USA > Pennsylvania > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania Vol. II > Part 52
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In 1850 Mr. Lewis was one of the incorpor- ators of the Wilkesbarre Water Company ; and he was the first treasurer of the second Luzerne County Agricultural Society, organized in Jan- uary, 1851. In April, 1853, he disposed of the Advocate to Messrs. William P. and J. W. Miner, who changed the name of the paper to The Record of the Times. From 1855 to 1866 Mr. Lewis, in partnership with Alexander and Andrew Mc- Lean, owned the Eagle Foundry and Machine Shop on North Main street, next the old canal, in Wilkesbarre, where they carried on a pros- perous business. In the spring of 1859 Mr. Lewis was elected justice of the peace for the north, or first ward of the borough of Wilkes- barre. This office he held for three successive terms-until April, 1874-transacting during that time an enormous amount of business. In Sep- tember, 1830, the First (or Franklin Street) Methodist Episcopal church was organized in Wilkesbarre, and Mr. Lewis was appointed one of the stewards and a trustee. Thenceforward for nearly fifty years he was an earnest and active member of the church, and during nearly all of the time filled some important office in it. For many years preceding his death he held the ap- pointment and performed the duties of local
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preacher. For the last twenty-six years of his life he was recording secretary of the Luzerne Bible Society.
"Squire" Lewis was a man of great honesty of purpose, of strict morals, and of unusual con- scientiousness ; he had a clear, strong and candid mind, and was a lover of truth for its own sake; he was a shrewd and able editor, and an excel- lent business man, careful, painstaking, and very methodical in his habits. He had some personal peculiarities, but he was respected even for these, for they were not the outgrowth of faults, but only the excesses of his virtues and strict in- tegrity of character. During the "Dark Age" of Freemasonry he was an anti-Mason; but as the storm against Masonry abated he was one of those who "admired the institution, knocked for admission, and was received." He was made a Mason in Lodge, No. 61, April 9, 1855; in 1857 he was senior warden of the lodge; in 1858 wor- shipful master ; from 1859 to 1862 district deputy grand master for Luzerne county ; in 1867 a mem- ber of the committee on correspondence of the grand lodge of Pennsylvania ; and during several years a representative from Lodge No. 61, to the grand lodge. He was a very zealous and active Mason, and particularly efficient and accurate in the "work" of the craft. One of the contempor- aries in the lodge has estimated that during his connection with the fraternity-a period of al- most twenty-four years-Brother Lewis con- ferred over five hundred degrees upon candidates in his own and other lodges. He was made an honorary member of Lodge No. 61, December 13, 1869, and on February 14, 1856, he received the Mark Master, M. E. M., and R. A. degrees in Shekinah R. A. Chapter No. 182, as a so- journer, and was admitted to membership in the chapter on March 18, 1856.
Mr. Lewis was twice married. His first wife, to whom he was married at Wilkesbarre, May 7, 1825, by the Rev. George Lane, was Mary Butler Colt, born at Wilkesbarre, May 7, 1805, daugh- ter of Arnold Colt, Esq., and she died June 30, 1850, aged forty-five years. On September 28,
1851, Mr. Lewis married Mrs. Deborah Fell (Slocum) Chahoon, daughter of Joseph Slocum, Esq., granddaughter of Judge Jesse Fell, and widow of Anning O. Chahoon, Esq., all of Wilkesbarre. She died at Wilkesbarre, January 9, 1878, in her seventy-second year. In 1874 Mr. Lewis received a sunstroke, from the effects of which he never fully recovered. He died from disease of the liver at Wilkesbarre, March 25, 1879. His funeral took place on March 27th, and he was buried in the Hollenback cemetery with the ceremonies and honors of Masonry. Oscar J. Hawey, worshipful master of Lodge No. 61, conducted the services, and Brother W. W. Loomis acted as chaplain. The pallbearers were past masters James P. Dennis, Edmund L. Dana, and William L. Stewart, and Wesley Johnson, Jonathan E. Bulkeley, M. D., and Dan- iel Metzger, all of Lodge No. 61. Sharp D. Lewis had nine children, four sons and five daughters, all by his first wife.
