Portrait and biographical record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 83

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

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he sold in 1855. Since that year his home has been in Hyde Park. On coming here he en- gaged in the mercantile business for three years on Main Avenue, the firm being Luce & Stark, later Knickerbocker & Stark, then H. & G. Stark, the latter being his son George. They were in partnership for a year, since which time he has not been engaged in business.

Prior to the organization of the Republican party our subject was a Whig. In 1840 he voted for William Henry Harrison, and afterward had the pleasure of twice voting for the grandson of that illustrious statesman. With the birth of the new political organization he joined its ranks and has since supported its principles. He has filled numerous local positions, including those of assessor, tax collector and constable. In 1862 he was elected justice of the peace and served for five years. During that time, in 1866, Scranton was incorporated as a city, and he served as an alderman the last year of his term as justice. During the war he was provost marshal and took the enrollment of citizens subject to draft. In re- ligious belief he is a Baptist and holds the office of trustee in the church. In Pittston Township, Luzerne County, he married Miss Margaret Brown, whose father, Newman Brown, was a farmer there. She was born in 1820 and died May 30, 1895, aged seventy-four years. They were the parents of three children: Mrs. Cor- nelia J. Merrifield, George N., now in Denver, Colo., and James, who died in early life.

D OUGLAS H. JAY has resided in Scran- ton since 1847, and in former years took an active part in political and business affairs, but is now living retired. The family of which he is a member is of English and Scotch extraction, but has been identified with the his- tory of this country for many generations. His great-grandfather was an own cousin of John Jay, who under General Washington was the first chief justice in the United States. The grandfather, Joseph Jay, was born in 1755 in what was then Nottingham (now South Trenton) Township, Mercer County, N. J., and afterward became a business man of New Brunswick, that

state. At the outbreak of the Revolution he en- listed as an ensign, but afterward returned home, recruited a company of men in Newton, Sussex County, and with them marched to Trenton and entered upon active service. He endured all the hardships and sufferings of that terrible winter at Valley Forge, and continued to serve until in- dependence was secured and peace declared.

Nelson Jay, our subject's father, was born in New Brunswick, N. J., and in youth learned the merchant tailor's trade, which he followed in his native city until his retirement to a farm in War- ren County. In 1860 he came to Scranton and here died in 1872, at the age of seventy-six. His wife, Sydney Hiles, was born in Belvidere, N. J., and died in Scranton at sixty-nine years. Her father, George Hiles, a native of Germany, and a blacksmith by trade, accompanied his parents to America in youth and settled in New Jersey, where he became owner of a large farm situated on the main road between Belvidere and Eas- ton. There he died at sixty years of age.

The family of which our subject is a member consisted of four daughters and two sons, name- ly: Ellen; Mrs. Annie Jessup, who went to Beirut, Syria, as a missionary and established a mission in that place, where she died; Sarah, wife of Hon. William Jessup, of Scranton; Fannie, Mrs. Benjamin Mulford, of Montrose, Pa .; Douglas H., and N. Hixon, who resides in Jeffer- son Avenue, this city. Our subject was born in Belvidere, N. J., December 19, 1830, and was edu- cated in the schools of that place. In 1847 he came to Scranton with Colonel Scranton, who married Miss Jean Hiles, a sister of Mrs. Jay. With that gentleman he remained as clerk and bookkeeper for a time, and later served as mail agent under President Pierce on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western. In 1861 he was ap- pointed postmaster at Scranton and was com- missioned by Abraham Lincoln, but in 1864 re- signed in order that he might enlist in the army. His name was enrolled as a member of Com- pany G, One Hundred and Eighty-seventh Penn- sylvania Infantry, that was mustered in at Har- risburg. During his service he was detailed as clerk under Generals Couch, Cadwallader and Meade. In August, 1865, he was mustered out

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as sergeant-major of the regiment, with the rank of first lieutenant.

On his return to Scranton, Mr. Jay took a po- sition in the postoffice, but after a few years be- came bookkeeper for the Lackawanna Iron & Coal Company, and remained in that position until his retirement in 1890. In 1860 he built the first brick house in the central part of Scran- ton, and since then he has improved property in Spruce Street and also built in Jefferson Avenue. For six years he was a member of the poor board and during his time of service the new Hillside Home was started. In former years he was con- nected with the Odd Fellows and Masons, but is no longer active in these organizations. Since voting for John C. Fremont he has always been active in the Republican party and a firm advo- cate of its principles. In religious views he is connected with the First Presbyterian Church.

