USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 204
USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 204
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 204
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Abraham Transue came from Easton and settled in the township in 1822. He married . Elizabeth Hopple and had four children, viz. : John, Charles, Lucy and Benjamin. John married Hester Smith, and lives on the homestead. He has three chil- dren, Ianthe, Charles and Emma. Ianthe is the wife of Johnson Clark and lives in the township. Charles resides in Wisconsin. Lucy is the wife of George Bird and lives in Michigan. Benjamin is dead. Philip Transue came from Easton and settled in Paradise township, where he lived the rest of his life.
Peter Wagner came from Easton, and in 1822 settled in Paradise Valley. After remaining a few years he returned with his entire family to . Easton.
George Hilgert came from Easton to Paradise Valley in 1822. He continued a resident till his death. He was the father of eight children, viz .: Jacob, George, Joseph, Charles, Elizabeth, Laan, Christine and Mary. Jacob married Ann Price, and resided in the township. He was the father of nine children, viz .: Jacob, Jehu, John, Frank, Harriet, Charles, Ann, Caroline and Etna. Jacob, John and Frank died unmarried. Jehu lives at Tobyhanna Mills. Harriet was the wife of Charles Bush, and lived in Lackawanna County. Charles resides in Scranton. Ann lives in Strouds- burg. Caroline died at Stanhope, New Jersey. Etna is married to Peter Walvet, and lives in
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Utah. George died a single man. Joseph lives in Northampton County. Elizabeth married John Snyder. Laan was the wife of Samuel Price, and lived in Price township. Christine was married to Jacob Houck, and lived in the West till her decease. Mary was the wife of Zachariah Nyce, and after his death married Lewis Orning. They moved to Bethlehem, where she died. Charles married Nancy Coffman, and resides in the town- ship. He is the father of three children,-Sam- uel, Urias and Matilda. Samuel married Emily Henry, and resides in the township. He has seven children, viz. : Frances, William, Charles, Henry, Mary E., Minnie and Orvia. Frances is the wife of T. M. Lake, and lives in New York. Charles, Henry and Mary E. are dead. William, Minnie and Orvia reside with their parents. Urias died a single man. Matilda is the wife of John W. Price, and lives in Pocono township.
George Bowman came from Plainfield township, Northampton County, and settled in Paradise Valley in 1822. He was the father of eight chil- dren, viz .: Mary, John, David, Ann, Rebecca, George, Samuel and Jacob. Mary died unmar- ried. John married Hannah Dornblaser, and re- sides in the township. He has four children, viz .: Jerome, Susan, Caroline and Mary ยท Jerome, Mary and Susan (the wife of John Young) died in the township. Caroline is the wife of George Arnat, and lives in the township. David resides in Pocono township. George resides in Hamilton township. Samuel lives in Iowa. Jacob married Margaret Price, and lived in the township till his decease. Rebecca is the wife of Jacob Harps, and lives in Hamilton. Ann was the wife of Aaron Koch, and lived in the township.
Michael Nauman settled in Paradise township in 1822. He had eleven children, viz : Michael, Joseph, Christian, George, Samuel, Susan, Sarah, Hannah, Mary, Elizabeth and Catharine. Mich- ael married Catharine Wolf, and lived in the township. He was the father of six children, viz .: George, Samuel, Frederick, Reuben, John and Isaiah. George married Wilhelmina Koerner, and lives in the township. Samuel, Fred, John and Isaiah went West, where John died. Reuben married Lizzie Neuhart, and resides in the town- ship. Joseph died in Hamilton township.
Christian Nauman resides in the township,
and has thirteen children, viz. : Edward, Michael, Frank, David, Alford, Joel, Emmett, Caroline, Jane, Lorah, Ella, Gertrude and Lizzie. Edward, Frank, Caroline (the wife of George Woolbach) and Lorah (the wife of Grant Corbin) live in Scranton. Jane is the wife of William Row, and lives in Lackawanna County. The others live in the township. George died in New York. Samuel died unmarried. Susan is the wife of Michael Beavers, and lives in Scranton. Hannah was the wife of William Bush, and re- sided in Pocono township. Sarah was the wife of Jacob Coffman, and lived in Paradise. Mary (deceased) was the wife of Peter Eckert, and after his decease married James Cross. Elizabeth, wife of John Boorem, resided in the township. Catha- rine, wife of Michael Long, lives in the township.
