Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 88

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 88
USA > Wyoming > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 88

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JOSHUA SHAY LEWIS, of West Pittston, a retired clergyman, is a descendant in the eighth generation of the celebrated family of this name, early members of which resided in Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York during the period when this territory was still an almost complete wilderness.

(I) John Lewis, the founder of the family in this country, came from East Greenwich, Eng- land, in the year 1630. He bought six hundred acres of land from the Indians near Misquamicut, now called Westerly, Rhode Island. He was a signer of a treaty with the Indians, and one of the five deputies who established the Rhode Island

colony, March 22, 1661. He was admitted a freeman October 28, 1668. Tradition has it that John Lewis was well versed in the Indian dialect, and that he was elected captain of a company for protection against the Indians, and was a famous and brave Indian fighter. The name of his wife is not known, but she came to America against the wishes of her parents to meet John Lewis, who

had the reputation of being a "wild blade." When the boat on which she embarked neared the land, John Lewis waded into the surf, clasped her in- his arms and carried her to the shore. They were married and were the parents of seven sons and one daughter as mentioned below: Jona- than, born 1658, took the oath of allegiance Sep- tember 17, 1679: John, of whom later ; Daniel ; James ; David ; Israel ; Samuel ; and Dorcas.

(II) John Lewis, second child and son of John Lewis (I), the founder of the family, was born in 1660, and took the oath of allegiance May 3, 1681. In 1701 he received a tract of land as a reward for gallant services in the Narragansett war, thus making all the members of the family eligible to the societies of the colonial wars. He was the representative to Newport from 1704 to 1710. He married and had children as follows : Joseph, of whom later, Sarah, Mary, Anna, Abi- gail, John, William and Jerusha.

(III) Joseph Lewis, eldest child and son of John Lewis (II), was born in 1683. He married Mary Wilcox, and had nine children :: Jerusha,. Joseph, of whom later; Amos, Esther, Anna, Thankful, Abraham, Hannah, and Abel.

(IV) Joseph Lewis, second child and eldest son of Joseph Lewis (III) and his wife, Mary Wilcox, was born in 1709. He married Mary- Lewis, a cousin, and they had eight children : Elizabeth, David, Joseph, Oliver, of whom later ; Esther, Jesse, Mary, and Polly.

(V) Captain Oliver Lewis, fourth child and third son of Joseph Lewis (IV) and his wife, Mary Lewis, was born in Westerly, Rhode Is- land, 1738, and here married, February 10, 1766, Ruhamah Lewis, his cousin, and they were the- parents of eight children : Rozzel, Thankful, Elias, Oliver, of whom further ; Simeon, Ichabod, Jabez, and Molly. Captain Lewis and his wife- are buried in Westerly, Rhode Island.

(VI) Oliver Lewis, fourth child of Captain Oliver Lewis (V) and Ruhamah Lewis, his wife, was born in Westerly, Rhode Island, May I,. 1772. Both his parents and his four grandpar- ents were direct descendants of John Lewis, the- founder of this family in America. Oliver Lewis resided some years in his native town and there married Eunice Chapman, and they were the parents of fourteen children : Oliver, a black- smith by trade, but was better known as the weeping prophet. He travelled on horseback throughout the Wyoming Valley, and as a result of his labors hundreds of men were converted ; Levi Chapman, of whom later ; John, Simeon, William, Nathan, Robert, Joseph. George, Mary, Betsy, Ruhamah, Lucinda, and Sally Ann. The

Revy Joshua Shay Lewis

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family removed to Orange county, New York, where death claimed his loving wife and help- inate. Subsequently he removed to Exeter town- ship, six miles above West Pittston, Pennsyl- vania. Here Oliver Lewis and his children re- sided, and here he died.

(VII) Levi Chapman Lewis, second son and child of Oliver Lewis (VI) and his wife, Eunice Chapman, was born April, 1798, in Connecticut. He was reared in Orange county, New York, where his mother died. He removed to Sussex county, New Jersey, where he learned the trade of carpenter, and after completing his apprentice- ship came to Exeter township, about the year 1828, accompanied by his two brothers, walking the entire distance. He was an expert carpenter, and there built a mill for Mr. Sutton, from whom he purchased land consisting of four hundred and fifty acres, and with his brothers was engaged in building mills, large buildings, etc., in the dis- trict. He was always in the lead in the advance- ment of all enterprises which tended toward the improvement and upbuilding of the locality in which he resided. During the earlier years of his life he was a Democrat in politics, later chang- ing his allegiance to the Republic party. Dur- ing his residence in Sussex county, New Jersey, Levi C. Lewis married Hannah Shay, born in that county daughter of Ephraim Shay, and they were the parents of nine children: Thomas, Joshua Shay, of whom later ; Salmon, married, and resides on a part of the old homestead : Levi Vincent, married, and resides on a part of the old homestead ; Giles, married, resides on a part of the old homestead : George, Ruhamah, Evelyn, and Amanda. After settling in Exeter township Mr. Lewis went back to Sussex county, New Jersey, for his family, and upon his return set- tled on the farm, above mentioned, and there con- tinued to reside. He died in Exeter, Pennsyl- vania, aged eighty-three years, and his wife died at the age of sixty-five years. They were mem- bers of the Methodist Church ..