Arnold Colt Lewis, his eldest child, was born in Wilkesbarre, March 2, 1826. He served through the Mexican war as second lieutenant of the Wyoming Artillerists. He was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, August 5, 1850, and a few years later he removed to Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, where he and his brother, Sharp D., Jr., published the Catasauqua Herald. On the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion he joined the Union army, and was commissioned major of the Forty-sixth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. He was killed September 22, 1861, while in the discharge of his duties. He was married to Amanda M. Rohn, daughter of Will- iam and Sarah (Weaver) Rohn, and they were the parents of one son, Arnold R. Lewis, mentioned hereinafter. William and Sarah (Weaver) Rohn, parents of Mrs. Lewis, had a family of six chil- dren, namely: I. Eliza, who became the wife of Francis Seyfried, and their children are: Am- brose, who married Sarah Storm, and three chil- dren were born to them; William, who married Carrie Fenstermacher, and they were the parents of two children; Annie, wife of Willis Smith;
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and Preston, who married Laura Smith, and five children have been born to them. 2. Anna M., who became the wife of Robert Housman, and their children are: Boaz, Edith, and Harold. 3. Mary, who died in childhood. 4. Francis, who also died in childhood. 5. Amanda, mentioned above as the wife of Arnold Colt Lewis, and after his death she married Franklin Martin, and one child was born to them, Jennie, the wife of Dr. Morris F. Cawley. 6. Asia, who married Hannah Bartholomew, and their children are: Edwin, Eliazbeth, Anna, Sadie, Harry, Herbert, Grover, Mabel, and Albert Rohn.
Charles Lewis, second child of Sharp D. Lewis, was born in 1827, and died in 1847.
Sharp D. Lewis, Jr., fifth child of Sharp D. Lewis, was born August 30, 1834, and died De- cember 30, 1869. He was made a Mason in Lodge, No. 61, February 16, 1857, and continued a member of the lodge until his death.
Josiah L. Lewis, seventh child of Sharp D. Lewis, was born May 28, 1843, and died Octo- ber 18, 1870. He was a druggist. He was made a Mason in Lodge No. 61, January 9, 1865.
Arnold R. Lewis, only child of Arnold C. and Amanda M. (Rohn) Lewis, was born March 2, 1862. He attended the public schools of his native city, and in 1880 went with the firm of F. Hersh & Sons to learn the hardware busi- ness. He remained with them about four years, when he was admitted to the firm, of which he is still a member. On March 18, 1903, the Hersh Hardware Company was incorporated with a capital stock of $150,000. A. R. Lewis was secre- tary until April 11, 1904, after which he became secretary and treasurer. They are the proprie- tors of the largest stores in that line in the Val- ley, and handle an extensive wholesale trade. For fifteen years Mr. Lewis served in the capacity of treasurer of the Oratorio Society, and he is one of the most popular members of the Livings- ton Club, the most exclusive organization in the city of Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Lewis married Clara M. Hersh, a daugh- ter of Franklin and Matilda (Yeager ) Hersh, and two children were the issue of this union-Roy
Lewis, who died at the age of eight months ; and one who died in child birth. Clara M. Lewis died July 3, 1903.
AVON BARNES, secretary and treasurer of the Allentown Platform Company, is a lineal de- scendant of James Barnes, who when an English student was forced by a press gang to serve as an English soldier in the Revolutionary war, and was taken prisoner by the continental army at Stillwater. He refused to be exchanged, and adopted this country as his home. He located in Herkimer county, New York, and married a most estimable lady who bore him a family of thirteen children.
Brittania D. Barnes, grandfather of Avon Barnes, was born in New York in the year 1787. In 1820 he took up his residence in Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania, from whence he removed to Allentown, same state, where he resided for a few years. Being a Presbyterian in religious faith, Mr. Barnes was attracted to a Scotch-Irish settlement in the vicinity of Bath, Pennsylvania, and there he devoted his attention to mercantile pursuits, continuing as a merchant up to the time of his death. He married Sarah Pardoe, who was a native of Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, and four sons and five daughters were the issue of this union, six of whom at- tained years of maturity.
Dr. James P. Barnes, father of Avon Barnes, was born in Bath, Northampton, Pennsylvania, August 14, 1826. He obtained his education in the public schools of his birthplace, residing there until he was fifteen years of age, when he went to Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, securing em- ployment as clerk in a store at a salary of fifty dollars per annum. After serving in that ca- pacity for eighteen months he returned to Bath and enrolled as a student in the academy of that place. Later he studied dentistry under the pre- ceptorship of Dr. J. P. Scholl, remaining two years, during which time he became proficient in all the various branches of that profession. He then became a resident of Bethlehem, Pennsyl- vania, where he practiced dentistry until 1851, in which year he opened an office in Allentown,
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where he successfully followed his profession for eight years. At the expiration of that period, in 1859, the death of his father, Brittania D. Barnes, required him to give his attention to the settle- ment of the estate. After a satisfactory arrange- ment of affairs he returned to Allentown and again resumed practice, continuing in the same line until 1886, or for a period of forty years, when he retired from the profession.
