Portrait and biographical record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 78

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

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business as a contracting painter and decorator.

The father of our subject, George Jacobs, was born in Germany and there learned the baker's trade. When a young man he came to Amer- ica and settled on the Hudson River. At Athens he married Phillipine Koesting, a native of Ger- many, and about 1860 they removed to Ledge- dale, Wayne County, Pa., thence to Hawley, the same county, where he was employed by the Pennsylvania Coal Company for some years. At this writing he still resides at Hawley. Interested in public matters, he has served in local offices. He adheres to the religious faith of his ancestors and is identified with the Lutheran Church. His wife was a daughter of Henry Koesting, who engaged in milling in Athens, N. Y., thence re- moved to Hawley, Wayne County, and from there to Lackawaxen and Milford, where he car- ried on a hotel.

The parental family consisted of thirteen chil- dren, ten of whom are living, two sons being with our subject in the painting business. Charles S., the eldest of the family, was born in Athens, N. Y., June 12, 1858, and grew to manhood in Haw- ley, where he attended private and public schools. In 1875 he was apprenticed to the painter's trade at Honesdale under Jacob Vetter, but that gen- tleman dying soon afterward, he went to Wilkes- barre, where he followed his trade. In August, 1876, he came to Scranton and was employed as a journeyman painter under Bright & Dunbar, later for eigliteen months was employed in the passenger car shops of the Delaware, Lackawan- na & Western. In 1882 he entered business for himself as a contracting painter in Green Ridge, but after a time removed his shop to Dickson Avenue, two doors south of the large store build- ing he afterward erected and now occupies. His success is doubtless largely due to the fact that he thoroughly understands the natural finish of houses, having begun work just when it was coming in style. Among the contracts he has had may be mentioned the Green Ridge and Hyde Park Presbyterian Churches, new depot at Carbondale, seven depots for the Ontario & Western, Sanquoit silk works, Casey Brothers' houses, Traders Bank, addition to the court house, Home for the Friendless, residences of

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Mrs. A. M. Decker, John T. Porter, Herbert H. Coston, Charles Burr, John Jordan, Aaron Gold- smith, Thomas Barrowman, Harry G. Dunham, Charles du Pont Breck, George L. Breck, J. A. Davis and William A. Connell. During busy seasons he has employed as many as forty men.

At Scranton, July 17, 1881, Mr. Jacobs mar- ried Miss Jennie Casterline, who was born in Wyoming County, Pa., being the daughter of John M. Casterline, a retired resident of this city. One child blesses the union, a son, Everett. Fraternally Mr. Jacobs is identified with the Hep- tasophs, and he is also a member of the Builders' Exchange. In political belief he advocates the policy of the Republican party, and upon that ticket was elected a county assessor. He was appointed by the board of school control to fill the unexpired term of W. L. Carr, and six months later was elected, in February. 1894, to represent the thirteenth ward on the board for four years, his term of office beginning immedi- ately after election. At this writing he is chair- man of the building committee and a member of the text book committee. All measures for the public welfare receive his cordial support and he is justly numbered among the aggressive, effi- cient citizens of Scranton.

P ETER WINTERS, M. D., was for thirty years one of the most prominent phy- sicians of the Lackawanna Valley and as- sisted in the organization of the now well known Lackawanna County Medical Society, of which he is an honored member. During his long pro- fessional life he continued at his labors, without rest or vacation; sometimes, when there was much sickness, traveling up and down the valley from one patient to another, without having for days any opportunity for rest or sleep, except such as he could snatch while riding in his buggy. The constant strain upon his nervous system and the overwork undermined his naturally vigorous con- stitution, and in October, 1895, he was taken ill, since which time his son has had charge of his practice and he has lived in retirement.

In what is now Jenkins (then Pittston) Town- ship, Luzerne County, Pa., Dr. Winters was born

February 22, 1830. The family of which he is a member was first represented here by a Hessian soldier, who after the battle of Trenton left the British army and mingled his fortunes with those of the Americans. The Doctor's grandfather, Peter Winters, was born in Northampton County, Pa., and thence removed with his family to Pitts- ton, Luzerne County, Pa., where he was a pio- neer blacksmith. The Doctor's father, Henry H. Winters, was born in Pittston Township, and had a farm and blacksmith shop in what is now Jenkins Township, also engaged in making wag- ons. On retiring from work, he built a place in Dunmore and remained there until his death, in 1884, at the age of seventy-eight. His wife, Mary Tedrick, was born in Jenkins Township, and died in Dunmore in 1891, aged seventy-eight. Her father, Adam Tedrick, a native of Northamp- ton County and a soldier in the War of 1812, was an early settler of Luzerne County, where he owned a farm.

