Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 99

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 99
USA > Wyoming > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 99

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Andrew C. Overpeck attended the public schools of Wilkes-Barre, and in 1890, at the age of fifteen years, entered the employ of the Hazard Manufacturing Company as office boy, and from time to time was promoted to the positions of shipping clerk, confidential clerk and chief clerk, in which capacity he is serving at the present time, his duties being confined to the insulating department of the works. His long service with the one company is ample evidence of his ability, thoroughness and trustworthiness, and as a citi- zen he has always been progressive and public- spirited, anxious to promote all. plans for the wel- fare of the people. He is a member of the Cen- tral Methodist Episcopal Church, and for eight years has served as secretary of the Sunday school connected therewith. He is a member of

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the Young Men's Christian Association, in the work of which he has always taken an active and keen interest, serving as a member of various committees. He is trustee and treasurer of Nuangola Chapel Association, secretary of the Nuangola Lake Association, and a director, sec- retary and treasurer of the North-Beach Real Estate Company, New York. He is actively and prominently identified with the Masonic order, holding membership in Landmark Lodge, No. 442 ; Shekinalı Chapter, No. 184; Dieu Le Vent Commandery, No. 45; Mt. Horeb Council, No. 34 ; and Irem Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He is a Republican in politics.

Mr. Overpeck married, June 9, 1900, Char- lotte F. Weyhenmeyer, daughter of the late Jon- athan and Sarah E. (Butler) Weyhenmeyer, and they have one child, Jane North, born October 28, 1903.

Jonathan Weyhenmeyer, father of Mrs. Over- peck, was born May 14, 1834. He entered the employ of the Hazard Manufacturing Company when a boy of seventeen years, and for forty- eight years his was the master mind in the de- velopment of the mechanical equipment of the wire rope department, meeting the demands of its expanding business, serving the greater part of the time in the capacity of foreman. It is a noble record, not only in the ability and untiring faithfulness shown, but in the modest, quiet, gen- tle, home-loving personality reflected in his daily walk through life, that drew men to him, made them loyal to him and to the interests he so well served, that made them strive for and honor their own homes, as he labored for and loved his own. The hum of machinery was music to him, the greater part of which was his own design. He married, July 8, 1857, Sarah E. Butler, born July 29, 1841, of Scotch-Irish descent. Their children were: Joseph F., born July 2, 1858, died May 7, 1863; Iona, born December 12, 1859, wife of Harry B. Gruver, foreman of the wire rope de- partment, Hazard Manufacturing Company ; Helen G., born November 9, 1861, died January 21, 1889 ; Charles W., born November 10, 1863, died March 12, 1901, foreman till death. of wire rope department ; Jonathan B., born October 17, 1865, foreman in the Hazard Manufacturing Company ; Erskine H., born March 31, 1869, of Scranton ; Nathan F. and Brinton L., twins, born July 26, 1871, the former died February 21, 1872, and the latter February 2, 1872; Eli, born Feb- ruary 28, 1873, of Wilkes-Barre, assistant super- intendent of insulating department, Hazard Man- ufacturing Company ; Charlotte F., born July 19,

1875, wife of Andrew C. Overpeck; Leland S., born August 31, 1878, died May 6, 1894; and Elizabethi, born February 15, 1881, wife of Ar- thur O. Jones, of Wilkes-Barre.

Jonathan Weyhenmeyer died January II, 1899. Out of respect the works of the Hazard Manufacturing Company were shut down on the day his remains were taken to their final resting place at Mauch Chunk, the birth place and home for many years of Mr. Weyhenmeyer. James Buckley, Joseph Gorman and David Connor were appointed a committee to draw up appropriate resolutions and submitted the following, which were unanimously adopted, and a copy sent to the family of the deceased :

Whereas, God in His wisdom has removed from us Jonathan Weyhenmeyer, our foreman, who has been connected with this company and its immediate predecessor for forty-eight years, and brought to a peaceful end a life of cheerful, faithful and unremitting toil, strong in its achievements and an honor to the artisan class to which he belonged.

Resolved, That we, the employes of the wire rope department of the Hazard Manufacturing Co., make this public expression of the deep sor- row and the personal loss we feel in his death.

Resolved, That we respect and honor his memory not only for the high abilities with which he served this company, the hallowed and. dear association with his own home, but for his kind- ness, justice and helpfulness to us, his men, for his efforts that we, too, might succeed with him in obtaining the rewards that follow faithful service.

Resolved, That we recognize in his life a Christian life, for he quietly and unswervingly used the talents God gave him to right ends, and he tried to do unto others as he would have them do unto him, which he interpreted to be the com- mand of the Master.

