USA > Pennsylvania > Schuylkill County > History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 55
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Shugars, Hiram, is not only an estimable citizen of Pottsville, but his occupation-that of tin-roofing, spouting, and repairing with heating work a specialty-makes him one of the most useful and necessary adjuncts to the thriving city in which he has his residence. Mr. Shugars was born at Catawissa, Columbia county, Pa., June 6, 1845, and is descended on both the paternal and ma- ternal sides from pioneer families of Pennsylvania. His parents were Jacob and Mary (Hartzel) Shugars, both of whom were na- tives of Columbia county, where they resided during life, the father dying at the age of seventy-two and the mother at the ad- vanced age of eighty-seven. The father followed farming as his life's vocation. As stated above both families were of pioneer stock in Columbia county, the maternal grandfather dying there at the extreme old age of ninety-three years. The subject of this review was reared in Columbia county and received his educational training in the public schools. In his preparation for a business career he served an apprenticeship of three years at the roofing business in Washingtonville, Montour county, after which he worked as a journeyman for twenty years, ten years of that time having been spent in Pottsville, where he located in 1875. In 1879 he embarked in business for himself along the lines specified in the introductory sentence of this review, and he has since suc- cessfully conducted the same, until now he has an establishment which is universally recognized as an important center of indus- try in the city of Pottsville. Mr. Shugars was married on July 4. 1873, selecting as his helpmate Euphemia Blee, of Jerseytown, Montour county, and to this union one son was born-William B .. who is the manager of the Rettig brewery at Pottsville. William B. Shugars married Martha Potts, and he and his wife are the parents of two children, M. Elizabeth and Kathryn L. Hiram Shugars
is a member of the Enghsh Lutheran church at Pottsville, and his political predilection are marked by a strong adherence to the principles of the Democratic party.
Shugars, William B., the efficient and popular manager of the Rettig Brewing Company, of Pottsville, is a selon of families inned in America in the colonial era, and the name which he bears has long been linked with the annals of the old keystone state, of which he is a native son. Mr. Shugars was born at Washingtonville, Montour county, Pa. May 19, 1823, a son of Hiram and Ruphema Shugars, the former of whom was born in Columbus counts. P.a. June 6, 18.15, and the latter in Montour community. Nov. o. 1817. One of the great-great grandfathers m the paternal line served as a post rider in the Continental ranks during the war of the Revolution. The original American an- cestors in the maternal hine came to this country in 1744o. William B. Shugars was a child at the time of his parents' removal to Pottsville, and in this city he was reared to maturity, receiving good educational advantages. He is an expert accountant, his been identified with the executive affairs of the Rettig Brewing Company since 18, and is now manager of its office and bus. ness. In politics he is independent and his religions faith is that of the Presbyterian church. In a fraternal way he is a popular member of Pottsville Lodge, No. 207. Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a young man who stands high in local busi- ness and social circles and his pleasant home is notable for its gra- cious hospitality. On Sept. 12. 1901. Mr. Shugars was united in marriage to Miss Martha W. Potts, daughter of Charles P. and Sally ( St. Clair) Potts, of Pottsville, and this union has granted three children-Margaret Elizabeth, Marshall B. (deceased). and Kathryn Lonise.