The subject of this sketch was the eldest of five children, of whom the others were Elizabeth, who died at sixteen; John, of Dunmore, a con- ductor on the Delaware, Lackawanna & West- ern; Mrs. Sarah Stevens, of Dunmore; and New- man, a farmer at Factoryville, Wyoming County. In boyhood the Doctor learned the blacksmith's trade, but he was ambitious and determined to make as much of his life as possible. With this in view he attended Wyoming Seminary until graduating, after which he taught for three years in Luzerne County, and then spent some years in surveying. During this time, in 1855, he went to Iowa to assist in surveying section lines of townships in the northeastern part of the state, remaining there for a year. In 1859 he began the study of medicine under Dr. French of Hyde Park, and on that gen- tleman's removal to Lisle, Broome County, N. Y., he accompanied him there. Through the influence of his preceptor, who was a fine botan- ist, our subject became interested in that science. In 1861 he entered the medical department of the University of the City of New York, from which he graduated two years later, with the degree of M. D. Shortly afterward he was commissioned by Governor Curtin assistant surgeon of the One

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Hundred and Thirtieth Pennsylvania Infantry, with the rank of first lieutenant, and was present Antietam, Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg at and other engagements. During the winter he was in charge of field hospitals.

On the discharge of the regiment, Dr. Win- ters returned home. Soon he selected as his lo- cation Chenango Forks, Broome County, N. Y., where he remained one year. In October, 1865, he came to Scranton and purchased Dr. Sea- mans' place, rebuilding the residence at No. 135 South Blakely Street, Dunmore, where he has since resided. He has developed and improved real estate in this part of the city. In former days his practice extended to Petersburg, Provi- dence, Green Ridge, Elmhurst and Moscow. In 1872 he served as a member of the borough coun- cil and for one term was a member of the school board. In politics he is independent, and fra- ternally is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in Dunmore and Hiram Lodge No. 261, F. & A. M., in Providence. In Chen- ango Forks, N. Y., he married Miss Charlotte Parson, who was born there, and died in Dun- more, December 20, 1885, aged fifty-four. Her father, Alva Parson, was a native of Connecticut and accompanied his father to Broome County. Dr. and Mrs. Winters had three sons: Frank W., a graduate of Jefferson Medical College and a physician'in Dunmore; Ralph, also of this place; and Harry H., vice-president of the Dunmore Electric Light, Heat & Power Company, of which he was one of the organizers, and also his father's assistant in the management of the prop- erty.

R ICHARD W. KELLOW. As the years pass by, the people of the United States feel a deepening interest in the record of the lives of those brave soldiers, through whose valor the Union was preserved. The subject of this sketch, though a mere lad when the later war opened, from the first manifested a spirit of deep- est patriotism. The lightning flash that gleamed across the sky and lit in its path the sullen fire of war, caused him to put aside his books and go forth to do battle for his country. Upon the

tented field, amid hardships and dangers, and in the long marches through the enemy's country, he proved himself a valiant soldier. At the close of the war, he returned home with a record of which he may well be proud and which proved his possession of endurance, patience and valor.

Mr. Kellow, who is now roadmaster for the Delaware & Hudson Railway Company at Scran- ton, was born in Honesdale, Wayne County, Pa., September 16, 1844. Of his family mention is made in the sketch of his brother, George F., on another page of this volume. In August, 1862, he enlisted as a member of Battery E, Second Pennsylvania Veteran Heavy Artillery, and was mustered into service as a private August 24 at Harrisburg. He was sent to Ft. Saratoga and as- sisted in the defense of Washington, remaining there from September, 1862, until April, 1864. In recognition of faithful service he was pro- moted successively to the rank of corporal, duty sergeant, first sergeant and orderly. In April, 1864, he was ordered to Ft. Ethan Allen and after- ward took part in General Grant's campaign. He participated in the siege of Petersburg, where he was stationed from June 17 until September, 1864. Later he took part in other engagements in that locality and was then placed on detached service in the ambulance train, as acting quartermaster, remaining in that position until his discharge at Ft. Monroe, June 24, 1865, under the first order to discharge troops.

