Portrait and biographical record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 65

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

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Upon the national issues Mr. Van Brunt favors the Democratic policy, but in local affairs he is independent and liberal. For nine years he held the office of township assessor, for one year was clerk of Moscow, and for a long time has been judge of elections. In the Methodist Episcopal Church, with the work of which he is actively identified, he has been secretary of the board of trustees for several years. A charter member of Moscow Lodge No. 703, I. O. O. F., he has been its secretary ever since the organization, and also holds the same position in the American Me- chanics. Realizing the evil of the liquor traffic, he gives his support to all temperance work, and is himself a man of strictly temperate habits. His landed interests are valuable and include thirteen acres within the limits of the village of

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Moscow, the value of which will undoubtedly in- crease as the years go by. He attends personally to the operation of the saw and planing mills, and manufactures and deals in all kinds of lumber, from the sale of which he receives a good income. All of the hands employed in the mills are his own sons. The three married sons are all living near Mr. Van Brunt, while the others remain at home.

G EORGE W. COREY. In giving "honor to whom honor is due" in the develop- ment of this county, mention should cer- tainly be made of Mr. Corey, who has labored long and arduously in this vicinity, displaying his energy and capability in several lines of work. The place upon which he makes his home is sit- uated near Waverly, in North Abington Town- ship, and is well improved, containing substan- tial buildings and all the accessories of a model country home. Its altitude of fifteen hundred feet gives it the advantage of clear, pure, bracing air, thus making it an especially healthful loca- tion.

Upon this place our subject was born January 29, 1827, a son of Warner A. and Eunice (Pea- body) Corey. His father, who is deserving of honor as a worthy pioneer of this county, came here shortly after his marriage, about 1812, and for two years worked in the employ of Mr. Clark, but afterward settled in the wilderness, cleared a tract of land and built a log house. There he remained until his death, at eighty-two years of age. He was born near Providence, and his wife in Newport, R. I., the latter dying at the age of fifty-two. Of their twelve children, ten attained years of maturity and three are living, George W. and two sisters.

Reared on the home farm and educated in the district schools, the subject of this sketch estab- lished domestic ties July 4, 1850, at which time he married Caroline, daughter of Daniel and Mary (Crotzer) Long, all natives of Northampton County, Pa. Her mother died at the age of seventy-three and her father when eighty-six; of their four children, three are yet living. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Corey are named as

follows: Daniel, wlio conducts a summer board- ing house at Lily Lake, and married Elva Wes- cott, who died, leaving one son, George; Emma J., Minnie L., and Clara, Mrs. F. L. Van Fleet, whose husband is postmaster at Dalton.

The first ballot cast by Mr. Corey was in sup- port of James K. Polk for president. In his po- litical views he is a stanch supporter of Demo- cratic principles. This brief review of his life shows him to have always been the same level- headed, clear-brained, practical man, just and up- right in all his acts, that he is today, and the town- ship where he has made his lifelong home has found in him a very useful citizen. He forms one of the class of men who have done good service in bringing a portion of the township to a state of cultivation, erecting a good, substantial resi- dence, and rearing a respectable family, who in their turn will assist in perpetuating the honesty and morality of the community.

L EANDER SHOEMAKER TRIPP. The entire life of this gentleman was passed in the city of Scranton, where he was well known and universally respected. A man of more than ordinary intelligence, and a member of a family long influential in this locality, it was regarded as a public loss when death removed him from the scene of his activities at a compar- atively early age. From his youthful years, when his character was in its formative period, to the time of his demise, he displayed qualities that won the esteem of his associates. He was frank, manly and genial, the worthy son of a worthy father.

The birth of our subject occurred at the family residence, in North Main Avenue, Providence, in 1841. Full reference to the ancestral history is made in the sketch of his father, Col. Ira Tripp, presented on another page of this volume. He was the second in order of birth, and was reared in Scranton, receiving the rudiments of his edu- cation here. Afterward he carried on his studies in Wyoming Seminary, Scranton. For his life work he took up the occupation of an engineer, and in early manhood was given a position as locomotive engineer on the Delaware, Lacka-

EDMUND A. BARTL.

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wanna & Western Railroad, in which capacity he was employed until he retired. His death oc- curred at his home in 1876.

