History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania, Part 65

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 65
USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 65
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 65

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).

Mr. Ham's continuous residence in Hones- dale for fifty-three years justly entitles him to a place in these records, not only as one of the pioneers of the borough, but as one whose active and honorable business career, covering nearly the whole period of the town's existence, could not fail to leave a beneficial impress upon the material interests of its people.

HOTELS.

Charles Forbes (who was the father of Mrs. Zenas H. Russell) had the honor of being the first keeper of a public-house in Honesdale. He

375

WAYNE COUNTY.

came to the infant village in 1827 with his family, and became landlord of what is now the Wayne County House, and remained in that capacity until a short time previous to 1840. His successor was Henry Wright, but he was superseded in 1841 by Aaron Green. C. M. Wise was landlord in 1842, and N. Hill in 1844. In the following year Henry Dart took the house and he carried it on in an admirable manner for quite a term of years. Others who presided over the fortunes of the hotel were Foster & Seely, -- Hazelton, D. O. Jones, William H. Cushman, Messrs. Eldred, Skeels, Braman, Henry Brown and E. Reed. John Brown became the owner of the property in 1859. Messrs. E. Reed and Henry Ball became the landlords in 1865, and the latter has for several years conducted the old hotel alone in a manner which extensive patronage indicates is approved.

THE MANSION HOUSE, which stood where Petersen's store now is, was the second hotel. It had various landlords, among them Thomas L. Reese and Major Eliakim Field, who was a very popular Boniface and widely known. David Abel purchased the property of Field in July, 1846, and not long afterwards the house was destroyed by fire.

THE UNION HOTEL for many years occupied the site of Liberty Hall building. It was called, for a number of years, the Jakway House, after its landlord, Myron Jakway. Among its earlier hosts were A. J. Stryker, Henry Green, Mr. Crawford and Jerome B. Case ; and, after Jakway's time, which expired in 1858 or 1859, William J. Fuller was for a short time landlord. Miles L. Tracy became the owner of the property about that time, and erected upon the advantageous site Liberty Hall.

THE SLITER HOUSE occupies an old hotel site. The original house upon that ground was a small tavern, built by Captain Hiram Plum about 1835. Its best known early landlord was Augustus Sacket, by whose name the house was generally known. Others in succession were Mr. Murray, Joseph Barton, of Way- mart, and Patrick Burns. Thomas Coyne fin- ally became the owner and landlord, and was

succeeded by his son Michael, who erected the present brick building in 1876. W. J. Sliter, whose name the house now bears, became proprietor in 1883.

THE KIPLE HOUSE, once well known, but now a thing of the past, was built by Robert W. Kiple in 1862. It was, several years since, bought by M. B. Allen and converted into stores.

THE ALLEN HOUSE, the chief place of enter- tainment for the " wayfarer and the stranger," in the borough, was built by the late popular Samuel Allen-a prince of landlords-in 1857, and opened with a great reception in June, 1858. The building is substantial, spacious and con- veniently arranged. ID 1862 Mr. Allen asso- ciated with himself in the management of the house his son, M. B. Allen, who afterwards took the house under a lease. Samuel Allen, however, was again the landlord from 1873 until his death, in 1875, after which M. B. and W. R. Allen became joint managers of the house. In 1878 M. B. Allen bought the entire property. He has since been the landlord and a popular and progressive one, too. He built an addition to the house in 1881, and has introduced many improvements.

THE NATIONAL HOUSE was built in 1868 by William Weaver, who was its landlord until his death, in 1873. It was then kept for a time by his widow, and latterly has been car- ried on by his sons, John H. and Otto Weaver.

IRVING CLIFF HOTEL .- The eligibility of Irving Cliff as a site for a summer hotel had entered many minds in the past few years, and often been casually spoken of, but it remained for William H. Dimmick, Esq., to carry into practical execution the project which others had only dreamed of. The large, handsome, sub- stantial structure which, from its vantage- ground, over three hundred feet of sheer ascent above the waters of the Lackawaxen, now over- looks the beautiful borough and a vast expanse of the fields and "hills of Wayne," is the re- sult, for the most part, of his enterprise and energy. The huge building was commenced in August, 1884, and completed almost exactly a year later. In April, 1885, a stock company was organized to assume ownership of the prop-

376

WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.

crty. This company, incorporated under the laws of the State, consists of George G. Waller (president), Elias Stanton, William W. Westou, Robert J. Menner, August Hartung, William H. Dimmick, William G. Schenck (New York City), H. Z. Russell (treasurer), and Homer Greene (secretary.) The Irving Cliff Hotel and lands adjacent is now in the control of this cor- poration, which will, doubtless, after overcom- ing some difficulties, put the house into the suc- cessful operation which its excellent situation and ample accommodations warrant the antici- pation of.

