History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 225

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

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J. B. WOLFE, farmer, P. O. Bloomingdale, was born in Union township, Novem- ber 24, 1818, and is a son of Jacob and Sarah (Bonham) Wolfe, both of whom were born in Northampton county, Pa. They removed to this county about 1800, locat- ing in Ross township, where they owned 180 acres of valuable land. They lived as other pioneers, beginning first in a log cabin, which soon gave way to a more pretentious dwelling. Mr. Wolfe was a hard-working man, and did much for the advancement of the county as a pioneer of Ross township. He held several offices, and died in 1850, aged seventy years. His family consisted of nine children, all of whom grew to maturity, and three of them are now living. J. B. is the eighth in the family, was reared and educated in Ross township, and has always resided in the same township and county. He is a practical farmer, and owns 108 acres of land; though now retired from active work, he still superintends his affairs. In 1873, late in life, Mr. Wolfe married Miss Christina, daughter of Lot Search. No children have been born to this union. He has held several offices in the town- ship, having one time been clerk of the town. He and his wife are members of the Baptist Church, and politically he is a Republican.

STEPHEN R. WOLFE, farmer, P. O. Muhlenburgh, is a native of Union township, born November 12, 1827, a son of Samuel and Catherine (Roberts) Wolfe, both of whom were born in Union township, the former on January 20, 1805, the latter on September 24, 1803. Samuel Wolfe was a son of Jacob Wolfe, a native of Bucks county, and one of the old pioneers of Union township, locating there about the year 1780. He was a man of marked piety, a member of the Baptist Church, and an honorable, upright gentleman. He was hard working and industrious, and did much to bring Luzerne to its present state of agricultural advancement. He reared a family of interesting children, who grew to maturity, and in their turn made use- ful and loyal citizens. He died about 1850, aged seventy-eight years. His son, Samuel, lived at home on the old place till his marriage in 1828, when he removed to Muhlenburgh on a farm, where he resided four years. He then bought eighty acres of new land, whereon was a log house, which soon, however, gave way to the more modern structure, while the wild and virgin soil, under his magic touch, gave place to waving fields of golden grain. He was an industrious man, and much respected by his people, who elected him to various offices in the township. He, like his father, was a strict Baptist; politically, he was a Republican. He died in 1878, aged seventy-six years; his wife died in 1867, aged seventy years. Their family con- sisted of eleven children, all of whom grew to maturity, and five of them are now liv- ing. Stephen R., who is the eldest in the family, was reared and educated in his native township, has always confined himself to farming, but is also skillful in the use of carpenter tools, which he uses to a great extent. Mr. Wolfe has all his life been a continuous resident of Union township, and is a worthy citizen and practi- cal farmer. He has been married three times. First time, October 2, 1852, to Miss Dorcas, daughter of Isaac and Sarah Benscoter, by which union there was no issue. Mrs. Dorcas Wolfe died March 30, 1853, and, for his second wife, Mr.

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

Wolfe married, January 5, 1854, Miss Eliza, daughter of James and Samantha Harding, by which union there were born three children: Catherine C., Jessie and Chester B. Mrs. Eliza (Harding) Wolfe died January, 1861, and for his third wife our subject married, January 5, 1862, Miss Rachel E., daughter of George and Margaret Muchler, and three children are the result of this union: Margeret, Ed- ward I. and Samuel M. Mr. Wolfe has been honored with nearly all the offices of the township; is a man of influence and enjoys the confidence of his fellow citi- zens. He and his wife, three daughters and one son are consistent members of the Baptist Church, and of which he is clerk. Politically, he is a Republican.

GEORGE W. WOMELSDORF, proprietor of the "What Cheer House," Wanamie, was born in Newport township, October 28, 1847, and is the fifth in the family of eleven children born to Jordan and Mary (Belles) Womelsdorf, natives of Pennsyl- vania. George W. was educated and reared in Luzerne county, and, at an early age, began working about the mines. He did Company work until 1877, when he was given the position of driver-boss at the Spike Island Mine, remaining there in that capacity for two years, afterward occupying the same position at the Seven Foot Mine one year. Our subject was then employed by the Lehigh & Wilkes- Barre Coal Company, as driver-boss for twelve years, two years at No. 3, and ten years at No. 2. In April, 1891, he became proprietor of the "What Cheer House," which he has since successfully conducted. Mr. Womelsdorf was married Septem- ber 12, 1875, to Miss Emma, daughter of Theodore Hagenbaugh, and three children have blessed this union, namely : Daisy, Edgar and Eckley. In politics our subject is a Democrat, and belongs to the following Orders : I. O. O. F., Knights of Pythias, and A. P. A. The family attend the Presbyterian Church.