The marriage of Mr. Tripp, which was solem- nized in Scranton in April of 1865, united him with Miss Jennie E. Pearce, a refined and well educated lady, who was born in Honesdale, Wayne County. She was third in order of birth among the six children comprising the family of William and Martha Pearce, mention of whom is made in the sketch of Capt. E. W. Pearce, pre- sented on another page. In early childhood she accompanied her parents to Providence, where her education was obtained, and here she taught school for one year prior to her marriage. She is the mother of two children: Walter Sherman, at present in California; and Catherine G., wife of John F. Broadbent, of Scranton, and the mother of two children. Both on the side of the Pearce and the Tripp families there are four generations living. Mrs. Tripp is identified with the Meth- odist Episcopal Church and a generous con- tributor to the needy and poor.

E DMUND A. BARTL. There is in the business world only one kind of man who can successfully combat the many trials of life, and that is the man of superior intelligence and force of character, one who possesses energy, ability, perseverance and sound judgment. Such a one is the subject of this sketch, who is surveyor for Lackawanna County, and is at the head of the mining engineers in Pennsylvania to-day. He is a native of Hungary, born in Fuenfkirchen, November 16, 1857, the oldest among fifteen children, of whom seven attained years of matu- rity and four are now living, three being in America.

The father of the family, Edward Bartl, was born in Moravia, and when a young man entered the Austrian army. For twenty-four years he was a soldier, and during that time he rose to the highest rank among non-commissioned officers, his army record being a brilliant one. He took an active part in the revolution of 1848-49. After twenty-four years of service he was detailed as provost of the military post at Fuenfkirchen,

which position he held until, some prisoners es- caping, he was accused of implication in the plot, and the unjust accusation led him to resign, but some years later the prisoners were captured and his name cleared. After retiring from the position of provost he was in the employ of the Danube Steamship Coal and Navigation Company until his retirement from business. On account of hav- ing been wounded in the limbs he received a pen- sion from the Austrian government until his death, in 1894. His wife, Barbara Christ, was born in Stulweisenberg, Hungary, of an old fami- ily there, and came to the United States in 1894, since which time she has resided in Scranton with her children.

The long- years of service given by Edward Bartl to the government entitled him to send a son to a military institute free of charge, and our subject reaped the benefit of his father's fidelity. At the age of nine and one-half years he entered the Moravian Military Institute at Prerau, Mor- avia, where he remained for two years. A simi- lar period was spent in a higher military institute at Kaschau, northeastern Hungary, after which he spent a year in the institute at Strass, south- western Austria. An accident resulting in injury to his left knee caused his discharge on account of disability. He then entered the engineer's of- fice of the Danube Steamship Coal and Naviga- tion Company as an apprentice, remaining there until seventeen and one-half years of age. Being the son of an old soldier the government again assisted him, for it enabled him to take a course in a mining university on a payment of only $15. He entered the university at Chemnitz and gradu- ated two years later, receiving a degree as a min- ing engineer. Not wishing to stay with the gov- ernment on account of low wages paid, he re- funded one-half of the money advanced him, which, according to contract, left him free to go with any company. From that time until he was twenty-four he was mining engineer and survey- or for the Danube Steamship Coal and Naviga- tion Company, making a number of new maps and drafts for them.

On recommendation of William Walter Phelps, minister to Vienna, Mr. Bartl came to America in 1881, and at once sought the city of Scranton,

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where he had a letter to W. R. Storrs, general coal agent for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western road. Though unable to speak English, he was given a position under William Connell in the Meadow Brook mine, but mining was too hard upon him, and after twenty-four days he left. He was then given a position with the Dela- ware, Lackawanna & Western in the Hyde Park shaft as a general laborer. Working during the day, he studied at night, and soon gained a knowledge of the language. After three months he became draftsman for the road, and construct- ed three breakers. He worked his way steadily up, and after ten years was appointed assistant to the chief engineer. In 1891 he was candidate for city engineer, but was defeated. At the same time he resigned his position with the railroad and established an office in the Burr Building, later removing to his present location at No. 404 Lackawanna Avenue. In the fall of 1895 he was nominated county surveyor on the Republican ticket and was elected by a majority of over one thousand, taking office January 1, 1896, for three years. Since he established in business here, he has done a large proportion of the private survey- ing in Scranton and has given some attention to the work of an architect, though too busy to de- vote much time to it. In 1896 he took into part- nership, under the firm name of Bartl & Smith, E. G. Smith, a former employe of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western.