(VIII) Joshua Shay Lewis, son of Levi Chapman Lewis (VII) and his wife, Hannah Shay, was born in Sussex county, New Jersey, January 18, 1829. When two years of age his parents removed to Exeter township, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, six miles from where West Pittston is now located. He was educated in the public schools of the district, and at the age of twenty years entered the Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Pennsylvania, remaining there three years. He first began work on his father's farm, continuing there until he entered the seminary, and taking up the same occupation afterward, his

father, two brothers and himself clearing up one hundred and seventy-five acres of their farm land. During his boyhood he sold grain at what is now Scranton, when there was no town where Pittston now stands and no bridge across the Susque- hanna river at this point. When twenty-four years old he began preaching, his inspiration to become a clergyman coming to him when he was a little child. It was from hearing Rev. C. W. Giddings asking God's blessing for each indiv- idual member of his father's family, ending with himself, and the events of that day were vividly impressed upon his memory. Although devot- ing considerable time to preaching Mr. Lewis continued his farming operations, enlarging his possessions at different times, being the owner of seventeen different pieces of land at different times in the vicinity. all of which he has since disposed of.

The first sermon preached by Mr. Lewis was in the Mt. Zion Church, near his father's home, which was built by his father, who also gave the ground on which it was erected. His second ser- mon was preached at Carverton, Pennsylvania, in the same district, and one of the churches in the Lehman charge of the Wyoming Conference, where he remained one year. He then preached two years at Stoddardsville, Pennsylvania. The following two years he preached at Hyde Park, on the Lackawanna and Hyde Park charge, in a school-house where the city of Scranton now stands, and through his efforts the land on which the school-house stood was purchased and on this plat the Simpson Street Church was afterward built, which edifice is still standing in Scranton. Since then Mr. Lewis has had nine different charges along the Susquehanna river at various times, meeting with signal success at Factory- ville and Messhoppen, Pennsylvania, each of which charges he held three years. At Factory- ville he had one hundred and seventy-five con- versions in one year, holding a wonderful revival which brought about the building of a new church. Mr. Lewis also preached at Plainsville and Forty Fort, Pennsylvania, which were also very pleasant charges, and where his influence for good was widely felt. He was present and assisted at the dedication of the Messhoppen Methodist Church, December, 1905. He was ac- tively engaged in the ministry up to a short time ago, being now ( 1905) in his seventy-sixth year, is one of the oldest living clergymen in the con- ference, of which he has always been a very ac- tive member, and still continues to preach at op- portune occasions. He became a member of the Methodist Conference in 1855, and has conse-

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quently held membership in the same for fifty- one years. He has been president of the Dim- mock Camp Meeting Association, serving in that capacity for twenty-seven years, and was again elected in 1905 for another year. He was a mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and a staunch Republican in politics.

Mr. Lewis married, April 26, 1857, Mary L. Shove, daughter of David Shove, of Connecticut, later of Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania. His death occurred in Broome county, New York. Mary L. (Shove) Lewis was a student at Wyom- ing Seminary, where Mr. Lewis met her. She died at her home in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, March 8, 1903. Six children were born to them : Frank Wesley, died at the age of two years; George N., of whom later ; Charles G., proprietor of a grocery store in West Pittston ; he married Harriet Barber, and they have two children : Robert and Marian ; Edith, wife of John J. Booth, who is engaged in the meat business in Pittston, and their family consists of three children : Mar- jorie, Murray, and John W., Jr. ; Jay Simpson, engaged in the meat business in West Pittston ; he married Mamie Pierce: Annie L., wife of James C. Law, treasurer of the Chicago Subway Company, and they were the parents of one child, now deceased. They reside in Chicago, Illinois.

Having accumulated a competence during his very busy and active life, Mr. Lewis is now, in his declining years, reaping his reward of a life well spent, spending his winters in West Pittston and his summers on the old homestead near where he was reared, amid the scenes of his childhood, surrounded by his relations, children and grand- children.

