USA > Pennsylvania > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 90
USA > Wyoming > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 90
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Charles Altmiller, father of Justus E. Alt- miller, was born August 25, 1843, in Lauterhau- sen, Hessen, Germany, where he resided until fourteen years of age, when he emigrated to the new world, locating in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, and the following year ( 1858) entered the mines of A. Pardee & Company. He continued this occupation until 1861, when he enlisted as a mu- sician in the Eleventh Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry, and was present at the battles of Cedar Mountain, Rappahannock, Tunifer Gap, second Bull Run, and other important engagements. He received his discharge in August, 1862. For a short time he was employed on the railroad, and the year following his 'discharge re-enlisted at Camden, New Jersey, as bugler in Company M. Third New Jersey Cavalry, and in that capacity was present at the first battle of the Wilderness. Wilson's raid in the rear of General Lee's army. during which all the railroads were torn up ; Five Forks and Appomattox, being present at the sur- render of General Lee to General Grant. He re- ceived his second discharge from the service of the United States service at Washoigton, D. C., August 1, 1865. He again secured employment on the railroad. and continued in that line of work until 1886, when he gave his attention to the sta- tionery and wall paper business in Hazleton, in which he is still engaged. In addition to this he has served in the capacity of secretary and agent for the Luzerne Mutual Fire Insurance Company for seven years. The esteem in which he is held by the citizens of Hazleton is evidenced by the fact that he served as assessor from 1889 to 1892. city treasurer from 1892 to 1895, and assessor
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from 1898 to the present time (1906). He has been a member of the Hazleton Liberty Band since 1859 (forty-seven years) ; and a member of the Knights of Pythias since 1869, being a char- ter member of Lodge No. 107 of that order. He holds membership in Christ Lutheran Church, and served as deacon from 1889 to 1893. His political affiliations are with the Democratic party, whose principles he has advocated since attaining his majority.
Charles Altmiller married, August 12, 1866, Christina Baitter, a native of Lauterhausen, Ger- many, and their children were: I. John C., born May 5, 1869, a musician and mail carrier in Haz- leton, Pennsylvania ; married Anna Fey, and they had: Ruth, Ethel and Helen, deceased, and Flor- ence and Carl living. 2. Justus Emory, see for- ward. 3. Katherine J., born June 25, 1873. mar- ried John F. Wetterau, and they are the parents of one son, Paul. 4. Emma, born April 18, 1875, graduated from high school in 1892, and taught school seven years in Hazleton ; she mar- ried Herbert Philip, of Hazleton, and they have one son, Leon. 5. Charles F., born July 4, 1877, married Martha Moyer ; he is a physician, a spe- cialist on diseases of the stomach. They reside in Bloomsburg. 6. William, born 1879, died 1882. 7. Adele, born September 19, 1883, a graduate of high school, 1900, and Bloomsburg Normal, 1901, and now teaching in Hazleton. 8. Mag- delene, born September 28, 1886, a graduate of Hazleton high school, 1904, and Hazleton Busi- ness College, 1905. 9. Hilda, born March 2, 1891, a student of the city school.
Justus Emory Altmiller was born at Hazle- ton, Pennsylvania, May 28. 1871. He attended the public schools of his native city and graduated from the high school in May, 1888. He then entered the Lehigh Valley Engineering Corps at Hazleton under T. S. McNair, and continued until April, 1894. He then became assistant en- gineer to Mr. McNair in the employ of the Union Improvement Company, Highland Coal Com- pany, Cranberry Improvement Company, and Black Creek Improvement Company. After the death of Mr. McNair, which occurred July 29, 1901, Mr. Altmiller succeeded as acting engineer, and April 1, 1902. became chief engineer, and has since continued in this position for the above named companies, also for the Diamond Coal Land Company. Prior to his connection with these companies he served as transitman on the Lehigh Valley Corps, and ran the first line of the Jeddo drainage tunnel from Ebervale mines to Butler valley, a distance of three miles. He 31
has been a member of Hazleton Liberty Band since 1883, and has acted as leader since 1891. He was for some years a member of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. In poli- tics he is a Democrat.
