Portrait and biographical record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 81

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

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In Green Ridge Mr. Jones married Miss Mar- garet C. Paterson, who was born in Scranton, graduated from Keystone Academy, and prior to her marriage held the position of teacher in school No. 27. They reside at No. 1735 Monsey Avenue and have four children, Isabelle, Charles, Clarence and Margaret. David Paterson, father of Mrs. Jones, was born in Scotland, and on set- tling in Scranton was engaged as a miller and mill agent. For a time he lived in Waynesboro, but afterward returned here and again acted as mill agent. He was the first to introduce the celebrated Washburn & Crosby flour in Scran-

ton. Fraternally Mr. Jones is a charter member of Green Ridge Lodge, I. O. O. F., of which he is treasurer, and is also connected with Green Ridge Lodge, F. & A. M. The Green Ridge Presbyterian Church numbers him among its active members. A study of politics made him a Republican, and he has always affiliated with the party of his first choice.

M ARTHA S. EVERITT, M. D. For a long period the general public, not fa- miliar with woman in the leading pro- fessions, looked upon the experiment with criti- cal disapproval, but people eventually recognize merit wherever found, and the result is that woman, when once qualified, no longer has pub- lic opinion to combat, but finds her patrons among the most refined and educated. The opening doors of the professions have led many women to develop talents that otherwise would have remained latent, and thereby the field of science, literature, art and the professions have been enriched.

The family of which Dr. Everitt is a member is of southern lineage and of Welsh extraction. Her grandfather, Allen Davis, was a native of eastern North Carolina, and her father, Allen, Jr., is a druggist of Beaufort. Her mother, who bore the maiden name of Helen Smyth, was born in Philadelphia, the daughter of Isaac Scott Smyth, a native of Belfast, Ireland, and for years a pros- perous business man of Philadelphia. The death of Mrs. Davis occurred in Beaufort. They were the parents of two daughters, Dr. Everitt and Mrs. Frank Fossett Mitchell of Philadelphia.

Reared to womanhood in Philadelphia, the subject of this sketch was given excellent educa- tional advantages, attending the best schools of that city and also spending four years in the Wesleyan College of Wilmington, Del. Shortly after the completion of her education she became the wife of Hon. George Bain Everitt, who was born in Everettsville, N. C., a village six miles from Goldsboro and of which his father was the original proprietor. As far back as the family genealogy is traced, the family were southern planters. Admitted to the bar at Winston, N. C.,

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in early manhood, he was chosen to represent that district in the legislature of North Carolina and afterward held the position of collector of internal revenue of the fifth district of that state. Going to the northwest, he served as register of the land office at Mitchell, S. Dak., and afterward engaged in legal practice in Beatrice, Neb., for four years. He died in 1892 in Excelsior Springs, Mo., where he had gone hoping to re- gain his health. He was then in the prime of his manhood, forty-two years of age. His personal character and standing in his community were of the highest, and while his residence in Beatrice was of comparatively brief duration, he had mean- while gained many true friends who appreciated his manliness and genuine worth. The official positions to which he was called came to him in recognition of his talents and able public ser- vices, and had his life been of longer duration, undoubtedly he would have been called to posi- tions even higher than those he held. As a pleader he was especially capable and efficient, and his ability in that department of jurispru- dence brought him many important cases and considerable prominence. At his death he left three children, George Bain, Jr., Anne Smyth and David Carney.

The deep bereavement which came to Mrs. Everitt in the death of her husband caused an en- tire change in her plans and life work. Having always had a talent for the medical science, she now turned her attention to it. In the fall of 1892 she entered the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia and remained there until her graduation May 8, 1895, with the degree of M. D. On the Ist of December she re- ceived the appointment of resident physician in Maternity Hospital, Philadelphia, where she re- mained until June 1, 1896, On the 5th of Oc- tober following she came to Scranton and opened an office at No. 308 Washington Avenue, where she has since engaged in the general practice of medicine, making a specialty of obstetrics and diseases of women. She is identified with the alumnae association of the Woman's Medical Col- lege of Pennsylvania and with the Lackawanna County Medical Society, and in religious connec- tions is a member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church.

Possessing a cheerful disposition, with a nature broad and generous, she is beloved by those who know her best and has entered with zeal upon the duties of her profession, in which she has already had an extensive hospital experience.

