Portrait and biographical record of Wyoming and Lackawanna counties, Pennsylvania : containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, Part 117

Author: Chapman Publishing Company (NY)
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : Chapman Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1068

USA > Pennsylvania > Lackawanna County > Portrait and biographical record of Wyoming and Lackawanna counties, Pennsylvania : containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties > Part 117
USA > Pennsylvania > Wyoming County > Portrait and biographical record of Wyoming and Lackawanna counties, Pennsylvania : containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties > Part 117

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F. E. Bunnell was educated in the schools of Honesdale. After his father's death he remained on the farm with his mother until he was twenty- seven, and then entered the lumber business at Honesdale, continuing there until January I, 1895, when he engaged in the same business with

his brothers-in-law under the name of the Car- bondale Lumber Company. June 12, 1889, he married Mina Pethick, and they have two chil- dren, Bessie May and Edwin Ford. For six years Mr. Bunnell has held the office of school director at Honesdale. Politically he is a Repub- lican, fraternally is identified with the Royal Ar- canum, belongs to the state militia, and in re- ligion holds membership in the Presbyterian Church at Honesdale.

J AMES RUSSELL was the eldest son of John and Christina (Anderson) Russell, born in Ayrshire, Scotland, in June, 1815. During the summer of 1840 the family emigrated to the United States, locating first at McAlla City in Clifford Township, Susquehanna County, Pa. Within seven weeks after their arrival in this country the father died, and the eldest son was called upon to take his place as manager of the family affairs. In the spring of 1841 the family purchased a tract of land, partly cleared, near Crystal Lake, in the township of Fell, where the family home was erected and maintained until the death of the widowed mother, in March, 1861. In the year 1847 James Russell purchased the farm property that still bears his name, and the first day of January, 1851, witnessed his marriage to Margaret Locke of Carbondale. Ten children were born to them, six daughters and four sons, of whom three sons, James A., ex-mayor of the city of Carbondale; George M., William A., and three daughters, Mrs. S. S. Jones, Jeanette L., and Jennie M., are still living.

Few men have enjoyed the confidence of their fellowmen in such an eminent degree as James Russell did during his lifetime. He served the district in which he lived continuously from 1849 as school director and treasurer of the township. He was elected to the office of justice of the peace in 1851 and re-elected at the expiration of eachı term, without opposition. He served three terms as supervisor of the township and was an ardent advocate of good roads and public improvements generally. He was a thorough-going .business man, methodical, tireless and scrupulously hon- est in all his dealings. With him public office

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was accepted with all its responsibilities; he never shirked a duty, nor feared public criticism. He believed in doing right, and did it. He was al- ways a busy man, and managed to accomplish by methodical work what would have been im- possible without systematic planning. He was a scientific farmer, and his lands were tilled to secure the largest and best crops. His farm stock was kept up to a high standard. He was progressive and secured at once the labor-saving implements of agriculture, for he was always of the opinion that the best of everything was none too good, to help lighten man's burdens.

Mr. Russell was public-spirited, generous, al- ways ready to assist those in need, and that promptly. In politics he was an ardent, old- school Democrat; his patriotism was never ques- tioned and in the political campaigns he took an active part. He was enterprising and his efforts were not confined to agricultural pursuits. For a number of years he operated the Fall Brook colliery and the delivery of the Delaware and Hudson coal in the city of Carbondale. All his undertakings were successful, for the reason that he was in no sense a speculator, but holding firmly to the law that "men must earn what they call their own." This, and all his opinions upon matters appertaining to the daily life were formed from practical observations and expe- rience. He was in no sense a theorist, but emi- nently practical, controlled by a high sense of duty to his Maker, and a tender regard for his fellowmen. His death occurred May 12, 1872.

W ARNER J. HALL owns the largest carriage and wagon works in Dun- more and manufactures carriages, bug- gies, wagons, sleds and cutters, besides which he has on sale all kinds of vehicles, harness, fine paints and oils. He is a member of an old Eng- lish family, his great-grandfather having come from England to this country in an early day and settled near Hall's Station (named in honor of the family), twelve miles south of Williamsport, Pa., where he bought and improved a farm. This occupation his son also followed in Lycoming County. Adam Hall, our subject's father, was

born on the farm in Muncy Township, Lycom- ing County, where he purchased and cultivated land, but in addition to farming also engaged in business as a contractor and builder. When he settled upon his farm, the surrounding country was very wild and the buildings of a primitive character; his first home was an old log house. For twenty-two years he held the office of con- stable in Lycoming County, and his death oc- curred there in October, 1881, when he was six- ty-two years of age. His wife was born in Ly- coming County, whither her father, John Gatz, had come from Germany and settled upon a farm. Of their twelve children, six sons and four daughters attained maturity and nine are still living. The oldest son, George H. Hall, lives on the old homestead, which belongs to W. J. Hall, he having bought it October 1, 1896, and rented it to his brother.

