History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 174

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

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PROF. CLARENCE B. MILLER, superintendent of public schools, Nanticoke, is a native of Tunkhannock, Pa., born September 8, 1860, a son of Horace S. and Alice (Sleight) Miller, both natives of Pennsylvania, the former of New England origin, and the latter a descendant of some of the early Quaker families who settled near Phila- delphia. Horace S. Miller was a member of Company E, Forty-first P. V., and was killed at Fort Fisher, leaving a widow (who still resides at Tunkhannock) and two children, viz .: Clarence B. and Helen (Mrs. P. Asheld, of Tunkhannock). The subject of this memoir received his preliminary education at the Soldiers' Orphan School, at Mansfield. He then entered the State Normal School, at Mansfield, where he was graduated in the class of 1878. After teaching one year at Blackwalnut, Pa., he returned to the Normal School and took a post-graduate course of one year, after which he came to Tunkhannock, and served as principal of the public school there for one year. He then went to Plains, Pa., where he was also principal of the public schools one year. In 1884, Prof. Miller removed to Northumberland, where he was also appointed principal of the public schoole, remaining there until 1885, when he came to Nanticoke and accepted his present position, which he has since occupied. He was married March 6, 1886, to Miss Gertrude Harder, of Bloomsburg. This union has been blessed with two children, Horace S. and Clarence L. Mr. Miller is a member of the Sons of Veterans, Nanticoke Commandery, and in his political views he is a Republican.

C. R. MILLER, furniture dealer, Plymouth, was born at Espy, Columbia county, August 26, 1864, and is the only child of John and Mary (Case) Miller, also nativea of Pennsylvania. Mr. Miller was educated in the public schools of Columbia county, where he received a thorough training. After completing his course he engaged with J. W. Campbell, contractor and builder, as carpenter, working with him until 1889, when he engaged in the furniture business. His finely equipped store, at No. 37 Main street, is ample proof of his success as a business man. Mr. Miller was united in marriage, November 11, 1889, with Miss Amelia, daughter of Charles and Maggie (Abbott) Troop, residents of Espy, Pa., and one child hae blessed this union: Thomas B., born November 18, 1890. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are members of the Methodist Church, and in politics Mr. Miller has always been closely identified with the Republican party. Our subject is pleasant and courteous to all with whom he comes in contact, whether in a business or a social way, and it is safe to predict that the furniture enterprise, in which he embarked, will in a short time be one of the foremost enterprises in the borough.

C. W. MILLER, foreman, Stone Quarries, Shickshinny, was born in Union town- ship, this county, March 22, 1841, a son of Daniel and Rachel (Miller) Miller. The paternal grandfather, George Miller, of German descent, was a pioneer of Plaine, this county; was a farmer, residing in Union township for years, and died in Wilkes-

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

Barre. The maternal grandfather was Jacob Miller, a farmer of Uniou township. Daniel Miller, father of subject was born in Plains, and for many years was a resi- dent of Union township, where he died. His children were Conrad W., Sarah J. (Mrs. John Bierman), Anna M. (Mrs. J. Swicher), Frances E. (Mrs. John Tucker), Eliza (Mrs. Charles Shaffer), Moses, Marian (Mrs. Byron Davenport), Helen C. (Mrs. Joseph Harrison), and Charles S. Our subject was reared in Union town- ship. On April 24, 1861, he enlisted in Company A, Fifteenth Pennsylvania Vol- unteers, and was discharged August 7, 1861. On January 15, 1862; he joined, as sergeant, Company G, Fifty-sixth Pennsylvania Regiment, and was discharged February 12, 1864; he re-enlisted in same company, same regiment, as veteran, and January 7, 1865, was transferred to the One Hundred and Fifth Reserve Corps, Second Battalion; he was discharged from the service May 11, 1865, on account of wounds received at Petersburg, Va., June 18, 1864. Since the war Mr. Miller has resided at Shickshinny, and has been foreman of the Shickshinny Stone Quarries eighteen years. . He married on September 22, 1867, Sarah McCloskey, of Montour county, Pa., and has two children living: Charles and Maggie. Mr. Miller is a member of the M. E. Church, and of the G. A. R .; in politics he is a Republican.

