History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 90

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

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FRANK H. BANKER, the well-known real estate and loan broker, of Pittston (of which place he is a native), was born February 28, 1858. His parents are among the oldest residents of the Wyoming Valley. His father, Charles Banker, a railroad contractor, located in Pittston in the year 1842, about which time he married Mary A., daughter of Francis Yates, founder of the borough of Yatesville, Pa., in whose honor the town was named. Of their marriage there are four children, viz. : John P. Banker, a well-to-do Kansas farmer and stock raiser; Susan, wife of Rev. G. M. Col- ville, D. D .; Frank H., real estate and loan broker, and Nellie M., teacher in the West Pittston High School. Frank H. Banker attended the Wyoming College of Business with a view to fitting himself for a professional penman, but in the spring of 1878 he emigrated to Kansas, and engaged with the J. B. Watkins Land Mort- gage Co., at Lawrence. Finding him well adapted to the business, he was, in a few years, transferred to Texas, the company's new field of operation. Realizing that a

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knowledge of law would be of much service in his business, he took the course as prescribed by the supreme court, and having on February 7, 1888, passed a final examination before members of the Brown county (Texas) bar, a license to prac- tice law was granted. The company next decided to extend business into Louisi- ana, and Mr. Banker was selected to open an office at Lake Charles, which he did. After remaining with the Watkins company for more than nine years, he next engaged in the real estate and loaning business for himself at his former home in Pittston, Pa. Here, on September 25, 1889, he was united in marriage with Helen S., youngest daughter of LeGrange and Mary J. Daman. Their marriage has since been blessed with a little daughter, Ida May. The subject of this sketch is a mem- ber of the West Side Presbyterian Church; also one of the board of directors of the Y. M. C. A. In conclusion: Mr. Banker is securing for himself a nice business, in the interest of which he publishes a monthly paper entitled Banker's Real Estate News, and he enjoys the confidence of the entire community.

JAMES BANKS, engineer, Port Blanchard, was born July 28, 1835, in County Mayo, Ireland, and is fourth in the order of birth in the family of six children of Anthony and Ann (Burke) Banks, natives of the same place. He is descended in a direct line from Thomas Banks, the famous English sculptor, who was born in Lambeth, England, December, 1735, and died covered with honors, February 2, 1805. Our subject settled in this county in 1847, and worked as a driver in the mines from 1850 until 1852. He was then employed as a brakeman on the railroad, and in 1858 as a fireman on the locomotive "Spitfire," one of the first locomotives imported from England, and which was afterward exhibited at the Philadelphia Centennial. In 1860 Mr. Banks was employed as headsman, but in 1864 he met with a very serious accident, having the shin bone of his right leg ground almost entirely out. From 1866 up to the present he has been engaged in his present position as engi- neer at No. 1 Plane, Philadelphia Coal Company. On June 30, 1857, our subject was united in marriage with Alice, daughter of Ashbell T. and Maria (Halsted) Hobbs, natives of Susquehanna county, Pa., and they have been blessed with the following children: Mary J., born April 20, 1858, married to A. H. Fellows, furni- ture dealer, Humboldt, Neb. ; William, born July 14, 1860; Annie, born March 11, 1862; James, born November 7, 1864; Alice, born May 12, 1866; Theresa, born August 5, 1870; Eugene, born June 2, 1875, and Walter, born February 1, 1881. Our subject is a member of the Roman Catholic Church, and the C. T. A. U. In politics he is a Democrat.

