Portrait and biographical record of Wyoming and Lackawanna counties, Pennsylvania : containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, Part 127

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 127
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 127

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

J. H. Bauer, our subject's father, was born in Northampton County, where he learned the painter's trade. In 1869 he came to Scranton, where he followed his trade until his death. He was a fine performer on the flute and was a mu- sical genius, though not a professional. He was also an expert grainer, and while in New York City received the highest wages of any one in that line there. His wife, who resides in Scran- ton, was in maidenhood Lucy Werner and was born in Northampton County of German de- scent. Of her two sons and two daughters, all are living except Benjamin, who died here in 1893; he was a musician, his specialty being the violin.

At the age of twelve years, in 1869, Robert J. Bauer came with the family from Northampton County to Scranton, settling in Hyde Park, where he attended school. In youth he learned the printer's trade, at which he worked for five years. A talent for music was born with him, and when only nine years old he began to play the violin. His musical studies were conducted

under local teachers, Professors Krebs and South- worth, after which he studied in New York un- der Prof. August Zeiss, a pupil of Spohr, for two years or more. At once after his return to Scran- ton he organized a large class and has since been successfully engaged in teaching the violin and all orchestral instruments. In 1876 he organized Bauer's band and Bauer's orchestra. When the Academy of Music was built in 1877 he became the leader of orchestra there, and has held the position since. He has a well equipped studio at No. 117 Wyoming Avenue. His services are in demand for all special occasions at home and he is often called to outside points. At the last four commencements of Lafayette College, East- on, he has had charge of the music, and he has also been called to Wilkesbarre, Elmira, Bing- hamton and Cayuga Lake, where he has given large and successful concerts. A portion of his time is devoted to transposing and arranging music.

In Scranton Professor Bauer married Miss Mary Leyshon, who was born in Pittston. Of their seven children four survive, Allen, Theo- dore, Helen and Florence, who reside with their parents at No. 119 Bromley Avenue. Politically the Professor is a Republican, but the demands upon his time are such that he can give little attention to public affairs. In former years he was identified with the State Music Teachers As- sociation. Fraternally he is a member of the Liederkranz and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

G USTAVE KRIEGELSTEIN, for many years foreman of the Dixon Manufactur- ing Company of Scranton, but now liv- ing retired in his comfortable home at No. 519 Wyoming Avenue, was born near Berlin, Ger- many, July 16, 1841, the son of Gustave Kriegel- stein, Sr., a shoemaker by trade. When he was about twelve years of age he was orphaned by the death of his parents. Two years afterward he left school and began an apprenticeship to the blacksmith's trade in a shop near Berlin, re- maining there for five years. At the age of nine- teen he entered the Prussian army and remained

1030

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

in the government service for seven years, in the meantime working at his trade in the artillery de- partment. On retiring from the army, he se- cured employment in a machine shop, where he remained about a year. However, the prospects of success in his native land were not sufficiently alluring to prevail upon him to remain. Having heard so often of the favorable openings in the United States, he determined to come to this country, in the hope that his industry might be rewarded by the attainment of a competency.

Crossing the ocean in 1867, Mr. Kriegelstein spent four months in Wilkesbarre, and from No- vember, 1867, to April 1, 1868, worked in the shop of the Cory mine. He then came to Scran- ton. Immediately upon his arrival he obtained work in the blacksmith's shop of the Dickson Manufacturing Company and remained there through the following years until September I, 1888, when he was promoted to the position of foreman of a large shop, with from twenty-eight to thirty-five men under him. In December, 1896, the firm changed management and he re- signed, retiring from work. Through economy and industry he has accumulated sufficient to pro- vide for his remaining years, without the neces- sity for hard labor. Politically he is a Repub- lican, but liberal in his views, not displaying ex- treme partisanship. He is not a member of any denomination, but contributes to the German Lutheran Church, of which his wife is a member. The latter, for whom he sent to Germany in 1868, was Miss Ida Roy, of Berlin, and they were married immediately upon her arrival in this city. Their only child, Lottie, died at six years, but they have adopted a daughter, Lillian, to whom they have given every advantage and who occupies a warm place in their affections.

