Portrait and biographical record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 17

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

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When only eight years of age, our subject could be found working in his father's shop. His schooling was limited, but at the age of four- teen he was fortunate in being able to take a special course in mathematics under Prof. John F. Stoddard, an expert in that science. In 1865 he came to Carbondale, and was engaged in the carriage-making business until 1879, after which he manufactured agricultural implements and bed-springs until 1890. For several years he was a member of the board of health. In 1891 he was elected alderman of the fifth ward, and his services in that position were so satisfactory that he was re-elected in the spring of 1896.

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The first marriage of Mr. Bunnell took place in 1860, his wife being Helen Dikeman, who passed away March 24, 1865. Two children were born of this union: Edson L., who died at the age of three and one-half years; and William M., who is engaged in railroading. In 1866 Mr. Bunnell was united in marriage with Theodosia Eva Kent of Brooklyn, Susquehanna County, Pa., and they became the parents of seven children: Myrtie M. is the wife of Robert Craik, a railroad man; P. E. is a painter by trade; Edson J. was killed on the Ontario & Western Railroad, where he was employed, in 1891, at the age of twenty-one; Samuel L. is a conductor, and lives in Scranton; George K. is a foreman; LeRoy E. is a student in Wood's College; and Harry J. is attending the high school. The family occupy a comfort- able home in Birkett Street. In all public affairs Mr. Bunnell maintains a warm interest. Fidelity to convictions and close application to business, whether private or official, are his chief charac- teristics. Upon all public questions he possesses shrewd, clear-cut ideas, and is thoroughly in- formed.

F RED W. LANGE, A. B., M. D. The value of a citizen to any community is not marked merely by his learning or the suc- cess wliich has attended his efforts in his business or professional undertakings, but also by his char- acter in public and private life, his honorable ad- herence to all that is good, his personal integ- rity and the interest he takes in the welfare of his fellow-citizens. A public-spirited resident of Scranton is Dr. Lange, who was born here Oc- tober 14, 1861, and has been identified with the interests of this city throughout life.

The Lange family originated in Germany, where its representatives were people of promin- ence. A cousin of the Doctor's father, Prof. Carl Lange, is one of the most prominent and suc- cessful educators of Germany. The Doctor's father, Christian Lange, was born in Saalfeld- Thuringen, Saxony, and was the son of a con- tractor and builder. He learned the shoemaker's trade, and in 1857, when a young man, came to America, settling at Wilkesbarre, Pa. The fol-

lowing year, however, he came to Scranton, where he started in the shoe business at No. 429 Lackawanna Avenue, remaining in that place un- til he retired from his active labors. His home is on the corner of Washington Avenue and Ma- rion Street. One of his brothers, Charles, a con- tractor, died during the Civil War while in the service of the country.

In Wilkesbarre, Christian Lange married Mary Housam, who was born in Rheinpfalz, Bavaria, a daughter of Adam Housam. The latter came to America in 1857 and settled at Wilkesbarre, near which place he engaged in farming, though prior to coming to this country he had followed the trade of a weaver. Christian and Mary Lange became the parents of two daughters and four sons, all of whom are living except one son. They are Dr. Fred W .; Prof. J. C., principal of the high school; Anna, Mrs. J. S. Horton; L. A., assist- ant professor of the classical department of Scranton high school; and Minnie, a student in high school.

At the age of fifteen our subject was appren- ticed to the tinsmith's trade, at which he worked for seven years. Meantime it had become a fixed purpose of his mind to take a collegiate course and his efforts were earnestly turned in that direction. In order to prepare himself for college, he studied of nights until he had ac- quired a sufficient amount of knowledge to enable him to pass the required examination. In 1884 he entered the freshman class of Wesleyan University at Middletown, Conn., from which he graduated in 1888 with honors and the de- gree of Ph. B. His brother J. C. graduated three years before himself, and his younger brother three years later, and all are members of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.

In 1888 our subject entered the Hahnemann Medical College, from which he graduated in 1890 with the degree of M. D. Afterward he took special courses in hospital work in Philadelphia and received a diploma from the Lying-in Hospi- tal. In the summer of 1890 he came to Scran- ton and opened an office, where he has since conducted successfully a large and lucrative prac- tice, and is now located at No. 240 Adams Ave- nue, Court House Square. He has been espe-

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cially successful in the treatment of hernia by the injection method, and has never yet failed to cure a reducible hernia without operation. At one time he was president of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Medical Society, before which he has read papers. He is also identified with the State Homeopathic and the Inter-State Homeo- pathic Medical Societies and the American Insti- tute of Homeopathy.

