History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 107

Author: Bradsby, H. C. (Henry C.)
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1532

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leading hostlery in the town, equipped with all modern hotel conveniences. As Mr. Coles is a natural hotel man, the traveling public find with him a comfortable, home- like resort. He was married December 7, 1872, to Miss Lizzie, daughter of Samuel and Parthenna (Fritz) Gibbons, of Fairmount township, Luzerne county, and they have one child, Samuel D. Mr. Coles is a member of the Jr. O. U. A. M., and in his political views is a Democrat.

ARTHUR F. COLLAMER, photographer, Wilkes-Barre, is a son of J. W. and Nellie (Blair) Collamer, born at Honesdale. Our subject is a descendant of one of the early pioneer families who came to Massachusetts in 1624, and numbered among their descendants many illustrious names, among which may be mentioned that of Hon. Jacob Collamer, who was a United States Senator, and was appointed to the office of postmaster-general under President Taylor, also that of Hon. George W. Collamer, a distinguished judge at Montpelier, Vt., a man of great wealth and ex- tended influence, who became a chief factor in locating the capital of Vermont. The father was an artist, a profession he followed for more than forty years with eminent success. The children of the father's family were two in number: G. W. Collamer and Arthur E. Collamer, the latter of whom was educated in his native place, Wilkes-Barre. When a youth he entered his father's studio, mastered the photographer's art and became a partner, which business relationship continued until the father's death, January 29, 1891, since which time our subject has carried on the gallery successfully, adding thereto oil work and life-size painting. He votes the Republican ticket, and in 1887 was elected a member of the city council. Mr. Collamer is a member of several secret societies; also of the Ninth Regiment, and is an officer of Col. Keck's staff.

THOMAS F. COLLINS, engineer at Delaware & Hudson No. 2, Plymouth. This experienced engineer was born at Scranton, Pa., September 17, 1858, and is a son of John and Catherine (Ryan) Collins, natives of County Clare, Ireland. Thomas F., who is the third in a family of five children, was educated in the public schools of Luzerne county, and began life by working about the mines. In 1879 he went to Colorado, and worked for four years in the silver mines as a practical miner. He then went to Arizona, following the same business for one year, and coming thence to Plymouth, was engaged as a fireman at No. 11, Wilkes-Barre Coal & Iron Com- pany. He remained with this company for eighteen months, and then entered the employ of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, first as a fireman, and soon after as an engineer, in which capacity he has since acted. Our subject was married September 25, 1881, to Miss Johanna, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Keaton) Bouney, natives of Pennsylvania. This union has been blessed with five children: John, Catherine, Lucy, Joseph and George. Mr. Thomas is a Democrat in politics. The family are members of the Catholic Church.

CAPT. JOHN D. COLVIN. In 1820 Philip Colvin, with his wife Sarah, and sons, Joseph and Cyrus, and daughters, Polly, Mercy and Anna, with her husband, Elemuel Stone, from Rhode Island, traveling with ox teams, and bringing their household goods with them, settled in Abington township, Luzerne county (now Lackawanna county) Pa. Philip Colvin, with his son, Cyrus, settled on a farm in the western part of the township, near Factoryville; Joseph settled near the east line of the township, on a wild farm; Elemuel Stone and his wife, Anna, settled on a farm near the south center of the township; Polly, after being married to Thomas Smith, settled in the northern part of the township; Mercy married Mr. James Nichols, and settled in Benton township, in same county; Cyrus Colvin, in 1821, married Miss Phoebe Northrop, whose parents emigrated from Rhode Island a few years previous. There were born to Cyrus Colvin and wife four sons and two daughters: Artless L., Augustus, Deborah N., Philip, George Perry and John Dor- rance. His wife, Phoebe, died December 24, 1835; Philip Colvin, Sr., died in 1832, aged seventy-eight years; Sarah, his wife, died in 1844, aged eighty-three years; Cyrus Colvin died in 1879, aged eighty-one years. After the death of his first wife he married Miss Maria Dean, daughter of James Dean, one of the early settlers 43

