Portrait and biographical record of Wyoming and Lackawanna counties, Pennsylvania : containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, Part 133

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 133
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 133

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Reared in Scranton, where he was born Octo- ber 23, 1854, our subject early became interested in the business carried on by his father, and since 1875 has been connected with it financially, though his first introduction into the business dates from 1866. He has in his possession the first carriage ever used in Scranton, then the property of Col. George W. Scranton, but which came into the possession of the senior Mr. O'Boyle forty-five years ago and is now kept as a relic for exhibition on great occasions. In na- tional politics he is a Democrat, and has served on the county and state committees, and frequent- ly attends state conventions of the party. For two years he was a member of the board of health. He is a charter member of the Catholic Mutual Benevolent Association and was its first vice- president. He was united in marriage, in this city, with Miss Annie E. Donnelly, who was born in Susquehanna County and died in Scranton. Of their five children, three are living, Mary, Harry and Kittie.

C HARLES W. SCHARAR, division min- ing engineer of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, with headquarters in Scranton, was born in Wilkesbarre, Pa., January 4, 1863, and on the paternal side is of German lin- eage. His father, Christian H. Scharar, was born in Germany, and at the age of two years was brought to America by his parents, who settled in Luzerne County. There he grew to manhood and at an early age became familiar with mines and mining, to which industry his life has been · devoted. For some years he has held the responsi- ble position of chief engineer of the coal depart- ment of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Com-

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pany, with headquarters in Scranton. He was united in marriage with Miss Mary M. Stevens, who was born in Verplanck, N. Y., and is a mem- ber of an old Hudson River family.

The older of two children, Charles W. Scharar, received the rudiments of his education in the public schools of Wilkesbarre, and from that city came with his parents to Scranton in 1875. For a time he was a student at Nazareth Hall and also carried on his studies in Granville Military Acad- emy, where he graduated in 1880, with the rank of second lieutenant of his company. July 16, 1880, he was appointed an assistant to the mining engineers' corps of the Delaware & Hudson Can- al Company, and through gradual promotions worked his way up to be mining engineer, in 1887. In 1895 he was appointed to his present position of division engineer, in charge of two corps, and with ten mines under his supervision.

The marriage of Mr. Scharar, which took place in Columbia, N. J., united him with Miss Eva, daughter of Henry Griffin, a contractor residing in that place and a member of an old eastern fam- ily. They and their son, Donald, reside at No. 639 East Market Street. While Mr. Scharar has never identified himself closely with politics, he is interested in local and national questions, and votes the Republican ticket. He and his wife attend services at the Green Ridge Presbyterian Church. . In November, 1896, the board of school control appointed him a member of that body from the first ward, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of George Mitchell.

G I EORGE W. OKELL. Like many of the men now prominent in business and pub- lic life of Lackawanna County, Mr. Okell began to earn his livelihood at a very early age by working as a slate picker. The fact that he has advanced to a position of influence in Scran- ton shows that he is a man of ability. For some years he has been chief detective for the Lacka- wanna Iron & Steel Company, and has filled this position so efficiently that his name has often been mentioned as candidate for sheriff of the county, his past experience having admirably qualified him for the duties of that office.

Of English descent, Mr. Okell is a member of one of the old families of Great Britain and traces his ancestry to Lord Okell. His father, George, was born near Bristol, and for a time resided in Wales and Scotland, being superintendent of rolling mills in the latter country. On coming to America he settled near Bridgeport, Conn., where he was employed in a rolling mill. At the time he came to Scranton, early in the '40s, the Lackawanna Iron & Coal Company had just been organized, and he at once secured work in the mill, teaching the men who came under him the process of roller heating. To-day men are working here who learned the trade under him. Some years ago he retired, and now, hale and vigorous at eighty-one years, he makes his home at Moscow. A Republican in politics, he was a popular stump speaker in campaigns and spoke for Fremont, Lincoln, and other presidential candidates, including Major Mckinley. Not- withstanding his prominence, he was never a candidate for office. Fraternally he is connected with Lackawanna Lodge of Odd Fellows and in religious belief is a Methodist.

