History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 112

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

USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections > Part 112

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E. W. CURTIS, freight agent for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at Nanti- coke, was born at New Road, Delaware Co., N. Y., and is the son of Luther and Charlotte (Bennett) Curtis, both natives of New York. Our subject was educated in the public schools of Nanticoke, and in Eastman's Business College, Poughkeep-

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

sie, N. Y., where he was graduated in the class of 1884. Immediately thereafter he entered the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and on January 1, 1891, accepted his present position. In 1889 he was married to Miss Mary C. Wit- man, of Nanticoke, and their union has been blessed with two children, Ethel and Emmett. Mr. Curtis is a very popular railroad man, has won the confidence of his employers and the respect of their many patrone along the line. Socially he is a member of the P. O. S. of A., and in politics he is a Republican.

LORENZO J. CURTIS, carpenter, Kingston, was born at Plymouth, October 20, 1846, son of Charles Ransome and Sophia (Jones) Curtis, natives of Luzerne county, of New England origin. The Curtis family emigrated to Wyoming Valley from New London, Conn. His maternal great-grandfather, Col. William Gallup, was in the Valley during the Wyoming Massacre, and his daughter, Hannah (Gallup) Jones, was in Forty Fort at the time of the battle. After the massacre Mr. Gallup and his family returned to New England, where they remained for a time, after which they again returned to this locality. The ancestors of our subject took a very im- portant part in the famous battle between the " Constitution " and the "Guerriere." In his father's family there were two children: Hannah, who married James Hay- ward, of Kingston; and Lorenzo, the subject of this sketch. He was educated in the common schools, and August 6, 1862, enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Forty-third P. V., and participated in the following engagements: Freder- icksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and the Wilderness. In the latter engage- ment he was captured and taken to the Danville Confederate prison, where he was kept until May 28, 1864, and from there was taken to Andersonville, thence, Sep- tember 14, to Charleston, and thence to Florence, where he was paroled, December 5, 1864, after just seven months of life in Confederate war prisons, being exchanged April 2, 1865, at Annapolis. He was then sent to City Point, and after that did guard duty at Hearts Island, New York Harbor, where he was mustered out at the close of the war. He returned to Kingston and was engaged in firing on the D. L. & W. R. R. until 1870, when he began work at the carpenter's trade, which voca- tion he has since chiefly followed. He is a member of the G. A. R., and in politics is a Republican.

WILLIAM CURTIS, proprietor of the grocery store and meat-market, at No. 110 West Broad street, Hazleton. This well-known business man was born in Corn- wall, England, March 12, 1864, and is the only child of William and Mary J. (Harvey) Curtis, also natives of England. The family came to America in 1866, locating at Summit Hill, Pa., but shortly afterward removing to Hazleton. Mr. Curtis was educated at that place, and obtained employment in a store and meat- market where he continued until a meat-market was started under the firm name of Harvey & Curtis. This was operated by these gentlemen until February, 1892, when the partnership was dissolved, and the present business was established by Mr. Curtis. He carries a full line of family groceries and, besides, handles home- dressed meats, getting them fresh, pure and wholesome, directly from local slaughter- houses, thereby furnishing his customers the best goods in the market. He employs six men in his business. Mr. Curtis was united in marriage in June, 1890, with Miss Mary I., daughter of John Turner, of Hazleton, and they have one child, Elizabeth, who is the light of the household. Mr. Curtis votes the Republican ticket, and the family attend the Methodist Episcopal Church.

REV. MORVIN CUSTER, pastor of the Presbyterian Church, Ashley, was born in Six Points, Ind., January 4, 1860, and is a son of Benjamin T. and Eliza (Fry) Custer, natives of Pennsylvania, and of early Dutch origin. He is a grandson of Matthew C. and Eleanor (Tyson) Custer, and Eneas and Sarah (Saylor) Fry, the latter family, strong Baptists, will pass away with this generation. His father, who was a black- smith and farmer, reared a family of nine children, viz. : Albion, Eleanor (Mrs. Aaron Gouldy), Morvin, Benjamin, Emma (Mrs. Theodore Detwiler), Harry, Anna (died at the age of nine years), Webster and Matthias. Our subject was educated in the public schools of Montgomery county, Ursinus College and Princeton Theological

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Seminary, graduating at the former in 1883, and at the latter in 1886. He then had a charge at Elmer, N. J., where he remained three years, and was installed at Ashley May 3, 1889. Mr. Custer was married December 19, 1885, to Ida V., daughter of David and Sophia (Foster) Trucksess, and a granddaughter of Jacob Trucksess, who sailed from Amsterdam, Holland, in 1819. They have two children, viz. : Margaret D. and Mabel E. Our subject is a member of the F. & A. M., P. O. S. of A., K. of H., and A. P. A. He takes a deep interest in all political workings of the nation, but is strictly independent in his views.

