History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 117

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

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

this sketch was educated at St. Vincent's College, Westmoreland county, Pa. (where he remained two years), and also at St. Bonaventure, Cattaraugus Co., N. Y. (remain- ing there seven years), at the close of which studies he was ordained priest, Novem- ber 4, 1873. He was immediately thereafter appointed assistant at St. Peter's Cathedral, Scranton, Pa., where he passed one year, going from there to Wilkes- Barre as assistant to the late Father O'Haran, which position he filled three years. From Wilkes-Barre Father Donahue came to Plymouth as pastor, where he now pre- sides, and where he has done remarkable work for his church and people. When he came to Plymouth, September 5, 1877, the church was found to be in bad con- dition, being too small as well as uncomfortably lighted and heated. Father Dona- hue, being a man of indomitable will, was by no means daunted by this outlook, but set to work with a will to place the church in a better condition. He purchased a fine site on the corner of Eno and Church streets, where has been erected one of the finest edifices in the State, much of the inside work being designed by him- self, who is a gentleman of mechanical genius as well as spiritual talent. Eleven of the windows are imported from Munich, and are of the finest quality; the pulpit is of white marble, in all respects artistically beautiful. Not only has Father Don- ahue built this fine imposing church, but he has established the St. Vincent Paro- chial School, where there is an average attendance of over 500 children, the old church building being used for this purpose. This school is under the charge of the Sisters of Mercy, and is free to all; no tuition being exempted. As to what Father Dona- hue has done for his church and people, one has but to view the interior of the St. Vincent's, or to watch the masses of little children as they rush from the school, or to gaze on the multitudes as they go to worship or return, to be convinced that the work he has accomplished in so short a time has been a task that few, if any, could have managed so successfully. In politics, Father Donahue is bound to no political party, but reserves the right to vote for the man best adapted to the office sought.

PETER DONNELLY, engineer, Port Blanchard, was born November 15, 1839, in County Kildare, Ireland, and is a son of Joseph and Eliza (Fagan) Donnelly, natives of same place. He was educated in Ireland, and whilst there was employed in the postal service, as a mail driver in Dublin. On January 31, 1865, he came to this country, but only stayed sixteen months, during which time he was employed as a laborer in New York; he then revisited Ireland, but did not remain there long, as he returned to the United States August 29, 1867, and settled in Port Griffith, this county, where he labored in the mines until 1871. He was then employed as fire- man, and is at present an engineer in the employ of the Pennsylvania Coal Com- pany. He was united in marriage July 15, 1870, with Bridget, daughter of Thomas and Ellen (Degan) Delvin, natives of County Kilkenny, Ireland, and their union has been blessed with the following issue: Joseph, born November 25, 1871; Charles, born October 20, 1873; James, born November 25, 1875; Thomas, born November 8, 1878; Peter, born May 28, 1880; John, born November 2, 1882; William, born April 16, 1884, and Elizabeth, born August 17, 1890. Our subject is a member of the Roman Catholic Church, and in polities he holds independent ideas.

J. DONOGHOE, justice of the peace, Inkerman, was born August 4, 1826, in County Galway, Ireland, and is the eldest in the family of five children of Michael and Catherine (Kenny) Donoghoe, natives of County King's, Ireland. Our subject was educated in Ireland, and served as a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary until 1849, when he came to the United States and settled in Pittston, where he worked on the railroad for a short time, and afterward as a laborer for the Pennsylvania Coal Company. He was married August 20, 1850, to Bridget, daughter of Michael and Mary (Madden) Madden, natives of County Galway, Ireland. She died April 23, 1857, leaving the following issue: Michael, born'April 30, 1851, and Catharine L., born March 12, 1856. Our subject, for his second wife, married June 3, 1858, Bridget, daughter of Patrick and Ann (Costello) Cosgrove, natives of County Gal-

1 way, Ireland. This wife died January 7, 1863, and Mr. Donoghoe wedded, for his

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

third wife, Mary, daughter of James and Mary Ford, natives of County Galway. The issue of this last marriage were Marie, born June 9, 1866, and James, born December 24, 1867. Mr. Donoghoe is a member of the Roman Catholic Church, and in politics is a Democrat. He was elected justice of the peace in 1875, and is still serving in the same capacity, being in his fourth term.

