History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 221

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 221

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Krell, he took a special course in banking, and after several years' service in the bank, was promoted to the position of teller. In 1890, when the Hazleton National Bank was organized, he was elected teller of that institution, but resigned that posi- tion to take the office of prothonotary of Luzerne county, to which he was elected in November, 1891. His first move in politics was in the spring of 1884, when he was elected auditor of Hazleton borough, and in 1886 he was elected tax collector of Hazleton by a flattering majority. He was re-elected in 1888, and was elected a treasurer of the school board in June, 1891. On September 20, 1888, Mr. Wiegand was married to Harriet, daughter of Joshua Fetterman, of Bloomsburg. In all the positions he has held, Mr. Wiegand has shown an ability and integrity of the high- est order, and has established himself in the confidence of the community.

VALENTINE WIEH, proprietor of Washington Market, Wilkes-Barre, was born in Bavaria, Germany, February 15, 1845, a son of Michael and Mary (Eber) Wieh. He lived in Germany until fourteen years of age, and in 1858 came to America, locating in Wilkes-Barre, this county, where he apprenticed himself to the butcher's trade. In February, 1865, he enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Fourth Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served until August 25, of the same year, when he was honorably discharged. He returned to Wilkes-Barre, and in 1866 embarked in business for himself, in which he has since successfully continued, and is now the proprietor of one of the finest markets in the city. April 25, 1867, Mr. Wieh mar- ried Miss Mary, daughter of Morris and Mary Engel, of Wilkes-Barre, and has three children living: William, Jennie and Minnie. He attends the Presbyterian Church, and, politically, is independent.

HENRY WILBUR, horse and mule dealer, Wilkes-Barre, was born in Carbondale, Luzerne (now Lackawanna) county, in September, 1832, and is a son of Reuben and Laura M. (Norton) Wilbur. His paternal grandfather, Christopher E. Wilbur, a native of the State of New York, settled at Carbondale about the year 1800. He was a wheelwright, and made spinning wheels, which he disposed of among the families of that vicinity. He resided in Carbondale over fifty years, and died on a farm near Hollisterville. The father of our subject spent most of his life in what is now Lackawanna county. He was a farmer and hotel-keeper, his hotel being known as the "Four Mile Tavern,"' in Carbondale township, where he died in 1848. His first wife was Laura M., a daughter of John Norton, formerly of New Jersey, and a pioneer farmer of Lackawanna county. His second wife was Mary A. Moffatt. He reared a family of twelve children. The subject of this sketch was reared in Carbondale township until sixteen years of age, when he started in life for himself. At the age of nineteen he embarked in the livery business at Hawley, in which he continued three years; then located at Pittston, where he was under contract to deliver coal for the Pennsylvania Coal Company nine years, and for two years ran a bus line and livery. In 1865 he located in Wilkes-Barre, where he kept a boarding stable two years, and ran a stage line to Pittston one year, after which he was three years engaged with Hillard Bros., in the manufacture of brick. Since 1871 he has been successfully engaged in his present business. In 1857 Mr. Wil- bur married Elizabeth, daughter of John Hudson, of Carbondale. This wife dying, he married, for his second wife, Mary A., daughter of Jacob Fell, of Pittston, by whom he has one daughter, Elizabeth M. Mr. Wilbur is a member of the Pres- byterian Church, and in politics is a Republican.

DANIEL DENNIS WILOOX, was born January 15, 1835, in what is now Plains town- ship, a son of Isaac and Sarah (Stark) Wilcox, natives of Dutchess county, N. Y., and of Plains, Pa., respectively, and of English origin. He is a grandson of Isaac Wilcox; his grandmother, Nancy (Newcomb) Wilcox, was at Forty Fort at the time of the Wyoming Massacre. He is a great-grandson of Aaron Stark, who fell in the battle of Wyoming, July 3, 1778. In his father's family there were seven children, of whom he is the sixth in order of birth. He was reared on the farm, receiving his education in the common schools and at Charlotteville, N. Y. He enlisted at Wilkes-Barre June 10, 1861, in Company F, Seventh Pennsylvania Reserves, par-

