Portrait and biographical record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 59

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

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As might be supposed, the stirring scenes and experiences that became familiar to our subject in early life had a formative influence upon his character. They taught him many hard, but im- portant, lessons in patience and perseverance, that in after years bore fruit in his successful career. In later life he often found a pleasant relaxation from heavy business cares in reverting to the trying times when he was snowed in among the bleak gray hills of Dundaff. In early days his educational advantages were limited to a brief attendance at schools taught in log cabins with greased paper for window panes and rude bench- es for seats. A few days after entering the Car- bondale school, trouble with the teacher caused his father to say that he must either apologize or go to work. Choosing the latter alternative, he began as a mule driver with the Delaware & Hud- son Canal Company and afterward was employed as clerk in a general store at Carbondale. Mean- time, realizing his need of more knowledge, he attended evening schools and became an active worker in local debating clubs, thereby gaining a fund of information that was most helpful after- ward.

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While clerking in the store, Mr. Dickson began an independent business venture, his first. At his own expense he bought a few books and let them out for a small fee, establishing a circulating library that proved a benefit to the entire place. Himself a man of broad learning, his special fond- ness was for the old Scotch bards, though he was familiar with poets of all ages and countries. As the years went by he added to his stock of books and at his death left one of the finest private libra- ries of standard works in the entire state. Until 1856 he was a partner in the store and saw a rapid growth of the business, particularly of the iron department.

In company with father, brothers and friends, in 1856 Mr. Dickson established the firm of Dick- son & Co., and located the plant in Scranton. In 1862 the company was reorganized under its present title, Dickson Manufacturing Company, with Thomas as president and sole manager. About 1859 he was appointed coal superintend- ent of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, wlio were the principal customers of the Dickson Manufacturing Company. These two positions he held during the war, when all business in their line was largely increased, but in May, 1867, he resigned in favor of his brother, George L. After- ward he gave his time to the Delaware & Hud- son Canal Company, in opening coal mines and building railroads. In October, 1863, he assisted in organizing the First National Bank of Scran- ton, which has since been one of the most sub- stantial banking concerns of this section, and in it he continued as a director until his death. He assisted in the organization of the Moosic Pow- der Company April 22, 1865, and was a director in it until he died. In 1867 he was elected vice- president of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Com- pany and two years later became president, which office he held the remainder of his life.

August 31, 1846, Mr. Dickson married Mary Augusta Marvine, daughter of Deacon Roswell E. and Sophia (Raymond) Marvine, natives of New York. This lady is still living and spends her summers in Morristown, N. J., where she owns a beautiful country seat of fifty acres ; during the balance of the year she resides in Scranton. At Morristown Mr. Dickson passed away, July

31, 1884. His body was brought to Scranton, where it lay in state for two days, and was then interred in Dunmore cemetery. Thus closed a life that was eminently successful, not only from a financial point of view, but in the larger and broader sense of years well spent and time nobly conserved. Benevolent in disposition, he was yet unostentatious, and preferred to dispense his charities quietly. The poor often received sub- stantial assistance from him, churches numbered him among their largest benefactors, public in- stitutions were indebted to him for philanthropies, progressive enterprises felt the impetus of his generous donations, and, in fact, everything cal- culated to uplift mankind and elevate humanity found in him a friend. Whatever success he achieved, whatever property he acquired, what- ever influence his noble character exerted, is, humanly speaking, the result of his own ambition and effort, and very justly he is given a perma- nent place among the men whose memory is cher- ished by the people of the county.

J AMES P. DICKSON was born in Carbon- dale, this county, July 24, 1852, and is a son of Thomas and Mary Augusta (Mar- vine) Dickson. Receiving in boyhood the ad- vantages of a very thorough instruction in the rudiments of learning, it was his ambition and expectation to take a complete classical course, and at the age of twelve he became a student in Lafayette College. A year of intense application, liowever, so impaired his health that his parents deemed it advisable for him to return home, thinking that outdoor exercise would benefit him. Very reluctantly he gave up his cherished hope of obtaining a collegiate education. The chang- ing scenes and transformations of intervening years have not lessened his love of study, but through all the business cares and the respon- sibilities of an active life he has retained his lit- erary bent of mind. To him, as to all thoughtful men, "nature speaks a varied language," the world of science furnishes food for helpful study and the history of the ages, as portrayed by men of letters or depicted upon the canvas, is a pano-

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rama before which a student of mankind may lin- geringly dwell.