HARRY W. DONY, editor and proprietor of the Avoca Argus, was born at Hones- dale, Pa., January 2, 1868, son of Rev. F. A. and Sarah E. (Woodward) Dony, the former born at Dundaff, Pa., May 3, 1841, of English parents, the latter a native of Honesdale. During his early manhood, our subject's father was a lawyer, and enjoyed a lucrative practice at both Honesdale and Mauch Chunk, Pa. At the age of thirty-five, he became clergyman in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is now residing in Scranton. where he is filling the position of assistant secretary of the American Sabbath Union. His marriage was blessed with four children, viz .: A. May, married to J. W. Easterline, a photographer at Scranton, Pa. ; Harry W .; and Bertha A. and Florida M., both residing with their parents. Our subject's boyhood was passed in northeastern Pennsylvania, at the public schools, of which section he received a liberal education. In the fall of 1886 he entered Wyoming Seminary, at Kingston, Pa., leaving that institution the following spring. He then taught school in the State of New York for one year, and afterward came to Dun- more, Pa., where he was employed upon the editorial staff of the Dunmore Pioneer, (which, in partnership with H. H. Bailey, he now owns), and for three years remained in that capacity. In 1890 he established the Avoca Argus, which paper has grown under his energetic management until it has now a large circulation. It is a bright, newsy, clean sheet, betokening the persistent efforts which have been spent upon it by Mr. Dony. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and of the Scranton Young Men's Christian Association; is also identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church. His gentlemanly conduct and many sterling qualities have won him a host of friends.

BENJAMIN DORRANCE, retired, Dorranceton, was born August 14, 1846, a son of Col. Charles Dorrance. He was educated at Princeton College, graduating in the class of 1868. He was admitted to the bar as a practicing attorney in 1870, and continued the practice of the law until his eyesight became impaired, when he retired to his farm at Dorranceton. Mr. Dorrance was married in May, 1872, to Ruth W., daughter of Schuyler and Frances (Cruger) Strong, natives of Bath, N. Y. Three children have blessed this union. Anne, who is attending college at Vassar, Frances and Ruth. Mr. Dorrance has always been identified with the Democratic party. The family are members of the Presbyterian Church.

COL. CHARLES DORRANCE (lately deceased) was born on the Dorrance homestead at Kingston, now the borough of Dorranceton, Luzerne Co., Pa., January 4, 1805, and was a son of Benjamin and Nancy (Buckingham) Dorrance. The Dorrance family was one of the pioneer families of the Wyoming Valley, and through the tragic death of one of its members, slain in the massacre of Wyoming in 1778, is forever connected with that interesting and historic locality. The founder of the Dorrance family in America was the Rev. Samuel Dorrance, a Scotch Presbyterian clergyman, who cams from Ireland to this country about the year 1722. He was born in 1685; graduated from Glasgow University in 1709; was pastor of a church in Voluntown, Conn., upward of forty years, and died November 12, 1775, at the age of ninety years. His wife was Elizabeth Smith, who died in 1750. The paternal grandfather of subject, George Dorrance, son of Rev. Samuel Dorrance, born March 4, 1736, became a lieutenant-colonel of the militia in Wyoming, and was one of the principal officers under Col. Butler in the operation against the British and their Indian allies. In the battle of Wyoming, fought July 3, 1778, he took a leading part, was severely wounded, and taken prisoner and slain by his savage.captors the following day. As he was highest in rauk of the natives in this slaughter, his name heads those inscribed upon the obelisk reared in the Valley, in 1843, by the descendants of the slain in commemoration of the event. He was twice married, and had two daughters by his

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

first wife, and three sons by his second. Robert, the eldest son, served in the war against the Indians, under Governor St. Clair, and was killed November 4, 1791. Gershom, the youngest son, went back to Connecticut. Benjamin, the second son, and father of our subject, was born at Plainfield, Conn., in 1767. He spent most of his mature life in Kingston, this county, and was a popular citizen of his day, by election holding several important offices, among which were those of county com- missioner, high sheriff of the county, and member of the Legislature of the State, the latter for eleven terms. He was one of the founders and the first president of the Wyoming Bank of Wilkes-Barre, chartered by the State in 1829. By his wife, Nancy Buckingham, he had three children: John, who became a Presbyterian minis- ter, Charles, and George, who died in childhood.