Shumway, Jay Garrison, editor and publisher of "The Call" at Schuylkill Haven, was born at Goshen, Cape May county, N. J .. Oct. 20, 180). He is descended from a long line of New England ancestry, his great-grandfather. Amasa Shumway, having been born in Vermont in 1788. About 1820 he removed to Mexico. Oswego county, N. Y., where he died in 1855. He was a farmer by occupation, and a strict follower of the religious doctrines of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married Hannah Spencer, an English woman, by whom he had a family of nine children, one of whom, Orsman Otway Shumway, was the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch. He was born at Mexico. N. Y., in 1825, and at the age of twenty years removed to Fulton in the same county, where he opened a book and stationery store which he conducted successfully for a number of years, when he was burned out. He then accepted the principalship of Faley seminary. holding that position for six years. He served as police justice for a number of years when, in 1867, he removed to Vineland, N. J., and again engaged in the book and stationery business, in which he continued until his death, in 1871. He was prominent in political affairs, and was twice the Republican nominee for the
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office of state senator, but the district being strongly Democratic, he went down with the defeat of his party. For many years hc was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was twice married, his first "wife, who in maidenhood was Lydia Snyder, was the mother of Channing Shumway, father of the sub- ject of this article. He was born in Fulton, N. Y., Aug. 21, 1844. Channing Shumway was the only child born to this union who lived to years of maturity. The father's union with Amanda Bald- win was also blessed with one son, Otway Shumway, now a resi- dent of Oswego, N. Y. Channing Shumway was married on Dec. 20, 1868, to Miss Deborah, daughter of William F. Garrison, one of the most prominent ship-builders of Cape May county, N. J., and a son of William Garrison, a pioneer ship-builder of the New Jersey peninsula. Jay G. is the only surviving child born to this union, his brother, Otway H. having died on Nov. 5, 1896, and his mother, Deborah (Garrison) Shumway, died Feb. 10, 1874, at the age of twenty-eight years. On Feb. 9, 1876, Channing Shumway married Miss Ella J. Whitfield, of Pottsville, a daughter of Joseph Whit- field, a native of England, who was born near Liverpool in 1807, came to the United States in 1824, and settled in Pottsville in 1831. Here he conducted a dry-goods business for forty-six years, or until his death. He was class-mate of Edward Everett, Judge Story, Longfellow and others who achieved national greatness. Three children were born to the father's second marriage, Jessie W .. Lucia D. and Channing R. The father of J. G. Shumway spent his early years after his graduation from Faley seminary as a clerk in the postoffice at Fulton, N. Y. He enlisted in 1863 as a member of Company A, 24th New York cavalry and served under that intrepid commander, Gen. Phil. Sheridan. His regiment was in the second division of Sheridan's cavalry corps, which was de- tached for service with the Army of the Potomac, while the re- mainder of the corps was maneuvering in the Shenandoah Val- ley. Beginning with the Wilderness campaign, Mr. Shumway participated in all the battles and skirmishes of the Army of the Potomac, and a number of raids into the enemy's country, up to and including the capitulation at Appomattox. He received a painful wound in the battle of June 19, 1864, in front of Peters- burg, and was honorably discharged in June, 1865. Returning from the army, Mr. Shumway was employed in the postoffice at Washington, D. C., for one year, resigning that position to accept one in the employ of Joseph Fayal, of Jefferson county, N. Y. He was in the grocery business in New Jersey for three or four years and was a general agent for the Wheeler & Wilson Sewing Machine Company, leaving that position in 1870, to come to Pottsville, where he spent five years in the book and stationery business. In 1875, he was manager of the Pottsville Evening Chronicle ; became treasurer and general manager of the Standard Publishing Company, when that corporation absorbed the Chron- icle, publishing the Chronicle as a daily, and the Standard as a weekly, until Dec. 30, 1899, when he sold his interests and re-
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moved to Philadelphia He has since held a lucrative position m the accounting department of a large mercantile establishment. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity in Pottsville, has attained to the Knights Templars degee, and is also a member of Gowen Post. No. 23. Girand Army of the Republic, in Pottsville, Jay Garrison Shumway, the subject of this review, was educated in the Pous- ville public schools. He learned the printing business in youth. and on Dec. 1. 18%, entered the employ of the Standard Publish- ing Company as a joh printer. After about a year in this posi- tion, he accepted the offer of Alfred M. Slocum of Philadelphia. and held the position of pressman in that city for about one year. He then returned to the "Standard," and assumed charge of the job press room until April, 18%0, when he became a reporter on
the paper, and was finally promoted to the editorship, a position which he held from November, 1802, to Jan. 1. 1000, when the paper was sold. He served in various positions following this. principally with the International Correspondence Schools, until Nov. 18th, 1001, when he took charge of the "Call," which he now owns and publishes. It is a six-column folio, published weekly : is independent in politics and under its present management is a spicy and readable exponent of the local news. The plant is well equipped for the large patronage in job work and commercial printing which it receives. Mr. Shumway was married on Oct. 18. 1Sex to Miss Mary M., daughter of William O), and Sarah (Burries) Davies. Her father was born in Chester, England. Feb. 27. 1847. came to America in 1802 and soon became prominently identified with the mercantile department of the Lehigh Valley Coal and Navigation Company. He was superintendent of two or more stores at different places, and his headquarters were frequently transferred. He was a member of the engineering corps which established the Saint Paul & Duluth railroad, later becoming freight accountant, paymaster and traveling auditor of that road. until he resigned in 1883 to become superintendent of the South- west Virginia Improvement Company, with headquarters at Po- cahontas, Va. He resumed mercantile pursuits in 1885. when he accepted the superintendency of two company stores at Snow Shoe. Pa .. remaining there until i889, when he moved to Wilkes Barre. and assumed the management of a commission house. In 1892 he came to Pottsville as general agent, and traveling accountant for the Lehigh Valley Coal Company, a position which he held at the time of his death, on Nov. 18, 1902. Mr. Davies was a Mason, and a member of the Odd Fellows. He was married at Manch Chunk. T'a., to Sarah Burries on Aug. 19. 1872, and they had nine children. the eldest of whom is Mrs. Jay G. Shumway. Mr and Mrs. Shum- way have two children. Jay Davies, born July 4. 1900, and Will- iam Garrison, born Oct. 27. 1905. Mr. Shumway and wife are members of Saint Matthews Lutheran church in Schuylkill Haven.