Resolved, That these resolutions be pub- lished and a copy be sent to the family of the late Jonathan Weyhenmeyer. Committee.

JOHN SHARPS, deceased, for many years one of the prominent and highly re- spected citizens of Wyoming, was born in Kingston, Pennsylvania. November 28, 1821, son of John Sharps, of Wyoming, and one of a large family of children, namely: Jacob, of Kingston; Peter, of Exeter; Margaret, mar- ried Freeman Breese : William ; Phoebe, mar- ried Williams Jacobs; Elizabeth, married Noah Pettibone; Sallie, married Henry Pettibone ;

JOHN SHARPS

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Martha, married James Fuller ; and John, of whom later.

John Sharps was educated in the public schools of the neighborhood, and began work on his father's farm, later moving to Exeter, and in 1854 to the old homestead in Wyoming, where he spent the remaining years of his life. The homestead was near the Susque- hanna river and there John Sharps conducted a ferry and farm, and became well and favor- ably known in this section where he spent practically his whole life. He stood high in the community of which he was a member, as a strictly honest and honorable man, at- tended the Presbyterian church, and was a Republican in politics. He died at his home in Wyoming, August 22, 1903, aged eighty- two years, after a well-spent life. John Sharps married, November 20, 1842, Kathe- rine B. Breese, daughter of Lot Breese, and had six children, namely: Margaret, wife of J. I. Shoemaker, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work; Lot, born April 23, 1845, married Cecilia Langdon; Elizabeth, born March 10, 1847, married A. L. Orr; James, born December 24, 1850, conducts the ferry ; Annie, born December 7, 1852, married Alexander Watson, of New York; Ida, born December 15, 1857, married William La Bar. Mrs. Katherine B. (Breese) Sharps died De- cember 4, 1885. John Sharps married (sec- ond), January 18, 1887, Mrs. Mary E. (Court- right) Breese, daughter of Benjamin and Clarissa (Williams) Courtright) and a descen- dant of two very old families of this section. Mrs. Mary E. (Courtright) Breese Sharps was the widow of Murray Breese, by whom she had five children, namely: Stella (Mrs. J. C. Bell), Jessie (Mrs. H. P. Snyder), James, married Grace Murray ; Frank and Josie, died young. Murray Breese, father of these chil- dren, died 1882, aged fifty years.

The Courtright family, of which Mrs. Mary E. (Courtright) Breese Sharps was a member, came from Holland to New Amsterdam among the first emigrants and long before the Duke of York had conquered it from the Dutch. They found their way across the state of New York to the Delaware river, to the neighbor- hood of Brodheads creek, from whence Cor- nelius Courtright came to this valley in 1784 and settled on what was later known as Han- cock Farm Plains, where his son Benjamin was born. At his new home he soon made his mark as the representative man of his

immediate neighborhood and subsequently one of the representative men of Luzerne county, which position he held many years. He was elected to the legislature in 1820-21-23. Lu- zerne county at that time was hopelessly Dem- ocratic, but Mr. Courtright, though a Whig, was never defeated. His colleagues during these years were Andrew Beaumont, Jacob Douncheller, Benjamin Dorrance and Jabez Hyde, Jr. At Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he was the acknowledged peer of the best of them. Benjamin Courtright, son of Cornelius Court- right, and father of Mrs. Mary E. (Court- right) Breese Sharps, was born in Wilkes- Barre township, Luzerne county, Pennsyl- vania, March 17, 1789. He spent his early life at home on his father's farm up to the time of his marriage with Clarissa Williams, daughter of Thomas Williams, a Continental soldier under General Washington during the war of the Revolution. Soon after his marriage he purchased a farm halfway between Pittston and Wilkes-Barre, where they commenced housekeeping and continued to reside until the death of his wife. He then made his resi- dence with his son, John Milton Courtright, in Wilkes-Barre, where he died January 22, 1867, aged seventy-eight years. He was pres- ident of the Franklin Debating Society during

its existence. He was a man of exalted nature and incapable of a mean action. He was just in his dealings, truthful in every declaration, faithful to every promise, and purity of con- duct was habitual to him. Benjamin and Clar- issa (Williams) Courtright had five sons and one daughter : William H., John Milton, who was proprietor of the Courtright House in Wilkes-Barre; Benjamin Franklin, James W., Thomas and Mary E.

