Portrait and biographical record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 15

Author:
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: New York : Chapman Publishing co.
Number of Pages: 1068

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The law studies of Mr. Amerman were begun in the office of the late Lewis C. Cassidy, ex-at- torney general of Pennsylvania, and Pierce Ar- cher, Jr., of Philadelphia, where his fellow stu- dents were Hon. Robert E. Pattison, ex-governor of Pennsylvania; Hon. James Gay Gordon, judge of common pleas of Philadelphia, and Hon. William F. Harrity. He was admitted to the bar December 24, 1875, and in 1876 settled in Scranton, where he has since engaged in the practice of his profession. From 1878 to 1881 he was county solicitor of Lackawanna County, and from the latter date to 1883 he represented the city of Scranton in the house of representa- tives at Harrisburg. While in that position he drafted and secured the passage of important laws regarding anthracite coal mining. In 1886 Governor Pattison appointed him reporter of the decisions of the supreme court of Pennsylvania, and he prepared five reports of cases, reforming the practice of reporting cases by promptly is- suing the reports instead of waiting for a year and upwards after the decrees were delivered. This was of great advantage to attorneys and judges, and that it was highly appreciated is evi- denced by the following commendations which were tendered him: "Your promptness in get- ting the opinions published is very commenda- ble," Chief Justice Mercur; "Your work as a reporter is well done and the dispatch with which you have published the reports is worthy of all commendation," Justice Gordon; "You are doing your work very well. Your promptness has not been excelled or equaled, and is entirely novel," Justice Paxson; from Justice Trunkey: "Your promptness must be pleasing and advantageous to the profession, and I think the character of your work satisfactory. You have shown that the authorized reports of cases may be placed in the hands of the profession within less than three months after the decision," and the following from Justice Green: "I appreciate highly the promptness with which the reports are printed under your supervision, and also the thorough- ness. with which the cases are prepared and ar- ranged. You are certainly deserving of great credit for your work in these respects."

In 1887 Mr. Amerman was elected controller

of the city of Scranton, which office he held two years, and worked many reforms in auditing ac- counts and in the distribution of city funds. The highest political honor that has been conferred upon him was his election to represent Lacka- wanna County in the Fifty-second Congress, where he aided in securing the passage of the act requiring railroads to equip their cars with automatic couplers and air brakes. Now in the prime of his intellectual ability, it may reason- ably be predicted that future years will bring him other honors, as high as or higher than any he has yet been called upon to accept.

In Philadelphia, September 24, 1879, Mr. Amerman married Susan, daughter of Laurens Wallaze, member of a Virginian family. Mrs. Amerman died four months later. The second wife of Mr. Amerman was Mary C., daughter of Charles F. Van Nort, of Scranton, formerly of Abington Township. She died February 7, 1886, leaving two children, Ralph and Mary. The present wife of our subject, with whom he was united July 2, 1890, bore the maiden name of Ella May Van Nort, and was a sister of his late wife. Politically he is a Democrat. A Bap- tist in religious views, he was superintendent of the Penn Avenue Baptist Sunday-school in Scranton for seven years. Liberal in his opin- ions, he believes in freedom of conscience, and recognizes no authority to formulate or interpret a creed for him.

The life of Mr. Amerman furnishes an excel- lent example of what may be accomplished in this country by a man of ability and determina- tion, though unaided by any favoring circum- stances of wealth or position. Commencing at the lowest rung of the ladder, he has climbed steadily upward, until now he has attained a po- sition of influence and honor. His natural abil- ity as a lawyer, combined with his exceptionally keen foresight as a business man, enabled him to acquire a competence of this world's goods. With the broad views of a philanthropist, he does not allow his wealth to lie idle, but uses it in the pro- motion of public enterprises, among others being largely interested in building and operating water works and electric railways. The esteem and confidence reposed in him is shown by the fact

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that he was entrusted by the late Judge Handley as one of the trustees of his immense estate.

The foregoing is a brief epitome of the life of Mr. Amerman. Both in private affairs and pub- lic duties, his record is above reproach. His voice, so powerful and persuasive before a jury, when urging the vindication of the majesty of violated law, has also been heard in the councils of the nation, and always in defense of what he believes to be justice. To such men as he is the progress of Scranton is largely due.