GEORGE CUTLER, retired, Freeland, was born in Somersetshire, England, June 14, 1830, and is the sixth in a family of eight children born to Francis and Mary (Faner) Cutler, natives of Somersetshire, England. The family came to America in 1855, settling in Wisconsin, where the father of our subject followed the vocation of miner. The father died at Dodgeville, Wis., in 1864, the mother at Eckley in Jan- uary, 1869. Our subject was educated at Monmouthshire, South Wales, and at the age of ten years began coal-mining at Monmouthshire, England, passing through the whole system of mining, and at the age of eighteen was a practical miner. He worked at mining in his native country until 1855, when he came to America with his father's family and settled in Wisconsin, where they resided on a farm. On August 14, 1862, Mr. Cutler enlisted in Company C, Thirty-first Wis. V. I., under General Sherman, and was with him in his famous march to the sea, partici- pating in the battle of Atlanta. He was mustered out of service with his regiment June 20, 1863, and returned to Wisconsin in 1866. He came to Eckley and went to work in the mines for Sharp, Weiss & Co., where he remained until 1880, when, on account of broken health contracted in the war he was forced to retire from hard work. Mr. Cutler has since resided in Freeland, where he has since been looking after his property in that vicinity; he was elected justice of the peace, but never took out his commission, all his time being taken up with his private affairs. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., Knights of the Golden Eagle, and a charter mem- ber of the G. A. R. In politics he is a Republican. His war record is without stain or dishonor, and its pages are illumined with a halo of glory and heroism.

JOHN DALY, proprietor of restaurant, Wilkes-Barre, was born in Sunderland, County of Durham, England, June 28, 1862, and is a son of John and Bridget (Mc- Carroll) Daly, natives of County Monaghan, Ireland, who came to America in 1870. They settled in Wilkes-Barre township, where the father was employed in the mines, and was killed in the Franklin Colliery by a fall of coal in August, 1886. Eight children born to them are living: John, Maggie, Mary (Mrs. Anthony Welch), James, Ellen, Bridget, Kate and Anna. Our subject was reared in Wilkes-Barre township from eight years of age, has worked in and about the mines since ten years of age, and has been engaged in the restaurant business ten years. He was married August 30, 1885, to Mary I., daughter of John and Bridget (Flinn) Winn, formerly of Ireland, and has five children: Anna, John, Mary, James and Owen. Mr. Daly is a member of the Catholic Church, and. of the A. O. H., and . Board of America; in politics he is a Democrat.

WILLIAM D. DANIELS, farmer, P. O. Huntsville, was born in Brecon, South Wales, March 28, 1840. He is the son of Daniel R. and Ann (Richards) Daniels, both of whom are natives of South Wales. Daniel and his wife and their family of eight children came to this country in 1850, locating in Pittston, where he and his six sons engaged in mining. They remained there until March 22, 1857, when Daniel died at the age of sixty-two years. His wife died March 25, 1859, at the same age. William D. is one of a pair of twins. He was reared and educated partly in Wales and partly in the United States, and always followed the example of his progenitor in digging " dusky diamonds" in the Wyoming Valley. October 23, 1862, when twenty-three years of age, he married Miss Hannah, daughter of John W. and Mary (Roberts) Hovells. There were born to them thirteen children, five of whom are now (1891) living: Eleanor (a graduate of Bloomsburg State Nor- mal School, now teaching at Five Forks), John R., Daniel, William and David T.

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Mr. Daniels is a prosperous man, and, though a general farmer, pays special atten- tion to dairying, milking eighteen cows. He carries his milk to Plymouth, selling it at wholesale, and carries on a profitable trade. His stock is fine, his land productive, and the farmer himself is a whole-souled man. His farm consists of. eighty acres of hillside land, on which he has resided for fifteen years. Mr. Daniels is respected by his neighbors, and enjoys the full confidence of his fellow-citizens. He is a consistent Christian, beiog in full fellowship with and a member of the Welsh Presbyterian Church. He is also a member of the I. O. O. F., and polit- ically is a Republican.