J AMES C. McCLURE. In the development of the natural industries of a country lies its prosperity. The coal interests of this section of the state form its chief source of rev- enue and in the control of mines are men of ex- cellent business and executive ability, of keen discrimination and sound judgment. Capable of wisely controlling men and of using the oppor-

tunities which surround them, they so direct their efforts as to bring a good return for their labors and their well-managed business interests pro- mote not only their individual prosperity but add to the general welfare. Of this class of citi- zens, Mr. McClure is a representative.

He was born in Union County, Pa., March 23, 1830, a son of James and Maria A. (Flannigan) McClure. His father was born near Harrisburg, Pa., in 1785, and in 1790 removed with his par- ents to Union County, where he spent his life as a farmer. His business career was a successful one. He was a Jackson Democrat in political sentiment and a Presbyterian in religious belief. He died in 1840, at the age of fifty-five years. The grandfather, Roan McClure, was also born near Harrisburg, Pa., but became one of the first settlers of Union County, where he carried on farming, operating his land with the assist- ance of slaves. He was of Scotch extraction. The mother of our subject was born in Philadel- phia, in 1795, a daughter of Stephen Flannigan, who was a pilot, and was taken prisoner by the British during the Revolutionary War for refus- ing to pilot their vessel up the Delaware. Mrs. McClure's early life was passed in Philadelphia, but about 1824 she located near Louisburg, Pa., and her death occurred in 1855, at the age of sixty years. She was a member of the Episcopal Church. Of her ten children only three are now living.

James McClure was reared on his father's farm and received an academic education. When about twenty-two years of age he was employed in a mercantile establishment, where he remained for five years, after which he engaged in the lum- ber business at Northumberland, Pa., erecting a sawmill and manufacturing material for bridges and breakers. He continued this business un- til 1885, when he came to Scranton, and assumed charge of the Sibley mines, which at one time was one of the leading mines of the place, with an output of one hundred and twenty thousand tons per annum.

Mr. McClure married Miss Glorvina Elder, of Harrisburg, who was born in Dauphin County, Pa., in 1834. Her father, John Elder, of Scotch descent, is one of the pioneers of Dauphin Coun-

IO3I

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ty. Mr. and Mrs. McClure have two children. Harold M., born in 1859, is now a prominent at- torney of Lewisburg, and judge of the seven- teenth judicial district of Pennsylvania. Maria is the wife of F. B. Garvin, of Marshalltown, Iowa. Mr. McClure takes no active part in poli- tics aside from voting, when he supports the Re- publican party. He belongs to the Masonic fra- ternity and is a liberal contributor to church and charitable institutions.

A LFRED H. SHOPLAND is the repre- sentative of his family in Lackawanna County and has been identified with the advancement and growing prosperity of Scran- ton since his boyhood. He is now retired from active business and employs his time chiefly in looking after his large property interests. In the church, fraternal and social circles of this city he enjoys the friendship of a host of acquaint- ances, and to all worthy enterprises which come beneath his notice he is very liberal.

Samuel, father of A. H. Shopland, was born in Bradstow, Devonshire, England, September 25, 1817, and was a son of Hugh Shopland. In his youth Samuel learned the carpenter's trade in London and in 1845 he came to America with his family, and located in Honesdale, Pa. About 1851 he came to Scranton, and in 1854 brought his family and settled here. He was very active and industrious, and a man of great business talent. From time to time he invested in real estate, which he improved and sold, and thus he became very well-to-do. Among the numerous houses and blocks put up by him were the row on Mifflin Avenue, Lackawanna Avenue, four buildings known as the Shopland Block, and eight modern residences on Wyoming Avenue known as Shopland Terrace. Though many of these buildings were erected during the war they were so well constructed that few modern dwell- ings and stores compare favorably with them. He was one of the leading contractors and build- ers of the city in that day. He took commend- able pride in his chosen city, and was a select councilman about four years, having been elected from the eighth ward on the Republican ticket.

Until his death he was a faithful member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church and served as a vestry- man. He officiated in the same capacity when the chapel was on the site of the present St. Charles Hotel, on Penn Avenue. On several oc- casions he went to the continent and England and while absent on one of these trips, in Tor- quay, Devonshire, England, received the death summons, July 15, 1872. His remains were brought home for burial and in beautiful Forest Hill were tenderly placed to await the resurrec- tion morning. His first wife, Susan, died in Honesdale about 1849, and subsequently he mar- ried Lydia, sister of Richard Henwood, of Scran- ton. She was born April 21, 1807, in Cornwall, England, and died in this city July 11, 1891.

