History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 168

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 168

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JOHN McMURTRIE, proprietor of the "Thistle Hotel," Wilkes-Barre, was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, March 5, 1845, a son of William and Elizabeth (Wilson) McMurtrie, and traces his ancestry to the invasion of the Normans in Scotland. He was reared and educated in his native country, where he served a five and one-half years' apprenticeship at the baker's and confectioner's trade. In 1867 he came to America, and worked as a journeyman in Scranton, Pa., three years. Later he located in Pittston, this county, where he remained six years, and in 1876 settled in Wilkes-Barre, where he has since resided. For nearly eight years he was. foreman in a prominent bakery and confectionery establishment; from 1884 to 1889 he was engaged in the bakery and confectionery business on the Public Square, and since 1889 has been the popular proprietor of the "Thistle Hotel." On November 20, 1883, Mr. McMurtrie married Mary, daughter of Thomas and Catherine (McMunn) Black, and they have one daughter, Dollie. Mr. McMurtrie is a member of the Presbyterian Church, I. O. O. F., Caledonian Society and K. of H. He is a Knight Templar. In politics, he is a Republican.

JOSEPH M. McMURTRIE, farmer, P. O. Conyngham, was born in Sugar Loaf town- ship, this county, July 12, 1812, and is a son of Joseph and Mary (Aten) McMur- trie, who settled in that township in 1808. His father leased the farm (now occu- pied by subject) for five years, and during that time purchased and cleared it, dying there in 1844, in his seventy-third year. The father of our subject was a native of New Jersey, and a son of John McMurtrie, who was a son of Joseph McMurtrie, a native of Scotland, and a pioneer of Sussex county, N. J. The wife of Joseph McMurtrie, Sr., was a daughter of John Aten, of Northampton county, Pa. Our subject was reared in Sugar Loaf township, and occupies the old homestead on which his father first settled, being probably the oldest native-born resident of the township. He married twice, his first wife being Margaret Hinton, of Easton, Pa., by whom he had three children: William H., Mahlon R., and Thomas A .; his sec- ond wife was Sarah A., daughter of George and Betsey (Ochsreider) Klinger, of Sugar Loaf township, and by her he had seven children: Clara A. (Mrs. Boyd Smoyer), George K., Mary E. (Mrs. John Stegner), Julia E. (Mrs. John Heller), Sarah C. (Mrs. Edward Hilliard), Minor S. and Calvin E. Mr. McMurtrie is one of the leading representative citizens of Sugar Loaf township, has held several local offices, and in politics is a Democrat.

WILLIAM N. MOMURTRIE, farmer, P. O. Sybertsville, born in Sugar Loaf town-

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

ship, this county, February 9, 1853, is a son of Elijah and Ellen (Engle) McMurtrie. His paternal grandparents were John and Matilda (Melkenhorn) McMurtrie, and great-grandparents, Joseph and Mary (Aten) McMurtrie, who settled in Sugar Loaf township in 1808. Joseph was a son of John, who was a son of Joseph McMurtrie, a native of Scotland, who was among the pioneers of New Jersey. Elijah, father of subject, was born in Mauch Chunk, Pa., October 30, 1826, and was reared and educated there. In 1848 he came to Sugar Loaf township, where for many years he was engaged in the milling and mercantile businesses. His wife was a daughter of William and Mary (Davis) Engle, of Sugar Loaf township, and his children were John W., William N., Mary E. (Mrs. Theodore Van Densen), Scott and Harry. Our subject has always resided in Sugar Loaf township, followed milling nine years,

and since 1882 has been engaged in farming. In 1876 he married Savilla, daughter of Jacob Balliet, of Sugar Loaf township. They have an adopted daughter, Annie. Our subject is a member of the English Lutheran Church, and is a Democrat.