The active business experience of Mr. Dickson began with his appointment as a member of an engineer corps that surveyed preparatory to the construction of railroad lines by the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, a work that not only proved beneficial to his health, but was also very congenial to his tastes. In 1869 he went to China and for two years was connected with the commission house of Olyphant & Co., meantime by thoughtful observation gaining an accurate knowledge of the customs and habits of the Chi- nese. A year after his return home, in 1872, he entered the office of the Dickson Manufacturing Company, of which his father was president. Oc- cupying the position of a clerk for three years, in that way he gained a thorough knowledge of the details of the business and was fitted to later assume its leadership. In 1875 he was appointed agent of the company at Wilkesbarre and there the seven following years were spent. Step by step he was promoted, as an increasing knowl- edge of the business and increasing ability as an executive officer made promotion a merited rec- ognition of his capabilities. After a short period of service as vice-president, in June, 1883, he was elected president of the company, and during his incumbency of that office the interests of the house, which under the management of his father, had acquired a national reputation, suffered no retrogression, but were maintained at the high standard previously established.

The Dickson Manufacturing Company was or- ganized in 1856 with a capital stock of $150,000, and the first plant consisted of a foundry, machine shop and blacksmith's shop. At the inception of the enterprise employment was furnished to thirty men or more. To-day the capital stock is $800,- 000 and on the pay roll are the names of more than one thousand men. From the works are sent out to all parts of the country locomotives, engines and boilers, that need no other recom- mendation than the name of the house, which is the synonym of reliable and thorough work and a sufficient guarantee to any business firm. In fact, while not withholding justice from other concerns of Scranton, it may be said that the

Dickson Manufacturing Company has done more than any other organization here to bring the city into national prominence.

Resigning from the presidency in 1896, Mr. Dickson retired to his country seat at Dalton, a beautiful suburb of Scranton, about ten miles from the city, and possessing the advantage of salubrious mountain air. Here, in the prime of life, in the enjoyment of domestic happiness and social intercourse, he passes his time, having no more business responsibilities than can be attend- ed to without personal inconvenience. The lady who became his wife October 19, 1876, and who presides over his home with a gracious and win- ning hospitality, was Miss Laura H. Reynolds, and was born in Plymouth, Pa. Their family consists of three daughters, Janet McD., Mary A., and Elizabeth R.

T HOMAS DRAKE. The sons of the pio- neers of this county are now as active in its interests as were their fathers before them, and have taken up and are successfully carrying forward the work so well begun by the former generation in the development of the won- derful local resources. The subject of this article is the son of a pioneer of Old Forge Township and for years has occupied a high place among the farmers of this locality. In youth, having a decided taste for agriculture, he adopted this calling for a life work, and now has in his pos- session a farm that is under excellent cultivation and contains a good class of buildings. The gen- uine interest that he feels in his native township and the public spirit that he manifests, are among his noticeable traits of character. He and his brother, Ebenezer, are worthy sons of that good old pioneer, Charles Drake, who came to Penn- sylvania in 1808 and settled in Old Forge Town- ship. For the family history the reader is re- ferred to the sketch of Ebenezer Drake, upon an- other page.

On Christmas Day of 1828 a son was born in the home of Charles and Millie (Knapp) Drake and he was named Thomas. He grew to man- hood here, fitted by the careful training of his parents for a useful career as a farmer. Old

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Forge Township has been his home through life and he is well known to the people of this sec- tion. August 29, 1859, he married Miss Eliza McHale, who, like himself, is a consistent Chris- tian and a member of the Presbyterian Church. They have reared eight children, and by their affectionate devotion and wise counsel have pre- pared them for the responsibilities of life. Mar- garet E., the eldest, graduated from Wyoming Seminary in 1880, afterward taught six years, and is now the wife of Harry J. Cooper. Eleanor, who graduated in 1883, is now principal of the No. 3 school, Old Forge. Anna, who graduated from Wyoming Seminary in 1884, taught for three years and is now the wife of Andrew Ken- nedy. Mildred is a graduate of Bloomsburg Nor- mal. Alice K. is a graduate of Bloomsburg Nor- mal and Pennsylvania Hospital School for Nurs- es in Philadelphia. Charles. B., who graduated from West Point Military Academy in 1896, is a lieutenant stationed at San Antonio, Tex .; Har- riet graduated from Kingston Seminary in 1895; and William T. is a student in Lehigh Seminary.