Alfred H. Shopland was his father's only child. His birth occurred in London, England, Septem- ber 28, 1843, and when he was but six years old he was brought to the United States. The next great change in his life was when his devoted mother died and afterward, in 1854, he came to Scranton and entered the public schools here. Later he attended the Poughkeepsie (N. Y.) Mil- itary School. On beginning his business career he opened a drug store in Hyde Park, but a bet- ter opportunity presenting itself for the rapid ac- quisition of wealth, as he thought, he became in- terested in the wood and willow-ware business, on Lackawanna Avenue. In 1874 he removed to Westfield, N. J., where he conducted a drug business some nine years, but in all this time he kept in touch with everything transpiring in Scranton and never lost his interest in the place. About 1880 he again became a resident of Scran- ton, where he still resides. At present he is not engaged in any particular line of business.

The marriage of Mr. Shopland and Eugenie M. Moore was solemnized in 1873. The lady is a native of Waymart, Wayne County, Pa., and daughter of Lewis and Eleanor (Morgan) Moore, who were born in the same county. Mr. Moore is still living, his home being in Hollisterville, Pa., where he is passing his declining days in the enjoyment of the fruits of his years of toil on his old farm. He is a son of James Moore, of Goshen, N. Y., who was a pioneer farmer in Wayne County, and died there. On the Morgan

1032

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

side we find that the progenitor of the family in America was James Morgan, born in Glamor- ganshire, Wales, in 1607. In company with two brothers he arrived in Boston, Mass., in the spring of 1636, and soon became noted for the part which he took in the government of the colonies. He married Margery Hill, of Rox- bury, Mass., where he first settled. As a select- man of New London, Conn., a magistrate, one of the first deputies to the general assembly with General Winthrop, where he was subsequently returned nine times, in the Congregational Church, and in every walk of his active life he was very prominent, earnest and zealous. He owned large tracts of land and was a surveyor, in addition to all of his other undertakings. This worthy man was of the tenth generation back from Mrs. Shopland. Her great-grandfather, Samuel Morgan, was a leader in the little society of Salem, Conn., and six of her forefathers fought in the war of the Revolution, while others par- ticipated in the French and Indian Wars, the War of 1812 and the Mexican War. Samuel Morgan, father of Eleanor Moore, was born in Salem, Conn., and moved into Wayne County, Pa., when it was a wilderness. He settled near Lake Ariel on Morgan Hill, noted for its scenery. The first American steamship to ever enter Chinese waters, the "Empress of China," was owned and commanded by a Morgan. The grand Morgan art collection was sold by Mrs. Mary J. Mor- gan, widow of Charles Morgan, the collector, and was the greatest art sale that has occurred in the United States, the famous peach blow vase be- ing part of this collection. The collection then passed out of the Morgan family. The late Charles Morgan was proprietor of a line of steam- ships plying between New York and points along the Gulf of Mexico. The Morgan Iron Works are owned by members of the family. Among those who have distinguished themselves in the professions are Edwin D. Morgan, ex-governor of New York State; Rev. Ferdinand Morgan, D. D., of St. Thomas' Church, New York City, and Lewis H. Morgan of Rochester, N. Y.

Mr. Shopland joined the Masonic order in 1878, while living in Westfield, N. J., and is now identified with Peter Williamson Lodge No. 323,

F. & A. M., Lackawanna Chapter No. 185, R. A. M., and Melita Commandery No. 68, K. T .; of the latter he is the recorder. His father was also connected with the Masonic fraternity of Scranton. Both Mr. and Mrs. Shopland are members of the Second Memorial Presbyterian Church and active in its various departments of usefulness. Politically he is a true blue Repub- lican.

D AVID COFFMAN. The fact that merit always commands the reward of success in business and the respect of all one's associates is clearly manifested in the perusal of the life history of an honest, industrious man like he of whom we write. In this land we can be sure that sterling worth is the test of nobility, and when we find a man who has worked his way up from the bottom rounds of the ladder to a place of comparative responsibility and impor- tance, we are glad to take him by the hand. He is now assistant yardmaster in the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Company's employ.

