Portrait and biographical record of Wyoming and Lackawanna counties, Pennsylvania : containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, Part 119

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 119
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 119

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J OHN H. THOMAS, clerk of courts, has his office in Scranton, but retains his residence in Carbondale, where he was born April Io, 1848. His father, William, was born in Abertive, Wales, and was reared upon a farm, but in early manhood emigrated to America, settling on Long Island, where for about ten years he was engaged in the dairy business. From there he removed to Pennsylvania and settled upon a farm in Susquehanna County. Some time in the 40's he came to Carbondale, where he engaged in min- ing with the Delaware & Hudson Company. Un- fortunately, one day while at work, a spark from his lamp fell into a keg of powder, causing an explosion, and he was instantly killed. This sad accident occurred in 1855, when the eldest of his children was only seven. In religion he was identified with the Congregational Church.

The mother of our subject was Elizabeth Davis, and was born in the same shire of Wales as her husband. Her father, David Davis, who was a farmer and butcher in his native land, emi- grated to America with his family and settled in Carbondale, where he engaged in the dairy busi-

ness. His last years were spent in retirement in that city, where he died. Mrs. Elizabeth Thomas still resides at the old home in Carbondale, and though now eighty-three years old, retains much of her former energy and industry. Upon her, after her husband's death, fell the burden of rear- ing, training and caring for her children, and nobly did she discharge the trust. Through her self-sacrificing efforts they were fitted for posi- tions of usefulness in the world, and to her, in a large measure, they owe whatever success may have come to them. Her oldest child, our sub- ject, was her only son, and she has three daugh- ters: Mrs. Margaret Maynard, of Nanticoke, Pa .; Mrs. Mary A. Jones, who is with her mother, and Mrs. Elizabeth Lewis, of Nanticoke.

When only ten years of age our subject be- came self-supporting. At that age he began to work in the breaker at Frogtown, receiving thir- ty-five cents per day, and walking two miles every morning and evening. From thirteen until sev- enteen he was a mule driver in the mines, after which he began to fill coal in the mines. After he was twenty he was employed as a miner with the Delaware & Hudson Company, but the work was not entirely congenial, so he learned the stone mason's trade. For eight years or more ne worked as a journeyman in Carbondale, after which he was appointed on the police force of that city, serving for nine years as assistant chief of police. Meantime he did considerable detec- tive work.

In the fall of 1888 Mr. Thomas was the Repub- lican candidate for clerk of courts, being nomi- nated by acclamation. At the election the face of the returns showed he was defeated by ninety- seven votes, but fraud was discovered, and the matter was taken to the local and supreme courts, where he was declared to be legally elected by a majority of one hundred and twenty-five. This took one year, the former clerk meantime hold- ing over in office. It was, therefore, not until January, 1890, that he took the oath of office, and his term lasted until January, 1892. In the fall of 1891 he was again nominated by acclama- tion and was elected by a majority of two hun- dred and thirty-one, after one of the closest and severest contests in the county. In the fall of

EZRA E. SOUTHWORTH.

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1894 he was re-nominated and elected by a major- ity of more than eleven hundred, taking his seat for the third term in January, 1895, to hold office until January, 1898. The fact of his re-election with such a largely increased majority speaks vol- umes for his successful administration and shows that he has won the regard and confidence of the people. To aid in the work of the office he has two assistants.

In Carbondale Mr. Thomas married Miss Anna, daughter of William Roberts, a miner of that place, and the son of Welsh parents. They had two children, but only one is living, Wil- liam, who is a machinist in Carbondale. Fratern- ally Mr. Thomas has been a member of Carbon- dale Lodge No. 249, F. & A. M., since 1870, and is identified with the Knights of Pythias and Lackawanna Tribe of Red Men. A Republican in politics, he has served as delegate to county and state conventions, has frequently been a member of the county committee and was its chairman in 1895-96.

E E. SOUTHWORTH. In every city that has attained prominence in literature and art, there have always been a few lead- ing spirits to plant the standard of progress and serve, as it were, as watchers on the walls, so that there may be no retrogression. Such a one is Ezra E. Southworth, who, in point of years of active labor, is one of the oldest music instructors both in vocal and instrumental music in Scranton, and at this writing has a large number of pupils, in addition to having a choral society of fifty voices and the directorship of two choirs. He is one of the charter members of the Lackawanna County Institute of History and Science, also charter member of the Pennsylvania Oral School for the Deaf and is identified with the State Music Teachers' Association, of which he has been president. At the formation of the National Asso- ciation of Music Teachers he identified himself with the organization and has attended most of the meetings held in the various cities of the United States.