JAMES WOOD, farmer, Muhlenburgh, was born in Yorkshire, England, May 26, 1833, son of Samuel and Ann (Garthwaite) Wood, both of whom were born in England. Samuel was a weaver by occupation, a worker in fine fabrics, and was counted a first-class mechanic by his craft. He and his wife died in their native land, he at the age of thirty-five, she at the age of twenty-eight years. They had reared a family of five children, two of whom are living. James is the third in order of birth, and was nine years of age when he emigrated to this country with his grandparents (Garthwaites), who located in this county in 1842. Our subject was reared and educated largely in Union township, and has been a constant resident of the county. By occupation he is a carpenter, which trade, in conjunction with his farm, he has pursued for twenty-seven years. In September, 1864, he was mustered into the United States Service for the term of one year, in Company G, One Hundred and Ninety-ninth P. V. I. He served to the close of the war and was honorably discharged, returning home with health so impaired that he was unable to work for two years. His health improving somewhat, however, he became able to work part of the time, though still a constant sufferer for the past twenty-seven years; about a year ago Mr. Wood had a stroke of paralysis, since when he has been unable to perform any manual labor whatever. On October 29, 1854, he married Miss Frances C., daughter of Elisha R. and Dorcas Roberts. To this union have been born five children, three of whom are living: Harriet R., who married Rev. Rolandus Kocher, a Baptist minister, Martha J. and Frances C. In 1864 Mr. Wood removed to his present residence, a farm of sixty-nine acres. He is much respected in his neighborhood, and is the first man who was ever nominated for sheriff on the Prohibition ticket. He is a member of the G. A. R. He and his wife and family are members of the Baptist Church, in which he is a deacon.

JOHN BEILBY WOOD is a descendant of Michael Wood, of Tenker Hey, North Dean, in the vicarage of Halifax, in the County of York, England, whose will, written in 1537, is in the possession of the family, having passed down through the preceding generations. Joseph Wood the great-grandfather of John B. Wood, was a cloth manufacturer of England. Robert Wood, the son of Joseph Wood, married Elizabeth Ingham, of Crowstone Hall, Greetland, West Riding, County of York, England, and was a man of great energy. He purchased a grant of land in Amer-

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

ica, and set on foot a movement to raise a colony and settle in this country. . He had large carved oak chests made and filled with clothing, and preparations were nearly completed for sailing when the war for the independence of the colonies broke out and thwarted his plans. Moses Wood, grandson of Robert Wood, was born in Yorkshire, England, July 24, 1766. He' married Jane Beilby, daughter of John and Esther Beilby, of Wetwang, England, and remained in the land of his nativity until 1819, when he, with his family, removed to the United States. His family consisted of his wife, eight children, and two servants. He also brought with him a tailor, shoemaker and blacksmith, and the oaken chests made by his father years before. They sailed in the ship " Mary Ann Isabella," from Burlington Quay, and, after a tedious voyage of nine weeks and four days, landed in Philadelphia, and from there proceeded to Wilkes-Barre. Here Mr. Wood purchased 300 acres of land, nearly one-third of which has been occupied as part of the city, and the remain- der has developed into valuable coal lands. When Moses Wood landed in Phila- delphia he had several thousand dollars in gold, which he deposited in a Philadelphia bank for safe keeping; but while he was prospecting in the Wyoming Valley for land the bank broke and he lost his deposits; he was, therefore, compelled to depend on home resources to complete his purchases in Wilkes-Barre. In the settlement of the affairs of the bank he, however, realized a part of his money by taking land located in Bradford county, the tract given in part payment being 1,000 acres in extent. Moses Wood resided upon his farm in Wilkes-Barre for many years after his settle- ment here, and educated and reared his sons in habits of industry and economy. In 1823 he commenced mining coal, which he shipped down the Susquehanna river in keel boats, or " arks," as they were called. He donated the land on which the Cen- tral M. E. Church is built (chartered as the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Woodville), and contributed liberally toward the building, which was erected in Woodville, a suburb of the borough of Wilkes-Barre, now nearly the central part of the city. He died March 11, 1853.