Upon the old homestead in Lycoming Coun- ty, which he now owns, Warner J. Hall was born January 4, 1865, and there his boyhood years were passed. In the fall of 1882 he went west for the purpose of seeing something of the country, and after spending two months in Freeport, Ill., he went to Minneapolis, Minn., and worked for a year as order clerk for the Star Oil Company. From there he went to Leo, Lyon County, Minn., where his brother, John B., had a farm of four hundred and eighty acres. One year was spent with him and he then returned to Lycoming County, Pa., and became an apprentice in the blacksmith department of a wagon shop owned by DeHass Bros., of Muncy, with whom he re- mained about two years. Next he worked a year for D. C. Hunt in Danville, Pa., then with W. K. Wurtman at Milton, Pa., and afterward was with the Williamsport Wagon Company. In 1888 he came to Scranton and entered the employ of the Scranton Buggy Company, taking charge of their wheel room, and the setting up of tires. When the works were burned down, he left the employ of the firm. In 1890 he formed a part- nership with another gentleman and bought the establishment that had been started in 1868 by John Chamberlain.

After eighteen months Mr. Hall bought his partner's interest and has since conducted the

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business alone. At the time of purchase, this was but a rough shop, but he has built it up, and added to it. The building now has a frontage of sixty- two feet and a depth of sixty-four feet and the most of it has four floors. The basement is used as a carpenter shop and for blacksmith work, the first floor for office, stock and ware room, the second floor for painting and trimming, and the top for storage. He gives employment to seven or more men and has his building equipped with an elevator and the modern conveniences. Fra- ternally he is a member of Silurian Lodge No. 763, I. O. O. F., at Hyde Park, and Dunmore Conclave No. 235, Improved Order of Hepta- sophs. In politics he takes an active interest, fur- thering the principles of the Republican party. In 1889 he married Miss Laura Panst, of Muncy, daughter of William Franklin Panst, who was wounded in the Civil War and died soon after- ward.

S AMUEL G. SHOEMAKER. One of the popular business men of Dalton is the sub- ject of this sketch, who, since opening a store at this place, has proved that he possesses decided ability and that he has made no mistake in his selection of an occupation. He is a young man of steady habits, great energy and well trained mental power-qualities that have aided him in building up an excellent trade in his spe- cial department of business, among the people of his community. Since 1887, when he opened a hardware store here, he has kept in stock a full assortment of shelf, general and builders' hardware, and farm machinery, together with other articles usually found in such establish- ments.

Jasper Shoemaker, father of our subject, was born in Muncy, Lycoming County, Pa., in 1826, and in 1852 married Sarah Dorworth, who was born in Oil City in 1836. Her father was born about 1799 and died about 1879. Samuel G., father of Jasper Shoemaker, was born in 1790 and died in 1873 at Muncy, Pa .; his wife, Mary (Pott) Shoemaker, was born in 1795 and died in 1878. Henry, Jr., father of Samuel G., married Susan Dudder. His father, Henry, Sr., was born

in Germany about 1720 and died at Muncy in 1799; his wife was Sarah Kepner. The father of Mary Pott was Benedict Pott, born in 1766, and the family name of his wife was Mengus. Benedict Pott's parents were John and Maria (Hock) Pott, the former born in Holland about 1725, married in 1754, and died in 1767. John Pott's father, Wilhelm, arrived in Philadelphia, Pa., September 12, 1734, on the ship "St. Andrew," Capt. John Steadman, from Holland; his ancestors went to Holland from England about the time of Charles I. He settled in the Schuylkill Valley, and his son, John, located in Germantown, but afterward removed to Berks County; his descendants live mostly in and around Pottsville, Pa.