GAS WORKS .- The Honesdale Gas Com- pany was chartered May 17, 1854, the corpora- tors being Richard L. Seely, Henry Dart, E. W. Hamlin, F. M. Crane, F. B. Penniman, H. B. Beardslee, R. M. Grenell, T. H. R. Tracy, R. F. Lord, James R. Dickson, Wm. H. Dim- mick, Isaiah Snyder, William Crane and H. B. Hamlin. ! At a meeting on June 26th, at Jak- way's Hotel, F. M. Crane, Esq., was elected president ; James R. Dickson, treasurer ; and F. B. Penniman, secretary. The stock of the company, amounting to thirty thousand dollars, was taken by R. F. Lord, T. H. R. Tracy, F. M. Crane, W. H. Dimmick, S. E. Dimmick, Charles P. Waller, G. G. Waller, Coe F. Young, Richard L. Seely, John Torrey, James R. Dickson and Francis B. Penniman. On the 12th of May, 1855, the company concluded a contract with S. R. Dickson & Co., of Schuyl- kill County, for the construction of gas works at a cost of thirty thousand dollars, to be com- pleted by December. The contract was sub- stantially carried out, and the company oper- ated the works until 1881, when they were leased to A. O. Granger & Co., of Philadelphia, who have since supplied what is termed water gas.

Private gas works were built by John Torrey before the public works were commenced, and he successfully lighted his house and office for about three years, but the works were burned in 1858.

WATER SUPPLY .- Honesdale's water supply is from the Glass-Factory Pond and the First and Second Ponds in Dyberry. The first movement towards the introduction of water was made in

1850, when an act was passed incorporating a company for that purpose, consisting of the leading citizens of the place. The movement was not at once successful, but finally the project was realized and a supply of good, pure water brought into town. The pipe system has been gradually extended until it ramifies pretty thoroughly through the thickly-settled part of the borough. The stock of the com- pany is now almost entirely owned in Wilkes- Barre by one or two individuals.

THE TELEGRAPH was first introduced to Honesdale, in 1842, by Ezra Cornell, who ran a single line of wire from Montrose to Carbon- dale, thence to this borough and on to Nar- rowsburg.

In 1861 Honesdale was put in telegraphic communication with Scranton via Carbondale.

In 1862 Charles Petersen ran the first wire owned by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company-an experimental line from Hones- dale to Lackawaxen-obtaining permission from the superintendent, R. F. Lord. It proved successful, and its great value being immediately recognized, it was quickly extended to Rondout, on the Hudson, and then west to Carbondale. Mr. Petersen has been superintendent of the company's lines ever since.

THE PRESS.

WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF WRITERS IN HONESDALE AND ELSE- WHERE IN THE COUNTY.

Damascus, the scene of the earliest organized settlement in Wayne County, was also the lo- cality in which the first printing-press was set up, but there is no logical connection between these facts. Probably no particular reason other than its easy accessibility influenced the proprie- tor of the pioneer printing-press to locate it in Damascus. He was one Daniel A. Wilson, who came from Dutchess County, N. Y., as early as the spring of 1811. Doubtless he intended to publish a newspaper, but he did not do so and his intention is only attested by traditional in- formation that he issued a prospectus for one and printed a half-sheet specimen to accompany it, in 1811. It was to be called The Organ of the Woods, had it ever become an entity, and the fact that it did not is undoubtedly to be at-

377

WAYNE COUNTY.

tributed to lack of sufficient patronage by the few scattered and poor settlers of the region.

Wilson's printing-office was near the ferry, where is now the Cochecton bridge. It was primitive and meagrely supplied with type and the appliances of the art, and still the proprie- tor was able to secure and execute some work, for it is known that in October, 1811, he was employed by the county officers to print for them two hundred and fifty treasurers' deeds, fifty blank bonds and five hundred jurors' sum- mons. His press was of the kind known to old printers as the " Ramage," one of the best of the early varieties of hand-presses. It had two wooden posts about two or two and a half feet apart, connected near the top by a strong wooden beam, to which was secured the iron nut (or cylinder screw) for the thread of a strong iron screw to work in perpendicularly. The lower end of this screw was attached to the " platen," which presses the paper upon the type when printing, and the swinging of the hand- lever, attached to the screw thus raised or dropped the platen at pleasure. Ink was ap- plied to the type by hand, with buckskin balls stuffed with wool and secured to wooden handles.

