Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 90

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 90
USA > Wyoming > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 90

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).

Joseph Skeet

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to the United States he located at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he worked for several firmns, manufacturing all kinds of fancy knit goods. After a short period of time he again took up his residence in Needham, Massachusetts, and se- cured employment with the Waltham Hosiery Company, of Waltham, Massachusetts, on piece work, remaining about two years. He then re- turned to Philadelphia and entered the employ of J. & B. Allen & Company, of Germantown, with whom he remained about four years. At about the age of twenty-one years he was employed by Thomas M. Lewery, a manufacturer of hosiery, whose plant was located at Second and Norris streets, Philadelphia, as journeyman, and after serving as such for about three years was given full charge of the entire plant, a most responsible position, as there were about five hundred hands employed in the works. Some years later Am- brose West, Charles Taylor, Henry H. Haw- thorn and Thomas West formed a partnership for the manufacture of hosiery and knit goods in Germantown, Pennsylvania. They employed about one hundred and fifty hands, and for many years conducted an extensive and successful busi- ness. After a period of almost three years a branch was formed at Plymouth, which was known as the Pioneer Hosiery Mills. August 8, 1891, after a connection of five years, the firm was dissolved, Ambrose and Thomas West tak- ing the Plymouth plant, Mr. Hawthorn and Mr. Taylor taking the Germantown plant. About this same time Ambrose and Thomas West purchased from Charles Shupp, of Ply- mouth, his plant for the manufacture of ladies' waists, skirts, etc., but some time afterward they dissolved partnership, Ambrose taking the Shupp building, and Thomas his present plant in Plymouth. In 1894, two years later, Thomas West started a branch at Danville, and two years later another at Nanticoke. Subsequently he removed part of his plant from Plymouth to Watsontown, Pennsylvania, and part to Millheim, same state, after which the business was closed out. In 1902 he opened his present place of business in Plymouth for the manufacture of full fashioned hosiery, employed about twenty hands, but the business has in- creased to such an extent during the intervening three years that he was compelled to increase his force to three hundred hands, and the plant has a daily output of seven hundred and fifty dozen pairs of hose. The factory is fully equipped with the latest improved machinery, and the product, being of a superior quality, finds a ready sale throughout the states of the Union. Mr. West

is a Republican .in politics. He is a member of Lodge No. 332, F. and A. M .. of Plymouth, Master Mason. Thomas West married in 1879. Jennie Pyffer, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, daughter of William and Sadie Pyffer, and their children are as follows: William Henry, who married Maria Lewis, of Plymouth, Pennsylva- nia, and they were the parents of one child, now deceased. Harry H., Thomas Ambrose, Benja- min Harrison, Joseph Thomas, Eva May, de- ceased : Jennie, deceased ; Mabel Ruth, Florence, and Helen. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

JOSEPH WEST, manager of the Black Diamond knitting mills, Nanticoke, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, one of the leading indus- trial enterprises of that thriving borough, was born in Needham, Massachusetts, October 8, 1868.

Joseph West, third son and child of Thomas and Maria (Allen) West, during the early years of his life, removed with his parents from Need- ham, Massachusetts, to Germantown. Pennsylva- nia, where he received his education. He was still very young when he took up his present occupa- tion. For sixteen years he worked at the hose knitting and spinning business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after which he moved to Plym- outh, Pennsylvania, where his brothers owned and operated a knitting mill. Here he remained from 1892 to 1898, at which time the present plant was established at Nanticoke, in the month of April, by Thomas West, of Plymouth, who operated it until 1902, when the concern became a stock company, with Joseph West, whose name heads this sketch, the brother of Thomas West, as part owner and entire manager. The plant is situated on West Church street, is forty by one hundred and twenty feet in dimensions, operated by a seventy-five horse steam engine, and a force of two hundred and fifty hands, is employed and five hundred dozen of men's hose are turned out in a day of ten working hours. This plant has its finishing department and is also thoroughly equipped with appliances for dveing. printing and extracting their goods, and while this is unusual for such an establishment it adds greatly to its usefulness and independence. This corporation is conducting an extensive and constantly in- creasing business, which is largely due to the well directed efforts of Joseph West. the efficient manager, who was brought up in the business and understands its every detail from beginning to end. Mr. West is a member of Nanticoke Lodge, No. 541, Free and Accepted Masons : Washing-

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ton Council, No. 7. Junior Order of United American Mechanics ; and the Order of Elks, No. 109, of Wilkes-Barre.