In the fall of 1865 Mr. Kellow entered the commercial college at Binghamton, N. Y., where he graduated in March, 1866. His first work with the Delaware & Hudson Company was as an employe in the carpenter department, where he remained a year, after which he was employed as a train hand for a similar period. For ten years following he was a foreman in the track department, and during one year of this time as- sisted in building the road between Scranton and Carbondale. For ten years he made his home in Carbondale, but in December, 1878, removed to Scranton, having received the appointment of roadmaster in charge of the Pennsylvania divis- ion from Plymouth to Nineveh, N. Y. He has a general supply store here and is storekeeper for the track department. Since becoming road-

WILLIAM L. MARCY, M. D.

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master he has superintended the building of the double track from Wilkesbarre to Carbondale, which has eighty-pound steel rails.

The first marriage of Mr. Kellow took place in Bethany, Wayne County, his wife being Miss Gertrude Chase, daughter of Hiram Chase, one of the early settlers of Wayne County. Mrs. Kel- low died there, leaving a daughter, Gertrude, now Mrs. Wallace Lewis of Chicago. The present wife of Mr. Kellow was Miss Lizzie Davis, daughter of Richard Davis, a business man of Carbondale. They are the parents of four chil- dren: Jennie, Mrs. G. W. Davis; Wesley, Albert and Austin. Mr. Kellow is a firm Prohibitionist, both by example and precept. He takes an inter- est in Grand Army affairs and is a member of Lieut. Ezra S. Griffin Post No. 139. A charter member of the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church, he is one of its class-leaders, a member of its board of trustees and building committee and for six years, beginning in 1879, held the position of Sunday-school superintendent, since which time he has been a teacher.

W ILLIAM L. MARCY, M. D., one of the most prominent physicians at pres- ent practicing in Dunmore, was born in Duryea July 4, 1833, in the same residence in which his father had been born, a portion of which still remains standing. The Marcy family is an old one, having been introduced into Nor- mandy with Rollo in 912, thence into England by William the Conqueror. The earliest Marcy of whom we have a record in this country was John, a son of the high sheriff of Limerick, Ireland, born about 1662. His name appears on the record in Roxbury, Mass., in 1685. In the succeeding year he with others took possession of Quatosett, now Woodstock, Conn., where he re- mained until his death December 23, 1724. He married Sarah, daughter of James and Sarah (Draper) Hadlock. Their youngest son, Eben- ezer, was born in Woodstock, June 6, 1709, and married Martha Nicholson in 1738. He lived in Dover, Dutchess County, N. Y., where he was engaged in farming and where his death occurred December 10, 1808. His son, Ebenezer, was born

at Dover, in 1741, and married Martha, daughter of Jonathan and Content Spencer, the former of Saybrook, Conn., the latter of Fishkill, N. Y. Ebenezer was one of the early settlers in the Wyoming Valley, and was engaged in the mill- ing business. He was at the fort on the east side of the river at the time of the massacre which oc- curred on the west side, but was unable to take any part in the fight, as the boats that were used for crossing the river had been destroyed. Ow- ing to the hostility of the Indians they decided to return to Connecticut, and started on foot over the mountains, crossing Mt. Pocono. On the way over the mountains while in the forest Mrs. Marcy's fifth child was born, and the next day she was obliged to walk sixteen miles carrying the child while the father looked after the others. After peace was declared she named her Thank- ful. Of their eight children Joseph, the young- est, was the father of our subject. After the paci- fication of the Indians, the family returned and settled on the old property now in Duryea. The land that Ebenezer owned and cleared is now partly in each county and the site of the church at Duryea and Marcy cemetery was donated by him.

Joseph Marcy was born February 19, 1787, at what is now Duryea. He learned pattern mak- ing and became owner of part of the old home. He owned three hundred and twenty acres where the Spring Brook mine now is, but sold the land before he knew the value of the coal lying under- neath. He removed to Salem Township, Wayne County, where he purchased land and engaged in farming. Later he sold out and returned to Duryea, and engaged in contracting and build- ing until his removal to Moscow, where he died. He married Delilah, a daughter of David Nichols, of Beekman, N. Y., and she bore him five chil- dren: Nicholas, who resides in Vailton, Neb .; Abel, who was for many years county superin- tendent of old Luzerne County, but removed to Tipton, Mo., where he published a paper until his death; Martha R., now Mrs. Ryan of Sand- wich, Ill .; Henry F., who died in 1847 aged nine- teen years, and William L., our subject.