Dr. Barnes was an active factor in the or- ganization of the Lehigh Valley Trust and Safe Deposit Company of Allentown, (1886), becom- ing the secretary and treasurer, which position he efficiently filled until the death of its first president, Dr. Edwin G. Martin, in 1893, when he was unanimously elected to that office, a posi- tion he held until his death. The Trust Com- pany has the confidence of the entire community, and acts as executor, administrator, trustee and guardian of estates, both real and personal. It also conducts a large business in making loans and receiving deposits. He was one of the original stockholders in the Allentown Bank (now the Allentown National Bank) on its or- ganization in 1855, and at intervals during a quarter of a century was one of its directors. At the organization of the State Board of Agri- culture in 1876 he became a member, having been appointed by the Agricultural Society of Lehigh County, of which organization he was treasurer for several terms. He served as treasurer of the Allentown School District for eighteen con- secutive years, and was the incumbent of numer- ous offices of trust under both the Democratic and Republican administrations, although his affiliations were with the former party.
By profession of faith Dr. Barnes united with the First Presbyterian church, December 23, 1853. On July 17, 1872, he was elected ruling elder, and August 18th of the same year was ordained in that office for a term of six years. At each election he was chosen his own succes- sor until 1892, when the eldership was made a life office and he was again elected. He served as treasurer of the board of trustees, also of the board of elders for the benevolent contributions for many years, and during his entire connec-
tion with the church was active and prominent in the work connected therewith. His place was rarely vacant in the weekly prayer-meeting and Sabbath services, and for five and a half years he was superintendent of the Sunday school. He was among the first to advocate the erection of the present Sunday school building, contributed liberally to the funds, and was a member of the committee on building.
In 1848 Dr. Barnes married Miss Mary Shimer, daughter of Jacob and Fiette (Keck) Shimer, who bore him five children, as follows: Ellen, who died in infancy; Avon, mentioned hereinafter ; Grace, who became the wife of John T. Shimer, of Allentown, and they are the parents of one daughter, Margaret ; Jacob, secretary and manager of the Allentown Bobbin Works, a sketch of whom appears in this work; and Lena Barnes. The death of Dr. Barnes, which oc- curred September 6, 1901, removed from the community in which he lived a good man, a useful citizen and a consistent Christian. He was seventy-five years of age. His wife passed away December 27, 1900, aged seventy-one years.
Avon Barnes, eldest son of Dr. James P. and Mary (Shimer) Barnes, was born in Allen- town, Pennsylvania. He pursued his prelim- inary education in the public schools and supple- mented it by study in a private school in which he prepared for college. He then pursued a thor- ough course in Lafayette College, from which institution he was graduated. Being thus well qualified by broad mental training for a success- ful business career, he entered the service of the. Allentown Rolling Mill Company and learned the trade of machinist, which he followed for about ten years. He then engaged in business for himself in the manufacture of wagon plat- forms, and has since continued in this line unde: the name of the Allentown Platform Company. The plant is large and the output extensive, there- fore he realizes a goodly income from the invest- ment. The enterprise and business discernment of Mr. Barnes have also been essential factors in the successful control of the Allentown Bob- bin Company and the Penn-Allan Portland Ce- ment Company, of both of which he is president ..
The Daugherty
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Mr. Barnes married Anna Washburn, a daughter of David and Eliza (Miller) Wash- burn, and they are the parents of two daughters : Letitia, wife of James K. Bowen; and Marion. Mr. Barnes and the members of his family are Presbyterians in religious faith.
JACOB BARNES, as secretary and general manager of the Allentown Bobbin Works, is con- nected with one of the great productive industries which have contributed to the business develop- ment and prosperity of his native city. He is a son of Dr. James P. and Mary (Shimer) Barnes, a full account of whose history with that of the ancestors of the Barnes family is found in the sketch of Avon Barnes, which precedes this in this work.