Born in Lawsville Center, Susquehanna Coun- ty, Pa., the subject of this article is a descendant

of one of three Southworth brothers, who, in the early Puritan days, came from England to America with their mother, a widow, who later became the wife of Governor Bradford, of Massa- chusetts. His grandfather, Gideon Southworth, lived at Deepriver, Conn., whence he brought his family to Pennsylvania after the War of 1812, purchasing a farm near Montrose, Susquehanna County, and remaining there until death. Arthur Southworth, the father of our subject, was born in Deepriver, Conn., in 1805, and came with his parents into this state at nine years of age. About the time of his marriage to Maria Turner he purchased a place at Lawsville Center, Pa., where he died in 1881, aged seventy-six. His wife, who was born in Litchfield, Conn., came to Pennsylvania with her father, Chauncey Turner, who became an early settler of Susquehanna County. Mrs. Southworth died in 1896, when eighty-six years of age. In religion she was a Presbyterian, being a charter member of the church at Lawsville Center.

Six children comprised the parental family, of whom all but one attained years of maturity, Ezra E., of this sketch, being the second young- est. One son, Turner, enlisted in 1861 in the army at Binghamton, N. Y., participated in the engagement at Fair Oaks, was taken ill as a result of exposure and died soon after; he held the rank of sergeant. Another son, Almon, who was a member of a New York State Cavalry regi- ment, served under Sheridan, was captured by the Confederates, who marched him under guard to- wards Libby prison. While a prisoner he was hit on the head with a saber, the mark of which he bears to this day. Fortunately the second night he succeeded in escaping from his captors and made his way back to the regiment, which he reached after many hardships; he now resides at the old family residence.

Our subject was too young to join his older brothers in the service, though it was his greatest ambition to become a soldier. That he was born with strong musical tendencies springs from the fact that his ancestors were musical people, all being singers with good voices. One of his uncles, Benjamin Southworth, taught singing schools and was leader of the church choir,

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Since there were no organs in those days he se- cured a pitchfork to aid in getting the key. Soon after the introduction of this little instrument in the church together with a flute, which was played by another uncle, Russell Southworth, a dissen- sion arose among the good people on account of these "inventions of the devil," as they were called, which terminated only when they, togeth- er with their father, Gideon Southworth, were turned out of the church. For some years the worship of the Lord was continued without the aid of any instrument whatever, when a melodeon was purchased and a sister of our subject was called upon to play.

The study of music was begun by Mr. South- worth at an early age, first taking up the violin while attending school at Providence under the instruction of a Mr. Biechner, who was a fine violinist. The following winter he began study- ing piano with Charles Pabst, who laid the foun- dation for what proved to be his future life work. During the season of 1871-72 he continued his studies in piano playing under Dr. William Mason of New York, one of the first teachers of this country. It was during this time and prior to 1871 that he began teaching. In violin playing he had attained such proficiency that he became leader of the orchestra in Kline's opera house on Lackawanna Avenue, which was since destroyed by fire. In 1875, having accumulated a sufficient amount to permit further study, he went to Europe, being the first one in this valley to go abroad for the purpose of studying music. With his letters of introduction, he visited London, Bologne and Frankfort, then went to Stuttgart and studied for two years under Prof. Dr. Lebert and Pruckner. Next he spent eighteen months in Berlin, where he studied with Theo. Kullack, one of the most renowned teachers of the age. Afterward for one summer he studied in the piano classes of the great Abba Liszt at Weimer.

With the knowledge acquired under instruction from the most famous musicians of the world, Mr. Southworth returned to Scranton and has since devoted himself to his profession in this city and vicinity, his elegant and spacious studio being in the Powell Building. Since 1888 he has had charge of the musical department in Keystone

Academy, Factoryville, where he spends one day of each week. For many years he was organist at St. Luke's Church, of which he is a member. He has also held similar positions in other lead- ing churches of the city. Upon his return from Europe he gave two successful concerts in the Academy, being assisted by professionals from New York. He was the first to discover that Mrs. Joseph O'Brien, one of our leading singers here, possessed a magnificent voice, and it was in a large measure due to his efforts that she gained a start in voice culture. He does not take an active part in public affairs, but is inter- ested in securing good government and votes the Republican ticket.