(IX) George Nelson Lewis, eldest son and child of Joshua Shay (VIII) and his wife, Mary Louise Shove, was born at Northmoreland, Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, July 6, 1862. He had the advantage of an excellent education, being a graduate of the Wyoming Seminary in 1882, and then attending the Syracuse Univer- sity for one year. He then went to Dakota for a time, as his health was impaired. He has a not- able record for the winning of prizes and medals for athletic performances, and some of the rec- ords made by Mr. Lewis remained unchallenged for years. He was the winner of four cups, fif- teen medals, and many other prizes. He made a record at Syracuse of one hundred yards in ten and one-quarter seconds; his record in high jumping was five feet, eight inches ; broad jump, twenty-one feet and three inches ; hop-step and jump, forty-one feet and nine inches ; pole vault. ten feet and two inches ; four hundred and forty

yard run, fifty-one seconds ; and many more on a par with these. Mr. Lewis is a member of the West Pittston Hose Company, and was the or- ganizer of the West Pittston Hose Racing Team, which won the championship of the United States at Coney Island, against twenty-six companies, and was undefeated. He has had charge of a retail meat business in West Pittston for twenty- one years. Although Mr. Lewis has never de- voted much time to politics, he is a staunch ad- herent of the Republican party, and has been the treasurer of the borough for two terms. He is a member of the Exeter Club. He is a man of great force of character and energy, and is ready to take the initiative in any movement which will tend to the welfare of the community, whether social or commercial.

Mr. Lewis married, July 30, 1884. Emma Edith Barber, of Forty Fort. They are the par- ents of four children, as follows: Burt B., who is studying law at Dickinson College ; Byron J., senior in the high school at West Pittston : Hilda and Elmer F.

IRA D. SHAVER. deceased, born Tune I, 1832, in Dallas township, was a son of Will- iam and Rachael (Robbins) Shaver, both na- tives of Knowlton township, Sussex county, New Jersey.

William Shaver (father) was born in Knowlton township June 13, 1794, and came to Dallas with his father, Philip, and his brother John P. and settled in what is now known as Shavertown. (See sketch of Shaver family elsewhere in this work.) William fol- lowed farming and the undertaking business all his life, and was justice of the peace for ten years in Dallas township. He was very active in church circles and a member of the Methodist Church. He married Rachael Rob- bins, February 8, 1816, and had children : 1 Mary, born December 20, 1816, married Da- vid Frantz. 2. Charles, born July 19, 1818, married Jane Jones. 3. Lucinda. born Jan- uary 9, 1820, died young. 4. Elsie, born March 1, 1822, died young. 5. Philip, born January 10, 1824, married Arminda Irvin. 6. Philinda, born August 10, 1825, married John Low. 7. Asa. born January 17, 1827, drafted and died in the army, war with the south. 8. Betsy Ann, born October 23, 1828, married John Pursel. 9. Andrew Jackson, born August 30, 1830, married Clarissa Dev- enport ; Andrew was also a soldier in the war with the south. IO. Ira D., mentioned here- after. II. Jerusha, born September 28. 1835,

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died young. 12. Olive Ann. born September IO, 1837, married Charles Parrish. 13. 01- iver, born May 12, 1839, married Mrs. Sara (Beisher) Blakesley. 14. William Perry, born January 26, 1845.

William Shaver's wife died June 22, 1847. and he married (second) Mrs. Anna (Nulton) Honeywell, January 22, 1849, and had: Han- nah Acca, born December 6, 1849, and Rachael Ann, born July 12, 1851, married Samuel Ross. William Shaver died in Dallas, September 22, 1852, and was buried in Shavertown cem- etery.

Ira D. Shaver spent almost his entire life in Dallas, where he was educated in the pub- lic schools. At first he learned the carpenter's trade and later followed wagon making, after which he entered the mercantile business (1856) as proprietor of a general store in his native town, continuing as such all the re- mainder of his life. He served as treasurer of Dallas township for several years previous to the organization of the Dallas borough. He was a member of the first council and served as such for a number of years. He was ap- pointed postmaster during President Cleve- land's first administration, and served twelve years. He was instrumental in establishing the Dallas high school and took the contract for the erection of the high school building. He was a member of Oneida Lodge, Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows, and George M. Dallas Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons. He attended the Methodist Church, and was a Democrat in politics.

