USA > Pennsylvania > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 89
USA > Wyoming > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 89
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124
446
THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.
Fanny Jane Lewis, born Pittston, Pennsylvania. August 8, 1829. daughter of Rev. Oliver and Cynthia (Smith) Lewis, of Orange county, New York: four children : Arminda, born September 24, 1848. died December 26, 1864; Morgan Lewis (9), born May 5. 1850, mentioned here- after ; Martha J., born June 12, 1858, married, June 21, 1879, Eugene Bonstein, of Shickshinny, Pennsylvania ; Emily A., born June 3. 1862, in Pittston, Pennsylvania. 6. Polly, born June 9, 1830, died October 26, 1831. 7. Ezra, born September 29, 1832, married Marie Winters Gurdin Perrin died December 24, 1866, aged thirty-eight years, and was buried in Northmore- land cemetery.
George Perrin, eldest son of Calvin and Polly (Lawton) Perrin, born September 23, 1817, was a farmer in Wyoming county, Penn- sylvania. He married, November 5, 1840, Char- lotte Ferguson, born March 23, 1823 ; their chil- dren : 1. Mary Elizabeth, born April 25, 1842, married, December 6, 1862, J. W. Holcomb, who is a resident of West Pittston, Pennsylvania ; six children. 2. Calvin, born November 28. 1843. mentioned hereafter. 3. Harriet, born February 22, 1846, married, March 15, 1877, W. H. Kerr ; they reside in West Pittston, Pennsylvania. 4. Charles J., born March 6, 1848, married May 10, 1877, Effie Symington ; two children ; they reside in West Pittston, Pennsylvania. 5. Cath- arine, born November 14, 1849, married Sep- tember 3, 1867, C. D. Simpson; two children. 6. Cynthia, born July 15, 1851, married, May 15, 1871, F. C. Rommell ; she resides in Pitts- ton, Pennsylvania ; they have one daughter, Gen- eveive, born Pittston, Pennsylvania, April 25, 1874, married, April 15, 1903, William E. Sax (see Sax and Griffith families.) William E and Geneveive (Rommell) Sax have one son, William Roderick Sax. 7. G. Coray, born March 28, 1861, married Julia Rommel, and they are the parents of four children. George Perrin (father) died April 15, 1875: he was survived by his wife who passed away April 1. 1898. Their remains are interred at West Pittston, Pennsyl- vania.
Calvin Perrin, eldest son of George and Charlotte (Ferguson) Perrin, was born at Northmoreland, Wyoming county, Pennsylva- nia, November 28, 1843. His maternal great- grandfather, John Ferguson, was a private in the Revolutionary war, serving in an Orange county ( New York) regiment, commanded by Col. A. H. Hay, also under Col. Albert Pawling. After the war he was commissioned lieutenant in a regiment of Orange county militia, commanded
by Lieut .- Col. Reuben Hopkins ; was promoted captain Twenty-ninth Regiment, February, 1804. He resided in Orange county, New York, until 1818, when he removed to Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, and died January 24, 1843.
As soon as his strength would allow, Calvin Perrin began assisting his father with the work on the farm, continuing the same until he was seventeen years of age, and in the meantime he attended the common schools in the vicinity dur- ing the winter sessions. At that early age lie began his career as a school teacher at Keelers- burg, Wyoming county, in which capacity he served for one and a half years, and for a similar period of time served as clerk in the store of Benjamin Saylor, at Orange, Pennsylvania. In 1864 he enlisted in Company G, Two Hundred and Tenth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. as private, and was promoted to corporal, Octo- ber 1, 1864, under the command of Col. Sargent and Capt. W. P. Pulmer. He participated in the following battles : Hatcher's Run. October 27-28. 1864; Belleville raid, North Carolina, De- cember 7-11, 1864: Dabney's Mills, February 5-7, 1865; Gravely Run, March 27; White Oak Roads, March 31 : Five Forks, April I ; Appo- mattox, April 9. 1865, where General Lee sur- rendered. Mr. Perrin was one of nineteen young men who enlisted from his own neighborhood ; five of them were killed in battle, two died in the hospital, and all were excused from duty on ac- count of illness except Mr. Perrin, who reported for duty every day with the exception of his fifteen days furlough, when he came home and was married, December 30. 1864, and returned to the battle field. In one engagement he had the stock of his musket shattered with a ball, another time had the lock shot off, and several bullet holes through his clothing, but was never wounded in any way. On May 30, 1865. he was mustered out of service at Arlington Heights, Virginia, was sent to Harrisburg. Pennsylvania, to receive his payment, and then returned to his home. His military record was exceedingly meritorious for a man of his years, he being only twenty-one years old at the close of the war.
