History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania, Part 60

Author: Mathews, Alfred, 1852-1904. 4n
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co.
Number of Pages: 1438

USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 60
USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 60
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 60

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Thomas H. R. Tracy, who came here in 1829, was born in Connecticut, and while yet in his childhood moved, with his parents, to Columbus, Chenango County, New York. His father was a farmer and blacksmith, dividing his time between his agricultural labors and those at the anvil, and his mother a true wo- man, performing the duties of her daily life with fidelity and affection. His youth was passed on the farm and in his father's shop, and his education limited to snch rudimentary instruction as was afforded by the common schools of that day. His prompt, liberal and earnest public spirit placed his sound judgment and excellent business sense at interest for the benefit of his fellow-citizens, and much that tended to the prosperity of the town was born of his forethought and enterprise. Soon after coming to Honesdale he was appointed super- intendent of the Pennsylvania Section of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, a post which he oceupied until his death, which occurred May 4, 1856. Throughout his entire administration he so combined justice to the company and gen-

344

WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.

erosity towards its employees that he constantly enjoyed the confidence and respect of both. He was identified with the corporate existence of the borough almost from the beginning, and was for many years its chief burgess, and an active partisan of whatever should promote its prosperity. In 1856 he was chosen one of the associate judges of the county, and the discharge of his duties on the bench was marked by the same earnest appreciation of responsibility and desire to do equal justice to all, that marked his life as a private citizen. He had a son, Miles L. Tracy, who is deceased. The wife of Judge Henry M. Seely is a daughter.

Charles P. Clark was among the early arri- vals and one of the first school-teachers of the settlement.

Edward Murray, one of the earliest settlers, was born in the county of Fermanagh, Ireland, in 1788. He emigrated to America in early manhood in 1809 ; re-visited his native country in 1819, and remained there one year, return- ing to his adopted country in 1820. He came to Honesdale when the town was in its infancy. He helped to complete the Delaware and Hud- son Canal, and immediately upon its completion commenced boating, and thus was one of its pioneer boatmen. He sold various kinds of goods along the canal, hence the title " Captain." He maintained a good standing in business for thirty years.

In 1846 his chief clerk, Mr. Henigan, in- ventoried his property and pronounced it worth one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, regard- less of cash on hand, the amount of which was not known. He had many reverses, mostly caused by fires, which induced him to sell most of his real estate in Honesdale. Mr. Murray, to say the least, was a remarkable man. Al- though not educated, his good judgment and business tact enabled him to transact and carry on his large business enterprises successfully. He always subscribed to public enterprises, and was

especially very liberal in his contributions for reli- gious purposes, no matter what profession or sect. He bought and paid for the land upon which now stands the Irish Catholic Church, and the old grave-yard in Honesdale.

In his later years he removed to his farm in Cherry Ridge, and there he died July 4, 1868. He was twice married, both of his wives being daughters of Martin O'Reilly, of Cochecton. The second, Mary, is still living. Mr. Murray was the father of four children, one of whom is Philip R. Murray, county treasurer.

Joseph B. Walton came to Honesdale in the fall of 1829 and took charge of the Dela- Russell F. Lord was one of the early comers and one of the original engineers and managers of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company. ware and Hudson office as collector. He was prominently identified with the Episcopal Church from its organization, in 1832, until his His brother, Solomon Z., long in the employ of death, in 1848. He was born in Ira, Rutland the company at Hawley, was cotemporary in arrival.

County, Vt., in 1785, but removed to Cherry Valley, N. Y., when a child and subsequently to Cooperstown, where he served as sheriff.

William W. Parmenter, of Poundstock, Cornwall County, England, came to the village : in 1831, and lived here until 1854, when he removed to Ohio, where he died in 1882.

Ezra Hand, long prominently identified with the business interests of the borough, came in 1832. He resided here until his death, in 1875. His widow still survives, as does also a son, H. C. Hand, who is connected with the Savings Bank.

