History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 222

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

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DARIUS M. WILLIAMS, farmer, of Huntington township, P. O. Huntington Mills, was born July 12, 1829, and is a son of Matthias and Tacy (Sutliff) Williams, natives of New Jersey and Connecticut, respectively, of English origin. Matthias Williams, who was a farmer by occupation, died August 13, 1870, aged eighty-two years. He was a son of Jabez and Martha Williams. Our subject, who is the youngest in a family of twelve children, six of whom are living, was reared on the farm he now owns, educated in the common schools, and when twenty-one years of age began. farming for his father, and so continued until the death of the latter when he inher- ited the farm, and has since resided thereon. He was married May 3, 1856, to. Miss Harriet Osgood, who was born September 14, 1839, a daughter of Dr. Joseph Osgood, of Wayne county, whose father was a soldier in the Revolutionary war under Gen. Washington. This happy union was blessed with eight children, five of whom are living, viz. : Milford D., a farmer of Hazleton; married April 26, 1881,

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to Ida Laubach, of Hazleton (this union resulted in the birth of one son Charles, who is living); Emma A., married January 3, 1884, to H. D. Gearhart, a blacksmith of Town Line, Pa. (this union was blessed with two sons, George Dana and Freddie E., both of whom are living); Lizzie A., at home; George R., at home, helping on the farm; and Laura D., a teacher in the public schools, also living at home. Mrs. Williams is a member of the M. E. Church. Our subject is a Repub- lican, and has held the office of school director in his township.

DAVID WILLIAMS, moulder, Inkerman, was born in Montreal, Canada, and is a son of Oliver and Rebecca (Sharp) Williams, natives of Wales and England, respectively, who came to Canada about 1842, and were there engaged in the hardware business on quite an extensive scale. Our subject was educated in Montreal, where he learned the trade of moulder. He came to Pittston in 1885, and has been working at his trade here ever since that time. Mr. Williams was united in marriage, November 2, 1884, with Alice C., daughter of George and Theresa (Brown) McPherson, natives of Scot- land and England, respectively. Their union has been blessed with two children- one son and one daughter: Robert M., born May 20, 1886; and Ellen, born May 13, 1889. Our subject is an Episcopalian in religious faith, and in politics is a member of the Republican party.

DAVID B. WILLIAMS was born at Burry Port, Carmarthenshire, South Wales, where he resided until he reached the age of eleven years, when he went on board the vessel "Lion" as cabin-boy, which was plying on the coast service between England, France, and Ireland. He was on this vessel about six months, when he went on the brig " Albion" as cabin-boy, also as an apprentice sailor. This vessel was on the same service as the " Lion," and he remained on her about a year and a half. He then went on board the "Wallace," of Belfast, which set out on a voyage to South America, by way of Cape Horn, en route to Valparaiso, on the coast of Chili. This port they never reached, being shipwrecked off the coast of Africa, near Castle Blanco. In this disaster the captain, the first mate, and two seamen were lost, and the survivors of the crew, of which our subject was one, when they reached shore, set out on foot, hungry and naked, for Tangier, a sea- port town in the northwest corner of Africa (and situated a few miles from Gibraltar), whence after a short rest they proceeded to the latter place, where they embarked on the vessel " Rufus," bound for London, via Portugal, with a cargo of cork and lead. Immediately after landing in England, Mr. Williams proceeded to Shields, and there joined a crew as able seaman, the vessel being bound for Havana, West Indies, with a cargo of coal. From Havana, laden with sugar, they sailed to Milford Haven, Wales, for orders; from there proceeded to Antwerp, Belgium, their port of discharge. He then joined as able seaman the crew of the "Sutliff," which was laden with coal, bound for Trieste, Austria, in the Adriatic sea, near Venice. From there they sailed to Constantinople for orders, and from that port proceeded to Odessa, Russia, and was on the Black Sea when the Crimean war broke out. They then returned to Queenstown, Ireland, and from there sailed to Cork, their port of discharge. Our subject then sailed to Cardiff, South Wales, where he joined the " Mayflower," which was bound for Aden, Arabia, and from there they navigated to Madras, Bay of Bengal, thence to Calcutta, and from there back to London with a general cargo. He then repaired homeward, remaining there a short time, when he proceeded to Swansea, Wales, and engaged as able seaman on the vessel " Woodlands," which sailed for Malta, in the Mediter- ranean, and then returned to Gloucester, England. Later he then went to Newport, Wales, and from there sailed to Caldera, Chili, this voyage occupying seventy-four days. He then left the sea for about three and a half years, and accepted a position as foreman in saltpetre mines in Chili; but, owing to ill health, he returned to the sea, and sailed to Liverpool on the vessel "Unicorn," as second mate. He then went on the "Perry " as first mate, a vessel plying between England and France, which ship he left at Port Talbot, and joined the "Sarah" bound for Genoa, Italy, and for twenty-seven months he was navigating the Mediterranean between