Siegfried, Ulysses Grant, an efficient locomotive engineer in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, on the Sunbury division, whose home is in Pottsville, was born at Selin-grove Junc-
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BIOGRAPHICAL
tion, Northumberland county, on April 21, 1865. He is one of the five children bort to Benjamin B and Catherine (Christine ) Sieg- fried, the others bong Sumeth (., Mellmont, Elmira and Emma. 1.1- mira died while still an infant and Simeon passed away in hi- twenty- first year. The material grandfather, Simeon Christine, came to the United States in England and located in Snyder county. The subject of the great attended the public schools of his native coun- s fl rteen years of age and then started work in the Len he had completed that he accepted a position on p Racu for a period of four years. On obtainir y a government surveying party he went to the 1 lis return cast entered the employ of the whipany on Nov. 10. 1887, at Sunbury, a, a the following year, he was transferred t> the :Sy was promoted to the position of loco-
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: 'Ir. Siegfried married Miss Ida Ilank, of Vanttille, Luzerne county, Pa. They have no children ano b .! are members of the Reformed church of Pottsville. Mr. Siegfried is prominent in fraternal circles through out the state, being identified with all the prominent orders. He is a Scottish Rite Mason of the Philadelphia Consistory; a member of Camp No. 36, Patriotic Order of 1& Sons of America of Pottsville ; Seneca Tribe, No. 41, Improved Ur ler of Red Men ; Miners' Lodge. No. 20, Independent Order of Quy Fellows; Franklin Encampment, No. 4, of the same order, and the Brotherhood of Locomotive En- gineers. He has passed through au the chairs of the Odil Fellows' organization, is a past sachem Red Men. a past chief of the Engineers' Brotherhood, and : present time is serving his fifth year as treasurer of the last per order. Politically he is inde- pendent of party or faction i. exercise of his right of franchise as to candidates for local office . but generally votes the Republican ticket in state and national affair: Mrs. Siegfried has wix brothers and a sister living-Alfred. 4. ry, Boye, Harrison. Wright. Claude and Mary. Another sister. Ama, died a few years ago. The Sieg- fried home in Pottsville is one of the handsomest as well as one of the most homelike places of the city.
Silliman, Edward S ..... Definite and beneficent was the impress al by the honored subject of this memo upon the economic and Atrial history of Schuylkill county, and his name merits a place ng Metinche: in the roll of those who primarily conserv .1 vored section of the state. instinct with m- 7.
: character. he was well equipped for winning is .
ti battle of life and for maintaining an invio- Stence and good will < a his fellow men. Mr. rne. Per. Marty. P ... June 20. 1820. 175 ste rumored de advantages of the con- 1110 !! enel that aggressiveness and stability of character paced him in the forefront as a construc-
tive work. de cate to Mahanoy City at the time of the outbreak in! wir for the purpose of engaging in coal 29-Vol. II
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BIOGRAPHICAL 449
tion, Northumberland county, on April 21, 1865. He is one of the five children born to Benjamin B. and Catherine (Christine) Sicg- fried, the others being Simeon C., Mellmont, Elmira and Emma. El- mira died while still an infant and Simeon passed away in his twenty- first year. The maternal grandfather, Simeon Christine, came to the United States from England and located in Snyder county. The subject of this sketch attended the public schools of his native coun- try until he was thirteen years of age and then started work in the iron mines. When he had completed that he accepted a position on a farm and there remained for a period of four years. On obtaining a job as rodman with a government surveying party he went to the Indian Territory and on his return cast entered the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company on Nov. 10, 1887, at Sunbury, as a fireman. On Feb. 22, of the following year, he was transferred to the Pottsville division and in 1892 was promoted to the position of loco- motive engineer. In 1890 Mr. Siegfried married Miss Ida Hawk, daughter of William Hawk, of Mainville, Luzerne county, Pa. They have no children and both are members of the Reformed church of Pottsville. Mr. Siegfried is prominent in fraternal circles through- out the state, being identified with all the prominent orders. He is a Scottish Rite Mason of the Philadelphia Consistory; a member of Camp No. 36, Patriotic Order of the Sons of America of Pottsville ; Seneca Tribe, No. 41, Improved Order of Red Men ; Miners' Lodge, No. 20, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Franklin Encampment, No. 4, of the same order, and the Brotherhood of Locomotive En- gineers. He has passed through all the chairs of the Odd Fellows' organization, is a past sachem of the Red Men, a past chief of the Engineers' Brotherhood, and at the present time is serving his fifth year as treasurer of the last named order. Politically he is inde- pendent of party or faction in the exercise of his right of franchise as to candidates for local offices, but generally votes the Republican ticket in state and national affairs. Mrs. Siegfried has six brothers and a sister living-Alfred, Jerry, Boyd, Harrison, Wright, Claude and Mary. Another sister, Anna, died a few years ago. The Sieg- fried home in Pottsville is one of the handsomest as well as one of the most homelike places of the city.