A UGUST SCHIMPFF, proprietor of the Germania Hotel in Scranton, was born in Germany, June 25, 1860, the son of Jacob and Caroline (Robinson) Schimpff, also natives of Germany. His father, who was a baker by trade, in 1861 brought the family to America, crossing the ocean in the steamer "Congress," and locating on the south side of Scranton. Turning his attention at once to the trade with which he was most familiar, he opened a bakery in the block opposite Robinson's brewery, after which he removed to the old Ward House, corner of Cedar Avenue and Hickory Street, and from there to the present Germania Hotel, and after- ward engaged in the hotel business in a building that adjoined the bakery. A few years later he purchased the property now owned by his son, August, and situated on the corner of Hickory Street and Cedar Avenue. After some time the building was burned down and he then rebuilt and carried on the hotel for nearly twenty-seven years, then retired from business. His death oc- curred October 7, 1893.

The mother of our subject was a sister of Jacob Robinson. She died in 1868. Of her six chil- dren, three sons and two daughters are living. Leopold V., son of the father by his first marriage, served as chief bugler in the Civil War, later was manager of M. Robinson's brewery and died in Scranton. Another son, Robert D., who was in the postoffice for sixteen years and held the posi- tion of secretary of the school board, died in this city December 28, 1892.

When the family came to the United States, our subject was an infant. His life has been principally passed on the south side of Scranton, though in youth he spent fifteen months in Ger- many, where he studied the language of his fore- fathers and music for which he had considerable taste. On returning to America he was employed as clerk in a hotel at Binghamton, N. Y., for two

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years and then returned to Scranton, where he took a position in M. Robinson's brewery. In 1879 he again went to Germany and attended a brewing school in Worms on the Rhine, from which he received a diploma. After nine months he returned to Scranton and for two years later was employed as foreman in M. Robinson's brew- ery. He then went to New Haven, Conn., where he remained until 1885, and then returned to Scranton, and entered the hotel business; one year later he rented from his father this property, which he improved, rearranging and decorating the hall and naming it Germania. In 1894, after the death of his father, he purchased the property. In 1888 he assisted in the incorporation of the Germania band, with which he is still connected, playing B flat cornet, and also has an orchestra.

October 13, 1893, Mr. Schimpff married Eliza- beth Pontius, who was born in Scranton. Her father, Fred, and grandfather Jacob Pontius, were natives of Prussia, and early settlers of Scranton, where the latter was employed as a shoemaker. Mr. Schimpff has one child living, Caroline, and lost a son, August, Jr., at the age of three years. Politically he is a Democrat. He is a charter member of Comet Lodge No. 341, K. of P., is identified with the Improved Order of Red Men, Scranton Athletic Club, and was as- sistant chief in the fire department under the chief, Harry Madison, in 1890. He joined the Neptune Fire Company some years ago and served as its vice-president and is now treasurer. In the organization of the Volunteer Firemen's Benefit Association he took an active part and is one of its charter members.

H ENRY HALPERT, M. D., is a rising young physician of Scranton and doubt- less has a brilliant future before him. Few of our countrymen have had such excep- tional advantages in the universities of the Old World, such opportunities for profound research and practical experience, as have fallen to his share, and he has availed himself of all such means of widening his horizon. The fact that he is thoroughly conversant with five languages

speaks volumes concerning his unremitting stud- ies and burning of the midnight oil.

In tracing the history of the Doctor, we find that he comes from one of the oldest and most respected families of Hungary, Europe, in which country his ancestors have dwelt for about nine hundred years. It is known that they originally emigrated from ancient Gaul, now France, and took up their permanent abode in the plains of Hungary. Young Halpert was born in the city of Munkacs, celebrated as having been the home of the great artist, Munkacsy. The date of our subject's birth is May 16, 1869. His father, Solo- mon, a native of the same city, was a prominent merchant there until 1889. He was a son of Joseph Halpert, likewise a native of Munkacs, who served in the Revolution of 1848 and whose estates, in consequence, were confiscated. The wife of Solomon Halpert was Pearl Yetra, whose father, Wolf Yetra, was a leading business man and a banker in Romonow, Austria. He came from one of the noble families of Poland, which was rich and influential ere the fortunes of war had changed all this.