Dr. Marcy spent most of his childhood in Tunk- hannock Township, Wyoming County, and was

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educated in the public schools and Wyoming Seminary at Kingston. He engaged in teaching for about three years in Wyoming County, and when about of age took up the study of medicine under Dr. B. F. Davidson, of Factoryville. In 1855 he entered Castleton Medical College of Castleton, Vt., now at Montpelier, and connected with the University of Vermont. He was gradu- ated in 1857 with the degree of M. D. and at once began practice at South Canaan, Wayne County. There being few roads in those days, and his practice extending over a large territory, he had to travel mostly on horseback and became familiar with the song of the whip-poor-will, the hooting of owls and screeching of the wild cats. Later he removed to Waymart, then to Hawley, and thence to Lake Ariel, at which latter place he practiced for nineteen years, and then owing to failing health he was obliged to give up his coun- try practice. He continued to practice up and down the Gravity road and was thoroughly ac- quainted from Dunmore to Hawley. In 1890 he located permanently in Dunmore and has since been engaged in general practice, making a specialty of chronic cases.

October 1, 1861, Dr. Marcy enlisted in Com- pany B, Third Pennsylvania Regiment, and was appointed principal musician, having been trained from childhood to martial music. How- ever, he was detailed on the surgeon's staff at the seven days' fight until the battle of Antietam, where he had a partial stroke of paralysis and received his honorable discharge for physical disability, October 16, 1862. He remained at home until his recovery, when he again joined the army, 1864, as a private in Company D, Forty- fifth Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers, until dis- charged by reason of the close of the war July 17, 1865. As he was a good penman, he was part of the time detailed as clerk at headquarters. He took part in the following principal battles: Mechanicsville, Gaines Mills, Charles City Cross- roads, Malvern Hills, and the last charge on Petersburg.

Dr. Marcy held many township offices and was postmaster at Lake Ariel under a Democratic president, and held this position until his remov- al from there. In Waymart he married Miss

Rhoda, a daughter of John and Sarah (Enslin) McLean, one of the old families there. To them two children were born: Rena L., now the wife of Dr. H. B. Ely, who succeeded to the practice of our subject at Lake Ariel and is at present a representative in the legislature, and Olin J., a graduate of the Pennsylvania Dental College of Philadelphia, now engaged in practice in Scran- ton. Dr. Marcy since coming to Dunmore has been located at No. 115 Cherry Street and has a large practice. He was a member of Salem Lodge, F. & A. M., now a member of King Solo- mon Lodge No. 584, of Dunmore, and Lieut. Ezra S. Griffin Post No. 139, of Scranton. He was a charter member of the congregation of St. Mark's Episcopal Church, and was active in the building up of this church, which was started as a mission of St. Luke's, Scranton, and is a director of the Men's Guild. In his political affiliations he has always sided with the Repub- lican party.

Wm. L. Marcy, ex-governor of New York, and secretary of war under James K. Polk; Brigadier- General Randolph B. Marcy, father-in-law of Gen. George B. McClellan, and Prof. Oliver Marcy, of Northwestern University of Illinois, were of the same line of lineage as the subject of this sketch.

J ACOB ZURLINDEN, who is foreman of colliery No. I of the Pennsylvania Coal Company at Dunmore, was born March 5, 1865, in Canton Berne, Switzerland. His grand- father, Jacob, was a farmer there and his father, also named Jacob, was born there and was a cab- inet-maker. In 1883 he brought the family to America and settled in Pittston, where he at first followed the cabinet-maker's trade, but later en- tered the employment of the Pennsylvania Coal Company. He resides in Pittston, and with his wife, Mary Born, also a native of Switzerland, is a member of the Reformed Church there. Of their five children all are living and our subject is next to the oldest.

Jacob Zurlinden was educated in the German schools of Switzerland and was reared to the life of a farmer. He came with the family to Ameri-

EDWIN S. WILLIAMS.

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ca in 1883, and made the passage on the steamer "Normandy," which was eight and a half days in coming from Havre, France, to New York. He proceeded at once to Pittston and immediately went to work in the employment of the Pennsyl- vania Coal Company and was given work at the head of the breaker dumping cars. After this he was tending the foot in the mines there, then loading cars inside and afterward loading the largerailroad cars from the breaker. He was then given the place of boss loader or put in charge of filling the orders. In April, 1895, he came to Dunmore and was given the position of outside foreman at colliery No. I of the Pennsylvania Coal Company and has charge of the breaker, which has a thousand tons' capacity.

While in Pittston Mr. Zurlinden married Miss Mary Swartz, who was a native of that city, but their married life was of short duration, as she died before he left there. Socially he is a mem- ber of the Knights of Pythias at Pittston,. and politically is an adherent of the principles of the Republican party. He is a member of the Lu- theran Church of Pittston.