J JOHN T. HOWE, alderman of the seven- teenth ward of the city of Scranton, was born in Catawissa, Columbia County, Pa., September 30, 1837, and is of remote English extraction. His grandfather, Ephraim Howe, was born in Connecticut, where in early life he cultivated a farm and whence he removed to Brooklyn Centre, Susquehanna County, Pa., purchasing land and improving a farm that con- tinued to be his home until death. The father of our subject, Elijah, was born in Connecticut, and when a young man moved to Columbia County, Pa., but later went to Little York, Pa., where he died. During the Civil War he served in the One Hundred and Eighty-third Pennsyl- vania Infantry. His wife, Lydia, was born in Catawissa and died there, aged seventy-two. She was a member of a Quaker family that originated in England, and was a daughter of Jesse Mears, a cabinet-maker of Catawissa. Her three chil- dren were James E., who resides at Great Bend, Susquehanna County; William M., who was a member of an Ohio regiment during the Civil War and died in Ohio; and John T., of this sketch.

After having completed the district school studies, at the age of fifteen the subject of this record went to Danville, Montour County, and learned the printing business in the office of the Danville "Democrat," where he remained from 1852 until the war broke out. April 21, 1861, he enlisted in Company H, Fourteenth Pennsyl- vania Infantry, and went into Virginia under General Patterson, serving for three months. He was mustered out August 7, 1861, and October

3, of the same year, became a member of Com- pany H, Ninety-third Pennsylvania Infantry. With the others of his company he stood beneath a heavy fire, in front of Petersburg, from 5 a. m. until 6 p. m. He was promoted to be color sergeant, April 2, 1865, in recognition of bravery. In the various expeditions and marches of Gen- eral Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley he took part, serving until the close of the war, when he was mustered out, June 25, 1865. Many times during his long period of service he narrowly escaped with his life, and his many thrilling and perilous experiences would be most interesting reading, did space permit them to be written up in full. His record as a soldier is one which, for bravery in the midst of danger and unwavering fidelity to trusts reposed in him, cannot be ex- celled.

In 1866 Mr. Howe came to Scranton in the employ of the "Scranton Republican" as a com- positor. After a year he became collector and circulation manager for the paper, retaining that position about ten years. From that time he served as advertising solicitor and collecting agent until May 1, 1896, when he resigned to ac- cept the position of alderman. In February. 1896, he was nominated for this position and was elected without opposition. On the first Mon- day in May he took office, being commissioned by Governor Hastings for five years. For two years he was a member of the common council and in 1890, upon the Republican ticket, was elected jury commissioner of Lackawanna County for three years. Politically he is a Re- publican and always advocates the measures of his party.

The first marriage of Mr. Howe took place in Columbia County on the Ioth day of Marclı. 1860, and united him with Miss Hattie R. Evans, who was born in Montour County and died in Scranton in 1878. The present wife of Mr. Howe was Miss M. E., daughter of Rev. J. B. Kenyon, a Baptist minister of Blakely, Pa .; they are the parents of two children, Mildred K. and Joseph A. S. Fraternally our subject is past grand of Lackawanna Lodge No. 291. I. O. O. F., was district deputy grand master of that order in the second district of Lackawanna County for two

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years and at one time was prominently men- tioned as a candidate for the office of grand war- den. , He belongs to Scrantonia Encampment, No. 81; is past sachem of Navajo Tribe No. 105, I. O. R. M., and ex-district deputy great sachem ; for three terms was commander of Col. William N. Monies Post No. 319, G. A. R., and aided in organizing the first post in the city of Scranton; also holds membership with Lieut. Ezra Griffin Camp No. 8, Sons of Veterans; is past president of Camp No. 572, P. O. S. of A., and belongs to Colonel Oakford Precinct No. 25. U. V. U., Department of Pennsylvania.

P HILANDER S. JOSLIN, one of the pioneer printers of Carbondale, was born in Rome, N. Y., April 24, 1817, and is a descendant at of Irish ancestry. The family date their history in this country back more than two hundred years, when three brothers crossed the Atlantic from Ireland, one settling in New Hampshire, another in Massachusetts, and the third in Connecticut. They were Protestants in religious belief, and probably came from the northern part of Ireland, but aside from these meager facts, nothing is known of the remote ancestors.

Our subject's father, Ephraim, and grand- father, Abijah Joslin, were natives of New Hamp- shire. The former removed to Oneida County, N. Y., about 1790, and there resided for many years. His boyhood days were spent on a farm, but agriculture was not congenial to his tastes, and he chose the occupation of a mechanic, com- mencing work in a glass factory, but later be- came an expert wood-worker. During the War of 1812 he volunteered in the service, and was engaged as a musician in the army. Late in life he moved west to Wisconsin, and engaged in farming until his retirement from active labors. He died on his farm about 1870, aged eighty- four years.

