Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 86

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 86
USA > Wyoming > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 86

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).

STEPHEN DECATUR ENGLE is a de- scendant of one of the pioneer families who came over with William Penn. The first account we have of this line dates back to 1682, when three brothers Engle came to America and settled near Germantown, Pennsylvania. One of the brothers remained in Pennsylvania and the other two went to New Jersey, and from them are descended the present generations.

William Engle, the great-grandfather of Stephen Decatur Engle, is the first of whom we; have any definite information. He married Mary Thomas and they had seven sons, one of whom was John.

John Engle, son of William and Mary (Thomas) Engle, married Catharine Sargent, of New Jersey, in what was known as the Dry Lands of New Jersey, in Sussex township. The ances- tors of Mrs. John Engle were Quakers, both Orthodox and Hicksites. John and Catharine (Sargent) Engle had two sons and five daugh- ters : William, Joseph, Effie, Catharine, Jane, Elsie, and Ann.

William Engle, son of John and Catharine (Sargent) Engle, was born in Briarcreek town- ship, Columbia county, Pennsylvania, in 1800 .. He married Mary Davis and they had eleven. children : I. Rachel, married Daniel Yaeger, and had five children: Mary. Ann, William, Lloyd, Johnson, and Angeline. They reside in Black Creek township. 2. John, married (first) Rose Fritz, and had four children: George, Clara, Albert and Emma. Married (second) Anna Keim, and had two children : Howard and Estelle. 3. Sylvester, married Ellen Stealy, and had three children : Edith, Ellersley, and Syl- vester. They reside in Hazleton. 4. Eliza,.

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married Gideon Klinger, of Sugarloaf township, and had six children. They reside in Sugarloaf township. 5. Moses, deceased, married Vir- ginia Tyler, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, de- scendant of John Tyler, and resided in Scranton, Pennsylvania. They had one daughter. 6. El- len, married Elijah McMutrie, of Scotch-Irish descent, resides in Conyngham valley, and had five children : Edna, Wesley, William, Scott, and Harry. 7. Stephen Decatur, of whom later. 8. Sarah, married (first) Dr. Sloan, of Blooms- burg, and had one daughter, Ida, married William Bright, and resides at Hazleton. Married (sec- ond) Henry Dryfoos, of Hazleton, and resides there. They have four children : Rose, now Mrs. Goodnow ; Mame, now Mrs. Alvin Markle ; Louise, now Mrs. Elmer Jones ; and Harry, mar- ried Grace Fogle. 9. Charles, died young and is buried in Conyngham. 10. Elizabeth, died at the age of fifteen and is buried at Seiberts- ville. II. William Wallace, deceased, who mar- ried E. Jane Clark, of Hazleton, and they had three children, among whom were Guy and Flor- ence.

Stephen Decatur Engle, son of William and Mary (Davis) Engle, was born in Seibertsville, Pennsylvania, December 18, 1837. He lived on a farın until he was nineteen years of age, and en- joyed no other advantages for education than were afforded by the common schools of the day. He was, however, an inveterate reader, especially ·of scientific works, and thus absorbed a great deal of useful knowledge which was of the greatest help to him later in life. When he was nineteen years old he went to Scranton with his brother Moses to learn the watchmaking trade. He re- mained there about two and a half years, and then went with his brother Sylvester in Hazleton for about six months, working at the same busi- ness. He continued at the same work for John Dolan in Mauch Chunk for eleven months, and then started in business for himself in White- haven. in 1859. From that place he came to Hazleton and started in business under the name of Stephen D. Engle, and has continued in it up to the present time. He has acquired a national, if not a world-wide fame as a scientific and me- chanical inventor. Mr. Engle soon became the leading jeweler and watchmaker of Hazleton. He also studied and for a number of years prac- ticed dentistry in connection with his business as jeweler. One of his inventions is "Engle's Pa- tent for Securing Porcelain Teeth to Gold and Silver Plates." The "Association for the Pro- tection of the Rights of Dentists" officially ap- proved of this device, and hastened to secure an