Mr. Altmiller married, January 8, 1896, Etta H. Drissell, born August 25, 1872, only child of Henry and Cecelia ( Miller) Drissell, of Lehigh- ton, Pennsylvania. Henry Drissell was early left an orphan and dependent upon his own exertions to earn a livelihood. He learned the trade of tailoring in the city of Philadelphia, later went west and herded cattle in Texas and other points of the western section of the United States. He later settled in Lehighton, Pennsylvania, and there followed farming and cattle dealing, in which pursuits he was highly successful. Four children were the issue of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Altmiller, namely: Charles Henry, born March 15, 1898; Thelma Drissell, born September 18, 1899; Grace Mildred, born June 20, 1902; Charles William, born June 9, 1905. Mr. and Mrs. Altmiller are members of Christ Lutheran Church of Hazleton. They are highly respected in the community in which they reside, and in all the affairs of life have borne an active and honorable part, fulfilling their duties and ob- ligations to the best of their ability.
WILLIS HERMAN MILLER, of Kingston, Pennsylvania, who is in the employ of the Amer- ican Radiator Company, of Chicago, was born at. Archibald, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania,. May 14, 1869, the son of Herman C. and Anna (McLeod) Miller.
Herman C. Miller, the father of Willis H. Miller, was born in Leipzig, Germany, January- 26, 1838, and is a son of August C., born in Leipzig, Germany, December 28, 1805, died in Archbald, Pennsylvania, April 9, 1878, and Johanna Caroline (Mauer) Miller, born in Gera, Germany, December 21, 1814, died in Archbald, Pennsylvania, May 16, 1900. He came to this country in 1848 and settled in Archbald, Penn- sylvania, with the family. He learned the busi- ness of cabinetmaker and undertaker, with his father and remained until Abraham Lincoln called for 300,000 men to preserve the union of states, when he enlisted in Captain Lewis S. Water's company for three years or during the war, September 9. 1861, being transferred to. Company H, Fifty-second Regiment, Pennsyl- vania Volunteer Infantry at Harrisburg, Penn- sylvania, with ex-Governor Henry M. Hoyt as. colonel. He was promoted to corporal and pre-
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1
sented with a medal from General Henry M. Naglee for bravery and conspicuous service, at the battle of Fair Oaks, Virginia, May 31, 1862. After the war he engaged in the manufacture of coffins and caskets at Jermyn, Pennsylvania, and continued in this business until 1884, when he moved to Kingston, Pennsylvania, and engaged in the furniture and undertaking business until 1898, when he accepted a position in the con- gressional Library at Washington, D. C., which position he still holds.
Annie C. (McLeod) Miller, mother of Willis H. Miller, was born in Brooklyn, New York, February 16, 1845, is a daughter of Captain Erauder (born at Stornoway, Scotland, Septem- ber 13, 1806, died February 4, 1883, at Carbon- dale, Pennsylvania) and Sarah Jones McLeod (born February 13, 1813, in Brecon, Wales, died August 13, 1878, at Carbondale, Pennsylvania). Captain McLeod was a seafaring man, being cap- tain of the sailing vessel "Jane" for the Cunard line. He sailed twice around the world. In 1840 he accepted a position with the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, at Carbondale, Pennsylvania, and continued in that capacity to within a few years of his death. Herman C. and Annie (McLeod) Miller had five children, three of whom are living: Albert E., residing at Kingston. Pennsylvania; Willis H., of whom later, and Alexander McLeod engaged with a surveying corps on the Panama canal.