DANIEL MILLER, miner, Plymouth, was born September 7, 1855, at Fairmount, Luzerne Co., Pa., and is the fifth in a family of ten children born to Jesse and Elizabeth (Rude) Miller, natives of Luzerne county. Daniel was reared on a farm, and at the age of seventeen, began working about the mines at Parsons, where he did general work for seven years, when he went to "cutting coal " and continued there as a miner for three years. At the end of this time he returned to the farm, and tilled the soil for two years, coming at the end of that time to Plymouth, where he engaged in mining at the Parrish Mine, where he has since been continuously employed. Mr. Miller was united in marriage, August 24, 1880, with Miss Joseph- ine Quick, of Great Bend, Pa. To this union have been born six children, as follows: Charles F., born January 27, 1882; Harry, born September 10, 1883; Jessie, born January 8, 1885; Daniel, born August 29, 1886; John, born March 10, 1888; and Hugh, born October 20, 1889. Mr. Miller is a Prohibitionist in politics, and in 1881 was elected constable for three years, but, removing from the ward, he only served one year. He is a member of the O. U. A. M. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

ELIJAH F. MILLER, dairyman, Fairview township, P. O. Mountain Top, was born in Wright (now Fairview) township, this county, February 20, 1855, and is a son of Peter and Syble (Richards) Miller, both natives of Pennsylvania, and who were among Fairview (formerly part of Wright township) township's earliest set- tlers. They reared a family of nine children, of whom Elijah F. is the third eldest. He attended the common schools in his native town until he was sixteen years old, when he entered the Wyoming Seminary and took a commercial course. After attending the seminary, he came home to work in his father's store, which he did until his father quit business, when he went to work on the railroad as a brakeman, continuing there two years, or until the strike commenced. He then commenced work in a dairy in Wright township, in which he remained about one year; he next went to Chester county, this State, and followed the same work for a short time, when he returned home, on account of sickness which resulted in the death of his old- est brother. In his native place he worked for a time, and then went to work in the Penobscot yard for the Central Railroad of New Jersey. After a year he engaged with a Philadelphia publishing house, and in the following year he commenced braking on the railroad again, continuing that occupation until 1883, when he embarked in the milk business. In 1884 he operated a farm at Glen Summit for the Glen Summit Hotel and Land Company, still following the milk business. The next year he gave his whole attention to his dairy in Fairview township, and still follows that industry. In 1881 Mr. Miller was married to Mary V., daughter of A. J. and Phoebe Meeker, both natives of this State, of Irish and French descent, respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have three children, viz. : Max A., Forsythe E.

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

and Walter. Mr. Miller is a member of the I. O. O. F. and of the Royal Arcanum at Mountain Top. In politics, he is a Democrat, and has held several township offices. Under Cleveland's administration he was postmaster at Mountain Top.

GEORGE H. MILLER, farmer and lumberman, P. O. Dupont, was born in Bavaria, Germany, March 22, 1834, a son of John and Hannah Miller, both also natives of Germany, in which country they died, the former at the age of fifty-two years, the latter at the age of sixty-two. Their family consisted of four children, all of whom grew to maturity, and three of them are now living, George H. being the second in the family. In 1857 he emigrated to this country, locating near Stroudsburg, Mon- roe Co., Pa., where he resided about eighteen years, a successful farmer and lum- berman, in both which occupations he is well versed. In 1858 he married Miss Mary B., daughter of Joseph Wagner, and by her he had twelve children, of whom are living John, Catherine, Anna, Fredrick, Josiah and Andrew. In 1869 he removed to this county, locating in Pittston township, where he now resides on a fifty-acre farm which he has improved in various ways. Besides this small farm he has 120 acres of valuable land, and he is a practical agriculturist and business man. Politically, he is a Democrat, and has held several offices in other counties, thus showing that he was as popular elsewhere as he is here. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., Lodge No. 721.

G. P. MILLER, proprietor of the "Central Hotel," Nescopeck, was born in that village November 4, 1853, a son of Peter and Elizabeth (Hufnagle) Miller. His paternal grandfather, Peter Miller, a native of Germany, in the early part of the present century settled in Lancaster county, Pa., and died there. His maternal grandfather, George Hufnagle, a farmer and carpenter, was a resident of Nescopeck, where he died, and he is buried in Mifflin township, adjoining. He was the first man to erect a building in Nescopeck township by square rule. Peter Miller, father of our subject, was a native of Lancaster county, Pa., was a carpenter by trade, and settled in Nescopeck about 1849, dying there August 18, 1862. His children were three in number: Harriet H. (Mrs. Benjamin Eddy), George P., and Lewis H. (deceased). Our subject was reared in Nescopeck, and learned the carpenter's trade which he followed four years. Since 1882 he has been the proprietor of the "Central Hotel," which he erected himself, and he is a popular landlord. On December 15, 1885, he married Laura H., daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Creasey) Creasey, of Mifflin township, Columbia Co., Pa., and they have one daughter, Blanche L. Politically Mr. Miller is a Democrat.

