friends and busi- ness associates, who estimated his characteristics at their true value.

ALBERT HUNT WELLES, principal of 'Scranton high school, was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, September 12, 1864, son of An- drew Jackson and Anna Meade (Hunt) Welles. Andrew Jackson Welles ( father), born March 25, 1827, son of Elijah and Milla ( Smith) Welles, of Glastonbury, Hartford county, Con- necticut, where he spent his early days, was edu- cated in public schools and Connecticut Normal school of New Britain. He taught school at Glas- tonbury for several years, about 1855 came to Wyoming, Pennsylvania, and followed teaching at the Wyoming Institute, then in a flourishing condition. After remaining about two years in Wyoming he went to Janesville, Wisconsin, and for the following eighteen months served as man- ager in the book store of Mr. Sutherland. At the expiration of this period of time he returned to Wyoming and became first acting principal of the Scranton high school, but after a short ser-

vice there was called to become principal of the Carbondale high school, which position he held for three years. He then removed to Wilkes- Barre and became teller in the First National Bank, remaining as such for six years, and then, his health failing him, he returned to his old home in Glastonbury, Connecticut, where he re- mained three years or until his death, which oc- curred July 12, 1872, at the age of forty-five years. He was a member and deacon of the First Presbyterian church in Wilkes-Barre. He was a Republican in politics. He married, December 14, 1857, Anna Meade, daughter of the Rev. Thomas Poage and Ann Meade (Field) Hunt, of Virginia. (See sketch of Susan C. Hunt else- where in this work.) Andrew J. and Anna Meade (Hunt) Welles were the parents of five children : Susan Meade, died at the age of two years. Eliza- beth, wife of the Rev. C. R. Gregory, pastor of the Memorial Presbyterian Church of Wilkes- Barre. Thomas P. Hunt, died in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, aged eighteen months. Albert Hunt, see below. Anna Meade, died in Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania, aged eight years.

Albert Hunt Welles spent his early days in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and was educated in public schools and Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsyvania, graduating in chemistry in 1889, receiving master's degree, M. S. in 1902. In 1889 he secured a position as chemist with the Montgomery Iron Company, Port Kennedy, Pennsylvania, and later was employed in the lab- oratory with Parke, Davis & Company of Detroit, Michigan. In the spring of 1890 he came to Eas- ton, Pennsylvania, and engaged in chemistry, manufacturing picric acid for about ten months under firm name of Davis & Welles, but by the decision of the secretary of the treasury this ar- ticle was put on the free list, which act compelled the suspension of the business. In December, 1890, he located in Brooklyn, New York, and en- tered the laboratory of the New York Tartar Company, of Brooklyn, remaining one year. He returned to Easton, Pennsylvania, January I, 1892, and became instructor in chemistry in La- fayette College, remaining as such until June, 1896. He then came to Scranton and became head of the science department of the Scranton high school, which was opened September, 1896, and also equipped the laboratories there. In the summer of 1903 he was elected principal of the same school and has occupied that position up to date (1906). This school is now known as the Central high school. He was appointed in April, 1896, chemist for the Dairy Food Commissioner

304

THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

of Pennsylvania, Major Levi Wells, and has been reappointed under all the succeeding commis- sioners up to date ( 1906). He is a Republican in politics. He is a member of the Second Pres- byterian Church of Scranton. He has held mem- bership in the American Chemical Society since 1891, and is a member of Phi Delta Theta, Col- lege fraternity, and Phi Beta Kappa, seminary society.

Albert H. Welles married, August 29, 1895. Stella D. Leach, daughter of George W. Leach, of Wilkes-Barre, a sketch of, whom appears else- where in this work, and they have one daughter, Anna Hunt, born October 4, 1896.

CLAUDE G. HARSCH, a prominent mer- chant and well known citizen of Wyoming bor- ough, has both French and German ancestry. He was born at Seurre, France, March 29, 1849, a son of George and Clandine (Thevenin) Harsch, the former named a native of Germany, and the latter a native of France, a daughter of Anthony Thevenin. Their family consisted of three chil- dren : Claude G., see forward ; Emelic, married George Burens, a commercial traveler of Paris, France ; Clothilde, a teacher in the public schools of Paris, France. George Harsch followed the trade of a shoemaker, lived in Seurre, France, where he married, and died in Paris, France, 1887.

