Portrait and biographical record of Wyoming and Lackawanna counties, Pennsylvania : containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, Part 26

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 26
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 26

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).

The eldest of the family, our subject, was born

in Carbondale, March 20, 1859, and in early childhood attended the common schools. How- ever, his advantages were few, as at the age of ten years he began to work, securing employ- ment as slate picker in a coal breaker. Later he became a miner and followed this occupa- tion for a number of years, making and saving money. It was not a congenial occupation and he finally decided to abandon it. He did so and rented the place in Fell Township that he now owns. After three years he bought the property and has since utilized its one hundred and sixty acres to such good advantage that he secures from it a good income. In 1892 he embarked in the ice business and has since established a good trade, putting up from twenty-five hun- dred to three thousand tons per annum.

The marriage of Mr. Flannelly united him with Miss Annie Howard, of Fell Township, and they are parents of a son, John. * While some- what independent in his political views, Mr. Flan- nelly inclines toward the principles of the De- mocracy. In religious belief he is a Catholic and is actively connected with the Catholic Knights. His accumulations are attributable to his energy and good judgment, and he and his brother are held in high esteem as reliable, trustworthy men.

P ATRICK McGARRY, a farmer of Fell Township, has lived in this county for forty-seven years and came from County Roscommon, Ireland. The exact date of his emi- gration is somewhat in doubt. He was born March 20, 1830, and in boyhood had very limited advantages; in fact, it may be truthfully said that his youth was barren of advantages. In the hard school of experience he learned many a lesson more valuable, perhaps, than those taught by text books, and his character was developed by the very obstacles he encountered. A voyage of three weeks on a sailing vessel brought him to New York City, where he secured employment as watchman for a ship company.

On coming to Carbondale, Mr. McGarry worked at peeling bark in a tannery, and as lie was industrious and thrifty, he saved the most of his earnings. With a homesick longing to see

248

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

old Ireland once more, he returned on a visit, Thomas Trott being captain of the boat that took him thither, and the ship was wrecked up the Thames. The visit was made, but the attractions of the Emerald Isle were not so great as he had anticipated. When the illusion of imagination was removed, he found that he had no desire to continue his residence there, so he willingly re- turned to liis adopted country, feeling it was the place for his permanent home. For a time lie engaged in mining, but subsequently bought a farm in Fell Township and here he has since re- sided, keeping just enough stock about him to serve his own needs, and passing his declining years in peace and comfort.

By his marriage to Mary Kennedy, a native of Ireland, Mr. McGarry has four children: Michael, who is with his father; Timothy and Patrick, of Carbondale; and Margaret, wife of H. J. Bren- nan. The home farm consists of one hundred and thirty-five acres and in addition to this, Mr. Mc- Garry owns seventy-eight acres in another place. Of independent views politically, he believes in the best men for places of trust, and uses his own judgment when he comes to exercise the right of suffrage, refusing to ally himself with any party. He has witnessed the growth of this part of the county and contributed his share toward putting in motion the series of events which have made this a goodly land. Justly he ranks high among the Irish-American farmers of the township.

J OHN SZLUPAS, M. D. In every line of activity Scranton has had its representatives. There is no city in the state that, in propor- tion to its population, has a larger number of talented, successful young men than it has, and among this class may be mentioned Dr. Szlupas, a practicing physician and surgeon, with office at No. 421 Penn Avenue, also a registered phar- racist and proprietor of a drug store opened by himself. While here he is known chiefly in a professional way, in other places he is perhaps better known as president of the Lithuanian Society of Science in the United States, he and his wife being at the head of that organization in America.

In the historic country of Lithuania, now a province of Russia, Dr. Szlupas was born in 1861, being a son of Rochus Szlupas, a farmer there. He was, in order of birth, the second among three sons, his brothers being Stanley and Rochus Szlupas, M. D., both of whom reside in Lithuania. John was educated in a German gymnasium and in the University of Moscow, where he studied natural science. Having heard much concerning the favorable opening offered by the United States, he resolved to seek a home here, and ac- cordingly, in 1884, crossed the ocean, landing in New York without means or friends. For one season he worked for a farmer in Orange County, after which, having become acquainted with the customs of the people and their methods of con- ducting business, he was able to cope with others in the field of intellect and thought. Going to New York, he began the publication of "The Balsas," which he continued until 1889 and which was given a warm welcome by the people of his native land in this country. In 1889 he entered the medical department of the University of Maryland at Baltimore, from which he gradu- ated tvo years later, with the degree of M. D.

After practicing his profession in Baltimore for a year and taking a post-graduate course, in 1892 the Doctor opened an office in Shenandoah, Pa., but after two years came to Scranton, where he has since carried on a general practice, making, however, a specialty of gynecology. In 1893-94 he was a student in the medical department of the Western University of Pennsylvania, where he perfected himself in the study of gynecology, thus preparing himself for the successful treat- ment of the most intricate cases. As a physician he is accurate, painstaking and skillful, and his thorough theoretical knowledge of the science has fitted him for success in its practice.