At Media, Pa., December 31, 1891, Dr. Lange married Miss Jennie Riddle McDowell, who was born there, daughter of Samuel R. McDowell, formerly a merchant of Chestnut Street, Phila- delphia, but now retired. Mrs. Lange is a tal- ented artist and graduated from the Philadelphia School of Design and the Academy of Fine Arts. She is an active worker in the Elm Park Metho- dist Episcopal Church, while Dr. Lange, who

was reared in the Lutheran faith, holds member- ship in the German Lutheran Church. Frater- nally he belongs to Scranton Lodge, No. 263, K. of P., and is medical examiner for the Knights of the Mystic Chain, as well as several life in- surance companies. He is interested in building and loan associations here, in western enterprises and is a director of the Lackawanna Wheel Com- pany, which he aided in organizing.

C HARLES E. LATHROP, president of the Leader Publishing Company at Car- bondale, was born in Sullivan County, N. Y., March 5, 1827. He was the first child rocked in a cradle in the territory now embraced in the city of Carbondale, to which place his parents came when he was nine months of age. At that time there was but one log house in the place, and it required an optimistic spirit to pre- dict the present prosperous condition of the com- munity.

Salmon Lathrop, father of our subject, was born in Columbia County, N. Y., in 1781. He became a railroad and canal contractor, and in 1822 built three miles of the old Erie canal in Herkimer County, N. Y., including the aqueduct across the Mohawk River at Little Falls. He came to Carbondale as an employe of the Dela- ware & Hudson Canal Company, to start their

improvements here, at the same time taking pos- session of the log house that had previously been built by the company, to which he added a frame part. For two years he conducted their improve- ments, then erected a small building and em- barked in the mercantile business. Soon after- ward he built a hotel, of which he was proprietor for several years. This, however, did not prove congenial to his tastes and he sold out.

About 1835 Salmon Lathrop was contractor at Deposit, N. Y., for the then proposed New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad, but the under- taking was not completed until some years after on account of the hard times. In 1838 he be- came a contractor on the North Branch Canal from Pittston to Towanda, which work occupied some years. From 1845 until his death, Novem- ber 3, 1868, he lived a retired life in Carbondale. In early years he was a stanch Democrat, but when President Jackson ordered the funds withdrawn from the United States Bank, he opposed that policy and left the party. Later he was a Whig and then a Republican, and took an active inter- est in the stirring events of the Civil War. In re- ligious belief he was a Congregationalist of the orthodox school.

The grandfather of our subject, Ezra Lathrop, was born in Connecticut in 1755, and in 1780 moved to Columbia County, N. Y., settling near Kinderhook. He was a school teacher by pro- fession, and Martin Van Buren, afterward presi- dent of the United States, received the rudiments of his education under him. During the War of the Revolution, he served as a private soldier. He was the father of six sons, one of whom, Eleazar, was a Presbyterian minister, and preached at Port Gibson, Miss. The progenitor of the family was Rev. John Lathrop, a minister in the established church in England for some years, but later became a dissenter. On account of his change of views, he was imprisoned by Archbishop Laud, and after several years of confinement was released on condition that lie leave the country. In 1630, with several of his followers, he came to America and located at Barnstable, Mass., where lie afterward sowed the seed of lis religious faith. From that time to this the family has taken a prominent part in public

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and church matters, and its members have filled an honorable place in the history of the country.

Our subject's mother, who bore the maiden name of Aurelia Noble, was born in Benson, Rut- land County, Vt., in July, 1790. Her father, John Noble, was an aide on the staff of Ethan Allen during the Revolution, and one of her cousins, B. G. Noble, was formerly governor of Wiscon- sin. She died in Carbondale in April, 1872. Of her seven children, three died in infancy. Two sons attained maturity: Charles E., the youngest of the family, and Dwight Noble, who was born in 1811, received an education as civil engineer, was employed in the survey of the Erie Railroad, and later by the Spanish government in laying out a route for a railroad on the island of Cuba. Previous to this, however, he had read law and been admitted to the bar. On his return from Cuba he was engaged in railroad work in the southern part of Illinois, where he married Har- riet Ridgway. In 1840 he began the practice of law in Carbondale and continued until 1870, when he was elected judge of the mayor's court in Carbondale. While holding this office, in 1871 he took a trip to Europe, and shortly after his re- turn died in October, 1872. He was a man of broad views, deeply interested in the upbuilding of the city, and connected with various enter- prises. He was one of the founders of the Min- ers & Mechanics Bank, and served as a director of that institution.