The Shoemaker family was founded in America by Henry Shoemaker, Sr., who, with two broth- ers and two half-brothers came to this country from Germany about 1740. Two brothers set- tled in Berks County, Pa., one went to Virginia, and one settled in the Wyoming Valley. Henry Shoemaker removed to Muncy, Pa., from near Harrisburg in 1783. Jasper Shoemaker, our subject's father, came from Muncy to Dalton in 1863. With his brother, R. F. Shoemaker, he engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods. In 1870 he bought his brother's interest and the business was carried on very successfully until 1893, when the mill was burned. In 1853 he mar- ried Sarah Dorworth, and they reared eight chil- dren, namely: Mary M. Boardman, of Dalton, born in 1853; Emma H. Stevens, of Dalton, born in 1855; Kate S. Baldwin, of Groton, N. Y., born in 1858; Bertha E. Mosher, of Lake Hop- atcong, N. J., born in 1860; George W., of Dal- ton, born in 1861; Elmer E., of Albion, Ill., born in 1862; Samuel G., of Dalton, born in 1864, and Elena E. Mosher, of South Orange, N. J., born in 1866. Politically Jasper Shoemaker is an ad- vocate of the Republican party and has always maintained a warm interest in public matters.

On the homestead, near Dalton, where his father still resides, the subject of this article was born January 5, 1864, and here his boyhood days were passed. Receiving the advantage of a col- legiate education, he was prepared for the respon- sibilities of a business life. In 1883 he was em-

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ployed as telegraph operator with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, in which ca- pacity he rendered efficient service. His busi- ness career, upon an independent scale, began in 1887, when he opened a hardware store at Dal- ton, and since that time he has worked his way forward to a position among the energetic busi- ness men of the place. He is deeply interested in all topics before the people and with patriotic spirit strives to make himself master of these questions in order that he may intelligently sup- port the best principles. He usually casts his vote with the Republican party. In religious views he is a Methodist and with his wife be- longs to that church.

October 19, 1889, Mr. Shoemaker was united in marriage with Miss Anna Shelley, who was born in Franklin, Pa., and one child, Mary Leona, blesses their union. Mrs. Shoemaker is a daugh- ter of Enos A. Shelley, who was born at Mt. Bethel, Northampton County, Pa., January 26, 1827, the son of John and Mary Shelley. John Shelley was born at Mt. Bethel February 17, 1798, and died at Newton Centre, Lackawanna County, January 13, 1847, aged about forty-nine years; his wife, Mary, was born at Plainfield in 1800 and died May 12, 1882. The mother of Mrs. Shoemaker was Amanda Melvina Whitney and was born in West Abington, Lackawanna County, January 13, 1832, the daughter of Wil- lard and Elizabeth Whitney. Willard Whitney was born at Ft. Ann, Washington County, N. Y., January 25, 1784, and died in West Abington in 1867, aged eighty-three; his wife was born Nov- ember 7, 1789, and died in West Abington, July 31, 1843.

For twenty-five years Enos A. Shelley engaged at carpenter work and for twenty-five years he has followed farm pursuits. Of his seven chil- dren, five are living, Mrs. Susan E. Frear, Mrs. Effie M. Jacques, Mrs. Anna Shoemaker, Mrs. H. M. Pease and Mrs. Burton Cronk. The Shel- ley family originated in Germany, but has been represented in America for many generations. Grandfather Shelley moved with his family from Mt. Bethel, Northampton County, to Newton Centre, Lackawanna County, in 1837. His son, Enos A., in 1851, married Miss A. M. Whitney,

purchased a home in West Abington, and there lived four years, after which he sold out and went west to Iowa. However, in a few years he came back to this state and now owns a valuable farm of one hundred and seventy-five acres at Lake Winola, Wyoming County, where he resides.

A NTHONY J. MURRAY. In giving the record of the life of the gentleman whose name heads this article, we are enabled to show the results which may be obtained even when worldly circumstances seem decidedly ad- verse. Starting at the lowest round in the ladder, he has worked his way up in the coal business until he is now one of the prominent operators of Dunmore. He was born December 1, 1848, a son of Peter Murray who came to America in 1850, and the family joined him in 1853. . The voyage took six weeks and three days and when the vessel reached this country it went ashore on Sandy Hook. After three days they were taken off by small boats and brought to the harbor at New York City. The ship afterward went to pieces there, though all lives were saved. Tak- ing the Erie Railroad to Lackawaxen, he then came by canal to Hawley and by the Gravity Railroad to Dunmore.