The mother of our subject, Rosanna Williams, was born in Wales, and died in Moscow, in November, 1883. Of her nine children only four are living, namely: George W., the eldest of the family; John, general manager for Arbuckle in Brooklyn, N. Y .; Frank T., a lawyer in Scran- ton, and Mrs. Frank Hallstead. Our subject was born in Scranton November 27, 1845, and was reared in this city. When little more than seven years of age he began as a slate picker in the Dia- mond mines, and two years later was given work in the rolling mills, where he learned puddling, then rolling, then heating, under his father's su- pervision. In 1877 he was given his present posi- tion by the old company, having charge of their timber lands, which is equivalent to the position of chief detective. At his residence, corner of Taylor and Gibson, he erected a liberty pole, July 4, 1896, with a flag 10x22, and had a band here, for he is one of those genial, pleasant men, who believe in having a good time and in helping others to do the same.

In Scranton Mr. Okell married Miss Anna E. Sloat, who was born in Wayne County, Pa., her

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father, George H. Sloat, having removed there from Orange County, N. Y. Two children blessed their union, but both died when small. An enthusiastic Republican, Mr. Okell is a mem- ber of city and county committees, and a leader in his party. He is identified with the Sons of St. George, Knights of the Golden Eagle, Saenger- unde, Elm Park Methodist Episcopal Church; the Lady Washington Engine Company, and the Phoenix Hose Company, of which he has been president. In the organization of the Okell Rod and Gun Club of Scranton he took an active part and has been president from the first. There are twelve members, including Judge Gunster, ex- Mayor Fellows, Charles and Philip Robinson, Theodore Miller and Lawrence E. Schimpff. They own forty-five acres in Roaring Brook Township, where they have fishing pond and club house; also hunting grounds in Pike Coun- ty at Rock Hill. A fine shot and enthusiastic sportsman, Mr. Okell has many souvenirs of his hunts. He has shot many deer and one bear in Lackawanna County and two bears in Pike Coun- ty, and as a marksman can hold his own with the other members of the club.

C APT. WILLIAM T. SIMPSON. While there were thousands of brave men who fought beneath our country's colors dur- ing the Rebellion, there were few so young as the subject of this sketch and it is safe to say that there were none more brave. He was a youth of less than fourteen years when, in June, 1861, he was accepted as drummer boy for Company A, Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania Infantry, and at that time weighed only ninety-eight pounds and was four feet and eight inches in height. After two and one-half years he was made second mu- sician and in 1864 became first musician on the non-commissioned staff of the Twenty-eighth Regiment.

After the battle of Gettysburg the youthful sol- dier was transferred from the Army of the Po- tomac to the Western Army under General Hooker, and was present at the engagements of Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Ring- gold, the march of Sherman through Georgia,

then north through the Carolinas, the battles of Bentonville and Goldsboro, and the surrender of Richmond. On the memorable day of the grand review at Washington, he was in charge of a division drum corps. He was mustered out July 17, 1865, and discharged at Camp Cadwalla- der on the 26th of the same month. After a ser- vice of four years and nearly two months, he returned home, being then less than eighteen years of age. During all the period of service, he was never off duty nor away from his regi- ment.

The subject of this sketch is a native Pennsyl- vanian, born in Mauchchunk August 27, 1847. The family is of Puritan stock and its lineage is traced back to Jacob Simpson, who about 1700 occupied the old cedar cabin, still standing at Southold, L. I. The great-grandfather Simpson was a soldier in the Revolution. The grand- father, William T., who was born in Philadel- phia, was an expert bookkeeper and accountant, first in Pottsville, later in Mauchchunk. In 1862 he went to Washington, D. C., where he engaged in the mercantile business until after the war, and then returned to Mauchchunk. He died in Clin- ton County and was buried in Washington in the Congressional graveyard.

George W., father of our subject, was born in Philadelphia, and followed the carpenter's trade in Mauchchunk and Nanticoke. In 1861 he en- listed as lieutenant of Company I, Sixty-seventh Pennsylvania Infantry, and became its captain, being commissioned while in prison. At Win- chester, June 15, 1863, he was captured by the Rebels and sent to Libby prison, where he was confined eleven months. From there he was transferred to Macon, Ga. He was one of the fifteen hundred Union officers selected to be placed under fire of the Union guns at Charles- ton. After a short time in Columbia, S. C., he was sent to Wilmington to be exchanged, and finally secured freedom after an imprisonment of twenty-one months. He returned home March 12, 1865, after an honorable service in defense of his country. He has since been active in Grand Army circles.