IRVIN D. MILLER, fireman and engineer, Ashley, was born in Rockport, Carbon Co., Pa., December 29, 1856. a son of George E. and Elizabeth (Whitebread) Miller, natives of Pennsylvania and of English and German origin. His parents had four children, viz. : Ellen, who died at the age of twelve years; James E., liveryman, White Haven; Irvin D., and Minnie (Mrs. Jacob Schetzel). In 1861 the family removed to White Haven, where the father engaged in lumber contracting. Our subject worked at rafting on the Lehigh river three years, and then in the woods at Williamsport one summer, and on the West Branch one year. He was then brake- man on the Lehigh Valley Railroad three years, fired three years, and in 1876 was promoted to engineer. In the strike of 1877 he was discharged snd arrested, but was cleared. In 1878-79 he was in Colorado, and worked on the D. R. G. and at various kinds of business. He then went to Philadelphia and worked for the Knickerbocker Ice Company until January, 1882, when he became brakeman on the Central Road, a place he filled six years. He has since been fireman and extra engineer, and has never been suspended or called into the office. Mr. Miller was married, November 17, 1880, to Miss Emily Sherer, daughter of Samuel Sherer, of Hawley, Pa., and by her had eight children, five of whom are living, viz. : David C., Margaret E . James E., Florence and Hazel K. Our subject is a member of the B. L. F., K. of H., and is a Republican in his political views.

IRWIN MILLER, farmer, P. O. Exeter, was born at Tunkhannock, Pa,, May 9, 1833, and is a son of George and Mary (Jenkins) Miller, both of whom were also born in

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

Tunkhannock. George was a son of John, who was one of the early settlers of that section, a man of large experience, and respected for his intrinsic worth. He lived to a good old age, and reared a family of four children. His son George began business in Tunkhannock, and although he was naturally a farmer, and the son of a farmer, he varied in his pursuits in life. He was for some years a hotel-keeper, and also engaged in other enterprises. He was a thorough-going business man, and had some local influence in the Republican party. He removed to this county in 1840, locating in Exeter township on a farm of 200 acres, upon which were very few improvements; but, through a thorough knowledge of agriculture and a close attention to those principles always underlying successful effort, he caused the primitive forest to give way to the golden harvests, and the modern mansion to succeed the rude log cabin. He died in 1885 at the age of eighty-three years. His family consisted of five children, all of whom grew to maturity and are now living. Irwin is the second in the family, and was reared and educated in Exeter township, spending several terms in the Kingston school. He always confined himself to agricultural pursuits. In 1862 Mr. Miller married Miss Falla, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Sharp, by whom he had four children: A. D. (married to Miss Ida Fitch), George, Maude and Martha. Since his marriage Mr. Miller has lived on the property formerly owned by his father, it being divided between himself and his younger brother. He is a practical and general farmer. Politically he is a Repub- lican, and has held various offices in the township, and is at present postmaster at Exeter.

JACOB H. MILLER, grocer, Wilkes-Barre, was born in Canton Schaffhausen, Switzer- land, February 18, 1843, a son of Samuel and Verona (Bollenger) Miller. He was reared and educated in his native country, and in 1864 came to America, locating in Allentown, Pa., where he learned the trade of marble-cutter. In 1867 he settled in Wilkes-Barre, where for ten years he was foreman in the marble works of H. C. Hirner. In 1877 he embarked in the grocery business, in which he has since con- tinued. On February 4, 1869, Mr. Miller married Anna D., daughter of Henry C. and Fredericka (Hiller) Hirner, of Wilkes-Barre, and seven children have been born to this union, viz. : Marie J., Sarah, Harry, Otelia, Frank, Fred and Verona. He is a member of the German Reformed Church and of the K. of P. and Sængerbund; in politics he is a Democrat.

JEREMIAH MILLER, farmer, P. O. Sybertsville, was born June 6, 1841, in Sugar- Loaf township, on the farm where he now resides, a son of Abraham and Mary (Yost) Miller. His paternal grandfather, Abraham Miller, formerly of Upper Mil- ford, Northampton Co., Pa., settled in 1818 in Sugar Loaf township, where he took up five hundred acres of land, cleared and improved the farm now occupied by sub- ject, and died there. By his wife, Mary, he had six children: John, Abraham, Andrew, George, Polly (Mrs. Jacob Minnich), and Elizabeth (Mrs. John Turnbach), of whom Abraham (father of subject) was born in Upper Milford, Northampton Co., Pa., came to Sugar Loaf with his parents, in 1818, and lived and died on the homestead. His wife was a daughter of Philp Yost, of Sugar Loaf, and his children were: Sarah (Mrs. David Lindner), Henry D., Eliza (Mrs. Reuben Balliet), Jere- miah, Maria (Mrs. A. William Santee), William S., Rachel, John A. and Lucetta (Mrs. George D. Pettit). Our subject was reared on the old homestead where, with the exception of one year, he has always resided. He was educated in the common schools, and has always followed farming. He married, September 3, 1865, Lanah, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Sipe) Wagner, of Black Creek town- ship, and has two children, Laird E. and Ada M. Mr. Miller is a member of the English Lutheran Church; in politics he is a Democrat, and has held the offices of school director and overseer of poor.