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

from Rhode Island. The second wife died in 1876, aged seventy-two years. There were born to him, by the second marriage, two sons: Cyrus D. and Albert Colvin. All the children of Cyrus Colvin lived at home, on the farm, until about 1850, when Artless L. went to Archbald, Pa., where she engaged in the millinery business, and soon afterward married J. W. Sheerer, an engineer; they are now living at Des- Moines, Iowa, and have one son and one daughter, both married and living in Iowa. Augustus married about the same time, and is yet living on a farm in Wyoming county; he raised a large family. Deborah N. married a farmer by the name of Emanuel Dershimer, who died in 1881; they reared a family of three boys and two girls; the mother and two of her sons are yet living on their fine old homestead in Falls township, Wyoming Co., Pa .; the eldest son, Oscar, who resides at Tunk- hannock, Pa., is a noted barrister, and stands high with his colleagues in the pro- fession; - one daughter married J. P. Carter, a druggist, and resides at Wilkes- Barre, Pa .; the other daughter and her husband, Jerome Lillibridge, resides on a farm in Pennsylvania. Philip went to California in 1859, and is now living on a ranch, near Pueblo, Colo., where he has resided since 1873, dividing his time between raising stock and prospecting. George Perry was an engineer on the Mississippi river steamers, also in Texas, Mexico and Brazil; he now resides near Colorado Springs, Colo., being paralyzed from the effects of a wound received at Cedar Creek, Va., October 19, 1864.

John Dorrance Colvin left home in 1854 and remained away until 1859, when he returned home, and there sojourned until the breaking out of the Civil war in 1861. After his discharge from the service, in 1865, he was connected with the work on the Central Branch of the Pacific Railroad from Atchison, Kan., to Fort Kearney, and went across the Missouri river on the ferry from Winthrop, Mo., to Atchison with the first locomotive that was placed on the road. In 1867 he returned to Pennsylvania, and was employed for five and one-half years in the coal department of the Delaware & Hudson Coal Company, when he took a position with the Lehigh Valley Coal Company. In 1885 cataracts affected his eyes. In 1890 he resigned his position with the Lehigh Valley Coal Company after seventeen years' continuous service. Mr. Colvin was married, in 1867, to Olive S. Reichardt, of Providence (now a part of Scranton), Pa., whose father's family were among the early pioneers that came from Germany and settled near Easton, Pa .; her mother was an Ackerly, whose parents emigrated from New York State, and settled in Abington, in 1828. John D. Colvin, after his mar- riage, settled at Olyphant, Pa .; from there he moved to Carbondale, same State, and in 1870 took up his residence at Parsons, Luzerne county, of which borough he is the present postmaster. In 1876 he took an active part in getting the dis- trict chartered as a borough, and he was twice elected its burgess. He served as school director for twelve years, and the borough's fine school property is largely owing to the exertions of John D. Colvin, Colvin Parsons, John Alderson, Jason P. Davis, Patrick Cox and William Smurl, as they took the first steps toward buying the lots and erecting the commodious graded-school building in 1877. Mr. and Mrs. J. Colvin have reared a family of two sons and three daughters-all of whom are yet at home. The oldest son, Harry, is assistant postmaster at Par- sons, Pa .; Cyrus D. and Albert Colvin, sons of the second wife of Cyrus Colvin, are yet living in Lackawanna county, Pa. The six sons and two daughters of Cyrus Colvin are all yet living; out of the twenty-three grandchildren twenty-two are yet living, and out of the ten great-grandchildren nine are living. In politics the Colvins were Whigs and Republicans, and John D. Colvin cast his first Presiden- tial vote for John C. Fremont. The war record of the sons of Cyrus Colvin should not be omitted, for they sprung from the defenders of the Stars and Stripes. Their great-grandfathers, on both sides of the family, fought in the Revolution- ary war; their grandfathers, on both sides, fought in the War of 1812, and the war record below will show what the sons did for the country from 1861 to 1865.

George Perry Colvin enlisted, September 13, 1861, in the Forty-seventh P. V.,

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

and was with the regiment in all its campaigns, including the ill-fated Red River expedition under Banks. On October 19, 1864, at the battle of Cedar Creek (on the day of Sheridan's celebrated ride) he was struck by a piece of shell, which caused the removal of a portion of the frontal bone of the skull and tre- panning the same with silver. He is now paralyzed, and resides near Colorado Springs, Colo., but, thanks to an appreciative government, is receiving a pension sufficient to meet all his necessary wants. Augustus Colvin also enlisted in the Forty-seventh P. V. and served faithfully until after the close of the war. Philip Colvin was out with the emergency men in June and July, 1863.