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Sicily, Greece and England. He was first mate on this vessel also, and, leaving the "Sarah " at London, went on the "John Daniels" as captain, which was engaged in the coast trade, along the British Islands and France. In 1868 he went to his home (which was at Port Talbot, in Wales), and was engaged there about a year in rigging vessels, and this was the close of his seafaring life of over twenty-two years, during which time he visited nearly every part of the earth, and has been in several vessels and various ports not mentioned in this biography. In the spring of 1869 he came to America, and located at Plymouth, Pa., where he engaged in the paper-hanging and paint business. He remained at Plymouth until 1885, conducting a paint and paper supply store, and then removed to Nanti- coke and operated a branch store there about a year, at which time he removed his entire business to Nanticoke, where he has since enjoyed a prosperous trade. He is the owner of the " Broadway House," the leading hotel of the city. On February 26, 1860, Mr. Williams was married, at Swansea, to Miss Margaret Davis, an accomplished young lady of Port Talbot. Mr. Williams has served two terms on the Nanticoke borough council, and is one of Luzerne county's most respected citizens, also the most enterprising councilman of the borough in the cause of mak- ing all improvements toward having good streets and sewerage for the benefit of the town; and the people of the First Ward still think he should be councilman for the next two years, as they are well pleased with his past and present service. No doubt Nanticoke will be a city before many years, the town is improving so rapidly, and so many different kinds of works are opening out.

DAVID D. WILLIAMS, assistant mine foreman, No. 11 Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Co., Plymouth, was born in Caernarvonshire, North Wales, March 31, 1850, and is the second in the family of nine children of David and Eleanor Williams, also natives of Wales. Our subject was educated in his native land, and while yet a mere lad engaged at work about the lead mines there, where he worked for several years. He then went to England, where he worked with a builder for about one year, afterward coming to America and settling in Wilkes-Barre where he followed mining for a number of years. He then took the position of assistant foreman at the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Mines at Wilkes-Barre, and here remained nearly twelve years, going from there to the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Mines at Plymouth, where he is now employed in the same capacity. On November 26, 1872, Mr. Williams was united in marriage with Martha, daughter of David and Ann (Elias), natives of Wales, and they have been blessed with four children: Eleanor, David D., Ann, and Tudur (deceased). Mr. Williams is an advocate of Prohibition, and supports that party. He is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, and of the I. O. O. F. The family attend the Congregational Church. Mr. Williams is the patentee for a lamp that is used in all the mines of Pennsylvania, and also has improved the "Davy Safety Lamp."