assignment and abondonment to the public of the patent. Another invention of intrinsic worth is "Engle's Dust Proof Watch Case," affording such protection to the movement as would not now be dispensed with by manufacturers of the best watches. The first astronomical musical and apostolic clock ever built in the United States was invented and built by Mr. Engle, and it has never been equalled in automatic wonders or in the scientific accuracy of the astronomical me- chanism. So absorbed was Mr. Engle in the planning and construction of this clock that he after wrote to a friend: "During the last year before its completion I had no night or day, but slept when I was sleepy and ate when I was hungry, without any regard to old Sol." It was perhaps fortunate for him that he was a disciple of Nimrod and Isaak Walton, for without the recreation found in his hunting and fishing ex- cursions, he would probably have succumbed long ago to an excess of brain work and confine- ment to rooms filled with machinery, crucibles, metals and acids. Captain Jacob Reid has exhib- ited this clock to crowded houses in every part of the United States and Canada. A description of this grand piece of mechanism, with its forty- eight moving figures, its movements illustrating day and night, changes of seasons, ebbing and flowing of tides, and other phenomena, can not here be given. While Joel Cook, one of the edi- tors of the Public Ledger, of Philadelphia, was visiting Strasbourg, in 1878, he saw the renowned Strasbourg clock, and in his book, entitled: "A Holiday Trip to Europe," he makes the following comparison : "The Engle clock which has been exhibited at Philadelphia, is not so large, and yet does all that this clock does and much more and does it better." The latest invention of Mr. En- gle is "Engle's Tellurion." For illustrating cel- estial as well as terrestrial phenomena, this is far in advance of any apparatus hitherto con- structed. It is the only apparatus yet in exist- ence that shows the true motion of the earth around the sun in an actual eclipse. The parallel- ism of the axis is at all times preserved, and all the phenomena of the changes of day and night and of the seasons, the greater length of times the sun remains north than south of the equator. etc., are clearly shown. This instrument shows the length of the day and night at any season of the year in any latitude, as well as the heavenly constellations visible at any hour in any and every season of the year. The moon is seen in its gib- bous and crescent phases, as well as with a full enlightened hemisphere and in total darkness, its place being a mask or hollow hemisphere with the

Justus altmiller

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THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

convex surface thereof black. This invention has attracted the attention of astronomers and teachers. Parties have endeavored to negotiate with Mr. Engle with a view to the manufacture of this improved Tellurion, but the inventor has thus far been engaged during his leisure moments in considering further improvements in the mach- ine, and has not entertained any of these proposi- tions. He now devotes his entire attention to the manufacture of fine jewelry, and is considered the only real manufacturer in his line in Luzerne county. .

Stephen D. Engle is universally recognized by his neighbors as an upright, honorable and kind- hearted man. No case of suffering or distress ever comes to his knowledge without enlisting his sympathies, and to awaken his sympathy is to open his purse strings. He is a man of indomit- able energy, and once having taken hold of an idea he does not release his hold until he has made a success of it. In politics Mr. Engle is a Republican. He has been a member of the An- cient Free and Accepted Masons for several years and is a Presbyterian. When the rebels entered Pennsylvania in 1863, Mr. Engle served with the "emergency men" until his services were no longer needed.

Mr. Engle married, July 8, 1860, Martha A. Grenawalt, daughter of Joseph and Rosanna (Charles) Grenawalt, residents of Hazleton, and they have had ten children, among whom were: Alice, married Harry Smith, of Hazleton. Cal- vin, sketch of whom appears elsewhere, married Catharine McGowan, resides in Wilkes-Barre, and they have one child. Martha. Louise. William, resides in Hazleton, married Minnie Shultz. Stephen D., Jr., resides in Hazleton.

