Portrait and biographical record of Wyoming and Lackawanna counties, Pennsylvania : containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, Part 125

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 125
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 125

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four. During the War of 1812 he was a captain of infantry under General Harrison, and our sub- ject still has the sword he wore in battle, bearing the mark of a bullet from the battle of Tippe- canoe. When John Morgan came through his town during the Rebellion, he buckled on his old sword and joined the volunteers, his heart as warmly enthusiastic in our country's cause as fifty years before when he started out to join the brave soldiers of 1812.

William Logan, our subject's paternal grand- father, settled at Bryant's Station, Ky., and spent his entire life in the Blue Grass State. Mrs. Susan Logan was born in Mckeesport while her parents were en route to the west. She was a grand- daughter of Alexander Logan, a native of the north of Ireland and the founder of the family in America, where he settled in Carlisle, Pa. Dur- ing those early days Indians were very hostile to the white settlers. At one time the family was obliged to flee to the blockhouse for refuge, and after remaining there a week, he and a son start- ed back home. In the house they found every- thing as it had been left, but as they were com- ing out of the cellar, both father and son were shot by the savages. Their bodies were taken to Philadelphia, which appealed so strongly for help that the Quakers were aroused by the story of their assassination; a small regiment was raised, a battle fought and peace restored.

The maternal grandfather of our subject, Maj. David Logan, was born in Cumberland County, Pa., and gained his title through service in the Revolution. In the early days of the history of Kentucky, he removed thither, and was present when the town of West Lexington was laid out; there the people heard of the outbreak of the Revolution and the battle of Lexington. In mem- ory of that now historic engagement, the village was named West Lexington. Very soon after- ward, with some friends, he came east and joined his brother-in-law, General Armstrong, with whom he fought the British troops in various engagements. At the close of the war he went back to Kentucky, receiving his pay for service in land scrip claims and settled on a farm eight miles from Lexington. On the corner of this place he built a church, to which the early settlers

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for miles around came each Sunday for worship. In addition to the management of his farm he operated a large tannery. At one time he served as a magistrate, and his services in that and other public positions were most efficient. The faith of the Presbyterian denomination governed his ac- tions in life and brought peace to his dying hours, when he was called from earth in 1823.

Samuel Crothers Logan was next to the youngest of a family of thirteen children, of whom ten are deceased. Alexander, who was in the Black Hawk War in Illinois, died on a place ad- joining the old homestead in Indiana; David, a tanner, died in Palestine, Ill .; William, who fol- lowed the tailor's trade, died at his father's home when thirty-five years of age; James, who was a graduate of Hanover College and a practicing physician for fifty years, made his home in Pales- tine, Ill., but died in Indiana; John and Charles died when young; Erastus, who resided in Pales- tine, was at the head of a land office under Presi- dent Fillmore until his death; Baxter K., who served in the Civil War as a member of the Thir- ty-second Indiana Infantry, was wounded in Ten- nessee, died July 3, 1864, and was buried in In- diana; Eliza died at four years; Susan, wife of Rev. Samuel Gregg, died in Illinois; Margaret and Mary E. reside at the old homestead in Lo- gan's Point, Ind.

In 1846 the subject of this sketch graduated from Hanover College with the degree of A. B., after which he taught for one year, founding a school of learning known as the Palestine Acade- my. He then entered the Princeton Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in 1850 with the degree of B. D., and was immediately after- ward ordained as a missionary in the Presbyterian Church in Michigan, his territory comprising the counties of Berrien, Cass and St. Joseph. Dur- ing the seven and one-half years of his labor there, he organized twelve or more churches, the majority of which have continued in works of usefulness from that day to this, with constant increase numerically. In 1858 he was called to Cincinnati as pastor of the Fifth Presbyterian Church and remained for four years, after which he accepted the pastorate of the First Presby- terian Church of Valparaiso, Ind. During the

war he was commissioned a chaplain in the army, his work by request lying in Indiana and Illinois. In 1864 he wrote the first article ever presented to the conference in behalf of the education of freedmen, and was chosen secretary of a commit- tee, appointed in Indianapolis, to consider the feasibility of this work. His speech before the conference in 1865 was one of the greatest efforts of his life, and did much toward arousing an in- terest in the work so near to his heart. For seven and one-half years he had charge of this work and organized the Presbyterian Missionary Board for Freedmen in the South, which built eighty schoolhouses, raised $71,000 and organized about one hundred churchies before he left it; also founded a seminary in North Carolina, Biddle University in Charlotte, N. C .; Wallingford Academy at Charleston, S. C., and a school in Salisbury that later became Livingston College. In addition to these, he established a school in Kansas at Quindaro, but the colored people in that locality were principally refugees, and be- came scattered after the war, so that the school was discontinued.