DAVID D. WILLIAMS, hotel proprietor, P. O. Edwardsdale, was born June 15, 1842, at Tredegar, Monmouthshire, England, and is a son of John and Ann (Williams) Williams, natives of Wales, the former born in Caermarthenshire, and the latter in Breconshire. Our subject was educated in his native town, and began life for him- self, mining in Tredegar at the age of twenty-one. In 1879 he came to America and settled in his present place, engaging in track laying, which occupation he con- tinued for five years, when he engaged in his present business. Mr. Williams was married, December 6, 1862, to Miss Ann, daughter of David and Ann (Lewis) Williams, of Tredegar, England, and they have had children as follows: David, born January 31, 1863, died March 15, 1865; Elizabeth, born October 24, 1864, married Joseph Palmer, a miner, of Summercourt, England; Catharine, born January 30, 1867. married.to William Keirle, a miner, of Edwardsville; David J. and Hannah (twins), born December 1, 1868, died in infancy; John, born December 11, 1869, a miner, in Edwardsville, married Mary Richards, of Edwardsville; Annie, born March 15, 1872, died June 18, 1879; Thomas, born June 15, 1874; William, born August 20, 1876, died June 3, 1879; Edward, born November 29, 1878; Annie, born March 10, 1882;

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and Mary, born July 5, 1884. Mr. Williams is a member of the A. P. A., the I. O. R. M., and S. P. K. ; in politics he is a Republican.

DAVID J. WILLIAMS, coal inspector, Hazleton. This practical young coal inspector was born at Oakdale, Luzerne Co., Pa., January 3, 1864, and is a son of Watkins H. and Anna (Jones) Williams, natives of Wales. The subject of this sketch, who is the twelfth in a family of fourteen children, was educated and reared in Luzerne county, and when but a lad began working about the mines, serving as driver-boss and at general work until May, 1892, when he was appointed coal inspector at the South Sugar Loaf Breaker. He is a competent and shrewd judge of coal, and sees that it never leaves the colliery until it is fit for the market. Mr. Williams was united in marriage, in 1884, with Miss Mary, daughter of Anthony and Margaret. (Schaffer) Miller, natives of Germany, and this union has been blessed with three children, namely: Watkins, Margaret A. and Maud Dorothy. In political matters Mr. Williams is to be found in the Republican ranks. He is a member of the I. O. R. M .; the family attend the Baptist Church.

EDWIN WILLIAMS, who was in his lifetime a prominent citizen of Homer, Licking Co., Ohio, died at his residence in that place October 10, 1890. He was born in Plains township, July 26, 1822, and was a son of George W. and Abigal (Wilcox) Williams, also natives of Plains township. His father, who was a farmer, reared a family of ten children, two of whom are living, and of whom he was the second in order of birth. Our subject was educated in the common schools, and in the Wilkes-Barre and Honesdale high schools. He served as first sergeant all through the Mexican war, and for a long time acted as recruiting officer in Stark county, Ohio, with headquarters at Canton. In 1850 he emigrated to Ohio, where he led a very suc- cessful life as farmer, merchant, and public officer. Mr. Williams was married, April 25, 1850, to Miss Catherine, daughter of John and Mary (Stark) Searle, of Plains, natives of Pennsylvania, and of English origin. This happy union was blessed with nine children, seven of whom are living, viz .: James S., a shepherd in Hartford, Kan., married Ella Dumbauld of Ohio (they have one child, Clendon S.); George W., a lawyer in Columbus, Ohio, married Eva L. Shoemaker of that place (they have three children: Edwin, Ambretta and Cyrus); Mary S., married Dr. John Rouse of Louisville, Ohio (they have two children, Catherine and Searle); Clarissa M., married William Burner, a draftsman in Columbus, Ohio (they have one child, Nellie); Ruth C., married Louis W. Yost, farmer, Homer, Ohio (they have one child, Nenia); Elizabeth V., married Franklin Yoakam, a farmer in Homer, Ohio, and. Helen D., lives with her mother. Mrs. Williams is a member of the Episcopal Church. Mr. Williams always stood firmly by the cause of Democracy; he was postmaster at Homer from 1856 to 1860, and sheriff of Licking county from 1871 to 1875.