Mr. Perrin again took up the vocation of teaching and taught a school in Durland town- ship for about one year. He then accepted a position as clerk in the general store of Levi Winter, at Centremoreland, and in 1871, after serving there five years, went to West Pittston and took charge of a store for S. L. Brown. In 1873 he took up his abode in Luzerne and formed a partnership with Edward F. Payne, of Wilkes- Barre, under the firm name of Payne & Perrin,
447
THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.
and they established a general store which they have conducted to the present time ( 1905), a pe- riod of thirty-two years. This long connection is an excellent proof of the trust each partner re- posed in the other. The esteem in which Mr. Perrin is held by his fellow-citizens is evidenced by the fact that he served as a member of the school board for twenty years, and as a member of the town council for three years. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Luzerne, serving for more than twelve years as trustee ; a member of the Masonic fraternity, affiliating with Lodge No. 395, at Kingston; a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, at Wilkes-Barre ; and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Luzerne.
Mr. Perrin married, December 30, 1864, Car- oline Winters, daughter of Levi and Melinda J. (Hallock) Winters. Their children : Howard W. born September 4, 1866, a graduate of Wyoming Seminary and Princeton College, and now serving as general sales agent for the Susquehanna Coal Company, at Philadelphia. He married, June 7, 1894, May Ellithorp, daughter of E. L. Elli- thorp, of West Pittston. Mr. Perrin is a mem- ber of the Episcopal Church, and a Republican in politics. 2. George Herbert, born March 9. 1868, an invalid. 3. Fred, born September 22, 1870: received his education in the Luzerne high school and the Wilkes-Barre Business College. He serves as manager for the firm of Payne & Perrin, above mentioned, and much of the success which has come to them is due to his capable and efficient management. He attends the Presbyte- rian Church, and casts his vote for the candidates of the Republican party. He married, April 15, 1891, Barbara Wallace, daughter of William and Cecelia (Taylor) Wallace, who died September 4, 1899, leaving three children: Margaret Caro- line, born May 12, 1892; Wallace Donald, born August 22, 1893: and Calvin, born August 9, 1899. Fred Perrin married for his second wife Gertrude Mathers, daughter of Coray Mathers, of Luzerne, July 4, 1902. H. E. H.
CHARLES J. PERRIN, who was numbered among the foremost business men of West Pitts- ton, but who is now practically retired, was born in Exeter township, March 6, 1848, second son of George and Charlotte (Ferguson) Perrin, whose personal history and that of his ancestors is found in the sketch of Calvin Perrin on a pre- ceding page.
Charles J. Perrin spent his childhood and early youth on a farm in Northmoreland town-
ship, and his education was acquired by attend- ance during the winter terms at the school in his neighborhood. Owing to his father's sickness for nineteen years prior to his death, Charles J. was compelled to begin the laborious work of farming at the age of thirteen years, and con- tinued this occupation until he was seventeen. He then moved to Jenkins township, Pittston, now Port Griffith, and for one year was employed in driving a team and doing general work. The following year, 1866, he removed to West Pitts- ton and there followed teaming until 1872. In 1873 he took up his residence in Luzerne and was employed in a general store there until the spring of 1880, when he returned to West Pitts- ton, and in partnership with George Symington embarked in the ice business, conducting the same for a period of thirteen years, after which he disposed of it and engaged in the wholesale beef business with Wesley Brown, under the firm name of Wesley Brown & Company. This continued about ten years, at the expiration of which time, July 2, 1901, they sold out to the Cu- dahy Packing Company, of South Omaha, and the following four years Mr. Perrin conducted the business for this company, retiring in 1905 At the present time ( 1906) he is looking after the interests of his brother, Calvin Perrin, who is in California. Throughout his active career he enjoyed a reputation for integrity, and the effi- ciency displayed in the discharge of his duties testified to his capabilities as a man of affairs. He is a member of the common council, and of the poor board, and a director in the West Pitts- ton Cemetery Association. In politics he is a Republican, as are all other members of his fam- ily. Since 1886 he has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, affiliating with Gohonta Lodge, of Pittston, in which he has passed all chairs. He is also a member of the Royal Arcanum.