In Scranton, Mr. Jay married Miss Elizabeth Carling, who was born in Philipsburg, N. J., and is a lady of estimable character, her husband's helpmate in every undertaking. They are the parents of seven children: Ella C., wife of James H. Torry, attorney, of Scranton; Annie L., who married H. A. Connell, a jeweler, of Scranton; William C., foreman with the Pennsylvania Roof- ing Company; George G., an electrician in this city; James Scranton, a clerk with the Colliery Engineer Company; Kate, Mrs. R. G. Jermyn, of Oswego, N. Y., and Joseph Nelson, at home.

William P. Carling, father of Mrs. Jay, was born in Stewartsville, N. J., and became a har- nessmaker in Philipsburg, that state. In 1847 he came to Scranton and formed a partnership with Mr. McKinney in the meat business. His last years were spent in retirement from business and he died here at sixty-seven years. His wife was Amelia Wiggins, a native of Asbury, N. J., and an estimable lady, who, though now eighty- three years of age, still retains possession of her mental faculties. For some years she has made her home with Mrs. Jay. Her parents were James and Mary (Walker) Wiggins, of New York and New Jersey respectively, the former of whom re- moved to Asbury, N. J., and became a woolen manufacturer. He died at Milford, N. J., when about seventy years of age. Of Mrs. Carling's

five children, four grew to maturity, but Mrs. Jay is the sole survivor. One of her brothers, Henry, became lieutenant of a company in the One Hundred and Thirty-second Pennsylvania Infantry, and afterward re-enlisted and was chosen captain of Company G, One Hundred and Eighty-seventh Pennsylvania Infantry. During his active service he was wounded in battle. Aft- er the close of the war he held a position as as- sistant paymaster with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, but resigned to go to Denver, Colo., hoping to benefit his health; while in the west he died. Another brother, Peter Carling, was cashier in the Second National Bank of Scran- ton until his death. The long life of Mrs. Car- ling has been a busy and useful onc, filled with good deeds toward the needy and friendless, and devoted to the welfare of her family. Now her declining days are passed in the home of her daughter, who ministers to her comfort and sur- rounds her with everything that affection can supply.

W ELCOME C. SNOVER, D. D. S., has a finely equipped office at Nc. 421 Lackawanna Avenue, Scranton. He bids fair to control much of the best patronage in the city, for he brings to bear upon his chosen field of labor a keen intellect, the most modern appliances known to the science of dentistry, a skilled and steady hand and those manly quali- ties that inspire confidence. He is a son of T. C. Snover, a well known and highly respected citizen of this place, whose history may be found elsewhere in this volume. He was born on the west side of Scranton, July 3, 1872, and attended the public schools until he was about sixteen years of age. Then he entered Wood's Business College, graduating therefrom in 1890. After- ward he continued the study of higher mathe- matics and the classics under a private tutor some three years. Deciding, by this time, what call- ing he intended to pursue in the future, he went to Philadelphia and was enrolled as a student in the College of Dental Surgery. For three years he gave his undivided attention to all branches of dentistry and graduated in the spring of 1896, with the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery.

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The same year Dr. Snover returned here and opened his office. He makes a specialty of crown and bridge work, porcelain plates, etc. To fur- nish himself with the needed motive power, he employs a Columbia dental engine, of one hun- dred and ten volts. He has a revolving cuspidore, and all of the up-to-date improvements on the old-fashioned instruments of torture. While in the dental college, he took a special course each spring, to qualify himself beyond the ordinary lines followed by his fellow-students, and since then he does a great deal of work in reading the best articles from the pens of long-established and practical dentists. With the same object in view, he identified himself with the Lackawanna and Luzerne Dental Associations. While in col- lege, he became a member of the Psi Omega fra- ternity, and still holds his connection with the so- ciety.

In musical circles the Doctor is especially pop- ular, for he is a fine violinist. He has been the violinist in the Second Presbyterian Church dur- ing the past six years, as a member of their or- chestra. A member of the same congregation, he always takes an active interest in its welfare and assists in the various departments of church work. In politics he is a loyal Republican.

T HOMAS B. MCCLINTOCK. This suc- cessful business man is one of the leading florists of Scranton. He is truly a self- made man, as he has wrought out his own pros- perity by constant effort. His greenhouses are located on Electric and Jefferson Streets at the entrance of Forest Hill cemetery, and though this is within the borough of Dunmore, all of the proprietor's mail is addressed to Scranton, P. O. Box No. 67; telephone No. 7620.