On July 2, 1861, John D. Colvin enlisted in Company G, Fifty-second Regi- ment, P. V. On account of some trouble between the captain and first lieuten- ant, while Colvin was back collecting recruits, the company was disbanded, a part joining Birney's Zouaves in Philadelphia. When he returned to Harrisburg with fifteen recruits he, along with them, was mustered into Company C (Capt. J. P. S. Gobin, now Gen. Gobin, of Lebanon, Pa.), Forty-seventh Regiment, P. V. on September 13, 1861, for three years. In December, 1861, he was detailed (in compliance with a general order from the War Department) and transferred to the U. S. Signal Corps, and sent to Red Stone Camp, near Georgetown, D. C., for instructions. On February 4, 1862, he was assigned to Gen. Brennen's brigade, and was sent to Key West, Fla., where Porter's mortar fleet was fitting out for the expedition to assist in the capture of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, on the Mississippi, below New Orleans. After the capture of New Orleans the brigade to which he was attached was sent to Hilton Head and Beaufort, S. C., to take part in the operations against James Island and the city of Charleston. At Hilton Head he was detached from the land forces, and for several months was on board the " Wabash," Admiral Dupont's flagship, for the purpose of communicating by signals with the army, and instructing the midshipmen and the quartermasters of the navy in the use of the army siguals. He was placed on board the " Ericsson " when she accompanied the fleet to Charleston loaded with torpedoes for the pur- pose of removing the obstructions near Fort Sumter that prevented our fleet enter- ing the harbor; was afterward assigned to duty on board the steamer "Powhat- tan," Capt. Green, flagship of the wooden fleet; was for a time on duty on the ill-fated gunboat "Housatonic; " was one of the signal-men on the ironclad fleet, April 7, 1863, when Admiral Dahlgren made the attacks on Forts Sumter and Moultrie and the batteries protecting the channel to Charleston harbor. He after- ward took an active part in the capture of the batteries on the lower end of Morris Island, in the charges on Fort Wagner in July, 1863, and was on Morris Island during the sieges of Forts Wagner, Sumter and other batteries on Cummings Point; was a sergeant in charge of the signals on the night of July 3, 1864. When Gen. Hoyt, of the Fifty-second P. V. with the One Hundred and Twenty-sev- enth N. Y. V., were repulsed at Fort Johnson, James Island, S. C., the Fifty- second Regiment having their colonel (Hoyt) and one hundred and fifty-two officers and men captured, Sergeant Colvin also lost two of his signalmen by capture, both of whom afterward died in Andersonville prison. One of the men was Thomas Rimer, a nephew of John Jennon, of Scranton. In April, 1864, by order of Gen. Foster, Capt. Clum, chief signal officer of the Coast Division, detailed Ser- geant John D. Colvin to endeavor to decipher the Rebel Signal Code. He was on this secret service until the fall of Charleston, February 18, 1865, and succeeded in deciphering six of their straight alphabetical code, and their fifteen changeable or disk code; the latter was supposed to be impossible to decipher, as no two mes- sages need be sent from the same key letter. By his work he gained much very valuable information, and gave Gen. Foster such reliable information of the ene- my's movements when Gen. Terry, with his division, was operating against the enemy on James Island in the summer of 1864, that he recommended him for a commission. On February 14, 1865, Sergeant Colvin was commissioned a lieuten- ant in the United States Signal Corps. He also received a congratulatory letter

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

from Col. Nichodemus, of the Signal Bureau at Washington, D. C., relative to his fitness for that branch of the service, and the valuable information received through him. Gen. Schammelfennig, commanding a brigade in the Coast Division, wrote him a letter highly extolling him for his zeal and success in his branch of the service. And he wishes to have recorded in this volume his thanks and high appreciation of the services of such men as George H. Stone, Wm. S. Marsden, Sergeant Eddy and Quick of the corps, with the men assigned to him from the Fifty-second Pennsylvania Regiment and One Hundred and Twenty-seventh New York Regiment for their arduous duties and valuable assistance rendered him whilst deciphering codes and intercepting Rebel dispatches from all points along the Confederate lines. Our subject was mustered out of the service in Septem- ber, 1865, after over four years' active campaign life. What was remarkable about Lieutenant Colvin was that when he entered the service he was sickly, and went against the wishes (on that account) of his friends; but the service agreed with him, for there was not a day, for over four years, on which he was not able to be in the saddle or attend to his duties, either in the navy or in the field; in fact, he reported to the "morning sick call" only twice during his entire service, and was absent from active service only for thirty days, and that was on a veteran furlough. On July 7, 1879, Capt. John D. Colvin, Capt. Wilt, Capt. T. C. Parker, Capt. Bennett, Capt. Rush, Capt. Harvey, Capt. McGinley, Capt. Wenner, with a number of other line officers, were instrumental in organizing the Ninth Regiment of Pennsylvania, and did all in their power to assist the field and staff officers to make efficient soldiers out of the "raw material;" and the people of Luzerne county should be proud that they had men of military genius to lay the founda- tion for one of the finest volunteer organizations in the State-an organization to look at and be proud of. Company E, of Parsons, organized by Capt. J. D. Colvin, is yet in existence, and stands second to none in the regiment. The Captain was seven years an officer in the Ninth Regiment.