The mother of our subject, whose maiden name was Ruth Simmons, was a native of Providence, R. I., and a descendant of English ancestry. Her forefathers went to Rhode Island about the time that Roger Williams was driven out of Massa-

chusetts. Her father, Ivory Simmons, took part in the Revolutionary War, and while on board a man-of-war was wounded, so that he was obliged to use crutches the remainder of his life. He lived to a very advanced age, passing away near Palmyra, N. Y., at ninety years of age.

In 1831 the parents of our subject moved to Dundaff, Pa., where his mother died in 1842. His father, who was superintendent of a glass factory there, afterward went to Wisconsin and married a second time. Of his first marriage there were born two sons and three daughters, who grew to mature years, our subject being the eldest. Abijah, who learned the harness maker's trade in early life, later was engaged in the drug business at Wilkesbarre, and died of cancer in California when seventy years of age. Mary Ann, wife of Alpheus Baker, Alied in this county in 1863. Sophronia married Almon Dolph and settled near Rochester, N. Y., where he died; afterward she became the wife of a Mr. Cole, who was engaged in the nursery business. Her death occurred in Penfield, N. Y., in 1894. Charlotte, wife of William Arnold, at one time a resident of Dundaff, later a merchant in Carbon- dale, died in 1848, leaving no children.

Very few opportunities of gaining an educa- tion fell to the lot of our subject in boyhood. For a short time he was a pupil in a district school in Oneida County, two miles from his home, and was obliged to walk back and forth through the cold of winter and rains of spring. When only nine years of age he went into a glass fac- tory to work. In 1831 he removed with his parents to Dundaff, and the following year came to Carbondale to learn the printer's trade. In 1835 he went back to Dundaff and remained there about nine months, thence went to Berwick, where he worked at his trade until the spring of 1837. He then started the publication of the "Berwick Gazette." Subsequently he removed to Harrisburg, and there was employed at his trade until the spring of 1839. Next, going to Hollidaysburg, he started the "Democratic Stand- ard," which he continued for over two years. From 1842 to 1848 he was the publisher of the "Carbondale Gazette," but after the election of President Polk, he sold out and established the

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"Carbondale Democrat." He was a delegate to the national convention that nominated Martin Van Buren for the presidency, but refused the support of his paper to that candidate, and dur- ing the campaign sold out to his partner, and joined the ranks of the newly organized Repub- lican party.

In 1848 Mr. Joslin was elected justice of the peace, and when the city of Carbondale was or- ganized he was one of the first board of alder- men, serving as such until 1854. At the same time he was deputy clerk of the mayor's court. After- ward he was engaged as clerk in a general mer- chant's store until May, 1869, when President Grant appointed him postmaster of Carbondale. This office he filled for twelve years and eight months under Grant, Hayes and Garfield. Upon retiring from the position in 1882, he engaged in the job printing business, which he has since followed. Of late years he has been identified with the Prohibition party. Throughout his en- tire life he has never used liquor or tobacco, but has always given his influence in behalf of tem- perance and morality.

In 1843 Mr. Joslin united with the Presbyterian Church. In 1859 he joined the Baptist Church, of which he has been clerk since 1861, and a deacon since 1863. In January, 1846, he be- came a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed all the chairs and served as delegate to various conventions. On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of his join- ing the lodge, he was presented with a handsome cane as a token of respect and appreciation. He is now the oldest living member of the lodge. In 1837 he was united in marriage with Lucy Ann Steiner, of Berwick, Columbia County, Pa., a descendant of German ancestry. She died in Carbondale in 1847, leaving three children. Ed- win F., a painter by trade, served for a short time in the Civil War, and died in Wilkesbarre in the spring of 1896. George D., who entered the army at the age of seventeen years, served for three years in the Fourth Pennsylvania Cavalry, was taken prisoner by the Confederates and confined in Libby Prison and on Bell Island; he has been engaged in the painting business in Wilkesbarre, and is now connected with the postoffice depart-

ment there. Charles, the second son, has always lived at home with his parents.