Charles Dorrance, our subject, was reared on the old homestead where he always resided, received a liberal education, and always took an active interest in farming pursuits. In early life he joined the militia, and from the rank of captain was pro- moted through the various grades to colonel, which title he held over forty years. In 1858 in the organization of the Luzerne county Agricultural Society, he was unanimously chosen of its members for the office of president, and held the position for ten years. By the last official act of the late Judge Conyngham, he was appointed a commissioner of the Luzerne County Prison, which position he held by successive yearly appointments until it was disposed of, as a reward for political services. Dur- ing the entire period of his connection with this board, he was its president; for fifty years he was a member of the board of directors of the Wyoming Bank of Wilkes- Barre, which was Nationalized in 1865, served as vice-president ten years, and from 1878 as president. In the patriotic movement which culminated, in 1843, in the erection of a suitable monument to commemorate the battle and massacre of Wyo- ming, Col. Dorrance took a leading part, and upon the organization of the Wyoming Commemorative Association he was the unanimous choice of its members to the office of president, and in that official capacity had the honor of welcoming the Presi- dent of the United States, and Cabinet, to the celebration. It must suffice to say that whatever he undertook he did well, earning a reputation that is unassailable, and he leaves as an heritage the unsullied record of an honest man.

J. FORD DORRANCE, farmer and stock grower, P. O. Dorranceton, was born April 19, 1852, on the farm he now owns. He is a son of Col. Charles and Susan (Ford) Dorrance, natives respectively of Luzerne and Tioga counties, and of Scotch-Irish and English origin; the father was a farmer by occupation. [See sketch and chapter in general history-"' The dead that still live."] Our subject is the fourth of a family of seven children, five of whom are now living. He was educated in the common schools, by Dr. Barker at Germantown, Pa., and at the Lehigh University. After his literary education was completed he went to Meadville, and there studied law with Judge Derrickson, afterward practicing in the same city for sixteen years; he also represented the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York City for eight years. Mr. Dorrance was candidate for mayor of Meadville on the Republican ticket, being defeated by but nineteen votes. He came to Dorranceton in 1890, at the request of his father, who, owing to failing health, needed the aid of his son in managing his large estate. Our subject was married June 15, 1875, to Miss Eliza- beth W., daughter of James R. and Harriet S. (Thorp) Dick, natives, respectively, of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Connecticut; her father is a banker at Meadville, and the family is one of the most prominent in the city; his brother is the inventor of the Dick Anti-Friction Press, now in use all over the country. Mr. and Mrs. Dorrance have three children: Susie L., born February 26, 1876; Sturgis D., born July 15, 1881, and Clarence, born March 12, 1863. The family are members of the Epis- copal Church. Mr. Dorrance is a member of the F. & A. M., I. O. O. F., and the Royal Arcanum; he was on Governor Hoyt's staff for three years, and politically is a strong Republican.

NATHAN DOTTER, engineer, Wilkes-Barre, was born in Monroe county, Pa., March 19, 1851, and is a son of Daniel and Margaret (Searfoss) Dotter, both natives of

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

Monroe county, Pa., who settled at White Haven in 1862, and resided in Luzerne county the remainder of their days. Their children were twelve in number, of whom ten survive, viz. : Daniel, Junius, John, Julia (Mrs. Daniel Martz), Mary (Mrs. John Dotter), Casserine (Mrs. Solomon Krieskey), Sarah (Mrs. John Kru- mernocker), Abbie (Mrs. Charles Smith), Hannah (Mrs. Timothy Searfoss), and Nathan. Our subject was reared in Monroe and Luzerne counties, and educated in the common schools. In 1868 he began life as a brakeman on the Lehigh Valley Railroad, in which capacity he served three years; was fireman five years, and since 1875 has been engineer. Mr. Dotter was married in 1871 to Sarah, daughter of John Kreidle, of Dallas, this county, and has three children. Maggie, Harry and Maude. Mr. Dotter is a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and is prominently mentioned as the candidate for sheriff on the Democratic ticket for 1892, of which party he has always been a stanch adherent. He has resided in Wilkes-Barre since 1888.

GEORGE DOTY, a prominent farmer of Huntington township, P. O. Town Hill, was born October 31, 1843, in Pittston township, and is a son of Jonas and Janet (Campbell) Doty, natives of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and of English and Scotch origin, respectively; the father was a farmer, and died August 28, 1886, aged seventy-eight years. He was a son of David and Sybill (Clark) Doty, natives of New York and Pennsylvania, respectively, the former being also a farmer by occupation. Our subject is the third in a family of ten children, eight of whom are living. He was reared on a farm. educated in the common schools and New Colum- bus Academy, and when twenty-one years of age enlisted in Company H, One Hun- dred and Ninety-eighth Pennsylvania Volunteers; he served with his regiment until the close of the war, and was discharged in June, 1865, at Arlington Heights, Va. He then returned to his native county, and attended school one year, and then farmed on rented land until 1889, when he purchased his present farm one and one-half miles southwest from Town Hill postoffice, containing 171 acres. He was married, January 1, 1874, to Alice Heath, daughter of Israel and Catherine (Kesler) Heath, natives of Pennsylvania, and of English and German origin, respectively; she is the third of a family of seven children, and was born June 19, 1853. This union is blessed with one child, Edith A., born January 30, 1887. Mr. Doty is independent in his political views, and is one of the sound men in his section.