A DAM REINHARDT, outside foreman of the Pyne coal mine in Lackawanna Town- ship, was born in Weisenback, Hesse-Cas- sel, Germany, February 27, 1838, the son of August and Elizabeth (Welch) Reinhardt. His father, who was a native and farmer of Hesse- Cassel, crossed the Atlantic in 1845 in a sailing vessel, spending nine weeks and three days upon the ocean. On arriving in this country he at once settled in Carbondale, Pa., where for two years he was in the employ of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company. Afterwards for two years he was with the same company at Archbald. He then rented a farm near Dunmore, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits for eight years, until his death, in 1878, at the age of seventy-four years. In religious belief he was identified with the Reformed Church. His wife, like himself a native of Hesse-Cassel, died in 1858, aged forty- five.

The family of which our subject was third in order of birth consisted of five children, but one of these died in infancy. Elizabeth, Mrs. Henry

Scheufler, died at forty-two years, and Dorothea, Mrs. Dierker, at thirty-one years. George C. is a carpenter and resides in Old Forge, this county. Our subject was seven years of age at the time the family came to this country. His education was limited to a brief attendance at the common schools. When fifteen years of age he began mining for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and later was employed by them as a carpenter. On removing to Taylorville, he worked for a year in the carpenter shop of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad. From 1861 until 1871 he worked at carpentering in the employ of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company, in Scranton. In 1869 he became interested in the Pyne coal mine in Lackawanna Township and accepted the position of outside foreman, which he has since held. The mine is a large one, with an output of two hundred thousand tons per an- num, and furnishes employment for five hundred men and boys.

April 21, 1866, Mr. Reinhardt married Miss Catherine Schultheis, a native of Germany. They became parents of eleven children: Augusta, who died at the age of ten months; Louis, a clerk in Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Coal Compa- ny's office; August C., a carpenter; John A .; Dora; Mary; Lizzie; Kate; Emma, who died at four years of age; George H., and IIerman F. In religious views Mr. Reinhardt is a Presby- terian and belongs to that church. He is liberal in his political opinions, always voting for the man whom he believes best qualified for official responsibilities, but not actively identifying him- self with politics.

A DAM STEGNER, M. D., who has his office in Rendham and is in charge of a large practice here and throughout the southwestern part of Lackawanna County, was born in Hazleton, Luzerne County, Pa., October 20, 1869, the son of John and Gertrude (Scho- esche) Stegner. Both his paternal and maternal ancestors were of German birth. His father, who was born and reared in the old country, came to America at the age of sixteen years and at once settled in Hazleton, where he learned the trade of

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a cabinet-maker. Later, however, he became a draughtsman and foreman of mines. The re- mainder of his life was spent in Luzerne County. At the age of forty-two years he was accidentally killed, his horse running away with him. His wife, who was a native of Germany, is now fifty- nine years of age and makes her home in Rend- ham.

The early years of Dr. Stegner were spent be- neath the parental roof and in attendance upon the public schools. At the age of sixteen he en- tered Wyoming Seminary and spent three and one-half years in study there, gaining a fund of practical knowledge that was of inestimable value to him in his subsequent professional studies. Having determined to become a physician, he en- tered the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in 1889, and graduated in the spring of 1892, having availed himself to the utmost of the splendid opportunities offered by that well known institution. His theoretical knowledge was supplemented by practical expe- rience in the Wilkesbarre City Hospital, where he remained for one year before entering upon private practice. In 1893 he opened an office in the village of Rendham, where he has since built up an excellent and remunerative practice. Among the people of this locality he is known as a conscientious physician, whose endeavor is at all times to relieve suffering and restore the sick to health. His close proximity to Scranton gives him all the opportunities the city can bestow, in the nature of refined and educative influences, while, in addition, he has the advantages of sub- urban life and the pleasures which it can bestow.