In the latter part of the winter of 1811-12 Wilson engaged David Wilder, of Bethany, to transport the press and the type and appurte- nances of the office to the county-seat. Asa Stanton, then a boy and living with his parents in Bethany, assisted in the removal and informed Mr. John Torrey that the whole establishment was transported from Damascus to its new loca- tion on pack-horses.

It is clearly ascertained that in March, 1812, the printing establishment of Mr. Wilson was in Bethany, with Increase Hinshaw as printer, and occupied a small building erected for a shoe-shop, which stood where the Dr. Roosa building now stands. Soon after its removal to Bethany it became the property of Jason Torrey and Solomon Moore, who were mer- chants. On the 14th of March, 1814, Torrey & Moore dissolved partnership, and in their agreement of dissolution it was stipulated that the " printing-office " should be taken by Mr. Moore.

The first newspaper in Wayne County-The Wayne County Mirror-was issued here in Bethany, the then busy, flourishing county-seat, on the 7th of March, 1818. The printing es- tablishment about the first of the year had passed into the ownership of James Manning. He associated with himself a partner, for the paper appeared as owned and edited by Man- ning & Leonard Loomis, and was printed by Increase Hinshaw, in their employ. The Mirror was printed on good paper and was made up of four columns to the page without head or col- umn rules. It was a folio, about one-quarter the size of the present Wayne County Herald, but its price was fully as large as that of the more ample publications of to-day-"$2.00 per annum, exclusive of postage, payable in advance." The first issue set forth, in addition to the foregoing, the following information for patrons :

" Advertisements not exceeding one square inserted three times for a dollar; every after continuation twenty-five cents ; larger ones in proportion.

" No paper will be discontinued until arrearages are paid up.

" Letters to the editors must be post paid."

Mr. Loomis withdrew before the close of the first volume, and the paper was continued by J. Manning. The length of time he continued its publication is not ascertained, but it evidently did not continue longer than the year 1821 ; for in the summer of 1822 the citizens of Bethany decided to try again to publish and maintain a weekly paper in Bethany. An as- sociation was formed for the purpose, and John K. Woodward, Ephraim Torrey, Jr., and Jacob S. Davis, were made a committee, or managers of the association, to edit and arrange for the publication of such a paper, to be called the Republican Advocate.

The old press and types were procured from J. Manning, and William Sasman, a young, thoroughly-trained printer, who had recently completed his apprenticeship in Philadelphia, and whose parents had removed from Philadel- phia, and then resided in Dyberry, was engaged to do the printing. The Advocate was a folio sheet (four pages), the printed surface on each page being ten and one-half by seventeen and

378

WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE COUNTIES. PENNSYLVANIA.

one-half inches. The first number was issued on the first Friday in December, 1822.

At the end of the first year Jacob S. Davis purchased the press and types, and he and W. Sasman continued the publication of the Re- publican Advocate. For how many years it was thus continued has not been ascertained ; but the printing-office having been removed to a room in Mr. Davis' house, and a large ad- dition made to the assortment of type, Davis & Sasman continued to do "job printing " until November, 1829. On the 29th of No- vember, 1829 (which, if the Advocate was thus long continued, was the close of its seventh volume), Mr. Davis sold out the printing es- tablishment and all its appurtenances to Mr. Sasman for six hundred dollars.

Mr. Sasman immediately made arrangements for the publication, in Bethany, of a weekly paper to be called the Wayne Inquirer. The first number was issued on the 12th of January, 1830, the size of the printed page being ten and one-half by seventeen inches. In the sec- ond volume the size was increased to cleven and one-half by seventeen inches. The Enquirer was thus published by Mr. Sasman a little more than three years, or until about March, 1833, when Sasman sold out the Enquirer to Peter C. Ward and Asa G. Dimock, who had a few months previously commenced the publication in Honesdale of the Wayne County Herald, soon to be spoken of at length.

The old " Ramage press " subsequently be- came the property of Paul S. Preston, but the time when he purchased it is not ascertained. In September, 1834, it was in Bethany, and Earl Wheeler then proposed to publish a weekly newspaper there, the first number of which was to be issued in the last week in September. In politics his paper was to " oppose exccutive usurpation." He did not obtain sufficient as- surances of support to warrant its publication.