Claude G. Harsch received an excellent educa- tion in the public schools of Paris, France, and at the age of fourteen accepted a position as clerk in a Paris music store, which he retained for six years. At the end of this period. 1869, he de- termined to come to America. He landed at New York, and immediately secured employment on a railroad. Here he remained four months, and then went to Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he was employed for some time in a saw mill and in the iron mills. In 1870, during the time of the great strike in that section, he enlisted in the state militia and served throughout the strike. In 1872 he removed to New Jersey and there worked for three years as weighmaster for Par- dec & Company, after which he was for four months captain of a boat on the Morris canal. He then returned to Scranton and worked for a short time for the Scranton Water Company, and then moved to Wyoming and worked in the mines until 1883. when he accepted a position in the general store of William Hancock, and remained there two years. He then went to France in order to give his daughter better educational ad- vantages than could be obtained here, and re-

mained abroad about one year. Upon his return to Wyoming, Pennsylvania, he resumed work with William Hancock and continued the same for four and a half years, and again visited France in order to bring his daughter home, and also to see the great exposition in Paris. After a short time spent in Europe, Mr. Harsch returned to Wyoming, Pennsylvania, and purchased from Mr. Hancock the store in which he had been em- ployed for so long a time. Since that time he has conducted a general mercantile business at that place with unvaried success, and has also engaged in a number of real estate transactions which have proved exceedingly remunerative. He served in the capacity of assessor three years, anditor for two terms, and is now treasurer of the borough.

Mr. Harsch is a member of the Presbyterian church. He is a staunch Democrat in politics. He is a man of very progressive ideas and alive to all the interests of the community in which he resides, He is a member of the Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows, and is a past officer in the following bodies : Canton, No. 31, Wilkes-Barre ; Encampment No. 46, Wyoming ; Rebekah Lodge No. 231, Wyoming Subordinate Lodge, No. 887, Wyoming. He is a director in the Orphan Home of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Sunbury, Pennsylvania. He was formerly a men- ber of the Improved Order of Red Men, and now holds membership in the French Association of Scranton and the National Protective Legion of Waverly, New York.

Mr. Harsch married, July 2, 1874, Henrietta Sutton, born in Peoria. Illinois, March 23, 1858, daughter of Timothy M. and Jane ( Booth) Sut- ton, natives of New Jersey, and of English and French descent, granddaughter of Benjamin and Lecta (Mills) Sutton, and the great-great-grand- daughter of one Sutton, a native of France, who came to America with General Lafayette and fought with him in the Revolution. Benjamin and Lecta (Mills) Sutton had six children : Elizabeth, Samuel M., Jane, Timothy M., Mary A., and Nancy. Timothy M. and Jane ( Booth ) Sutton were the parents of two children : Hen- rietta and Walter. Timothy M. Sutton, born in Walnut Grove, died in Dover. Mr. and Mrs. Harsch are the parents of one child, Emelie J., born July 31, 1875, who was educated at Limcil, France, graduated there with the highest honors, and upon her return to the United States attended the Wyoming high school. She married Richard Rapson, of Wyoming, Pennsylvania, who is a machinist in the employ of his father ; (sec sketch of N. Rapson elsewhere in this work), and their

305

THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

children are: Claude N., born January 29, 1903 ; and Charles Milton, born November 24, 1905.

EDWARD MACKIN, a resident of Wilkes- Barre, for over sixty years, was born there Feb- ruary 27, 1840. He is of Irish descent, a son of Dennis and Katherine (Hoffman) Mackin, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of the Wyoming Valley.

Dennis Mackin came to Wilkes-Barre from Ireland (in 1836), where he was born, and was a son of Edward Mackin of county Longford, Ire- land, a stock raiser there, which business his sons also followed. They were John, Thomas and Dennis, but Dennis at the age of nineteen years, ran away and came to Wilkes-Barre. He was a stonemason by trade, but began mining coal for the Baltimore Coal company in Wilkes-Barre, continued in this business for forty years, and re- tired aged sixty-five years, having acquired real estate and coal properties from which he received royalties. He died October 14, 1879, aged sev- enty years, in Wilkes-Barre, and was buried in the Catholic cemetery there. He married Kath- erine Hoffman, and they were the parents of eight children : 1. Edward, our subject. 2. John, died in infancy. 3. Kate, died young. 4. Ellen, deceased, who married James Dowling, resides in Plym- outh. 5. Anna, married Albert Parsons, de- ceased ; she resides in Wilkes-Barre. 6. Mary, married Peter Frey, of Wilkes-Barre. 7. Jane, married Charles Bray, resides in Wilkes-Barre. 8. Thomas, resides in Wilkes-Barre.