HENRY BANTA, merchant and saloon-keeper, Luzerne, was born in Newfoundland, Passaic county, N. J., July 1, 1853, a son of Henry and Sarah (Angle) Banta, both of whom were born in New Jersey. were farmers of some respect, and are, at present writing, living in New Jersey. Henry's father had two near relatives in the Revo- lutionary war who were captured by the British, taken to some prison ship lying at New York, and were never heard of afterward. Indeed, both the Bantas and Angles are prominent men in history. The Bantas come of Dutch ancestry who emigrated to this country early in the seventeenth century; the Angles are of English descent. The family of Henry and Sarah Banta consisted of eleven children, ten of whom reached maturity, and seven are now living, Henry being the sixth of the family. Our subject was reared and educated in Passaic county, N. J., where he in early life confined himself to agricultural pursuits. In 1871 he removed to this county, locating at Shickshinny, where he remained two years; thence to Nanticoke, where he resided seven years; and from there he removed in 1880 to Broderick's, Kingston township, this county, where he was engaged in mining. In 1884 he embarked in mercantile business in conjunction with his mine work, at which he prospered beyond his expectations; has also been in the saloon business since 1889. He is a man of enterprise and push, one who has made what he has by hard labor, economy and good judgment. During his mining experience he received an injury from a premature explosion, which burnt his arms and face, though not seriously.

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

On September 14, 1873, Mr. Banta married Miss Helen A., daughter of Willard and Mary E. Green, and nine children were born to them, four of whom are now living: Elmer E., Nellie, Henry and Eugene G. Mrs. Banta's mother is a cousin to Col. Elsworth, noted in the history of our late Civil war. Mr. Banta had two brothers, John J. and Charles G., also in that war, serving in the Northern army. Mr. Banta is a member of the P. O. S. of A., and of the I. O. O. F., and Encamp- ment. Politically he is a Republican.

DAVID BARBER (deceased) was born in Forty Fort, in 1827, and was a son of John and Ellen E. Barber. He was a boat-builder by trade, but was a breaker-boss dur- ing the last nine years of his life. He died July 20, 1880. The family lived at Plainsville sixteen years, and in 1890 removed to their present home on Swoyer's Hill. Mr. Barber was married, in 1851, to Ruth A., daughter of Joseph and Ellen E. Staller, natives of New Jersey, and of New England origin, and to this union were born thirteen children, ten of whom are living, viz: Joseph, Emma (Mrs. J. L. Arnot), Alonzo G. (engineer at the Keystone Colliery), Stella (married to John Mac- Keever, foreman of the Wire works, Wilkes-Barre), Clarence E. (pumpman at the Wilkes-Barre Water Works), Cora (married to Jacob MeNeal, train dispatcher, Ash- ley). Jessie M. (a fashionable dressmaker, who does work for some of the elite of Wilkes-Barre, and resides at home), Carrie E. (married to Grier Blanchard, weigh- master, Pittston) and Francis M. and Fred, drivers in the Henry Colliery. The family attend the Methodist Episcopal Church, and politically are in sympathy with the Republican party.

JOHN FOSTER BARBER. This well-known and highly popular merchant of Hazle- ton was born in New Berlin, Union Co., Pa., December 3, 1843, a son of Col. Robert B. and Mary Jane (Foster) Barber. Col. Robert B. Barber, who is a son of Samuel Barber, was born in Buffalo Valley, Pa., February 3, 1812, in an old log house built by his grandfather in 1772. He received a liberal education at the public schools of his time, and graduated at Jefferson College in 1835; studied law, and in 1837 was admitted to the bar of Union county, Pa. In 1839 he was appointed deputy attorney-general, by Governor Porter, and again in 1846 by Governor Shunk; in 1852 he was given the rank of colonel by Governor Bigler. He has been very prominent in politics, also in the Presbyterian Church, and is a man of high literary attainments. Our subject was educated in the common schools, in the Union Seminary at New Berlin, also in Mifflinsburg Academy, and at the age of twenty-four commenced teaching. During one year he went to Eastman's Business College, where he graduated, and then resumed teaching. After a short time he accepted a position as clerk in a hardware store at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., where he remained about one year, when he again resumed teaching. He taught in the Union · Seminary about a year, and then, in 1870, came to Hazleton, where he entered the employ of J. P. Youngman & Co., as clerk in their hardware store. One year later he bought out his employers, and in 1877 he sold an interest in the business to his brother, Charles W. Barber, who has since been a partner, the firm being now known as J. F. Barber & Co., the concern being one of the most extensive hardware establishments in Luzerne county. Mr. Barber has been twice married, first time to Minerva S. Swenck, who departed this life in 1876, leaving one infant child, Minerva S., who died seven months later. Mr. Barber married, November 12, 1890, for his second wife, Miss Agnes Schultz, of Colebrookdale, Berks Co., Pa. Mr. Barber is an elder in the Presbyterian Church. Politically he is a Democrat, and has been a member of the Hazleton school board, and of the select council of the borough.