Thomas, son of Dwight Noble Lathrop, and recently deceased, for more than thirty years con- ducted an extensive insurance business in Car- bondale, now carried on by his widow; he built a beautiful residence on the hill that is now occu- pied by the widow and four sons. Another son, .

W. W. Lathrop, an attorney at Scranton, suc- ceeded his father as director in the Miners & Mechanics Bank. A daughter married Israel Crane, formerly one of the leading business men in Carbondale, now deceased, and Mrs. Lathrop, who is still living, makes her home with Mrs. Crane. Another daughter, Mrs. Eugene Scates, resides in San Diego, Cal.

Sophronia, a sister of our subject, married David B. Blanchard, a civil engineer, and both died in Illinois. Another sister, Jeanette, mar-

ried William Wurts, nephew of John Wurts, who for many years was president of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad. He was an attorney for the road until his death, which occurred in 1858; his wife died in Newark, N. J., in January, 1894. Our subject has been a resident of Carbondale since nine months of age. In 1836 he was sent to a boarding school at Wilkesbarre, where he re- mained until 1841. Two years later he began to learn the printer's trade in Carbondale, and in the fall of 1847 was conducting the publication of a weekly newspaper in Wilkesbarre. After one year he went to Tunkhannock, Wyoming Coun- ty, where he published a weekly paper. In 1849 he was appointed postmaster of that place, serv- ing four years. In March, 1853, he moved his printing establishment to Scranton, and issued the first paper published in that city.

During his intervals of leisure while in news- paper work, Mr. Lathrop studied law, and was admitted to the bar in January, 1857, at Wilkes- barre. Selling his paper in April of that year, he went west to Independence, Iowa, where he began the practice of law. Shortly afterward he was appointed county superintendent of schools. In August, 1861, he received an appointment in the navy department at Washington as clerk, and in December, 1863, was appointed naval store- keeper at the Washington navy yard, which posi- tion he held until March, 1867, but was then re- moved by President Johnson. However, within a month he was appointed superintendent of the government printing office, and served in that capacity until June, 1869, when he returned to Carbondale and resumed the practice of law. In 1878, in company with his oldest son, now de- ceased, he purchased the "Carbondale Leader," then a small and insignificant weekly publication. Under their able management, the paper took on new life and grew in popularity constantly.

Finally, when the increasing population and business of the city rendered feasible the publi- cation of a daily paper, in 1887, Mr. Lathrop started the "Daily Leader," that has proved a financial success, and is now one of the important publications of the county. In 1895 there was erected the Leader Building, a commodious three-story brick and stone structure, a large por-

HON. BENJAMIN HUGHES.

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tion of which is devoted to the publishing busi- ness of the Leader Company, and which is un- questionably the best equipped printing estab- lishment in a town the size of Carbondale in the entire country. In addition to the printing busi- ness, Mr. Lathrop continued the practice of law until 1893, when, on account of failing health and deafness, he relinquished his practice. Each day he may be found at his desk in the editorial room. He is an able and forcible writer, and articles from his pen attract considerable attention. The management of the business is under the direc- tion of his son, Edward D., a shrewd and far- seeing business man.

In the establishment of the Miners & Mechan- ics Bank, Mr. Lathrop took an active part, and for a time was one of its directors. He was an elder in a Presbyterian Church in Washington, and has served the congregation at Carbondale in the same capacity. In 1849 he married Miss Charlotte Dilley, daughter of Jesse Dilley, an in- fluential citizen of Wilkesbarre. Five children blessed their union: Augusta; Mrs. U. C. Rog- ers, of Paterson, N. J .; Dwight N., who was associated with his father in the building up of the "Leader," but died in December, 1882; Ed- ward D., who was educated at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., and is business manager of the "Leader;" William M., city editor of the "Leader;" and Jeanette, wife of E. L. Bevan, of Paterson, N. J.