Capt. John D. Colvin and family are the only descendants of Cyrus Colvin liv- ing in the county, with their children: Harry C., assistant postmaster; Anna C., a teacher in the public schools of Parsons borough; J. Fredrick, Alice R. and Lena May. Harry O. was married on June 10, 1891, to Miss Carry Cordwell, and they have one child, a fine boy four months old, named Arthur Dorrance, after its grandfathers, and both the old veterans are proud of him, and hope he may grow up to be a true and loyal American citizen. Capt. J. D. Colvin is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, the G. A. R., the Knights of Honor, and the Patriotic Sons of America.

T. F. CONNELL, proprietor of livery stable, Duryea, was born at Mine Hill Gap, Schuylkill Co., Pa., February 9, 1850, and is the youngest in a family of seven sons. His parents were John and Ellen (Brady) Connell, natives of County Long- ford, Ireland. Our subject received his education in the common schools, and worked on his father's farm until 1871, when he went into the livery business, in Wilkes-Barre, and carried the mails between that city and Nanticoke. In 1873 he moved to Kingston, and in 1874 took charge of a livery stable in Allegheny City. In 1878 he engaged in farming and contracting in Plymouth, and in 1891 built where he now carries on his business in Duryea. Mr. Connell was united in mar- riage, April 5, 1885, with Matilda, daughter of John and Julia (Morris) Roach, of Jenkins township, natives of County Wexford, Ireland. Their union has been blessed with the following issue: Mary, born February 1, 1886; Annie, born June 4, 1887; Nellie, born July 28, 1888; Maud, born November 19, 1889; Bessie, born March 13, 1891, and John, born August 9, 1892. Our subject is a member of the Roman Catholic Church, and in politics, is a Democrat.

THADDEUS M. CONNIFF, justice of the peace and supervising principal of the public schools in Plains township, was born in County Cavan, Ireland, August 9, 1854. He came to America in 1870, and worked in and about the mines at Plains for four years. He then took a course at a normal school in New York

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State, and has since been engaged in teaching at Plains, except during the year 1883-4, when he was commissioned, by the State superintendent, as superintendent of the Pittston schools. In 1879 he was elected justice of the peace, which office he has since held, having been re-elected in 1884 and 1889. Mr. Conniff was married June 15, 1876, to Miss Amanda, daughter of Robert and Margaret Arm- strong, and their union has been blessed with five children: Patrick Augustine, Robert Armstrong, Mary Amanda, James Norton, and Elizabeth Frances. Mr. Conniff and his family are members of the Catholic Church; he is also a member of the Father Mathew Temperance Society, which he represents at many State conventions; he represented his union at National conventions of Boston, Scranton, Philadelphia, and Chicago; is a chancellor in the C. M. B. A. In politics, he is a Democrat, was delegate to the State convention at Harrisburg, and one of its secretaries, and is at present a member of the county committee. The schools under his super- vision, and in charge of an able corps of teachers, have reached a remarkable degree of proficiency.

JOHN F. CONNOLE, wholesale liquor dealer, Plymouth, was born at Elmira, N. Y., March 9, 1853, and is a son of Thomas and Honora (Dwyre) Connole, natives of Ireland, who came to America in 1848, settling in the State of New York. There were three children in this family, of whom John F. is the only son, the two daughters being Mary, wife of Andrew Heffron, of Plymouth, Pa., and Honora, wife of William Daly, also a resident of Plymouth. The subject of this sketch was educated in the public schools of Luzerne county, and at the Elmira Business College, graduating from the latter in March, 1876. After com- pleting his business course, he traveled through the west for two years, returning at the end of that time to Plymouth, where he took charge of his father's restaurant for a short time, and soon after erected the large brick block where he now is located, and established his present business. Mr. Connole was married December 19, 1878, to Mary E., daughter of Thomas and Mary (Russell) Keating, natives of Ireland, Mary E. being born at Larksville, Pa. To this union have been born five children: Mary, born November 7, 1879; Thomas, born February 17, 1871; John F., born November 25, 1882; Alethia, born May 11, 1884, and Joseph, born July 8, 1889. The family are members of the Catholic Church, and politically Mr. Connole is a stanch Democrat.