In Scranton Mr. Bartl married Miss Bertha Otto, who was born in Leipzic, Germany, and they have four children, Walter, Lulu, Edward and Mina; also an adopted son, William, now thirteen years of age. Mr. Bartl has a wide ac- quaintance not only with the people in the hard coal regions, but among those living in the soft coal localities of western Pennsylvania. He has often been called as an expert to different parts of the state, and his opinion is deferred to in all matters pertaining to the profession. He is a member of the New York Mining Engineers Society, the Scranton Engineers Club, the Scranton Institute of History and Science and the Board of Trade. A Republican politically, he has been a member of the county and execu- tive committees. Fraternally he is identified with

the Liederkranz, is president of the Turn Verein, and belongs to the Hyde Park Lodge, F. & A. M., Lackawanna Chapter, R. A. M., Coeur de Lion Commandery No. 17, K. T., and the Con- sistory at Scranton.

J OSEPH F. ROBINSON, architect, residing in Carbondale, is a man who has met with success in business affairs and ranks high in commercial circles. Though not having made a regular course of study in the profession, he has been a carpenter and foreman of building and has worked after the plans of architects for many years, in which way he has gained a thorough knowledge of the work. Fortune having smiled upon his efforts, he has a good business and a pleasant home, in which he and his wife have all the comforts of life.

The parents of our subject, Jerome and Fran - ces (Swetter) Robinson, are natives respectively of Honesdale, Pa., and Switzerland. The for- mer, who still lives near Honesdale, has been a carpenter, millwright and lumberman, and has cleared large tracts of timbered lands, the lumber from which he has sold. He is still quite rugged and strong, notwithstanding his sixty-eight years. His nine children are named as follows: William, of Wayne County; John, a carpenter living in Carbondale; George, a farmer of Wayne County; Christine, whose home is also in that county; Frank, a carpenter of Carbondale; Sarah, who resides on a farm in Wayne County; Joseph F .; Barbara, of Wayne County; and Nicholas, who follows the carpenter's occupation in Carbondale.

Seven is popularly called a "lucky" number, and certainly our subject, who is the seventh child in his father's family, may be said to have been uniformly fortunate. He was born near Hones- dale October 6, 1866, and spent the first sixteen years of his life on the home farm. From there he came to Carbondale and commenced to learn the carpenter's trade with A. C. Hall, with whom he remained for two years. The fact that he was a natural mechanic was of the greatest assistance to him in the acquirement of knowledge regard- ing his trade. On completing his trade he went to Florida, and on his return to Carbondale took

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a position as foreman for T. C. Robinson, later was again with A. C. Hall, then with Robinson once more. He was the foreman in the building of the Methodist and Baptist Churches here and in the remodeling of St. Rose Convent. Working from the drafts and by the specifications of archi- tects, he conceived the plan of becoming an archi- tect himself, and has already gained a thorough practical knowledge of the best possible kind for reliable work. He was foreman for the carpen- ter work of the Seventh Avenue depot, and in this, as well as in all the work for which he has been responsible, has proved that he is reliable, energetic and persevering. His office is in the building of T. C. Robinson in Robinson Avenue.

In 1892 Mr. Robinson married Miss Alvira To- bey, who was born in Susquehanna County, Pa., and came from there to Carbondale. One child, Marie, blesses the union. In religion he is a Baptist, while his wife is identified with the Meth- odist Church. They own and occupy a comfort- able home in Belmont Avenue. In political ideas Mr. Robinson supports Republican principles, and fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias and the Lackawanna Encampment of Odd Fellows.

E DWARD RODERICK, mine inspector for the First Anthracite Coal District of Pennsylvania and an influential citizen of Scranton, was born in Cardiganshire, Wales, in 1860, and is of direct Scotch descent, his paternal great-grandfather having been a native of Scot- land. His father, Richard, was a son of Edward Roderick, and was born in Wales, where he be- came a practical miner at an early age. He was employed by a company to go to Spain to open up lead mines and spent three years there, re- opening old mines that had been worked by the Romans. From Spain he went back to Wales, but soon afterward came to America, landing in New York in 1864 and settling in Wilkesbarre the following year. He became a contractor and shaft sinker and afterward mine foreman for the Lehigh & Wilkesbarre Coal Company, but re- signed to engage for himself in shaft sinking in the anthracite coal region. He still has his

headquarters and his residence in Wilkesbarre, and is now sixty-five years of age.