Willis H. Miller spent his early days in the vicinity of his birth and attended the common schools. Since 1884 he has resided at Kingston, Pennsylvania. Here he attended the Business College, connected with Wyoming Seminary, and then entered the employ of B. G. Carpenter and Co., of Wilkes-Barre, where he continued up to 1895. In the autumn of that year he started in the plumbing business in Kingston, Pennsylvania, continuing until the fall of 1902, when, in the month of November, he entered the employ of the United States Heater Company of Detroit, Mich- igan, as their traveling salesman. He continued at this until January 15, 1906, when he was em- ployed bv the American Radiator Company, of Chicago, in the same line of work, and still holds such position. Mr. Miller is connected with the Masonic fraternity, being a member of Kingston Lodge, No. 395, Shekinah Chapter, No. 182, and No. 45 Dieu Le Veut Commandery of Knights Templar, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Also a member of Irem Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. Politically he is a Republican, and in his church relations is a Methodist, as is his wife.
Mr. Miller married, June 14, 1894, in Dor-
ranceton, Pennsylvania, to Harriet Minerva, daughter of Noah and Jane ( Renard) Pettibone, born January 4, 1869. ( Scc sketch of this fam- ily elsewhere in this work.) Mr. and Mrs. Miller had children : Robert McLeod, born June 27, 1895: Russell B., born July 27, 1900, died No- vember 12, 1900, buried in Forty Fort ceme- tery. Mrs. Miller is one of five children, namely : Erastus Hill, now at Jefferson Medical College ; Harriet Minerva, Benjamin Noah, Cora Jane, now Mrs. Shortz; Bertha M., deceased.
REV. MICHAEL SZEDVIDIS. This well- known clergyman of Pittston, who is pastor of Saint Casimir's Church (Lithuanian) is a native of Russia, and was born in the province of Lith- uania, October 22, 1869. His parents, Mathew and Rosa (Paulowski) Szedvidis, were natives of that province, and his father, born in 1830, was engaged in mercantile pursuits in connection with farming, from both of which he realized good financial results. His mother was born in 1835, daughter of John and Anna Paulowski. Mathew Szedvidis died in September. 1898. Both of the above named families are prominent in the community in which they reside, and not a few of them have occupied honorable positions in various walks in life. Mathew and Rosa Szed- vidis reared a family of nine children, namely : Anthony, Michael, Barbara, Anastacia, Mar- garet, Mary, Joseph, Mathias and Frank. All are residing in Russia except Michael, the prin- cipal subject of this sketch; and Frank, born in 1881, now a medical student in Valparaiso, In- diana.
Michael Szedvidis acquired his preliminary education in Russia, being for some time a stu- dent in St. Petersburg. Coming to the United States in 1891 he became a theological student in Baltimore, Maryland, and after his ordination to the priesthood in1 1894, he was assigned to the pastorate of a church in Plymouth, Pennsylvania, where he remained three months. He was then appointed to the Holy Trinity Church, Wilkes- Barre, where he resided for two years, at the ex- piration of which time he was given charge of St. Casimir's Church, Pittston, and has ever since ap- plied himself diligently to pastoral work in that city. St. Casimir's Church, which is a prom- inent landmark in Pittston, occupying a sightly position upon an eminence overlooking the sur- rounding country, is in a most flourishing con- dition, having a membership of over three thou- sand five hundred souls. In addition to its re- ligious work it has connected with it a largely at- tended school, which in the near future will oc-
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cupy a new and commodious building, especially designed and fully equipped for educational pur- poses. The present prosperity of the parish and its parochial school is mainly due to the untiring energy and perseverance of its pastor, the bene- ficial results of which labor has made him ex- ceedingly popular with his parishioners. Mr. Szedvidis is a member of numerous religious and other organizations, including St. Casimir's St. Josephine's, St. George's, (Military). St. Peter's and Paul's St. Anthony's, St. Joseph's 2d, and St. Celia's societies and other bodies.
JOSEPH LANGFORD, prison commis- sioner of Luzerne county, and actively identified with numerous industrial and financial interests in Pittston and vicinity, is a native of England, born at Timsbury, Somersetshire, March 5. 1838, second of the nine children of John Langford, by his second marriage. John Langford married (first) Elizabeth Neuth, by whom he had eight children one of whom Harriet, born Feb. 5. 1828, came to America, settling in West Pittston, Penn- sylvania, where she now resides. She married John Lintern. John Langford married (second) December 15, 1835, Elizabeth Escott. He was a boss in the Kunniger coal mines in Timsbury, England. He was a man of high character, and for about forty years was a class leader in the Wesleyan Methodist church there. He died Sep- tember, 1856. Elizabeth (Escott) Langford died April 25, 1886.