JOHN MILLER, farmer, P. O. Conyngham, was born in Nescopeck township, this county, September 24, 1841, a son of George and Catherine (Nuss) Miller. His paternal grandfather, Adam Miller, was a pioneer of Nescopeck township, and his maternal grandfather, Jacob Nuss, a pioneer of Mifflin, Columbia Co., Pa. George

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

Miller, father of our subject, was a farmer of Nescopeck township, where he died. His children were Nathan, Caroline (Mrs. Jacob Lebison), Polly (Mrs. John Kis- bauch), Sally A. (Mrs. John Whitnicht), Adam, William, John, Jacob, Henry and Maria (Mrs. Levi Kisbauch). Our subject was reared in Nescopeck township; he has always been a farmer, and has resided in Sugar Loaf township since 1890. He mar- ried Susannah, daughter of David and Elizabeth (Miller) Hunsinger, of Black Creek township, and they have thirteen children: William J., Almira C. (Mrs. Milton Naugle), Anna L. (Mrs. George Haycock), Harvey E., Mary E. (Mrs. John Kile), Charles F., Ernest E., Caroline A., Daniel A., John R., Lillie A., Hattie M. and Herbert W. Mr. Miller and family are members of the Lutheran Church; in pol- itics he is a Democrat.

LEONARD W. MILLER, furniture dealer and undertaker, Plains, was born in Plainsville, March 9, 1854, and is a son of John and Catherine P. (Aten) Miller, the former a native of Plymouth, Pa., and of Dutch origin, the latter a native of Pittston, Pa., and of Jersey-Dutch and Scotch lineage. In their family there were six children, of whom Leonard W. is the fifth. When our subject began in life for himself, he worked at the plastering trade for four years, and then at the carpen- ter's trade for six years, and engaged, in 1886, in his present business. Mr. Miller was married, September 27, 1883, to Miss Mollie Wintersteen, and they have three children, viz. : Philip J., born November 8, 1884; Eleanor W., born September 28, 1888; and Jackson S., born September 10, 1891. Mr. Miller is a member of the I. O. O. F. and Encampment, the P. O. S. of A .. the Improved Order of Red Men, and the Pocahontas degree of Red Men, and the Undertakers' Association of Luzerne county. He is a Democrat in politics, and was the first tax-collector elected in Plains township; he has also acted as county committeeman.

THOMAS T. MILLER, contractor for painting, Wilkes-Barre, was born at Peters- ville, Northampton Co., Pa., January 21, 1849, a son of Samuel P. and Rebecca (Gross) Miller. His paternal great-grandfather, Peter Miller, was one of the Sign- ers of the Declaration of Independence. Our subject was reared and educated in Northampton and Carbon counties, and served an apprenticeship of four years at the painter's trade, in Carbon county, Pa., following the business as a journeyman twenty years. He has been a resident of Wilkes-Barre since 1872, and in 1892 engaged in business as a contractor. In September, 1868, he married Anna Maria, daughter of Lewis and Rebecca (Sleiger) Roht, of Slatington, Carbon Co., Pa., and has eight children living, viz. : Lewis, Lizzie (Mrs. William Winter), Rebecca (Mrs. Wellington A. Gruver), Eugene T., Estella, Herbert, Emma and Walter, He is a member of Improved Order of Red Men, and in politics is a Republican.