W ILLIAM STEEL BOYD, superintend- ent of the Green Ridge colliery since 1874 and a resident of Scranton for the same period, was born in Richmond, Va., in 1824, and is fourth in line of descent from the original founder of the family in America. His grandfather, Gen. John Boyd, combined the ener- getic, courageous traits of his Scotch-Irish an- cestry with the patriotic spirit of Americans; he gained his title through long and valiant ser- vice in the Revolutionary War, in which he served with General Washington, and was twice

wounded in conflict. At the opening of the war he left his farm in Chester County, Pa., to take up arms in defense of freedom, and did not re- turn home until peace was established and the victory won.

The father of our subject, Capt. William Boyd, was born in Chester County, Pa., and served as captain in the War of 1812. His occupation in early life was that of a tanner, but after remov- ing to Maryland he superintended the construc- tion of the tide water canal and continued in the service of the company until his death, which occurred in Richmond at sixty-five years of age. He married Eliza Steel, daughter of Gen. William Steel, both natives of Chester County, Pa. Her father, who was of Scotch descent, and a farmer by occupation, was a general in the Revolution and was twice wounded. Two of his sons were captains in the War of 1812. Mrs. Eliza Boyd died at the age of sixty-four in Maryland.

The family of Capt. William Boyd consisted of four sons and three daughters. Two sisters are living, one eighty-six and the other sixty- two years of age. Our subject, who was fifth in order of birth, passed his childhood years in Maryland and received a good education in Bal- timore schools, Nottingham College, and the college in Havre de Grace, Harford County. Coming from Maryland into Pennsylvania, he carried on mercantile pursuits at York, York County; for sixteen years, and then sold out, re- turning to Richmond, Va., where he was similarly occupied. Several times during the war he was burned out by the Union army, heavy losses be- ing entailed by their depredations. From Rich- mond he went back to York County and em- barked in the mercantile business in Wrights- ville, but unfortunately was again burned out there by the Union army.

At the close of the war Mr. Boyd removed to Plymouth, Luzerne County, where he was fore- man in a coal mine for four years, and afterward was outside superintendent in a mine across the river. In 1874 he came to Scranton as outside superintendent of the Green Ridge colliery, which has a capacity of one thousand tons per day and is one of the flourishing enterprises of the county. The company has introduced a system of electric

JAMES K. BENTLEY, M. D.

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trolley through the mines, by which the coal is moved in cars to the foot of the slope and then hoisted by steam power. Fraternally, Mr. Boyd was an officer in the lodge of Odd Fellows at Wrightsville and a member of the encampment at Columbia. In national politics he has given his support to Democratic principles since early life. He was married in York County, Pa., to Miss Henrietta Smith, a native of that place, and daughter of Robert W. Smith, an old settler and at one time alderman of Wrightsville. The two sons and three daughters born of their union are named as follows: Ida, who died in Scranton; William S., Jr., vice-president of the Scranton Supply & Machinery Company; Ella, who is with her parents; Anna, a teacher in the Scran- ton schools; and Charles, a graduate of the high school here, and an electrical engineer now con- nected with the Green Ridge colliery.

J AMES K. BENTLEY, M. D., who has been engaged in the practice of his profes- sion in Scranton since 1871, was born in Otsego County, N. Y., in 1846. He is of New England ancestry, his great-grandfather Bentley having removed from Hartford, Conn., to Alba- ny, N. Y., in an early day. It is not known defi- nitely whether the grandfather, Capt. Randall Bentley, was born prior to or after the removal; if the former, he was taken to New York when very young, for his earliest recollections were of the Hudson River and its picturesque surround- ings. Before the introduction of steam he was captain of a sloop between Albany and New York City, and throughout his entire active life he was a river captain. A man of robust frame and splendid constitution, he lived to be eighty- five years old. In its remote origin, the family is of English stock.