Joseph Langford was educated in the com- mon schools in his native village, and came to America when he was eighteen years old, settling in Pittston. He labored in the coal mines for about six months, when he had an arm broken in an accident, after which he followed shoemaking for five years and then entered the employ of the Dupont Powder Company, delivering powder to the mines, driving a team for about fifteen years, when he became superintendent of delivery, which position he has held to the present time, his con- nection with the company now covering the long period of forty-three years. He is president of the Water Street Bridge Company ; a director in the First National Bank of Pittston, the Pittston Electric Illuminating Company, the Pittston Ice Company, and the Hazleton Electric Light Com- pany ; and a stockholder in the Peoples' Bank in Erie, Pennsylvania, the Reliance Slate Company of Slatington, Pennsylvania, the Water Com- pany of Vosburg. Pennsylvania and the Scranton Anthracite Coal Company of Spadra, Arkansas. He has rendered efficient service in nearly all the
principal borough offices, such as burgess, as a member of the school board for six years, and chief of police and member of the council for several years. He is at present serving as prison commissioner of Luzerne county, appointed in 1902. In politics he is a Republican. He is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Pittston, and chairman of its board of trustees. He is an active member of the Board of Trade. He is past master of St. John's Lodge, No. 233, Free and Accepted Masons, of Pittston, and a member of the chapter and commandery in the same place, and is also a member of Irem Tem- ple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine: Keystone Lodge, No. 4, Sons of St. George, Pittston, in which he is a past officer; and Pittston lodge, Royal Arcanum. He is also president of the Ex- eter Country Club of West Pittston.
Mr. Langford married, January 1, 1867, Mary Arabella Wells, born November 29, 1845, near LeRaysville, Bradford county, Pennsylvania, daughter of George Washington and Lucy Ring (Ayer) Wells, both of Revolutionary stock. Lieu- tenant James Wells, great-great-grandfather of George Washington Wells, fought in the Revolu- tion, and was a victim of the Wyoming massacre. George Washington Wells, born in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, a farmer near LeRaysville; was one of five children-Charles ; George W., born December, 1870, deceased ; Homer: Lewis, born to Loomis and Arabella ( Keeler) Wells, of Bradford county, Pennsylvania, whose ancestors came from Massachusetts. Loomis Wells was a son of Amasa Wells. Lucy Ring (Ayer) Wells, wife of George W. Wells, was a daughter of John and Mary (George) Ayer, from Vermont, whose family consisted of seven children : John. George, Elbridge, Lucy Ring, Mary, Martha and Warren. George W. and Lucy Ring (Ayer), Wells had four children : I. Sara Albertine, born January 14, 1840, married John Wesley Lewis, deceased ; married (second) Horton Taylor ; resides in Le- Raysville, Pennsylvania. 2. Mary Arabella, wife of Joseph Langford. 3-4 Burton Loomis and Ben- ton Elbridge, twins, born July 30, 1859; the former married Jessie M. Pratt, issue, George Burton, resides in West Pittston. The latter married Martha Owens, issue. Gladys, resides in New York. The children of Joseph and Mary A. (Wells) Langford were: John Wells, born February 2, 1868, died at the age of fifteen months ; George Escott, born December 21, 1871, teller in the First National Bank of Pittston, re- sides at home ; Robert Wesley, born February 17, 1877, secretary and treasurer of the Chicago En-
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gineering and Construction Company, resides in Chicago, Illinois; Clara Mary, born June 24, 1880, resides at home.