EVAN WILLIAMS, physician and surgeon, Sugar Notch, was born in Neath, Brad- ford Co., Pa., July 2, 1855, and is a son of Philip and Harriet (Evans) Williams, natives of Glamorganshire, Wales. His father, who was a farmer, reared a family of eight children, of whom are living: Margaret (Mrs. Dr. R. Davis, Wilkes-Barre); Catherine (who was first married to Rev. David Parry and after his death to Daniel Morris, also deceased); Gwennie (Mrs. William L. Thomas, Neath, Pa.); Evan and Philip B. The family were early settlers in Neath, where the parents died and where our subject spent his boyhood on the farm, and in attending the public school. He then went to Wyoming Seminary and afterward to Jefferson Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1885, in which year he began the practice of medicine in Sugar Notch. He built his present residence and office inclusive in 1888. Dr. Williams was married in 1887, to Mary A., daughter of Edward and Catherine (Jones) Herbert, of Jeddo, natives of Wales. The issue of this union was three children: Jane, Margaret (who died when thirteen months old), and Baby. He is a member of the A. O. F. of A., and a Republican in his political views.

FRED. WILLIAMS, justice of the peace, Edwardsville, was born July 30, 1848, at. Summercourt, Cornwall, England, and is a son of Thomas and Selina (Hocking)

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Williams. His education consisted of two or three years' schooling, when very young. in the parochial school of the place of his birth. When seventeen years of age he went to Scotland, where he remained about a year, and then returned home and engaged in mining. During his spare hours he took up the study of music as a pastime. In 1870 he came to America and located for a short time in Honesdale, Pa .; then went to Carbondale, and in the early part of 1871 he moved to Williams- town, Pa., where he worked in the mines, and taught a band recently organized there. After a year's residence in that place, he removed to Plymouth, same State, where he was engaged in teaching bands, a business he followed for about five years. In the spring of 1873 he came to Ross Hill, in what was known as Kingston, and in December, 1873, married Isabella Jardine, of that place. When the borough of Edwardsville was incorporated, in 1884, he was appointed burgess and justice of the peace, serving three terms as burgess, and acting as justice of the peace continuously from the time of incorporation of the borough to the present. In addition to the duties of justice of the peace, he carries on an extensive real estate and fire insurance business. His family consists of six children, viz .: Selina M., Katie A., Ellie E., Fannie L., Jennette W. and Ivie John.

GWILYM M. WILLIAMS, inspector of mines, Fourth District, Anthracite Coal Region, Wilkes-Barre, was born in Breconshire, South Wales, August 14, 1841, a son of Morgan and Margaret (Davis) Williams, and was educated in his native country. In March, 1859, he came to America, and located in Coal Rain, Carbon Co., Pa, where he labored in the mines two years, and then moved to Scranton. There he engaged in mining up to 1873, when he was appointed inside foreman of Oxford Colliery, which position he held up to 1880. In July, of that year, he was commissioned mine inspector of the Fourth District, now serving his third term, since which time, he has resided in Wilkes-Barre. On June 4, 1863, Mr. Williams married Jane, daughter of Lewis and Esther (Herbert) Lewis, of Jeansville, this county, and by her he has two children: Margaret (Mrs. Samuel Jones) and John L. He and his wife are members of the Welsh Presbyterian Church. In politics he is a Republican.

HOPKIN J. WILLIAMS, engineer No. 1 Deep Shaft, Susquehanna Coal Company, Nanticoke, is a native of South Wales, born May 1, 1855, and is a son of Thomas and Mary (Williams) Williams. At the age of nine our subject engaged in work- ing in a tin factory, where he remained about four years, and then went to work in a machine shop, remaining there nearly three years. He was then employed in a blacksmith shop, where he worked about seven years, and next engaged as a loco- motive engineer, being employed in the latter position about two years, when he was made master-mechanic for a mining company; here he remained until 1882, when he came to America and located at Nanticoke. Here Mr. Williams entered the employ of the Susquenanna Coal Company as a mechanic, and in 1884 was sent to Morgantown by the same company, as stationary engineer. He remained at that place about two years, and was then transferred to the position which he has since held. Mr. Williams was married in 1881 to Miss Sarah Ann Howell, who was born in South Wales, and they have one child, Minnie. Mr. Williams is still undecided as to the best course in American politics, but judging from an impartial standpoint, he is inclined to think that he will take his place in the ranks of the Democratic party.