John Beilby Wood, son of Moses Wood, was born in Halifax, England, in 1804, and came to America with his father's family. He was for many years a successful business man in Wilkes-Barre engaged in merchandise the greater part of his life, and in1871 he established the banking house of J. B. Wood & Co., contributing the greater part of the capital. He died in 1877. The wife of John B. Wood was Miss Sarah Gore, daughter of John Gore, whose great-great-great-grandfather, John Gore, was born in England, came to America from Waltham Abbey in 1634, and settled in Roxbury, Mass., where he purchased a large tract of land. He was a member of the famous Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, and for many years was town clerk of Roxbury, and the records of the settlements, transcribed by his hand, are now deposited in the city hall, Boston. He died in Roxbury, June 2, 1657. Samuel Gore, son of John Gore, was born in Roxbury, Mass., in 1652, and died there July 26, 1692. Samuel Gore (second), son of Samuel, born October 20, 1681, died at Norwich, Conn., May 27, 1756. Obaidiah Gore, son of Samuel (second), and great-grandson of John Gore, was born in Massa- chusetts, July 26, 1714, moved to Plainfield, Conn., with his father's family in 1718; came to the Wyoming Valley in 1769, and died in Wyoming January 10, 1779. He was a magistrate under the laws of Connecticut, and his commission, signed in April, 1778, bears the name of Jonathan Trumbull, then governor of Connecticut. His eldest son, Obaidiah Gore, was born in Norwich, Conn., in 1744, was one of those who attempted to settle the Wyoming Valley in 1762-63, and came again with the first 200 settlers in 1769. He was one of the most promi- nent men of his day in Wyoming. In 1776 he entered the Connecticut army, in a regiment commanded by Col. Isaac Nichols, and served six years; was commis- sioned first lieutenant by John Hancock October 11, 1776, and by John Jay, March 16, 1779. In 1778 he was appointed a justice of the peace for Westmoreland county, Conn., as the Wyoming Valley was then called. In 1781 and 1782 he represented Westmoreland in the Legislature of Connecticut, and after the Treaties decree, which held that this section of the State belonged to Pennsylvania and not

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

to Connecticut, was commissioned one of the judges of Luzerne county. In 1788, 1789 and 1790, he represented Luzerne county in the Legislature of Pennsylvania. He, in connection with his brother, Daniel Gore, was the first white man in Wyo- ming, and we might say in the United States, to give practical recognition and development to anthracite coal as a generator of heat. This was in 1769, twenty- two years before coal was discovered in the Lehigh region. He died in 1820. His father was an aged man at the time of the battle and Massacre of Wyoming, and was left in Forty Fort while the army went out to meet the enemy. In the little band that marched forth July 3, 1778, were his sons, Samuel Gore, Daniel Gore, Silas Gore, George Gore and Asa Gore, the father in the fort and five sons marching out to the conflict. Nor was this all; John Murfee, who married a daughter of Mr. Gore (the sister of these five brothers), was also in the ranks; and Timothy Pearce, another brother-in-law, having ridden all night, came in and joined our little army on the battle field. Thus there were seven in the battle, while an eighth was in service with the regular army, and it proved a most bloody and disastrous day to the family. At sunset five of the seven were on the field mangled corpses: Asa and Silas, ensigns, George and Murfee were slain; Timothy Pearce held a commission in the regular army, but had hurried in and was killed. Lieut. Daniel Gore was near the right wing, and stood a few rods below Wintermoot's Fort, close up to the old road that led up through the Valley, and when he stepped into the road a ball struck him in the arm. He applied a bandage, tearing it from his shirt. Just at that moment Capt. Durhee stepped into the road at the same place. "Look out," said Mr. Gore, "there are some of the savages concealed under yonder heap of logs," and at that instant a ball struck Capt. Durhee in the thigh. When retreat became inevitable, Mr. Gore endeavored to assist Capt. Durhee from the field, but found it impossible, and Durhee said, "Save yourself, Mr. Gore, my fate is sealed." Lieut. Gore then escaped down the road, leaping the fence about a mile below, lay crouched close under a bunch of bushes. While there an Indian climbed the fence and stood near him. Mr. Gore said he could see the white of his eye, and was almost sure he was discovered, but a moment later a yell was raised on the flats below, the Indian drew up his rifle and fired, and instantly ran off in that direction. Though the wave of death seemed to have passed over and spent itself, yet Lieut. Gore remained under cover until dusk, and after dark found his way to the fort where he met his brother Samuel, the only survivor of the seven. The distress of Mrs. Murfee was very great, as she feared her husband had been tortured, but when she learned he fell on the field she was less distressed. She begged her way, with the rest of her family and other fugitives, traversed the wilderness and sought a home in the State from which she had emigrated, having a son, George Murfee, born in Esquire Depew's barn on the Delaware, near Stroudsburgh, while yet a fugitive. No tongue can tell, no pencil can paint, the sorrows and the sufferings of poor Wyo- ming, and all undoubtedly occasioned by drawing away the men raised here for its special defense. John Gore, the only son who was not in the battle, was but four- teen years old, and he fled with his father and family after the Massacre. He married Elizabeth Ross, a native of New London, Conn., daughter of Jeremiah Ross, who was born. July 26, 1727, and died at Wilkes-Barre, February 28, 1777. She was the youngest sister of Gen. William Ross, and sister of Lieut. Perrin Ross and Jeremiah Ross, both of whom were slain in the battle and Massacre of Wyoming. Sarah Gore, the wife of John B. Wood, was the daughter of John Gore and his wife, Elizabeth Ross. John Gore was born in Connecticut, February 25, 1764, and died in Kingston, August 3, 1807. Elizabeth Ross, his wife, was born in 1764, and died September 23, 1838, aged seventy-four years.