Silliman, Edward S .- Definite and beneficent was the impress made by the honored subject of this memoir upon the economic and industrial history of Schuylkill county, and his name merits a place of lasting distinction upon the roll of those who primarily conserved the upbuilding of this favored section of the state. Instinct with in- tegrity and strength of character, he was well equipped for winning distinctive victories in the battle of life and for maintaining an invio- lable hold upon the confidence and good will of his fellow men. Mr. Silliman was born at Berne, Berks county, Pa., June 20, 1820, was reared to manhood in this state, received the advantages of the com- mon schools and early developed that aggressiveness and stability of character which eventually placed him in the forefront as a construc- tive worker and executive. He came to Mahanoy City at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war for the purpose of engaging in coal 29-Vol. II
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mining and became one of the pioneer operators in this part of the great anthracite district. In 1800 he sank the first shaft and built the first breaker in the Mahanoy valley, and this mine is now known as the North Mahaney colhery, owned by the Philadelphia & Reading Coal and Iron Company. Prior to opening this property Mr. Silliman had been a resident of Pottsville, and had become convinced that abun -. dant coal deposits were waiting development in the Mahanoy valley. His convictions in this regard led him to exploit his ideas by per- sonal effort and investment and he secured from Biddle, Troutman & Dundas, of Philadelphia, a large tract of land in this locality. At that time the nearest coal operations were at Girardville, ten miles distant from the point where he established his colliery. On Jan, 14. 1802. the first shipment of coal was made from this new breaker, and this is to be recorded as the initial shipment within a radius of eight miles of the present Mahanoy City. Mr. Silliman's name gave title to the colliery, which at that time had a capacity for producing 100,000 tons of coal annually, with about 350 individuals represented on the pay roll. After operating this colliery for about eight years Mr. Silliman and his father disposed of their interest in the mine to the Crane Iron Company, of Catasauqua. It may be stated incidentally that the father was sheriff of Berks county as early as 1832. Soon after the sale of the mine a strike occurred among its operatives and the breaker was burned. The Philadelphia & Reading Coal and Iron Company shortly afterward secured control of the property, and to- day it is one of the largest and most profitable operated collieries in the region. After retiring from the enterprise noted. Mr. Silliman built an iron furnace at New Ringgold, but the undertaking was not a financial success owing to a general depression in the iron market at that time. He then turned his attention to the soft coal fields and became the operator of an extensive mine at Houtzdale, Clearfield county, where he was again a pioneer in developing the coal field. as he had previously been at Mahanoy City. He later acquired a tract of 1.600 acres of valuable coal land near Sheppton. Schuylkill county. Apart from this intimate connection with the early developments of the coal industry in this section, Mr. Silliman contributed in a splen- did and generous way to the upbuilding of Mahanoy City, which con- tinued to be his home until his death, which occurred on May 1, 1904. In 1864 he effected the organization of the First National bank of Mahanoy City, and thereafter he regularly attended the meetings of its directorate until within a few months prior to his demise. He was elected president of the bank in 1866 and filled this important execu- tive office thereafter until he was called from the scene of life's en- deavors. He was the organizer of the Mahanoy City Water Com- pany, which supplies the city and also many collieries with water, and was president of the company from its inception until his death. He was also president and one of the incorporators of the Mahanoy City Electric Light, Heat and Power Company and the Mahanoy City Gas Company, and was a charter member of the Humane Hose Company. In 1875 Mr. Silliman organized the Silliman Guards, and the organi-
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BIOGRAPHICAL
zation is now perpetuated as Company E, 8th regiment, Pennsylvania National Guard. Even these brief statements indicate the diversity of Mr. Silliman's interests, and show the broad-minded attributes of the man. He did not hedge himself in with the narrow lines of individual business aggrandizement, but found pleasure in the forwarding of enterprises for the general good and was a man unostentatious and kindly, easy of approach, generous and tolerant. His influence and helpfulness permcated the life and being of his home city and county and his capitalistic support did much to bring about the magnificent development of this section. Honesty and integrity dwelt with him as constant guests and he commanded the respect and confidence of all classes of people. In 1858 Mr. Silliman was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Keller, whose death occurred in 1894. They became the parents of four children : Ellen, now the wife of George H. Jackson, of Philadelphia ; Edward, James and Charles, who remain residents of Mahanoy City. Mr. Silliman was a consistent member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and his political allegiance was given to the Republican party.