The mother of our subject was Ellen Jenkins, a native of Cardiganshire, Wales, and daughter of Capt. David Jenkins, a seafaring man. The men of her family were sailors and many of them be- came captains. She is still living and is now sixty-one years of age. In religious belief she is a Presbyterian. Of her nine children, all but two attained years of maturity, namely: Ellen, Mrs. D. R. Morgan, who died in Luzerne Coun- ty; Edward; D. J., assistant superintendent of a coal company in Luzerne County; Mary A., Mrs. J. E. Hughes, of Susquehanna County; John, a contractor and builder in Wilkesbarre; Richard, who is superintendent for his father in Wilkes- barre; and Elizabeth, who is with her parents. The three eldest children were born in Wales, the others in America.

At the age of five years the subject of this sketch was brought to Wilkesbarre by his par- ents and until eleven he attended the public schools of that city. He then became a slate picker for the Wilkesbarre Coal Company. From 1882 to 1885 he attended Wyoming Seminary, where he took a literary and scientific course. For about seven years he assisted his father in shaft sinking, and in the meantime helped in the construction of the New York City aqueduct and the sinking of some of the largest shafts in the coal regions of Pennsylvania. In 1890 he ac- cepted a position as mine foreman for Linderman & Skeer in the Stockton mines at Hazleton, but in November of the following year he resigned to accept his present position of mine inspector. The old first district had recently been changed by the legislature to include both the old second and first. He passed the examination in Au- gust and received the highest standing of any candidate. In September, 1896, he was again examined, again received the highest standing, and was reappointed to the position in Novem- ber of that year.

At Kingston, Pa., Mr. Roderick married Miss Grace Jenkins, who was born in Scranton, re- ceived a good education in Wyoming Seminary, and then taught in Plymouth until her marriage. She is the mother of two living children, Ellen

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and Charles E. Her father, C. W. Jenkins, was born in Pittston, and has spent his life principally engaged in mercantile pursuits in Wilkesbarre, where he still resides; he is the son of one of the pioneers of the Wyoming Valley, and is a member of the family to which the historian, Stuben Jenkins, belongs. The mother of Mrs. Roderick was Ellen Davies and was born in Mas- sachusetts, where her father, who was a ship- builder, spent much of his life.

In his fraternal relations Mr. Roderick is iden- tified with Peter Williamson Lodge, F. & A. M., and belongs to the Engineers Club of Scranton. He is a trustee in the Presbyterian Church of Providence and an active worker in its behalf. Politically he always supports Republican prin- ciples and votes for the candidates of that party in national elections.

E DWIN G. CARPENTER. Integrity, in- telligence and system are characteristics which will advance the interests of any man and, under ordinary circumstances, secure his financial success. Such are some of the traits of Mr. Carpenter, a well known and prosperous farmer of South Abington Township, and a pro- gressive citizen whose co-operation in public en- terprises has advanced the' welfare of the com- munity. Doubtless there are few citizens in this part of the county better known than he, and certainly there are none who have endeavored more persistently to promote the development of local resources.

The entire life of Mr. Carpenter has been spent in the locality where he now resides, and here he was born March 27, 1840, a son of Earl and Lorinda (Burdick) Carpenter. His paternal grandfather, Joseph Carpenter, was born in Rhode Island, but came to this county in an early day and settled in Scott Township, where he con- tinued to live until his death at the age of ninety- five years. The principal portion of the life of Earl Carpenter was passed in Scott Township, engaged in agricultural pursuits, and there he died when forty years of age. His wife died on a place near that now occupied by Edwin G. Of her four children, all are living but Albert, who at

the outbreak of the Rebellion enlisted in the One Hundred and Forty-third Pennsylvania Infantry, went with his regiment to the front, served val- iantly until captured by the Confederates, was by them taken prisoner to Andersonville and died in that dark prison hole.

The boyhood days of our subject were passed uneventfully upon the home place. Shortly after the death of his father he started out in life for himself and about 1869 purchased one hundred and eighty acres comprising a portion of his pres- ent place, to which he afterward added until he now owns two hundred and five acres, all well improved and containing valuable embellish- ments. While agriculture has taken much of his time, yet he has given attention to public projects and is interested in progressive measures. In the organization of the Mutual Insurance Company he was closely identified, and is now serving as one of its directors.

March 27, 1861, Mr. Carpenter married Miss Elizabeth Miller, sister of J. W. Miller, men- tioned on another page. They are prominent in the Baptist Church and welcome guests in the best homes of the township. Their family con- sists of a son and daughter. The former, George M., who was educated at Cornell, and is now manager of the Scranton Dairy Company, is a young man of large executive ability and is mak- ing an excellent record in business circles; he married Sadie Miland, and they are the parents of one child. The daughter, Carrie, was edu- cated at Cornell, and is now the wife of Dr. S. M. Ward, of Hampton, N. H.