Dr. Logan came to Scranton in 1868, and be- gan his work here on Thanksgiving Day. Early in the following year he was installed pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, having continued his work among the freedmen during that year. He brought his family here in July, 1869, and continued as pastor until 1892, when he resigned. In the meantime he had organized an Italian mission in his own church, and on his retirement from his pastorate he was appointed by the presbytery to organize a mission for the education and moral elevation of the thousands of coal miners in the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valleys. Under him there are now four preachers and seven teachers, laboring among foreigners in the Lackawanna Valley. In spite of other im- portant duties, he has found time for literary work, and among his writings we find "Reports on Missions to the Freedmen," "City Danger and Defence, as Suggested by Riots of 1877," "The Duties to the Old Ministers," (in support of superannuated preachers), a tract on "Rever- ence of Things Sacred," and "The Life of Thomas Dickson," the address delivered at the funeral

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of that gentleman, and which was given the high- est praise as a model of its kind. In addition he wrote tracts circulated by the Presbyterian Board and others distributed among the soldiers during the war.

In Hanover, Mass., Dr. Logan married Miss Lucy W. Loring, a cousin of George Loring, the well known Massachusetts politician. On both sides of the family she was of the sixth generation in descent from John and Priscilla Alden. Her father, Dr. W. L. Loring, was a graduate of Har- vard University, and a practicing physician of Springfield, Mass., until his death; her mother was a member of the family to which Rear-Ad- miral Smith belonged. Mrs. Logan died July 14, 1895. Of her five children, all but two are living. Harry V. is a physician in Scranton; Arthur C., who is a member of the Lackawanna County bar, lives on the homestead at Logan's Point, Ind., now owned by his father; Lillie is the wife of Judge Knapp of Scranton.

While in Indiana Dr. Logan was nominated for member of congress on the free soil ticket, but declined to run for the office. He was present at the organization of the Republican party in Philadelphia. During the war he assisted in rais- ing troops and worked in connection with the Christian Commission, on different occasions be- ing with the army for weeks in that capacity. In 1865 he received the degree of D. D. from his' alma mater at Hanover College, also has the degrees of A. B., A. M., B. D., and LL. D., the latter from Livingston College in 1888, in recog- nition of his service to the colored race. He was elected a member of the Victoria Institute or Philosophical Society of Great Britain in 1895. Not alone in this country has he traveled exten- sively, but also in the West Indies, Central Amer- ica, Mexico, Bermuda Islands, Africa, through Egypt, Syria, and Turkey, and has made a com- plete tour of Europe. In 1879 he spent forty-two days on horseback in Palestine. In 1884 he was moderator of the synod of Pennsylvania, has also been amember of eighteen general assemblies, and at different times served as chairman of the gener- al committees of the general assembly. August 23, 1877, he was made chaplain of the Scranton City Guard, and was given the same position on the

organization of the Thirteenth Regiment Novem- ber 23, 1878, being re-appointed October 26, 1883; October 8, 1888; October 7, 1893; and April 29, 1895. July 19, 1895, upon his request to be relieved from duty he was honorably retired as a member of the Guard with a state diploma, and holds the state badges of the qualified marks- men. At this writing he is chaplain of the Prisoners of War Association of Lackawanna County.

C HARLES S. SEAMANS, who is engaged in the grocery business at No. 317 Penn Avenue, Scranton, and is also a member of the common council, representing the thir- teenth ward, was born in Benton Township, Lackawanna (then Luzerne) County, February 3, 1856, and is a member of a family that origi- nated in England, but was represented among the early settlers of Rhode Island. His paternal grandfather, John Seamans, a native of that state, came to Pennsylvania in early manhood and set- tled in Factoryville, of which he was one of the first residents.

