Portrait and biographical record of Wyoming and Lackawanna counties, Pennsylvania : containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, Part 121

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 121
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 121

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G ARRETT BOGART has had a longer experience in railroading than falls to the lot of many and rose to his responsi- ble position entirely by his own merits and thor- oughness in every detail. He is now superin- tendent of the Northern and Southern and Bloomsburg divisions of the Delaware, Lacka- wanna & Western Company, and holds a similar place with the Lackawanna & Montrose Rail- road. His headquarters are in Scranton.

On both sides of the family Mr. Bogart is of Holland ancestry. His great-grandfather, C. G. Bogart, was born at Nyack on the Hudson and was a farmer. He lived to the extreme old age of one hundred and one years, and his wife lived to eclipse this record by a year. He participated in the war of the Revolution, and his son, our subject's grandfather, was not less patriotic, for he took part in the War of 1812. The latter, Garrett C., was also born on the old homestead near Nyack, was an agriculturist, and reached the ripe age of ninety-two years. He married a Blauvelt, also of Holland descent.

Cornelius Bogart, a native of Nyack, as were his forefathers, was, unlike them, in his early manhood a carpenter and builder at various places along the Hudson and for seven years in New York City. He owned a farm about three miles from Nyack, at a place called Blauvelt. He was foreman in the Erie car shops at Pierpoint, until they were removed to Jersey City. Retir- ing then from active life he went to live with his son, John, in Scranton, but shortly before his

death he returned to Blauvelt, where he died in 1891, in his seventy-fourth year. His wife, Cath- erine, was also of Dutch extraction, but a native of Rockland County, N. Y. Her parents, James and Annie (Staeg) Remsen, were born in the same county. The father was a veteran of the War of 1812 and died at the age of ninety-five years. Mrs. Catherine Bogart departed this life at the age of sixty-two.

Of a family numbering nine children only three survive, Garrett, James, on the old homestead, and John, whose sketch appears on another page of this work. Frank was an operator on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, then a dispatcher and conductor on the same road. Afterward he returned to the old farm and died there. Garrett Bogart was born in June, 1837, and passed his early years happily on the ancestral farm. From 1844 to 1851 he lived in New York City, on Eighth Avenue, between Twenty-first and Twenty-second Streets, this then being considered well out of town. Receiving a good education, he then became a clerk in a store in Piermont, and in 1857 came to Scranton. His first service with his present employers be- gan May I, and soon he was sent to Bridgeville, N. J., where he learned telegraphy and at last was made station agent. This place he filled until he received promotion in July, 1864, when he was made chief train dispatcher. Over eleven years he faithfully performed the important duties that devolved upon him and then he received the just deserts of his reliability, in being given the place of assistant superintendent. In 1889 he became the superintendent.

In Bridgeville, N. J., occurred the marriage ceremony which united the fortunes of Mr. Bo- gart and Maggie Voss, the date of the event being July 9, 1859. The lady was born there and is a daughter of George Voss, a farmer, and the old- est settler in that place. The old deed that was granted by King George III, and signed by him, bears date of 1761, and is now in the possession of Mrs. Bogart. The only child of our subject and wife is Mrs. Lizzie Fowler, of Binghamton, who is a graduate of the Moravian Seminary of Bethlehem, Pa. The pleasant home of the fam- ily is at the corner of Adams Avenue and Spruce

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Street, and the property now bears little resem- blance to what it did when it was first purchased, as it was only a swamp then. Mr. Bogart is a stanch Republican and is a member of the Central Club. In 1883 he went to Europe for a much needed change and rest and greatly enjoyed his travels in the British Isles.

R OBERT WILLIAMSON WALKER, of Scranton, has been a representative citi- zen for more than two score years, and we take great pleasure in placing his life history among those of the men whom we delight to honor by perpetuating their names. Great changes in our city have taken place since he first came among us, the sleepy town of Slocum's Hollow has been transformed into the bustling, busy, enterprising city of over a hundred thou- sand inhabitants, and in all these progressive movements he has ever taken an active share and great interest.