Ira D. Shaver married, at Lehman. Lu- zerne county, January 3, 1856, Phoebe Frantz, daughter of Jacob Frantz. of Carverton, Lu- zerne county, Pennsylvania, and had seven children, namely : I. Clara, born October 18, 1856, married Charles H. Cook. and had Helen ; Ira and Claude : reside at Dallas. 2. William, born February 28, 1858, died No- vember 28, 1859. 3. Wellington, born Sep- tember 8, 1859, died March 15, 1860. 4. Cora, born May 5, 1863, married, September 12, 1883, Frank L. Snyder a farmer in Dallas, born August 4, 1861, and had one daughter, Grace, born April 21, 1885. Frank L. Snyder died November 15, 1884, and Cora married (second). April 8, 1890, Chester White, of Dallas, and had one son. Herman C., born September 28, 1893 ; resides at Dallas. 5. Al- lie E., born August 28, 1864, married F. F. Morris and had Carrie, Charles, Russell, Ira -and Frantz, deceased; reside at Dallas. 6.

Stella V., born March 16, 1866, married Wal- ter Harter and had Harry and Frank; reside at Trucksville. 7. Stanley W., born June 16, 1869, married Lulu Mathers and had Har- old, Helen and Marian; reside at Harvey's Lake. Ira D. Shaver died October 22, 1898, in Dallas, and his wife, Phoebe, died in the same place October 14, 1902; both are buried in Woodlawn cemetery.

JOHN CHAPMAN SNOW, deceased, born about 1807, in Paxton, Massachusetts, son of John and Mary (Chapman) Snow, came to the Wyoming valley with his uncle, Isaac Chapman, when he (John) was about nine years of age, and remained in the valley for the remainder of his life. He was educated in the public schools, and shortly after com- pleting his studies engaged in the manufac- ture of hats, which business he continued throughout his active career and succeeded very well. He was a member of the Pennsyl- vania militia and was captain of the color guard of the regiment. In politics he was an old-time Democrat. He was a member of the Episcopal Church of Wilkes-Barre.

Mr. Snow married Katherine H. Court- right, daughter of Henry and Rachel (Gore) Courtright (of whom see sketch elsewhere in this work) and had four children: I. Mary Elizabeth, deceased. 2. Joseph Chapman, resides in Chicago, Illinois, and is the father of three children : Ella, residing near Albany, New York : Maud and Burton Courtright, who reside in Chicago. 3. Louisa F., married John F. Quin, who followed the life in- surance business in Toronto, where he died in 1889 and was buried there. He was a mem- ber of a New York cavalry regiment during the war with the south and served with dis- tinction throughout the entire period. He was very patriotic ; he was offered a captaincy, but declined, as he desired to remain with his own company, in which he held the rank of

sergeant-major. Mr. Quin was also a mem- ber of the Masonic Fraternity of Toronto, Canada. His widow, Louisa F. (Snow) Quin, resides in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. 4. Katherine H., resides in Wilkes-Barre with her sister. John Chapman Snow died May 14, 1847, at the early age of forty years, lamented by all. His widow, Katherine H. (Courtright) Snow died in Wilkes-Barre, June, 1851, aged forty-four years, and her re- mains were interred in Orange cemetery.

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THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

CHARLES LUTHER WILDE, of Hazle- ton, was born November 10, 1861, in Blythe township, Schuylkill county, son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Beck) Wilde. He was edu- cated in the public schools of Hazleton and graduated from the high school in that place in 1879. He was employed from 1877 to 1879, during evenings and Saturdays, by Bond & Engle : from 1879 to 1881 by Lauderbach & Company ; from 1881 to 1884 by E. J. Engle ; in 1885 by S. W. Hill; in 1886-87-88 by Rohrheimer & Company; from 1889 to 1898 was manager of a grocery store for George R. Clark ; and from 1898 to the present time has been a manufacturer of ladies' Swiss ribbed vests. He is a director of the Hazle- ton Improvement Company; president of Memorial Park Association, Post No. 20, G. A. R .: member of the board of managers of Hazleton cemetery ; member of F. and A. M., K. T. and J. O. A. M. He is a Republican in politics, has never held public office, but has repeatedly held positions of honor in party service.

Mr. Wilde married, June 1, 1892, Eliza- beth Jane Brown, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Turner) Brown, and sister of John T., Robert T., William H., Margaret Alice, Arthur P., and Bessie M. Brown. Ar- thur P. Brown married Helen Barber. Peter Brown (father) was a son of John and Mar- garet Brown, and Elizabeth (Turner) Brown (mother) was a daughter of John and Eliza- beth (Fellows) Turner. Charles L. and Eliza- beth Jane (Brown) Wilde had children: In- fant daughter, born February II, 1897, and Jane Elizabeth, born February 22, 1905.