JOSEPH BARBER, head carpenter at the Henry Mine, Plainsville, was born in Wilkes-Barre, March 7, 1852, and is a son of David and Ruth A. (Stalter) Barber, natives of Wilkes-Barre and New Jersey, and of Yankee and Dutch-Irish origin respectively. His father, who was a boat-builder and carpenter, reared a family of thirteen children, ten of whom are living, and of whom he is the eldest. He was

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

educated in the public schools of Wilkes-Barre, and began life working at his father's trade, boat-building, for about two years, having since worked at the carpenter's trade. He was engaged by Sooy Smith & Co., of New York, as foreman, con- structing bridges on the Yazoo and Mississippi rivers for the Chicago & North- western Railroad; and then one, a mile and a quarter long, across the Susquehanna river, at Havre-de-Grace, Md .; and, after a short stay at home, one across the Schuylkill, at Philadelphia, for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. He then took charge of the carpenter work on the tunnel on Twenty-fifth street, Philadelphia, for Drake, Stratton & Co., contractors for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company; then resumed work for Sooy Smith & Co., taking charge of a gang of carpenters on a bridge on the Pennsylvania Railroad, at Birmingham, Pa., and afterward super- intended the construction of a bridge across the Tombigbee river at Mobile, Ala. ; and, after a few months working in Pittsburgh, took charge of the carpenter shop of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at Summer Hill, Pa. He then came to Plains and worked in the car shop at the Enterprise Shaft for a year and a half, and again resumed work for Sooy Smith & Co. as superintendent of the carpenter work on a bridge across the Ohio, at Pittsburgh, for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Mr. Barber was then engaged in car carpentering at the Enterprise Shaft, Plains, Jermyn, Pa., and in 1890 worked on the Lehigh Valley Railroad bridge at Port Bowkley; he engaged in his present occupation in January, 1891. Mr. Barber was married March 29, 1888, to Clarissa A., daughter of John and Catherine P. (Aton) Miller, natives of Pennsylvania, and of German and Yankee origin respectively. They have one child, Leonard W. He and his family usually attend the Methodist Episcopal Church; he has always given his political support to the Republican party.

LEMUEL A. BARBER, retired carpenter, Forty Fort, was born in Wilkes-Barre August 17, 1829, and is a son of Josephus and Annie (Weaver) Barber, natives of Forty Fort and Nanticoke, and of English and German origin respectively. His ancestors on both sides were early settlers in the Wyoming Valley. His father (who was a shoemaker by trade) reared a family of four children, two of whom are yet living, Lemuel A., and Sarah A., married to T. A. Dennis, who is a carpenter and resides in Wilkes-Barre. Our subject embarked in life at the age of seventeen by learning the carpenter's trade, which, together with contracting and jobbing, he has since followed, working on many of the largest and most important buildings in Wilkes-Barre, where he resided until 1870, excepting during 1849-50, when he lived in Forty Fort. From Wilkes-Barre he removed to his present beautiful resi- dence, which he had just completed. Mr. Barber, whose success in life is due to his Own personal efforts, now owns and deals extensively in real estate in Forty Fort and Wilkes-Barre, and is also engaged in building tenant honses. He was married March 18, 1850, to Lydia E., daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Dreher) Pugh, natives of Stroudsburg, Pa., and of American and German lineage respectively. This union was blessed with six children, four of whom are yet living, viz .: Mary L. (Mrs. T. B. Montanye, of Wilkes-Barre); Samuel K., wholesale dealer in dressed meats, Pittston; Emma, married to George N. Lewis, of West Pittston, engaged in the butchering business; and Hattie M., who married Charles G. Lewis, grocer, Pittston. Mr. and Mrs. Lemuel A. Barber are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is trustee, steward and class-leader. In his political views he was formerly a Republican, but is now in sympathy with the Prohibition party, and has been a member of the borough council in Forty Fort.