SYLVESTER ENGLE was born at Briar- creek, Columbia county, Pennsylvania, Oc- tober 27, 1826, and spent his early days at Seibertsville and Conyngham, Pennsylvania. At the age of seventeen he worked at plow- making and at the same time learned the cab- inet making trade. He then learned the jew- elry trade with his father and worked for him for some time and then went to Wilkes-Barre, where he continued in the same business: Utimately he went to Hazleton, in 1850, where he remained working at his trade, and con- tinued to reside there until his death which occurred January 8, 1900. He was paralyzed for about four years before his death, but re-

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covered partially and was able during this period to make a cherry wardrobe for each of his children. He had the reputation in some districts of being the best watchmaker in the United States. He was celebrated in his par- ticular line of work, his goods being always in great demand. His business is now conducted by his son in the same place, West Broad street, Hazleton. His political tendencies were Republican, but he voted for the man whom he considered the best fitted for the office. He was frequently importuned to hold office but steadily refused to do so, although he was once elected by the Greenback ticket. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Hazleton, of which Mrs. Engle is still a member.

Mr. Engle married, August 26, 1858, Sarah Eleanor Stealey, born in Beaver Valley, April 15, 1838, later residing in Whitehaven. She is a daughter of Frederick Wilhelm and Christina (Able) Stealey, and had three chil- dren : Edith, born October 26, 1867, married Calvin Runkle, and had one child, Sylvester Engle, who died at the age of four months and is buried at Hazleton. Ellersley Wallace, born October 3, 1869, married Jennie (Martin) Longshore, and had one child, William, resid- ing at Loyalsock, Pennsylvania. Sylvester, born July. 25, 1873, married Edith McDonald, of Laurel Run, and resides at Hazleton. Frederick Wilhelm Stealey was a son of Fred- erick and Catharine (Cooper) Stealey. Cath- arine (Cooper) Stealey was the daughter of Peter Cooper, of Germany. Christina (Able) Stealey traces her descent through a long line of ancestors. Some of them were among the pioneer settlers of America: Before they came to this part of Pennsylvania they had settled in Berks county, Pennsylvania, where there were among them prominent physicians and attorneys. Christina's mother lived for some time in Center county, Pennsylvania, and Christina was one of seven children: I. Mary, married Minor Doddson ; they reside at White- haven and are respectively eighty and eighty- four years of age, and have had five children : Charles, Emma, Anna, Robert, and Ella. 2. Jane, widow of William Durling; she resides at Miflin, Pennsylvania, and has had four chil- dren: Martin, Mary, Lucy, and Alice. 3. Susan, married Conrad Barkle, of Briarcreek, who had ten children, two of whom died in infancy : Alonzo, Moses, Charles, Minor, Frederick, William, Frederick William, and

David. 4. Catharine, married William Glover, resides at Hazleton, and has two chil- dren : William, married Caroline Richards, of Asbury Park, and had three children: An- na, married Philip Engle, lived at Epsy, Penn- sylvania, and had two children: Alice, de- ceased, and Bertha, married Frederick Nagle, of South Wilkes-Barre; Frederick, who mar- ried Kate Coleman, resides near Berwick and has three children: Mary, Jesse, and Her- bert. 5. Sarah Eleanor, wife of Sylvester Engle. 6. Ann. 7. Frederick Wilhelm, who was a contractor in Beaver Valley at one time and also in Mauch Chunk and that vicinity, and came from Northumberland county where his ancestors had been farmers. His politics were Democratic, and he was a member of the Lutheran church in Beaver Valley.

VINCENT BAYARD SHEEDER, an ac- tive business man of Wanamie, Pennsylvania, is a native of the state, born in Hamburg, Berks county, November 26, 1857, a son of Benjamin F. and Katherine (Wagner) Shee- der. The father was a son of Frederick and Mary Sheeder, natives of Insbrucken, Prussia. Frederick Sheeder came to America in 1793, settling in Chester county, Pennsyl- vania. He was a farmer by occupation, and during the war of 1812 served for a short time with the militia stationed at Havre de Grace, Maryland. He was the father of twelve chil- dren.

Benjamin F. Sheeder, youngest child of Frederick and Mary Sheeder, was educated in the common schools .in Vincent township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, and in his young manhood taught school in Hamburg, Pennsylvania. He afterward removed to Minersville, where he was a merchant, and justice of the peace. He was a Lutheran in religion, and a Republican in politics. He was a member of Lodge No. 222, Free and Ac- cepted Masons, and Independent Order of Odd Fellows, both of Minersville. He married Catherine Wagner, daughter of Henry and Barbara (Freelove) Hoffman, of near Ham- burg. Her father was a boatman, and came to his death in the line of his duty. He was the father of five children: Tobias, Mary, Cath- erine (Mrs. Benjamin F. Sheeder), Lucy and George. Benjamin F. and Catherine Sheeder were the parents of two children-Vincent Bayard, see forward; and Ambrose I., who married Hettie Fisher, of Minersville, Penn-

had the the by the Brain.