Henry Halpert is one of five children, and has two brothers and two sisters in this country. The former are enterprising business men in the south. The Doctor received a good general edu- cation in the national gymnasiums and when he had completed the regular course began theolog- ical and classical studies. He entered a theolog- ical seminary in Hungary in which he spent sev- eral years, but eventually determined to choose some other profession, as he was not pleased with this line of work, and believed he was not fitted for it by nature. He was less than twenty years of age when he commenced to study medicine at his old home. In 1889 he came to America with his parents and became a student in the world-famed Bellevue Hospital Medical College, from which he received a diploma. Then, under the instruction of the distinguished Dr. Smith, he took a special course in diagnosis, and was awarded a diploma to this effect, and at the same time he gave considerable attention to chemistry, as applied to the science of healing. In order to obtain still more practical training he took a post-graduate course in the University of Vienna.

US Schonwater

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In May, 1895, he decided to locate in Scranton, and opened an office at No. 317 Linden Street. Since then he has been admitted as a member to the Lackawanna County Medical Society. One reason of his success here is doubtless that he can speak so many languages fluently, and as there is so mixed a population in each of our large cities, people hailing from every part of the globe, they often find a reliable physician, speaking their own tongue, hard to secure. Personally he is well-liked by all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance.

C OL. U. G. SCHOONMAKER. In the following sketch is strikingly illustrated the success that may be attained by well directed energy, steadfast purpose and never ceasing effort when expended for the accomplish- ment of worthy ends, and it is a pleasure to chron- icle here the results that mark such a life of use- fulness. Those who give character to the com- munities in which they reside, are men of broad and comprehensive views, men who have energy and pluck to forward their enterprises, and such a man is Colonel Schoonmaker of Scranton and Elmhurst.

He is a native of Ulster County, New York, and on the paternal side a direct descendent of Capt. Joachim Schoonmaker, the founder of the family in this country, who came from Holland in the seventeenth century and settled at Kings- ton, Ulster County, N. Y., where he was one of the fifteen farmers mentioned in the provincial record of 1661. He rendered notable service in the terrible Indian battles which raged in Ulster County more than two hundred years ago. There are few families in that county or in New York State who have held more positions of honor and trust than this noted family, and the part that some of its members took in the struggle for independence has erected a memorial to their names that will endure as long as a fragment of the history of Ulster County shall exist. Some of them were foremost in rising up against the tyran- nical government of Great Britain and to-day their honored descendants are sharing the bless- ings of a free, sovereign and independent govern-

ment, for which their ancestors pledged their lives, means and honor. Another notable char- acteristic of the family is that nearly every mem- ber has been very successful in life, the greater number of them being wealthy, and generally large real estate owners.

Jacob Schoonmaker, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Ulster County, N. Y., where he was a farmer and a large real estate owner. He was a member of the militia who took part in the defense of Kingston during the War of 1812. His son, Alexander, was born in Marbletown, Ulster County, N. Y., July 26, 1820, and engaged in the practice of the law there. April 29, 1842, he married Anna Elizabeth, daughter of Johannas Van Wagenen, a native of Ulster County, and one of the landed proprietors there. Her great- grandfather came to this country from Holland. Alexander Schoonmaker moved to Kingston, the county seat, in 1861, to find a larger field for the practice of his chosen profession, and re- mained there until 1880, when he went to Brook- lyn, N. Y., and there spent the next six years. Failing health made it necessary for him to retire from active work and in May, 1886, he located at Elmhurst, then known as Dunning, and there passed from this life in 1890. His wife survived him but two years. Of their five children four are still living. One son, J. Tyler, served in Eleventh Connecticut Volunteers until the close of the war and retired a commissioned officer. After the war he took a contract on the Union Pacific Railroad, then engaged in engineering and ranching in California, and is still on the Pa- cific coast. The daughters are Jennie A., now Mrs. H. W. Briggs of Kingston; Addie, who resides at Elmhurst, and Eva A., wife of F. W. Harlow, editor of the "Elmhurst Signal."

