Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 65

Author: Hayden, Horace Edwin
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 988

USA > Pennsylvania > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 65
USA > Wyoming > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 65

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).

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THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

daughter of Lieutenant John Talcott and his wife, Helena Wakeman.

George Welles, son of John Welles and his wife, Jerusha Edwards, born Glastonbury, Feb- ruary 13, 1756, died Athens, Pennsylvania, June 20, 1813; married, February, 1780, Prudence Talcott, born December 2, 1757, died Owego, New York, November 20, 1839, daughter of Col. Elizur Talcott. George Welles was the pioneer of the Welles family in northern Pennsylvania. He settled at Tioga Point (Athens) in 1798. He graduated at Yale, A. B., in 1779, and it is said of him that "his talents were ten." It is said, too, that at the time of the British invasion of New Haven during the Revolution, George Welles commanded a company of students who were organized as emergency men to repel the in- vaders. In 1800 he was appointed justice of the peace, and soon after his settlement at Tioga Point he became land agent for Charles Carroll of Carrollton. He was in all respects a man of in- fluence, and of strong and upright character. Children of George and Prudence (Talcott) Welles :

I. General Henry, born Glastonbury, Conn., November 7, 1780, died Athens, Penn., December 22, 1833; married, (first) February 20, 1809, Phebe Patrick : married (second) Sarah Spalding. General Henry Welles was in his time one of the most popular and influential men in Lycoming, afterward Bradford county. He was a favorite of Carroll and Caton, large land proprietors, and through them became possessed about 1810 of the Welles farm at Tioga Point ; and he had much to do with the settlement of land titles which were much confused through Connecticut-Pennsylvania controversy over the right of ownership, sovereignty and jurisdiction. He first represented Lycoming county in the Pennsylvania assembly, and after Bradford county was set off he was its representative two years ; and he was in the senate four years ; was largely instrumental in securing the passage of the "Aca- demy bill." He married, 1812, Sarah Spalding, daughter of Col. John Spalding, of Sheshequin, Penn., and granddaughter of Gen. Simon Spald- ing of Revolutionary fame. General Welles was aide, with the rank of general, on Gov. Snyder's staff ; hence his title. He had three sons and three daughters, and among the former were men of action and moral worth, worthy of their hon- orable ancestors.

2. Susan, born January 10, 1783, died Owego, N. Y., February 7, 1865 ; married, Sept. 23, 1805, John Hollenback.

3. Charles Fisher, born Glastonbury, No- vember 5, 1789, died September 23, 1866.

4. Clarissa, born Glastonbury, December 21, 1792, died December 14, 1793.

5. James Mercer, born Glastonbury, June 17, 1795, died Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, October 24, 1817.

6. Mary, born Athens, Pennsylvania, May 6, 1803, died Paris, December 4, 1879; married William Pumpelly.

Charles Fisher Welles, son of George and Prudence (Talcott) Welles, born Glastonbury, Connecticut, November 5, 1789, died Wyalusing, Pennsylvania, September 23, 1866; married, Au- gust 15. 1816, Ellen Jones Hollenback, born Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, January 21, 1788, died Wyalusing, Pennsylvania, March 14, 1876, daughter of Matthias Hollenback and wife Sarah Burritt. See McClintock Family).

Mr. Welles was for many years a prominent figure in Bradford county civil and business his- tory. He was nine years old when his father re- moved from Glastonbury, Connecticut, and set- tled at the junction of the Chemung and Susque- hanna rivers, but the scenes of his active life were laid chiefly in other parts of the county. He was educated at Bacon Academy, Colchester, Connecticut. In 1812, upon the organization of Bradford county, he was appointed by Governor Snyder prothonotary, clerk of courts, and register and recorder, and removed to Towanda, the county-seat. He held these offices six years, and in connection with official duties was naturally drawn somewhat into the field of politics, and also into the field of journalism, having an interest in the Bradford Gasette, a strong anti-federalist pa- per. However, when Findley became governor in 1818, Mr. Welles' successor in office was ap- pointed, and four years later he removed to Wyal- using and devoted himself to farming and the care of his various property interests, and he died there in 1866, aged almost seventy-seven years. Children of Charles Fisher and Ellen Jones (Hollenback) Welles :