Born in Scotland, December 3, 1836, Mr. Walker was reared at his birthplace in Newton, Newbattle Parish, Midlothian, only seven miles distant front historic Edinburgh. His paternal grandparents, John and Nancy (Muir) Walker, were natives of the same locality. The parents of our subject were John and Janet (Ross) Walk- er, natives of Newton and Galleshields respect- ively. The father was a gardener by occupation and was employed by the Marquis of Midlothian, and afterward by Duke Buccleugh, of Dalkeith. Later in life, about 1857, he and his wife joined their son, Robert, in Scranton. He died when in his sixty-seventh year, and was survived many years by his wife, who was eighty-four at the time of her demise. Her mother also reached more than ordinary longevity, attaining the age of ninety-six years.

The family of John and Janet Walker com- prised seven children, in order of birth as fol- lows: John B., Jane, James, Robert W., William, Jesse and George. John enlisted during the Civil War, was placed in the One Hundred and Forty-first Pennsylvania Regiment, under Cap- tain Mumford, was captured at the battle of the Wilderness, and was sent to Andersonville pris-

on, where he remained for nine months, or until the end of the war. He was the artist who copy- righted pictures of Andersonville scenes and was also the author of many other notable papers and pictures. Mrs. Jane Brown resides in New Ha- ven, Conn., and George is in Walker County, Texas. James died in Scotland, William was killed while acting as brakeman on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, and Jesse died in Hyde Park.

After receiving a common school education young Walker went to Edinburgh to be appren- ticed to the carpenter's trade, and remained at this employment five years. In 1854 he followed his brother John's example and came to Ameri- ca to make a home and livelihood. Starting from Glasgow in the sailing vessel "Glasgow," they had not proceeded far down the river Clyde when the ship ran aground and was obliged to return to port. The company reimbursed their passen- gers at the rate of a shilling per day for every day that they had been delayed, but our hero deter- mined not to try his luck again in just the same way, so he went to Liverpool, where he em- barked in the "David Cannon," bound for New York City. However, the fates seemed against him again, for about fifteen days after sailing nine of the crew mutinied, but the passengers helped to subdue them and put them in irons in the hold. Mr. Waller himself nailed the chains, to which the men's handcuffs were attached, to the side of the ship, and then with others of his fel- low passengers helped man the vessel. Arriv- ing at last in New York, he went into the em- ploy of a Mr. Riker, at Twenty-third Street and Third Avenue, but in twelve months he left there and in July, 1855, landed in Scranton. He liked this beautiful valley so well that he decided to lo- cate here permanently. In August, 1856, he be- came a carpenter in the shops of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, and five years later he took a position as fireman on the famous engine "Constitution," and in two years was made engineer. Then, fifteen months subse- quently, he returned to his trade. In March, 1865, he went into the government service as an engineer, running from Alexandria, Va., until April 15, when he was sent under sealed orders

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to Fortress Monroe, thence to Cape Hatteras, and Newbern, N. C. In November of the same year he returned home and resumed work at his trade. In 1876 he was appointed rail inspector, and discharged the duties pertaining to this of- fice some twelve years. September 1, 1888, he was promoted to the important post of master builder of bridges and buildings, and still offi- ciates in this capacity.

In Scranton a marriage ceremony was per- formed by Rev. Mr. Clark, by which the destin- ies of Mr. Walker and Catherine E. Shively were united. She comes of an old family in this state, her father being Peter Shively, a merchant tailor of Scranton. Mrs. Walker was born in Wilkes- barre, and has become the mother of four chil- dren. John H., a civil engineer in the employ of the same railroad as is his father, went to Austra- lia and was absent two years, returning six years ago; he was elected councilman of the Fifth ward of Scranton in 1897. Robert W. is in busi- ness with his father; Grace Blanche and Ed- ward Allen are at home. In 1858 Mr. Walker built his residence on Hyde Park Avenue and Division Street, and he is one of the oldest in- habitants of this district.

In 1861 our subject joined Hyde Park Lodge No. 339, F. & A. M., and was trustee of the same for years. He belongs to Washburn Street Presbyterian Church, and is a Republican in poli- tics. In 1885 he went to Europe for a much needed change and rest, and traveled in the Brit- ish Isles for two months, revisiting the scenes of his early recollections and receiving great benefit.

