Portrait and biographical record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 64

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

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With this object in view, the subject of this sketch entered Jefferson Medical College in 1882, and two years afterward graduated with the de- gree of Doctor of Medicine, after which he en- larged his experimental knowledge by one year's work in the State Miners Hospital at Fountain Springs, near Ashland, Schuylkill County. At the expiration of that time he crossed the Atlan- tic and continued his studies in Dublin, Ireland,

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graduating from the Maternity Hospital of that place. Then going to Paris, he spent two and one-half years in medical studies in the colleges and hospitals, after which he spent one year in study at Berlin, and the same period in Vienna. During his residence abroad he met the leading medical men of the old country and was enabled to gain a vast store of knowledge that makes his professional opinion of the highest value. He traveled throughout the various European coun- tries, and became fluent in the use of French and German.

After having spent about five years abroad, Dr. Brady returned to the United States and set- tled in Scranton, where he has since engaged in practice, his office being located at No. 418 Lack- awanna Avenue. He devotes his attention prin- cipally to office practice, which is large and re- munerative. His residence at No. 613 Adams Avenue is presided over by his wife, whom he married in this city, and who bore the maiden name of Hannah Casey. She was born here, being a daughter of John Casey, an old settler and merchant of this place. They are the par- ents of two children, Hannah and Regina.

K ELSEY D. PURDY. The young men whose energy is already an active factor in the development of the county and whose influence will mold the future prosperity of this section, have an able representative in the rising young business man whose name intro- duces this sketch. Mr. Purdy is engaged in the hardware business in Carbondale, as a member of the firm of Maldfeld & Purdy, and has here a store well stocked with every variety of hard- ware and tinware, plumbing and gas-fitting ap- paratus.

The father of our subject, Darius G. Purdy, was born at Hemlock Hollow, Wayne County, Pa., there grew to manhood and engaged in farm- ing and lumbering. He was the owner of a saw- mill and shipped large quantities of lumber to the markets. At this writing he resides in Carbon- dale, where he is living in retirement from busi- ness, having accumulated property of sufficient value to enable him to enjoy the twilight of life

in ease and comfort. He married Miss Frances M. Andrews, who was born in New York, but in girlhood accompanied the family to Hawley, Pa., and there grew to womanhood. Five children were born to the union, and three are living: Chauncey, whose home is in Seelyville; Carrie, wife of W. H. Guinn, of Hawley ; and Kelsey D.

The subject of this sketch was born at Hem- lock Hollow, Wayne County, June 4, 1876, and was reared on a farm, receiving his education in the common schools and Wyoming Seminary. When not in school he assisted in the work of cultivating the home farm. His first position in his present line of business was as clerk for his brother-in-law, Mr. Guinn, of Hawley, and as he found the work congenial he determined to enter it for himself. In 1893 he succeeded to the business in Carbondale, formerly owned by an uncle, and has since engaged in the work suc- cessfully. While he is not a member of any de- nomination, his sympathies are with the Baptist Church, to which his parents belong.

While a student in Wyoming Seminary Mr. Purdy met Miss Ruth Heft, who resided near that place. Having embarked in business and feeling justified in establishing domestic ties, he married this accomplished young lady in June, 1896, and they have since become prominent in social circles of the city. He pursues a straight- forward course in life and is ready to assist as well as he can in that which tends to the welfare of the city he has chosen as his home. He has abounding faith in the future of the town as a business center and a place from which cultured influences will spread throughout the surround- ing country. As yet he has not identified himself actively in politics, but advocates the principles of the Republican party.

P IERCE BUTLER, master mechanic of the Delaware & Hudson Gravity Railroad, was born in Kingston, Luzerne County, Pa., October 13, 1831. His paternal and maternal ancestors were both representatives of good old Revolutionary and Puritan stock. Col. Zebulon Butler, his great-grandfather, was captain in the French and Indian War, colonel of the First Con-

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necticut Regiment of the Continental army, and commanded the Continental troops at the Wyo- ming massacre, July 3, 1778. He was also a prominent member of the Society of the Cin- cinnati, one of the most influential organizations of that time, and was a leader among the people of the Wyoming Valley.