The mother of our subject, Louisa Harris, was born near Kingston, Pa., a daughter of Abra-

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ham Harris, who was born near Philadelphia and engaged in the hotel business in Kingston and Mauchchunk. Later he settled at White Bear, near Summit Hill, Carbon County, and carried on a meat business, also built and con- ducted the Eagle Hotel. He died in Bethlehem, while engaged in business there. Our subject is the eldest of eleven children, of whom all but one attained maturity and eight are living. His grand- mother, Anna Maria (Horton) Simpson, was in the sanitary commission and her children often proudly said that she was the bravest soldier of them all. She rendered effective service from the beginning of the war until its close, after which she returned home and soon afterward died of intermittent fever. By special permis- sion her body was buried in the Congressional burial ground at Washington, D. C. Her daugh- ter, Amelia, was in the ordnance department, as also was a son, A. J. Two other sons saw ac- tive service, one, John T., as sergeant of Com- pany A, Sixth Pennsylvania Infantry, and later in the naval department; and another son, Wil- liam T., as a member of Company H, Eleventh Pennsylvania Infantry.

Born in Mauchchunk, August 27, 1847, the subject of this sketch attended school until the outbreak of the war, when he enlisted. There were no less than twenty of his cousins in the army, and he was inspired with a patriotic zeal that was so noticeable in the other relatives. On his return to Mauchchunk after the close of the war, he learned the carpenter's trade under his father, with whom he continued until detailed as a detective in the Molly Maguire raids. For ten years he was postal clerk on the New York and Elmira route of the Lehigh Valley road, but re- tired under the Cleveland administration in 1886. He then came to Scranton and engaged in the art business with W. W. Davenport for a year.

After one year as patrolman on the police force, Captain Simpson was made desk sergeant and served for three years, until February 1, 1891. He was then appointed chief of police by John H. Fellows and served until May 24, 1896, when he resigned to accept the position of warden of the county jail. The jail is a modern substantial building, covering a whole block, with walls thir-

ty feet deep, and now contains one hundred and thirty-eight prisoners. While chief he brought . the police force up to a standard not surpassed in the state, and also ferreted out some import- ant cases, among them the capture of the Italian shoplifters, a gang that had been in existence for two years, and the arrest of parties who had robbed many residences.

Politically Captain Simpson is a very strong friend of the Republican party. While in Carbon County he served as under sheriff. He is past commander of Chapman Post No. 61, G. A. R., at Mauchchunk, and is warmly interested in Grand Army affairs. In religious connections he is a member of Grace Reformed Church in Scranton. In Mauchchunk he married Miss E. M. Detterline, and they are the parents of four children: Mrs. Emma Armbrust, of Scranton; May; Robert, a clerk with the Blue Ridge Coal Company; and Edsall.

R OBERT ROBINSON, member of the select council and one of the prominent business men of Scranton, was born in this city, December 18, 1869. To the sketch of his brother, Philip, presented upon another page, the reader is referred for the family history. Edu- cated in the public schools, he has supplemented the information there obtained by reading not only the record of current events, but also the best thoughts of the greatest men of this and other ages. At the age of fourteen he secured a clerk- ship in the insurance office of C. G. Boland and afterward was a bookkeeper in the Merchants & Mechanics Bank for three years. The death of an uncle whose successor in business he became, was the cause of his first connection with the brewery that he now assists in managing.

The firm of M. Robinson & Co. are proprietors of a large brewery on the south side, situated on the corner of Cedar Avenue and Alder Street. In 1881 the plant was burned down, but was im- mediately rebuilt, with its present dimensions. Its products, including the special grades of Extra Bavaria and Budweiss, are sold throughout the northeastern part of Pennsylvania and the south- ern part of New York. The plant consists of a storage house, 50x100, four stories high; brew-

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ing house, 50x60, also four stories; engine room, 40×35, and two ice machines, of fifty and thirty- five tons respectively.