C HARLES H. SCHADT. To succeed in business of any kind one must possess an abundance of energy, shrewd discrimi- nation, sound judgment and untiring persever- ance-and it is undoubtedly due to the posses- sion of these requisites that Mr. Schadt owes his success. Not only is he one of the most success- ful young men of Scranton, but one of the most popular as well, a fact which is proved by his election in 1894, on the Democratic ticket, to the office of treasurer of Lackawanna County, he being the only Democrat on the ticket who was elected.

Born at No. III Wyoming Avenue, Scranton, April 6, 1867, Mr. Schadt is the son of Charles H. Schadt, Sr., a native of Bavaria, Germany, who came to America in 1855, settled in Scran- ton and embarked in the hotel and ice business. He was the pioneer of the ice business in Scran- ton and began in a small way, but soon built up a large business, of which he was sole proprietor and in which he continued until his deathı, De- cember 15, 1883, at the age of forty-seven. Politi- cally he upheld Democratic principles and for two years he held the position of city treasurer. Fraternally he belonged to the Masonic Order and in religious belief was a Lutheran. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Catherine Schei- dell, was born in Jeffersonville, Sullivan County, N. Y., and died in Scranton July 27, 1886. Her father, Fred Scheidell, a native of Germany, set-

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tled in Jeffersonville, N. Y., and was in the em- ploy of Clark, the large leather manufacturer there, until his death.

Of eight children comprising the parental fam- ily, four are living: Charles H., John A., deputy county treasurer; Henrietta and Fred K., who reside in Sullivan County, N. Y. The subject of this sketch was reared in Scranton and attended the public schools here until eleven years of age, when he began to assist his father in the ice busi- ness, remaining in that connection from 1878 until his father's death in 1883. Afterward he carried on the business alone for seven years and then sold out to the Consumers' Ice Company, becoming an incorporator and director of that concern, which has a capital stock of $150,000, and of which he has since been general manager. The company carries on a retail and wholesale business and is by far the largest of its kind in northeastern Pennsylvania, the two lakes, Ariel and Maplewood, furnishing forty thousand tons of ice per annum.

In 1894 Mr. Schadt added a coal business to his other enterprises and is now one of the larg- est retailers in Scranton. During the same year he and his brother, John, started a fire and life insurance business, with office in the Library Building in Wyoming Avenue, and representing six companies. The office of the ice company is on the corner of Adams Avenue and Ash Street. Mr. Schadt also owns a one-half interest in a popular summer resort known as Lake Ariel, where there are excellent facilities for swimming, also two steamers and over one hundred row boats. The lake is one mile long and one-half mile wide, and is bordered by large picnic grounds, to which valuable improvements are constantly added. During the summer season from five hundred to one thousand people visit the lake daily and it is without doubt the most popular resort in this locality. The grounds comprise about eight hundred acres altogether.

Since 1891 Mr. Schadt has owned a half inter- est in the sand bed at Maplewood, where the firm of Schroeder & Schadt owns one hundred acres and from which sand is shipped in car lots to Scranton and other cities. Mr. Schadt is a direc- tor in the Dime Deposit and Discount Bank. He

was married in Scranton to Miss Flora Tampa, who was born in Hyde Park, and they have two children, Catherine and Carl. He had the distinc- tion of being the first Democrat ever elected in the sixteenth ward to the common council, serving nine months in that capacity. In 1894 he was elected county treasurer by a majority of twenty out of twenty-seven thousand votes, and took the oath of office January I, 1895, for three years. In the county Democratic committee he has been an active worker and its treasurer three times. He served as delegate to two state conventions and at Allentown in 1896 was elected one of the Pennsylvania presidential electors on the Demo- cratic ticket.

Fraternally Mr. Schadt is connected with Schil- ler Lodge, F. & A. M., the Elks, Scranton Lieder- kranz, Scranton Rowing Association and Scran- ton Athletic Club. In religious belief he is iden- tified with the Lutheran Church. For fifteen years or more he has been foreman of the Phoenix Hose Chemical Company and was chair- man of the fire council. He is a lover of standard bred horses, of which he owns a number, among them "Mon Rive," record 2:19. He has gained his position in business circles through honest methods and untiring energy, and well deserves the enviable reputation that he enjoys.