In early life Mr. Butler learned the machinist's trade in the shops of the Pennsylvania Coal Com- pany at Hawley, Wayne County, Pa. He estab- lished domestic ties in January, 1855, at which time he was united in marriage with Catherine Ann Kelly, who was born in Wurtsboro, N. Y., in 1834. Owing to failing health, in 1858 he abandoned his trade and purchased a farm of one hundred and eighty acres in Fairfax County, Va., on the banks of Bull Run Creek. The first soldier killed in the battle of Bull Run died on his farm, where a portion of the bloody conflict was fought. Constant depredations at the hands of soldiers and the danger of loss of life caused him to leave the farm, and going to Washington, D. C., he was engaged in the mercantile business until the close of the war.

Coming to Carbondale in 1865, Mr. Butler took a position as assistant master mechanic of the Gravity Railroad and a few years later was pro- moted to his present place. Through all of his varied experiences he has been a hard worker and has maintained habits of strictest integrity. In 1856 he united with the Methodist Episcopal Church and is now a trustee of the congregation in Carbondale. For many years he has been a worker in the cause of temperance and a member of the Prohibition party.

The first wife of Mr. Butler died in 1874, and he was a second time married, July 30, 1879, his wife being Fannie P. Wood. Of his children, born of his first marriage, we note the following: Mary is the wife of E. K. Trickey, a contractor, who for a time was connected with the construc- tion of the drainage canal in Chicago and is now engaged in similar work in Boston; Henry C., who was born on the Virginia farm in 1860, was educatedin the high school of Carbondale and the state normal school; later he attended the Phila- delphia Law School, was admitted to the bar, and since 1886 has been engaged in practice in

Carbondale, where he takes an active part in local affairs. Alice graduated from Ft. Edward Institute, at Ft. Edward, N. Y., and Jennie was educated at Wellesley College, Massachusetts. Both Mr. Butler and his son are identified with the Sons of the Revolution.

C OL. HENRY MARTYN BOIES. It has been said that the "worth of a state in the long run is the worth of the individu- als composing it." This being accepted as true, the presence of a public-spirited, talented man, of philanthropic disposition and lofty mental traits, is of the greatest value to the state. But, while the state is benefited, the especial benefit falls upon the city, the immediate center from which the influence radiates. We find this to be the case in studying the life and career of Colonel Boies, president of the Boies Steel Wheel Con- pany, of Scranton, and one of the influential busi- ness men of this city. At an early age he dis- played the earnestness of purpose that has since been one of his chief characteristics and that has largely been the means of his success. A review of his life will be of interest to the people of the county, where he has made his home since 1865.

The Boies family is of French-Huguenot de- scent. Forced to flee during the religious perse- cutions in France in the seventeenth century, they crossed the ocean and settled in Boston, Mass., where they established the first paper mill in America. The subject of this sketch was born in Lee, Mass., in 1837, gained the foundation of his education in the public schools and then entered Yale College, from which he graduated in 1859. The following year he joined the corps of Zouaves organized in Chicago by Ellsworth. From 1861 until 1865 he was a member of the firm of Silver & Boies, engaged in the freighting and forward- ing business at Tivoli, N. Y. He came to Scran- ton in 1865 as resident member of the firm of Laflin, Boies & Turck, powder manufacturers, and four years later became president of the Moo- sic Powder Company. Noticing that there were many fatal accidents in mines on account of the careless handling of cartridges by lamplight and desiring to remedy this evil, in 1873 he invented

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a cartridge package for mining powder, that was almost universally adopted.

When the "Molly Maguires" had effected a state of lawlessness throughout the mining re- gions, Mr. Boies organized the Scranton City Guard, was chosen its commander, and became major when it was mustered into the State Na- tional Guard. In 1878, when the independent companies were consolidated with the battalion to form the Thirteenth Regiment, he was chosen colonel. Under his administration the regiment was brought to a state of efficiency seldom sur- passed, an armory was built, rifle practice estab- lished, state encampments inaugurated, etc. At the expiration of five years he was elected for a second term, but the pressure of business duties obliged him to decline the honor.

In 1861 Colonel Boies married Emma G., daughter of Rev. Thomas Brainerd, D. D., of Philadelphia. Of this marriage one son, H. W., survives. After the death of his first wife, Colonel Boies, in 1870, married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Dickson, of Scranton. They became the parents of four children now living, Joseph M., Ethel Marvine, David, and Helen E. He is a member of the Second Presbyterian Church and has been president of the board of trustees since the death of Mr. Dickson in 1884.