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THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

sylvania, and they had three children: Kath- erine, Madeline and Bonney.

Vincent Bayard Sheeder was educated in Minersville, completing his studies in the high school. At the age of nineteen years he en- tered a wagon and coach factory, where he was employed for a year, when he engaged in a mercantile business in Minersville, and was so occupied until 1886. In the year 1888 he re- moved to Mahanoy City, taking charge of a store at Buck Mountain for W. W. Scott, and which he conducted until its closure in 1890. He then removed to Alden, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, where he conducted a business for some time. He then purchased the present store at Wanamie, brought thither the stock of goods from the Alden store, and consolidated the business under the firm name of Sheeder & Scott, which has con- tinued successfully to the present time. Mr. Sheeder is also actively identified with various other business concerns, being a director in the Nanticoke National Bank, the Susque- hanna Lumber Company, and Nanticoke Con- struction Company of Nanticoke, and the Pottsville Development Company of. New York City; and a stockholder in the Glady Lumber Company, of Wilkes-Barre, and the Union Condensed Milk Company of New York. In politics he is a Republican. He has taken high rank in the Masonic fraternity, and is identified with Lodge No. 541, of Nanti- coke, and has taken the consistorial degrees of the Scottish Rite sitting in the valley of Scranton. He is also a member of Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; Lodge No. 617, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Mahanoy City, (for seventeen years past) ; and of Wanamie Council, No. 549, Junior Order of United American Mechanics.

Mr. Sheeder married, May 20, 1886, Mag- dalena G. Bauer, daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Wertley) Bauer, of Schuylkill Haven, Penn- sylvania. Of this union were born three chil- dren : Mary Irene, October 20, 1887; George Vincent, November 4, 1888; Vincent Bayard, Jr., February 3, 1899.

THOMAS FORD, for many years promi- nently identified with the commercial, finan- cial and industrial interests of Pittston, was descended from English stock. He was the son of William and Jane Ireland Ford, was "born in Yorkshire, England, August 20, 1826, 'and died in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, No-

vember 25, 1901. When he was four years of age his parents emigrated to America, and set- tled in Pennsylvania. He was educated in the common schools. He was connected with the Dupont Powder Company, and had various other business interests.

Mr. Ford was a resident of Pittston for seventy-one years, and his knowledge of the history of Pittston was so complete and ac- curate that he was frequently appealed to on points of information. He was an active, in- dustrious man, and soon became greatly inter- ested in the coal industry, which was yet in its infancy, modern methods of mining being yet unknown. The money making possibil- ities of this branch of industry were patent to his keen vision, and he was very influential in its development. He was exceedingly accurate in all his business dealings, and demanded similar conduct from those with whom he came in contact. His personality was most genial, and those who had business or social relations with him found him an open-hearted man and a warm friend. He was exception- ally fortunate in his business transactions, and had abundant means. This made him the re- cipient of appeals of all sorts, all directed to his purse, and they were seldom refused. His reputation as a noble citizen will endure. His influence and business connections were wide, and he enjoyed the implicit confidence of all with whom he came in contact, as was evi- denced by his official connection with numer- ous financial institutions in this locality, and various railways and coal companies. From 1869 till the time of his death he was vice-pres- ident of the First National Bank of Pittston, and his influence was always apparent in its management.

Mr. Ford married, September 13, 1853, Ellen Stark, daughter of John D. Stark, born December 19, 1830, died, February 27, 1904. Mrs. Ford was one of the famous family of Starks, the names of many of whom appear on the Wyoming Battle Monument. Mrs. Thomas Ford was a lifelong member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was con- nected with the West Pittston church of that denomination at the time of her death. She was also a member of the Dial Rock Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. Thomas and Ellen Stark Ford had one daugh- ter, Jessie, born in Pittston, Pennsylvania. She married, October Q, 1889, Edward Scholl Smith, of Canajoharie, New York.