Mr. Perrin married, May 10, 1877, Euphemia Symington, born January 4, 1852, daughter of George and Ann (Mac Kerrow) Symington, who are also the parents of one son, George Syming- ton, born September 23, 1850, a contractor of West Pittston : he married Margaret Wilson, daughter of William and Helen (McFarland) Wilson, and they are the parents of one child, Helen, born December 13, 1899. Mr. and Mrs. Perrin have two children : Anna, born November 17, 1881, a graduate of Wyoming Seminary, and head bookkeeper for J. E. Patterson & Co., Pitts- ton, having held this position since 1902. Char- lotte, born October 14, 1883, married, September
448
THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.
28, 1904, Frederick Thomas Repp, who attended Wyoming Seminary, a draughtsman of West Pittston, and they have one child, Euphemia, born June 18, 1905. Mr. Perrin and his family are members of the First Presbyterian Church, West Pittston, and Mrs. Perrin is a member of the Ladies' Aid Society connected therewith. Both the daughters of Mr. Perrin are fine musi- cians, playing the mandolin and piano.
MORGAN LEWIS PERRIN, of the ninth generation of the family in America, was born at Mount Zion, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, May 5, 1850, being the first son and second child of Gurdin and Fannie Jane (Lewis) Perrin, of whom see sketch elsewhere in this work. The line is as follows: Morgan L. (9), Gurdin (8), Calvin (7), Timothy (6). Timothy (5). John (4-3-2-1).
Morgan Lewis Perrin, our subject, remained at Mount Zion, on the old homestead, until seven years of age, when he came with his parents to Pittston, where he has since resided. He was educated in the public schools and Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, Pennsylvania, and began life in the employ of his father in Pittston, also working on the farm at times until sixteen years of age, when his father died, December 24, 1866 In the fall of 1867 he entered the employ of the Butler Coal Company, of Pittston, as clerk, and continued there in the different capacities of as- sistant bookkeeper, weighmaster, and bookkeeper and superintendent of the Pittston plant until the' spring of 1872. In April of that year he en- tered the insurance business in Pittston, in which he has been very successful and has continued in the same up to the present time ( 1906). Mr. Perrin is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Exeter Country Club of West Pittston, a social club of which he is also secretary and treasurer. He attends the Methodist Church, of which his family are members.
Mr. Perrin married, May 1, 1870, Anna L. Searle, daughter of James (deceased) and Eliza- beth (Furman) Searle, of Pittston, and had the following children :
1. Jessie Angela, born February 5, 1871 ; married H. Max Daman. She was educated at the Wyoming Seminary, and also finished a course in music at Syracuse University.
2. Ralph Ernest, born July 23, 1873, died November 5, 1877, aged four years, and was buried in West Pittston cemetery.
3. Ella Searle, born August 10. 1880: grad- uated at Wyoming Seminary in 1898.
4. Mary Nadine, born April 12, 1886; grad-
uated at Wyoming Seminary June 14, 1905 ; now (1906) at Syracuse University.
James Searle, deceased, father of Mrs. Mor- gan Lewis Perrin, was the oldest jeweler in Pittston, having learned his trade under William Wells, in Wilkes-Barre, and entered into business for himself in Pittston in 1847, where he spent the remainder of his life until shortly before his death, when he removed to Wilkes-Barre, where he died June 7, 1887, and was buried in West Pittston cemetery. He was a man who stood high in the esteem of his many friends and asso- ciates, and was always identified with everything tending to the advancement and betterment of humanity. Mrs. Elizabeth (Furman) Searle, his widow, is now ( 1906) residing in West Pitts- ton at the residence of her daughter, and has now reached the advanced age of seventy-six years.
JOHN W. REID. There is probably no man in Lackawanna county more thoroughly versed in every detail of the mining industry than John W. Reid, of Dunmore. He is of English birth and Scottish parentage, and may be said to have in- herited an aptitude for his calling.
Aaron Reid was born February 27, 1827, in Scotland, and had spent a part of his life in Eng- land before emigrating to the United States in 1864. He settled at Pittston, Pennsylvania, where as an expert miner he readily found em- ployment. He married, June 7, 1850, Harriet Williamson, who was born in Scotland, June 26, 1824, and their children were: Caroline, born January 27. 1852, now resides in British Colum- bia ; Robert, born March 1, 1856, now deceased : John W., mentioned hereinafter : William, born December 7. 1860, now deceased ; and Roland, who died in infancy. Mrs. Reid, the mother of these children, died September 8, 1888, and her husband did not long survive her, passing away January 21, 1890. Both were beloved and re- spected by all who knew them.