A BRAHAM BITTENBENDER is num- bered among the pioneer merchants of Scranton and has given his loyal support to many of the leading industries and enterprises of this city. He has purchased considerable real estate from time to time and has been very for- tunate in his various business transactions. His handsome stone front residence is at No. 322 Franklin Avenue.

The great-grandfather of our subject left his home in Germany to become a settler in the New World, and afterwards participated in the Revo- lutionary War. He located on a farm in Mon- roe County, and suffered all the trials of pioneer life, as did also his son Christopher, the next in the line of descent. The latter's son, Joseph, father of the gentleman of whom we write, was born in Hamilton, Monroe County, and when

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quite young commenced paddling his own canoe by doing farm work and driving cattle from this state into New York. In the fall of 1854 he re- moved to Scranton, having previously bought property in Franklin Avenue. He soon built the Mansion House, now the site of the large hardware business with which his son is con- nected. For a number of years he rented this place, and was still in the prime of life when death summoned him from his labors. He died in July, 1862, when he had reached his forty-fifth year.

Joseph Bittenbender married Anna, daughter of Peter Fredrick, in 1836. Her great-grand- father Fredrick emigrated from Germany, be- coming one of the early settlers of Monroe County. His son Peter was born in Northamp- ton County, and Mrs. Bittenbender was a native of Hamilton, Monroe County. She was one of six children and is the only one of them living. Fourteen years after her first husband's death she married Isaac Sobers, of New York State, who carried on a farm in Grotan, Tompkins County, until his demise in 1895. Since then his widow has made our subject's home her head- quarters. Should she survive until May, 1897, she will be seventy-nine years of age. Her son Israel lives in Scranton, as do also the daughters, Catherine and Marilla, Mrs. John M. Kemmerer.

Born near Stroudsburg, in Hamilton Town- ship, June 10, 1838, Abraham Bittenbender was reared in that section and attended the public schools, often working for sixpence a day. In 1854 the youth entered the employ of the Lacka- wanna Iron & Coal Company, as a teamster and carpenter. The war breaking out, he en- listed in the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Infantry for three months and again in August, 1862, he went to the front, this time with the One Hundred and Thirty-second Regiment of Infantry. He took part in the battles of that nine months' cam- paign, prominent among these being Chancel- lorsville, Antietam and Fredericksburg. At Chancellorsville he was taken prisoner and was sent to Richmond, where for three weeks he was confined on the island, and then exchanged. Re- turning to his regiment, he received an honorable discharge at Harrisburg. Later he entered the

construction and pontoon corps, acting in that capacity until the close of the war.

For a short time Mr. Bittenbender ran a gro- cery and hardware business in Shenandoah, Pa., but in the fall of 1865 removed to Scranton, and as he already owned the old Mansion House, he decided to convert part of it into a hardware store. His brother Israel became his partner and remained in the firm until 1895, and John M. Kemmerer has also been connected with the company for many years. In 1885-86 they put up a large brick block, 40x167 feet, three stories and basement in height, and afterward added 40x 80 feet more, this being three stories high. This space is all needed in the business, which comprises light and heavy hardware, wagon materials and blacksmith's supplies, etc. A branch store in Spruce Street is used for a bicycle shop. For some sixteen years Mr. Bittenbender traveled for the firm in this state and in New York, and in those days drove from place to place a great deal in carriages. He has invested money in the Scranton lace works, the fence works and the axle factory. Be- sides fostering these enterprises, he owns the North Park Place Addition, some seven acres, and lots in Mifflin Avenue. In political matters he casts his ballot with the Republican party. One of the leading members of the Penn Avenue Baptist Church, he is now serving on the board of trustees.

December 15, 1863, occurred the marriage of Mr. Bittenbender and Amanda E. Newhart, who was born in Monroe County, and is a daughter of William Newhart, a farmer. They have had four children: William E., who has charge of the bicycle shop; Minnie, wife of Ira H. Brader, foreman of the hardware store; Ida, at home; and Joseph, who died at the age of four years.

W ILLIAM HAGGERTY, M. D., who, in point of years of professional activ- ity, is among the oldest physicians of Scranton, having been engaged in practice in this city since March 14, 1868, was born in Bally- mena, County Antrim, Ireland, September 15, 1842, and is a son of James and Mary (Doole)

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Haggerty, natives of the same locality as him- self. His father, who was a son of William Hag- gerty, also a native of Antrim, followed the oc- cupation of a farmer in the land of his birth until about 1856, when he brought his family to Ameri- ca and settled in Steuben County, N. Y., where he remained in agricultural pursuits until his death.