JUSTUS ALTMILLER, ex-mayor of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, and one of its promi- nent and influential citizens, for many years the proprietor of a prosperous business which was conducted under the style of Justus Alt- miller was born in Lautenhausen, Hessen, Germany, July 14, 1840, son of Johannes and Susanna (Reinmiller) Altmiller both natives of Lautenhausen, Germany.

Johannes Altmiller (father ) was reared and educated in his native town, followed ag- ricultural pursuits in Hessen, and in 1864 em- igrated to America to make for himself a new home amid new surroundings. He located in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, and there engaged in the coal mining business, which was the prin- cipal industry of the town. When about twenty-two years of age, prior to his immigra-

tion to America, Mr. Altman married Susanna. Reinmiller, and seven children were born to. them, as follows: Justus, of whom later ; John, deceased, who was a resident of Hazle- ton ; he married Eliza Bicking and their chil- dren were: John, Eliza, Dora and Etta. Charles, a resident of Hazleton, mentioned at length in the sketch of his son, Justus E. Altmiller, which appears elsewhere in this. work; he married Christina Baitter, of Ger- many, and their children were: Charles, Kate, Emma, Lena, Hilda John and Justus E. Elizabeth, wife of George Krick and mother of three children: John, Robert and Kate ;. Margaret, deceased, who remained in Ger- many; twins, who died in infancy. Johannes. Altmiller died at his home in Hazleton, Penn- sylvania, in 1885, and his remains were n- terred in Vine Street cemetery.

Justus Altmiller received a practical edu- cation in the public schools of Germany, and. in early life, when about fifteen years of age, having decided to test for himself the busi -- ness opportunities of the United States, emi -. grated thither and at once settled in Hazle- ton, Pennsylvania, where he gained his first practical experience by working in the mines, .. continuing the same for a period of four years. The following three years he was en -- gaged in various capacities on the railroad,. after which he became engineer for the firm. of A. Pardee & Company at their flour mills,. remaining in that capacity two years. On November 12, 1861, he enlisted as a musician. in the Union army at Philadelphia, and went with General Sickle and the Army of the Po- tomac in the Eleventh Pennsylvania Infantry,. under Colonel Colter. By an act of congress. passed in 1862 all regimental bands were dis- banded, and the members of this particular - band were discharged in Philadelphia. Mr. Altmiller then returned to Hazleton and once- more resumed his position as engineer for A. Pardee & Company, remaining for a period of two years. In September, 1864, he again enlisted in Philadelphia, this time as a pri -- vate in the One Hundred and Ninety-eighth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, .. and went with the Army of the Potomac to . Washington, Bermuda, and Petersburg, and' participated in the battles of Rhappahannock, . Cedar Mountain, Second Bull Run and several others remaining in the service until dis- charged on June 13, 1865, in Philadelphia.

Upon his return to Hazleton at the close - of the war Mr. Altmiller engaged in the gro ..

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cery business on his own account, continuing the same until 1870, in which year he added a full line of dry goods to his stock in trade, and removed his business to Broad street, Hazleton, where he conducted a prosperous business for three years, at the expiration of which time he removed to more commodious quarters on Cedar street and there continued operations until 1900, under the style of Jus- tus Altmiller, at which time his son, William Carl, assumed charge of the business and is conducting the same at the present time (1906). Mr. Altmiller conducted his business . on a thoroughly honorable and straightfor- ward basis, won the confidence and esteem ·of his many patrons, and also gained an envi- able reputation in commercial circles where his name was a synonym for honor and in- tegrity. For a period of almost ten years Mr. Altmiller served as a director in the Hazleton Building & Loan Association. On the Re- publican ticket he was elected to the council . and served from 1883 to 1892, and served in the capacity of mayor of Hazleton from 1895 to 1898, his incumbency of both offices being noted for efficiency and capability. He is a ·member of Lessing Lodge, No. 862, Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows, of Hazleton: Uh- land Lodge, No. 79, Knights of Pythias ; Rob- ertson Post, No. 20, Grand Army of the Re- public, of Hazleton, in which he was post commander during the year 1892, and a mem- ber of Hazleton Band, of which he was leader for thirty years, 1860 to 1890.