The Wayne County Herald came into ex- istence in 1832, and it is therefore the oldest newspaper in the county. The frequent changes in its name, style, ownership and editorship and its vicissitudes of fortune during the early period of its career make a marked contrast with the long continued proprietorship and even

prosperity and unwavering policy of its later years.

In the summer of 1832, as will appear by a glance at the foregoing matter of this chapter, the only newspaper published in the county was the Wayne Inquirer, a Democratic journal, printed at Bethany, by Wm. Sasman. During that summer Peter C. Ward, formerly of New Milford, Susquehanna County, but then a resi- dent of Honesdale, arranged with Asa G. Dimock, of Montrose, a practical printer, to be- come a partner with him in the enterprise of publishing at Honesdale a weekly newspaper to be independent in politics.

They procured a new press and type, and under the firm-name of Ward & Dimock, upon the 5th of October, 1832, issued the first number of a paper called the Wayne County Herald.

The office of publication was in the south part of the building next north of John F. Roe's store. Early in 1833 they purchased from Sasman the Inquirer, and merging it with, the paper they had established, called it The Wayne County Herald and Bethany Inquirer, which, as the county was strongly Democratic, they made an organ of the party.

In March, 1833, Mr. Dimock purchased the interest of Mr. Ward and took, as a new partner, Leonard Graves, of Honesdale, and, under the firm-name of Graves & Dimock, they continued the publication of the Herald until the close of 1833.

During the autumn of that year E. Kings- bury, Jr., of Montrose, purchased the paper, and, in connection with Isaac Fuller, a practical printer, also of Montrose, after procuring a new press and type, issued it under the firm-name of Kingsbury & Fuller. They published their first paper on January 3, 1834, as Vol. I. No. 1, thus beginning a new series of volumes, but the name of the paper was continued as formerly, viz .: The Wayne County Herald and Bethany Inquirer. They occupied the same office as Ward & Dimock. The size of their printed page was thirteen and one-half by eighteen inches. Mr. Fuller states that it proved a very unprofitable enterprise to him, and at the end of their first volume, January, 1835, he retired,

379

WAYNE COUNTY.

and the entire establishment was left under the charge of Mr. Kingsbury, and he (Mr. Fuller) is unable to give with accuracy any of its sub- sequent history. E. Kingsbury, Jr., continued the publication from January, 1835, as editor and proprietor, until early in 1838, with the title of the paper and the size of the printed page unchanged.

On the 1st of April, 1836, Mr. Kingsbury contracted for the purchase of the lot on Main Street, next south of the store late Wm. Reed's, and erected thereon a small building two stories high, the lower floor of which was his business office, and the second floor used as a printing office for the Herald. This building, long known as the " Herald Office Building," was lately occupied by H. Metzger as a drinking saloon, and was destroyed by the large fire in the spring of 1885, which originated in it.

In the early months of 1838 the name of Warren J. Woodward appeared as that of editor, but the name of the proprietor or pub- lisher was not given. This was soon followed by another and more extensive change, where- by on May 1, 1838, a second new series was commenced, and the name of John H. Steck & Co. is given as publishers, but the name of the editor is not given. Probably Mr. Kingsbury was the " Co.," of the firm of John H. Steck & Co."

In October, 1838, Mr. Kingsbury was elected to the Senate for a term of four years, and in November he gave notice that "he had placed his unfinished business in the hands of Thos. J. Hubbell, who would have charge of the same during his absence in Harrisburg."

Early in 1840 the name of Thos. J. Hubbell appeared as editor of the Herald, but no name was given of either publisher or proprietor. The title of the paper and the size of page re- mained nnchanged, but the style of type for printing the title was altered. On the 22d of September, 1840, a third "new series" was commenced, with Thos. J. Hubbell editor and publisher. The size of the printed page was enlarged to fifteen and one-half by nineteen and one-half inches, a new and larger type intro- duced, and the words and Bethany Inquirer in the title printed in very prominent, heavy-faced

black letters. On the 1st of January, 1842, a fourth new series was commenced, with John I. Allen as editor and proprietor. The size of the paper remained the same as under Mr. Hubbell's enlargement, but the title-page was changed by leaving out the words and Bethany Inquirer. Thus with the first number of the tenth year of the publication of the Herald it commenced its fifth series of volumes. Mr. Allen continued as editor and publisher through 1844. In December, 1844, he relinquished the editorial charge to John W. Myers, but re- tained the proprietorship of the paper. Articles subsequently inserted as editorials, which were written by him, had the signature of " A." ap- pended to them. Mr. Myers soon after had the aid of Charles E. Wright as associate editor and printer, and they continued in charge until the end of July, 1845.