John Setzer settled in the township in 1824, and continued a resident till his death. He had thirteen children, viz .: Tobias, Noah, David, Mar- tin, Michael, Ezra, Mary, Sarah, Hannah, Lydia, Eliza, Albright and Hester. Tobias married Christine Learn, and lives in the township He had one child, John (dead). Noah, Michael and Lydia live in Wisconsin. David resides in Lack- awanna County. Martin died single. Ezra re- sides in Lackawanna County. Mary is the wife of Frederick Sandway, and lives in Lackawanna County. Sarah is the wife of Edward Mertz, and resides in Wisconsin. Hannah is married to a Mr. Houseman, and lives in New Jersey. Eliza- beth died unmarried. Albright lives in Califor- nia. Hester is the wife of Leopold Becker, and lives in the West.
All the old settlers took possession of the land without deeds. George Dornblaser, George Bow- man, Abraham Transue, Philip Transue, Peter Wagner and George Hilgert settled on a tract of land called the " James Morris tract." The land was conveyed by Morris to one Mussie, by Mussie to John Boys and by Boys to the several settlers.
Robert Westcott obtained a patent for the land on which John Learn settled. This land was transferred by Robert Westcott to Charles Coxe. Charles Coxe conveyed it to John Learn, who conveyed it to Jacob Learn, the present owner.
ROADS .- The first road constructed in what is now Paradise township was laid out in 1825 and was called the State road. It ran in an easterly
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direction through the centre of the township and connected Stroudsburg with Stanhope. Pre- vious to the erection of Paradise township two other roads were constructed. The one extends from Stanhope (now Swiftwater) to Henryville, the other from Paradise Valley to Price township. These roads were in a very bad condition, and in many places there were no bridges over the streams. Since Paradise was made a separate township, under the direction of competent super- visers more roads have been built, the old ones repaired and all been kept in an excellent condi- tion. The following is a list of the supervisors who have been elected from the erection of the township to the present day :
1849. James Henry.
Simon Marsh.
1850. James Henry.
Simon Marsh.
1869. Jacob Coffman. Henry Heller.
1851. William Coffman. Charles Hilgert.
1852. William Coffman. Charles Hilgert.
1853. George Boorem. John Roth.
1854. David Heller.
William Coffman.
1855. Abraham Transue. James Heller.
1856. Abraham Transue. James Heller.
1857. William Coffman. Oliver D. Smith.
1858. John Storm.
1877. William Coffman. Barnet Metzgar.
1878. Joel Dunlap. George H. Arndt.
1879. Joel Dunlap.
Reuben Coffman.
1852. Charles Henry. John Learn.
1853. James Kintz. Jacob Koerner.
1854. Jacob Bowman. Joseph Jones. 1855. Oliver D. Smith. John J. Price.
1863. Joseph Jones. Jacob Crouder.
1864. Samuel Bowman. Henry Heller.
1865. Jacob B. Teel.
Samuel Hilgert.
1866. Jacob B. Teel. George W. Smith.
1867. John Storm.
SCHOOLS .- Previous to 1834 there were no or- ganized schools in the township. The children
were either taught at home or at the residence of some neighbor. Shortly after this period two school-houses were built, the one frame and the other of logs. The frame school-house was built at the forks of a road a short distance from Henryville. The building still stands, but is not used for school purposes. The log building was constructed near the residence of Peter P. Dorn- blaser but was torn down long since. In place of these buildings there are now four well-constructed school-houses, all of which have been built within the past ten years. The schools are in a flourish- ing condition and are taught by competent teach- ers. In the selection of sites for buildings, atten- tion was paid to choosing positions easy of access for the majority of scholars. School No. 1 is lo- cated at Paradise Valley, and has on its roll the names of forty-five pupils. School No. 2 is sit- uated about two miles west of School No. 1, and numbers forty-five scholars. School No. 3 is lo- cated at Henryville and numbers forty-six pupils. School No. 4 is situated in the northern part of the township, and numbers forty-one pupils. The following is a list of school directors who have been elected since the erection of Paradise township :