John W. Reid, son of Aaron and Harriet (Williamson) Reid, was born April 15, 1858, in England, and was nearly six years old when brought by his parents to the United States. He was educated in the common schools of Pitts- ton, and at an early age began his career as a miner. His first position was that of doorkeeper for the Pennsylvania Coal Company. As boy and man he advanced step by step, until in 1883 he reached the position of a miner. From that year until 1888 he was a member of the engineer corps, and from April 1, 1888, to November I, 1896, was foreman of No. 5 shaft. From No- vember 1, 1896, to October, 1900, he was district
ambrose West
449
THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.
superintendent. It was in the last named month and year that the change was made from the Pennsylvania Coal Company to the Erie Com- pany, and Mr. Reid was then transferred for one year from the third district to the second district at Pittston. He was next reduced to the position of mine foreman and placed in charge of No. I shaft, subsequently serving in the same capacity in No. 5 shaft. This retrograde movement in re- gard to Mr. Reid's office was not in the least derogatory to him, but was caused by the change of management. As soon as the new company learned of Mr. Reid's worth as an experienced miner the mistake was rectified. April 1, 1904, he was reinstated in his former office of district superintendent. Nol better tribute could have been paid to his character and ability. The de- mands of his position leave Mr. Reid little time for social recreation, and the only fraternal or- ganizations in which he holds membership is the Knights and Ladies of Honor, and Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Mr. Reid married, June 22, 1887, Mary M .. born October 10, 1860, in Scotland, daughter of John G. and Martha Grace (Johnson) Moffatt. and they have children: Harriet. born Septem- ber 3, 1888, and died April 11, 1891 : John M., born May 31, 1891 ; and Ruth A., born Decem- ber 1, 1898.
AMBROSE WEST. Of the representative men of Luzerne county who by perseverance have demonstrated what it is possible to accom- plish, should be mentioned the name of Ambrose West, the manufacturer of hosiery and owner of the Pioneer Knitting Mills of Plymouth. He comes of an English family who for generations have been engaged in this particular industry, his grandfather and even his great-grandfather hav- ing followed it. Ambrose West was born in Lei- cester, England, November 28. 1856, and is a son of Thomas and Maria West, who were also natives of Leicester. Thomas, the son of \Vil- liam West. was horn in the same town where the family has been located for generations.
William West was a practical manufacturer of hosiery and operated a small plant in the city of Leicester. He was a soldier, having the proud distinction of serving under Napoleon in the battle of Waterloo, and although passing through the hardships incident to this campaign and following his trade and later conducting a business, being an active man, still his health was good and death was the result of an accident oc- curring at ninety-two years of age in his native
Thomas West, the father of Ambrose, was 2-23
born in Leicester, England, in 1835, and learned the knit goods business from his father, and after following it for a time in England. came to this country in 1862 and followed his trade in the factory of his brother, who had come here some years previous and located at Germantown, Philadelphia. Here he remained for about nine years and then started in business for himself, which he followed, for about five years, then selling moved to near Bos- ton, Massachusetts, to the town of Needham, where he conducted his trade for about four years and then returned to Germantown, Pennsylvania, later going to Ashley, Luzerne county, Pennsyl- vania, where he retired. He crossed the Atlantic seven times. He died September 24. 1900, and his remains are interred at Forty Fort. He mar- ried in England, Maria Allen, who was also born in Leicester, in 1837. She reared five sons and one daughter of nine children born, the subject of this sketch, Ambrose, being the eldest ; Thomas, operates a mill adjoining that of his brother : Joseph, manager for the Black Diamond knitting mill at Nanticoke: Robert, superintend- ent of the Ashley knitting mills; Eliza, married John Detweller; and Walter, foreman of the Black Diamond knitting mills at Nanticoke. The mother of these children is still living, making her home in Wilkes-Barre with her daughter, Mrs. Detwiller.
Ambrose West began his education in Eng- land and completed it in Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania. He came to America in 1864 and as a boy began to learn the knit goods business under his father, completing the trade and becoming an expert workman. He followed this as a journey- man in Needham, near Boston, for a time and in 1876 returned to Germantown and remained there until 1878, then took charge of the knit- ting department in the mill of J. and B. Allen and remained for nine years. During this time he visited England and became thoroughly ac- quainted with the different methods in use to produce the finest line of knit goods possible. In 1880, in connection with Charles Taylor, H. H. Hawthorn and his brother, Thomas West, a part- nership was formed and they established a knit- ting mill at Germantown, Pennsylvania, where a large business was carried on for a number of years. During this time the Pioneer Knitting Mills at Plymouth were established and the part- nership was dissolved, Mr. West and his brother sticceeding to the Pioneer mills at Plymouth, in 1889, which at that time consisted only of the building where Mr. West's brother now is. It was 40x60 feet and two stories high. The fol-
450
THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.