Mrs. Katherine (Hoffman) Mackin is a de- scendant of a very old family of the Wyoming Valley. Ruloff Fisher, great-great-grandfather of our subject, emigrated from Holland and settled in Hanover township, Luzerne county, Pennsyl- vania in 1752, and took up a government claim of five hundred acres of land near where Hanover Green cemetery is now located, and where he and his wife are now buried. They had six children, . the second being Ellen (great-grandmother), who married Caleb Billings, also of the valley, and they had among other children, Elizabeth (grand- mother) who married Matthias Hoffman, whose father emigrated to Orange county, New York, about 1752; Matthias Hoffman grew up on his father's farm until eighteen years of age, when his father gave him a yoke of oxen, and, going to Easton, he began work with his oxen on the turnpike then (1802) building from Easton to Wilkes-Barre. After working on the turnpike to Wilkes-Barre, in the spring of 1803 he disposed of his oxen there and opened a shoe store in that

city, where he married Elizabeth Billings, and had the following children : George ; John ; Will- iam : Mary, married John McGuinness ; Katherine ( Mrs. Dennis Mackin, subject's mother) : Ellen ; and Jane, married John Gress. Matthias Hoff- man continued in the shoe business in Wilkes- Barre until he died, in 1882, aged ninety-eight years.

Edward Mackin, our subject, was educated in the public schools of his native city and Wyo- oming Seminary, Kingston, Pennsylvania, gradu- ating in 1856. He first began active life in 1851 as an employe of the Baltimore Coal Company, while very young, going to school during the win- ters and working during the summers, picking slate, and was employed in various capacities around the mines for several years and became fireman for the same company on the first loco- motive in the valley at seventeen years of age, holding this position during the summer of 1855 and 1856, and in 1857 became engineer on the same locomotive, continuing as such until the spring of 1861, when he enlisted in Wilkes- Barre in the Fifty-second Regiment, Pennsyl- vania Volunteers, as a musician, and was ordered to Camp Curtin near Harrisburg, and in the fall of 1861 went with his regiment to Washington City. In the spring of 1862, his regiment was at- tached to McClellan's Army of the Potomac, go- ing to Fortress Monroe and Newport News, Vir- ginia, and was with McClellan in the Peninsula campaign, and present at the battles of Fair Oaks .. White Oak Swamp, and Malvern Hill. When by act of congress all regimental bands were dis- charged, in August, 1862, our subject returned to Wilkes-Barre, where he resumed his former oc- cupation of engineer, and so served until January I, 1865, when he was appointed outside super- intendent for the same company, at this time known as the Delaware and Hudson Coal Com- pany, which position he continued to fill to the entire satisfaction of the management for about forty years, until 1904, since which time he has lived retired in this, his native city.

He married, December 26, 1862, Mary Dowl- ing, and the following children have been born : I. Charles E., married Mary Jane Monday, re- sides in Wilkes-Barre. 2. Dennis A. (see sketch elsewhere in this work). 3. Dr. Thomas H., mar- ried Ellen Sammon, of Reading, Pennsylvania, where he resides. 4. Sarah, married John J. Moore, of Plymouth, formerly treasurer of Lu- zerne county. 5. Florence, resides at home.

Mr. Mackin is a member of Conyngham Post,. Grand Army of the Republic, of Wilkes-Barre,

2-20

306

THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

and is also a member of Holy Saviour's Church (Roman Catholic) of Wilkes-Barre. The fam- ily are also members of the same church.

NATHAN WESLEY MARTZ is a descen- dant in the sixth generation from Jacob Martz (I) who was born in Wertenburg, Germany, in 1700, and was the first of the name who came to America, landing in 1735 and locating in Berks county, Pennsylvania, where he remained all his life. The name of his wife is not known. All the family were Lutherans and devoted to the church. They had three sons, Jacob, William and Jolin, of whom further.