I. Sarah Hollenback, born Wilkes-Barre, June 8, 1817, died Towanda, Penn., May 18, 1822.

2. Matthias Hollenback, born Towanda, March 1, 1819, died Elmira, N. Y., June 23, 1899; married, February 21, 1849, Mary A. Ackley, died September 17, 1901.

3. Jane Mary, born Towanda, December 8, 1820, died Canandaigua, N. Y., May 3, 1869; married, May 3, 1852, George M. Bixby.

4. George Hollenback, born Wyalusing,

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September 29, 1822: married, April 15, 1857, Laura A. Sloat.

5. Henry Hunter, (see forward), born Wyalusing, September . 15, 1824, died Forty Fort, Pennsylvania, September 24, 1902 ; married, October 12, 1849, Ellen Susanna Ladd, daughter of Gen. Samuel G. Ladd, of Farmington, Maine.

6. Raymond Marion, born Wyalusing, No- vember 3, 1825; married, September 18, 1850, Amelia J. Page.

7. John Roset Welles Hollenback, (see for- ward), born Wyalusing, March 15, 1827.

8. William, born Wyalusing, May 8, 1829, died Columbia Cross Roads, Pennsylvania, April 14, 1860: married, October 28, 1857, Frances B. Smith.

9. Edward, born Wyalusing, January 30, 1832; married August 26, 1891, Stella Louise Hollenback, born Millbrook, Illinois, December 4, 1862, daughter of George M. and Julia W. Hollenback.

Henry Hunter Welles, third son and fifth child of Charles Fisher and Ellen Jones ( Hollen- back) Welles, born Wyalusing, Pennsylvania, September 15, 1824, died Forty Fort, Pennsyl- vania, September 24, 1902 ; married, October 12, 1849, Ellen Susanna Ladd, daughter Gen. Samuel G. Ladd, of Farmington, Maine. Rev. Dr. Welles spent his young life on his father's farm, and there began to lay the foundation for his collegiate education and his subsequent career in the ministry. He entered Princeton College in the sophomore class, and graduated in 1844. He then entered the Theological Seminary, taking a two years' course, and was ordained minister by the Presbytery of Susquehanna, August 29, 1850. The same year he became stated supply of the old church at Kingston, over which he was installed pastor June 12, 1851. This, his only pastoral charge. he laid down twenty years later, at what he understood to be the call of duty : and from that time he was ever active in the work of the ministry in various local fields, wherever duty seemed to call him. In 1877 he organized a Sun- day school at Forty Fort, and out of it grew un- der his faithful guidance a prosperous church, dating its history from the year 1895. To this church and its congregation he gave his untiring effort until it was firmly established on a perma- nent basis. Upon the organization of the Pres- bytery of Lackawanna-the union of the old and new schools of Presbyterian doctrine-he became its first stated clerk. and in all its subsequent his- tory to the close of his life he was a valuable fac- tor in promoting its usefulness. He was presi- dent of the Alumni Association of Princeton

Theological Seminary for the year 1880. The honorary degree of D. D. was conferred on MIr. Welles in1 1894 by Lafayette College. He was a member of the Wyoming Historical and Geologi- cal Society. The life and character of Henry Hunter Welles was well known in the community where he lived, loved and labored for more than half a century. Only three members of the large Presbytery of which he was so long an honored member exceeded him in length of service. Of ardent piety and unquestioning faith, it was im- possible for him to swerve in the slightest degree from what he knew to be the duty line. Wholly unselfish, sincere, and living always in the way of an enlightened conscience, he illustrated through a life of seventy-eight years one of the highest types of the man, the gentleman, and the christ- ian. Henry Hunter and Ellen Susanna (Ladd) Welles had three children: I. Henry Hunter (2). born Kingston, Pennsylvania, January 21, 1861. 2. Theodore Ladd, born Kingston. Penn- sylvania, November 2, 1862; married Katherine A. Weaver. (See sketch). 3. Charlotte Rose, born Kingston, Pennsylvania, April 28, 1864.