THOMAS F. MIMFORD, mine foreman, Diamond Colliery No. 3, Hazleton. Among the many mine foremen who have charge of the large mines throughout Luzerne county, none are more genial or popular than the one whose name heads this sketch. Thomas F. Mimford was born in Hazleton, December 31, 1860, and is a son of Thomas and Margaret Fatkin Mimford, also natives of Luzerne county. The father of our subject laid down his life for his country at the fierce fight before Richmond. The mother with her little family, now left fatherless, removed to Philadelphia, where she remained until our subject was five years of age; the family then returned to Hazleton, where Thomas, by perseverance, energy and hard study under private tutors, received a fair common-school education. At the age of nine years he began work about the mines, doing almost everything that pertains to mining. At the age of twenty-two he was appointed assistant mine foreman under Peter Watson (now deceased) at Hazleton Mine Colliery, where he served four years. In 1887 he was promoted to foreman of the Hazleton Mines Colliery, where he was foreman, in all, about three years. In 1890 Mr. Mimford accepted his present position at the Diamond Colliery No. 3, where he has since been employed. He has under his supervision 100 men, who mine about 700 tous of coal daily. Our subject was united in marriage, August 30, 1883, with Miss Bessie, daughter of Henry and Alice (Har- vey) Polgrean, natives of Cornwall, England. Two children have blessed this union,

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

viz. : Wilbert Henry and Geneva. In political matters Mr. Mimford is an ardent Republican; he is a member of the Sons of America. The family attend the Meth- odist Episcopal Church.

CHARLES ABBOTT MINER comes of a family that traces its lineage back without a break in, or a doubt of the authenticity of the line, to Henry Miner who was knighted by King Edward III. " for valorous deeds done," and died in 1359. Descendants of this man were among the earliest comers to America, Thomas Miner landing in Connecticut in 1643. A great-great-grandson of Thomas, named Seth, born at Nor- wich, Conn., in 1742, was one of the earliest of the officers commissioned for service in the Revolution. His son, Charles Miner, came to the Wyoming Valley to look after land interests which his father, as a member of the Connecticut Delaware Land Company, had acquired therein. Asher, another of Seth's sons, also came to the Valley shortly afterward, and began the publication of the Luzerne county Federalist in Wilkes-Barre, January 5, 1801. He subsequently took his brother Charles into partnership, and in 1804 relinquished his interest to Charles (afterward the historian of the county), and went to Doylestown, Bucks Co., Pa., where he established what is now the Intelligencer, the leading Republican paper of its vicinity. He was post- master at Doylestown for several years. In 1818 he sold his paper to Philadelphia parties, and going to West Chester published there the Village Record, which is still issuing, and is a recognized power in the journalistic world. In 1834 he sold the publication, and returned to Wilkes-Barre, where he died March 13, 1841. His wife was Mary, a daughter of Thomas Wright, who was born in Ireland, and was a wealthy merchant and landowner in Wilkes-Barre. Mr. Wright was the founder of Wrightsville, now the borough of Miners Mills. He built a mill there in 1795, which has been in the possession of his descendants ever since. Of this union were born thirteen children, of whom Robert (the father of the immediate subject of this sketch) was the third child and second son. He married Eliza Abbott, a daughter of Stephen Abbott, a well-to-do farmer and a descendant of an early Wyoming family, representatives of which served gallantly and suffered severely in its defense against the incursions of the Indians.

Charles Abbott Miner is a son of Robert and Eliza (Abbott) Miner, and was born in Plains township August 30, 1830. He was educated at the Wilkes-Barre Academy, and at the academy at West Chester, Pa. Since coming of age he has been engaged in the milling business on the site of the mill first built by his maternal grandfather in 1795. Mr. Miner has been prominent in nearly all of Wilkes-Barre's industrial enterprises. For nearly a quarter of a century he has been a director of the Wyoming National Bank, and is now its vice-president. For fifteen years he was president of the Coalville (Ashley) Passenger Railway Company, and was always in its directory. He has been president of the board of directors of the Wilkes-Barre City Hospital, excepting one year since its organization; president of the Harry Hillman Academy; president of the Luzerne Agricultural Society; president of the State Millers Association, and an officer or stockholder in many other State and local institutions. He attended the Vienna (Austria) World's Exposition in 1873, as an honorary commissioner of the State. Has been a member of the Geological State Survey since 1877. He represented Wilkes-Barre in the State House of Repre- sentatives for three terms, from 1875 to 1880, inclusive. In 1881 he was the Republican candidate for State Senator, but the district was Democratic, and he was defeated by Hon. Eckley B. Coxe. On January 19, 1853, Mr. Miner married Eliza Ross Atherton, a daughter of Elisha and Caroline Ross (Maffet) Atherton. Both the Ross and Maffet families have been conspicuously identified with the history and interests of the Valley. Mr. and Mrs. Miner have four children: Asher Miner, in partner- ship with his father in the milling business; Elizabeth Miner; Sidney Robie Miner, a graduate of Harvard, and a member of the Luzerne bar; and Charles Howard Miner, a graduate of Princeton and a student at the Medical University of Pennsyl- vania. Mr. and Mrs. Miner are members of the Episcopal Church, of which he has been for a number of years a vestryman.

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History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 174

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