The Lackawanna Breeders' Association, of which Mr. Carpenter is a director, is one of the most successful concerns of the kind in the county, and is, in fact, well known throughout the state. A specialty is made of raising Hol- stein-Friesian cattle and Shropshire sheep, which are kept on a farm, about one mile from Clarks Summit station on the main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, eight miles from Scran- ton. The first stock sold by the company was a two-year-old bull, which brought $200, and from that time to this there is a steady demand for the stock. There are now more than seventy head of pure bred Shropshire sheep and one hun-

EBENEZER DRAKE.

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dred head of imported, or the direct descendants of imported Holstein-Friesians. The directors of the association are L. W. and J. L. Stone, E. G. and J. M. Carpenter, and J. W. Miller. Further reference to the association is made in the sketch of its secretary, J. L. Stone, which ap- pears elsewhere.

Politically Mr. Carpenter is a strong and ar- dent advocate of the Republican party and has so continued since casting his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1864. If there is one lesson more noticeable than another in his life, it is the fact that our country is one where a youth can achieve, by the exercise of those qual- ities which are necessarily concomitant factors of true citizenship, commendable success finan- cially and socially, and at the same time retain the warm friendship of associates.

E BENEZER DRAKE was born August 29, 1818, in a house at Old Forge that stood on the same spot as the one he now occupies. His father, Charles, was born in New Jersey, February 14, 1786, there grew to manhood, and in 1808 came to Pennsyl- vania, settling where his son now resides. He was one of the early settlers in this vicinity, and in connection with a Mr. Hoyt became the owner of five hundred acres of land. During the War of 1812 he paid a man to act as his substi- tute in the army. In politics he was first a Whig and from the organization of the Republican party in 1856 adhered to its principles. After coming here he established a tannery and op- erated two farms. In 1833 he began keeping a tavern in the house now occupied by Ebenezer Drake, and it was the principal stopping place between Carbondale and Wilkesbarre. His death occurred at the old homestead, March 22, 1873, at the age of eighty-seven.

October 3, 1813, Charles Drake married Millie Knapp, who was born in what is now Lacka- wanna County April 20, 1794, and died in Old Forge February 23, 1875. She was a daughter of Joseph and Margaret (Dickson) Knapp, na- tives of New York. The former took up land in this county about 1790 and was one of the first

settlers in Old Forge, where he cleared a tract of unimproved land. During the Revolution he enlisted in the service and fought for independ- ence.

The subject of this sketch was one of ten children, of whom four are living. He grew to manhood in the parental home and received a district-school education. November 18, 1875, he married Miss Arabella J. Safford, who was born in Lathrop, Susquehanna County, March 25, 1855. Her parents were Jedediah and Jane (Rockwell) Safford, the father born in Brooklyn, Susquehanna County, June 12, 1822, and died June 5, 1896, at the age of seventy-three years and eleven months; the mother was born in Lathrop, April 1, 1822, and died September 26, 1895, when seventy-three. Seven of their nine chil- dren are still living. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Drake were Elisha and Olive (Tracy) Safford, who were among the pioneers of Sus- quehanna County. He was a native of Massa- chusetts, born December 18, 1781, and died in Brooklyn, Susquehanna County, July 16, 1862. She was born in Connecticut, July 4, 1786, was married to Mr. Safford in New Lisbon, that state, February II, 1808, and died in Brooklyn, De- cember 22, 1859. Jedediah Safford was a soldier in the Civil War, enlisting in 1862 in Company F, First Connecticut Heavy Artillery, and served for twenty-two months. In 1864 he received an honorable discharge and returned home. Mrs. Drake's maternal grandparents, Hiram and Re- becca (Merritt) Rockwell, were born in Connecti- cut, and thence migrated to Susquehanna Coun- ty, where she died at sixty-eight years; afterward he went to Wayne County and there his earth life was ended, when he was eighty-three. In childhood Mrs. Drake did not have many ad- vantages, but through self-culture became the possessor of a fair education, and this she utilized by teaching school for four years prior to her marriage. She is the mother of two daughters: Jennie C., who was born December 21, 1876, and graduated from the West Pittston high school with the class of 1894, and later attended for one year the Walnut Lane school at Germantown, Pa .; and Eva C., born October 21, 1883.

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Portrait and biographical record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 65

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