Henry Hunter Welles (2), eldest son and child of Rev. Dr. Henry Hunter and Ellen Susanna (Ladd) Welles, was born in Kingston, Pennsyl- vania, January 21, 1861 ; married, October 4, 1892, Caroline Simpson McMurtry, daughter of William McMurty, of Newton, Sussex county, New Jersey, and his wife, Katharine Ryerson. Mr. Welles was educated at Phillips (Andover). Academy. the Hill school, Pottstown, Pennsyl- vania, and Princeton College, graduating A. B. 1882; A. M. 1884. He took a one year course of study in Columbia (New York) Law School, afterward read law with E. P. & J. V. Darling, of Wilkes-Barre, and was admitted to practice in luzerne county , October 10, 1885. He gave about one year to the general practice of law, and then turned his attention to the management of the various Hollenback properties and interests in and about Wilkes-Barre. He is a director of the

Wilkes-Barre Young Men's Christian Associa- tion, a member of the advisory board of the Wilkes-Barre Free Kindergarten, trustee of the Young Women's Christian Association, a man- ger of the Wilkes-Barre United Charities, mem- ber of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, and of the Sons of the Revolution. and an elder of the First Presbyterian Church and superintendent of its Sunday school. Mr. Welles was prominently identified with the work of improving a considerable tract of land at what is now Westmoreland, in Kingston township, op- posite Wilkes-Barre, and with his co-worker, Al-

WYDATHERNY

Galaxy Pub. Co Philada.

Matthias Hollaback

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bert D. Thomas, M. D., founded and built up the partnership for the general practice of engineer- pretty little village of Westmoreland. In its ac- ing, with offices in the Coal Exchange Building, the firm being known as Smith & Welles, civil and mining engineers. They are among the foremost in their line and employ several men in connection with this office. Mr. Welles is a mem- ber of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, and affiliates with Landmark Lodge, No. 442, Free and Accepted Masons, also of Wilkes- Barre complishment the land surface was required to be raised, substantial stone bridges were con- structed, grades changed, all at a total cost of about $45,000. The funds were raised through the medium of an association of which Mr. Welles was secretary and active head. He represented his Princeton College class, '82, and was orator on the occasion of a memorial service held in Marquand Chapel, of Princeton University, June 10, 1902, at the unveiling of a tablet in that build- ing, the gift of the classes of 1882 and 1893, in memory of George Yardley Taylor, '82, and of Cortlandt Van Rensselaer Hodge, '93, medical missionaries of the Presbyterian Church, who suffered death at the hands of a mob of "Boxers" while at their post of duty at Paotingfee, China, June 30, 1900. Children of Henry Hunter and Caroline Simpson (McMurtry ) Welles : 1. Kath- erine Ryerson, born August 26, 1893. 2. Char- lotte Rose, born August 13, 1896. 3. Henry Hunter (3), born December 18, 1898. H. E. H.