ISHMAEL WILLIAMS, miner, Plains, was born in Anglesea, North Wales, in August, 1841, and is a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Evans) Williams. The father, who was a farmer, and later a coal dealer, reared a family of fourteen children, nine of whom are living, and of whom Ishmael is the eighth. Our subject came to America in 1869, worked six months in a slate quarry at Wind Gap, Pa., and then went to Scranton, where he engaged in laboring about the mines, and later in mining, for seven years; there he was injured by a fall of coal, which disabled him for a year and a half. He next removed to Plains, where he has since resided, with the excep- tion of the years 1880-88, when he was coal mining in New Mexico. Mr. Williams 85

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was married, April 1, 1861, to Miss Grace, daughter of William and Ellen (Jones) Morris, and they have one child, Morris W., born June 25, 1862, a miner in Plains (he married Elizabeth, daughter of Wyrood Thomas, of Parsons, and they have had six children, two of whom are living, viz .: Ishmael and Grace). Our subject and family are members of the Welsh Congregational Church, and he is a Republican in his political preferences.

JAMES E. WILLIAMS was born in England in 1841, and is a son of Mark and Rebecca (Thorpe) Williams. He came to America in 1863, engaged in mining and continued in that occupation until 1864, when he recrossed the ocean, and passed one year in England. Returning to America in 1865, he again worked at mining until 1871, when he became manager of a boarding house operated by the Susquehanna Coal Company. At the end of two years he became proprietor of the "Hotel Avondale" located at Avondale, Pa., and two years later moved to Luzerne, where he engaged in the hotel business for twelve years. Henext embarked in the grocery business for a year, and then engaged in farming on what is known as the Dockstader farm, Hanover township. After tilling the soil eighteen months he returned to Luzerne and opened a wholesale liquor store, a business that has since engaged his entire time. Mr. Williams has been twice married: first, in 1872, to Miss Margaret Wat- kins, daughter of William Watkins, a native of Wales. Mrs. Margaret (Watkins) Williams died in May, 1889, after which Mr. Williams married a widow lady, Mrs. Blight, of Luzerne. Mr. Williams is usually found in the Republican ranks, although he does not confine himself strictly to that party, reserving the right to vote for the best man.

JOHN C. WILLIAMS, mine foreman, Parsons, was born in Scotland, March 2, 1843, a son of William and Jennette (Carus) Williams. He was educated in his native land, and coming to America in 1862 located in Pittsburgh, and engaged in mining, being in the employ of the Pennsylvania Coal Company. In 1872 he removed to Plains, where, as mine foreman for the Lehigh Valley Coal Company, he remained about six years, and then moved to Parsons where he has since been employed by the Delaware & Hudson Coal Company, and is now foreman for that company at the Baltimore Mine, the oldest of its kind in the Wyoming Valley. Mr. Williams was married at Pittston, Pa., December 28, 1868, to Miss Agnes, daughter of Gilbert Jones, of Scotland, and by her has two children, William, who was born October 26, 1869, and died April 1, 1870; and Isabella born March 16, and married in 1875 to John Alexander, carpenter, Parsons. Mr. Williams attends the Presbyterian Church of which his wife is a member, and he is a member of the Knights of Honor, and of the Caledonian Club. His political views are pronounced Republican.