B. MCNAMARA, miner, Pine Ridge Colliery, Miners Mills, was born near Ennis, Parish of Inch, County Clare, Ireland, in May, 1842, and is a son of Cornelius and Ann (McNamara) McNamara. In his father's family there were five children, of whom our subject is the only survivor; his younger brother, John, died in Miners Mills in 1874, at the age of thirty years. Mr. McNamara came to America in 1864, and after working in the lead factory in Brooklyn for three months, came to Sugar Notch, this county, where he worked about the mines till 1866; he then removed to Barclay, Bradford Co., Pa., where he worked in the mines till 1870, when he came to Miners Mills, where he has since followed mining. He built bis present residence, which was the third house on the street where it stands, in 1871. Our subject was married, May 3, 1876, to Miss Bridget, daughter of Patrick and Susan (Bushnell) Murray, of Dunmore, Pa., natives of Tillygavin, near Ennis Diamond, County Clare, Ireland. They have had nine children, five of whom are living, viz. : John S., Thomas M., Margaret D., Elizabeth and Ann. Mr. McNamara and family are devoted members of the Catholic Church; he is a member of the A. O. H., and in his political views he is a Democrat.

WILLIAM MONEAL, farmer and sawyer, P. O. Sybertsville, was born in Black Creek township, on the farm where he now resides, November 3, 1826, a son of John and Rachel (Shiner) McNeal. His paternal grandfather, James McNeal, a native of Scotland, and by profession a surveyor, came to America prior to the Revolution. He was a pioneer of Luzerne county, and at the time of his death resided at Wap- wallopen. His wife was formerly Sarah Webb. John McNeal, the father of our subject, was a native of Pennsylvania, and in 1814 settled on the farm now occupied by his son William, cleared and improved it, and died there May 10, 1854, at the age of seventy-four. He married Rachel, a daughter of Andrew and Margaret (Smith) Shiner, of Sugar Loaf township, and she bore him children as follows: Andrew, James, Isaiah, Eliza (Mrs. Samuel B. Jones), Amos, Margaret (Mrs. Henry M. Schwenk), Hannah (Mrs. Theodore Hauze), John, William, Mary (Mrs. Ben- jamin F. Budworth) and Wallace. William McNeal has always resided on the old homestead where he was born and reared. He married Mary, daughter of Harman and Catherine (Zang) Reinmiller, of Germany, and they have five children living: Rachel (Mrs. Henry Riuglaben), Eliza (Mrs. Johnson Yeager), Ulysses G. (married to Miss Mary Frederick), William H. and George E. In politics Mr. McNeal is a Republican, and is a respected and enterprising citizen of Black Creek township.

HUGH MONELIS, outside mine foreman at No. 1, Highland Colliery, P. O. Free- land, was born in Ireland April 1, 1849. When he was three years of age his parents returned to this country, having been here before, and located at Rockport, Carbon county. He was educated in the public schools, and at the age of eight years began picking slate in the breaker during the summers, attending school in the winter time. He entered the employ of the G. B. Markle Coal Company in 1862, and has remained with them ever since. In 1880 he was appointed outside foreman at No. 2, Highland Colliery, where he remained one year, when he was

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

transferred to No. 1, where he has since been employed. He was married, Novem- ber 24, 1871, to Miss Bridget Logan, of Freeland. They have three children, viz. : John, James and Joseph. Mr. McNelis has been tax collector of Foster township, and is at present a member of the school board. He is a Democrat, and active in local political circles.

JAMES MCNULTY, miner, Inkerman, was born in Inkerman, this county, January 7, 1861, and is son of Patrick and Ellen (Regan) McNulty, of the same place, and natives of County Galway, Ireland. The subject of this memoir is the youngest in a family of three children, and received his education in the common schools. At an early age he went to work in the mines, and since 1887 has been engaged as a miner by the Pennsylvania Coal Company. Mr. McNulty was united in marriage, January 22, 1887, with Bridget, daughter of Anthony and Mary A. (Horan) Brady, natives of County Mayo, Ireland, and their union has been blessed with the follow- ing issue: John, born December 2, 1887; Ellen, born July 13, 1889; and James, born September 12, 1891. In religious faith, our subject is a Catholic, and in pol- itics is a Democrat.