William Turner, who, as a boy, drove the horses which first brought the directors of the Canal Company by boat to Honesdale, came to the place and entered upon the business of build- ing boats with JJames Pinckney in 1832. He afterwards started a boat-yard at Leonard's mill, and some years after Mr. Pinckney's death married his widow. He was elected sheriff in 1858. His death occurred in 1884.

Elkanah Patmore, who came from Or- ange County, N. Y., in 1830, was the first wagon-maker in the town and carried on that business for many years. He held the office of coroner for a long period and was also a justice of the peace.

David Cory and his son, Stephen G., were among the early comers and the latter worked for a time for Mr. Patmore. Stephen G. Cory

345

WAYNE COUNTY.

came to this county in 1822 and lived with an uncle in what is now Texas township, until the settlement of Honesdale was begun. After learning the wagon-making trade of Patmore, he carried on the business for himself and built the shop at the corner of Second and Twelfth Streets, which he carried on until about 1870, since which time it has been leased. He is still living. His father remained a resident of Honesdale until his death, in 1864.

John D. Delezene and his son, Joseph C. (who is still living and one of the oldest resi- dents of the borough), came from New York City in 1833. The former was the first merchant who ever started a dry-goods store above Chatham Street, in the metropolis, opening at Grand and Allen Streets in an attie, in 1821 or 1822. Shortly after coming to Honesdale he bought out the house of Hand, Kirtland, Roe & Co., at the site of the Herald office, and began a partnership with Benjamin B. Beach. In later years he became a cartman and was killed by a runaway in 1851. His age was fifty-eight years. Joseph C. Delezene has been engaged in merchandizing and other lines of business during the greater part of his life in the borough.

David Beers, commonly called "General" Beers, came in 1833. He was born in Morris County, N. J., and was a soldier in the War of 1812. He died in December, 1879. Mrs. S. G. Cory and Mrs. Bassett were daughters of " General" Beers.

David Tarbox, who was among the early set- tlers, was the first justice of the peace.

Gilbert Knapp, who came in 1834, from Sullivan County, N. Y., to Seelyville, and a few years later to Honesdale, opened the first hardware store here in 1847, and carried it on with A. H. Bowers, A. H. Neal, O. N. Spet- tigue and several other partners until he sold to his son Charles, in 1884.

Moses B. Bennett, a native of Bernardstown, Mass., came to the borough in 1834 from Port Jervis, N. Y. He was born in 1810 and died March 2, 1879. Two sons now reside in Honesdale.

Whitman Brown, a native of Rhode Island, who came in 1835 and was for thirty years an

employe, in a trusted position, of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, was killed on one of the planes of the Gravity Railroad in 1865.

Samuel Dean, who was one of the pioneers and had led an eventful life, died here in 1870, in his eighty-seventh year. He was a seaman in the United States service in 1812, and in 1815 was one of the crew of the " Northumberland," selected by the British to transfer Napoleon to St. Helena.

Stephen D. Ward came to the borough in 1839, entered at that time the Honesdale Bank as a clerk and became cashier in 1842, which position he held until his death, in 1874.

B. B. Smith, of whom an extended biography appears in the department upon educational history, came also in 1839.

William Reed, who was born in Salisbury, Conn., July 5, 1802, came to Bethany in 1832 and to Honesdale in 1840. He was engaged in the mercantile business with John F. Roe until 1870, and died in 1879.

Edmund Power, a comparatively early comer, was a native of Grinstead, England, born September 12, 1785. He died in Decem- ber, 1858. His son, of the same name, has long been a merchant of the borough.

Cornelius Hornbeck, who was long active in business affairs, came to Honesdale in 1841, as did also Isaiah Snyder and his brother Asa. They engaged in merchandizing and the former carried on a store here until recent years. He was elected associate judge in 1866. He died in Harrisburg in 1886, aged sixty-five years.