Col. U. G. Schoonmaker was born at Marble- town, Ulster County, N. Y., January 31, 1845. He was educated in the Kingston schools and from that city went to Binghamton. For two years he was connected with the Sturrucca Hotel of the Erie Railroad at Susquehanna Depot, Pa. In the fall of 1866 he came to Scranton and in company with his father-in-law, S. J. Reed, pur- chased the Forest House, which was where Hotel Jermyn now stands. Later he became the

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sole proprietor, and conducted this well known hostelry until 1893, when he sold it to John Jer- myn. August 14, 1878, he was elected honorary member of Company B, Scranton City Guard, Thirteenth Regiment, N. G. P. He was com- missioned aide-de-camp on the staff of Gov. H. M. Hoyt, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the National Guard of Pennsylvania, January 12, 1880, and is now a member of the Military So- ciety of Pennsylvania.

Colonel Schoonmaker takes great pride in his winter home at Lake Helen, Fla., where he has spent thirteen winters. The spot, however, in which he takes most pride, and in the develop- ment of which he has entered with his whole soul and energy, and which will be a lasting memorial to him here, is that lovely place of suburban homes, Elmhurst. The Schoonmaker plot consists of two hundred and fifty acres, and has between seventy and eighty acres set aside for parks, while there are miles of graded streets, with shade trees and shrubs, of which he has set out over fifteen thousand. In 1883 he employed one of the fin- est landscape gardeners in the country, Mr. Web- ster of Rochester, and the plan was mapped out with large residence lots, broad streets and parks. About $200,000 has been expended, which with the natural advantages of location, scenery and ease with which it is reached, make it the most desirable and attractive place for homes in this part of the country. It is reached by two lines of railroads, and is within nine miles of Scranton. Noticeable among its improvements is the mag- nificent mountain boulevard which extends from Nay-Aug Falls to Elmhurst, and which was con- structed at a cost of $60,000. Here Colonel Schoonmaker has erected his own lovely home, situated in a plot of over seven acres, and known as Oak Terrace. It is rightly named too, as he has gathered here all the varieties of oak trees and has them so planted that their foliage will blend nicely together. Elmhurst without doubt is destined to be the Tuxedo Park of Scranton.

In 1866, at Binghamton, Colonel Schoon- maker married Miss Louise J., daughter of Spencer J. Reed, a native of Sharon, Conn., and she presides over their home with a geniality and hospitality that is never forgotten by those

fortunate enough to receive invitations there. Colonel Schoonmaker served on the board of commissioners of the city of Scranton in early days. Fraternally he is a member of Peter Williamson Lodge No. 323, F. & A. M .; Lacka- wanna Chapter No. 185, R. A. M .; Coeur de Lion Commandery No. 17, K. T., in which latter he is past generalissimo; also belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Scranton Club. He was one of the organizers and the first president of the Masonic Veteran Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania. He has always taken an active interest in political questions and gives the best of his assistance to aid the Republican cause, both in city and state elections.

C LARENCE L. VAN BUSKIRK, of Scranton, is one of the most prominent and representative members of the Ma- sonic order, always takes an interest in every- thing relating to their various branches of work and makes a point of attending all conventions held by them, within a reasonable distance, fre- quently having been called upon to act as a dele- gate of his local lodge or chapter. For nearly thirty years he has been in the employ of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, and this fact alone speaks well for his perseverance, industry and faithfulness to his superiors' interests.

His father, Martin Van Buskirk, was born on the Hudson River in New York State and oper- ated a lumber sloop, plying between Albany and the metropolis. His ancestors were early Hol- lander settlers along the "American Rhine." At one time the father lived in Oneida County, and thence went to Troy, where his death occurred. His wife, whose maiden name was Cinderella Shear, was a native of Oneida County, her fa- ther being a farmer there. Her mother was a Miss Tripp, whose father was in the War of the Revolution, under General Herkimer.

Clarence Van Buskirk was born in Albany, N. Y., in 1839 and was reared on a farm in Oneida County, remaining there until 1859. Then lo- cating in Abington, Pa., he embarked in mer- chandising, and later was assistant postmaster at .

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Bailey Hollow, now Dalton. The next year or more he was a merchant in Nicholson and finally he came to Scranton in 1868, since which time he has been an employe of the Delaware, Lacka- wanna & Western in their coal department. In 1863, though in business at Dalton, he came to Scranton, expecting to volunteer his services as a soldier, in response to Governor Curtin's call for troops, but they failed in making up a regi- ment and so he joined a Carbondale company, commanded by Captain Nichols. This force of men reported at Harrisburg, and were duly ac- credited as Company D, Forty-seventh Pennsyl- vania Infantry. After nearly eight weeks of drill- ing, no necessity occurring for their being sent to the front, the company was disbanded and after- wards mustered out in Reading, Pa.