MIFFLIN DANNER, painter, Ashley, was born in Moore township, Northampton Co., Pa., December 7, 1846, and is a son of Abraham and Abbie (Miltonberger) Danner, natives of Pennsylvania, and of early German origin. His father, who was a farmer, reared a family of six children: Levi, Mary, Samuel, Allevestie, Mifflin and Sarah. The father dying when our subject was five years old, the mother was married to John Kulp, by whom she had one child, Elizabeth. Our subject was educated in the public school at Dannersville, and then learned the painter's trade at White Haven, which he has since followed. In 1867 he removed to Ashley, where he built his present residence in 1885. Mr. Dauner was married September 15, 1869, to Miss Emma R., daughter of Joseph and Rebecca (Zimmerman) Kantner, natives of Pennsylvania, and of Irish and German origin, and they have two children: Ida May and Joseph F. Mr. and Mrs. Tanner are members of the Episcopal Church. Socially he is a member of the I. O. O. F., the K. of H .; politically is a Democrat.

WILLIAM F. DANZER, M. D., Hazleton. This successful young physician was born at Mauch Chunk, Pa., June 5, 1865, and is the youngest in the family of four children of Henry and Catharine (Lechler) Danzer, natives of Mauch Chunk. The Doctor's early education was received in the public schools of his native county, and on completing the common branches he took an advanced course at the Schuyl- kill Seminary, and also at Stewart's Academy. After completing his academic course he began studying medicine with Dr. A. B. Dundor, a prominent physician of Reading, continuing with him three and one-half years. In 1886 he entered Jefferson Medical College, from which he was graduated in the class of '89. He then took a course at the New York Polytechnic, making a specialty of the eyes, nose and throat, and immediately afterward entered the Lying-in Charity Hospital, Philadelphia, where he attended a six months' course of lectures. With this thor- ough training in his profession, the Doctor at ouce established himself at Hazleton, where he is rapidly building up a large and substantial practice. Socially Dr. Dan- zer is a member of the Shield of Honor and the Knights of Malta.

JOHN VAUGHAN DARLING, lawyer, Wilkes-Barre, was born in Reading, Pa., July 24, 1844, and is a son of William and Margaret (Vaughan Smith) Darling. His paternal grandfather, Eliakim Darling, was a native of New Hampshire, born in 1767, and married Ruth Buck, of Bucksport, Maine. He settled in Bucksport at an early age, where he became, a prominent ship builder and owner, and died there at the age of sixty six years. He was a son of Thomas and Martha (Howe) Darling, the latter of whom was a niece of Lord Howe, who commanded the British forces in America during the war of the Revolution. William Darling, father of subject, and who was a native of Bucksport, Maine, in early life settled in Reading, Pa., studied law, was admitted to the bar, and entered actively into the practice of his profession, being a leading light in the courts for many years. He was a United States Com- missioner to the World's Fair held at the Crystal Palace, London, in 1851. Prior to that he had been appointed president judge of the Berks District, but shortly afterward resigned the position on account of ill health, though he lived to the age of seventy-eight years. He was vice-president of the American Sunday-school Union from its organization until his death. His wife, Margaret Vaughan Smith, was a daughter of John Smith, owner of the Joanna Furnace, one of the prominent industries of Berks county in an early day. John Smith was a son of Robert Smith, of Chester county, Pa., the latter a son of John and Susannah Smith, who

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

came to America from the North of Ireland in 1720, and settled in Chester county, Pa. The subject of this sketch was prepared for college by Prof. Kendall, and passed his examination for the junior year at Harvard University, but failing health obliged him to give up his collegiate education. In early life he was a frequent contributor to the columns of Lippincott's Magazine and Atlantic Monthly, and for five years was assistant editor of the North American Review. He read law with R. C. McMurtrie, of Philadelphia, and in 1865 was admitted to the Philadelphia bar. He practiced his profession in that city until 1874, when he removed to Wilkes- Barre, and June 4, 1874, was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, where he has since been engaged in the active practice of his profession. On October 9, 1872, he married Alice Mary, daughter of Andrew T. and Augusta (Cist) Mcclintock, of Wilkes-Barre.