In his political views a pronounced supporter of the Democratic party, Mr. Robinson has al- ways taken an active interest in local matters. When just past twenty-one years of age, he was elected to the common council and during his term of two years served on various committees, proving a warm ally of muncipal improvements. The fact that his services were appreciated is proved by his re-election in 1893 for another term of two years. However, at the expiration of a year he resigned in order to accept the nomina- tion of select councilman, to which he was elected. Again, in 1896, he was elected to the position by a majority of three hundred and twenty-five. While he is the youngest member of the select council, he is one of the most progressive, ener- getic and able, and his services in the interest of the people are of such a nature as to entitle him to rank among the most public-spirited men of the city. Fraternally he is connected with Schil- ler Lodge No. 345, F. & A. M., the Royal Ar- canum, and Scranton Athletic Club, of which he has been the treasurer for some years.

R OBERT REAVES, of Scranton, was born in Carbondale, Pa., June 30, 1851, and is the son of P. A. and Mary (Love) Reaves. His father, who was born on the Mohawk River in New York, was a son of Peter Reaves, a na- tive of Ayrshire, Scotland, who came to America in young manhood, settled in New York and there engaged in farm pursuits until his death. By his marriage to Louise, sister of the late James Archbald, he had a son, P. A., who came to Car- bondale in youth and learned the machinist's trade in the Delaware & Hudson shops with Thomas, George and John Dickson. Afterward he was appointed master mechanic of the Penn- sylvania Coal Company with headquarters at Pittston. Then going west, he engaged in the construction of mining machinery in Omaha and different places. After some six years in the west he returned to Pennsylvania and accepted a posi- tion as master mechanic with the Delaware, Lack- awanna & Western in the mines south of Scran-

ton, establishing his headquarters in Kingston. He bears his seventy-six years lightly, and his hair, as yet untinged with gray, and his face, still free from lines of care, show few traces of time's harsh fingers.

The maternal grandfather of our subject, John Love, was born in Scotland and brought his fam- ily here at the same time with John Dickson. Settling in Carbondale, he became a pattern mak- er for the Delaware & Hudson Company and con- tinued in that position until his death. The pa- rents of our subject are consistent members of the Presbyterian Church. They have three sons and a

daughter: Robert; Louisa, of Kingston; George, a grocer of Providence, R. I., and James A., a prosperous druggist. From the age of three years our subject was reared in Pittston. In 1872 he became connected with the Delaware, Lacka- wanna & Western engineering corps as civil en- gineer, and was connected with the mining and transportation department until 1880, when he was appointed superintendent of ore mines at Brewster, N. Y. After two years he resigned and took the contract for the building of a portion of the Buffalo extension of the Delaware, Lacka- wanna & Western Railroad, which occupied about twenty months. On the completion of the contract, he took charge of the Lucas Coal Com- pany, of which he was one of the organizers, su- perintendent and a director, and had supervision .of the work of sinking the shaft and constructing the breaker, which was afterward sold to the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western and is now the Dickson mines.

About 1882 Mr. Judson resigned as superin- tendent of the gas and water company, and W. W. Scranton offered the position to Mr. Reaves, who accepted it and has since filled it with effici- ency. When the Scranton Electric Light & Heat Company was organized he was made superin- dent and constructed these works, which are the largest in the city and the third largest in the state. He has rebuilt the gas works and con- structed the reservoirs at Elmhurst. In 1892 he aided in organizing the Economy Heat, Light & Power Company, of which he is a director, and in 1896 was made its vice-president; on account of Judge Willard, the president, being on the bench,

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he served as acting president. He superintended the construction of the new plant in Cliff Street. One of the organizers and a director of the Po- cono Ice Company, on its consolidation with the Consumers' Ice Company, he became a director in the new organization. He was a charter mem- ber and the first secretary of the Pennsylvania Heat & Light Company of Philadelphia, which has absorbed and controls all other concerns of the kind in that city and is the largest in the Uni- ted States to-day, having a capital stock of $10,- 000,000; he is still one of its stockholders.

In Scranton, in 1882, Mr. Reaves married Miss Emma Lucas, daughter of Thomas Lucas, a mer- chant by occupation. She was educated in Port- land and in Lowell, Mass., and is the mother of a son, Robert, Jr., who resides with his parents in Platt Place. Upon the formation of Lackawanna County in 1877, he was appointed the first audi- tor by Governor Hartranft, but was not a candi- date for election to that position. Politically a Republican, he has served on the city committee. . He was one of the first members of the Scranton City Guard and of Company A, Thirteenth Regi- ment, N. G. P., and was honorably discharged at the expiration of his term. Fraternally he is connected with the Order of Elks.