In the spring of 1882 Colonel Boies became president of the Dickson Manufacturing Com- pany and during the four years he held this posi- tion, his judicious management was manifest in the increased business of the company, its en- larged works, the introduction of the hydraulic system of flanging and riveting, and its capacity of production enhanced. He placed its finances upon a basis so solid that even during the great depression of 1884-85 the six hundred employes were retained and the business carried on unin- terruptedly. While with this company he in- vented a steel-tired car wheel, now manufactured by the Boies Steel Wheel Company, of which he is president. In the organization of the Third National Bank of Scranton he took an active part and for ten years was a director, also served as director of leading manufacturing companies, has been president of the board of trade and is now president of the Scranton Club. A Republican

in politics, he was delegate to the national con- vention in Chicago in 1884. In 1870-74 and 1888-90 he was president of the Y. M. C. A., and has long served on the state executive committee. In 1886 Governor Beaver appointed him a mem- ber of the board of public charities, in which he was a member of the committee on lunacy and the executive committee. He is also identified with the National Prison Association, and as a fruit of his labors in this, and other philanthropic societies, published in 1893 a volume entitled "Prisoners and Paupers," which presents a study of criminality and pauperism, with suggestions for remedy.

J OSEPH M. BOIES, superintendent of the Boies Steel Wheel Company, director in this and the Moosic Powder Company, vice- president and director of the Jermyn Electric Light & Power Company, and one of the influen- tial citizens of Scranton, was born in this city, August 8, 1873, the son of Col. Henry M. Boies. In The School of the Lackawanna, under Pro- fessor Buell, he prepared for Yale, which he entered in 1892, graduating in 1895 with the de- gree of B. S. After graduation he was for one year clerk in the office of the Moosic Powder Company and during this time gained a knowl- edge of the powder business.

In November, 1895, Mr. Boies was given the position which he now occupies, that of super- intendent of the Boies Steel Wheel Company, located in Ash Street between Jefferson and Ad- ams, and occupying about two blocks. Elec- tricity is generated by a fine modern and well equipped plant in the building and is used for light. The principal product is the No. 2 wheel, which is manufactured from rough scrap and used in cars adopted by the best companies, ag- gregating some two hundred roads. The princi- pal buildings are the hammer shop, two machine shops, boiler house, and gas house for producing the gas that heats the metal to form the center. Easy facilities for transportation are furnished by siding from the Delaware & Hudson and Erie & Wyoming Valley roads. The works were es- tablished in 1886, but were enlarged and finally

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built up on this plant. The company was the first to adopt the present mode of manufacturing wrought iron wheels and it has been successful from the beginning.

Mr. Boies is a Republican in politics, in favor of the protection of American industries. He is interested in the Laflin Rand Powder Company of New York, and a member of the Alumni As- sociation of Yale College, the Engineers Club, Country Club and Ixion Bicycle Club. In the Second Presbyterian Church of Scranton, with which he is identified, he holds the office of as- sistant treasurer.

P HILIP ROBINSON, of M. Robinson's brewery at Scranton, was born in this city in 1864 and has spent his entire life here, with the exception of a short period abroad. The family is of German origin and has been repre- sented in this county for three generations. His grandfather, Philip Robinson, was accidentally killed on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western road near Moscow.

Our subject's father, who also bore the name of Philip, was born in Lauterecken, Rheinpfalz, Bavaria, in 1841, and there learned the brewer's trade, after which he came with his father to New York City. Coming to Scranton in 1854, he en- gaged in the brewery business with his father and brother and laid the foundation of the present concern. The partnership was dissolved and he purchased the plant in 1868, continuing its pro- prietor until his death in September, 1879. He was a member of Schiller Lodge, F. & A. M., and was buried with Masonic honors. A prominent Democrat, he was candidate in 1879 for county treasurer, but died before the election. He was identified with the Scranton Saengerrunde and Neptune Engine Company. His wife, Mina, was born in Bavaria, and thence came to America with her father, Jacob Schimpff, the latter locat- ing in Scranton, where he engaged in the bakery and restaurant business in Cedar Avenue. He retired some years before his death.