Silliman, Edward S., president of the First National bank and also of the City Water Company of Mahanoy City, was born Nov. 4, 1865, a son of Edward S. and Sarah (Keller) Silliman, both repre- sentatives of pioneer families in eastern Pennsylvania. His paternal grandfather, James Silliman, was elected sheriff of Berks county, Pa., in 1832. The subject of this sketch was born and educated in Mahanoy City and he has been a resident of his native borough dur- ing most of his life. He is prominently identified with the business and social affairs of Mahanoy City, with which the family name has long been associated. Mr. Silliman is a Republican in his political views, and affiliates with the Protestant Episcopal church. He is a member of the Union Republican club of Philadelphia, the Young Men's Republican club of Mahanoy City, and the Central Republican club of Pottsville. Of the fraternal societies he holds membership in the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks in Mahanoy City. Mr. Silli- man was married on Dec. 7, 1905, to Miss Mabel S. Beck, a daughter of William and Matilda (Strauch) Beck, of Schuylkill county. Mr. and Mrs. Silliman are the happy parents of a little daughter, Miss Mary B., born in September, 1906.
Silliman, H. I., editor of the Tamaqua Evening Courier, was born at Mahanoy Plane, Schuylkill county, Pa., Dec. 15, 1876, a son of John H. "Sillyman," the youngest son of John Sillyman, who was the eldest of four brothers prominent in the development of the tim- ber and mining interests in the county in early days. These were James, Thomas, Samuel and John Sillyman, who came to Pottsville in 1820 as contractors in the building of the turnpike between Reading and Sunbury. After completing this work, they turned their attention to the timber business for a time, and later engaged extensively in mining operations. The mines on the "America Tract" at Pottsville were opened and operated by the Sillyman brothers, as was also the Bear Ridge tract, in the Schuylkill valley. Later they worked the
SCHUYLKILL COUNTY
colheres at Crow Hollow, St. Clair, Middleport, Patterson, Tusca- Fora and Mahanos City. They were all married and reared large fam- thes, some of whom retain the original spelling of the name, while others have substituted "i" for "y" and, whether right or wrong, the name is also found written "Selliman." The family was intensely loyal to the national government during the Civil war, each family contributing to the volunteer service, one of whom, James L Silliman. was one of the "First Defenders," and died soon after being dis- charged from the three months' service in 1861. He was the first Civil war sokhier buried in the Pottsville cemetery. The subject of this sketch has spent all of his mature years in journalism and other lit- erary work. He was educated at the Tamaqua high school and at the age of sixteen began his newspaper career. For the last eight years he has been one of the editors of the Tamaqua Evening Courier, and in addition to this work contributes to the columns of other newspapers and magazines, having been the regular correspondent of the New York Sun from the southern coal fields during the last seven years. Mr. Silliman is active and influential in the business affairs of Tama- qua ; is prominently identified with various lodges and social organiza- tions : is a member and secretary of Tamaqua Lodge, No. 59. Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks ; is also treasurer of the Elks' home. and is a member and secretary of the board of trustees of the Panther Creek Valley hospital association. John H. Silliman, father of the subject of this article, was for many years trainmaster on the Shamo- kin division of the Reading railroad, with headquarters at Mahanoy Plane. Later he was transferred to Tamaqua, subsequently going south and engaging in the contracting business. In 1889 he returned to Mahanoy Plane and resumed the duties of his former position there.
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