G EORGE W. REYNOLDS. In the life of this successful business man of Car- bondale are illustrated the results of en- ergy and perseverance, coupled with executive ability and sound common sense. He is a citi- zen of whom any community might well be proud and the people of this place, fully appreciating his labors, accord him a place among the repre- sentative business men. He is the senior mem- ber of the firm of G. W. Reynolds & Son, deal- ers in dry goods, fancy groceries and provisions, at No. 30 Lincoln Avenue. Not only is he one of the most influential business men of Carbon- dale, but in point of years of continuous activ- ity he is the oldest merchant here, and during the long period of his connection with the com- mercial interests of the town he has deservedly won recognition for enterprise and sagacity.

A native and lifelong resident of Lackawanna County, Mr. Reynolds was born in Fell Town-

ship, January 30, 1837, and was the eldest of five children, the others being Otis, who was for many years the partner of George W., but is now deceased; Dorcas, who died at the age of twenty- five years; Catherine, wife of Solomon Bolton, a merchant of Carbondale; and Henry, who is employed on the Delaware & Hudson Railroad. The family was first represented in Lackawanna (then known as Luzerne) County by our subject's paternal grandfather, George Reynolds, a native of Rhode Island and an early settler of Fell Township, where he spent his closing years.

Henry G. G. Reynolds, our subject's father, was born in Rhode Island in 1807 and in child- hood came to Fell Township, where his boy- hood years were passed in manual labor, with- out any opportunity for an education. In spite of disadvantages, however, he became one of the prominent men of his locality and was frequently called upon to fill local offices. In advanced years he retired from the labors that had formerly en- grossed his attention, and lived in Carbondale until his death, October 14, 1874. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Louisa Burdick, was a native of Connecticut, but in girlhood re- moved to Susquehanna County, Pa., of which her parents were pioneers. At this writing she re- sides with our subject, and though eighty years of age is as active and energetic as many women of only half her age. In her long life, spent mostly in this region, she has witnessed many remark- able changes and in reflecting upon the advance- ment of Carbondale cannot but compare the present with the past. The clanking of machin- ery, the shrill whistle of the locomotive, the long trains of freight cars from all directions, the fine stores, schools, churches and residences, all pro- claim the community to be the abode of prosper- ity and plenty, and present a marked contrast to the condition a half century ago.

In boyhood the subject of this narrative alter- nated attendance at the district schools with work on the home farm, in which manner he be- came fitted, physically and mentally, for the re- sponsibilities of life. In 1860 he opened a dry- goods store in Carbondale and has been contin- uously in business since that date. Three times he was burned out and each time, Phoenix-like,

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a large business was built on the ashes of the one destroyed. While his losses have been heavy in these fires, he has always paid every cent of his indebtedness and has acted in an honorable and upright manner. In addition to this concern, he is interested as a stockholder in various other en- terprises. In religious belief he is identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he has been a trustee for many years. Politically he favors protection of American interests and sound money, and uniformly votes the Republi- can ticket. Fraternally he is a Mason and a Knight Templar.

January 14, 1863, G. W. Reynolds married Miss Nancy A. Avery, of Fell Township. They have three sons and one daughter, namely: A. W., a druggist in Carbondale; R. H., who is his father's partner in the mercantile business; Minnie N., and Morris Kimball.

Mr. Reynolds is a man whose life has been successful, but whose success has been achieved by energy, perseverance and shrewd business qualities. In his youth he was taught habits of self-reliance that have been of service to him in every subsequent step in life. He is known for his careful judgment as a business man; for the enterprise that has made him willing to under- take any venture that promised a successful ter- mination; and for the regard for fairness, hon- esty and integrity characteristic of him in every transaction.

W ILLIAM PENN MORGAN, superin- tendent of the coal department of the Lackawanna Iron & Steel Company and a popular citizen of Scranton, was born in Nesquehoning, Carbon County, Pa., November 22, 1853, and is a son of George G. and Eleanor (Thomas) Morgan, natives of South Wales. His father, who in boyhood was employed as a miner in his native place, came to America at the age of seventeen and was employed as a miner in Pennsylvania until his death. In 1860 he came to Scranton and was afterward connected with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Company in their mines. His wife died in this city.

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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 133

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