THEODORE LADD WELLES, of Wilkes- Barre. Pennsylvania, is a representative of one of the prominent families of the Wyoming Valley. He is a son of the late Rev. Henry Hunter Welles, and was born November 2, 1862, in Forty Fort, Pennsylvania. He received his primary education in the common schools of that section, afterward attending the Hill school at Pottstown, and Wilkes-Barre Academy, when he passed to Princeton University and Lafayette College. Graduating from the latter in 1884 as a mining engineer. He at once entered the office of Major Irving A. Stearns, and remained in the same until October 1, 1885. He then accepted a position with the Lackawanna Coal and Iron Company of Scranton, remaining until July, 1896, when he became engineer for the Clearfield Bituminous Coal Company, of Clearfield county, Pennsyl- vania, and in 1890 went to Wilkes-Barre as min- ing engineer for the Hollenback Coal Company, with whom he remained for nine years, during four of which he was also superintendent of the Kidder Coal Company. In 1899 he became sup- erintendent for the New Mexico Fuel Company. at Capitan, New Mexico, retaining that position for one year. In 1900 he went to Clearfield as manager of the O'Shanter Coal Company, and in 1901 became superintendent of the United Barium Company, of Niagara Falls, New York. July 1, 1904. he again returned to Wilkes-Barre, and in connection with H. S. Smith formed a

Mr. Welles married, October 29, 1890, Katha- rine A. Weaver. and their children are : Theodore Ladd, Jr., born April 15, 1892; Ellen R., born December 19, 1894: John W., born August 30, 1896; and Carol E., born December 29, 1898. Mrs. Welles is a daughter of John F. Weaver, who was born in Centre county, Pennsylvania, November 17, 1820, and died in Clearfield, Penn- sylvania, February 2, 1901. He married Rebecca Reed, who was born in Clearfield, October 4, 1831, died in her native city, November 22, 1899. Their children were : George, born April 18, 1855, married Ida Bloom, of Clearfield, and died in Clearfield, September, 1901. Mary R., born June 13, 1853, married Judge Cyrus Gordon, of Clearfield, Pennsylvania. Alexander B., born March 12, 1857, married Nannie Harris, of Belle- fonte, Pennsylvania, and after her death Mrs. Nannie I. Woods, of Clearfield, Pennsylvania. Paul F., born April 5, 1859, married Jennie Mc- Cullough. Ruth R .. born May 10, 1861, married George S. Ettla, of Clearfield, Pennsylvania. Katherine A., born April 23, 1864, in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, educated in the common schools and at the Foster school, Clifton Springs, New York, and became the wife of Theodore Ladd Welles, as mentioned above. Susan, born July, 1867. died in infancy. J. Frederick, born De- cember 11, 1870, married Jane Wallace, of Clear- field, Pennsylvania. Rachel E., born July 28, 1873, married J. G. Petrikin, of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. William B., born February 6, 1876. H. E. H.

COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK, soldier, merchant and judge, was born in Jones- town, then Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, Feb- ruary 18. 1829, aged seventy-seven years. He was baptized "John Matthias Hollenback" at Lebanon, Pennsylvania, April 22, 1753, by Rev. John Casper Stoever. He was second son of John and Eleanor (Jones) Hollenback, the former of German ancestry and the latter of Welsh, and grandson of George Hollenback, a German set- tler, who came to America about 1717 and "who owned lands and paid quit-rents prior to 1734"

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in the township of Hanover, Philadelphia (now Montgomery) county, Pennsylvania, and was an elder of the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Trappe, Virginia, 1733. John Hollenback, son of George, was born about 1720. In 1750 he took up land in Lebanon township, Lancaster (now Lebanon) county, Pennsylvania, and in 1772 re- moved to Martinsburg, Berkeley county, Vir- ginia, where he died. He had three sons --- George, Matthias and John, with several daugh- ters.