E DWIN S. WILLIAMS, one of Scranton's leading contractors, whose large experi- ence well qualifies him for the successful management of business affairs, was born in Stroudsburg, Monroe County, Pa., October 27, 1862, and is a son of Jeremiah and Mary (Diehl) Williams, natives of the same county as himself. His father, who in early life was a bricklayer and plasterer, later became a contractor, and in 1863 came to Scranton, where he engaged in his chosen occupation until his retirement from busi- ness. He died here December 28, 1892. His first wife, who was a daughter of Samuel Diehl, a member of an old Pennsylvania family, passed from earth in young womanhood, leaving a son, Edwin S., and daughter, Mrs. Charles Chandler, of Scranton. Of his second marriage there were born three children who are still living.

When about a year old the subject of this sketch was brought to Scranton, where the fami- ly resided on the corner of Franklin Avenue and

Mulberry Street. He was educated in the public and high schools, and at an early age began to assist his father, also learning the trades of brick mason and stone cutter. Later he operated a stone quarry at Nicholson, twenty-two miles north, leasing the Nicholson blue stone quarry, which he operated about ten years. His ship- ments were made to Scranton, Philadelphia and New York, as well as intermediate points. The quarry contained all modern improvements for facilitating the work, and employment was given to forty or fifty men. In 1887 he retired from that work in order to give his attention wholly to contracting.

In 1886 Mr. Williams furnished the stone work for the county jail, in 1888 for the city hall and the Dime Saving Bank. He was contractor for school No. 13, the addition to school No. 33 and to Lackawanna laundry, the Nay-Aug Engine Company's building, the warehouse of Park & Snover in Mifflin Avenue, the foundation for the new Board of Trade building and for the Mears building, the last named being thirty-three and three-fourths feet below the curb line and twenty- five feet below the foundations of the other build- ings in the city. This was the most difficult job ever done in Scranton and was accomplished by steam power, it being necessary to use pumps day and night in order to keep the water out. In addition to the contracts mentioned, he has had those for a large number of residences and public buildings, and is one of the most successful con- tractors in the county. His office and shop are located on the corner of Penn Avenue and Ash Street.

In Connecticut Mr. Williams was united in marriage with Miss Grace White, daughter of P. E. White, now a resident of Scranton. She was born and educated in Connecticut, and is an ac- complished lady, presiding hospitably over the family home at No. 732 Washington Avenue. One child blesses the union, a daughter, Louise. Mr. Williams is a member of the Penn Avenue Baptist Church, and has rendered efficient ser- vice upon the board of trustees. Politically he is a Prohibitionist and has been a member of the county central committee, in which he held the

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office of secretary. Twice he was a candidate for the office of city controller, but was defeated, his party being in the minority. At various times he has been a delegate to local and state conven- tions. As a citizen he favors measures having for their object the promotion of the welfare of the people and is always to be relied upon in mat- ters affecting the public interests.

J AMES B. GARVEY, M. D., is a distin -. guished and representative citizen of Dun- more as well as a very successful physician of the place. His skill and ability have won for him a large and lucrative practice among the best class of citizens. His birth occurred at Carbon- dale, Pa., March 5, 1843, but when only seven years old he was brought to Dunmore by his parents, Michael and Catherine (Boylan) Garvey, in whose family were five children: J. B .; Rev. E. A., rector of the Church of the Annuncia- tion at Williamsport, Pa .; Mary, wife of P. J. Horan of Dunmore; Catherine, wife of Tim Cur- tin of Williamsport; and Margaret, who is now Sister Eugenia, superior of St. John's School at Albany, N. Y.

In 1842 Michael Garvey had located at Car- bondale, where he and his brother Patrick were the original rope workers in the rope works of Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, and after coming to Dunmore in 1850, he had charge of the rope works for the Pennsylvania Coal Com- pany, John B. Smith being the superintendent at the time of his arrival. He made his home at No. 301 Chestnut Street, and continued with the Pennsylvania Coal Company until his death, which occurred in September, 1876, when in his fifty-eighth year. He received a stroke of paraly- sis while ascending the stairs and the fall caused his death. In connection with Anthony McDon- nell and Mr. McLean, he petitioned for the estab- lishment of St. Mary's Church at Dunmore, and they advanced the money to build the church and parsonage, and were instrumental in getting Father Fitzmorris to take charge of the congre- gation. Mr. Garvey was a most devout Catholic, and a highly respected citizen of the community where he so long made his home. His parents,

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Portrait and biographical record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 78

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