WILLIAM JAMES M. TURNER, general inside foreman for the Alden Coal Company, at Alden Station, Pennsylvania, which responsible position he fills to the entire satisfaction of man- agement and men, is a native of Somersetshire, England, born January 12, 1850. He is a son of George and Elizabeth (Hill) Turner, both na- tives of the same locality, the former named hav- ing been a son of George and Leah (Maggs) Turner, and the latter a daughter of Isaac and Mary (Flower) Hill. Isaac and Mary ( Flower) Hill were also the parents of two daughters- Amy and Sarah-who married two brothers by the name of Mark and John Gould, and resided in England, and a son James who went to India as a soldier and afterward landed in Melbourne, Australia. George and Leah (Maggs) Turner were the parents of eight children, namely : Mark, a blacksmith; Gilbert, who was a carpenter by trade, and whose death occurred in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania ; Marshall, a gardener : James, Al- fred, a stonemason : George, Jane and Sarah.
George Turner (father) devoted his attention to the butcher and milling business in his native land, England, and continued the same for sev- eral years. He and his wife, Elizabeth (Hill) Turner, were the parents of six children, as fol- lows: Sarah, born in Somersetshire. England, married Henry Brown, now deceased, and resides in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania. Louise, married a Mr. Gardner, of Somersetshire, and resides in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania. William James Maggs, mentioned at length hereinafter. Melinda, mar- ried Leonidas Millington, now deceased, and re- shides in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania. Gilbert, mar- ried (first) a Miss Smith: (second) Mrs. E. Jefres, a widow, before marriage a Miss Glyd- don; (third) Mrs. John Arnot, a widow; he resides in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania. George married in Paulton, England, and now resides there ; he was formerly employed with the Sus- quehanna Coal Company at Nanticoke, Pennsyl- vania, for a short time.
William J. M. Turner resided in his native town. Somersetshire, England, until eleven years of age, at times working in a brickyard, as mortar boy with a stonemason, and engaged in selling newspapers. He then took up his residence in Wales, leaving his parents in England, and be- gan work in the mines, continuing the same for a period of eight years. In 1870, having decided that the opportunities for advancement in busi-
ness were greater in the new than in the old world, he emigrated to the United States, locat- ing at Oak Hill, near Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he worked as a laborer in the mines and later as a miner. He then came to Nanticoke,. Pennsylvania, and entered the employ of the Sus- quehanna Coal Company as miner with his fath- er-in-law, then on his own account in the breast and later on in the gangways. In 1878 he took a trip to England, remaining three months, and upon his return to his adopted country again took up mining in the Susquehanna Coal Company and followed the same until September, 1879,. when he accepted a position as mine foreman under George T. Morgan with the same com- pany, filling the same until 1892, when he was promoted to inside superintendent, which posi- tion he held for about five years. In order to re- cuperate from this strenuous toil he took a vaca- tion for eight months, and at the expiration of this period of time was offered and accepted the position of general inside foreman for the Alden. Coal Company, at Alden Station, Pennsylvania,. in which capacity he is now (1905) serving. The Alden Companies mines were first opened about. 1882, and at present consist of two shafts-No .. I, five hundred and eighty-five feet and No. 2, six hundred and sixteen feet deep-and one out- side drift. Their output is about fifteen hundred tons daily, and everything is progressing very favorably under the careful supervision of Mr. Turner. 3
Mr. Turner is a stockholder in the Nanticoke National Bank. He served as councilman for- one term at Nanticoke, having been elected on the- Republican ticket, but he casts his vote for the candidate who in his opinion is best suited for office, irrespective of party principles. He is a member of Knights of Pythias, No. 439, Nanti- coke, having belonged to the same for about thirty- years. He was a member of the following or -- ders: Foresters of Nanticoke, Fraternal Guar- dians of Nanticoke, Legion of Honor of Nanti- coke, Sons of St. George of Nanticoke, American Protestants of America, Workmen's Benevolent- Association of Oak Hill and Nanticoke, Knights. of Labor and various other Union organizations.