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THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

REUBEN BEISEL was born February II, 1839, in Butler township. While quite young he entered the store of Mr. William Kisner, of Hazleton, as clerk, where he con- tinued until the Civil war. When the country needed men, he immediately enlisted in the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry, known as "Anderson Cavalry," in which he served until discharged on account of ill health. Shortly after he entered the com- pany store of Mr. Ario Pardee, as clerk. After serving there for several years, he engaged in the merchantile business in partnership with his brother John, under the firm name of J. & R. Beisel. After several years of prosperity, he went into business for himself in the same line. He was very successful, and after en- larging his business and acquiring a compe- tence, he sold out to his nephews and retired to lead a quieter and more regular life at home. He was a member of Lodge No. 327, F. and A. M., also Mount Vernon Commandery, No. 73, Knights Templar, both of Hazleton, Penn- sylvania.

Mr. Beisel died February 20, 1897, and is survived by his wife, who was Mary Amanda Lawall, of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, (See Law- all genealogy) and two children-Ada L., a member of the George Taylor Chapter of Easton, Pennsylvania, Daughters of the Amer- ican Revolution, and R. Alvan, a civil and mining engineer by profession and now hold- ing the position of engineer for A. Pardee and Co., being at the head of their corps of engi- meers. He has served one term in the city council and was elected in 1906 for a second term, his tenure of office expires in 1910. He is a staunch Republican in politics. He has taken an active interest in Masonry, and is a member of all the bodies, including Blue Lodge, Knights Templar, and Irem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Pennsylvania society of Sons of the Revolution.

JOHN DENNISTON, an old resident of the Wyoming Valley, and a worthy representative of his county, was born in Tamaqua, Pennsyl- vania, January 22, 1835, a son of John and Mary (Rothermel) Denniston. The educational ad- vantages enjoyed by him were obtained in the public schools of his native town, and upon the completion of his studies he turned his attention to the trade of carpenter, which occupation he followed with success until the breaking out of

the Civil war, conducting his operations in the city of Scranton, whither he removed in 1859. September 3, 1861, he enlisted in Company I, Fiftieth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, which company was recruited in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania. The regiment was organized Sep- tember 25, 1861, with Benjamin C. Christ as col- onel, and Samuel F. Bossard as captain of Com- pany I. It proceeded to Fortress Monroe, whence it embarked on its perilous voyage south, and dur- ing this journey encountered one of the most ter- rible storms ever known on the Atlantic coast. They went into camp at Port Royal, May 29,. 1862, and later went to Pocotaligo, six companies of the regiment accomplishing the dangerous feat of crossing a bridge on the stringers, the planks. having been removed by the enemy. Mr. Dennis- ton was one of the number who was wounded, a bullet which lodged in his left knee knocking him off the bridge into the water. The most impor- tant battles in which he took an active part were South Mountain, the second battle of Bull Run, Spottsylvania Courthouse, (where he was. wounded in the right hip), and Petersburg, and during this period distinguished himself for his valor and intrepidity. On January 1, 1864, he re- enlisted and was given a veteran's furlough, and after its expiration he was again in active service- at the battles of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania Courthouse. He was promoted from private to. sergeant, then to first sergeant, and September 30, 1864, was commissioned second lieutenant. On July 4, 1865, he participated with his regi- ment in the laying of the corner stone of the Na- tional Monument at Gettysburg, and was mus- tered out of the service of the United States gov- ernment at Washington, D. C., July 30, 1865. Mr. Denniston took up his residence in Luzerne, Pennsylvania, in December, 1865, and again re- sumed work at his trade. He is an industrious, useful citizen of that borough, and is well thought of throughout the community. He is a regular attendant of the Presbyterian church, holding the office of trustee in the same body for several terms, and he also enjoyed the distinction of having been one of the first trustees of the same.

Mr. Denniston was married, October 12, 1869, to Margaret S. Hughes, youngest daughter of James and Hannah (Swetland) Hughes. James Hughes removed from Berks county to the Wy- oming valley in 1810, and three years later mar- ried Hannah Swetland ; their youngest daughter, Margaret S., aforementioned, is the wife of John Denniston. She is a cultivated, intelligent wo-

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THE WYOMING AND LACKAWANNA VALLEYS.

man; she was graduated from the Wyoming Seminary in 1855, and was engaged in teaching school at Danville, Scranton, and Luzerne. The first private school in Luzerne was taught by Mrs. Denniston in her present home, and the first Presbyterian church services were also held in the same rooms. Mr. and Mrs. John Denniston are the parents of the following named children : Anna Maud; Frederic Warren, who graduated at the Columbian University, Washington, D. C., read law with the late Judge Bennett, in Novem- ber, 1902, accepted a position in the Department of the Interior, and is a member of the board of pension appeals. He resides in Washington, D. C .; Bertha, a graduate of Wyoming Seminary, class of 1892 ; and Stella, wife of C. F. Schlingman, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

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Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 99

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