JAMES G. LAING, one of the oldest practicing physicians of Dallas, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, was born in Argyle, Washington county, New York, March 18, 1834, son of the Rev. James and Mary (Gard- ner) Laing, of Andes, Delaware county, New York, both natives of Scotland, where the Rev. James Laing was educated and gradu- ated at the Glasgow University, coming to America with his wife and family and first settling in Argyle, New York, where his son, Dr. James G. Laing, was born.

Rev. James Laing first began life as a workman in his father's factory in Scotland, where he manufactured cloth, James serving in the capacity of weaver. Later he became a Presbyterian minister of the old school in Scotland, and continued his labors in the

same church in the United States, first in Argyle and later in Andes, Delaware county, where he was in charge of one church for about thirty years, and in which city he died suddenly about the year 1854. He was a Whig in politics. John Laing, a brother of Rev. James Laing, went to Buenos Ayres, Argen- tine Republic, and is reputed to have made a fortune there. Rev. James and Mary (Gard- ner) Laing were the parents of eight children : James G., of whom later; John, deceased, was a merchant ; he married a Miss Gladstone. Robert, a farmer, resides on the old home- stead in Andes, New York with his brother William. William, a farmer, resides on the old homestead ; he married a Miss Armstrong, who bore him three sons and one daughter. Charles, deceased, resided on the old home- stead. George died young. Mary E., married Dr. J. L. Leal, deceased, and had three chil- dren, one of whom died in infancy, one died after attaining his majority, and one son is now a practicing physician in Paterson. New Jersey. Anna, resides at Paterson, New Jer- sey, with her sister Mary.

James G. Laing spent his early days in Argyle, New York, where he attended the public schools, going with his father to An- des, Delaware county, New York, where he- completed his education, graduating at the Collegiate Institute there. He then took up the study of medicine with his brother-in-law, Dr. J. L. Leal, at that time practicing in An- des, and continued studying under him until he graduated in 1858. In that year he began practicing his profession in Andes and con- tinued for about two years, when he went to. Binghampton, New York, and practiced there about two years, at the expiration of which time he was compelled to give up his prac- tice there on account of ill health. He then came to Pennsylvania, settling in Ashley, and after practicing there about one and a half years was taken sick, and on the advice of Dr. Crawford and other physicians abandoned his practice entirely for about one year. Aft- er regaining his health he engaged in prac- tice in Dallas, Pennsylvania, and has contin- ued there up to date (1906), having a large and lucrative practice. Formerly Dr. Laing practiced surgery to a large extent, but now confines himself principally to general medi- cine. He served as coroner of Delaware county, New York, for three years, as school director in the borough of Dallas for three- years, and has been re-elected to the same of -.

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THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

fice for a similar period of time. He formerly held membership in the Delaware County (New York) Medical Society, Broom County (New York) Medical Society, and the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, of Andes, New York, for several years. In politics he is a Republican. In 1856, when twenty-two years of age, Dr. Laing was appointed surgeon of the Twenty-seventh Regiment. New York National Guards, receiving the appointment from Governor Morgan, of New York, and at the commencement of the Civil war, 1861. was appointed examining surgeon for the state and held this position about four years. His duty was to examine men under draft, and during his incumbency of office examined over three thousand men.

Dr. Laing married, September 4. 1861. Charlotte Lee Morris, daughter of Rev. Henry and Caroline (Smith) Morris, of Cuddyback- ville, Orange county, New York, and had three children : Henry Morris, born June 29, 1862, followed in his father's footsteps and has practiced medicine in Dallas for about twenty years; he married Harriet Wheeler, of Liberty Falls, New York. Robert Gard- ner, born February 14, 1868, resides in Dal- las with his parents. George Willis, born February 4, 1870, died July 6, 1870, in Downesville, New York, and was buried in Andes, Delaware county, New York.

CONRAD LEE, general dealer in lumber, proprietor of the Wyoming planing mill, and otherwise largely interested in the business affairs at Wilkes-Barre and elsewhere, was born in Han- over township, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, November 3, 1842, a son of Stephen and Jane (Lines) Lee.

His paternal grandfather, James Lee, and his maternal grandparents, Conrad and Mary (Fair- child) Lines, were pioneer settlers in Newport and Hanover townships, Luzerne county. Con- rad Lines, born July 26, 1789, passed all his mar- ried life of about fifty-three years in Newport township. He was a blacksmith by trade, and accumulated a valuable tract of coal land of over two hundred acres. He reared a family of six children.

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Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 88

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