ALFRED DARTE, Jr., was born April 28, 1836, in the little old town of Dundaff, in Susquehanna county, Pa. The Dartes came from Connecticut, from which State a number of the name, including the grandfather and six of the granduncles of Alfred, Jr., joined the army of the Revolution, served all through that memorable struggle, the grandfather being wounded in the attack on Fort Griswold. Hon. Alfred Darte, father of our subject, removed from Susquehanna county to Car- bondale (then in Luzerne, now in Lackawanna county), where he practiced as a lawyer, and became recorder of the mayor's court of the city. The mother was Ann E. Cone, a daughter of Dorastus Cone, of Esopus, Ulster Co., N. Y., whose ancest- ors had also come from "the land of steady habits." Alfred Darte, Jr., was edu- cated in the common schools, and at the Wyoming Seminary. He read law in the office of his father, and became a member of the Luzerne bar May 12, 1859. Very soon after the outbreak of the Civil war, both his father and himself joined Company K, Twenty-fifth P. V. I., of which organization the father was captain and the son first lieutenant. Lieutenant Darte's term of service extended from April 26, 1861, to September 19, 1864, when he was mustered out on account of disability accru- ing from a wound received in an engagement with the enemy at Trevilian Station, Virginia. Mr. Darte, after the war, was for many years a justice of the peace in Kingston, and was for a long time a member and president of the council of that borough. In 1879 he became the Republican candidate for district attorney of the county, and was elected by a large plurality, serving the full term of three years. He was again nominated and elected to the same office in 1888, and served the second full term. In 1891 he was a favorable but not successful applicant for the Republican nomination for additional law judge. He is an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and has represented the Wilkes-Barre Post in many State and National gatherings. On June 11, 1863, Mr. Darte married Caroline Sealy, a native of Kingston, and daughter of Robert Sealy, of Cork, Ireland, who died June 22, 1892. They had no children. Mr. Darte is a Presbyterian, a trustee of the Kingston church of that denomination, and, as facts above recorded show, he is an active and influential member of the Republican party.

W. H. DAUBER, proprietor of the St. John's Flouring Mills, St. John's, Pa., is a native of Rockland township, Berks Co., Pa., and is a son of Daniel and Polly Ann (Miller) Dauber, natives of Berks county, at present residing in Freeland, Pa. The parents removed to this county when he was about thirteen years old. Our subject received his education in the public schools, and upon reaching the age of fifteen began the miller's trade at A. Straw & Son's Mills, where he remained one year and a half, and then worked in various flouring-mills throughout the county. In 1874 he commenced work at St. John's Mills, and worked as miller there until 1887, when he assumed control; he now enjoys a lucrative trade, carrying on a large merchant milling trade, as well as doing a large amount of custom grinding. Mr. Dauber was married in 1875, to Miss Maggie Rittenhouse, an accomplished young lady of Sugar Loaf township. This union has been blessed with two children, viz. : George R. and Edith. Mr. Dauber is a member of the I. O. O. F. and the P. O. S. of A. He is widely known in his section of the country, and has many well-deserved friends.

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

A. LIVINGSTONE DAVENPORT, junior member of the firm Davenport Bros., book- sellers and stationers, Plymouth, was born April 16, 1863, and is a son of Edwin and Mary C. (McAlarney) Davenport, natives of Luzerne county, Pa., and of old historic families of the Valley. Edwin Davenport was born June 6, 1832, the eldest son of Oliver Davenport, one of the numerous descendants of Thomas Daven- port, who came into the Wyoming Valley shortly after the Revolution, settling in Plymouth, and who married Livia, daughter of Col. George P. Ransom, and grand- daughter of Capt. Samuel Ransom, who was killed in the Wyoming Massacre. Edwin Davenport is a brother of James H. and Andrew C. Davenport, and Clarissa" Shaver Frey, now deceased, and Mrs. Henry Lees, Mrs. Lorenzo Whitney, Mrs. Ellen O. Levi and Mrs. H. N. Ashley, now residing in Plymouth. Edwin married October 21, 1860, Mary C., daughter of James McAlarney, and they have had eight children, all yet living, as follows: Stanley Woodward, A. Livingstone, Ward P., Julia E., James, Livia, Fuller and Lloyd. The father has been engaged in mer- cantile business for the past twenty-two years.