Educated in the public schools and Wyoming Seminary, in 1881 Philip Robinson went to Ger- many and attended the brewing school in the

city of Worms, where he completed the regular course of instruction. On his return to Scranton, he worked in the brewery, then in the office, of which he is now in charge. The plant is the old- est in the city. Under his supervision the busi- ness has been enlarged from time to time. The brewery is located at Cedar Avenue and Alder Street and is thoroughly equipped with modern improvements.

In this city Philip Robinson married Miss Anna Demuth, daughter of Jacob Demuth, and they are the parents of three children, Minnie, Anna and Magdalena. Active in local politics, he is recognized as one of the prominent Demo- crats of Scranton. At one time he was president of the Neptune Engine Company, and is now serving his third term as treasurer of the Scran- ton Saengerrunde. He is also a member of the Athletic Club, Liederkranz, Nay-Aug Tribe of Red Men, and Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In 1888 he became a member of Schiller Lodge, F. & A. M., and in December, 1896, was elected W. M., which position he has since filled.

M ISS HARRIET J. DAVIS. In this cli- mate, no small degree of experience and patience are necessary in order to pro- duce flowers at all times of the year, and even these qualities are of no avail unless they are backed by capital and aided by ample facilities in the way of greenhouses, heating apparatus, hot beds, etc. The success attained in the business is chiefly dependent upon the skill of the oper- ator. By a careful study of plants and their growth, and observance of the conditions neces- sary to produce certain results, Miss Davis has gained a thorough knowledge of the florist's busi- ness, and by her experience is proving the fact that women may judiciously and successfully con- duct large enterprises. While but a compara- tively short time has elapsed since she began in business for herself, already a large measure of success has been secured, and future prospects are quite flattering.

The youngest of a family of six children, Miss Davis was born in Bloomsburg, Columbia Coun- ty, Pa., and is a sister of William H. Davis, men-

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tioned elsewhere in this volume. Her father Joseph, who was also a native of Bloomsburg, for some years was engaged as an ore miner there, but died in the prime of manhood; his wife, who bore the maiden name of Emma Karnes, was born in the same place as himself and was still a young woman at the time of her demise.

Orphaned when quite small, Miss Davis was given a home by her kind benefactors, Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler, with whom her early girlhood years were happily passed. Under the training of Mr. Wheeler, himself a large and successful florist, she gained a knowledge of the business and became an expert decorator. She came to Scranton in 1885, and for three years was with her brother, but in 1895 opened a store at No. 104 South Main Avenue, where she has a large assortment of plants, cut flowers and beautiful floral designs. She is connected with the Hyde Park Presbyterian Church and deeply interested in religious and benevolent enterprises.

J AMES F. BEST, proprietor of Hotel Best, Scranton, is of remote German extraction, but an ancestor settled at an early period in Ireland, and in the Emerald Isle his father and grandfather, both bearing the Christian name of Andrew, were born. The latter passed his en- tire life there, but the father came to America. His birth occurred in County Mayo, and when he had arrived at manhood he learned the butch- er's trade. He married Mary Burke, a native of the same county, and in 1850 they crossed the Atlantic, their purpose being the founding of a new home in the land of freedom. The first two years were spent in Allegheny City, Pa., and then they decided to locate in what was then known as Slocum's Hollow, later as Scranton. Employment being offered the father in the mines, he undertook the work and made a good living for his family in this way. In 1867 he was in the old Dousie mines at Minooka where Wil- liam Connell served as superintendent. His death occurred in 1867; his widow, now in her seventy- seventh year, survives him, and resides at the old home. One son, Patrick, is in the employ of the Scranton Axle Company and lives in Meadow

Brook, and Andrew, another son, is in business with our subject.

James F. Best was born in Minooka, Pa., August 24, 1865, and attended the same school as did the Connell brothers. When he was only nine years old he had to begin earning money, for his parents were poor, and his first work was as a breaker-boy and slate picker at Corey's breakers. At the end of four or five years he became a driver in the Meadow Brook mines, owned by the Con- nell Coal Company, and in this capacity he acted until he left the business altogether in 1886. For nearly two years he was a porter and clerk in the St. Charles Hotel, after which he managed the hotel belonging to Owen Cusick, in Lackawanna Avenue. His next venture was to run the hotel of Elizabetlı Ziegler, in Cedar Avenue, adjoining his present location, and this enterprise was suc- cessfully carried on for two years. In 1891 he leased the place and was the proprietor of what . was known as the Roaring Brook Hotel, for some five years. It was in 1896 that he began remod- eling and refurnishing No. 316 Cedar Avenue, now the Best Hotel. He has hosts of friends among his patrons.