The McClintock family have been long iden- tified with the growth and advancement of this state, as our subject's great-grandfather was born within its borders, though his ancestors were from Scotland. His farm in Perry County was handed down to his son John, who lived thereon until his death at the age of seventy-six years. This farm is still in possession of the family. Benjamin, father of Thomas McClintock, served

throughout the Civil War and is now passing his declining days at The Cove, Dauphin County, having retired from business. He was consid- ered as fine a mechanic and millwright as could be found in the land and put up many a mill and barn. He married Matilda Barnett, whose father, Thomas, owned a fine farm on the banks of the Susquehanna River, near The Cove, Dauphin County. His family was an old and respected one in that region.

Thomas B. McClintock was born in Harris- burg, Pa., March 5, 1861, being one of six chil- dren, two of whom are dead. He attended the public schools of his native city until he was six- teen years old, when he was apprenticed to learn the florist's trade under Joseph Smidt, superin- tendent for John Keppell. Four years later he went into the employ of Dan Cameron, but at the end of a year returned to his old place with Mr. Smidt, where he was foreman for some three years. July 10, 1882, he came to Scranton and embarked in business for himself, building new greenhouses at No. 540 Monroe Avenue. By 1888 he was able to buy this establishment and subsequently he added to the original tract until now he owns an acre and a half. His ten green- houses are covered by fifteen thousand feet of glass, besides which he has one thousand five hundred feet of glass over his hotbeds. He has been particularly successful in raising pansies, violets, etc., and keeps a fine line of palms, ferns and potted plants. Here may be found many rare tropical forms of vegetation, such as orchids and rubber-plants. All sorts of decorations and funeral designs are made to order and demands are made upon him to supply floral pieces for various occasions in towns along the line from Wilkesbarre to Forest City. At all times he is ably assisted by his wife, whose taste in matters of decoration is most artistic. The greenhouses are supplied with all modern appliances used in the trade and are heated with a forty-horse power boiler.

In Scranton Mr. McClintock was married in 1886 to Miss Idell Miller, who was born in Pratts- burg, N. Y. Her father, Lee Miller, a native of the same state, is now a machinist in this city. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs.

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McClintock: Lee, Clarence, Marion and Hazel. Mrs. McClintock is a member of the Green Ridge Baptist Church. Politically he is a stanch Re- publican and fraternally belongs to the order of Heptasophs.

W ILLIAM B. COBB. The iron inter- ests of the county have received an added impulse from the efforts of Mr. Cobb, who is one of the successful iron workers of Scranton, and is the contractor at the spike mill of the Green Ridge iron works. He manu- factures spikes of four different sizes and four- teen lengths, viz .: size 9-16, length 8x9-16, 5 1-2X 9-16, 5x9-16 and 4 1-2x9-16; size I-2, length 5 I-2XI-2, 5XI-2, 4 I-2XI-2, 4XI-2 and 3 1-2XI-2; size 7-16, length 4 1-2x7-16, 4x7-16, 3 1-2x7-16; size 3-8, length 5x3-8 and 3 1-2x3-8.

The paternal grandfather of our subject was an iron forger and was employed in the ship works at Richmond and Philadelphia; he took part in the Revolution and three of his sons en- listed in the War of 1812. David Cobb, father of William B., was born in Taunton, Mass., and at a very early age learned the carpenter's trade, being the youngest builder in Camden, N. J. From the latter place he removed to Strouds- burg, Monroe County, Pa., and in 1860 came to Scranton, securing work as a carpenter and ma- chinist with the Lackawanna Iron & Coal Com- pany. In 1865 he removed to Oxford, N. J., where he died in. February, 1883, aged about six- ty-seven years. During the Civil War he offered his services, but was rejected.

The mother of our subject, Catherine, was born in Delaware, and died in Scranton in 1892. Her father, Samuel Spencer, was born and reared in Wilmington, Del., where he made his per- manent home, though, being the owner of a schooner and captain in the coasting trade, much of his time was spent on the ocean. Both he and his wife were of French ancestry. Our subject is the ninth among twelve children, all of whom at- tained mature years, and two daughters and four sons are now living, namely: Mrs. William R. Call, of Scranton; Samuel, a veteran of the war and an engineer with the Delaware & Hudson;

William B .; Courtland, of Belleville, Ill .; David, who was a member of the Seventy-ninth Penn- sylvania Infantry during the war, and is now a resident of Pope County, Ark .: and Elizabeth, the widow of David Gayhart, and a resident of Mt. Pleasant, Henderson County, Ill.