JOHN L. BARNES, proprietor of "Barnes' Hotel," Wilkes-Barre, was born in Swansea, Wales, July 25, 1849, and is a son of John and Mary (Ford) Barnes. He was reared in Eugland, educated in the public schools, and in 1866 came to Amer- ica, locating at Scranton, Pa., where he remained two years employed about the mines. In 1868 he removed to Plymouth, this county, where he worked in the mines till 1877. After an absence of seven years in the South and West-six of

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

which were spent at Phoenix, Ari., where he was foreman of the Vulture Gold Mines-he returned to Plymouth, and embarked in the hotel business, in which he has successfully continued, since 1889 in Wilkes-Barre. In 1877 Mr. Barnes mar- ried Mary, a daughter of David and Sarah Davis, of South Wales. He and his wife attend the services of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., and Encampment, and A. O. F., K. of M. C .; he is a Republican.

DELBERT BARNEY, M. D., a prominent young physician of Wilkes-Barre, was born in that city November 29, 1859, and is a son of John C. and Elizabeth (Van- demark) Barney. His paternal grandparents, Miles and Mary (Wade) Barney, pioneers of Wilkes-Barre, were of Connecticut stock. Our subject is the youngest of the four children born to his parents, and was left an orphan at four years of age. He was reared in Wilkes-Barre by his grandfather, and received his education in the high schools, and at LaFayette College, where he was graduated in 1884. In the same year he entered the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, and was graduated in 1887. After spending one year in hospital practice in the City Hospital, Wilkes-Barre, he, in 1888, opened an office in that city. The Doctor is a member of the Luzerne County Medical Society. In poli- tics he is a Republican.

PAUL BARRALL, manufacturer of and dealer in lumber, West Nanticoke, was born in Northampton county, Pa., March 15, 1850, and is the eldest in the family of six children of Reuben and Livana (Silvious) Barrall, also natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. Barrall was reared and educated in his native county, and at an early age engaged in lumbering, which he has made the chief occupation of his life, being at present one of the successful and best known dealers in lumber in eastern Penn- sylvania. In 1886 he established at West Nanticoke his present business, which consists of a modern planing and finishing-mill, in connection with a retail lumber yard. Mr. Barrall is a self-made man, and his success is due entirely to his own efforts from the very commencement of his business career. He was united in mar- riage, February 20, 1873, with Miss Mary E., daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Lie- dick) Louden, natives of Pennsylvania, and to them have been born eight children, as follows: Aning J., Minnie V., Arthur D., Mary J., Myrtle L., Thomas R., Carrie W. and Erma C. Socially Mr. Barrall is a member of the American Mechanics, and in politics he is a Republican.