The second marriage of Mr. Joslin united him with Mrs. Caroline Whitman, a sister of his first wife, and a widow with one son, Albert Whitman. The latter served through the entire period of the Civil War, and was wounded at Seven Oaks and again before Petersburg; he died at Elmira, N. Y., in 1889. Mr. and Mrs. Joslin have had four children born of their union, but their only son died at fourteen years of age. Their three daugh- ters are Lucy A., a teacher in the Carbondale high school; "Margaret, wife of J. L. Hall, manager of the Western Union Telegraph Company at Wilmington, Del .; and Ida, whose husband, I. W. Allen, is general agent for western New York of the Manhattan Life Insurance Company, their residence being in Buffalo, N. Y.

C HARLES R. PARKE, M. D., of Scran- ton, has prepared himself for the practice of the medical profession by thorough study under the best instructors of America and Europe, and since coming to Scranton has built up an excellent practice and gained a reputation as a skillful, successful physician and surgeon. In addition to his general practice, he is surgeon for the Ontario & Western Railroad and since 1892 has served as first assistant surgeon of the Thirteenth Regiment, Pennsylvania National Guard, with the rank of first lieutenant. For a time he was also physician to the jail and to the Scranton poor board.

The Parke family is one of the old and hon- orable families of Pennsylvania. The Doctor's father, Rev. N. G. Parke, A. M., D. D., was born in Delta, York County, Pa., and graduated from Washington and Jefferson College in the class with James G. Blaine. He then entered Princeton Theological Seminary and after two years' course, graduated in 1844. His gradua- tion was soon followed by liis ordination to the ministry of the Presbyterian Church. He came to the Lackawanna Valley as a missionary, his circuit extending from Wilkesbarre to Abington, with Pittston as a center. The brick church which he built was the first house of worship in

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Pittston and is still standing. Its first offshoot was the Scranton Presbyterian Church, of which he was pastor until 1894, when he resigned, hav- ing completed the fiftieth year of his pastorate. His home is now in Pittston, and he continues to preach every Sunday, notwithstanding his ad- vanced years. During the war he enlisted for service, but was rejected.

The marriage of Rev. Parke united him with Ann Elizabeth Gildersleeve, who was born in Wilkesbarre, daughter of William Camp Gil- dersleeve, a native of Georgia. Her father, who died in 1871, was a merchant in Wilkesbarre, and in ante-bellum days was quite conspicuous by his connection with the underground railway; his Abolition sentiments brought him the dislike and even abuse of many of opposite opinions, but he persevered in his course and lived to see his judgment triumphantly vindicated by the people of the country. He was a son of Rev. Cyrus Gildersleeve, who was born on Long Island and became the first pastor of the Wilkesbarre Pres- byterian Church.

Our subject's paternal grandfather, Rev. Sam- uel Parke, D. D., was born in Brandywine, Ches- ter County, Pa., and for fifty years officiated as pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Slate Ridge. He was a son of Col. James Parke, who gained his title by service in the Revolution under Wash- ington. The family is of Scotch-Irish descent, the first of the name in America having come to this country in 1724 from Londonderry, Ireland, and settled in Southern Pennsylvania. The founder of the family here was Arthur Parke, who had two sons, John and Joseph, the former being the father of Col. James. The descendants of Joseph spell the name Park.

The family of which our subject is a member consisted of seven children, of whom four are living, namely: William G., a coal operator of Scranton; Samuel M., an attorney of Pittston; Ann, Mrs. T. H. Atherton, of Wilkesbarre; and Charles R. The Doctor, who was the youngest in point of age, was born in Pittston, Pa., March 24, 1863, and received his education in the pub- lic and high schools of that place, Wilkesbarre Academy, and Phillips Academy at Andover, Mass. In 1882 he entered the College of Physi-

cians and Surgeons in New York City, gradu- ating two years later with the degree of M. D. By competitive examination he was appointed physician to the Charity Hospital, where he re- mained for eighteen months. Afterward he was physician in the Chambers Street Hospital for sixteen months.

Wishing to perfect himself in the profession, in 1887 Dr. Parke went to Europe, where he spent eighteen months in the hospitals of Berlin and Vienna. On his return to America he prac- ticed in New York City for a few months, then went back to London, England, and there mar- ried Miss Alice Cutts Scammon, who was born in Boston, Mass., her father, John Q., having been an attorney there. In the spring of 1889 Dr. Parke began the practice of his profession in Scranton, where he occupies an office on the cor- ner of Washington Avenue and Linden Street. He is connected with the Lackawanna County Medical Society, the National Society of Railway Surgeons of the United States, the National As- sociation of Military Surgeons, the Hospital Graduates Club of New York City, Charity Hos- pital Alumni Association, American Medical Association and the Physicians Club of Scran- ton.