The father of our subject, Hon. John M. Sea- mans, was born in Factoryville, and for more than forty years engaged in the mercantile business at Wallsville, Benton Township, Lackawanna County. During twenty-five years of this time, he was postmaster of the place. When there. were only fifteen Republicans in his entire town- ship, he was elected, on that ticket, to the office of justice of the peace, and served in that capac- ity for fifteen years, He lived to see a change in political sentiment, and before he died the town- ship went Republican at elections. His death oc- curred in April, 1891, at the age of sixty-six years. The highest position to which he was ever called was that of assemblyman. In 1887 he was elect- ed to represent the old seventh district of Luzerne (now the third district of Lackawanna) in the state assembly, and during his period of service took an active part in many important measures. He had a reputation as a peacemaker in local disputes. It is said that, while justice of the peace, he never had a case reversed by higher courts. A thoughtful reader and well informed man, he was

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successful as a political speaker, and by his fluency and logical arguments aided much in local campaigns.

During the war Mr. Seamans was captain of a company of militia and with his men responded to the emergency call, marching as far as Car- lisle, Pa., when he was ordered back, as the quota had been secured. For a time he served as en- rolling officer in Benton Township, which was a perilous position in those days, but he was a man of courage and threats did not intimidate him. He was an enthusiastic Grand Army man and belonged to George Fell Post at Waverly. Fraternally he was a Master Mason. In the or- ganization of the county of Lackawanna and its separation from Luzerne, he took a warm inter- est and co-operated with other public-spirited cit- izens in securing the desired result.

The maternal grandfather of our subject, Wil- liam Green, was born in Rhode Island, but when a young man removed to Pennsylvania, becom- ing a pioneer farmer of Benton Township, Lack- awanna County. His death occurred at Fac- toryville when he was over eighty years of age. During the Civil War his sons, Pardon, L. B., and Jere, enlisted in the service, and the last- named was killed in the second battle of Bull Run. Our subject's mother, Charlotte Green, was born in Benton Township and died there in 1873. Of her twelve children, eight are living, all in this county.

The subject of this sketch, who was third in or- der of birth, was reared in Wallsville and for three years attended Keystone Academy, after which he taught for two years in Lackawanna. Later for three years he was commercial traveler, repre- senting a New York and Binghamton house. In November, 1881, he embarked in the grocery business at No. 317 Penn Avenue, Scranton, where he has since carried on a large retail busi- ness. In addition to his business enterprises, he is a director in the Dime Deposit and Discount Bank.

In Wilkesbarre Mr. Seamans married Miss Emma A., daughter of the late John Raeder, an early settler of that city, where she was born. Mr. and Mrs. Seamans reside at No. 1528 Wyom- ing Avenue. Politically he is a Republican, and

has been a member of city and county commit- tees. In 1895 he was elected to the common council for a term of two years, and during his service in this capacity has been chairman of committees on streets and bridges, sewers and drains, and member of other important commit- tees. In 1895 he introduced the fender ordinance, which was adopted and is in vogue to-day. He has also succeeded in securing seventeen lateral sewers for his ward.

Fraternally Mr. Seamans is past master of Union Lodge No. 291, F. & A. M., a charter member and first master of Green Ridge Lodge No. 597, high priest of Lackawanna Chapter, R. A. M., and is generalissimo of Melita Command- ery No. 68, K. T. He was active in securing the erection of the Universalist Church and has been treasurer of the congregation for twelve years. A lover of fine horses, he owns a fine team and is a member of the Driving Park Association. In former years he was identified with Company A, of the Thirteenth Regiment, N. G. P., and is now an honorary member of the General Phinney En- gine Company.

J OHN BRIEGEL, who has been engaged in business in the city of Scranton since 1872, and is now a dealer in paints and oils at No. 238 Penn Avenue, was born near Stuttgart, Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1850, and is the older of the two children of John and Magdalene (Schuler) Briegel, who were lifelong residents of their native province of Wurtemberg. The father, who was a merchant tailor and a hard-working man, died at forty-one years of age.

Like the majority of German boys, the subject of this sketch spent his first fourteen years mainly in obtaining a common school education and then began an apprenticeship to a trade. For two years he worked as a tailor in Wurtemberg, but neither the occupation nor the prospects of- fered by his native land proved attractive to him, and he therefore resolved to come to America. In 1865 he crossed the ocean, and from New York City went to Philadelphia, where he became an

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

apprentice to the barber's trade. On the conclu- sion of his time, two years, he began to work in the employ of others, remaining in Philadelphia for some time. Knowing that Scranton was a progressive, growing city, he came here in the spring of 1872 and at once opened in business, four years later becoming the owner of a shop in Wyoming Avenue, on the present site of the Library Building. Later he was barber in the Wyoming House, then in the old Forest House, but in 1880 abandoned the trade and entered his present business.