Mr. Altmiller married, December 25, 1860, Ann Elizabeth Reinhardt, of Hazleton, Penn- ·sylvania, daughter of Martin and Anna Cath- erina (Degenhardt) Reinhardt, of Germany. Their children were: Justus, born January 4, 1862, died January 5, 1862 ; Catherine Eliza- beth, born August 29, married Henry Stilge- bauer, of New York city, and they have a son, Harry. Catherine, born December 6, 1866, died July 18, 1867; Anna Barber, born April 1, 1871, died July 12, 1871 ; Justus Ru- dolph, born August 3, 1872, died August 12, 1874: George Martin, born April 26, 1874, married Margaret Norton, and they have one son, Justus. They reside in Hazleton. Wil- liam Carl, born May 10, 1875, married Lillie Stager, resides in Hazleton; Lizetta, born August 5, 1877, died July 18, 1878; Fred Ru- dolph, born July 18, 1881, resides in Hazle- ton; Justus Vitus, born July 10, 1883, died November 17, 1883; Heinrich Ario, born

March 14, 1885. died July 20, 1885. All of the above named deceased children were buried in the Vine Street cemetery, Hazleton, Penn- sylvania.

BONEFACIUS HENRY BRODHUN, a retired resident of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylva- nia, by reason of his long and eventful career, is justly entitled to a place among the promi- nent characters of this county and city. He was born beyond the big seas, in Weissen- born, Prussia, September 9, 1827, son of George and Elizabeth (Mundey) Brodhun, natives of the same place, who were the par- ents of five children, namely: Joseph, mar- ried Josepha Eicke, and resides on the old homestead in Prussia; the house on this place was built in 1764; Bonefacius H., of whom later ; Heinrich, who now lives in Germany; Josepha, married a Mr. Hoffmeir, and resides at Holongen, Germany ; Charles, deceased, who married Charlotte Bergold, of Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania, and they had four chil- dren: Christina, Carl, a bookkeeper for the Hazzard Manufacturing Company, at Wilkes- Barre ; Hannah and Mary, both of Wilkes- Barre. George Brodhun (father) was the son of Henricus Brodhun, a native of the same locality in Prussia ; he was a tax collec- tor and the treasurer of his district many years. He was also a highly successful farm- er and business man. He handled lumber and dealt in live stock. In religion he was a member of the German Roman Catholic Church. Mr. Brodhun's maternal grand- father. Mr. Mundey, came from Luedorode, Germany.

Bonefacius H. Brodhun spent sixteen years of his life in the locality of his birth, receiv- ing his education in the district schools. He then went to Berlin to learn the trade of a brickmason and general builder, being bound out as an apprentice, for which his father paid thirty German dollars for four years. Among his fellow-apprentices was Unser Fritz and other nobility. At the age of twen- ty years he was drafted, but a revolution broke out and he went home for the winter. The following spring he went to Bremen and sailed for this country with Joseph Henkle and A. P. Goedecke. They landed in New York, May 10. 1849. From that place he went with them to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, thence on to the French mine, near Hazleton (now Jeaneville), Pennsylvania. They rode