CHARLES R. CONNOR, storekeeper, Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company, Wilkes-Barre, was born at Plymouth, this county, June 30, 1860, a son of John M. and Cinderella (Keller) Connor. He resided in Plymouth, where he received a public-school education, until seventeen years of age, in 1877 coming to Wilkes- Barre, where he has since resided. Since 1876 he.has been in the employ of the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company, and has held his present position since May, 1887. On February 13, 1884, Mr. Connor married Ella, daughter of John and Mercy (Fell) Behee, of Wilkes-Barre. To their union have been born five children, viz .: Mac, Daniel, Norman (deceased), Harold and Charles, Jr. Since 1887 he has been a member of Company D, Ninth Infantry Regiment, N. G. P .; received promotion to a corporal, sergeant and to a captaincy, December 8, 1890. He is a member of the Sons of Veterans and P. O. S. of A .; in politics he is a Republican.

JOHN MADISON CONNOR, outside' foreman, Hollenback Shaft No. 2, Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company, was born at Mauch Chunk, Carbon Co., Pa., April 14, 1839, a son of John and Rozilla (Madison) Connor. His paternal grandfather, Hugh Connor, a native of Ireland, was a pioneer of near Carbondale, Pa., where he died. The father was a native of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., for many years a resident of Carbon and Luzerne counties, Pa., and died in Wilkes-Barre in 1867. The mother of our subject was a native of Connecticut. They had eight children: William J., Wilson B., Uranah M., Hugh C., Emily H., David C., John M., and Thomas R. Our subject was reared in Wilkes-Barre, educated in the public schools, and served an apprenticeship at the harness-maker's trade with James D. Laird.

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

He was in the Civil war, enlisting August 14, 1862, in Company C, One Hundred and Forty-third Pennsylvania Volunteers, and participated in the battles of Chan- cellorsville, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Cold Harbor, Wilderness, storming of Petersburg, Weldon Raid and other engagements, and was honorably discharged at New York City in June, 1865. His wife was Cinderella, a daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Whiteman) Keller, and by her he had ten children: Isadore U. (Mrs. Will- iam E. Bennett), Charles R., Edward P., De Haven L., Estella, Stan, Nettie, Ralph, Bessie and Ola, all deceased except Isadore U., Charles R. and De Haven L. Mr. Connor followed the harness business in Plymouth, eighteen years, and the express business, four years. He removed to Wilkes-Barre in 1877, where he has since been in the employ of the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company. He is a member of the G. A. R., and in politics is a Republican.

THOMAS R. CONNOR, retired, was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., March 30, 1841, a son of John and Rozilla (Madison) Connor. He was reared and educated in Wilkes- Barre, where he learned the bakery and confectionery business, and prior to the war was in the employ of the Empire Coal Company ae stationary engineer. He enlisted April 18, 1861, in the Pennsylvania Volunteers, and on arriving at Harris- burg was appointed drummer; after three months' service he was honorably dis- charged. On September 7, 1861, he re-enlisted, this time in Company L, Twenty- third Pennsylvania Volunteers, and March 1, 1862, was transferred to the Sixty- first Pennsylvania Volunteers. He participated in. all the battles of the Regiment from Fortress Monroe to Richmond; also second battle of Bull Run, Massacre Gap, Antietam, Rappahannock and Brandy Station, Fredericksburg and the Wilderness; was wounded at Fair Oaks, May 30, 1862, and at Spottsylvania May 9, 1864. He was honorably discharged September 7, 1864. After his return to Wilkes-Barre he was stationary engineer for the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company from 1865 to 1868, and from 1868 to 1870 was engaged in the local express business between Wilkes-Barre and Kingston. In 1870 he was appointed outside foreman for the Hollenback Shaft, Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company, serving them in that capacity fourteen years; then as superintendent of Empire Division, two years; and again as outside foreman, four years, retiring on account of ill health in 1887. Mr. Connor married, February 20, 1867, Jennie, daughter of Henry and Harriet (Brink) Pruner, of Wilkes-Barre, and has four children: Hattie M., Harry P., Ruth B. and Daisy. Mr. Connor and family are members of the Franklin Street M. E. Church; he is a member of the G. A. R., and in politics is a Republican.

LEWIS H. CONOVER, fire, life and accident insurance agent, Beach Haven, was born September 26, 1826, in Salem, about one mile northeast of Beach Haven. He is a son of Lewis H. and Catharine (Corell) Conover, natives of Pennsylvania, the former of whom was a grandson of Franklin Conover, who came from Connecticut and settled near Philadelphia at a very early date; the mother of our subject was a native of Northampton county, this State, born near Leighton, of remote German ancestry. Our subject's father died in 1828 at the age of twenty-eight, his mother in 1880 at the age of seventy-eight.

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History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 107

Author: Bradsby, H. C. (Henry C.) Publication date: 1893 Publisher: Chicago : S. B. Nelson Number of Pages: 1532

Author: Bradsby, H. C. (Henry C.)
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1532