Mr. Murray attended the public schools in Dunmore until eleven years of age, when he en- tered the employment of the Delaware, Lacka- wanna & Western in the Diamond breaker as a slate picker, though for two winters he gave up this employment to attend school. The remuner- ation for this employment was only twenty-five or thirty cents a day and he was obliged to walk a distance of three and a half miles. He was then employed for a short time in the von Storch slope, where he was door boy, and for three years a mule driver, and for the same length of time he worked for the Pennsylvania Coal Company. After leaving them he went to work for the Roar- ing Brook Coal Company and was engaged as a driver boss there for about four years, then was employed in loading stock coal at the drifts, after which he began working in the mines for the Pennsylvania Coal Company, and was with them' until the big suspension in 1871. Later he spent

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nearly a year working in another drift, after which he worked for the Roaring Brook Coal Company for two years, then began laying track for the same company. Mr. Monagan, who was inside foreman, gave him charge of the track laying and he was employed in this position for ten years.

Mr. Murray then conceived the plan of min- ing for himself and in company with his brother commenced operations in the old Spencer tract. Two years later the lease expired and they were unable to get a renewal there, but upon obtain- ing one from Dr. Throop they worked there until the coal was exhausted, when our subject re- turned to work for the Pennsylvania Coal Com- pany and was in their employment for the suc- ceeding two ycars. He then helped sink the No. I shaft at Dunmore and when this was about completed obtained his present lease of Throop & Parker, which is a perpetual lease for one hun- dred and fifty acres. In this enterprise he and his brother were joined by Messrs. Jackson and Brown, but Mr. Jackson soon sold out to Mr. Carney and the firm was known as Murray, Car- ney & Brown. They sank a shaft to a depth of two hundred and sixty-five feet, and in 1892 built a new breaker, and the outlook for this mine is very bright. When he first began they broke the coal over grates with hammers, as in the re- tail business in which he was first engaged the smaller sizes of coal were in demand, so it can be seen from what a humble beginning he has been enabled by perseverance combined with na- tive ability to build up the fine business he now has.

September 30, 1869, in Dunmore, Mr. Murray married Miss Julia, a daughter of Michael Car- ney. Mr. Carney was born in County Sligo, where he married Winnie Connell and was en- gaged in farming there. He came to Scranton in 1848 and was engaged with the Pennsylvania Coal Company until he retired. His death oc- curred here in 1879, in his eighty-second year, while his wife is still living aged about seventy- five. Of their seven children six are still living. To our subject and his wife have been born twelve children, as follows: John, engaged with the Pennsylvania Gravity Railroad; Peter, engaged in the general merchandising in Dunmore; Win-

nie, Mrs. Marcus Connolly of Dunmore; Julia, Michael, who is attending the state normal at Stroudsburg; Ellen, Anthony J., Jr .; Charles, Annie, Edward, Margaret and Lucy.

Mr. Murray was one of the originators and is a director in the Dunmore Electric Light, Heat & Power Co., was a member of the school board of Dunmore two terms of three years each and was president one year, during which time Green Ridge school building was completed, also build- ings No. 6 and 8. He was tax collector for the borough of Dunmore for three years, appointed every year by council until his time was so taken up that he was obliged to refuse further appoint- ments in that line. He was a charter member of the Catholic Mutual Benevolent Association, to which he still belongs, and is identified with the Church of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. He has been quite active in political matters, having served on the local committee of the Democratic party, to which he has given much of his time and means.

It is thus in the brief outline shown what may be accomplished by those who have inherent ability, even if not favored by fortune or influence, and a record of his success as shown should be an incentive to the youth of the country to spur them on, regardless of what difficulties may be- sct them when starting out to fight life's battles.

H ERBERT D. BUCK. It is impossible to overestimate the value of a thorough commercial education. In this practical age of the world's history men are rising to po- sitions of prominence in business circles not through luck, not through any combination of fortuitous circumstances, but as the result of per- sonal endeavor. How important is it, therefore, that those who enter the realms of commerce should be thoroughly prepared for the arduous duties awaiting them. To accomplish this ob- ject, no institution surpasses our modern busi- ness colleges, with their complete equipments for instruction in every department of business.

While the Scranton Business College is one of the youngest schools of the kind in Lackawan- na County, it is also the largest and most suc-

JOHN FRICHTEL.

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cessful. It occupies a building situated at the corner of Adams Avenue and Linden Street, and is attended by five hundred or more students, to whom is given instruction in bookkeeping, short- hand, typewriting, and other branches of a busi- ness course. There are day and evening ses- sions, the latter for the convenience of those unable to attend during the day. The graduates of the school are filling important positions in different business houses throughout the coun- try and their success is an indication of the thor- ough training they received here.