On February 21, 1836, John B. Wood married Miss Sarah Gore, who was born in Kingston May 28, 1806, and died in Wilkes-Barre, December 21, 1886. They had seven children: Elizabeth J., John Gore, Martha M., Ruth S., Maria E., George B. and Edgar Wood. Ruth S., born December 3, 1843, died January 24, 1875; Edgar, born November 29, 1853, died March 6, 1861; George B., born December 24, 1848, died February 17, 1890.

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

JERE. WOODRING, civil and mining engineer, Sandy Run, is a native of Luzerne county, born in Butler Valley, a son of Stephen and Eliza (Thomas) Woodring. He was educated in the public schools of Luzerne county and in Doylestown Seminary. When a boy he worked considerably around the mines, and at the age of fourteen engaged in clerking in a store in Freeland, where he remained about two years. He then came to Sandy Run, and engaged in clerking in the supply store of M. S. Kemmerer & Co., remaining at this place four years, when he was transferred to Pond Creek as manager of their store there. During all the time he was engaged in clerking Mr. Woodring kept his studies constantly before him, and as he always possessed a natural taste for mathematics, his studies were principally in mathemat- ical scientifical channels. He finally devoted his attention to the subject of civil and mining engineering, and at the age of twenty-two had so thoroughly mastered his subject, that he received the appointment as engineer for the M. S. Kemmerer Coal Company, at Sandy Run, a position he has since satisfactorily filled. Mr. Woodring was married in May, 1891, to Miss Lizzie Caskey, of Easton. He is a member of the P. O. S. of A., and in his political views is a Republican.

REV. JAMES OSCAR WOODRUFF, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Plym- outh, was born at Connecticut Farms, N. J., February 27, 1838, a son of David M. and Mary L. (Davis) Woodruff, of the old Connecticut Yankee type. There were seven children in the family, our subject being fourth in the order of birth. He was educated at the Westfield Academy, N. J., and he has since been an earnest and profound student, mastering the sciences and languages under private tutorship. He has always been a persistent searcher of knowledge, and by diligent labor has attained a high proficiency as a scholar. The subject of this sketch was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1860, and was immediately assigned to what is known as the Blakslee Charge, where he remained two years, going from there to Sterling, Wayne Co., Pa., where he served two years, thence to Salem, where he served three years, building a church in the meantime at that place. Carbondale was his next abiding place, where he had charge three years; then Honesdale, Pa., where he erected another edifice; and after remaining there three years, he was called to Owego, N. Y., for three years; then at Pittston, Pa., three years; Norwich, N. Y., two years; Kingston, two years; and thence to the Franklin Street Church, Wilkes-Barre, where he assumed charge for three years, and during that time he interested the members of the church in the erection of a new building, which now adorns and beautifies that pleasant street. From Wilkes-Barre Mr. Woodruff was appointed to take charge at Waverly, N. Y., where he remained the three years' term, coming from there to Plymouth, where he now presides. As a man, Mr. Woodruff is of pleasing address, and his courteous manner and kindly disposition toward all, whether in a business or a social way, makes him unusually respected. Our subject was married July 4, 1855, to Eliza J., daughter of David and Susan (Clark) Townley, natives of New Jersey. To this union have been born eight chil- dren, five of whom are living: Mrs. M. D. Compton, Newark, N. J .; Wesley, city editor of the Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, and a graduate of Wesleyan College; Carrie, wife of H. W. Hallett, of Waverly, N. Y. ; Oscar A., a resident of New York City; and Minnie L., who is at home. As to whether Mr. Woodruff has succeeded in the ministry, one has only to gaze over broad fields of labor he has performed, to be convinced that he has indeed served his Master well by serving his fellow men.