Opening a store at No. 315 Spruce Street, Mr. Briegel embarked in business for himself, and as prosperity enabled him to make new ventures, he built a place at No. 408 Spruce Street, but in the spring of 1895 removed to his present location in Penn Avenue, where he carries in stock paints and oils of all descriptions, making, however, a specialty of the Sherwin Williams paints. The business is both wholesale and retail, and through the energy of the proprietor has become one of the well established concerns of the locality.

In Philadelphia Mr. Briegel married Mrs. Cath- erine (Berklebach) Becker, the daughter of Wil- liam and Sarah (Snyder) Berklebach, natives of Philadelphia and Gwynedd, Pa. Her paternal grandfather, William Berklebach, a farmer near Philadelphia, was of German descent, and took part in the Revolution. Her maternal grand- father, Abraham Snyder, was a member of a prom- inent family and followed agricultural pursuits. Her father was a tool maker in Philadelphia, and developed a large business in his special line. Mrs. Briegel was reared in Philadelphia, and in young womanhood became the wife of Ernest Becker, who served as sergeant on the United States sloop of war "Dale" and on the steamer "Pawnee," of the South Atlantic squadron, dur- ing the entire period of the Civil War. After- ward he was engaged as music teacher and organist until his death. Mrs. Briegel is the mother of a daughter, Salome M. Becker.

Fraternally Mr. Briegel is connected with Schiller Lodge No. 345, F. & A. M., Lackawanna Chapter No. 185, R. A. M., Melita Commandery No. 68, K. T., and Keystone Consistory, thirty- second degree. In 1889 he built a residence on

the corner of Monroe Avenue and Delaware Street, Dunmore, and here he and his wife have a cozy and comfortable home. In religious con- nections he is a member of the Dunmore Presby- terian Church. While he has never been promin- ent in politics, nor aspired to political honors, yet he is well informed regarding the questions before the people to-day, and gives his support to the Republican party.

- J UDGE ROBERT W. ARCHBALD. In reviewing the history of any community there are always a few names that stand out pre-eminently among others, because those who bear them are men of superior ability, sound judgment and philanthropic spirit. Such a one is the subject of this article, a leading citizen of Scranton and a lifelong resident of Lackawanna County. He was born in Carbondale (then a part of Luzerne County) September 10, 1848, be- ing named in honor of his ancestor, Rev. Robert Wodrow, who was a prominent Presbyterian clergyman of the eighteenth century, and wrote a history of the sufferings of the Church of Scot- land. The father of our subject, James Archbald, was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, came to Carbon- dale in 1828 and soon afterward was made super- intendent of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Com- pany's works there. For nearly thirty years he held that position, meantime taking an active part in the development of that section. When Car- bondale became a city, in 1851, he was chosen its first mayor and for five years was retained in that office, unopposed. In 1857 he removed with his family to Scranton, where he became gen- eral agent, and later chief engineer, for the Dela- ware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. With that company he continued until his death in 1870. Under all circumstances he was recog- nized as one of those public spirited citizens who could be relied upon to aid worthy enter- prises, and although he was unostentatious in dispensing charity, he did so in a way that ex- perience taught him accomplished the best re- sults.

The mother of our subject was a daughter of

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Maj. Thomas Frothingham, of the continental army, who was a native of Charlestown, Mass. At the time the family removed to Scranton Judge Archbald was in his ninth year, and he has there- fore been identified from boyhood with the his- tory and progress of this place. In youth he was

given excellent educational advantages. His tastes led him to decide to become a civil engi- neer and with that object in view he spent two sea- sons with an engineering corps in the field, pros- pecting for a railroad from Wilkesbarre to Stroudsburg. However, he relinquished his idea of entering that profession and prepared for col- lege at the Flushing (L. I.) Institute, later en- tering Yale as a freshman in 1867. Four years later he graduated with high honors.