Colonel Matthias Hollenback, second son, came to Wyoming in February, 1770, in a com- pany of forty young men of Capt. Lazarus Stew- art's "Paxtang Boys" from Lancaster, Pennsyl- vania, their intention being to settle and become citizens under Connecticut laws, and to aid the Yankees in keeping possession of that section of the state. They assisted in taking possession of Fort Durkee, Wilkes-Barre, February II, 1770, and returned to Lancaster county in August, 1770. He located permanently at Mill Creek, near Wilkes-Barre, late in 1773. On their way the company encamped where Mauch Chunk is now situated, and after the coal interest had called into existence a thriving town there, Mr. Hollenback often remarked that he ought to put in a claim to that place, for he was first in possession. He removed to Wilkes-Barre early in 1774, purchased a lot on what is now the west side of the public square, and built a large frame house for a store and dwelling. He pur- chased his goods in Philadelphia, which were taken to Middletown in wagons and then trans- ported by water to this and other places, where he had established stores. The first method of transportation was by Indian canoes, and he lit- erally pushed his canoe up the Susquehanna the whole distance, one hundred and fifty miles, many times, before he was able to procure a more ca- pacious vessel and to employ men to manage it. Then he purchased a Durham boat, which he kept steadily employed. Mr. Hollenback prospered in a remarkable manner in his business enterprises, soon acquired distinction, and was called upon to fill positions of public trust and responsibility. He was commissioned an ensign in the Sixth Company, Twenty-fourth Regiment, Connecticut troops, October 17, 1775, located at Wyoming, Pennsylvania. He was appointed by congress to serve as ensign in Captain Samuel Ransom's In- dependent Company, Continental Army, one of two companies raised by congress for the protec- tion of the people of the Wyoming Valley, Au- gust 26, 1776. These Wyoming companies were

subsequently ordered to join Washington's army_ Lieutenant Hollenback was with his company in the army in New Jersey, 1776-77, and participated in several battles, among them Millstone, Tren- ton, Princeton and Brandywine. At the battle of Millstone he led and cheered his men, wading: the river waist deep to attack the British regulars, insuring victory. His courage and tact is evident from the fact that he was several times employed by Washington to visit the frontier settlements and outposts and report upon their condition.

When danger to Wyoming became imminent and congress turned a deaf ear to pressing calls. for protection, throwing up his commission he- returned, not to avoid, but to meet danger. The skill acquired by eighteen months' military sery- ice was imparted to the militia, and his undaunted and elastic spirit infused into all around him. Dur- ing the spring of 1778 fears were entertained for the safety of the frontier settlement of Wyoming, and as summer approached a sense of insecurity and alarm pervaded the community. Frequent scouting parties were sent out to ascertain the. position of the enemy. Hollenback, with a com- panion, was selected for the perilous duty July I,. 1778. He proceeded sixteen miles up the river, and Tories on their march to attack the settle- where he came upon the fresh trail of the Indians. ment, and discovered also the bodies of several settlers who had been killed and scalped. The inhabitants had already begun to assemble at Forty Fort, and were actively preparing for the defense of the Valley. Under the command of Colonels Zebulon Butler and Nathan Denison, the little band marched forth to the memorable battle of Wyoming, July 3, 1778. Mr. Hollenback took a prominent part in this tragic action in the ranks. of his old company, acquitting himself with gal- lantry and honor. He escaped the terrible slaughter which followed the defeat of the set- tlers, and was among those who fled to the river. His friend, Captain Durkee, being wounded in the thigh, Hollenback carried him some distance. on his shoulder, but pressed closely by the Indians Durkee insisted on being left rather than that both should be killed. Hollenback had not gone far before poor Durkee was slain. Expert in all manly exercises, he swam to Monocacy island, and then to the eastern shore. Foreseeing the necessity of instant aid from abroad, mounting- his horse, he rode early before day and gave in- formation to Captain Spaulding's company, which so tardily had been permitted to advance, and with praiseworthy thoughtfulness rapidly re- turned, laden with bread for the relief of the fly-

Galaxy Pub. C. Philadelphia

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ing widows and their suffering children. He met the company at Bear creek, but Captain Spauld- ing declined the hazard. Mr. Hollenback, how- ·ever, so far prevailed as to induce fifteen or twen- ty of the seventy men to accompany him. On reaching the slope of the mountain near Prospect Rock he discovered his own house on fire and savages in possession of the fort. Ever prompt at the call of duty, Mr. Hollenback assisted in collecting the remains of the slain some days after the massacre, and gave them the most decent burial circumstances at that time permitted. On the passage by the Connecticut assembly of a re- solve allowing Wyoming to make their own pow- der. Mr. Hollenback was looked to, to provide the requisite machinery. His arrival with the "Pounders" was an important event, for previ- ously powder for the settlement was chiefly brought from Connecticut on horseback.