Henry Ward Stone, another prominent mer- chant, came to the borough in 1846 from Mount Pleasant, whither he had come in 1818 from Guilford, Conn., where he was born in 1791. He devoted himself exclusively to his store un- til 1850, when he purchased a tannery at Beech Pond, which, with different partners, he carried on until 1867, when he disposed of his interest and retired from business, from that time until his death, in 1881, living at the home of lis son-in-law, Judge C. P. Waller. Mrs. H. C. Hand and Mrs. E. F. Torrey were his daughters by his wife, Catharine W. Niven, of Newburgh, N. Y., whom he married in 1823.

316

WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.

Many other prominent old-time residents of the borough will be found mentioned, and, in some cases, the subjects of extended notices in other chapters of this work and other depart- ment of this chapter.

WASHINGTON IRVING AND IRVING CLIFF. -The rugged and picturesque cliff rising three hundred and eighteen feet above the waters of the Lackawaxen, and forming the boldest and most beautiful object in the landscape of the re- gion, was named in honor of Washington Irv- ing, and will serve for all time as a reminder of the gentle and graceful man of letters, who " needs no monument " save his works. Irving visited Honesdale in the summer of 1841 1 (not in 1844), in company with the directors of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, among whom were his cspecial friends, Philip Hone and Mr. Brevoort.

It is not probable that the great author was here on July 4, 1841, as has been asserted by some, but that the time of his visit was later in that month, for he wrote a letter from Hones- dale under date of August 1, 1841, which ap- pears in the collection of his miscellaneous writings, and is reproduced in these pages. Fur- ther than this, the best account of Irving's visit, and the only circumstantial one, from Rev. Wil- lard Richardson, does not mention an exact date, (as would undoubtedly have been the case had the day been the anniversary of independ- ence,) and does not speak of any large or public celebration, but of an informal visit to the cliff . and " Ladywood Lane " by a few gentlemen,- those named, besides the author of Knicker- bocker, being Messrs. Hone, Brevoort and Rich- ardson.

The account of Irving's visit and of the ap- plication of his name to the cliff, furnished by Rev. Mr. Richardson, who, in 1841, had a school in Honesdale, is as follows :

" I was not there in 1844, but was at the time of his visit in 1841, in company with the directors of the Del. & Hud. Canal Co., and took him in a buggy around Honesdale and up to Bethany.

" The next day he and Philip Hone and Mr. Bre- voort visited my school and addressed the young ladies and gentlemen.

"We then strolled across the Dyberry, to a shady avenue named 'Ladywood Lane' by Mr. Irving.

" We had a lively time, and much pleasantry about Mr. Irving having climbed those rugged rocks the day before. 2 We came to a spring, and as I had a cup, a toast was called for. I gave-

"'LADYWOOD LANE-christened by the author of Knickerbocker, who will be remembered as long as an American lives, or a Dutchman smokes his pipe or drinks his beer.'

"The cup was then handed to Mr. Irving, who gave-

" ' HONESDALE-a memento of an enterprising man of an enterprising age.'

"The cup was then passed to Mr. Hone, who gave-

"'IRVING'S CLIFF-the dignified and sleepless guardian of Honesdale, made famous by the weary footsteps of one who has charmed the world with his writings.'

"The cup was then handed to Mr. Brevoort, who gave-

"'IRVING'S CLIFF AND IRVING-the dignity of the one and the fame of the other destined to last until rocks shall melt and authors be no more.' "

The road christened by Mr. Irving as " La- dywood Lane " is the old abandoned turnpike which passed along the east side of Dyberry Creek and through what is now Glen Dyberry Cemetery, and the spring referred to was the "rock spring" in the cemetery, which still pours forth its refreshing waters.

Irving's letter from Honesdale heretofore al- luded to reads as follows :

" HONESDALE, August 1, 1841.