H AMPTON C. SHAFER, cashier of the Scranton Savings Bank, was born in Greensville, Sussex County, N. J., in 1853, and is a representative of the fifth genera- tion of the family in America, the first of the name here having come from the Rhine prov- ince of Germany and settled in the wilds of New Jersey when Indians were still numerous. He was one of the founders of the Hardwick Presbyterian Church, the first house of worship in that part of the state. Hon. Abraham Shafer,

great-grandfather of H. C., was born in Still- water, Sussex County, and engaged in farming throughout life, except at such intervals when representing his district in the state legislature or officiating in other public capacities.

Casper Shafer, who was the father of H. C., was born in Warren County, N. J., in 1817, and in early manhood engaged in milling at John- sonsburg, but afterward removed to the farm in Greensville, where he has made his home for nearly fifty years. While he has never gained great wealth, yet he had a competence that per- mitted him to give his children far better advan- tages than were his in youth. A man of quiet, unassuming disposition, kind to the needy, and willing to aid in any charitable undertaking, he has the esteem of his community and the affect- tion of his descendants. He married Miss Re- becca C., daughter of Judge Abraham Hazen, both of whom were born near Hardwick, mem- bers of an old family of New Jersey. In 1880 the golden wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Shafer was celebrated and their wedded life continued two years longer, until her death in the fall of 1882. They had a family of five children.

The youngest member of the family is the sub- ject of this sketch. He attended Schooley's Mountain Seminary for two years and for one year was a student in Trenton Normal School. After completing his education he clerked in a book store in Trenton for six weeks, but soon a better opening presented itself. In 1873 he was given a clerkship in the Lambertville (N. J.) Na- tional Bank, and continued in that capacity for eight years, when he was made assistant cashier. In January, 1881, he was called to the position of cashier of the Scranton Savings Bank, and here he has since continued, having meantime gained a reputation as a successful financier and judi- cious business man. As a member of the State and National Bankers Associations he has be- come well known by the representative bankers, among whom his ability gives him merited prom- inence. He is a member of the board of trade and has contributed to the advancement of the business interests of the city. Active in relig- ious work, he is a member of the session of the Second Presbyterian Church and a director in

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the Y. M. C. A., of which he was at one time treasurer. In politics he is a Republican.

The residence of Mr. Shafer is situated in North Washington Avenue, and here his hours of relaxation from business are usually spent in the winter season, while in summer he enjoys the delights of rural life in his beautiful cottage at Dalton. His accomplished wife, daughter of the late Milton Blair and granddaughter of James Blair, was born in this city and bore the maiden name of Mary Elizabeth Blair. She was given exceptional advantages, her education be- ing received principally in Miss Porter's school in Massachusetts, and shortly after her return home, in November, 1890, she became the wife of Mr. Shafer. A daughter, Margaret Linen, blesses their union.

R EINHARD SCHOENFELD is one of the old settlers of Scranton and has been a witness of vast changes here. The little town as he first beheld it over two score years ago has grown to be a large, wide-awake city, crowned with prosperity. As one of our busi- ness men he has borne his share of financial un- dertakings which have led to this result. In the German language the family name is spelled Schönfeld, but it has been found best to modify it to the present form. Our subject was born in Weisbaden, Nassau, Germany, January 13, 1835, and was left an orphan when fourteen years of age. His good mother died when he was a child of two years and thus the burden of life fell upon him ere it does to many. The father, George William Schoenfeld, a native of the same locality, was a farmer by occupation, owning his well- tilled acres, and besides running the place he frequently engaged in making shoes. He died in 1849, aged fifty-three years. Of his six chil- dren who survived childhood, Reinhard is the youngest and the only one in America.

When in his fifteenth year Mr. Schoenfeld was apprenticed to a wheelwright, and in 1853 he de- cided to seek his fortune in the United States. After a long voyage in a sailing vessel which left Antwerp docks he reached New York City on the

sixty-third day from his fatherland. Proceeding direct to Honesdale, Pa., where he arrived No- vember 18, he worked for a short time at the coal docks of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, and then two years was employed as a wheelwright in a wagon shop. In 1855, com- ing to Scranton, he went into the car shops of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, and re- mained there for about thirteen years. In 1868 he started in business for himself, opening a pro- vision store in Cedar Avenue, but his success did not meet his expectations and at the end of a year or so he began working as a carpenter. It was in 1869 that he embarked in his present business of undertaking, and he also ran a furniture es- tablishment in connection with it several years. His first location was in Pennsylvania Avenue, but afterwards he removed to Lackawanna Ave- nue. Subsequently we find him back in Pennsyl- vania Avenue, and now his store and residence are in the same building at No. 318 Franklin Street. He has an exclusive undertaking busi- ness and has a very fine line of coffins of all styles and at all prices. These are enclosed in a hand- some cabinet, so that customers can easily make their selection. A fine lot of carriages and two hearses afford ample facilities to patrons.