Mr. West married, May 1, 1897, Magdalene Sweitzer, of Plymouth, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Schappert) Sweitzer, of Plymouth. Mr. Sweitzer is a carpenter. The children of Mr. and Mrs. West are as follows: Jennie, born in Plymouth, February 6, 1898; Mary, born in Nan- ticoke, January 24, 1900; Joseph, born in Nanti- coke, February 18, 1902, died March 23, 1902; Esther, born in Nanticoke, December 31, 1902, and Eleanor, born in Nanticoke, June 16, 1905.

ROBERT WEST, superintendent of the Ashley knitting mills, was born in Needham, Massachusetts, September 14, 1875, son of Thomas and Maria (Allen) West.

He spent his early days in Philadelphia, where he went with his parents from Needham, Massachusetts, and received his education in the public schools of the former city. The knowl- edge thus gained was supplemented by careful study at home in the evenings, and by a course of one and a half years in the Wilkes-Barre Busi- ness College, which he entered at the age of twenty-two. When fourteen years old he began work in Thurman's hosiery mill, in Philadelphia, where he remained one year. He then entered his father's mill in Philadelphia, where he worked four years on fancy knit goods which his father at that time was manufacturing. During these early days he worked on all classes of knit goods, and therefore is fully competent to handle any- thing in this line. He then entered the employ of J. B. Allen, of Philadelphia, where he contin- ued for about two years. His next venture was with the firm of Crossenham & Patten, of Phila- delphia, where he remained about two years, fol- lowing the same business, and then entered the employ of John S. Palmer, of Philadelphia, where he continued one year.

He then became assistant foreman at Ply- mouth, Pennsylvania, for his brother, Thomas West, in his mill, which position he satisfactorily filled for about five years. Then, always alive to the improvements which were constantly being made in the various classes of knitting machines used in the different mills, Mr. West determined to perfect himself in the manufacture, assem- bling, testing and operation of the different types, and obtained a position with the Excelsior Knit- ting Machine Company, of South Bethlehem, where he continued for two and a half years. He proved his worth and the firm, fully appreciating it, sent him on the road as their expert, in which

capacity he served until he severed his connec- tion with the company. He then became general foreman for the firm of Morgan & Minzie, hosiery manufacturers, Wilkes-Barre, which po- sition he held for four years. At the expiration of this period of time he went to Lowell, Massa- chusetts, for the Lowell Hosiery Mill Company, where he remained a short time. In September, 1900, he assumed charge of The Ashley Knitting Mills, Ashley, Pennsylvania, of which Ambrose West, his brother, is proprietor, where he has continued up to the present time (1905) in the capacity of superintendent.

This mill was started in 1900 by Ambrose West, of Plymouth, Pennsylvania, and employed at that time about forty hands. Under the care- ful and competent supervision of Robert West the business has steadily increased in volume and importance, and now gives employment to one hundred and fifty hands, who turn out daily five hundred dozen of the finest of fancy knit hosiery, all the output being disposed of in the city of Philadelphia. Mr. Thompson, an uncle of Rob- ert West, was the first man to make a knitting machine which would knit a round hose, all former machines knitting a flat web which had to be sewed, leaving a seam the full length of the hose. He perfected this machine in Leicester- shire, England, a place noted for its knitting and hosiery mills. Ambrose West, another uncle of Robert A. West, was asphyxiated at his home in Philadelphia, about the year 1898, aged seventy- six years, and his daughter, Jane West, was asphyxiated at the same time. In religion Mr. West is a Methodist, and in politics a Republican. He is a member of the American Mechanics, and of the F. and A. M., of Ashley. He was formerly a member of the Brotherhood of Union.

Mr. West married, April, 1902, Mary Jones, one of six children born to Richard F. and Martha (Edwards) Jones, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and they are the parents of one son, Robert Allen, Jr., born July 5, 1903. Mr. West is pleasant and affable, and his courteous and gentlemanly deportment and the many ex- cellences of his character have gained him the confidence and best wishes of all with whom busi- ness or social relations have brought him in contact.