ANTHONY F. DOUGHERTY, M. D., physician and surgeon, Ashley, was born in Pittston, Pa., and is a son of John and Mary (Phillips) Dougherty, natives of Penn- sylvania and New York, respectively, and of Irish origin. The father, who ie inside mine foreman, reared a family of eight children, of whom Anthony F. is the eldest. Our subject was educated in the Pittston High School, Wyoming Seminary, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1890. He then practiced one year and a half in St. Mary's Hospital, Philadelphia, and came to Ashley in 1892, where he has, even in this short time, built up a lucrative practice. Dr. Dougherty is a member of the Catholic Church and the C. M. B. A .; in his political views he is a Democrat.

CHARLES DOUGHERTY, grocer, Wilkes-Barre, was born in Albany, N. Y., July 21, 1833, and is a son of Niel and Mary (Gillespie) Dougherty, natives of Buncrana, County Donegal, Ireland, who came to America in 1828, the father being banished from the country on account of political reasons. They located in Hanover, this county, in 1838, where the father followed the occupation of a miner until his death. He reared a family of six children: Charles, Mary Ann, Esther, James, John and Ellen (Mrs. Lyman H. Carle). Our subject was reared in Hanover township from five years of age, was educated in the common schools, and began life as a clerk in a general store in Wilkes-Barre, serving in that capacity fourteen years-twelve years with one house. In 1860 he embarked in the grocery business, in which, with the excep- tion of four years, he has since continued. In 1866 he was appointed, by President Johnson, United States consul to Londonderry, Ireland, the city from which his father was banished in 1828, and the only official position to which he ever aspired, and

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the ambition of his life, the opportunity coming to him sooner than he expected. On May 28, 1858, Mr. Dougherty married Julia, daughter of Daniel and Melinda (Blackman) Collins, of Wilkes-Barre, and has five children living: Melinda (Mrs. George P. Strome), C. Bow, Mary E., M. Morris and Alice M. He is a member of the Catholic Church, and in politics is a Democrat.

C. Bow DOUGHERTY chief clerk Coal Companies Pennsylvania Railroad, W. B., was born in Wilkes-Barre September 3, 1860, a son of Charles and Julia (Collings) Dougherty. The father of our subject was a native of Albany, N. Y., and is now a resident of Wilkes-Barre. His wife was a daughter of Daniel and Malinda (Black- man) Collings, and granddaughter of Maj. Eleazer Blackman, who was born in Con- necticut in 1765, and settled with his parents in Wilkes-Barre in 1772. His father, Elisha Blackman, was a lieutenant in Capt. Richard Hooker Smith's company, Twenty-fourth Regiment of Militia, attached to the Connecticut line, which company was in the fort at Wilkes-Barre at the time of the Wyoming Massacre. Our subject was reared in Wilkes-Barre and educated in the public schools of his native city, and Emerson Institute, Washington, D. C. He began his business career as a clerk in the offices of the Susquehanna Coal Company, in whose service he has remained twelve years, and has held his present position since 1885. In 1883 he married Anna D., daughter of M. B. and Anna M. (Palmer) Posten, of Wilkes-Barre, and has two children. Mr. Dougherty enlisted August 1, 1881, as a private in Company B, Ninth Regiment, N. G. P .; was detailed as a regimental clerk August 12, 1881; appointed principal musician July 27, 1882; sergeant-major, May 9, 1883; re-appointed, November 7, 1884; and June 20, 1885, was appointed first lieutenant, and inspector of rifle practice, April 28, 1887, being re-appointed in June, 1890. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Sons of the Revolution; in politics he is a Democrat.