Hon. William C. Bentley, our subject's father, was born in Albany, N. Y., and removed from there to Gilbertsville, Otsego County, N. Y., where he became a very prominent attorney and public official. His practice was not limited to that place, but extended throughout the entire state. About 1867 he served as a member of the assembly. In politics he was a war Demo- crat and upheld Union principles during the

Rebellion. His death occurred in 1883, when he was more than eighty years old. From an early age he was identified with the Presbyterian Church and was a regular contributor to its maintenance. He married Caroline Peters, a native of Litchfield, Conn., and the daughter of Amasa Peters, whose father, Joseph, was an offi- cer in a Connecticut regiment under General Warren during the Revolutionary War. Joseph married Sarah Swift, daughter of Julius Swift, both natives of Warren, Litchfield County, Conn., and descendants of English ancestry; her brother, Rufus, was an officer in the Ameri- can army under General Warren. Mrs. Caroline Bentley died in 1869. Of her ten children, five are living, namely: Oliver C., an attorney of Otsego County, N. Y .; William P., a prominent attorney of St. Louis, Mo., and at this writing a member of the legislature; Miss Cornelia Bent- ley and Mrs. Emily Hayes, of Iowa; and James K.

Educated in Gilbertsville Academy, the sub- ject of this sketch began the study of medicine, at the age of sixteen, under Dr. C. D. Spencer, of Gilbertsville, his native place. He was born in 1846 and was therefore eighteen when, in 1864, he became a student in the medical depart- ment of the University of Buffalo. His studies were carried on uninterruptedly until his gradu- ation in '1867, with the degree of M. D., and afterward he spent two years in the hospital of the Sisters of Charity and the general hospital of Buffalo, where by practical work he fitted him- self for successful practice. Coming in contact with every form of disease and noting the treat- ment which the most eminent physicians of the place used in various cases, he acquired a broad knowledge of the medical science more helpful to him than years of theoretical reading. His first location was in Flint, Genesee County, Mich., but an attack of malaria induced him, after six months, to return to the east, and in 1870 we find him at Waverly, eight miles north of Scranton. The following year he came to this city and settled in the north end, then known as Providence, where he opened an office in Oak Street near North Main Avenue. Here he has since remained, his office being at No. 112 Oak,

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and he has engaged in a general practice, with a specialty of fevers, in the treatment of which he has been remarkably successful.

While residing in Waverly Dr. Bentley married Mrs. Elizabeth (LaBar) Carter, who was born in Luzerne County; her father, William LaBar, was of French descent and engaged extensively in farming and the real estate business, his home being in Waverly. They are the parents of a daughter, Margaret LaBar. In 1890 Dr. Bent- ley was appointed a member of the board of health and served as its president from 1893 un- til 1895, when he resigned the office. Since the organization of the Associated Health Authori- ties of Lackawanna County, he has been presi- dent, and he was one of its principal originators, the idea of the association being to secure uni- form sanitary regulations throughout the state. He attends the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which his wife is a member. Fraternally he be- longs to the Waverly Lodge, F. & A. M., and professionally is identified with the Lackawanna County and State Medical Associations. A firm believer in sound money, when in 1896 the Dem- ocratic party, of which he had been a life mem- ber, declared itself for free coinage, he became a supporter of the Republican ticket and voted for McKinley.

H ON. PATRICK DeLACY. We cannot within the limits of the present volume rehearse in full the daring deeds of the men who took part in the war, their loyal sacri- fices and heroic achievements. Could they be told, it would form a history of early reverses, dis- appointments, gloomy forebodings, sickness in camp and hospital, long marches, days of en- forced idleness in camp, of wounds, imprison- ments in dark dens, escapes, and all the horrors of war. But they would tell too of privations willingly endured, dangers voluntarily incurred, `hard labor gladly done, dashing assaults, close contests and countless victories. They would speak of doubt, yet of hope; of failure, but also of success; of transient defeat, but of final vic- tory. Too much cannot be said in praise of those noble soldiers, who risked their lives in behalf of the Union and fought valiantly in its defense.

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Portrait and biographical record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 59

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