JOHN M. MONULTY, miner, Inkerman, was born in Sebastopol, this county, August 2, 1857, and is the eldest child of Timothy and Mary (O'Malley) McNulty, natives of County Mayo, Ireland, who came to the United States early in 1854, set- tling in Sebastopol, Luzerne Co., Pa. Our subject received his education in the common schools, and, in 1870, went to work in the mines where he drove until 1873. He then worked as a laborer until 1876, since which time he has been em- ployed as a miner by the Pennsylvania Coal Company. On April 26, 1883, Mr. McNulty married Mary, daughter of James and Mary (McAndrews) McAndrews, also natives of County Mayo, Ireland. Our subject is a member of the Roman Cath- olic Church, of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and Sons of Columbia. In politics he is a Democrat, and has held the following offices in the township: registry asses- sor, 1880-81; assistant assessor, 1884-85, and school director, 1886-89.

JOHN McSWEENY, blacksmith at the Washington Mine, Plymouth, was born at Patterson, Pa., and is the eldest in a family of seven children-five sons and two daughters-born to Timothy and Margaret (Murphy) McSweeney, natives of County Cork, Ireland, who came to America in 1865. The subject of this sketch was edu- cated in the public schools of Luzerne county, and in the year 1880 began to learn the blacksmith's trade. He worked at same four years, then took the wheelwright department of the work, and served nearly three years at that. He then worked at his trade in Elmira, N. Y., and Towanda, Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre, Pa. In 1890 Mr. McSweeny came to Plymouth and took charge of the Lehigh & Wilkes- Barre shops at Old Slope, Washington Mine No. 16, where he has since been em- ployed. He is a Democrat in politics, and attends the Catholic Church. Our sub- ject is unmarried, and resides with his parents.

DAVID MACFARLANE, general mine superintendent, Spring Mountain Colliery, Jeansville. Among the men who are skilled in the mining industry, and who are thoroughly conversant with all its details, none are more prominent than he whose name opens this sketch. Mr. MacFarlane was born at Coatbridge, near Glasgow, Scotland, May 22, 1852, and is a son of John and Jean (Johnson) MacFarlane, who emigrated to America and settled at Jeansville, this county, in 1866, where their children, six in number, were reared and educated. Our subject, when quite young, was employed at No. 1 Colliery, working at the different branches of the coal industry until 1870, when he commenced work as a practical miner, in which occupation he continued until 1874. At that time he was promoted to the position of inside fore- ·man at No. 4 Colliery, where he remained until 1881, and was then appointed to his present position with J. C. Hayden & Co., Spring Mountain Coal Company. Much responsibility devolves upon him; he has charge of two breakers and three slopes, employing in all about seven hundred and sixty men, and mining on an average 1,200 tons of coal daily. Mr. MacFarlane is a typical Scotchman, possessing that firmness and rectitude of character which even in the fiercest battles of life is sure to

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

win. He was united in marriage, in December, 1874, with Miss Alma, daughter of William and Emma (Wilson) Hamer, natives of England, and to this union have been born eight children, namely: John W., Maggie L., Jean L., Emma M., Pen B., David S., Alma L. and Isabella J., of whom John W., Jean L., Pen B. and Isa- bella J. are deceased. In political views Mr. MacFarlane is a Republican, at the same time a strong believer in Prohibition, giving zealous support to the Sons of Temperance. The family are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Jeansville.