CHARLES J. BARRETT. physician and surgeon, Pittston. Among the eminently suc- cessful medical men of Luzerne county none have attained greater distinction in the calling than the gentleman whose name appears at the opening of this sketch. He is not only known as a physician of skill and ability, but has been brought promi- nently before the literary world as a clever and able writer both of prose and poetry. He was born in County Mayo, Ireland, May 4, 1858, and is a son of John and Ann (Mannion) Barrett, also natives of County Mayo, who came to America in 1869 and settled in Pittston, where the father engaged in mercantile business. Charles J., who is the sixth in a family of seven children-five boys and two girls-until the age of fifteen years attended the public schools of Pittston. At that period of his life, not unlike most boys in the coal region, he began an apprenticeship at the mines, where he received the rough schooling that is taught to those unfortunate lads who are deprived of the advantage tendered children in other localities; but this sort of training awakens in many a desire to throw off the chains that bind them to ignorance, and seek that education and knowledge attained by others. Such was the case with our subject, and at the time of his service about the mines he was improving all his spare time by devoting it to study, so that at the age of nineteen, by constant perseverance and study, he became competent to teach, and for the following four years was principal of the Oregon and Welch Hill schools. In 1882. while teaching, he was appointed to a responsible and lucrative position in the adjutant-general's office, Washington, D. C., where he served to the entire satis- faction of the department for five years. While acting in this capacity he took advantage of the opportunities offered to receive a higher education, and therefore

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entered the Columbian University taking a classical and medical course, and gradu- ating in 1887. In August of the same year he resigned his position at Washington, and returned to Pittston, where he at once began the practice of his chosen profes- sion, and soon built up a large and lucrative practice. In 1887 the Doctor was appointed member of the pension examining board, and is still serving as such. He takes an active part in politics, and is an untiring worker in the Republican ranks. In fighting the cause of his party, however, he always meets his opponent in a fair open fight, and does not "shuffle" or take any of those mean advantages known in present day politics.

EDWARD BARRETT, merchant, Plains township, P. O. Hudson, was born in County Mayo, Ireland, and is a son of William and Honora (Mangan) Barrett, the former of whom was a fisherman. They reared a family of seven children, two of whom are living, and Edward is the fourth. Our subject came to America in 1846, and located at Carbondale, Pa., where he worked in the mines eight years; then moved to Mill Creek, and there worked in the mines eighteen years, and one year after- ward at Laflin, outside. He built his present residence aud place of business and removed therein in 1887. Mr. Barrett was married January 21, 1850, to Catherine A., daughter of Andrew and Bridget (Meehan) Kennedy, natives of County Mayo, Ireland, and they have had born unto them sixteen children, eight of whom are liv- ing, viz. : William B., James, Andrew P., Mary E., Dora T., Edward L., Joseph T. R., and John C. A. Mr. Barrett and family are members of the Catholic Church; politically he is a Democrat.

FRANK BARRETT, miner, Port Griffith, was born in his present residence, July 27, 1856, and is a son of John and Winneford (Burk) Barrett, natives of County Mayo, Ireland. The father, who was a school-teacher, reared four sons, of whom Frank is the only survivor. After the death of the father the mother married Michael O'Hara, by whom she had three children, of whom John is living. Our subject received a common-school education, and at an early age began working about the mines, which he has since followed, including two years fire-bossing and twelve years mining. Mr. Barrett was married February 7, 1888, to Miss Mary, daughter of Edward and Mary (Dillon) Dougher, natives of County Mayo, Ireland, They have two children, viz: Mary and Winneford. Mr. and Mrs. Barrett are members of the Catholic Church. He is a member of the A. O. H., and is a Demo- crat in his political views.

JAMES J. BARRETT, carpenter, Miners Mills, was born in Carbondale, Pa., Decem- ber 8, 1854, and is a son of Edward Barrett, of Mill Creek. He began working about the mines at a very early age, drawing his first pay when he was six years and three months old; he has acted in every capacity about the mines, except foreman, and has worked at his trade for nine years; he built his present residence in 1888. Mr. Barrett was married July 22, 1876, to Miss Margaret, daughter of Patrick Kelly, of Miners Mills, and they have had seven children, five of whom are living, viz .: Rose M., Catharine V., Edward E., Marguerite A. and Dora. Mr. Barrett and family are members of the Catholic Church; he is a Democrat in his political views, but votes for the best candidates and the best principles, irrespective of party lines.