" MY DEAR SISTER :

"I write from among the mountains in the upper part of Pennsylvania, from a pretty village which has recently sprung into existence as the deposit of a great coal region, and which is called after our friend, Philip Hone, who was extremely efficient in directing enterprise into this quarter. I came here along the Delaware and Hudson Canal, which extends from the Hudson River, near the Catskill Mountains, upward of a hundred miles into the interior, traversing some of the most beautiful parts (as to scenery) of the State of New York and penetrating the State of Pennsylva-

1 It has been averred and pertinaciously argued by Dr. H. Hollister that the visit was upon the 4th of July, 1844, but that 1841 was the year of the visit has been fully proven.

2 In view of Irving's ascent of the cliff the " day before," the pleasant occurrences of which Mr. Richardson writes, it may be inferred that the cliff was then named. Some writ- ers upon this much-disputed topic say that the name was conferred by James M. Porter upon that occasion.

347

WAYNE COUNTY.

nia. I accompanied the directors of the Delaware and Hudson Canal in their annual visit of examina- tion. Among the directors are Philip Hone and my friend Brevoort. I do not know when I have made a more gratifying excursion with respect to natural scenery, or more interesting from the stupendous works of art. The canal is laid a great part of the way along romantic valleys, watered by the Rondout, the Lackawaxen, &c. For many miles it is built up along the face of perpendicular precipices rising into stupendous cliffs with overhanging forests, or jutting out into vast promontories, while on the other side you look down upon the Delaware, foaming and roaring below you at the foot of an immense wall or embank- ment which supports the canal. Altogether it is one of the most daring undertakings I have ever witnessed, to carry an artificial river over rocky mountains, and up the most savage and almost impracticable defiles ; and all this, too, has been achieved by the funds of an association composed of a handful of individuals. For upward of ninety miles I went through a constant succession of scenery that would have been famous had it existed in any part of Europe; the Catskill Mountains to the north, the Shawangunk Mountains to the south, and between them lovely valleys, with the most luxuriant woodlands and picturesque streams. All this is a region about which I had heard nothing-a region entirely unknown to fame ; but so it is in our country. We have some main routes for the fashionable traveler, along which he is hurried in steamboats and railroad cars; while on every side extend regions of beauty, about which he hears and knows nothing. Some of the most en- chanting scenes I have beheld since my return to the United States have been in out-of-the-way places into which I have been accidentally led.

" WASHINGTON IRVING."

INCORPORATION-CIVIL LIST OF THE BOR- OUGH .- The village of Honesdale was incorpor- ated as a borough under an act passed January 28, 1831, the first section of which read as fol- lows:

"Sec. 1. That the village of Honesdale, in the county of Wayne, shall be and the same is hereby erected into a borough, which shall be called the Borough of Honesdale, and shall be bounded and limited as follows, to wit : Begin- ning at the most southern corner of the first lock upon the Delaware and Hudson Canal, below the basin at the head of the canal ; thence by a course south sixty-seven degrees west twenty-four rods to the western line of the In- dian Orchard Tract; thencc by the said line and an extension thereof north twenty-three degrees three hundred and forty-six rods to the

line of the farm late Levi Schoonover's ; thence by the last-named line north sixty-seven de- grees east one hundred and five rods to Dyberry Creek ; and thence southward by Dyberry Creek to its junction with the West Branch of the Lackawaxen River and by the Lackawaxen to the place of beginning."