CAPTAIN OWEN B. MACKNIGHT, a prominent citizen of Plains, was born in Lan- caster county, Pa., July 15, 1839, and is the only child of John and Maria (Bruner) MacKnight. The father, who was of Scotch-Irish lineage, was a school teacher in early life, and later a Methodist Episcopal clergyman; he went to Ohio to preach, and thence to Missouri, where he died in 1870 at the age of sixty-five years. The mother, who belonged to a family of noted physicians of German origin, and early settlers in Pennsylvania, was a native of Lancaster county, and died when our sub- ject was but seven months old. Young Owen then found a home with his grand- mother, Mrs. Jacob Bruner, also a resident of Lancaster county, with whom he remained until he was sixteen years of age, when he secured a position as clerk in Paradise, Pa. On August 25, 1861, he enlisted at Lancaster, in Company F, Ninth Pennsylvania Cavalry, Ninety-second Pennsylvania Volunteers, Capt. John Wise, who was a noted aeronaut; Gen. E. C. Williams, who acquired much fame in the Mexi- can war, was colonel. This regiment was organized by special order of Simon Cam- eron, and was honored by receiving the name of his daughter, being known as the "Lochiel Cavalry;" Company D, Capt. Jacob Bertals, was from Luzerne county. They entered the United States service, were fully equipped at Harrisburg in the following September, and were then sent by rail to Pittsburgh, thence by boat to Louisville, Ky., where they went into camp on the Indiana side of the river, camp "Andrew Johnson," in the latter part of 1861; in the spring of 1862 they went for- ward, met the main army, and advanced to Green river. The regiment was then divided, and detached to protect the citizens of the State from raiders, and later went to Perryville, where they assisted Gen. Buell in his attack upon Gen. Bragg, after which, with other cavalry, they went on an extended raid through eastern Tennessee, burning bridges on the Eastern Tennessee & Virginia Railroad, in order to prevent reinforcements from reaching Gen. Bragg, who was then in conflict with Gen. Rosecrans at Murfreesboro and Stone River. The summer of 1863 found them with Rosecrans' army, advancing to the Tennessee river in the campaign which ended in the battle of Chickamaugua; they went to the relief of Knoxville, which was sur- rounded by Gen. Longstreet, whom they followed through eastern Tennessee, and went into winter quarters at Mossy creek with no tents except such as could be made with rails and blankets, and scarcely any provision except what they obtained from the surrounding country. In January, 1863, about 600 men and officers re- enlisted, expecting to receive a veteran furlough at once, but they were detained till April, when they were furloughed for thirty days; they arrived in Harrisburg in May, and were disbanded with orders to report in thirty days, which they did about June 1, when the regiment was recruited to 1,200 strong; upon the resignation of Gen. Williams, Thomas J. Jordan assumed the colonelcy of the regiment. They were sent by rail to Indianapolis, thence to Louisville, Ky .; and being thoroughly equipped were ordered thence to join the main army, but owing to the number of raiders in the State, were retained as protection for the citizens till the fall of 1864, when they were ordered to join the main army at Marietta, where Gen. Sherman was preparing for his immortal march to the sea. The chief duty of the cavalry was to protect the infantry and wagon trains from being harassed by the rebel cav- alry, and so effectually did they do this that no such inconvenience whatever was experienced till the army reached Savannah, which Gen. Hardee had fortified; but as soon as Gen. Sherman began to prepare for an attack, he quietly evacuated on a dark and windy night, which news Gen. Sherman telegraphed President Lincoln by