JOHN BARRETT, farmer, Newport township, P. O. Glen Lyon, is a native of Ire- land, born February 6, 1826, a son of Edward and Mary (Lenard) Barrett, natives of County Meath, Ireland. Edward Barrett, who was a carpenter and wheelwright by trade, emigrated to this country when a middle-aged man, landing at Boston in August, 1847, where he sojourned but a short time, however, coming from there to New York, where he died in 1855; his widow died in 1858. John Barrett, who is one in a family of ten children, was reared in Ireland, receiving a public-school education, and in 1852 came to America, landing at New York May 14. In New York he farmed on Eugene Levison's farm, known as the "Tiralove Estate," for one season, and worked in different places throughout New York State until 1865 when he came to Pennsylvania. He was foreman for the Collings Brothers in the constructing of the Lehigh Valley Railroad between Wilkes-Barre and Fairview,

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for about two years; he then came to Newport township, this county, where he has since resided. He commenced in the mines, which occupation he followed for a number of years, and then came on the old Vendermaker farm, on which he remained eighteen years. In 1853 he was married to Bridget, daughter of Patrick and Mary (Leegan) Carrell, and to this union were born thirteen chil- dren, of whom seven are now living. Mr. Barrett is- a member of the Roman Catholic Church; politically he is a Democrat and has held the office of tax collector of Newport township for two years. John Barrett is one of the pioneers of Glen Lyon, and took a leading part in its advancement and its growth in many ways, such as giving right of way for Main street through his farm. He collected and contributed largely for the construction of St. Dennis Church.

OLIVER W. BARRETT, farmer, Huntington township, P. O. Cambra, was born February 14, 1859, in that township. He is a son of Dr. W. E. and Harriet (Fellows) Barrett, natives of Pennsylvania, and of Irish and English origin respect- ively. Dr. W. E. Barrett died April 15, 1873, aged forty-eight years. He was a son of John and Margaret (Reed) Barrett, natives respectively of Maryland and Penn- sylvania, and of Irish and Scotch origin, respectively; the father, a carriage builder by trade, was a soldier in the war of 1812; he died in 1870, aged seventy- seven years. Our subject is the second in order of birth in a family of six children, three of whom are living. He was educated in the common schools, the Columbus Academy, Wyoming Seminary, Mt. St. Mary's College, in Maryland, and studied medicine; he spent two years at Ann Arbor (Mich.) Medical College, when, owing to failing health, he was obliged to give up his studies and has since devoted himself to farming. His property is one mile east of Cambra postoffice, and con- tains fifty-four acres. Mr. Barrett was married, March 9, 1884, to Miss Emma, daughter of Gideon and Loranda (Brittian) Post. This union was blessed with two children, one living, William E., born February 14, 1885. Our subject is a member of the P. of H., and politically is a Democrat.

BARTHE'S WEEKLY STAR, a literary and news journal, published every Thursday by E. T. Barthe; size 31x44, eight pages, seventy-five cents a year. The Star was established in December, 1869, by an association composed of business men of Plym- outh, known as the "Plymouth Publishing Company." It was placed in charge of Fred M. Wagner, of Philadelphia, a gentleman wholly inexperienced in news- paper work, who, in four weeks, succeeded in running the new enterprise into the ground. The office then passed into the control of the present publisher, E. D. Barthe, who soon after purchased the plant, and revolutionized the character of the paper and the manner of carrying on the business. By persistent and well-directed effort, the paper was placed on a permanent basis, and from time to time improved until it now ranks among the best weekly papers of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It was started as a Republican newspaper, and for three years was conducted as such; but it finally ceased to be a political organ, assumed literary features, and became what it now is-a model family newspaper. In this respect it occupies a field wholly its own among the newspapers of Luzerne county, which no doubt largely accounts for the esteem in which it is held.

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History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 90

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