J. FRANK WILLIAMS, Ashley, passenger conductor on the Central Railroad of New Jersey, was born in Plains township, this county, October 14, 1854, a son of Andrew Jackson and Louisa (Mills) Williams. His father, who was a farmer, later a car- penter, and finally a contractor, was a son of Ezra, who was a son of Thomas, who was a son of Thaddeus, the last named of whom came to the Wyoming Valley some time before the massacre. [See pioneer chapter. ] Thaddeus died in 1796, and his wife in 1815. Thomas died November 12, 1837, aged eighty-three years, having accumulated a handsome property in Plains township; his wife was Elizabeth Rob- ins, of Bethel, Conn. Ezra died when a comparatively young man, and his son, Andrew J., passed away at the age of sixty-four years; he had held the office of county commissioner and numerous local offices. "The Andy Williams Blarney Stone" was a larger boulder which the united strength of the family had brought into the use of a front step, upon which Mr. Williams was wont to sit for hours and hours and read the news to his illiterate neighbors, or relate with ever increas- ing interest to his youthful hearers the incidents and anecdotes of pioneer life. It was said that whenever Mr. Williams could get a Republican to sit on this stone he was sure to convert him to the principles of Democracy. Our subject received a public-school education, and remained with his father till he was twenty-two years of age, after which he spent about three years traveling through the Southern and

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Western States and Canada, meanwhile working at clerking, teaming and various other occupations to obtain the "wherewithal" to satisfy his desire for travel. Finally, in 1879, he located in Ashley, where he was brakeman one year, coal and freight conductor two years, yard master three years, again coal and freight con- ductor three years, and was promoted to his present position in 1889. Mr. Williams was married, April 14, 1881, to Miss Jessie G., daughter of W. R. C. and Sarah (Fields) Butler; her father, who was train-master at Ashley, had two children, Jessie G. and Rebecca A. (the latter of whom is the deceased wife of James Black). The issue of this union was three children: Florence E., Louisa M. and Sadie L. (the last named died at the age of six years aud eleven months). The family worship at the Methodist Episcopal Church; Mr. Williams is a member of the O. R. C., and is a liberal Democrat in his political views.

THOMAS W. WILLIAMS, hotel proprietor, Plains township, P. O. Hudson, was born in Plains township August 31, 1847, and is a son of Andrew J. and Louisa (Mills) Williams, and a grandson of Ezra and Sarah (Black) Williams, pioneers in the Wyoming Valley. His father, who in early life was a farmer, and later a carpenter and contractor and builder, was a man of much prominence in his day, and was once elected county commissioner. His family consisted of eleven children, seven of whom are living, and of whom our subject is the third. Thomas W. Williams spent his boyhood on the farm, and in attending the public schools; he learned the carpenter's trade with his father, and at the age of twenty-one embarked in life for himself. He worked at his trade and farmed for five years, was fireman on the Delaware & Hudson Railroad for two and a-half years, and afterward engineer for fourteen years. In 1887 he engaged in his present business at the old stand which his father opened in 1855; to the original property he has built large additions, including entertainment and Society halls, and is well provided to furnish man and beast with the necessaries and luxuries of life. James E. Williams, a brother of Thomas W., went to Kan- sas to seek his fortune in March, 1879, and is now one of the largest shippers of cattle from that State to the Chicago market. Our subject was married, November 3, 1868, to Miss Jennie, daughter of William and Jennette (Templeton) Dunn, natives of Scotland, and they have had six children, two of whom are living, viz. : Gertrude married to P. F. Flood, a machinist in the Lehigh Valley shops, Wilkes- Barre (they have one child, Thomas W., born on Christmas Day, 1891), and Bessie, who lives with her parents and attends school. Mr. Williams and his family attend the Methodist Episcopal Church; he is a member of the F. & A. M., I. O. O. F., I. O. R. M:, and the P. O. S. of A .; in his political views he is a conscientious Democrat, and is at present treasurer of Plains township.

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History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 222

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