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from Philadelphia to Pottsville on a coal car, walked from Pottsville to the French mine and remained working there about three months, going next to Conyngham valley and there farmed until the spring of 1850 with John Getting, after which he worked in Pitts- ton and Wilkes-Barre at his trade. In the autumn of 1850 he began to take contracts and engaged in building operations, which work extended over a large scope of country. Among the buildings he erected was the First German Catholic Church of Wilkes-Barre. He worked on the Jersey Central machine shops, at Ashley, Pennsylvania; Sweatland Hall at Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, Penn- sylvania ; the court house tower, the Phoenix block, Pittston, Pennsylvania, all of which and other work occupied his time and atten- tion up to 1861, when he enlisted as a musi- cian in the Union army, becoming a member of the Ninth Pennsylvania (Lochiel) Cavalry. He had been a musician in the Pennsylvania State Guards from 1852 to the date of his en- listment in the regular army. He was ordered to report at Harrisburg, and from that point was sent to Louisville, Kentucky, Knoxville, Tennessee, and on to Green river and Bowl- ing Green. Later he was ordered to the Ohio river, and scouted after John Morgan, the fa- inous Confederate raider. By an act of con- gress all regimental bands were discharged, his band at Lebanon, Kentucky, and he then returned to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, while his regiment went with Sherman on his memorable march to the sea.

Mr. Brodhun resumed his contracting work after his return from the army and con- tinued until January 23, 1864, when via Pan- ama he went to California, finally arriving at Gold Hill, Nevada, where his brother Charles was then mining. He also took up that ex- citing vocation, and took time to erect an as- saying office and a drug store at Belmont, be- ing the sixteenth person in the town, remain- ing four years. He spent much time in pros- pecting and locating claims, but at last be- came a master builder, receiving good salary. On that western trip all was not sunshine, for he relates how he crossed the great forty- mile desert and was held up and robbed by highwaymen, then known as "road agents." He remained in Nevada five years, in Vir- ginia City the first year. and made an extend- ed tour toward Colorado river country, to Paranagut. He returned to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in 1869, when he took an in-

terest in coal land in company with A. P. Goedecke and others at Black Creek, near Hazleton, Pennsylvania. where they opened a mine and operated the same a year, Mr. Brodhun being engaged at prospecting and proving coal until the mine was sold. Mr. Brodhun again took up building and contract- ing, following it until 1874, when he took his family to California, locating at San Fran- cisco, and there worked at his trade for two years. He then returned to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and for three years operated as a builder and then engaged in the hotel busi- ness, which he followed for ten years on South Main street, Wilkes-Barre. Since then he has lived a retired life. In 1880 he went to Germany to settle the family estate.

Mr. Brodhun is a Republican in party pol- itics. He is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 425, at Wilkes-Barre, of which he has been a mem- ber since 1853, has passed all the chairs ; and the encampment. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, becoming a member of Oasis Lodge, No. II, in Nevada in 1865, and now a member of Wilkes-Barre Lodge, No. 61, of which he is a past master. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, belonging to Eli Post (now Conyngham), No. 97, of Wilkes-Barre. He is a member of Con- cordia Singing Society. At one time he held a membership in the Bricklayers' Union of San Francisco, California. Mr. Brodhun is a stockholder in Oak Lawn Cemetery and the Wilkes-Barre Light, Heat and Power Company.

Mr. Brodhun married in 1853, Clemintine, daughter of Jacob Bertels, and their children were : Elizabeth R., married Theodore Overpeck, a sketch of whom appears in this work. John, married Esther A. Moore, and their children were : Boynton, Bessie, deceased. William, Nora and Flora (twins), John and Elizabeth, who re- side near Dallas, Pennsylvania. Lena, deceased, buried at Rich Hill cemetery, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. One son who died in infancy. For his second wife, Mr. Brodhun married, De- cember 19, 1869, Elizabeth Drum, daughter of Abraham and Magdalena (Winters) Drum. Their children were: William, born November 19, 1870. Harry, born December 23, 1872, an op- tician, married Alice Pethick. Charles, born Sep- tember 17, 1875, in San Francisco, California, also an optician. Eleanor, born June 28, 1878, still at home. Mrs. Elizabeth (Drum) Brodhun was one of the following ten children in her pa-

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THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

rents' family : Margaret, Mary, Lena, George, So- phia, Eleanor, Elizabeth, Louise, Stephen, Caro- line. The father of the family last named, Abram Drum, was one of ten children in his father's family, named as follows : George, John, Jacob, Isaac, Philip, William, Abraham, Elizabeth, Anna, Margaret. Abraham Drum was sheriff of his county for three years ; he was the son of George Drum, whose father served in the Revolutionary war. Magdalena (Winters) Drum was the daughter of Adam Winters, a farmer near Beaver Meadows, Pennsylvania. The great-grandfather Winters was a soldier in the Revolutionary war.