Section 2 provided that the "inhabitants of the borough, entitled to vote for members of the General Assembly, having resided in the borough at least six months immediately pre- ceding the election, and within that time paid a borough tax (if such tax shall have been assessed), shall have power, on the second Friday of May next, to meet at the house of Charles Forbes, inn-keeper, in the said borough, and annually thereafter, at such convenient place in the said borough as shall have been fixed upon by the by-laws of the corporation for that purpose, and then and there, between the hours of one and six in the afternoon, elect by ballot one respect- able citizen residing therein, who shall be styled the chief burgess, one other citizen who shall be styled the assistant burgess, and five citizens to be a Town Council; and shall also elect, as aforesaid, one citizen as high constable," ctc.1

The election was duly held Friday, May 13th, at the hotel of Charles Forbes, and resulted in the choice of David Tarbox as chief burgess, D. B. Wilcox as assistant burgess, Thomas T. Hays, Russel Spencer, T. M. Vail, Alanson Blood and Elam Woodward members of the Town Council, and Isaac P. Foster high con- stablc.

Upon the 16th of May, the day being the first Monday after the election, the Council held their initial mecting at the house of David Tarbox, elected as their president Thomas T. Hays, and made the following appointments of minor officers, viz. : Town Clerk, John F. Roc;

1 The act from which the foregoing is taken constituted in its entirety the borough charter. It has been, from time to time, supplemented by other acts, viz .: Act of April 15, 1835 (P. L. 371) ; of March 7, 1840 (P. L. 77); of June 13, 1840 (P. L. 669) ; of April 8, 1848 (P. I .. 385) ; of April 21, 1852 (P. L. 384) ; of May 7, 1855 (P. L. 471) ; of February 12, 1862 (P. L. 26) ; of March 22, 1866 (P'. L. 290); of March 9, 1867 (P. L. 377) ; of April 12, 1869 (P. L. 875) ; of March 27, 1872 (P. L. 589), and by some others.

348

WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.

Treasurer. Zenas H. Russel; Street Supervisor, Charles Forbes; Clerk of the Market, Alonzo Bentley ; Collector, Leonard Graves. The first fathers of the new borough, upon the conclu- sion of their brief primal meeting, adjourned to meet at the house of A. G. Waldron on the 30th of May.

The second meeting was more extended and more important than the first. The Council passed several ordinances, called in its records "acts," and transacted some other business. It is probable that this session nearly exhausted the zeal of the body, for no record of further proceedings, except of two meetings of unim- portant character, appears until 1832, when the annual election was held.

The Council was extremely economical. The first ordinance engrossed upon the record, en- titled " An Act for the compensation of the Bor- ough officers " provided " That the compensa- tion of the several officers erected by virtue of an act entitled ' an act to erect the village of Honesdale. . . into a Borough,' shall be six cents for every day necessarily spent in the execu- tion of the duties of their respective offices."

" An Act to prohibit horse-racing" was the title of the second ordinance passed. It read as follows : " Be it ordained that from and after the fifteenth day of Juue next all rac- ing, running, pacing or trotting of horses, mares or geldings, for money, goods or chattels, shall be and are hereby declared to be common nui- sances and offenses against the Borough of Honesdale, and the authors, parties, contrivers and abettors thereof shall 1 of twenty dollars for each and every such offense."

" An ordinance prohibiting puppet shows" was the title of the third enactment. It de- creed " That from and after the fifteenth day of June next all puppet shows, jugglery, slight of hand performances, rope or wire dancing, Balancing or other Mountebank feats and suclı performances and exhibitions are hereby for- bidden and prohibited in this Borough."

It was to be the duty of the high constable " to make diligent enquiry after such exhibit-

ors," who, upon a warrant issued for the pur- pose, should be brought before the chief bur- gess, and, upon conviction, be fined ten dollars for each and every offence.

Other ordinances prohibited the running at large of swine, exhibitions of fire- works, - "rock- ets, fire balls, crackers," -- ctc.

The third and final meeting of the year was held at David Tarbox's house on June 20, 1831. Ordinances were passed prohibiting the burning of shavings, straw, etc., in the streets, and prohibiting horses and cattle from running at large. It was resolved at this meet- ing, " That a letter be addressed to Mr. John Torrey by the president, requesting Mr. Torrey, in his travels to Easton, Philadelphia, etc. (as we have understood he is going to those plaees soon), to obtain such information as he can, conveniently, respecting the arranging and lay- ing ont of streets, the proportions of the side- walks with the breadth of the streets and such other information with regard to the regulations of Boroughs, as he shall decm necessary." Herein appears the earliest official action tend- ing toward the beautifying of the town-a work which has ever since been well carried on.