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ticipating in the following engagements: Mechanicsville, Gaines Hill, White Oak Swamp, Bull Run (Second), South Mountain and Antietam, and was discharged on surgeon's certificate of disability, October 18, 1862, returning home. When Lee invaded his native State in 1863, he enlisted in Company K, Thirtieth Pennsylvania, Emergency men; went to Harrisburg, Cumberland Valley, and remained in service until Lee was driven from the State. In 1870-71 he was engaged in the livery bus- iness, and in 1875-76 in the grocery business at Plains. Mr. Wilcox was married, November 30, 1865, to Miss Rebecca, daughter of Thomas and Catherine (Hartman) Stocker, natives of Northampton and Berks counties, respectively, and of German origin. This happy union has been blessed with three sons and one daughter, viz .: William S., born October 17, 1866, was graduated at the New England Conserva- tory of Music at Boston in 1887, and is now teacher and composer of music, also piano tuner, at Plains (he married Miss Clara Louise Becker, of Boston, by whom he has two children, Bernard, born February 25, 1889, and Daniel Stark, born April 7, 1892); Thomas and Isaac (twins), born January 30, 1871 (Thomas died July 17, 1871, and Isaac July 21, same year); and Catharine A., born November 14, 1872. Mr. Wilcox is a member of the Sons of Temperance, a trustee of Plains Presbyterian Church, and in his political views is a Republican.

JOHN D. WILCOX, farmer, P. O., Plains, was born in what is now Plains town- ship, May 28, 1828, and is the third child born to Isaac Wilcox. Our subject spent his boyhood on the farm, was educated in the common schools and in the Wilkes- Barre graded school, and assisted his father on the farm until 1856. He was then engaged for two years on the construction of a railroad between Galesburgh and Bur- lington, Wis., since which time he has given his attention chiefly to farming. Mr. Wilcox was married, July 3, 1884, to Miss Augusta C., daughter of William and Mary (Head) Stark, natives of Tompkins county, N. Y., and of English and Dutch origin, respectively. Their union has been blessed with three children: Adelaide, born August 2, 1890; Louise, born September 23, 1885, died August 7, 1886; and John, born January 28, 1888, died March 27, 1888. Mr. Wilcox is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he is deacon, trustee and steward; and has been a teacher in the Sunday-school for thirty years; he is a member of the I. O. O. F. and Encampment, the P. O. S. of A., and the Sons of Temperance; in politics he is a Republican.

C. B. WILcox, brick manufacturer and general builder, Kingston. Among the enterprising business men of Kingston may well be counted the gentleman whose name heads this memoir. He was born in Kingston, November 10, 1848, and is a son of E. Brown and Nancy (Maxfield) Wilcox, both natives of Pennsylvania, the former of Irish descent, and the latter of New England origin. Mr. Wilcox was educated in the common schools of Luzerne county, and began life for himself, embarking in his present business in Kingston, where he has since been engaged. He is doing a very extensive trade in the line of brick manufacturing, as well as in general building and contracting. Mr. Wilcox was married, January 15, 1876, to Miss Jennie, daughter of Robert Major, of Lehman, Luzerne county. This union has been blessed with three children, viz .: Elmer H., Bertha and Martha. Our subject and his family are members of the Methodist Church. Politically he is a Republican.

FRANKLIN J. WILCox, farmer, P. O. Lehman, was born in Jackson township, August 11, 1854. He is a son of William S. and Anna M. (Mandeville) Wilcox, the former of whom was born in Orange county, N. Y., March 3, 1824, the latter in Jackson township, this county. William S. is a son of Joseph, who was a pros- perous farmer in Orange County, N. Y., and moved to this county in about 1833, locating in Jackson township, near "Brown's Corners." In his early life Joseph was a poor boy, but, by commendable perseverance and economy, he has accumu- lated a comfortable home with pleasant surroundings. He is now living in Canton, Bradford Co., Pa., at the age of eighty-nine years. His family consisted of eight daughters and three sons; five daughters and three sons are now living. His son,

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William S., is a man of ability, and in his early life he taught school with marked success. He began his active life in Jackson township, where he has successfully followed farming as his life vocation; he is living on his farm of 114 acres of well- improved land; he also owns seventy-five acres, on which his son Franklin J. lives. He has been honored with several township offices, which he has filled with honor, serv- ing as tax collector several terms. His family consisted of six children, four living. Franklin J. is the third in the family, and was reared and educated in his township at the common schools. From his youth up he has confined himself to farming. At the age of twenty-four, on June 2, 1878, he married, at Plymouth, Miss Laura C., daughter of John and Rachel Anderson. They have had three children, two of whom are now living: Archie F. and Burton R. W. H. is deceased. Mrs. Laura C. Wilcox was born in Kingston September 23, 1854. Mr. Wilcox is a practical farmer, and a man whose word is as good as his note. He is hospitable to a fault, and his estimable wife vies with him in entertaining and making at ease those who come under their roof. They are well known and highly appreciated for their worth in the community. Both are members, in full fellowship, of the Christian Church.