In the fall of 1871 our subject began the study of law in Scranton with the firm of Hand & Post, the senior member being Hon. Alfred Hand, afterward judge of the courts of Lackawanna County, and associate justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, by appointment of Gov- ernor Beaver, for a short time. In 1873 he was admitted to the practice of the law and for the en- suing ten years continued to pursue professional duties at Scranton. In 1883 he was named by the Republicans for city solicitor and after a close canvass was defeated before the councils by I. H. Burns, then incumbent of the office, by a bare majority of two votes, the vote at first being a tie. The next year, the term of Hon. John Handley, president judge of the county, being about to ex- pire, the name of Robert W. Archbald was pre- sented on the Republican ticket. Judge Handley, though a Democrat, failed to secure the nomina- tion of the party, Edward Merrifield being the regular nominee; but the personal popularity of Judge Handley was such that he was induced to run as an independent candidate. However, Judge Archbald gained the election by a plural- ity of about two thousand votes. In January, 1885, he took his seat on the bench as additional law judge, Judge Hand, by the retirement of Judge Handley, advancing to the presidency of the court.

From the first Judge Archbald was successful, his broad information and studious consideration of every question winning the respect of those

his seniors in years. August 1, 1888, the appoint- ment of Judge Hand to the supreme court ad- vanced him to the position of president judge, which position he has since filled. His associates on the bench from time to time have been Hon. H. A. Knapp, Hon. John F. Connelly, Hon. F. W. Gunster, Hon. P. P. Smith and Hon. H. M. Edwards. He is recognized as one of the strongest members of the court. Under his supervision the work of the court has been systematized and brought to a high stage of ef- ficiency. The business which comes before the courts of Lackawanna County, civil and criminal, is very large, and the legal questions which arise are of the highest importance. During his eleven years' connection with the bench, he has had an experience in judicial work equal to that of al- most any other judge in the state and superior to that of many. Whatever question is brought before him is sure to have his searching examination, and his decisions stand. He is a great writer of opin- ions, and as a rule they are an exhaustive consid- eration of the legal questions which they under- take to dispose of. Twice his decisions have been taken before the United States Supreme Court and there fully sustained, and his rulings have al- ways been accepted by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. An instance of this was the contested elec- tion of Owen Cusick (139 Pa.). The report of this case, in the state reports, gives very little idea of the labor expended upon it, a better idea being given by the opinion of Judge Archbald (Lackawanna reports, page 341). The case of the respondent presented a most determined and ob- stinate assault upon the registry and election laws, and the opinion of Judge Archbald is a full and satisfactory vindication of them.

On another important branch of the law Judge Archbald has a strong record. In no negligence case ever tried before him has he been reversed by the supreme court. In municipal law he also has an experience only to be acquired by grow- ing up with municipal questions. On mining questions he is an authority and is fully equipped to cope with the most intricate of these.

In 1892, a vacancy upon the supreme bench having occurred by the death of the late Justice Clark, a candidate from the anthracite coal re-

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gion was suggested, and Judge Archbald was put forward by the Republicans. While he did not win the nomination, which after a spirited struggle went to Judge Dean, of Blair County, yet he secured sufficient recognition to warrant the effort in his behalf. In 1893 he was again spoken of for the vacancy caused in the same tribunal by the resignation of Chief Justice Pax- son, but the place by common consent was given to a representative from Philadelphia, and Judge Fell was nominated. In 1894, after ten years' service, the end of his first term in the court of common pleas approached. He was tendered a nomination by his own party unanimously, and for a time it looked as though no one would be put up against him in any other party. Hon. P. P. Smith was finally nominated by the Demo- crats, however, and an exciting canvass followed, the result being that Judge Archbald was re-elect- ed by about sixteen hundred majority, and he is now, therefore, serving on his second term. In 1895 he took part in the contested election of Judge Dunham, president judge of the forty- fourth judicial district, composed of the neigh- boring counties of Wyoming and Sullivan, Judge Rice, of Wilkesbarre, and Judge Searles, of Mont- rose, making up the special court provided by law for such contests. By the promotion of Judge Rice to the superior court, Judge Archbald was left at the head of this court, and thus took an important part in the final disposition of it. His acquaintance throughout the state brings to him frequent calls to hold special courts in the ju- dicial districts, not only in the counties imme- diately adjoining, but also in the center of the state, in Dauphin, Center, Snyder and Clinton, also as far west as Somerset and Venango.

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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 125

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