In the days of his boyhood Jaccb Barnes was a student in the public schools of Allentown, and the knowledge thus obtained was supplemented by a one year's course of study in Muhlenberg College, thus preparing him for a commercial life. He afterward entered the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company as a clerk, re- maining with that corporation for about ten years, on the expiration of which decade he re- signed that position in order to accept one that was more lucrative in connection with the Lehigh Valley Safe Deposit and Trust Company. His connection therewith also covered ten years. Upon his resignation he became identified with agricultural interests, superintending a farm of thirty-five acres which he owns just outside of the city limits and which is devoted to the rais- ing of poultry. After following this pursuit for two years he became identified with manufac- turing interests as a member of the H. A. Macks Manufacturing Company, the partners in this concern being H. A. Macks, Avon Barnes and J. K. Bowen. They manufacture bobbins of the highest grade exclusively for the use of silk mills. In 1902 the business was incorporated under the name of the Allentown Bobbin Works, and Jacob Barnes became the secretary and gen- eral manager at the re-organization of the busi- ness. The trade has been greatly increased and now extends throughout the country, the orders
for their product being so extensive that the factory is kept in operation throughout the entire year, and it has become one of the prominent and profitable industries of the city. Mr. Barnes is a member of the Presbyterian church, and in his political views is independent, casting his vote for the candidates best suited in his opinion for office. He belongs to no clubs or secret or- ganizations, preferring to spend his time outside of business hours in the enjoyment of his beau- tiful home on Hamilton street, Allentown, in as- sociation with his wife and children.
Mr. Barnes married Miss Catherine Kay Hume, a native of Dundee, Scotland, and daugh- ter of George and Jane (Malcolm) Hume. George Hume was a member of one of the lead- ing families in Dundee, Scotland, where he was engaged in business as a banker, and where his death occurred. In 1892 his wife and children came to the United States, locating in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where Mrs. Hume is living at the present time (1904). Mrs. Barnes is the eldest of five children, the names of the others being as follows: David, Evelyn, Emily and George Hume.
THOMAS DAUGHERTY, of Allentown, former president of the Lehigh Telephone Com- pany, and now a director of the Consolidated Telephone Company of Pennsylvania and the Inter-State Telephone Company of New Jersey, was born December 20, 1836, at Beaver Meadow, then Northampton and now Carbon county, Penn- sylvania. The founders of the family were tne parents of William Daugherty, who settled in Bucks county, Pennsylvania. William Daugherty came with them and afterward removed to the west branch of the Susquehanna river, locating a few miles above Milton, where he followed farming on Muddy Run. In connection with his son-in-law, Marcus Hulings, he built and op- erated the first keel-bottom boat ever taken on the Susquehanna river to tidewater. He fought for a time in the French and Indian war, and became a member of the Warrior Run Presby- terian church. He married a Miss Means, a representative of one of the pioneer families of
20 X
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Kentucky, and the Means house in Towanda, Pennsylvania, was founded by a representative of this family. Their sons were John, Samuel, James Abel, Robert and probably Henry. Of the daughters, one married Marcus Hulings, one Wiliam McGrady, and one John Campbell. The sons and the sons-in-law of William Daugherty were prominent in the early history of Pennsyl- vania, and made splendid records as patriots. John Daugherty was a warm personal friend and a compatriot of Van Campman and of the noted Brady boys, and the former in his narrative says : "No braver man than John Daugherty ever lived." Captain Samuel Daugherty, another brother, was detailed from Washington's army to protect the frontier, and was killed with Boone's company at Freeland's Fort, his scalp being recognized by a man named Robinson, who was lying in am- bush behind a log. The scalp was being carried in the hand of a passing Indian, and the light- colored long curly hair attracted the attention of Robinson. Both Captain Samuel Daugherty and his elder brother, Captain John Daugherty, were members of Captain Hawkins Boone's com- mand. Samuel Daugherty advised against the attack on Fort Freeland, and his brother taunted him with cowardice, but he replied, "No Daugh- erty was ever a coward. I shall fight as bravely as yourself, but we shall be defeated," and the result was as he had foretold. Both Hawkins Boone and Samuel Daugherty were killed in the attack. During the fight Captain John Daugh- erty was accosted by an old Tory who was suspected of having betrayed the fort to the Brit- ish, and who said, "Give it to them, Daugherty." "Yes," was the reply, "and I will give it to a d-d traitor." The story goes that he loaded his gun, turned, and shot the Tory down as coolly as if shooting a squirrel. John Daugherty was a noted small swordsman, and while the patriot army was in New Jersey he fought and killed a British officer who was also noted for his skill with the sword, for speaking contemptuously of the "so-called" rebels. The seven sons of Wil- liam Daugherty all fought under Washington at one time or another during the Revolutionary war. After the war Captain John Daugherty