STANLEY WOODWARD's paternal ancestry is traced in a direct line to Richard Woodward, who emigrated, April 10, 1634, from Ipswich, England, to Massachusetts, and a year later was admitted a freeman of Watertown, that State. Stanley Wood- ward is of the eighth generation of the stock thus planted in the New World. His great-grandfather, Enos, was the first of the line to leave New England, which he did about the year 1775, settling in the wilds of Pike county, this State. Abishai, the great-grandfather's son, and Stanley's grandfather, removed to Wayne county, Pa., where, because of the loss of a hand by an accident, which rendered him incapable of working on a farm, he took to school teaching, and subsequently attained to many important public positions, including those of sheriff and associate

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judge. George Washington Woodward, Abishai's son, and Stanley's father, was born in Wayne county, Pa., and lived to be one of the most notable men in the State. He was a delegate in the Constitutional Convention of 1836, and a delegate-at-large in that of 1873. In 1841 he was appointed president judge of the Fourth Judicial District, composed of the counties of Mifflin, Huntingdon, Centre, Clearfield and Clinton. In 1844 he was the candidate of the Democrats in the State Legislature for United States Senator, but was defeated by Simon Cameron, who was the candi- date of the Whig and Native American Combination. In 1845 President Polk nominated him to be a justice of the supreme court of the United States, but the Senate, for partisan reasons, refused to confirm him. In the early part of 1852 Governor Bigler appointed him a justice of the supreme court of Pennsylvania, and the same year he was nominated and elected to the position for the full term of fifteen years, during the last four of which he was chief justice. He was the Demo- cratic candidate for governor in 1863, and he represented the Twelfth District in the XLth and XLIst Congresses. He died in Rome, Italy, May 10, 1875, aged sixty- six years.

In 1832 Mr. Woodward married Sarah Elizabeth, the only daughter of Dr. George W. Trott, of Wilkes-Barre, and of this union Stanley Woodward, born in Wilkes-Barre August 29, 1833, was the oldest son. Stanley entered Yale College, after preparation at the Episcopal High School of Virginia, near Alexandria, in that State, and at Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, and graduated therefrom in 1855 with high honors. He read law with his cousin, Warden J. Woodward, who afterward became a justice of the supreme court of the State, and was admitted to the bar in August, 1856. He soon achieved a large and lucrative practice, being regularly retained by a number of leading railroad and other corporations. He was twice a captain in the volunteer service during the Civil war; was for two months in the Antietam campaign, and for three months in the Gettysburg campaign. He was the Democratic candidate for the State Senate in 1865, and for Congress in 1872, but was beaten both times by Hon. L. D. Shoemaker. In 1879 he was appointed, by Governor Hoyt, additional law judge of Luzerne county, to fill a vacancy; in 1880 was nominated and elected to the position for ten years, and in 1890 was elected for a second term, the Republicans naming no candidate against him. He was for twenty-two years an active member of the Wilkes-Barre Fire Department, serving during twenty years of the time either as assistant or chief engineer. He served three years in the council of the old borough of Wilkes-Barre; was editor for a time of the old Luzerne Union, then the Democratic organ of the county; was on the staff of Governor Hartranft as an aide, with the rank of colonel; has been for many years one of the trustees of the Home for Friendless Children, in Wilkes-Barre, and has at various times held many other important positions of like character. On June 3, 1857, he married Sarah Richards Butler, who came of old New England and Revolutionary stock, and by her he has had two sons: John Butler, an attorney in practice at the Luzerne bar, and George Stanley, a physician practicing in Phila- delphia, both being graduates of Yale. The family are Episcopalians.

J. M. WOODWORTH, farmer, P. O. Town Line, was born in Union township July 22, 1844, where he was also reared, receiving his education at the common schools. He is a son of Almon and Loley (Monroe) Woodworth, the former born in New York State, July 7, 1804, the latter in Huntington township, February 18, 1813. Almon Woodworth removed to this county about 1833, locating in Union township, near Town Line, on a farm of 101 acres, on which were a few improvements. By per- severance, hard work and untiring energy, he succeeded in building and improving as only a man of taste and refinement could. Mr. Woodworth was a local Methodist preacher; he was a man of deep convictions, and a powerful worker in the church. His influence was good, his teaching was moral, and his life was pure. He died in 1854, aged fifty years, followed by his widow November 2, 1869, when she was aged fifty-six years. Mr. Woodworth was twice married: for his first wife he wedded Miss Eliza Wilkenson, by whom he had seven children, six of whom grew to maturity. By his second union, with Miss Loley Monroe, four children were

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History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 225

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