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

way of a Christmas present, as he expressed it at the time. The army then went into camp near the sea-shore, the men, horses and mules living chiefly on rice and rice straw until the supply-ships could land after the reduction of Fort McAllister; then after refitting, recruiting and re-shoeing the horses, the gigantic work of dev- astation was carried on, on nearly the same plan as before, through Georgia and South Carolina till North Carolina was reached, when orders were given to cease the destruction. That State, being somewhat loyal, was saved; the campaign ended at Mount Olive, North Carolina; the regiment participated in the battle of Wayns- boro with severe loss. After this, the army was re-organized and concentrated to meet Gen. Johnson in a final encounter; he was stationed at Raleigh, which he had made extraordinary effort to save, but which he surrendered without an engagement, Lee having surrendered at Appomattox. The infantry then went to Washington and were discharged; but the cavalry were retained till July 15, 1865, when they were mustered out at Lexington, N. C. Capt. MacKnight was continuously with his regiment, and was never wounded or taken prisoner; his only hospital experience was in a private house in Louisville, Ky., during an attack of measles; his valor as a soldier and his knowledge of military tactics were shown by the fact that in Aug- ust, 1862, he was promoted to second lieutenant of Company B; in April, 1863, to first lieutenant of Company M; and in June of the same year, to captain of Com- pany I; at Savannah he was assigned to the staff of Gen. Thomas J. Jordan, com- manding the First Cavalry Brigade of the army of the Cumberland, as acting assistant inspector general, and served in that capacity till the close of the war. In 1866, Elisha A. Hancock, who had lost a leg while doing duty as major at Wayns- boro, but remained in the service till the close of the war, and our subject (two army comrades) again joined hands and engaged in a large general mercantile business in the building now owned and occupied by the latter, and then by John Mitchell. In 1887 Mr. Hancock, who is now residing in Philadelphia, sold out his entire interest in the store to his partner.

We have in Capt. MacKnight a shining example of the success that will crown the wise and untiring efforts of an honest man; he came to Plains with a very small capital, and is now one of the wealthy men of the county; besides his very numerous estates in his own State, he owns a half section of farm and coal land, forty miles north of Bismarck on the Missouri river in McLean county, N. Dak .; he is also director of the Wilkes-Barre & Suburban Railway; the People's Bank of Wilkes- Barre and the Newell Clothing Company of Wilkes-Barre; he is a licensed insur- ance broker, agent for the Hancock estate, and first vice-president of the Life and Reserve Association of Buffalo, N. Y. Capt. MacKnight was married, October 5, 1868, to Miss Annie Gray, of Brick Meeting House, Md. Her father, Rev. Valen- tine Gray, was a Methodist Episcopal minister in the Wilmington Conference. This happy union has been blessed with nine children, viz. : John S., Horace B., Martha A., Owen G., Henry V., Mary L., Taylor N., Donald D. and Elisha Hancock. Capt. and Mrs. MacKnight and three of their children are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is trustee and steward; he is treasurer of the society of the Ninth Regiment of Pennsylvania Cavalry; is a member of the Loyal Legion of Philadelphia, the G. A. R., the I. O. O. F., the A. O. K. of M. C., and the Society of the Army of the Cumberland. He is a Republican in his political views, and was appointed postmaster when Plains postoffice was established in 1867, which he held till 1885; he has been director of the central poor district for fifteen years, and is now president of the board.

DAVID MACDONALD, mine foreman, Parsons, was born in Nova Scotia February 14, 1836, a son of John and Ann (McMillen) Macdonald, natives of Ayrshire, Scotland. His parents removed to Pottsville, Pa., when he was about a year old, where his father worked in the mines for about eight years, afterward living at Beaver Meadow, Brockville, Tuscarora, Jonesville, Clifford, Middle Creek, New Mines, Forestville, Jeddo, Olyphant, Old Forge, Forest City and German's. The subject of our sketch began life for himself at twenty-three, mining at Black Heath.

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He worked in Thomson, Plymouth, Jeddo, and in October, 1870, came to Parsons and had charge of the Laurel Run Slope for two years, after which he went to Olyphant, and from there to Old Forge, where he was inside foreman for about a year. He next moved to Forest City, in the same capacity, working for the Hillside Coal & Iron Company, where he remained about a year, and afterward to Mayfield, where, as inside foreman, he remained about three and a half years. He then came to Parsons, where he has since been inside foreman for the Delaware & Hudson Coal Company, at the Cunningham Shaft. He was married, December 31, 1858, to Sarah Jane, daughter of Richard Cobly, of Thomson, Pa. Of this union were born five children: John, a miner in Wilkes-Barre; Richard, a miner in Parsons; Hugh (deceased); Anna, wife of Robert E. Wallace, a miner in Parsons, and Bennett James (deceased). Mr. Macdonald is a member of the Memorial Presbyterian Church at Wilkes-Barre, a member of the Masonic Lodge and of the Sovereign Patriotic Knights. A Republican of an independent cast, he has served as school director two terms; was elected justice of the peace at Parsons, but did not take ont his commission, and was at one time the Republican candidate for the Legislature from Lackawanna county, and was defeated by only 200 votes, although he was about two thousand ahead of his ticket. Mr. Macdonald's father was the inventor of the well-known blasting-barrel.