On the 5th of August, 1845, the Herald again appeared under the editorship of John I. Allen, with a card from Messrs. Myers & Wright, stating that circumstances render it necessary for them to resign the editorial charge of the paper. Mr. Wright continued as printer under Mr. Allen.

In December, 1845, another change occurred. Mr. Allen came out with a long valedictory, announcing the termination of his connection with the Herald, both as editor and proprietor. In a subsequent card he stated that he sold out the press, type and material to William H. Dimmick, and the Herald building and lot to Charles E. Wright. The paper was thereafter issued with the name of C. E. Wright as editor and publisher until about the 1st of August, 1847.

In the papers of May and June, 1847, is the business card of "James Norton, attorney-at- law, office in the Herald office."

About the 1st of August, 1847, H. B. Beardslee became the owner of the entire con- cern, including press, type, materials, office and lot. For a short time thereafter the Herald was published anonymously, or without in- formation to its readers as to the name of either editor, publisher or proprietor. Soon thereafter the names of Beardslee & Norton were given as editors, but no publishers were named.

380

WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.

In the issue of the 15th of March, 1848, the names of Beardslee & Norton were given as publishers. For how long a period Mr. Nor- ton was thus associated in the editorship has not been ascertained, but in the early part of 1849 the name of H. B. Beardslec alone is given as the editor. From such copies of the Herald as have been accessible it is inferred that Mr. Beardslee was the sole editor, publisher and proprietor from this date until 1860.

In March, 1860, the name of Thomas J. Ham is given as assistant editor, and H. B. Beardslee, publisher. In 1860 Mr. Beardslee enlarged the paper, making printed surface of each page fifteen and a half by twenty-two inches.

In September, 1861, Charles Menner and Thomas J. Ham became the proprietors and publishers, and under the partnership name of Menner & Ham edited and published the Her- ald four years. They enlarged the paper to seventeen and a half by twenty-four inches of printed surface on a page.

In September, 1865, Mr. Ham purchased the interest of his partner, and has since that date published the paper as sole editor and proprie- tor. May 14, 1868, he further enlarged the sheet, making the printed surface on each page nineteen by twenty-five and a half inches- being just double the size as issued in 1834. Mr. Ham has now been connected with the paper as editor and proprietor about twenty-five years consecutively.

We follow the account of the Herald with biographical sketches of the late H. B. Beardslee and Thomas J. Ham, its best known editors.

HOWKIN B. BEARDSLEE was born in Mount Pleasant township May 28, 1820. His father, Bulkley Beardslee, was a New England man of remarkable force of character, who came to Wayne County in its early days, and soon became one of its leading citizens. He married Lucretia, daughter of Walter Kimble, a sturdy pioneer, and shortly after the birth of Howkin, having bought the property of his father-in- law, removed to Indian Orchard, where for forty years or more he carried on an extensive business in lumbering and farming, in the mean time filling several local offices of import-

ance, among them that of county commissioner. Howkin proved to be a bright boy, and was given such educational advantages as the county at that time afforded. At a suitable age he entered the law-office of Charles K. Robinson, and in due time was admitted to the bar. Soon afterward he was elected district attorney, then register and recorder, and it was while serving in the latter capacity-in 1847-that, in company with J. H. Norton, he purchased the Wayne County Herald. He subsequently bought Mr. Norton's interest in the paper, and continued its editor until September, 1861, when he sold the establishment to Menner & Ham.

While proprietor of the party organ Mr. Beardslee was a political power in the county, and he was entitled fairly to all the influence and esteem he gathered up. The elements of his power were not obscure. True, he was not an orator. Before assemblies of the people he was not specially effective. There was no charm of manner nor brilliancy of rhetoric in his speeches. He was not an elegant writer. What he accomplished was in virtue of his character, which eminently fitted him to guide and control. Both his intellectual and moral perceptions were clear. He had strong convic- tions, and never hesitated to pursue the course his convictions pointed out as right and proper. He did not ask what other people thought, or what inconveniences particular lines of policy might involve. He was ready to make almost any sacrifice rather than yield or evade a point he conceived to be funda- mental. Of course, such attributes made him obnoxious to opposing partisans, while they made him deservedly strong with his associates and followers. They felt he was not actuated by mercenary motives; that his judgments, per- haps instinctive rather than the product of elaborate cogitation, were just and safe, meas- ured from the stand-point he occupied ; and, consequently, that his leadership, instead of being degrading, was essentially elevating.

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 65

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