1849. Tobias Setzer. David Edinger. Andrew L. Storm. P. P. Dornblaser. Charles Henry. John Storm.
1850. Elijah Deck. Charles Hilgert.
1851. Samuel Bowman. Levi Frantz.
1863. James Wilson. Chas. W. Transue.
1864. Charles Henry. Joseph L. Donnell. George H. Arndt. 1865. John Storm. Joseph Bush. Henry Brown. Amos Newhart.
1866. Theodore Rinker. Samuel Bowman.
1856. Samuel Bowman. James Kintz.
1857. Evan T. Long. Andrew L. Storm. 1858. John Storm. Jacob Biesecker. Charles Hilgert.
1859. James Heller. James Kintz. 1860. James Kintz.
1860. James Wilson. Charles Bush. Charles Hilgert. 1861. John Storm. Samuel Bowman.
1862. Andrew L. Storm. George R. Smith. Charles Bush.
Chas. W. Transue. 1859. John Storm. Chas. W. Transue.
1860. Jacob Bowman.
Andrew L. Storm. 1861. Jacob Bowman. Andrew L. Storm. 1862. John Setzer. . Philip B. Ulismer.
1880. Jacob Koerner. J. D. Dunlap.
1881. A. Halterman. Robert Labar. 1882. Geo. W. Nauman. A. Halterman.
1883. Robert Labar. Samuel Shook.
1885. Aug. Biesecker. Geo. W. Nauman.
1885. Aug. Biesecker. George Nauman. 1886. Jerome Bendis. W. Henry.
1867. Joseph Jones. 1868. James Heller. Jacob Koerner.
1870. Tobias Setzer. Barnet Metzgar.
1872. William Coffman. Barnet Metzgar.
1873. George W. Smith. Robert Dailey.
1874. Barnet Metzgar. Jacob Coffman.
1875. Barnet Metzgar. Jacob Coffman. 1876. J. Hardenstein. Jacob Coffman.
1866. George R. Smith. 1867. Francis Boorem. J. C. Snyder. James Hilgert. 1868. Abraham Gist. John A. Transue. Charles Hilgert. 1869. William Storm. George Wagner.
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1869. William C. Heller. James Heller.
Tobias Setzer.
1870. Francis Boorem. Levi Frantz.
1872. William Storm. George R. Smith. John Transue.
1873. James Kintz. S. P. Smith. John J. Price.
1874. George Wagner. Tobias Setzer.
1875. William Storm. Francis Boorem.
1885. Allen Keller. Jerome Bender.
1876. Charles Hilgert.
James Henry.
D. Detrick.
1886. George Knoll. James Smith.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE .- The following is a list of the justices of the peace who have served in and for Paradise township since its erection :
1849. Jacob Hilgert. John Roth.
1864. James Wilson.
1869. James Wilson.
1854. Jacob Hilgert.
Jacob Hilgert.
Oliver Smith.
1874. John A. Transue.
1859. Frederick Gilbert. Jacob Hilgert.
James Wilson.
1879. John A. Transue.
1864. John Storm.
1883. Francis Boorem.
HOTELS AND BOARDING-HOUSES -- For the past ten years there has been no licensed hotel in the township. The first tavern was built at Paradise Valley, in 1838, by George Bowman. Since that time it has been owned, successively, by David Ed- inger, Henry Kintz, Thomas Lockyer and James Kintz, the present owner and proprietor. It is located near the centre of the valley and com- mands a fine view. Many improvements and ad- ditions have been made to it during the past few years. It is now used exclusively as a boarding- house. Accommodations can be afforded to sev- enty-five guests. The township elections have al- ways been held here.