The marriage of Mr. Schoenfeld and Miss Bar- bara Schwartz took place in Scranton in 1857. The lady was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, near the city of Stuttgart and is a daughter of Andrew Swartz, who was an extensive farmer there. His wife was before her marriage Miss Barbara Housman. Both parents died in the fatherland, and in 1854 Mrs. Schoenfeld crossed the Atlantic to take up her abode in Washington. Two years later she settled in Scranton. One son and two daughters were born to our subject and wife: William C., who is in business with his father; Amelia, Mrs. Wenzel, who died when twenty-seven years old; and Mary, who lived to be twenty-six years. Mr. and Mrs. Schoenfeld are members of the Zion Lutheran Church, tak- ing a very active part in its various departments. She was president of the ladies' society for two years, was for six years treasurer and four years was the secretary. Our subject was formerly con- nected with the German Presbyterian Church,

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holding positions of responsibility, was in the choir, a trustee and superintendent of the Sun- day-school. Years ago he was an Odd Fellow, but has not attended the meetings of the body of of late. Politically, he is independent.

J AMES H. TORREY, A. M. The family of which this gentleman is a member has for several generations taken a foremost rank in professional and educational work, its representatives having been men of culture, eru- dition and scholarly tastes. On his father's side he traces his lineage to England, whence the founder of the family in America emigrated to this country about 1640, settling in Massachu- setts. The grandfather, Jason Torrey, was born in Williamstown, Mass., but in an early day re- moved to Pennsylvania, becoming a pioneer of Mount Pleasant, but later settling in Bethany, where he died. His occupation throughout life. was that of surveyor and land agent, in which capacity he was well known throughout all north- eastern Pennsylvania.

The father of our subject, Rev. David Torrey, D. D., was born in Bethany, Wayne County, Pa., and was the youngest child born of the second marriage of Jason Torrey. The best educational advantages the country afforded were his, and he availed himself of them to the utmost. He graduated from Amherst College with the de- gree of A. B., and later received the degree of A. M. His theological studies were conducted in Andover Academy and Union Seminary, and upon graduating from the latter he was ordained to the ministry of the Presbyterian Church. Suc- cessively he held pastorates at Delhi and Ithaca, N. Y., Ann Arbor, Mich., and Cazenovia, N. Y., having a charge at the last-named place from 1869 until 1884, when he retired from active ministerial work. He continued to make his home in Cazeno- via until his death, which occurred in 1894. The degree of D.D. was conferred upon him by Ham- ilton College, in which he held the chair of meta- physics for a year. For a long time he was one of the commissioners and examiners of Auburn Theological Seminary, in Auburn, N. Y. In ante-bellum days he was outspoken against the

institution of slavery and during the war took an active part in the work of the Christian Com- mission.

The mother of our subject, Mary E., was born in Amherst, Mass., received an excellent educa- tion that fitted her for her work as a pastor's wife, and was her husband's assistant in all of his work until her death, which occurred in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1867. Her family consisted of two children, of whom the daughter, Sarah M., wife of W. D. Wells, died in 1895. The maternal grandfather of our subject, Rev. Heman Hum- phrey, A. M., LL.D., D. D., was a Congrega- tional minister and one of the most prominent educators of his day, being president of Amherst College from 1821 to 1842. He married a Miss Porter, who was a relative of Noah Porter and member of the family that furnished to Yale Col- lege one of its presidents. The Humphrey fam- ily originated in England, but has been repre- sented in Massachusetts since about 1640.