SAMUEL WILCOX (deceased), who in his lifetime was a prominent farmer of Hunt- ington township, was born August 31, 1801, a son of Crandall and Juanna Wilcox, and a grandson of Isaac Wilcox. Our subject was the third child in a family of ten, two of whom are now living, and was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools. He was a coal operator in his early life, and in 1866 bought the present Wilcox farm, following farming until his death, which occurred November 6, 1887, when he was aged eighty-six years. Mr. Wilcox was married, July 3, 1842, to Miss Eleanor Killmer, of Plains township, which union was blessed with twelve children, seven of whom are living, viz. : Hannah L. (Mrs. J. S. Jenkins, of Plains); Mar- garet J. (Mrs. Peter L. Mellick, of Huntington township); James, a farmer at Waterton, Pa .; Mary and Clara, both at home; Samuel, living in Iowa; and Luther P., who conducts the farm.

B. W. WILDE, Hazleton, was born near Pottsville, Pa., in 1854. His father was a native of Yorkshire, England. His maternal ancestors (Beck) emigrated from Germany at the beginning of the present century, and settled near Philadelphia, where his mother was born. Mr. Wilde became a resident of Hazleton, in 1870, soon after which time he entered the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Com- pany, in their shops, and learned the trade of a machinist, at which business he was employed until 1890, when he resigned the position of assistant general foreman of the works to accept that of postmaster at Hazleton. Mr. Wilde has been a stanch Republican all his life, and has served his party on every occasion, yet never before held public office, except during 1886. Upon the death of P. B. Conner, a member of the borough council, he was, without his knowledge, elected by the council to fill the vacancy. In 1882, Mr. Wilde married Miss Isabelle, daughter of William Mc- Donald, and by her he has two children: Florence, aged (1892) eight years, and Walter, aged six years.

ALVIN WILDONER, farmer, lumberman and merchant, Hunlock Creek, was born in Hunlock township, October 18, 1842, where he was also reared and educated. He is a son of John and Ann (Van Horn) Wildoner, the former of whom was born in Hanover township in 1806, the latter in Mouut Bethel, Northampton county, in 1813. John was a son of George, who was born in Germany, and who, after emi- grating to this country, located in Hanover township, where he owned a large farm. He was a hard-working, energetic man, and an old pioneer. He reared a family of seven children, all of whom are now dead. His son, John Wildoner, began his business career in Huntington township, on a farm on which he lived but a short time, when he sold it and removed to Union township, ou a farm of ninety acres, where he resided for thirty years. He then removed to Hunlock Creek, on the Joseph Sorber estate of 140 acres, which his two sons George and Alvin purchased, and on which he resided the rest of his life. John Wildoner was a practical farmer and an honest, industrious man. He died in 1877 at the age of seventy-two years.

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His family numbered ten children, eight of whom are now living. Alvin is the fourth in order of birth, and has always lived in his native township. His perma- nent occupation has been lumbering and farming. July 4, 1867, he married Miss Susanna Moss, who was born in Ross township, May 6, 1847, daughter of Peter G. and Lydia Moss. To this union have been born five children, all of whom are yet living: Harry, Asher, Charles, Lillie and Viola. In 1868 Mr. and Mrs. Wildoner removed to their present place of residence, a farm of seventy acres, on which is situated a valuable mill property. Our subject embarked in the mercantile business in 1884, keeping a general store. Politically he is. a Republican, and . has filled several township offices; he is quite popular in his neighborhood.

SAMUEL WILKINS, farmer, P. O. Meeker, was born in Easton, Pa., January 1, 1818, son of John and Barbara (Getter) Wilkins, both of whom are supposed to have been born in Northampton county, of German parents. Mr. Wilkins, having lost his parents when very young, knows very little about them. He is a man of a varied experience of local travel, and was at one time extensively engaged in the mercantile business. He has a farm of fifty-four acres, on which he moved in 1883. Our subject has been elected to several township offices, and, politically, he is a Democrat. In 1860 he was married, at Elmira, N. Y., to Jeanette Baldwin. She was born in Jackson township, a daughter of Jered R. and Mary (Baker) Baldwin; the former a native of Newark, N. Y., the latter of Huntington township, this county. Jered was a son of Nathaniel Baldwin, and came to this county when he was nineteen years of age, locating near Huntsville in Jackson township. He was a man of marked ability and influence, being honored by several offices, at one time being commissioner's clerk, and holding the office of justice of the peace for forty years, having been appointed to that position by the governor before the election

law came into force. He worked for Joseph Reynolds, and finally married his adopted daughter Mary, by whom he had ten children, seven of whom grew to matu- rity, and three are now living. Mrs. Jeanette (Baldwin) Wilkins was reared in Jackson and Wilkes-Barre, and taught school in her early life. She is a lady of refinement and culture. To the union of Samuel and Jeanette Wilkins have been born three children: Anna M., Margery E. and Fredrick. Margery E. married Dr. C. O. Harrison, of Plymouth; Anna M. is a successful teacher in Plymouth; Fredrick is also a teacher of marked ability.