REV. WILLIAM A. NORDT. As pastor of the German Presbyterian Church of Scranton, Rev. William A. Nordt is exercising his sacred functions with much of power and forcefulness and with all of consecration, so that the spiritual and temporal affairs of this old and prominent

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religious organization are signally prosperous under his ministrations, while his standing in the community is such as to render imperative a con- sideration of his career in a publication of the province assigned to the one at hand.

The church of which Rev. William A. Nordt is pastor dates its inception back to the year 1855, when the little congregation assembled for reg- ular worship in the old Odd Fellows' hall. In 1857 the first church edifice was erected, while the membership roll of the church contained about fifty names. The first pastoral incumbent was Rev. Mr. Lusher, who came to Scranton from Wilkes-Barre every two weeks to supply the charge here. The first regular pastor was Rev. H. Veith, who was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Rosenthal, who was in turn followed by Rev. Mr. Weiswaser. The next pastoral incumbent was Rev. Mr. Long, who was the immediate pre- decessor of the present pastor. During the pas- torate of Mr. Veith the first church building was erected, and this was utilized until it proved in- adequate to meet the demands of the congrega- tion, and the present fine church edifice was built.

Rev. William A. Nordt assumed charge of the church November 26, 1895. When he ac- cepted this pastorate he found the society encum- bered with an indebtedness of eleven thousand three hundred dollars, and it is indicative of his energy, devotion and executive ability when we state that this burden of debt was entirely re- moved through his efforts and the earnest co- operation of his people within the succeeding five years. Mindful of parish needs in the way of material accommodations, he effected the pur- chase of a house and lot at a cost of forty-five hundred dollars, and here erected a beautiful parish house, representing an expenditure of twenty-two thousand dollars. He also brought about the remodeling and refurnishing of the church building at an additional expenditure of six thousand dollars. All these improvements representing a total expenditure of thirty-two thousand five hundred dollars, were made within a period of four years, and the significance of the work is unmistakable, indicating not only the temporal prosperity of the society but also stand- ing as voucher for the devoted zeal of pastor and flock. At the time of Mr. Nordt's installation as pastor the membership of the church was three hundred, and the roll at the present time shows a membership of four hundred and fifty, while the Sunday school has more than doubled during his pastorate. There is no trait of human nature which so endears a man to others as his interest in their welfare. Throughout his pastorate of

more than three decades Mr. Nordt has main- tained the deepest concern in the welfare of his parishioners. He has rejoiced in their successes and sympathized with them in their sorrows, while with all earnestness and devotion he has led them onward to the higher and better life, using the forces of both precept and example. He is a man of large heart, sterling character, pure life, high ideals, while he has the mental culture and developed intellect which make him a power in both his clerical and pastoral relations. He is alert in his mental functions, and is a force- ful, cogent and earnest speaker, his every utter- ance having the clear ring of sincerity and con- viction, while his diction is graceful and select. His congregations are large and appreciative and find material for mental and spiritual uplifting in his intensely practical and yet ideal sermons. Mr. Nordt is held in the highest of regard in the community in which he has lived and labored for so many years, and is one of the prominent mem- bers of the clergy of his church in Pennsylvania.

William A. Nordt was born in Bieber, Geln- hausen, province of Hessen, Germany, Febru- ary 27, 1850, and is a son of Andrew and Eliza- beth (Stanbach) Nordt, both of whom passed their entire lives in the fatherland, having been persons of simple and noble lives and marked in- telligence. Four of their nine children came to the United States in company with Rev. William A. Nordt, namely: John C., Elizabeth, Marga- ret and Christine, the last named being now de- ceased. William A. Nordt passed his boyhood and early youth in his native land, in whose ex- cellent schools he secured his early educational discipline. In November, 1867, in company with his brothers and sisters mentioned above, he ar- rived in America and took up his abode in New- ark, New Jersey, where he set himself to work to continue his educational training in order that he might fit himself for the ministry of the Ger- man Presbyterian Church. After completing his classical studies he entered the German Theolog- ical Seminary in Newark, where he completed his divinity course, and July 15, 1874, was duly or- dained by the Newark Presbytery. On the same day he was installed pastor of the Second Pres- byterian Church of Newark, and he retained this pastorate for the long period of twenty-two years, and his efforts were blessed with goodly results, while he held the affectionate regard of his peo- ple, among whom he labored until he accepted his present incumbency. His record is notable in that he has held but two charges during his min- istry of thirty-two years. He is a member of the board of directors of the theological seminary in

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which he was graduated, served for a time as moderator of the Newark ( New Jersey) Pres- bytery, and has been delegate to the general as- sembly of the church on two occasions, while he was also a member of the standing committee on home missions.