H ON. BENJAMIN HUGHES. The recog- nized leader among the Welsh people of the county, and one, too, who enjoys the esteem and confidence of people of all nationali- ties in the community, is Benjamin Hughes of Scranton, who, since 1865, has held the responsi- ble position of general mine superintendent for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company and is also the president of the West Side Bank. Mr. Hughes was born October 25, 1824, near Bryn-Mawr, Breconshire, Wales, and is a member of a family identified for many gen- erations with the history of that locality. He is a son of Daniel and Esther Hughes, the latter of whom died at the age of ninety-seven and the

former, who was proprietor of a leased iron ore mine, died when sixty-eight. Both were work- ers in the Baptist Church and were hard-working, kind and pious. They reared the majority of their sixteen children, but only three are now liv- ing, two of these being in America. Evan, who was foreman in the mines at Avondale, Pa., was killed in a mine disaster there in 1869. Elias, who was foreman at Crystal Springs, West Pitt- ston, Pa., died in September, 1894.

The education of Benjamin Hughes was limit- ed to the knowledge acquired during a brief at- tendance at the pay schools of his native land. When ten years old he began to assist his father in the mine, and later was employed in coal mines, but afterward returned to assist in the management of his father's business. In the fall of 1848, when twenty-four years of age, he left Liverpool on the sailer "Mary Pleasant," and after a voyage of thirty-six days arrived in Phila- delphia, whence he went to Pottsville. There he was employed in mining for the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company until January of 1850, when he came to Slocum's Hollow and en- tered the employ of the Scranton Iron & Coal Company. That position he resigned in July, 1853, in order to accept a position with the Dela- ware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Com- pany in the Diamond mine. After two years he became foreman of the mine, and in 1865 was promoted to be general mine superintendent, in which capacity he has since been retained. At the time he became connected with the company there were only five shafts here, but this number has since been increased to thirty, with twenty- one breakers. Six thousand nine hundred and forty-seven men are employed inside and three thousand three hundred and ninety outside, mak- ing the total number of men ten thousand three hundred and thirty-seven. The work at the mines is superintended by wire from his office in the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western depot. In 1895 one hundred and seven thousand, four hundred and forty and one-half kegs of pow- der were used in the mines. Of these mines all but six are in Lackawanna County, the remain- der being in Luzerne.

In 1853 Mr. Hughes established his home on

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the west side, and since 1870 has resided at No. I201 Washburn Street. He has built other houses in the neighborhood, having for years been interested in real estate operations. When the West Side Bank was organized in the early '70s, he was vice president and assisted in its es- tablishment, but for a number of years he has been its president. He was one of the organizers of the Cambrian Mutual Fire Insurance Com- pany on the west side and has been its president from the first.

Before leaving Wales Mr. Hughes married Miss Mary Davis, who accompanied him to this country and remained here until her death. They were the parents of five daughters and one son. Those living are: Esther, wife of Rev. John Evans, of Westerly, R. I .; Elizabeth, Mrs. Lu- ther Jones, of Hyde Park; Annie, wife of A. B. Eynon, cashier of the West Side Bank of Scran- ton; Norma, the wife of Jenkin T. Reese, a min- ing engineer with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western road. In November, 1881, Mr. Hughes married Mrs. Ann Rosser, of Shamokin, North- umberland County, Pa., a native of the same town as her husband.

In 1859 Mr. Hughes was elected a member of the council of the borough of Hyde Park and served until 1862. In 1861 he was school di- rector. For three years he was a member of the select council of Scranton, being president of the board for one year. Fraternally he is con- nected with the Masonic Order. In the Baptist Church he holds the office of president of the board of trustees, served on the building commit- tee and has been superintendent of the Sunday- school for years. He assisted in organizing the Ivorites Society at Scranton and was the first grand president, which office he held for about nine years; he is still actively associated with the society. He has never wavered in his political af- filiations, having always been a champion of Re- publican principles. In 1892 he was a delegate to the convention at Minneapolis that nominated Benjamin Harrison for the presidency, and he had the honor of casting one of the original eleven votes from Pennsylvania for Harrison. He also attended the national convention of 1896 at St. Louis. Personally, he is liberal and enter-

prising, and merits the success he has attained. In spite of advancing years, his body retains much of the vigor of his prime, while his mental faculties are as keen as in early life. His has been a busy and useful career, and not only has he succeeded in raising himself from poverty to a position of influence, but he has also helped many another who was struggling against ad- verse fortune and by his kindly nature and gen- erosity has gained the respect of all with whom he has business or social relations.