Born in June, 1866, in Cresco, Monroe Coun- ty, Pa., our subject is a son of John Coffman, a native of the same town. Grandfather John Coffman was born in Northampton County, but at an early period settled on a farm near Cresco. There his son, John, Jr., was reared to mature years and when he was offered a place as a brakeman on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, he accepted it. Later he was promoted to be conductor, and is still running on the main line, in that capacity, while his home is in Scranton. His wife was Miss Elizabeth Knoll, of Monroe County. She had two chil- dren, David and Daniel, the latter of whom died when a small child, and she did not long sur- vive him, as she was called from this life in 1869.

About 1872 David Coffman came to Scranton with his father and here he received a good gen- eral education in the public schools. In March, 1882, he was made flagman on a gravel train, and has ever since been employed by the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Company. Two years having elapsed, he was promoted to be brake- man on the main line and in 1887 was made con-

1033

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ductor, running on the main line out of Scran- ton. Five years were faithfully spent in the com- pany's service here and he was then again pro- moted to the place he occupies to-day. In all his experience he has been very fortunate, in that he has not been in any accident worth men- tioning. He is making a good record in the dif- ficult place of yardmaster, and is in the line of promotion.

September 15, 1887, Mr. Coffman and Bertha A. Stein were married at her father's home. He is Matthew Stein, an old employe of the Dela- ware Railroad. Mrs. Coffman was born in Mos- cow, Lackawanna County. The young couple have a comfortable home in Dunmore and are members of the local Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Coffman is a good Republican and is connected with the Order of Railway Con- ductors.

E UGENE H. REED. The family of which this gentleman is an able representative was one of the earliest to settle in the vicinity of Glenburn, having come here from Rhode Island. Its members were men and women of energetic and persevering natures and honorable characters, well equipped to assist in the settlement of a new locality. At the time of coming to this county in the earlier years of the nineteenth century, wild animals still abounded and scarcely an attempt had been made to redeem the country from its primitive condition. The first log cabin in this locality was built by them and its location was near the site of the present commodious and beautiful family residence.

The record of the life of Benjamin W. Reed, grandfather of our subject, is similar to that of most pioneers. Born in Exeter, R. I., he came to Pennsylvania early in the '20s and settled in North Abington Township, this county, where from unimproved land he developed a valuable farm as the years went by. Upon this place he died at the age of seventy-four years. His wife, Mary Gardner, was born in Rhode Island and died at the homestead aged sixty-eight years. Of their five children all but two, Alfred and Nich- olas G., are dead. The family originated in

England and was represented among the early settlers of New England.

The father of our subject, Alfred Reed, was born near Glenburn November 20, 1825, and grew to manhood on the home farm. After the age of twenty-one he taught several terms of school in this county. His father gave him eighty acres of timber land, all of which he cleared excepting about six acres. By subse- quent purchase he became the owner of two hun- dred and eighty-eight acres in this neighborhood, and at the death of his father he had a half inter- est in the farm. To the house which he built the previous year, February 14, 1860, he brought his bride, Rebecca Jane Gardner, daughter of William A. and Elmira (Colvin) Gardner, natives of Rhode Island, who died in North Abington Township, he when eighty and she at about sev- enty-five. They were classed among the best people of their locality and were universally re- spected.

Unto the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Reed were born six children, namely: Eugene H., of this sketch; Mary L., who is with her parents; Ber- tha E., at present in New York; Clarence O., who is employed in a store in St. Louis; George B., who is married and has one child; and Homer John, who is in New York. Politically Mr. Reed has always been a Democrat and upon that ticket has been elected to numerous local offices. His first vote was cast for James K. Polk for the presidency. He and his wife, as well as several of their children, are connected with the Baptist Church.

The subject of this sketch was born at the family homestead near Glenburn, March 31, 1866, and received his education in the district schools and at Keystone Academy, Factoryville. The services which his father had rendered in the ranks of the Democratic party and his own enthusiastic support of these political principles led to his selection as postmaster of Glenburn, under the second administration of President Cleveland. He has done good service in party affairs and may always be relied upon to cham- pion the cause of the Democracy. He is con- nected with the Masons and Odd Fellows and is active in both organizations. In the various

1034

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

positions, political and others, to which he has been called, the people have had the advantage of his efficient service and faithfulness to duty, and have therefore come to realize that they may place confidence in him.