The parental family consisted of eleven chil- dren, but only three of the number attained ma- ture years, William and two sisters, Mrs. Mar- garet Hart, of Scranton, and Mrs. Pitt, of Iowa. The Doctor was only eight years of age when death orphaned him, depriving him of a mother's love and care. In 1856, accompanying his father, he took passage on the sailing vessel "Dread Not," and after a voyage of five weeks landed in New York. It was then the spring of the year, and during the summer months he worked on a farm, after which he attended the district school for a few months. He continued, alternating farm work with study in the common schools, for two years, after which he entered Corning Academy, and remained there until completing the course.

The study of medicine our subject began under Dr. Josiah B. Graves, one of the most eminent surgeons in the vicinity of Corning and a man of superior ability. In 1865 he entered the medical department of the University of the City of New York, from which he graduated in the spring of 1868 with the degree of M. D. Opening an office in Scranton, he soon was in possession of a large practice, especially among the coal work- ers and steel manufacturers here. He has been especially successful in obstetrics and is also skilled in surgery. His office is situated at No. 336 Wyoming Avenue. Until the dissolution of the old Luzerne County Medical and the Scran- ton City Medical Societies, he was prominently connected with these organizations.

The first marriage of Dr. Haggerty took place in Carbondale, his wife being Miss Emma Mof- fat of that city. After her death he was united with Miss Annie Muldoon, of Scranton. He is a member of St. Peter's Catholic Church, and the Catholic Mutual Benevolent Association. In former years he was a Democrat, and served as

chairman of the Lackawanna County committee and as delegate to county and state conventions. However, the free trade principles advocated by the party were not in accordance with his views, and about 1894 he transferred his allegiance to the Republican party, which he now supports by his influence and ballot.

C HARLES W. FULTON, treasurer of the Hunt & Connell Co., of Scranton, was born in Wallace, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, June 30, 1863, the son of Silas and Matilda (Stevens) Fulton, also natives of that Canadian province. The family of which he is a member originated in Scotland, but his great- grandfather, William Fulton, who founded the family in Nova Scotia, was a native of London- derry, Ireland. The grandfather, William, Jr., who was a farmer by occupation, served as an officer in the Canadian militia during the War of 1812; he was a man, not alone of great cour- age, but of remarkable physical endurance, and though he lived to be ninety-three years of age, he retained to the last a considerable portion of his bodily strength. One of his sons, Stephen, was a member of parliament in Canada before the confederation, and led the opposition to Sir Charles Tupper, though the two afterward be- came very good friends.

Reared in Nova Scotia, Silas Fulton has made it his lifelong home and is one of the most in- fluential and prominent citizens of Wallace. At various times he has had different interests, all of them important, and is the owner of quarries of plaster and gypsum, situated in the locality where he lives. His wife, Matilda (Stevens) Ful- ton, was born in Nova Scotia and died there in December, 1887. Her father, Levi Stevens, a native of Massachusetts, traced his ancestry to England, and during the Revolution, in spite of the prevailing opinion of his neighbors, he re- mained a strong loyalist, taking service in the English army. The feeling in New England was so bitter against Tories that he removed to Nova Scotia, and spent his remaining years there. He was a millwright by trade and built a number of flour and lumber mills, also several ships.

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The family of Silas Fulton consists of six chil- dren, namely: Mary E., Mrs. Clifford C. Thompson, of Oxford, Nova Scotia; Letitia, Mrs. George I. Thompson, of Oxford; Richard T., a real estate dealer in Colorado; William G., M. D., who came to Scranton in 1888, and is surgeon-major of the Thirteenth Regiment, N. G. P., police surgeon of Scranton, president of the Scranton Physicians' Club, and visiting phy- sician to the Lackawanna Hospital and the Penn- sylvania Oral School; Charles Wesley; and Z. M. K., a graduate of the University of Pennsyl- vania, with highest honors in competitive ex- amination for appointment as physician to St. Mary's Hospital, later physician to the Episco- palian Hospital, and since 1896 visiting physi- cian to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, Philadelphia, where he is a prominent profes- sional man.

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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 119

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