In 1842 James Henry built a hotel at Henry- ville. The building, with improvements and ad- ditions, is now used as a summer boarding-house, and accomniodates seventy-five guests. It is pleas- antly located in a narrow valley a short distance from the railroad station. It is known as the Hen- ryville House.
The Park House is the name of the largest boarding-house in Paradise township. It was built
at Henryville, in 1880, by William E. Henry. It is pleasantly situated, at a distance of a mile from Henryville Station. A branch of Brodhead Creek flows a few feet from the house The entire build- ing is supplied with water and all modern appli- ances. A billiard-room is attached, for the amuse- ment of the guests. The grounds are nicely ar- ranged for the practicing of all kinds of games and sports. Mrs. William E. Henry is the present owner. The house affords ample room for the accommodation of one hundred and twenty-five guests.
Chase & Cattell are the proprietors of the Wis- casset House, situated a short distance from Forks Station. The site for the house was well chosen and affords a good view. The house is newly built and supplied with the latest appliances. Excellent accommodations can be afforded for seventy-five- persons
STORES AND MILLS .-- The first store in Paradise township was opened at Henryville, in 1845, by James Morgan and Edward Brown. Previous to the opening of this store Stroudsburg was the near- est place at which the usual necessaries of life could be obtained. Messrs. Brown & Morgan kept a general retail store for a few years and then closed. For a year or more there was no store at Henry- ville, but in 1850 James Morgan and Charles Henry opened another store. Morgan shortly afterwards retired, leaving Henry sole proprietor for a short time, when he sold a half-interest to V. T. Miller. They, in turn, sold to C. E. Post, whom W. E. Henry & Co. succeeded. W. C. Henry, the present owner, is the successor of W. E. Henry & Co.
In 1849 James Kintz built and opened a store in Paradise Valley, and has since retained posses- sion and management of it.
The next store was opened in 1881, near the present Lutheran Church. H. B. Courtright, the proprietor, has everything conveniently arranged for the conducting of business.
In 1882 C. E. Post opened another store at Hen- ryville. He assumed the management for about a year, when it was transferred to Jackson Lantz, who shortly afterwards transferred it to Rufus Price, the present owner.
The first saw-mill in the township was built at Henryville, in 1835, by James Henry. It is lo-
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1878. Francis Boorem. Samuel Hilgert. Tobias Setzer. 1879. Frank Smith. John Hamlin.
1880. James Kintz. John A. Transue. 1881. Francis Boorem. George R. Smith. Samuel Hilgert. 1882. Jacob Hardenstine. Samuel Hilgert. 1884. M. L. Heller. C. E. Post.
1877. James Kintz. George Heller.
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cated on the middle branch of Brodhead Creek. Under the direction of James Henry the mill was run for many years, but at present it is used but very little.
In 1842 another saw-mill was built on the same stream, a short distance north of James Henry's, by Charles Henry. It was next owned by W. E. Henry, who rebuilt it and put it in perfect running order. It is now owned and managed by W. C. Henry.
The first and only grist-mill in the township was erected, in 1849, by James Kintz, the present own- er. It is situated on Long Swamp Creek, at Par- adise Valley. The mill is a source of great con- venience to the community, as otherwise Strouds- burg would be the nearest point where they could get their grain converted to flour.
POST-OFFICES .-- The first post-office in the town- ship was established at Paradise Valley in 1849. The office was kept in a building nearly opposite the hotel, and now used as a dwelling-house. John Edinger and David Edinger received the first com- mission as postmasters of this region. They were succeeded by James Kintz, the present incumbent, who, when he received the commission, removed the post-office to his store, where it is at present Two mails are received daily at this office.
In 1852 a post-office was established at Henry- ville, and James Henry was appointed postmaster. He was succeeded by his son, D. W. Henry, whom A. F. Kistler followed. During his time of service the post-office was moved and the name changed to Parkside. W. C. Henry, the present postmaster, was appointed the successor of A. F. Kistler in 1885. A portion of his store is set off for the dis- tribution of the two daily mails.