Not alone as a physician is Dr. Szlupas worthy of mention. He is a man of intellectual acumen, with broad classical learning, and has both writ- ten and lectured extensively in his own language. He has been interested in the publication of "Nauja Gadyne" ("New Era"), devoted to the dis- cussion of political, scientific and economic ques- tions. This paper has been published in Shenan- doah, with the exception of two years, 1894-96,

249

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

when the office was in Scranton. In addition to it, he has written for the "Truth Seeker" of New York, for various newspapers and for scientific and medical journals, and is the author of a nuin- ber of political and religious works. Especially has he been interested in promoting the welfare of the working classes, and there is no subject upon which his utterances are more eloquent or his pen more facile, than upon this. Among the people of his own nationality he is very influen- tial, and at this writing holds the position of presi- dent of the Lithuanian Society of Science in the United States.

In New York Dr. Szlupas married Miss Louisa Malinowski, who was born in Lithuania, re- ceived a classical education in Baltimore, gradu- ated from the Woman's Medical College of that city, and is a highly accomplished lady, having written novels and poems and delivered many public lectures in the Lithuanian language. Three children, Aldona, Kynstutis and Hypatia, complete the family circle, and reside with their parents at No. 917 Capouse Avenue.

L AWRENCE HALKYER. Every year numbers of foreigners come from Euro- pean countries to make for themselves homes in the United States and here pursue the occupations they learned in their native land. Of our foreign-born citizens, none have proved themselves more worthy of American citizenship than the Dane, honest, thrifty and energetic. To this class belongs the subject of our sketch, who is a successful market gardener and stockraiser residing in the northeastern part of Greenfield Township. At present he resides on a rented farm, the lease for which has not expired, but it is his intention to shortly remove to an adjoin- ing place, which he has purchased and now rents to other parties.

Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, February 23, 1842, Mr. Halkyer grew to manhood in his na- tive city and gained a fair education there. Com- ing to the United States in 1873, he settled in this county and worked in the employ of J. Riden- burg, but made his home at Dundaff, Susquehan- na County, just over the line. About 1884 he

began to work for himself, turning his attention to market gardening, with which he was familiar and in which previous experience has enabled him to make a success. Saving his money, lie bought a place and is now in a position where he may enjoy life, without fear of future poverty. His prosperity is due to his own energetic efforts, though he was assisted somewhat by his share of the estate in Denmark, which, on his father's death in 1854, was sold for $14,000.

By his marriage to Maria M. Carlson, Mr. Halkyer has nine children, namely: Christian L., who died at the age of thirteen and one-half years; John, residing in Carbondale; Fred, deceased; Carl, Harry, Martha Louise, Owen, Frederick and Lois, who have been given excellent ad- vantages and are well informed and intelligent. Mr. Halkyer is connected with the Farmers Alli- ance and takes an interest in everything pertain- ing to his occupation. As a market gardener his specialtv is the raising of cabbage, in which he has been very successful; as a stockraiser, he is especially interested in horses and pigs, and also has met with success in the raising of poul- try. In the old country he was identified with the Lutheran Church, but there is no church of that denomination here, so he is deprived of the religious privileges he prefers. Politically he favors Republican principles. As a citizen he is law-abiding, sober and industrious, attending strictly to his own affairs, and since coming here has been regarded as one of the best Danish-born citizens of the county.

W ILLIAM J. McDONOUGH, Jr., owner and manager of the Crystal Lake Ice Company and one of the influential young business men of Carbondale, was born in this city October 28, 1870, a son of William J. and Ann McDonough. Reared to manhood in this place, he had but very meagre opportunities for acquiring an education, for he was obliged to begin work in boyhood and the stern necessity of supporting himself precluded either the advant- ages or the enjoyments that fall to the lot of most boys.

In youth Mr. McDonough learned the trade of

250

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

a carpenter, and this he followed for twelve years, being for three years of that time in the employ of others, after which he took contracts for himself. Active and industrious, people soon learned that his work was to be relied upon and that he was scrupulously honest in every transaction. Mean- time, while working in this way, he devoted his evenings to study in night schools and to the reading of good literature that would develop his mental faculties. Observation and experi- ence also added to his fund of knowledge, so that to-day he is a well informed man, not only in business affairs, but in topics of current interest.

The Crystal Lake Ice Company had been es- tablished some years when Mr. McDonough purchased the plant in 1891. He has since in- creased the output from one thousand to five thousand tons per annum, and carries on a large trade, both wholesale and retail. The business is on a solid financial footing, and employment is furnished to a number of men. Whatever suc- cess the future years may bring to Mr. Mc- Donough, certainly they will be merited, for he has been a hard-working man, honest and en- terprising. From the days when he picked slate in the coal breaker and drove a mule in the mines, to the present time, when he is the head of an important business, he has been persever- ing and determined in his efforts, never allowing trouble or obstacles to discourage him.