The subject of this sketch was born in Delhi, Delaware County, N. Y., June 16, 1851. He re- ceived his education in the schools of the differ- ent places where his father held pastorates and for some time was a student in the high school at Ann Arbor. He prepared for college at North- ampton, Mass., and in 1869 entered Amherst Col- lege, where he remained until the close of the junior year. In 1872 he came to Scranton to be- gin the study of law and here he has since re- sided. Though not a graduate of the college, the degree of A. M. was conferred on him by Am- herst in 1888. His legal studies were commenced under Willard & Royce and completed under E. B. Sturges, and he was admitted to the bar in October, 1876, at Wilkesbarre. During the period of his studies he was also employed as weighmaster by the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, principally in Scranton and immediate vicinity. After being admitted to the bar he started for himself in the general practice of law, in which he has since continued, making a specialty of civil cases.

In 1886 Mr. Torrey was appointed by the board of trade as a delegate to the convention that framed the municipal act of 1887. He was a member of the committee of three that drafted

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the act regarding cities of third and minor classes, and met with the other members at Reading and Harrisburg. The act of 1887 being declared unconstitutional in 1888, the commit- tee again met and drafted the act of 1889, under which cities of the third class have since been regulated. In 1896 another municipal conven- tion of cities of the third class was held, for the purpose of adopting amendments to the act of 1889; he was made chairman of the committee of city solicitors that met at Reading and Wil- liamsport and performed all the active work of drafting the amendments.

A Republican in politics, Mr. Torrey is a pop- ular speaker in local and state campaigns. In April, 1893, he was chosen city solicitor by the city councils and at the expiration of his term was re-elected in 1895 to serve until 1897. He is a charter member of the Lackawanna Law and Library Association, of which he is now the president. For two years, 1877-78, he was pres- ident of the Y. M. C. A. of Scranton. In the Second Presbyterian Church he is a ruling elder and for fourteen years has been superintendent of the Sunday-school. He attended the general assembly of his denomination held at Saratoga in 1890 and was a member of the committee that framed the plan for the revision of the confes- sion of faith. In Scranton December 10, 1872, he married Miss Ella C., daughter of D. H. Jay, formerly with the Lackawanna Iron & Coal Company, but now living retired in this city. They are the parents of four children, Mary Humphrey, William Jessup, Elizabeth Jay and Douglas Jay.

G EORGE H. PEARL, superintendent of the Moosic Powder Company at Moosic, was born in Frederick County, Md., June 28, 1848, and is the son of John T. and Elizabeth (Hospelhorn) Pearl. His father, who was born in Carroll County, Md., died there at the age of forty-seven and was buried the day that the Reb- els fired on Ft. Sumter. By trade a carpenter, he followed that occupation until two years before his death, when he turned his attention to farm- ing. The family of which he was a member fol-

lowed agricultural pursuits principally. His wife, who was the daughter of a veteran of the War of 1812, was of German descent, and her ances- tors in the old country were spinners and weavers by occupation.

On account of the fact that the family were very poor, our subject had no advantages in boyhood, but was obliged to become self-supporting at an early age. When the war broke out, it was his desire to enter the service, but he was a mere lad and his widowed mother forbid his enlistment. The old adage, "Where there's a will there's a way," proved true in his case. He ran away from home and soon his name was enrolled as a mem- ber of the Fifty-first Illinois Infantry, in which he served for seventeen months, being under Gen. R. B. Hayes a portion of the time. He accom- panied General Sherman on his famous march to the sea and participated in the principal engage- ments of his regiment. He fortunately went through the war uninjured and was able to re- port for duty every day. At the expiration of his term of enlistment, he was mustered out in I865.

On his return home our subject served an ap- prenticeship of three years to the tanner's trade. With a desire to gain a better education, he saved his earnings and took a course of study in Key- stone Academy. For three years he followed his trade, as a journeyman, then worked one year in shops, and later on the road. For nine months he was employed as fireman and then was pro- moted to be engineer on the local freight, where he remained fifteen months. For two years after- ward he was employed in shops, and for nine months, in 1870, worked at bridgebuilding. He then came to Pennsylvania and settled in Scran- ton in October, 1871, working there for a year. Through the influence of Col. H. M. Boies, presi- dent of the Moosic Powder Company, he was given a position as machinist in the powder mill and afterward was promoted to be superintendent. During the twenty-four years of his connection with the mill, he has been found daily at his post of duty, and while there have been eight explos- ions of powder in that time, only one of these has occurred since he became superintendent.

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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 121

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