From Camden, N. J., where he was born De- cember 9, 1846, the subject of this article went with his parents to Stroudsburg, Pa., and thence in 1860 to Scranton, where he attended the pub- lic schools for nine months. For a time' he was employed in the machine shops of the Lacka- wanna Iron & Coal Company, until his enlist- ment in May, 1863, as a member of the Thir- tieth Pennsylvania Infantry, under Capt. John Langstaff. On his return to Scranton he enlisted in the United States Signal Corps and after spending three months at Georgetown was sent to Knoxville, Tenn., where he remained during the siege. With the Twenty-third Army Corps he marched through George to Atlanta, thence back to Nashville under General Thomas, and from there was sent to Knoxville to remove all the stores to Washington, D. C., these being taken by boat to Ft. Fisher. During Sherman's march he took signals, which he was obliged to use the greatest dispatch in delivering, and in that campaign he rode seven horses to death. Going to Washington he took part in the grand review and was honorably discharged August 15, 1865.

On returning to Scranton Mr. Cobb found this city in the midst of a great coal mine strike. He took a position as machinist under his former superintendent in the Oxford furnace and was given charge of the spike mill. In May, 1874, he came back to Scranton and was fireman for two years on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western road, after which he was engineer on the main line for four years. His next position was with the Dickson locomotive works, in the building and delivering of locomotives to various companies. After fourteen months in that ca- pacity, he became superintendent of the Pierce Coal Company at Winton, but soon returned to the Dickson works, where he remained for three years. In 1893 he again came to Scranton as con- tractor at the spike mill, where there is a capac-

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ity of two hundred and fifty kegs per day or one hundred and twenty-five every ten hours.

In Oxford, N. J., Mr. Cobb married Miss El- len Henderson, who was born in Pennsylvania, her father, the late Robert Henderson, having been a well known iron worker at Scranton and Oxford. Mr. and Mrs. Cobb reside at No. 1702 Dickson Avenue and are the parents of ten living children, namely : Robert, who is a machinist with the Dunmore Iron & Steel Company; Mrs. Vir- ginia Heller, of Stroudsburg; Charles, who as- sists his father; Ellen, Rusling, George, Lulu, Laura, Butler and Harry. The family attend the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church. Like all good citizens, Mr. Cobb aims to keep himself well posted concerning political affairs, and his ballot is always given to endorse Republican principles. Fraternally he has been identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Independent Order of Good Templars, Knights of Labor and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, but retains his active connection only with the last-named.

J OSEPH W. SANDO, for twenty-four years foreman in the works of the Dickson Manufacturing Company, Scranton, was born in Pottsville, Schuylkill County, Pa., the son of Michael and Jane (Gould) Sando. His father, who was a native of Cornwall, England, spent his early life in that shire. In 1826 he came to America and settled in Pottsville, Pa., at a period so early in the settlement of that place that he was one of its pioneers. He became one of the. first coal operators of the locality, and as that was before the days of railroads, it was necessary to haul the coal by wagon to Philadelphia. For twenty-seven years he was engaged as general superintendent of coal mines there and afterward carried on coal operations in his own interest for a short time, then retired from business. He died at sixty-nine years of age. His wife, who was born in Devon, England, died in 1884, at the age of ninety-one years, having retained excel- lent health to the close of her life. Of the seven children born to this union four are living, Jo- seph W. being the youngest child and only son.

The birth of the subject of this sketch occurred December 2, 1835. He was reared in Pottsville and attended the public schools of that place. At the age of sixteen he began to work at lum- bering and for a time was employed as sawyer in a sawmill. After two years he was apprenticed to the machinist's trade in the Orchard Iron Works at Pottsville, where he served for three years, and then continued for two years as an employe. In August, 1859, he came to Scranton and secured employment with the Dickson Man- ufacturing Company, manufacturers of locomo- tives, stationary engines, mining machinery, boil- ers, etc. In 1872 he was made foreman of the machinery department and continued in that ca- pacity until the change of management, in July, 1896, when he resigned. The position was one of responsibility, requiring energy, tact and effi- ciency, but he was fully equal to its every demand.