After the enemy retired Mr. Hollenback was among the first to return. He retired from the service July 27, 1778, and resumed his former business. He built on South Main street in 1780- 1781 a long two-story frame building (still stand- ing) and here lived and did business for years. His credit at Philadelphia being good, he ob- tained a few goods and soon laid the sure founda- tion of his fortune. He established his principal store at Wilkes-Barre, and branch stores at Tioga Point, now Athens, at Newtown, now Elmira. and at other places, and no man was better known through lower New York and all over northern Pennsylvania. He was the business manager and purveyor for Colonel Timothy Pickering. in 1791. while he was holding a treaty with the Indians at Newtown creek. He was made a justice of the peace and a judge of common pleas May II, 1787, after the establishment of the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania in Wyoming ; when the new con- stitution was adopted by Pennsylvania in 1790, he was appointed an associate judge of Luzerne county, holding the office over thirty-eight years until his death. He was also the first treasurer of Luzerne county. He was a member of the board of trustees of the old Wilkes-Barre Academy from 1807 to 1829. He was commissioned lieu- tenant-colonel First Battalion Luzerne County Militia in 1787. re-elected in 1792, and in 1793. The first of his commissions was given by the executive council of Pennsylvania, and bears the autograph of Benjamin Franklin. From May, 1819, to May, 1820, he was burgess of Wilkes- Barre.

Colonel Hollenback always took great interest in religious affairs and the welfare of the church.

He contributed liberally toward the erection of the first church in Wilkes-Barre, and his hand and home were always open to ministers of the gospel. He exerted much influence upon the progress and elevation of the country, was a noted friend of public improvements, provided employment for many poor laborers, furnished supplies to multitudes of new settlers, and was a living, almost ever-present example of industry and economy. Not Wyoming alone, but the whole country between Wilkes-Barre and Elmira, owes much of its early development and present prosperity to the business arrangements and the indomitable perseverance of Matthias Hollen- back. Colonel Hollenback married, April 20, 1788, Sarah Hibbard, and had: Eleanor Jones, married Charles F. Welles; Mary Ann, married (first) John Deshong; (second) John Laning ; Sarah, married (first) Jacob Cist, and (second) Hon. Chester Butler ; and George Matthias Hol- lenhack. (Abridged from "The Harvey Book," by Oscar J. Harvey, Esq.) H. E. H.

GEORGE MATSON HOLLENBACK, only son of JudgeMatthias Hollenback, so intimately associated with the principal border incidents of northern Pennsylvania, was born on Main street, Wilkes-Barre, August II, 1791. This edifice, wherein the first of the family laid the foundation of his own and successor's fortunes, is still stand- ing and is one of the monuments of a past age. Here were passed the boyhood days of George M. Hollenback, and here he received the rudi- ments of that practical education in the business affairs of life attended with such signal success in after years, and which supplies to the youth of our land a model well worthy of imitation.

George M. Hollenback commenced his career as a business man in company with his father, on Main, below Northampton street, where for a number of years they pursued their occupation as merchants, a term then of far more signification than at the present day. In this instance, the firm, of necessity, kept an assortment universal in character. Their stock embraced hardware, dry goods, groceries, books and stationery, tin and iron, leather, medicines, and in fact all articles of trade, at the present time divided up amongst separate dealers. To this indoor traffic were added grist and saw milling, brick-making, farm- ing, lumbering ; taking in the various products of the farmers, maple sugar from the early set- tlers, skins and furs from the hunters and trap- pers. plaster and salt from the river : and, added to all these, the care and supervision of number-

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Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 65

Author: Hayden, Horace Edwin Publication date: 1906 Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 988

Author: Hayden, Horace Edwin
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 988