Mr. Nordt married, October, 1872, Louise T. Smith, and they had ten children: Lydia B .. Martha E., Louise M., William C., Charles, de- ceased ; Paul W., Bertha, Freda, Charles H. and Ruth H.

TYLMAN CARPENTER ROBINSON, of Carbondale, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, presents in a long and active career a splendid illustration of the success which may be achieved in life, in spite of the harshest frowns of fortune, through unremitting industry, unfaltering deter- mination and lofty integrity. He came of a sturdy stock, marked with the virtues of the typical pioneer.

Joseph Robinson, father of Tylman C. Robin- son, was born on Long Island, February 12, 1813. His parents were poor and had difficulty in mak- ing a livelihood for themselves and their family. At the age of thirteen Joseph set out in the world and, with a small bundle containing his entire possessions, made his way on foot, partly through the virgin forest, to what is now Greenfield town- ship, Lackawanna (then Luzerne) county, Penn- sylvania. He bargained for a tract of land for which he was to pay in installments, aggregating one hundred and ten dollars, without a cent to make an advance payment. He set to work at whatever he could find to do, and made his pay- ments promptly. Meantime he busied himself in clearing away the timber from the spot where- on he was to erect his log house, and to which he was to bring his bride, and in which his chil- dren were to be born. Prosperity crowned his efforts and he came to be well provided with this world's goods, and was highly esteemed by all in the community. He was a devoted Baptist and a deacon in his church for more than a third of a century. He was repeatedly called upon to fill the most important local offices. He lived on the old farm during the remainder of his life, his death occurring April 17, 1898, and was buried in Carpenter cemetery, Greenfield town- ship, by the side of his wife.

He married, November 14, 1833, Electa Car- penter, born in Hartford, Pennsylvania, August 27, 1809, daughter of Cyril Carpenter. Electa . (Carpenter) Robinson was a woman of lovely disposition, of strong character. and indomitable courage. She was an intrepid horsewoman, and

it is related of her that on many occasions be- fore her father built his mill she journeyed through the woods a distance of forty-five miles to Wilkes-Barre, the nearest milling place, with a bag of corn on her saddle, which she brought back in the form of meal. Often she was fol- lowed by a pack of ravenous wolves, and at night she would carry a torch to frighten them away. She was a Baptist in religion, as were her father and husband. She died August 30, 1883, and her remains rest in the old Carpenter burying ground, on the site of the log house in which she was born and reared. Her father, Cyril Car- penter, was a pioneer settler in Lackawanna county, where he became honored as a man of ability and high character. He was born Sep- tember 14, 1766, died October 19, 1854. He was a natural mechanic and was a carpenter as well as a farmer. He built and operated the first saw and grist mills in that section of the county. He had a family of four sons and three daugh- ters, only the names of the sons being here giv- en : 1. Tylman, born June 15, 1798, was a farm- er and mill owner, and died at the advanced age of eighty-two years. 2. Tyler, born October 2, 1802, reared on the farm, was a foreman on the Delaware and Hudson gravity road, between Carbondale and Honesdale, at its inauguration. 3. Cyril, born February 12, 1806, became a car- penter and removed to Ottawa, Illinois, where he died at the age of eighty-three years ; his fam- ily still live there. 4. Daniel, a farmer. also had a natural genius for mechanics. He passed his life in Greenfield, where he died at the age of seventy-three years. The children of Joseph and Electa (Carpenter) Robinson were: I. Mary A., born October 28, 1835 ; married, Jan- uary 1, 1851, William Rankin, a farmer, and they reside on a. portion of the homestead farm, Joseph Robinson, her father, living with them. 2. Lucinda, born November 14, 1838; married June 23, 1855. M. R. Mallory ; died October 15. 1864, having buried two children and leaving one. 3. Joseph Tyler, born May 13, 1841; is a teamster and jobbing contractor in Scranton, Pennsylvania. 4. Tylman C., see forward. 5. Julia, born June 19, 1846; married, January I, 1872, I. B. Scull. 6. Daniel Cyril, born Septem- ber 16. 1848. 7. Charles M., born March 18. 1851. The two last named died in 1864, within nine days of each other, from black fever, which was then epidemic in the country, in the vicinity of Sickler's pond.