returned to his farm on Muncy creek, and was fatally stabbed by a knife in the hand of a. bond boy whom he was correcting for some negligence. His lamentation when dying was that after fight- ing Indians, the British and Hessians for so many years, he should be killed by a boy. James Daugh- erty, another brother, was taken prisoner by the British and the Indians, was sent to Canada, suc- cessfully passing the trying crdeal known as "running the gauntlet," and when peace was declared returned to Boston and made his way on foot to the west branch of the Susquehanna river. James Daugherty married Ann Hammond, whose brothers were George, James, William, Joseph, and David Hammond. Of these David Hammond was the father of General Robert H. Hammond, of the Mexican war, formerly a lieutenant of the Fifth United States Infantry. The brothers were all officers in the Revolutionary war, or members of the councils of safety. James Daugherty and Ann Hammond became the parents of the follow- ing named: George Hammond ; Grace, who mar- ried Joseph Hogue; Susan, who married Henry Van Dyke; and Sarah, who married Daniel Bow- man. The Bowmans and Van Dykes resided near Towanda, Bradford county, and the Hogues at Watsontown, Northumberland county, Penn- sylvania. After the war for independence was terminated, the daughters of William Daugherty and their husbands removed to Ohio.
George Hammond Daugherty, born April I, 1794, near Milton, Pennsylvania, learned the sad- dle-making trade and followed it until the Dear- born wagon was put on the market, and he said any shoemaker could then make harness and quit the business. After Hull surrendered in .the war of 1812, he enlisted in the American army, but did not see any active service. Later he followed contracting, and was superintendent of the collieries at Beaver Meadow and Summit Hill. The last years of his life were devoted to farming on the Laird homestead in Madison township, Columbia county, Pennsylvania. His religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church. His presidential vote was cast for Gen- eral Jackson, later he became a Whig, and at
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the dissolution of that party he was known as an ardent advocate of the American party, and from the time of Lincoln's nomination for the presi- dency he was a stalwart Republican. A warm friend of the cause of education, he did everything in his power to promote the free school system, and it is said that he rode two horses nearly to death in the fight against the large landed pro- prietors who were bitterly opposed to be taxed in order to support the free school system. His electioneering was done at night, and quietly among the classes of people who were not prop- erty holders, and who outvoted their aristocratic neighbors, who had expected no opposition of any kind. Mr. Daugherty always favored progress and improvement, and his was an active, useful and honorable career. He married Miss Mary Laird, who was born near Carlisle, Pennsylvania, March 15, 1794. He died at the age of eighty years, and was laid to rest by the side of his wife in the family burying ground of the Lairds at the Derry meetinghouse in Columbia county, Pennsylva- nia. There were seven children in the family, four sons and three daughters, but all are now deceased, with the exception of Thomas Daugh- erty. The eldest, James, was killed when with William Walker, the fillibuster, in Nicaragua, Central America. Another son, George Ham- mond, lived to be seventy-five years of age, while Oscar died in young manhood. One of the sisters, Sarah Daugherty, died at the age of twen- ty-two years. Caroline became Mrs. Faris, and died at the age of sixty-eight years. Ada, who became Mrs. Tenbrook, died at the age of sixty years.
In the maternal line the ancestry of Thomas Daugherty can be traced back to his great-grand- father, William Laird, who was born in Ireland, October 27, 1727, and was brought to America at the age of six years, and died April 11, 1820. In early manhood he had resided near Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He served as a member of the committee of correspondence in 1774 as delegate from the Fourth Battalion to the Lancaster County Association of Battalions in 1776, was captain of the Seventh Company of the Sixth Battalion in 1777, captain of the Eighth Company
of the Ninth Battalion in 1780, and thus rendered efficient service to the cause of independence. His death occurred in what is now Madison township, Columbia county, and his remains were interred in the Derry churchyard. He was mar- ried to Martha Wilson, and they became the par- ents of eight children, incl ding James Laird, the grandfather, who was born May 11, 1761.
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