In Dalton, Mr. Van Buskirk married Louise Green in 1861. Her father, Norval Green, now nearly ninety years old, came of a fine old east- ern family, and was the son of one of the pioneer physicians of this county. Mrs. Van Buskirk died in 1884, leaving two daughters, Stella of McGrawville, N. Y., and Maude, Mrs. E. B. Stewart, of Gloversville, N. Y. In 1885 our sub- ject married Florence, daughter of Jeremiah Stone, a farmer of Waverly.

In 1862 Mr. Van Buskirk became a member of Factoryville Lodge No. 342, F. & A. M., and when he moved to Salem, Wayne County, he joined Salem Lodge No. 330 and subsequently he entered Hyde Park Lodge No. 339, being later transferred to Peter Williamson Lodge No. 323. He has held all the offices, served as W. M. in 1881 and was elected secretary of Peter Will- iamson Lodge in 1894, to which office he has since been re-elected each year. In 1866 he took the Royal Arch degree in the Lackawanna Chapter, and was a charter member of Factoryville Chap- ter No. 205. In the year following he rejoined Lackawanna Chapter, of which he was elected secretary and has served in this capacity ever since with the exception of 1874-75. During the year last mentioned he was high priest. In 1868 he became a member of Coeur de Lion Com- mandery No. 17, was elected secretary, acting as such for sixteen years in succession and was eminent commander about 1890. Withdrawing,

he then entered Melita Commandery No. 68, and for several years has been the prelate. A charter member of Scranton Council, he was secretary for a couple of years, when he resigned and re- tired from active affiliation. He was also form- erly connected with Lu-Lu Temple, of Philadel- phia. While the Cerneau Consistory of Scran- ton was in existence, he was the secretary, but the grand lodge decided against them. He is now president of the Masonic Veterans of North- eastern Pennsylvania. Besides the Masonic socie- ties, he belongs to several other orders, viz: Pro- tection Lodge No. 1724, K. of H .; Ezra S. Grif- fin Post No. 139, G. A. R., and Washington Camp No. 142, P. O. S. of A. In politics he has al- ways been a Republican since casting his first ballot for Lincoln.

J' OSEPH F. WOELKERS, constable of the eleventh ward, Scranton, was born in West- phalia, Germany, July 4, 1867, and spent his boyhood days in the place of his birth. Until fourteen years of age he was a pupil in the pub- lic schools, after which he learned the baker's trade and in that occupation he was engaged dur- ing the principal portion of his remaining years in Germany. When not yet seventeen years of age he set sail for America and landed in New York City July 1, 1881, coming direct from that place to Scranton, where for two winters he was employed in the Pine Brook packing house. Later, for eighteen months he held the position of night special in the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western yards, and then was an employe in the. South Scranton mills for two years.

In 1890 Mr. Woelkers was elected constable of the eleventh ward, and this position he has since. held, having been re-elected three times. He has been instrumental in bringing a number of noted criminals to justice, among them James J. Mc- Carty, an attorney, who was convicted through evidence collected by Mr. Woelkers. He gives his entire time to the discharge of his duties and is an efficient and business-like officer, working at all times in the interests of the people. He is popular among the German-American residents of Scranton, among whom he is well known, and

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in their various organizations he takes an active part. He is a member of the German Catholic Church and contributes to its maintenance. While he never forgets his native land, yet he is a loyal American citizen, and has no desire to return permanently to the Fatherland, prefer- ring the freedom and independence accorded our citizens.

The marriage of Mr. Woelkers took place Jan- uary 23, 1889, and united him with Bertha Weis, who was born in Scranton. Of the children born to their union one died in infancy and three are living, Bertha Elizabeth, Albert Joseph and Henry August. Mr. Woelkers is connected with a number of local organizations, among them St. Peter's Society, Neptune Engine Company, Volunteer Fire Association, Lackawanna Coun- ty Constables' Association, and Ringold Band. He has his office and residence at No. 432 Cedar Avenue.

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Portrait and biographical record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 81

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