Tylman Carpenter Robinson, fourth child and second son of Joseph and Electa (Carpenter) Robinson, was born on the Robinson homestead,

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Greenfield township, Pennsylvania, September 7, 1843. He was reared on the paternal farm, and had but few school advantages. He was, how- ever, of an inquiring and discerning mind, and found ample compensation for the lack of educa- tional advantages in private reading and close observation. He came to be known as a man of wide information and excellent judgment. At the age of seventeen he began to learn the carpenter's trade, under the tuition of his uncle, Daniel Carpenter, and he became so proficient that, after aiding in the building of two barns, he planned and built a third without assistance, and in an entirely creditable manner. He mar- ried at the age of nineteen years and continued the work as carpenter for about one year, then bought a farm and turned his attention to its cultivation. Later he entered into a contract to furnish lumber in large quantities to the Dela- ware and Hudson Railroad, and was thus occu- pied for about two years. He then began a con- tracting business in Carbondale and built up a large lumber and milling trade. At this time he met with reverses which would have crushed one of a less determined character. He had ac- cumulated considerable property and was regard- ed as wealthy when the financial depression of 1873 set in, and owing to depreciation of values, together with inability to make collections or to convert property into money, his financial ruin was unavoidable. His property was forced to sale at a great sacrifice, and he even surrendered to his creditors that which was exempted by law, including his household furniture. So ad- mirable was his conduct at this crisis, so lofty his ideas of honor, that he was not permitted to make the last of these sacrifices. At the last, with all his property gone, he was yet in debt to the amount of three thousand dollars. His friends came to his assistance in his efforts to re-establish himself, chief among them being Judge D. K. Morss, a man of large means as well as one of his most closely attached personal friends. With such aid, and by means of the closest attention to business, and the most un- sparing economy, Mr. Robinson was finally en- abled to restore his shattered fortunes and to build upon the ruins of his disaster an impor- tant lumber and contracting business, which he has successfully prosecuted up to the present time. Nor has he alone been benefitted by his business enterprise. The community has gained vastly by the employment he has given to a large force of workmen, and the great additions which his labors have made to the beauty and wealth of the city. He has erected more than three hun-

dred and fifty buildings-public, business and residential-among them being the new Meth- odist Church, the new Episcopal Church, Odd Fellows' Hall, St. Rose Convent, and the new Delaware and Hudson Railroad passenger sta- tion. He has liberally aided every laudable en- terprise, among them being the silk mill in Car- bondale, the paving of Belmont street and numerous others. His name is one of the most familiar in the community, and is commemorated in Robinson avenue, upon which are situated his business property and his residence, and which was named in his honor. In closing this chap- ter of the history of Mr. Robinson it ic pleasant to record that in the days of his restored pros- perity he found opportunity to repay the kind- ness of his old friend and helper, Judge Morss, by watching over him and caring for his inter- ests during the long illness which preceded the death of that estimable man. Mr. Robinson set- tled up the estate of the deceased, and to such excellent advantage that on Christmas, 1894, Mrs. Morss made her grateful acknowledgments, and forwarded to him a check for five hundred dollars as a further token of her appreciation. Mr. Robinson leased his planing mill in 1901, and a year later leased the old "Fowler" grist mill, in Carbondale, which he still operates.

He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and gives his most earnest efforts and most liberally of his means to its support and the maintenance of its various charities. For thirty years he has been associated with the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he is an Independent, ever seeking the greatest good to the community at large. This disposi- tion has led him to identify himself with the Pro- hibition movement, in which he has been a most active worker. On one occasion he was made the Prohibition candidate for mayor, and lacked only a few votes of an election, so few that he hight have been elected had he made any effort in his own behalf. On another occasion, after much solicitation. he consented to the use of his name as a candidate for common councilman, and was elected by a large majority. He has a strict sense of public duty in political affairs, holding that office should neither be sought nor declined. He never urged a person to cast a vote in his favor, and, when nomination was urged upon him so strongly that he could not refuse, contented himself by saying that if elect- ed he would discharge the duties of the position to the best of his ability in the interests of the city and the people.

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Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 90

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