S ILAS OSTERHOUT. In presenting the biography of the late Silas Osterhout, of Scranton, the mind- dwells with respect up'on the fair record of his life. He was one of those who acquired a competency without any of the modern appliances by which unworthy persons seek to gain undeserved and transient popularity. Around his name cluster the manly virtues, generosity, truth, honesty and benevo- lence. He was a man whom to know was a privi- lege and to honor a pleasure.

The eldest of ten children, Silas Osterhout was born in Nicholson, Wyoming County, April 5, 1829, and was a son of Webster and Sarah (Jayne) Osterhout. Particulars in regard to the family history are given in the sketch of his brother, Milo D., upon another page. He was reared on the home farm and received a fair edu- cation in the common schools. At an early age he began clerking for his uncle, James Kennedy of Providence, and afterward was similarly em- ployed with a merchant in Scranton. Immedi- ately after his marriage in 1856, he opened a gen- eral store just west of the Bristol House and for three years was located there, after which he moved across the street to what is now No. 117 West Market Street, occupying a building that still stands. In 1860 he built at No. 130 West Market the house in which his wife still resides. In 1874 he built a double brick store at Nos. IIO- II2 West Market, having previously, in 1865, associated his brother, Milo D., with him as part- ner. He continued successfully engaged in busi- ness until his retirement in 1882, after which he lived retired until his death in 1885.

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Aside from his mercantile interests, Mr. Oster- hout was a stockholder in the branch of the Sec- ond National Bank in Providence and for some years held the office of vice-president. In polit- ical belief he affiliated with the Republicans and upon that ticket was elected to the council. Fra- ternally he was a Master Mason. In Lacka- wanna, October 8, 1856, he married Miss Cath- arine Tedrick, who was born there, the only child of Michael and Malatiah (Armstrong) Tedrick. Her grandfather, Adam, a native of New Jersey, was a son of Adam, Sr., who removed in middle life from New Jersey to Pennsylvania and settled upon a farm near Pittston. Michael Tedrick, who was born in New Jersey, early in the '30s, settled in Lackawanna County, as did also his brother John1. Purchasing an unimproved farm, he gave his attention to clearing and cultivating the place. After a busy and active life he retired from his labors and settled in Providence, where he died in 1877 at the age of seventy-five. His wife died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Osterhout, at the age of sixty-three. She was born in Pittston, and was a daughter of Joseph Armstrong, a native of the north of Ireland, but a descendant of Scotch ancestors.

Since the death of her husband Mrs. Osterhout has lived in retirement in her pleasant home, giving her attention to the supervision of her household, keeping posted upon themes of im- portance by reading newspapers and magazines, attending services at the Methodist Episcopal Church and contributing to charitable enter- prises as her means will permit. She has an only daughter, Nora M., who was educated in White- plains Female Seminary and Binghamton Col- lege, and is now the wife of Robert E. Westlake of Scranton.

W ALTER A. SPENCER, D D. S., was born October 2, 1867, in Jackson, Sus- quehanna County, Pa. When an in- fant of four months he was taken by his parents to Pleasant Mount, Wayne County, the native place of his father, William Henry Spencer, a farmer and blacksmith. The paternal grand- father, Henry Spencer, likewise a native of

Wayne County and a blacksmith by trade, was a man of considerable prominence in his commu- nity, and at different times held important local offices, among them that of justice of the peace. He was tendered the nomination for representa- tive, but refused to make the race. Russell Spencer, father of Henry, was a native of Con- necticut, and one of the pioneers of Wayne County.

The mother of Dr. Spencer was Grace Giles, a native of Cornwall, England, whence at the age of eight years she accompanied her widowed mother to America, settling at Pleasant Mount, Pa. There she was married to William H. Spen- cer in 1866, and they became the parents of three sons, Walter A., Scott B. and Earl H., of whom the two last-named are at home with their parents. Walter A. received his literary education in Pleas- ant Mount Academy, from which he graduated in 1885. On the conclusion of his education he taught in a country school for one year, and for two years held the position of assistant principal in the academy from which he graduated. With the intention of becoming a dentist, he entered the dental department of the University of Penn- sylvania, from which he graduated in 1890. After completing the course of study, he opened an office, and is now located at No. 30 North Main Street, Carbondale, where he has since built up a remunerative practice. In 1891 he married Miss Minnie M. Wingate, daughter of the late Dr. Wingate, of Carbondale. She died in 1895, leav- ing one child.

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Portrait and biographical record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 17

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