EDWARD MACKIN, mine superintendent, Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, Wilkes-Barre, was born in that city February 27, 18-, and is a son of Dennis and Catherine (Huffman) Mackin. The father, who is a native of County Longford, Ireland, came to America in 1835 and settled in Wilkes-Barre, where he was employed in the mines until his death in 1879. His children were six in number, who grew to maturity, viz. : Edward, Ellen (Mrs. James Dowling), Mary (Mrs. Peter Frey), Ann (Mrs. Parsons), Jennie (Mrs. Charles Bray) and Thomas. The mother was a daughter of Mathias and Margaret (Billings) Huffman, granddaughter of Caleb and Ellen (Fisher) Billings, and great-granddaughter of Ruloff Fisher, who settled in Hanover township, this county, in 1752. Our subject was reared in Wilkes-Barre, and educated in the public schools and at Wyoming Seminary, Kings- ton. When eleven years of age he was breaker-boy at the mines, and later learned the machinist's trade. In the Civil war he was a musician in the Fifty-second Penn- sylvania Regiment Band, enlisting in September, 1862, and was honorably discharged after nineteen months' service. In 1864 he was appointed mine superintendent for the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, in which capacity he has served ever since, a period of twenty-eight years. On December 19, 1862, he married Mary, daughter of James and Sarah (Naugle) Dowling, and has six children: Charles, Dennis, Sarah, Florence, Thomas and Kate. He is a member of the Catholic Church; in politics is a Democrat, and has served as member of the city council seven years, and as member of the board of education seven years; he is a member of the G. A. R.

MRS. ELIZABETH MACKIN, hotel-keeper, Pittston, was born in County Monaghan, Ireland, in 1838, and is a daughter of Thomas and Mary Burns, both of whom were born in Ireland, where they lived and died, respected and honored by all who knew them; their family consisted of six children, four of whom are living. Mrs. Mackin was reared and educated in Ireland, and emigrated to this country in 1864, locating in Pittston. Four years previous to her coming to this country she was married, in 1860, to Owen Mackin, by whom she had eight children, five of whom are living: Edward, Mary Ann, Bridget, Elizabeth and Owen F. Mr. Mackin was suffocated in the mines, May 27, 1871, when he was aged forty-four years. Mrs. Mackin owns her own house, a fine modern building, and bas kept hotel since 1885. She is a member of the Roman Catholic Church.

JOHN MAGEE, stationary engineer, No. 12 Slope, Susquehanna Coal Company, Nanticoke, was born in Yorktown, Pa., and was employed around the mines in various capacities until he reached the age of sixteen, when he was employed as stationary engineer by James Taggert, a coal operator of Yorktown. He filled this position until 1862, when he enlisted in Company F, Forty eighth Pennsylvania

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

Volunteers, under Capt. Haskins, and participated in the following engagements: Second Bull Run, Chantilly, Fredericksburg, Antietam, South Mountain, and several minor engagements and skirmishes. He was mustered out of service at the close of the war at Black's Cross Roads, Tenn. He returned to Yorktown and remained a short time, then removed to Wilkes-Barre, remaining two years, and then removed to Nanticoke, where he has since remained. Mr. Magee was married, in 1879, to Miss Margaret Clark, of Nanticoke. They have five children: James, Frank, John, Nora and Mary. Mr Magee has made engineering the chief occupa- tion of his life. In politics he is a loyal Democrat.

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History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 168

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