VILLAGES .- Henryville is the name of a small hamlet situated in the southeastern part of Para- dise township. In 1845 it was first spoken of as a village, and named Henryville, in honor of James Henry. The land on which it is located was orig- inally owned by David Gordon and Thomas Bush. The middle brauch of Brodhead Creek bounds it on the east and south. The settlement contains a depot and freight-house of the Delaware, Lacka- wanna and Western Railroad, two boarding- houses, two stores, a post-office, a school-house, a saw-mill and about a dozen dwellings.
Paradise Valley is the name of the oldest settle-
ment in the township. It is located in one of the valleys near the centre, and marks the place where some of the earliest settlers erected their rude log houses. These have been removed, and, in their stead, neat new frame dwellings have been built. In this village are a store, a boarding-house, a post- office, a grist-mill, a wheelwright shop, a black- smith shop, a school house and about twenty dwell- ings.
LONGEVITY OF INHABITANTS .- The longevity of the people of this region is somewhat remarka- ble. Of the six hundred and eighty-eight inhab- itants, there are, at least, twenty-five persons who have attained the age of seventy years. Five couples-viz. : Jacob Biesecker and wife, Andrew Storm and wife, Charles Hilgert and wife, John Bowman and wife and Francis Keller and wife -- have lived in wedded bliss for more than half a century.
RELIGIOUS MATTERS .- In 1825, a few years after the first settlers arrived, steps were taken for the erection of a church. Previous to this re- ligious meetings were held in the residences of the several settlers. The work of constructing a log church was commenced under the supervision of Henry Bush. He had, as assistant carpenters, John Bush, Jacob Bush, Henry Dietrick and Da- vid Acterdy. The work was completed and the church dedicated in the fall of 1826, the services being conducted by Revs. Huffenditz and Rupert. It was the Lutheran denomination. The first members of this church were George Hilgert, Pe- ter Wagner, Philip Transue, Abraham Transue, John Cougher, Aaron Koch, George Bowman, George Dornblaser, Jacob Hudle, John Greek, Jacob K. Koerner, George Crotzer, John Shiffer, Henry Anglemeyer, Peter Anglemeyer, John Learn, Peter Neuhart and John Arnold. The first trustees were George Bowman and George Hilgert, and the first steward was Jacob Koerner. Until 1852 this was the only church in this re- gion, and was attended by persons from all the surrounding country. The building was used for divine services until 1856. In the rear of the church is a cemetery, now protected by a stone wall, in which all of the old settlers are buried.
In 1838 the first Evangelical meeting was held in Paradise township. So favorable an impres- sion was made by the doctrines of this denomina-
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tion that regular meetings have been held ever since. The following ministers have officiated from 1838 to 1852, the year the church was dedi- cated : Revs. Hoffman, Henneberger, Barrier, Haines, Mace, Cramer, Hesser, Mintz, Bast, Shultz, Luthro, Jacoby, Farnsworth, Gross, Sind- linger, Hess, Wieand, Bucks, Young, Sigafus, Krecker and Ely. In 1851 it was decided to erect a church. Land was donated to them for this purpose by George Dornblaser. The build- ing was completed in 1852. It is a neat, one- story building, thirty-four by twenty-four, and cost about four hundred dollars. The dedication sermon was preached by Revs. Frederick Kreck- er and Ephraim Ely. The first trustees were P. P. Dornblaser, Joseph Boorem and Chris- tian Nauman. Abraham Transue was the first class-leader, and Peter P. Dornblaser the first exhorter. There are at present about forty members of this church. A flourishing Sunday- school is connected with the church. A burying- ground is attached to the church.