In Providence Mr. Best was united in matri- mony with Julia Cusick, whose birth occurred there. Her father, Patrick, was well known in those parts as the genial owner of the Farmers' Hotel, a leading hostelry for many years. Two daughters have come to brighten the home of our subject and wife, Anna and Hildegarde. Mr. Best is a member of the Scranton Saengerrunde, the Scranton Athletic Club, and the Young Men's Institute. His ballot is always cast for the nomi- nees of the Democratic party. For years he has been identified with the congregation of St. Pe- ter's Cathedral.

J OHN T. WILLIAMS, foreman in the foun- dry of the Van Bergen Company, Limited, and an influential citizen of Carbondale, was born in Baltimore, Md., February 12, 1854. He is the son of John Williams, a native of Scot- land, who came to America in young manhood and learned the moulder's trade, which he has since followed, being at present in the employ of

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the Dickson Manufacturing Company of Scran- ton. At the time his parents left Baltimore our subject was eight years of age, and four years later he settled with them in Scranton. His ed- ucational advantages were exceedingly limited. In boyhood he worked for two years as a slate picker, his first money being earned in that hum- ble occupation. Afterward he learned the foun- dry business, and was connected successively with works in Philadelphia, Scranton and Pitts- ton, being in charge of the Exeter works at the place last named.

From Pittston Mr. Williams came to Carbon- dale in February, 1891, and accepted the position of foreman in the 'foundry of the works of the Van Bergen Company, Limited, which he has since held. He is a thorough mechanic, an ex- perienced business man, and is well qualified for his present responsible place. In addition to this work, he is a stockholder in a glass plant in Scranton. Characterized by industry and integ- rity, he has gained a competency of this world's goods, all of which represents his unaided exer- tions, for he had no one to assist him in the bat- tle of life. He is now in the prime of life, and many days of usefulness are doubtless yet in store for him. Fraternally he is a Mason, and holds membership in the Union lodge at Scran- ton.

October 1, 1874, Mr. Williams married Miss Josephine Paff, who was born in 1854, and is a daughter of John and Mary Paff, natives of Ger- many. . Reared by her parents in the faith of the Lutheran denomination, she has identified her- self with that church, and in its doctrines has trained her three children, Jennie, Eula and Blanche.

C OURTLAND P. VAN BRUNT, the well known lumber manufacturer and dealer of Moscow, was born in New York City, September 27, 1827, the son of Isaac and Lucre- tia (Whitehead) Van Brunt, natives of New Jer- sey. His father, who was a machinist, spent the greater portion of his life at work in his trade in New York, and there died at about fifty-five years of age; the mother was sixty-five at the

time of her death. Their son spent his early days in the city of his birth and at the age of seven- teen began to learn the trade of an engineer and boiler maker, but worked at it a short time only. For several years he ran an engine in a steam sawmill in Canal Street, New York.

On account of poor health Mr. Van Brunt de- termined to leave New York, and accordingly, in 1857, he came to Lackawanna County. Here he built a sawmill for the purpose of furnishing Stein- way & Son stock for their pianofortes, and con- tinued to furnish them with the principal part of their material until the best timber of this locality was exhausted. In addition, he had also manufactured lumber and built a planing mill. He was one of the first who built a sawmill here and was a pioneer in the lumber business, in which he is still successfully engaged.

In New York City Mr. Van Brunt married Miss Sarah Jane Lyman, who died after having become the mother of nine children: Walter, John and George, who are interested with their father in farming and the lumber business; Court- land, David, Isaac, Miles, Louis, and Louie, all deceased. The second wife of Mr. Van Brunt was Mary E. Scull, of Spring Brook Township, this county. Their nine children are named as follows: Edward; Archie, who died at twelve years; Frank; Fred; Rachel; Lizzie, who died at nine years; Alice, who died in childhood; Jo- seph and Ruth.

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Portrait and biographical record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 64

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