Il. John Martz, born 1740, resided on the farm of his father for many years. He was a farmer, was very successful, and gave liberally to the Lutheran Church of which they were all members. He married Elizabeth Horton, and they had four sons: George Abram, who served in congress ; Jolin, Joseph and William.

III. William Martz, born 1775, was a suc- cessful farmer, and moved to Briar Creek town- ship, Columbia county, Pennsylvania, where he became one of the representative men of that place. He founded the village of Martzville and here he gave the ground, made the brick, and as- sisted in building the church. He married Han- nah Bean, and they had Abram, of whom further mention is made; John, Henry, Daniel, and one daughter, who married Levi Fester, of Center township.

Abram Martz, grandfather of Nathan W., was born April 7, 1800. He followed agriculture in Briar Creek and also operated a lime-kiln. The land on which the Lutheran church stands was deeded by him to the society about the year 1870, and his death occurred in September, 1885. Abram Martz married Desire Hetler, who bore him ten children, namely: I. Nathan, who be- came a resident of Nebraska, married Hettie Mel- ick, and had five children: Joshua, Charles, Belle, Henrietta, Jennie and Luther. 2. John, who resides in Berwick, Pennsylvania, married Susan Miller, of Lime Ridge, Columbia county, and has two sons: F. Warren and Calvin. 3. Henry, a resident of Berwick, married Julia Rut- ter, and has two children living: Ella and Atta. 4. Daniel W., mentioned later. 5. Samuel, resid- ing in Briar Creek, married Belinda Remaly, of Salen township, and has seven children: Hiram G., Jolın, Clarence, David, Elizabeth, Saralı and Rosa. 6. Taylor, deceased, resided in Berwick, married Mattie Statton, of Milton, Pennsylvania, and had three children: William, Elizabeth and

Nellie. 7. Eliza, deceased, married (first) John Kelchner, (second) Rev. E. A. Sherretts, of Cen- ter township. She left two daughters, Alice and Clara Kelchner, who were of her first union. Other children of Abram and Desire (Hetler) Martz were: Mary, George, and Lydia, all de- ceased. Samuel and Henry Hartz served through the Civil war.

Daniel W. Martz, father cf Nathan W. Martz, was born in Briar Creek, December 18, 1832, and his entire life has been spent in his native town- ship. He was reared upon a farm, but early in life turned his attention to mechanical pursuits, for which he had a natural inclination, and at intervals has followed the trades of bricklayer, stonemason, plasterer, blacksmith and wheel- wright, and at one time he carried on a ma- chine shop and sawmill. Although now in his seventy-third year he possesses the strength and agility of a much younger man, and is still en- gaged in active business pursuits. In local po- litical affairs he takes a lively interest, especially in matters relative to public education, and for a number of years served upon the school board. He is prominently identified with Berwick Lodge of Odd Fellows, having occupied all of its im- portant chairs. He was formerly a deacon and a member of the board of trustees of the Martz- ville Lutheran Church. In 1857 he married Mary Stout, born in Salem, Luzerne county, Decem- ber 18, 1834. Her father died when she was young and her mother married for her second husband John Miller, of this state, who died in Briar Creek, 1887, aged about seventy-eight years. His wife lived to be seventy-six years old. The children of Daniel W. and Mary (Stout) Martz are: I. Abram, resides in Ber- wick, married Saralı Moyer, of Briar Creek, and has had three children: Maggie, died aged twenty ; Silas and Mary. 2. Nathan W., of whom later. 3. Desire, married Ira Hampton, of Nescopeck, and resides on Market street, Ber- wick, Pennsylvania; have four children : Della, Daniel, Grace and Margaret. 4. Della, married Willard Wright, a farmer in Briar Creek, and has four children : Taylor, Reagan and Edward (twins), and Frank. 5. Taylor, a well known bricklayer residing in Evansville ; married Eliza- beth Deets, of Avondale, and has two children : Willard and Mary. 6. Edward, married Bertha Evans, of Berwick, and resides in Briar Creek. 7. Lydia, died young. 8. William, died young. 9. Ada, died young. A quarter of a century ago the Martz family were noted for their me- chanical ingenuity, nearly every one of its mem-

307

THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

bers being skillful at one trade or another, and the farmers within a circuit of twenty-five miles were accustomed to congregate at their shops in Briar Creek for the purpose of trading and the transaction of other business affairs. Daniel W. Martz, who has long been recognized as one ·of the best all-round mechanics in this section, has not only followed various trades with marked ability, but is an inventor as well, having pat- ented the first wheel-rake ever brought into use. A majority of the descendants of William Martz continue to reside in the immediate vicinity of the latter's old homestead, and numerous are the graves of the present generation's ancestors in the Martzville churchyard.