The proprietors of the college are Buck, Whit- more & Co., the senior member of the firm being the subject of this sketch. He was born in Hughesville, Lycoming County, Pa., January 6, 1862, and is the son of Israel W. and Ann (Kelly) Buck, natives of the same county as himself. His father, who was reared on a farm, engaged in business in Hughesville until his death at sixty- two years, and the old homestead is still occu- pied by his widow. The maternal grandfather of our subject was a member of an old eastern family and a merchant in Hughesville; a Method- ist in religion, he was a local preacher in that church and was instrumental in organizing many new congregations in his locality. The family of Israel W. Buck consisted of four children, H. D. being the eldest. The others are W. E., a well known traveling salesman in this state and New York; Justin, in Hughesville; and Alta, also residing in that place.

The educational advantages of our subject were exceptionally good and were obtained prin- cipally through his own efforts. After attending the county normal school at Muncy, he taught one term, and then became a student in the state normal at Lock Haven, after which he taught for five years in Lycoming County. Meantime hav- ing graduated from Wood's Commercial College in Williamsport, in August, 1886, he came to Scranton to teach in Wood's Business College, and soon became principal of the school, which position he held for eight years. In September, 1894, he opened the Scranton Business College, of which he has already made a success. So- cially he is connected with the Scranton Bicycle Club, and in religious belief is identified with the

Elm Park Methodist Episcopal Church, being in- terested in its work and especially active in the Sunday-school. In this city he married Miss Amy Casperson, daughter of Samuel Casperson, who was connected with the Pennsylvania Rail- road Company in Wilmington, Del. Their three children are Edna, Anna and Ethel.

J OHN FRICHTEL, a worthy German-Amer- ican citizen of Scranton, is foreman of the blast furnaces of the Lackawanna Iron & Steel Company, formerly the Lackawanna Iron & Coal Company, and has been long one of their tried and true employes. Thoroughly under- standing every detail of his business, industrious and energetic, always at his post, he is a most valuable man to any business concern, and his own company realize this fact. He has been very successful, for he possesses the qualities that inevitably bring their reward.

A native of Germany, our subject was born May 9, 1833, in Untersteinach, Bavaria, and is a son of John and Louise (Rader) Frichtel. The father, who was a farmer by occupation, lived and died in Germany, and his wife, who bore him five sons, also departed this life in the Father- land. John Frichtel, in common with his broth- ers, received a good education in the excellent schools provided by the government. His par- ents instructed and trained their family in use- ful, industrious ways, thus laying the founda- tions of their character for after life. When he had arrived at suitable years he began working for himself, by hiring out to farmers. Imbued with a strong desire to come to the land of lib- erty and freedom, he at last was able to carry into effect his long-cherished dream, and August 7, 1853, he left Bremen in a sailing-vessel, which reached New York City at the end of a tedious voyage of forty-six days. He was the pioneer of his family in the New World, but later the other brothers followed his example and came to found homes here. Employment was prof- fered him with the Pennsylvania Coal Company on the canal, at Honesdale, and he was glad to accept the first opportunity of honest work, this having been one of the secrets of his success.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

It was in January, 1854, that Mr. Frichtel came to Scranton, and at once began his long service for the company that we find him with today. Six weeks passed and he was transferred to this blast furnace and from time to time he was pro- moted until he was made keeper. In 1862 he was placed in charge of the blast furnaces as foreman and still occupies this position, though his duties have perceptibly increased.

In this city Mr. Frichtel and Barbara Borner were married in 1856. The lady is also a native of Germany. Eleven children were born to them, but much more than ordinary sorrow came to their hearts, as one by one their children were taken from their hearthstone by death, until but one, an enterprising young man, Jacob by name, is left to them of all the once large family circle. Jacob is a fine machinist, with the same company as is his father. Mrs. Barbara Gutheng died in 1894, and Frederick, a machinist, died when twenty-four years old. Mr. Frichtel built his comfortable residence at No. 305 Willow Street. Fraternally he belongs to Residenz Lodge, I. O. O. F. and to Scranton Odd Fellows' Encamp- ment. He is also identified with the Saengerunde and with the German Benefit Association. For many years he was a trustee of the German Pres- byterian Church, until he resigned from office. Politically he is a Republican.

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Portrait and biographical record of Wyoming and Lackawanna counties, Pennsylvania : containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, Part 117

Author: Chapman Publishing Company (NY) Publication date: 1897 Publisher: New York ; Chicago : Chapman Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1068

Author: Chapman Publishing Company (NY)
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : Chapman Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1068