Mr. Turner married, August 1, 1872, Eliza- beth Millington, daughter of Richard and Eliza- beth (Jewett) Millington, whose family con- sisted of four other children, namely: Thomas, Lee, Mary and Richard Millington. Mr. and Mrs. Turner adopted William Watkins (now Turner), son of John Watkins, who was killed while working under Mr. Turner in Nanticoke. William ( Watkins) Turner married Gertrude
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'Stair, who bore him one child, and they reside in Alden. Mr. and Mrs. Turner also took and raised a child by the name of Rachel Krouse, then aged five years. She is now the wife of James MI. Walters, has a family of five living children, and resides in Nanticoke. They also educated Bessie and Moses Millington and Garfield Par- sons, and these facts are ample evidence of their generosity and kindness of heart.
JOHN KASPER, a sucessful business man .of West Pittston, was born in Glaris Canton, Switzerland. December 25, 1828, son of Hans and Ursula (Rudy) Kasper, natives of Switzer- land, whose family consisted of the following named children: John, whose name heads this sketch, Barbara, married Philip Thomas, a Prus- sian by birth and a tanner by trade ; they resided at Skinners Eddy, and later at Beverly, West Virginia, where Mrs. Thomas died. Louise, mar- ried Albert Ryerson, of New York. Andrew, ·drowned in the Delaware and Hudson Canal, at Hawley, Pennsylvania, 1844, aged ten years. Bartholomew, died in Laceyville, aged twenty- one years. Mary Ann, died in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania, aged thirty years. Hans Kasper (father) was a son of Hans Kasper, also of Switzerland. He followed the occupation of miner in his native country, but after his emi- gration to the United States was employed as an ore dresser, work which required a large amount of skill. He died in New York city, 1840, his death resulting from injuries received on board the vessel while on his way to this country. His wife, Ursula (Rudy) Kasper, was a daughter of Hans and Barbara Rudy, of Glaris Canton, Switzerland. After the death of Mr. Kasper she became the wife of Henry Waldt, of Williams- burg, now a part of Brooklyn, New York, and bore him two children, namely: Henry, a musi- cian, died in Williamsburg, 1870, aged twenty- three years ; and William, a clerk in a mercantile establishment, resides in the section of Brooklyn formerly known as Williamsburg.
John Kasper attended the parochial schools in Switzerland, thereby gaining a thorough knowl- edge of the German language. His first occu- pation was the driving of goats to the Alps, be- ginning this work at the early age of nine years, and when eleven years old acompanied his pa- rents to the United States, landing in New York city, and settling in Wertzboro, Sullivan county, New York, his father being then in poor health, the result of the accident on board the vessel, as aforementioned. The family remained in Wertz- boro but a short period of time, and after sev-
eral changes finally settled in Honesdale, Penn- sylvania. John in the meantime having performed general work for smelters. In 1842 he began boating on the Delaware & Hudson canal, from Honesdale, Pennsylvania, to Rondout, New York, the round trip requiring about ten days, and con- tinued the same up to 1850. From that year up to 1853 he served an apprenticeship at the trade of boat building, after which he went to Hawley, Pennsylvania, where he worked as journeyman at his trade, and in the fall of 1853 located in the city of Wilkes-Barre, where he followed the same line of trade in partnership with Thomas M. Rog- ers. This connection continued until 1855, in which year Mr. Kasper went to Pittston, Penn- sylvania, began building boats for Abram Price, and continued until 1858. From that year until 1869, when the canal was discontinued, he gave his attention to several different occupations, the principal ones being boat building and house car- pentering, also served a short term with the vol- unteer militia (minute men). In the latter named vear he entered the employ of the Butler Coal Company, as car builder and repairer, and served in that capacity until 1882. On April 11 of that year he purchased the stock and interest of A. L. Stanton, a butcher and meat dealer, lo- cated at the foot of Exeter street, West Pitts- ton, and there conducted a lucrative business for fifteen years. at the expiration of which time, 1897, he built his present place of business at No. 400 Exeter street, and has continued along the same line of trade up to the present time ( 1906). He numbers among his patrons many of the best families resident in that section of the town. Mr. Kasper is a staunch adherent of the principles of the Republican party, to whom he has given his allegiance since attaining his majority.
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