Nathan Wesley Martz was born in Berwick. Pennsylvania, July 30, 1860. Like his ancestors, he was reared to farm life and educated in the public schools. At the age of fourteen years he went to work in a car manufactory in Berwick, where he remained for a number of years, during which time he served in various capacities and became a clerk in the company's store. Subse- quently for a period of three years he assisted his father in bricklaying and other work, and in 1885 entered the employ of J. R. Lee & Company, general merchants in Avondale, as a teamster. Two years later he resumed bricklaying, which he followed in various places, including Hazel- ton. Powder Hole and Wilkes-Barre, but he eventually returned to his former position with the Lees in Avondale, where he has ever since resided. When George F. Lee succeeded to the business (1890) Mr. Martz accepted the posi- tion of manager, and four years later he ac- quired an interest in the business. In addition to carrying on an extensive general mercantile business, the firm of George F. Lee & Company is now operating the Chauncy colliery. From 1891 to June, 1905. Mr. Martz served as assist- ant postmaster of the Chauncy postoffice, and at the latter date (June, 1905) he was appointed pastmaster by President Roosevelt. He is a member of Warrior Lodge. No. 876, Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows, of Nanticoke, Penn- sylvania, and has held all of its principal offices. Politically he is a Republican, as is his father, and in his religious belief also follows in the foot- steps of his ancestors.

Mr. Martz married, November 29, 1883, Ida Bower, born in Center township, January 13, 1865, daughter of John and Eliza (Johnson) Bower, who are the parents of twelve children, namely: Elizabeth, Joseph, Ellen, Frank of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania ; Harriet, Annie,

Boyd. Donnelly. Ida, Lilly, Pleasy and another son who died in infancy. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Nathan W. Martz are: Frank, born May II, 1885; and Lucretia, born October 14, 1893.

WILLIAM WALLACE ENGLE, deceased, member of a highly respected family of Hazleton, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, was born at Sei- bertsville, in that county, 1846. He was the son of William and Mary (Davis) Engle.

His early days were spent upon the farm of his father, in his native town, but upon the death of the latter a guardian, Mr. Straw, was ap- pointed, who sent young William to New Colum- bus, where he was educated. At the age of twenty-one years he obtained employment with a Mr. Moore, in the dry goods business, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He remained here for a long time as clerk, gradually advancing, and finally assuming entire charge of the business. Later he removed to Hazleton, where he en- tered into a business association with John Bond in the retail boot and shoe trade at the corner of Broad and Wyoming streets, and continued this until the time of his death. In 1863 Mr. Engle enlisted in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in the volunteer militia for a nine months' term of serv- ice, and both he and his brother Stephen D. were ordered to Gettysburg. They reached Chambers- burg after the battle, and both contracted typhoid fever. After the time of service had expired the militia was disbanded, and he and his brother re- turned to their homes. Mr. Engle affiliated with the Republican party, and was a regular attend- ant at the Presbyterian Church. He was pos- sessed of excellent business qualities, and his courteous demeanor and unvaried kindliness of manner gained for him a host of friends in busi- ness as well as private life. His death, which occurred June 21. 1878, was deeply regretted by all.

He married. October 14, 1873. Emma Jane Clark, born March II, 1855. daughter of David and Catharine (Beck) Clark. (See Beck and Wilde families). Mr. and Mrs. William Wallace Engle had children : Florence, born December 2, 1874, died 1877 : Guy David, born November 4, 1876.

GEORGE W. ENGLE, a well known flour, feed and grain merchant of Hazleton, is a grand- son of William Engle and son of John Engle, who began early in life to follow the occupation of a farmer. At a later date he started a saw-

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 61

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