H ON. WALSINGHAM G. WARD. Scranton numbers among its citizens many men well known throughout Lack- awanna County, men of energy and honor, who, in the duties both of private and public life, have ever been true and loyal. Such a one is the sub- ject of this sketch, who is the oldest attorney of the Luzerne and Lackawanna County bars. It may well be a matter of pride with him that his fortune has been of his own making; his hands and brain have been busily employed in its up- building, as he had no other capital when he started out in the world for himself. In him Scranton finds a good citizen, whose public spirit prompts him to aid in every movement for the welfare of the community.

In Dover, Dutchess County, N. Y., the sub- ject of this review was born October 7, 1819. His father, John, who was a son of Ichabod Ward,

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a native of Massachusetts, a farmer by occupa- tion, and an early settler of Dutchess County, was born there and continued to make it his home until 1831, when he brought his family to Penn- sylvania and settled in Tunkhannock, Wyoming County. After residing on a farm there for a time, he came to Scranton, and cultivated a farni in Providence Township (now Scranton), where he died in 1847. His wife, Cynthia Sickler, was born in Buckman, Dutchess County, N. Y .; her father, Peter Sickler, a native of the same place, was the son of a German, who emigrated to this country and settled on the Hudson.

The parental family consisted of nine children, five of whom are living, one son, Z. M., being a prominent attorney of Paterson, N. J. Walsing- ham G., who was the eldest of the family, was reared on a farm and received an academical education, in Mannington Academy, Susquehan- na County, which he attended for three terms. March 17, 1843, he came to Providence Town- ship, and read law under J. H. Alexander and Judge Danay. In 1850 he was admitted to the bar at Wilkesbarre and at once began to prac- tice in Scranton, opening an office in Lacka- wanna Avenue, where he has since remained, having occupied the same office since 1875. He was at one time associated with Judge Gunster, formerly his student, also with Judge Edwards, who studied under him, and is now in part- nership witlı G. S. Horn, also a student of his in earlier days. He has been attorney for de- fendants in about eighty homicide cases, and for a long time had the principal criminal prac- tice here and in Luzerne County, but of late years has found it necessary to lighten his labors. He has also been very successful in civil cases. In 1870 he was elected judge of the mayor's courts of the city of Scranton, and including Dunmore, Providence and Hyde Park, and the townships of Jefferson, Roaring Brook and Mad- ison and the two Covington townships. He served until the new constitution went into effect in 1875, when he resigned.

In New York state in 1848 Mr. Ward mar- ried Miss Maria White, who died leaving no chil- dren. He was a second time married in North Adams, Mass., in 1874, his wife being Miss

Louisa Hurlbert, and they are the parents of a son, Douglas H., now a law student. In former days Mr. Ward was a Whig and before the war he was a campaign orator for Henry Clay. From 1855 until the Rebellion he was a Democrat, but since then he has advocated Republican princi- ples. In religious belief he is a Presbyterian and for years held the office of elder in his church.

F REDERICK L. WORMSER has been a resident of Scranton since 1866 and has been engaged in business here since 1869. During this long period he has become known for his firmness of character and probity of con- duct, as well as for the interest maintained in matters relating to the public welfare. Probably no citizen of the place has contributed more than he to the growth of the schools of the city and the promotion of the standard of education, and he is entitled to the praise of everyone who is a friend to our public school system.

A native of Baden, Germany, born in 1844. the subject of this sketch was the youngest of the parental family and was orphaned at an early age by his father's death. He was educated in the high school of Baden, which he attended sev- eral years, and in 1861, with a sister (the only member of the family besides himself who came to this country) he took passage on a sailing vessel at Hamburg and after fifty-three days landed in New York City. There he remained for a time, learning the butcher's trade, which he followed after coming to Scranton in 1866. In 1869 he opened a meat market, and this he has since conducted, being one of the oldest business men of the city. Since April, 1873, his market has been located at No. 227 Penn Avenue, where he bought and improved property.

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Portrait and biographical record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 15

Author: Publication date: 1897 Publisher: New York : Chapman Publishing co. Number of Pages: 1068

Author:
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: New York : Chapman Publishing co.
Number of Pages: 1068