HON. PHILIP H. SEELY, one of the large land owners and farmers, and ex-member of the state legislature, in which body he served with conspicuous ability, is a representative of a fam- ily that migrated to Luzerne county, settling in Salem township, in 1801. The pioneer was Michael Seely, who was born in April, 1750, was an acive participant in the Revolutionary war and an applicant for pension. (Page 273 New York in the Revolution), and upon his settlement in Salem township became the owner of a farm of one hundred and thirty acres, which he purchased from Nathan Beach, and which he cleared, culti- vated and made productive. In due course of time he married a Miss De Pue, who bore him the following children: John, Samuel, Jacob, Susan, (Mrs. Garrison), Mathias, Mary, Mrs. Parker) and Sarah (Mrs. Garrison), all are now dead. The ancestors of Michael Seely came from Holland.

John Seely, eldest son of Michael Seely, was born in Penn township, Sussex county, New Jer- sey, in 1778. He came with his father to Salem township, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, in 1801, was a farmer by occupation, and it is worthy of record that he raised the first crop of wheat which was shipped from Salem township to Easton. He married Miss Mary Weltz, and their children were as follows: Jacob, Desire, (Mrs. Samuel Pollock), Elsie, (Mrs. David Cope), Mary, (Mrs. Henry Harmon) and Huldah (Mrs. Adam Dries- bach) ; all are dead. The death of John Seey occurred in Fairmount township in 1855.

Jacob Seely, eldest child and only son of John and Mary (Weltz) Seely, was born on the old Nathan Beach farm in Salem township, July 24, 1803. He followed the quiet but useful calling of agriculture, and was the owner of four hundred and fifty acres of land. With the exception of ten years' residence in Fairmount township he spent

his entire life in his native township. For more than three decades he served in the capacity of school director, and for two terms was jus- tice of the peace, one term in Fairmount town- ship, and one in Salem township. He was one of the distinguished citizens of his day, winning and retaining the esteem of all with whom he was brought in contact. He married Miss Leah Keen, daughter of Frederick and Mary (Stump) Keen, of Salem township, and thirteen children were the issue of this union, eleven of whom attained years of maturity: Frederick K., of Benton, Co- lumbia county, Pennsylvania ; John W., deceased ; Samuel P., resides in Salem township ; Philip H., mentioned at length hereinafter; Edwin C., a large farmer at Lawrence, Mercer county, New Jersey ; Martha A. (Mrs. Dr. J. E. Patterson), Rachel (Mrs. Thomas E. Edwards), Leah D., ( Mrs. M. W. Hess), these three residing in Ben- ton, Columbia county, Pennsylvania ; Henry J .. a sketch of whom appears in this work; Mi- nerva J., deceased, was the wife of Wil- son Hess; and Cecilia E., deceased, was the wife of C. B. Smithers. Jacob Seely, father of these children, died May 30, 1874. Frederick Keen, father of Mrs. Seely, wac born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, February 12, 1784, and his wife was also a native of the same county born January 31, 1792. They moved from Berks county to Luzerne county, locating in Salem township, in 1816. He was a shoemaker by trade, but later in life became a practical farmer. They were the parents of one child, Leah, aforementioned as the wife of Jacob Seely. Their deaths occurred within three days of two months of each other, his on March 17, 1876, fol- lowed by that of his wife on January 20, 1876. He was believed to be the oldest man at the time of his death that had lived in the town in fifty years.

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Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 86

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