JOHN J. DOUGHERTY, miner, P. O. Port Blanchard, was born June 13, 1842, in County Mayo, Ireland, a son of Anthony and Matilda (Kelly) Dougherty, natives of the same place, who reared a family of eight children, of whom our subject was the third in order of birth. He received his education in the Irish National Schools, and came to America in 1864, settling in Pittston on April 21 of that year. He was employed as a laborer in the mines of the Lehigh Valley Coal Company, and, from 1868 to the present time, has been employed as a miner by the Pennsylvania Coal Company. January 6, 1867, our subject led to the altar, as his bride, Mary A., daughter of Edward and Mary (O'Hara) Philips, natives of County Mayo, Ireland, and sister of the Rev. E. S. Philips, of Plains, this county. Their union has been blessed with thirteen children. The oldest, A. F. Dougherty, is a practicing physi- cian at Ashley, Pa. Mr. Dougherty is a Roman Catholic, a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and Emerald Beneficial Association, and is a Democrat.

WILLIAM H. DOVE, Plains, agent for the Mercantile Co-Operative Bank, of New York, and several fire and life insurance companies, was born in Pittston, Pa., February 21, 1841, and is a son of Reuben and Lucinda (Collins) Dove, natives of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, respectively. The ancestry of the former can be traced no farther than New Jersey, but the latter's is known to be of early Irish origin. In his father's family there were five children, two of whom are living, and of them he is the second in the order of birth. His brother, John, is a farmer near Elmira, N. Y.

Our subject, who passed his boyhood on the farm, did not receive the advanta- ges of even a common-school education, his present fair knowledge of the English branches being due to private study while in the army and afterward. When he was fourteen years of age, his mother dying, he was compelled to embark in life for himself. He worked on the railroad until July 16, 1861, when he enlisted in Bat- tery H, Light Artillery, First Pennsylvania Reserves; he was discharged, and re-enlisted as a veteran November 28, 1863, and July 1, 1865, was discharged by general order. Though kind Providence protected him from being wounded and from experiencing the horrors of the rebel prisons, yet his health was so shattered

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that it never rallied. After returning from the war he fired a locomotive on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad for three years, and was then assistant train dispatcher in the round-house at Scranton for fourteen months. In 1870 he removed to Plaine, and worked at Mill Creek; he fired a stationary engine six months, was breaker boss one year, laborer in the mines four years and mined four- teen years. During this time he made three prospecting trips west, taking his fam- ily with him in 1877, expecting to locate, but, finding no suitable location, returned; he bade good-by to the dingy mines in Augnet, 1890. He purchased his present residence and removed therein in 1885, but for twelve years previous he had resided on an adjacent corner, where Charles H. Smith now lives. Mr. Dove was married, March 8, 1864, while on a veteran furlough, to Miss Mary, daughter of Sebastian and Anna (Fisher) Geesy, natives of Switzerland, both of whom are now deceased, the father on August 31, 1892, the latter on March 9, 1877. The fruit of this happy union was nine children, viz .: Alice, who died at the age of ten years; Charles, a fireman on the Lehigh Valley Railroad; Anna L .; Eva J. H .; Hattie; William; Frank; Mamie and Nellie. Mr. Dove and family attend the Presbyterian Church, of which Mrs. Dove is a member. Socially he is a member of the G. A. R., A. O. K. of M. C., P. O. S. of A. and the Sons of Temperance. Politically he has always been a faithful worker in the ranks of the Republican party, and was appointed enumerator in 1890.

JAMES DOYLE, retired, Plymouth, was born in Schuylkill county, Pa., Angust 7, 1841, a son of Patrick and Mary (Brennen) Doyle, both of whom were born in Ire- land. They emigrated to this country in 1832, locating in Schuylkill county, Pa., where the father remained till 1867, when he came to this county and settled in Plymouth township. He was a hard-working, honest and upright man, whose life made the world better because of its influence, and yet it was comparatively unevent- ful; he died in 1869 at the age of sixty-seven years. His family consisted of eight children, four of whom grew to maturity, James being the only one now living. Our subject was reared and educated at the common schools of his native town, and in 1867 he removed, with his father, to this county where he has since resided. He has always confined himself to mining, and during his experience he met with an acci- dent in which his leg was broken. On November 18, 1868, he married Miss Mary Moran, who was born in Schuylkill county, Pa., in 1847, daughter of James and Ann Moran, by which union there were six children, two of whom are now living: Patrick and Eugene. Mr. Doyle is an interesting and entertaining gentleman, and enjoys the full confidence of his fellow citizens. He is a Democrat, and held the office of supervisor one year, that of collector two years, and was watchman at the county courthouse for two years. He owns four houses and lots in the suburbs of Plymouth. He and his family are members of the Roman Catholic Church, and he is a member of the Father Mathew and St. Patrick Societies.

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History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 117

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