December 9, 1896, Mr. Reed married Miss Ada Fairchild, of Scranton, Pa. She was born in the city of London, England, September 4, 1867, and is of noted English descent. Their per- manent home is in their residence which was completed March 1, 1897, at Glenburn.

H ON. JOHN BALL OSBORNE, one of the distinguished and honored citizens of Scranton, was born in Wilkesbarre, Pa., June 24, 1868, a son of Gen. Edwin S. Osborne, of that city. He is descended from John and Ann (Oldage) Osborne, who came from England and settled in East Windsor, Conn., prior to May 19, 1645. Their son, Samuel, had a son Jacob, the father of Thomas Osborne, who removed from Connecticut to Essex County, N. J., shortly before the Revolution. He en- listed as a private in Captain Marsh's troop of Light Horse, and laid down his life at the bat- tle of Monmouth in 1778. He left a widow and infant son, Cooper. The latter, in 1798, married Hannah Oakley, of Scotch Plains, N. J., who was the daughter of Ephraim Oakley and grand- daughter of Sylvanus Oakley, a man of wealth and influence in New York. There was some- thing of a romance in this union. The Oakleys were proud and aristocratic, with loyalist lean- ings, and did not look with favor on the mar- riage of their delicately nurtured daughter with the sturdy young man who had been thrown on his own resources for a livelihood by the un- timely death of his patriotic father. But Cooper was very independent and, early in the present century, putting all their worldly goods in an ox cart, he and his young wife removed to Penn- sylvania and settled in what is now the town of Bethany, Wayne County. He bought some land and with indomitable energy made a clearing and erected a log house. He died in 1818, and his widow, who was a woman of unusual force of character, was left alone to rear a family of six

children. She died at Bethany in 1856, regretted by all who knew her.

One of these children, Sylvanus Osborne, the grandfather of our subject, was born in the log house in Bethany, in September, 1812, and be- came a farmer and later in life a railroad con- tractor. In 1836 he married Lucy Messinger, a daughter of Cyrus Messinger, of Bridgewater, Susquehanna County. She was a descendant of Henry Messinger, who was born in England and resided in Boston prior to 1640. He owned the property now occupied by the Massachusetts Historical Society. His son, Thomas, born March 22, 1661, married Elizabeth Mellows, by whom he had one son, Ebenezer, born June 2, 1697, who married Rebecca Sweetser. Their son, Wigglesworth, born December 16, 1743, served during the Revolution as first lieutenant in Read's Massachusetts Regiment of the Conti- nental army. He married Jemima Everett, sister of Rev. Oliver Everett, who was the father of Edward Everett, the famous statesman. Both the Messinger and Everett families furnished New England with several prominent clergymen. Cyrus Messinger, son of Wigglesworth and Jemima (Everett) Messinger, was born October 26, 1776, and was married in 1798 to Rhoda Keyes. From Massachusetts they removed to Susquehanna County, Pa., where their daughter Lucy was born October 27, 1816. She became the wife of Sylvanus Osborne and died in Promp- ton, Wayne County, December 21, 1844.

Gen. Edwin Sylvanus Osborne, son of Sylva- nus and Lucy (Messinger) Osborne, was born in Bethany, Wayne County, August 7, 1839, and his early years were spent upon his father's farm. After graduating from the University of North Pennsylvania, he entered the National Law School at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., from which in- stitution he received a degree in 1860. He also read law in the office of Hon. Charles Dennison of Wilkesbarre, and was admitted to the bar of Luzerne County February 26, 1861. After the outbreak of the Rebellion, in April, 1861, he en- listed as a private in Company C, Eighth Penn- sylvania Volunteers, and served during the cam- paign of 1861 with General Patterson's Division. The following year he returned to Wilkesbarre

1035

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and recruited a company, of which he was com- missioned captain August 22, 1862. The com- pany was assigned to the One Hundred and Forty-ninth Pennsylvania Infantry. From Sep- tember, 1862, until February, 1863, Captain Os- borne served on the staff of General Wadsworth, after which he returned to his regiment, and par- ticipated in all the battles in which the Army of the Potomac was engaged, being on several oc- casions highly complimented in orders for gal- lantry and skillful handling of troops while under fire. He was commissioned major of his regi- ment and was three times brevetted for merito- rious conduct.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Portrait and biographical record of Wyoming and Lackawanna counties, Pennsylvania : containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, Part 127

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