The Methodist Episcopal Church in this town- ship was erected in the fall of 1851 and the sum- mer of 1852. The building committee was com- posed of Oliver D. Smith, John Storm and James Wilson. The building is a neat, frame structure, one story high, thirty-five feet in length and twenty-five feet in breadth. The cost of the build- ing was about four hundred dollars. The land on which the building stands was donated by Oliver D. Smith. Rev. Siesta preached the dedication ser- mon. The following ministers have officiated since its erection : Revs. Siesta, Watson, Wood Hinson, Egan, McGhee, Shafer, Townsend, Sebring, Pas- torfield, Cragg, Marten, Shields, Hobbs, Dungan and Illick. The membership at present is forty- four.
The Reformed Church, often called Jones' Church, was erected in 1856. Henry Heller and John Rhodes were the building committee. The building is a frame structure, one story high, fifty feet in length and thirty-five in breadth. The cost of the building was eight hundred dollars. Revs. Decker, Heilig, Siegle, Mitchler and Smith have officiated since its erection. At present there is no regular pastor. The membership is about thirty-five.
GEORGE WAGNER .- One of the early settlers
in Paradise township, Monroe County, Pa., was Joseph Wagner, who was born in Austria about the year 1802. He was well educated in German and eventually learned the trade of a goldsmith and became an expert workman. He, like most of the mechanics of that day, became a great trav- eler and went from place to place seeking work and in different countries. About the year 1820 he left his native land and came to Philadelphia, where he did whatever work he could get to do for six years. He then went to Bucks County, where he remained until 1826, when he came to Monroe County and located on four hundred acres of wild land in Paradise, part of which is now owned by his son George. The township was then an almost unbroken wilderness and the home of bears, wolves, deer and other wild game. He was the possessor of unbounded pluck and energy but of no money. He "squatted " on his land, expecting that twenty-one years' possession would give him a good title from the government. He: made staves, which he hauled eighteen miles with a yoke of oxen and sold for ninety cents per hun- dred to Mr. Zimmerman, and in that way made his living. He married, in 1826, Barbara, daugh- ter of Martin Slyker, who, with his wife, emigra- ted from Germany. To Mr. and Mrs. Wagner were born children as follows: George, Joseph (who enlisted in the Union army and died from ' wounds received in battle), Rosina, Mary, Ed- ward, Simon (died in childhood), Simon, Catherine, David, (who enlisted in the Ninetieth Pennsylva- nia Regiment of Infantry and served until he lost his leg, after which he served in the government departments until his death, in October, 1880), James (who also enlisted in the Ninetieth Regi- ment and served all through the war and was in many hard-fought battles, he died a few years after the war ended). Joseph, the father, died in 1842 ; his wife, March 24, 1864. George Wag- ner, of whom this sketch is written, was born in. Paradise, on the farm now owned by him, January 18, 1828. He was but fourteen years old when his father died, and he being the eldest of the family, became its mainstay and support. To him and his mother the future looked dark indeed, as they had scarcely any means and nine children younger than George. But the boy George, with the help of his brother, kept the family from want,
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and in the struggles and hardships of those days laid the foundation for the earnest, honorable man- hood he has ever shown.
In 1844 he built (on seven acres of land which was given them by Stroud Hollinshead from the farm they could not pay for) a small log house, which was their home for many years. Joseph remained at home a few years, then married and sought out a home in the West for himself, while George remained with his mother. During the
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thousand feet of lumber. While at work he would be wet from his breast down, and could earn by working evenings only one dollar per day clear of expenses. For seven years he cut logs in the winter for a shilling a log and took out rafts in the summer.
In 1851 and '52 he took a job of David Taylor, getting out logs at two dollars and fifty cents per thousand, and in this way got his start in life. In 1854 he bought of Stroud Hollinshead the four
George Wagner
first two years he worked at whatever he could do, and earned twenty-five cents per day. In 1844, work being hard to find even at those low figures, he went on the Lehigh and worked in the lumber woods for six dollars and fifty cents per month, and did not get all his pay for two years. His clothing the first winter was made of cotton jean, and low shoes on his feet, with the snow eighteen inches deep! The next summer he got a job get- ting rafts of lumber out of the river, and received therefor one dollar and a half for a raft of ten
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