It is worthy of note in this connection, that in 1847 the borough authorities ordered that " two or three hundred shade-trees should be set out, with proper protection, in the public square and burying-ground."

In 1853 the borough had so far progresed towards its present condition of embowered beauty that it had by actual count (made by some painstaking person) in its streets and park fourteen hundred and ninety-one shade-trees, of which three hundred and fourteen were upon Third Street. Commenting upon this fact in his paper almost a quarter of a century ago, Francis B. Penniman said,-

" We watch the growth of these trees from year to year, not only with pleasure, but with pride, for they are destined to be as well one of the chief ornaments of the town as a source of comfort and delight."

CIVIL LIST.

1831 .- Chief Burgess, David Tarbox ; Assistant Burgess, D. B. Willcox; Council, Thomas T. Hays, Russel Spencer, T. M. Vail, Alanson Blood, Elam Woodward; High Constable, I. P. Foster.

1832 .- Chief Burgess, David Tarbox ; Assistant Bur-

1 The words " be fined the sum " were probably omitted by error of the clerk.

349

WAYNE COUNTY.

gess, J. B. Walton ; Council, Leonard Graves, Jabez Lovejoy, Charles Jameson, A. H. Farnham, D. B. Willcox ; High Constable, Stephen Brush.

1833 .- Chief Burgess, Jason Torrey ; Assistant Bur- gess, J. B. Walton ; Council, D. B. Willcox, A. H. Farnham, Abiram Winton, Charles Forbes, David Tarbox ; High Constable, William Moak.

1834 .- Chief Burgess, J. B. Walton ; Assistant Bur- gess, Charles Forbes; Council, John Torrey, Isaac D. Foster, Z. H. Russell, George Stratton, Thomas S. Rees ; High Constable, A. B. Brown.

1835 .- Chief Burgess, J. B. Walton ; Assistant Bur- gess, Thomas T. Hays ; Council, Abiram Winton, Da- vid St. John, T. H. R. Tracy, D. P. Fuller, E. Kings- berry, Jr. ; High Constable, Jonas Hanscom.

1836 .- Chief Burgess, J. B. Walton ; Assistant Bur- gess, Charles Forbes ; Council, T. H. R. Tracy, J. M. Blackington, Stephen North, Jr., Hasting Frisbic, John F. Roe ; High Constable, William Moak.

1837 .- Chief Burgess, Charles Forbes ; Assistant Burgess, E. Kingsbury, Jr .; Council, J. B. Walton, D. P. Fuller, David Tarbox, Elkanah Patmore, Ed- ward Mills; High Constable, William Moak.

1838 .- Chief Burgess, Charles Forbes ; Assistant Burgess, John D. Delezene; Council, James M. Blackington, M. A. Bidwell, N. M. Bartlett, J. F. Snyder, Elkanah Patmore ; High Constable, P. Kar- low.

1839 .- Chief Burgess, John D. Delezene ; Assistant Burgess, A. Prescott; Council, Elkanah Patmore, John Neal, Ezra Hurlburt, Aaron Greene, Charles Jameson ; High Constable, James Morris.

1840 .- Chief Burgess, J. B. Walton ; Assistant Bur- gess, David Tarbox ; Council, John Neal, T. H. R. Tracy, D. H. Gibbs, Horace Baldwin, Thomas I. Hub- bell ; High Constable (no record).

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania, Part 60

Author: Mathews, Alfred, 1852-1904. 4n Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co. Number of Pages: 1438

Author: Mathews, Alfred, 1852-1904. 4n
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co.
Number of Pages: 1438