E. L. WILKINSON, M. D., Lehman, was born in Huntington township, Septem- ber 23, 1860, and is a son of A. H. and Matilda (Walton) Wilkinson, both of whom were born in this county; A. H. is a son of Alvin, who was either born in this county or came to it when he was very young, locating in Ross township. He was a thorough-going man, the owner of a large tract of land which he utilized to the best advantage; he was not only an extensive farmer, but also a merchant of some ability. He also held several important local offices, which he filled with credit. He lived to be over ninety years of age, and died in the year 1885; his family consisted of seven children, five of whom are now living. His son A. H. began life in Huntington on a farm of one hundred acres, on which there were neither buildings nor improvements; but, being a young man full of energy and de- termination, he brought the wild land under cultivation, and built a handsome dwell- ing house thereon, of which the owner may be proud. He is an extensive' lumber manufacturer, owning a sawmill in which he saws his own lumber. He is a man of influence, and, like his father, has served his town and county as a loyal citizen; he is now in the enjoyment of good health. His family numbered ten children, seven of whom grew to maturity and are now living. E. L. is the seventh in the family, and was reared and educated in Huntington township. He began the study of medicine with Dr. H. J. Colley, of Lehman, where he spent three years. In the meantime he attended lectures, and in 1885 graduated, in the same year commenq- ing the practice of medicine in Lehman, where he now resides and enjoys an exten- sive practice. At the age of twenty-six he married, at Town Hill in March, 1886, Miss Ella Harrison, who was born in Huntington township September 26, 1863,

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daughter of M. D. and Jane Harrison. By this union there were three children born to them, one of whom is living: A. L., born November 25, 1888. Dr. Wilkin- son is a member of the I. O. O. F. Politically he is a Republican.

WILLIAM EZRA WILKINSON, farmer, P. O. Irish Lane, was born in Ross township, March 14, 1843, where he was reared and educated. He is a son of William P. and Mary A. (Edwards) Wilkinson, the former of whom was born in Huntington town- ship, the latter in Trucksville, Kingston township. William P. Wilkinson was a son of William Wilkinson, who was born in Connecticut, and about 1797 removed to this county, locating in Huntington township. William Wilkinson was a son of Jona- than, who was also from Connecticut, and with his family settled in the same part of this county. The Wilkinsons were sturdy pioneers, honest men, and hardy yeomen of Huntington Valley. Jonathan had three sons, who in their turn became the advance guard in their day and generation. William, his son, after he removed to Huntington, married Miss Phoebe Taylor, who bore him five children. He set- tled on part of the land owned by his father, and was a hard-working man, relig- ious, and conscientious in all his dealings; he died in 1872, aged seventy-nine years. William P. began his business career in Ross township, as a progressive farmer, having removed from Huntington township after his marriage with Miss Edwards. He owned a small farm, and was a thrifty man; he is still living, and enjoying good health. He reared a family of thirteen children, all of whom grew to maturity, William E. being the fifth. Our subject has always confined himself to agricultural pursuits. On August 10, 1862, he was mustered into the service of the United States as a member of Company D, One Hundred and Forty-Third P. V. I., for the term of three years, and he participated in the following battles: Chan- cellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, and other minor engagements; in all of which he proved himself a valiant soldier, having served two years and eleven months of his term of enlistment. He was honorably discharged while holding the rank of corporal, and now draws a pension of $6 per month. After his return to citizenship, he settled on a farm of fifty acres in Ross township, on which he resided until 1886, when he removed to his present place of 110 acres in the same township. He is a practical agriculturist, and an energetic man of busi- ness. On December 31, 1868, he married Miss Amanda Culver, who was born July 19, 1847, in Ross township, a daughter of Wesley and Fannie Culver, and to this union were born four children, viz. : Jennie A., Emma J., William Irvin, and Sarah F. Of these Jennie A. was born November 22, 1869, and was married August 8, 1891, to William George Rummage, son of William L. Rummage, and they live in Ross township. Emma J., born June 18, 1871, was married June 4, 1890, to Charles B. Crockett, son of James Crockett, and they also live in Ross township; William Irvin was born August 10, 1874, and Sarah F. on January 23, 1880. Will- iam Ezra Wilkinson is honest in all his dealings as a business man, strictly tem- perate and religious in all his dealings.