A. Livingstone Davenport was educated at the public schools of the place of his birth, which was supplemented with a higher education at the Wyoming Seminary, where he graduated in 1882. After completing his course of studies, he returned to Plymouth and was employed as clerk for Charles Shupp for a short time. On January 1, 1885, he and his brother, Stanley W., purchased the business formerly owned by A. F. Levi, and they have since conducted same. The enterprising young man who forms the subject of this sketch has now full charge of the business, which is an extensive one; and, judging from his ready business tact, he is fully competent to discharge any and all of the duties connected with it. In politics he has always been closely identified with the Democratic party; and in church matters he follows the precepts of the Methodist creed. The senior member of this exten- sive business is

STANLEY WOODWARD DAVENPORT, a practicing attorney of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and a resident of Plymouth. He was born at the above named place July 21, 1861. This rising young lawyer was educated in the public schools of Plymouth, and at Wyoming Seminary. He is also a graduate of Wesleyan University, class of '84. Soon after graduating, Stanley and his brother, Livingstone, succeeded Mr. Levi in the business above mentioned, and Stanley remained in the store three years. He then left it in charge of his brother; while he entered the law office of George W. Shonk, at Wilkes-Barre, where he was a student for one year and nine months, at the end of which time he had so far conquered the subtle reasoning of Blackstone that, upon examination, he was at once admitted to practice at the Luzerne county bar. Mr. S. W. Davenport was united in marriage, June 13, 1889, with Mary, daughter of Andrew Wier, and they have one child, Marion, born May 1, 1890. Mr. Davenport adheres strictly to the principles advocated by the Democratic party. These young gentlemen, as will be seen, are great-great-grandsons of the brave Capt. Ransom, who fell in the Massacre of Wyoming.

GEORGE DAVENPORT, farmer, P. O. Plymouth. Among the early settlers of the Valley are the Davenports, who came here at a very early period, and settled in what is now the lower end of the borough of Plymouth. Our subject, whose name heads this sketch, was born in Luzerne county, Pa., January 4, 1823, and is the second in the family of five children of Daniel and Mary (Nesbitt) Davenport, natives of this county. He received his education in the public schools of Luzerne borough, and at the age of twenty-one years began boating on the canal between Wilkes-Barre and Philadelphia, Pa., which he followed for twenty years. He then engaged in mining as a contractor for a short time, retiring to his farm afterward, where he has since been engaged in tilling the soil. On September 3, 1849, Mr. Davenport was united in marriage with Miss Emily, daughter of John and Esther (Ransom) Ingham, natives of Luzerne county, and five children have blessed this union, viz. : Daniel F., Hendrick I., Andrew E., Robert W. and William M. Mr. Davenport is a Democrat in politics, and the family attend the Christian Church.

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

HARRY H. DAVENPORT, farmer, P. O. Huntington Mills, Huntington township, was born in that township October 14, 1864, a son of Hanford and Fannie E. (Lar- ned) Davenport, natives of Pennsylvania, of English origin. Hanford Davenport was a farmer by occupation; he died June 8, 1865, in Boise City, Idaho, while on his way to the gold fields of California. Our subject is the youngest of a family of seven children as follows: Eva M. (Mrs. Charles W. Lowden); William W., travels for a moulding firm of Baltimore; Ida E. (Mrs. A. R. Wilkenson); Harriet; Elmer; Han- ford (deceased), and Harry H. Harry H. was reared on a farm, receiving his edu- cation in the common schools, and at eighteen years of age began farming on the property he now owns. He was married, June 26, 1889, to Miss Josephine, daugh- ter of M. B. and Parmelia (Rhone) Trescott, by whom he has one child, Herman L., born September 25, 1890. Our subject and wife attend the M. E. Church; in poli- tics he is a Democrat, and has held the office of treasurer.

J. W. DAVENPORT, farmer, P. O. Pike's Creek, was born, February 21, 1844, reared and educated in Lake township. He is the son of Helan and Christine (Rob- erts) Davenport; the former born in Huntington township in 1811; the latter in Union township, in 1818. Helan was a son of Humphrey Davenport, of Dutch descent, who, with other members of his father's family, located in Huntington township on a lot of 125 acres. He was a natural mechanic as well as a skilled workman. He was a carpenter, blacksmith and wheelwright, a hard-working man, who did much for the extension of agricultural pursuits, in building and improving on his farm. He reared a family of seven children, two of whom are now (1892) living. His son, Helan, began business as a lumberman in Hazleton, where he remained two years, thence moving to Shickshinny, where he worked at his trade (blacksmith) for some time. He next removed to Deantown, Union township, where he remained for two years, when, in 1839, he removed to Lake township, on a farm of 120 acres of unimproved land, on which he built, and which he cleared until it became a model farm. Mr. Davenport is a zealous Democrat; he is a man of Influ- ence in the town. and has held all the important offices. He served one term as justice of the peace. His family consisted of twelve children; eleven grew to maturity; eight of whom are living (1892). He is now living at the age of eighty-one; his wife died in 1876. J. W. is the fifth in the family in order of birth, and has always confined himself to farming on the old homestead, where he now lives and

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History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 112

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