By his marriage to Miss Mary Grogan, of Pottsville, Pa., Mr. Sando has two sons, of whom the older, M. F., is an attorney in Scranton, and the younger, William J., a mechanical engineer, in Boston, Mass. In religious belief he is a Catholic and with his family attends services at. St. Peter's Cathedral. His political opinions bring him into sympathy with the principles of the Democratic party, but he is not radical in his views, conceding to others that freedom of thought which he demands for himself.

H ON. ALEXANDER T. CONNELL. No man who holds an official position in Lackawanna County is managing the af- fairs under his supervision with greater fidelity than the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch and who is the representative of this dis- trict in the assembly. Believing that a public of- fice is a public trust, he has devoted his attention to the discharge of his duties, and his industry has not failed of success.

In Lackawanna Township, adjoining the city of Scranton, the subject of this sketch was born June 13, 1861, and is a son of Thomas and Eliz- abeth (English) Connell, natives of Nova Scotia. His father, who was a son of James Connell, came to Scranton about 1858, and was employ-

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ed as stationary engineer for the Davis Coal Com- pany. . In 1861 he enlisted as a private in the One Hundred and Fifty-ninth Pennsylvania In- fantry, and while in service was taken ill at Fred- ericksburg and left by a roadside. There he was found by the Confederates, who captured him and kept him in prison until he died. He and his wife were the parents of four children, of whom our subject and a sister are the only sur- vivors. The former attended the district schools . and Wyoming Seminary, and when twelve and one-half years old became a clerk in the store of William Connell & Co., where he remained until 1880. Two years later, after having spent the intervening time in Wyoming Seminary, he again became connected with the store, but after a short time he went west to Chicago, where he spent a year. On his return to Scranton he be- came head bookkeeper for the two stores of the company, holding the position until 1887.

After spending a year in Philadelphia and New York City, Mr. Connell in 1888 accepted a posi- tion as laborer with the Lackawanna Iron & Steel Company and three months later became weigh- master in the south works. After six months he was promoted to general timekeeper and chief bookkeeper, which positions he has since held. In 1891 he was elected to the select council on the independent ticket from the twentieth ward, which usually gave a large Democratic majority. He was elected to fill an unexpired term, and at its close, was re-elected on the same ticket, serving until December, 1894. While in the council he secured electric lights for his ward, had Pittston Avenue culvert rebuilt and fenced so as to be safe and also had the Cedar Avenue culvert rebuilt.

In January, 1895, Mr. Connell took his seat as representative in the assembly, to which he had been elected by a majority of two hundred and sixteen. During his term he introduced a bill ap- propriating $34,000 every session to the indigent and insane of Scranton poor district, which was passed and became a law, thus creating for this district a local insane institution. Another bill in which he was interested, appropriating $25,000 for Lackawanna Hospital, passed and was made a law. Among the committees on which

he served were those on public buildings and grounds and ways and means. In 1896 he was again nominated from the second district and was elected. He is a member of the county cen- tral and city committees and has taken a warm in- terest in public matters. Though not a member or any denomination, he attends the Methodist Episcopal Church. Fraternally he is identified with Lodge No. 123, B. P. O. E.

R EV. MICHAEL B. DONLAN. In the borough of Dunmore, on Chestnut, near Willow Street, stands the Church of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, of which Father Donlan is rector. The edifice, which was erected by his predecessor, Father McMurray, is a noble struc- ture, of Gothic architecture, and cost $60,000. The corner stone was laid in 1874 by Rt .- Rev. Bishop O'Hara. However, Father McMurray superintended the entire work of construction, and also built the adjoining parsonage at a cost of $8,000. The parish embraces the territory in- cluded in Dunmore and Petersburg, and the con- gregation numbers about five hundred families.

The church was organized by Rev. Edmund W. Fitzmorris, and the second rector was Father M. J. O'Brien, who died here of smallpox May 20, 1872. He was succeeded by Father G. F. Mc- Murray, who was born and reared in Ireland, and educated there and in St. Charles Seminary, Phil- adelphia. He came to America at the same time with Father N. J. McManus, and was ordained to the priesthood in St. Peter's Cathedral on the same day with Father McManus. In 1868 he was appointed assistant at St. Peter's, later was trans- ferred to Blossburg, Tioga County, and from there in 1872 came to Dunmore. Here he re- mained until his death, which occurred March 28, 1896, after one week's illness, caused by the contraction of a heavy cold.

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Portrait and biographical record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 83

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