lowing year they purchased what was known as the Shupp mill. 40x70 feet and three stories high operating the two for three years when they dis- solved partnership, Thomas West taking the original mill and Ambrose West the Shupp mill. From that time Ambrose West has constantly in- creased the size of his mill until it is now 230 feet long and 40 feet wide, three stories high, and employs four hundred and fifty hands. In 1898 he organized the Shawnee Box Company, put- ting up a building 25x100 feet, fitting it with the latest improved machinery and employing forty hands ; he makes tremendous quantities of paper boxes not only for his own use, but also supplies a large number to the manufacturers throughout the Wyoming Valley. A short time later he built the mill at Ashley as an adjunct to the one at Plymouth, and here also manufactures Pioneer hosiery. This mill is 45×80 feet, two stories high and employs 190 hands. In addition to these enterprises he has at Plymouth an enormous planing lumber mill and general woodwork es- tablishment, where everything is manufactured in the way of house decorations, even including furniture, and here are employed sixty hands. In addition to manufacturing, a vast amount of lum- her is handled by the car load, selling to the trade. Ever alert for opportunities to display his busi- ness ability, Mr. West in 1902 installed an elec- tric light plant in Plymouth and supplied the borough of Nanticoke, some six miles distant, with electric lights, putting in in three years' time thirteen thousand incandescent lights and four hundred arc lights in the streets and homes of these two boroughs. After operating this plant for three years he sold it to a syndicate called the Wyoming Valley Electric Light Company. He is also a director in the First National Bank at Plymouth, Second National Bank at Wilkes- Barre, and president of the Doran Lace mill of Wilkes-Barre. He built his beautiful home in Plymouth, located near his factory, in 1900, it being one of the finest homes in the Wyoming Valley.
Mr. West is a member of the Masonic Lodge at Plymouth, the Royal Arch Chapter, council and commandery. He has passed through all the Scottish Rite bodies of Bloomsburg, and is a member of the Nobles of the Mystical Shrine of Wilkes-Barre, having obtained the thirty-second degree. He is also a member of the Elks. He is a trustee of the Presbyterian Church of Ply- mouth. The above but briefly covers some of the salient points in the career of Ambrose West. A glance will quickly show that it has been almost a phenomenal one. Starting in this country as a
boy in the knitting mill under his father, he suc- cessfully mastered the various details of the busi- ness. With his eyes ever open and his attention directed upward to a higher place, he improved every opportunity that presented itself for ad- vancement. Coming to Plymouth in 1889, the factory then located here employed but fifteen hands, and he has constantly built up the busi- ness until he now employes in round numbers nearly seven hundred in the manufacture of hosiery alone, and boxes for the shipment of the same. Truly he has demonstrated what energy will accomplish, and he stands to-day preemi- nently without a peer among the business men of the Wyoming Valley, respected by all who know him.
Mr. West married in 1879, Lizzie L. Boyers, born at Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, a daughter of James and Mary ( Kee) Boyers. Mrs. West is one of the following named children, two of whom are deceased ; Ellen, Emma, Anna, Mary, Lizzie L., Charles. William, Wesley, Harry and Thomas. Mr. West has five children: Albert H., employed with his father ; William F., mar- ried Gertie Rundall; he is the manager of his father's mill; Warren ; Bessie ; and Clarence W.
THOMAS WEST, a well known manufac- turer of Plymouth, whose extensive enterprise has contributed largely toward the growth and pros- perity of this thriving borough, and who is re- garded as a man of intelligence and great useful- ness and influence, was born in Leicester, Leices- tershire, England, June 10, 1859, son of Thomas and Maria ( Allen) West, also natives of Leicester.
At the early age of seven years he accompa- nied his brother, Ambrose West, to the United States, and for a number of years there- after his residence was changed frequently be- tween Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Needham, near Boston, Massachusetts. When ten years of age he entered the employ of his uncle, Ambrose West, in Philadelphia, where he remained one year. He then went east to Needham, Massa- chusetts, where he entered the employ of the Scotten Needham Company and remained five years, working on full fashioned hosiery. At the expiration of this period of time, when sixteen years of age, he returned to England and there- upon entered the employ of a firm in Leicester, Leicestershire, where he gained a thorough knowledge of the details of manufacturing full fashioned hosiery. During his two years' resi- dence in his native land he was also employed by a Mr. Kilby, of Leicester. Upon his return
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.