WILLIAMS BROS. (RICHARD S. and DAVID S.), wholesale grocers, Wilkes-Barre, are natives of Cardiganshire, Wales, and sons of John S. and Mary A. (Roberts) Will- iams. The parents came to Wilkes-Barre in 1870, where the father for a time engaged in the shoe business, and resided uutil his death. His children were eight, as follows: Mary (Mrs. John Evans), John, Richard S., David S. and William (twins), Jane (Mrs. William Thomas), James and Elizabeth A. (Mrs. Rees R. Morgan). Of these David S. came to America in 1868 and located in Wilkes- Barre, where he was employed in the wholesale grocery house of J. B. Stark & Co., until the spring of 1869, after that with Grady, Ward & Co. When his brother, Richard S., came to Wilkes-Barre, they formed a partnership in the wholesale grocery business under the firm name of Williams Bros., in which they have since successfully continued, and their house is among the most prominent in the Valley. David S. married, in November, 1880, Mary F., daughter of John and Hannah (Jones) Lucas, of Pottsville, Pa., and has six children: Grace, John L., William G., Roger, Howard and an infant son. His brother, Richard S., was married in 1876

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to Mary, daughter of Rev. James Thomas, of Wilkes-Barre, and has six children living: James, John, Richard, Mary, Hattie and Robert. Both gentlemen are members of the Welsh Presbyterian Church, and in politics are stanch Republicans. David S. served one term of three years as member of the Wilkes-Barre city council.

CHARLES M. WILLIAMS, assistant postmaster at Plainsville, and proprietor of the " Plainsville Hotel," is a descendant of two families who held a prominent place in the early history of Wyoming Valley, viz .: the Williams and Cary families; in fact, there are but few pages of its pioneer history upon which these names can not be found. Mr. Williams was born in Wilkes-Barre, October 11, 1835, and is a son of Moses and Sarah (Cary) Williams, the former of whom was born in Danbury, Conn., in 1793, and when three months old came to Wilkes-Barre with his father, Thomas Williams, and his grandfather, Thaddeus Williams. Mrs. Sarah (Cary) Williams was born in what is now Plainsville, Pittston township, in 1797, and was a daughter of Samuel Cary, a native of Dutchess county, N. Y., who came to the Valley with his father, Eleazer Cary, in 1769, and settled where the Prospect Breaker now stands. His parents were both of early English extraction. Moses Williams' family consisted of seven children: one died in infancy; one at three years; one at five; four sons reached majority, viz .: Henry F., druggist, Tombstone, Ariz. ; John C., farmer, Plains township; Robinson, who died in 1871 at the age of forty years; and Charles M. The last-named gentleman was reared on the farm, and educated in the common school and Wyoming Seminary. In 1854 he made a trip to Iowa, where he remained one year; then went to Kansas, his stay there being a little over a year, and in 1856 voted to make it a free State; then came back to Iowa, and in 1856 returned to Plainsville. In 1857 he made another trip west, during which he voted to make Minnesota a State. Again return- ing to Plainsville, he gave his attention chiefly to farming until 1882, when he engaged in the hotel business. Mr. Williams was married February 22, 1860, to Elvira A., daughter of Philip and Rebecca Dodder, natives of Pennsylvania and of German origin. The fruit of this union was three children, viz .: Harry R., an electrician with the W. B. & Wyo. Val. Trac. Co. (he is second lieutenant of Company A, Ninth Regiment, N. G. P., at Wilkes-Barre); Joseph Hooker, machinist in the Lehigh Valley Machine Shops, and Ida Elvira, who died at the age of sixteen. Mrs. Elvira A. Williams died May 25, 1873, and September 10, 1874, Mr. Williams was married to Marian E., daughter of William and Theressa (Brandon) Baker, natives of Luzerne county and of English and Irish origin, respectively; they have three children, viz. : Clara E., Charles M. and Burton B. Our subject is a member of the F. & A. M. and the Red Men; politically he is a Republican, and was for seven years supervisor of Plains township; he also held the offices of tax collector, school director, and auditor, and was mercantile appraiser in 1873. While in Kan- sas, in 1855, he enlisted in the Wakarusa Liberty Guards, from which he received an honorable discharge, signed by all the proper authorities, among whom was Major-General C. Robinson, afterward the first governor of the State of Kansas.

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History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 221

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