G I EORGE A. HERBERT, secretary of the Electric Light, Heat & Power Com- pany of Carbondale, was born in this city November 2, 1849. He is a son of Joseph W. Herbert, who came to America from Wales in 1848 and followed the occupation of a miner in Carbondale for some time. Born in 1824, he is now seventy-two years of age. His first wife was Elizabeth Tovey, a native of England, who accompanied him to the United States and died in Carbondale in 1861, at the age of forty years. She was the mother of four sons and one daugh- ter, all of whom are living. They are John, a resident of Chicago, Ill .; George A., and Joseph E., of Carbondale; James T., whose home is in St. Louis, Mo .; and Sarah, the wife of P. J. Devers, of this state.

When a boy, our subject gained his education in the public schools and assisted his father in his business for several years, afterward spending some years in the mines. His first steady posi- tion was in 1869, when he became clerk in a general store. He thus became familiar with the best methods of conducting business, and in 1873 commenced for himself, entering into part- nership with Irving Davis and conducting a gen- eral store in Main Street, Carbondale. In 1884, owing to sickness, he severed connections with the store and did not again engage in business. In 1894 he was chosen secretary of the Electric Light, Heat & Power Company, which position he still holds.

In 1896 Mr. Herbert married Mrs. Rose (Trol- lis) Rosser, widow of William Rosser, of this city. Politically he is a Republican, but believes in voting for the man best suited to the office. For two years he has served as a member of the city council.

H EINRICH L. C. VON STORCH. Con- siderable interest attaches to the history of the early settlement of Lackawanna County and to the record of the lives of the pioneers. The thrilling scenes through which they passed in the settlement of this portion of the state must ever awaken emotions of the warmest regard for them. To pave the way for those who followed, they stemmed the flood-tide of civilization, and to their descendants they left a heritage whose real value can scarcely be esti- mated.

"Life with them is o'er, their labors all are done, And others reap the harvest that they won."

Among the most prominent of the pioneers of Scranton was Heinrich Ludvig Christopher von Storch, the founder of the family in America. He witnessed many remarkable changes after his arrival in this state. Then, even the primitive stage coach had not come into common use, and the traveler was obliged to pursue his way either horseback or on foot over prairies and through forests, where now rushes the locomotive on its iron rails through populous cities. From the be-

25I

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ginning he identified himself with the interests of the county, feeling that his personal welfare must, as a matter of course, be intimately connected with the interests of his community, and he aided by every means in his power the progress of the people.

The father of our subject, Dr. Christian Theo- docius von Storch, pastor at Lohman, Mechlen- burg, was a son of Dr. John Gustav von Storch, grand duke of Mechlenburg-Schwerin, and coun- cillor and burgomaster of Guestrow, the largest city of Mechlenburg. They were descended from Jan Persson von Storch, a native of Sweden, who was knighted and made a nobleman for services in driving the Danes out of Sweden, having de- feated them at different places. Afterward he was given a castle at Salis, Germany, where he established the von Storch family.

Records as to the birth and emigration to America of Heinrich von Storch conflict some- what. We have it that he was born May 16, 1772, and came to America in 1790, but a paper written probably by himself or G. N. Lutyen, with whom he crossed the ocean, was discovered re- cently, yellow by age, and it contains the follow- ing: "Henry Ludvig Christopher von Storch was born in Lohman, Mechlenburg-Schwerin, April 29, 1770. He resided at home until his father died in 1784. Then he resided with an uncle for one year, then to Hamburg, where he remained one year and four months, then be- came a clerk in the store of Anton Weaver of Atona for eight years, when he went back to his native place and bid his relatives a long adieu, and set sail for America in the year One Thou- sand Seven Hundred and Ninety-four, with the family of G. N. Lutyen." It may be accepted as very probable that the dates contained in the paper are correct.

Landing in Philadelphia, Messrs. von Storch and Lutyen engaged in the fur trade there, and got together a shipload of furs, which they con- signed to Europe. The cargo, in which they had invested their all, was never afterward heard of, so that they found themselves short of cash to con- tinue business in that line. They then came to Lackawanna County and settled at Blakely, but after a year Mr. von Storch went to Philadelphia,

where, being able to converse in both the English and German languages, he secured an excellent clerkship However, he returned to Lackawanna and located three hundred acres of land here, comprising the old von Storch farm in Provi- dence. In clearing the place he injured his back, so that manual labor was temporarily impossible. He then returned to Philadelphia, where he clerked in a wholesale store, and at the end of his time they insisted upon him remaining, doubling his salary as an incentive. At the close of the second engagement he started back to Lacka- wanna Valley, taking a pack of goods which he sold on the way, closing them out before he reached Scranton. He reached the city just in time to save the title to his land, which he had to buy in again. The date of his permanent location on the farm was about 1809, as we learn from his. only surviving son, William.

When he bought the land, Mr. von Storch was aware that it contained deposits of coal, for he had seen it cropping out on the banks of the Lackawanna River. He was familiar with stone coal (as it was called) and knew how to burn it. Subsequently he mined the first coal ever taken out here. He was also the first to burn coal in the valley, and it is said that his neighbors were so skeptical regarding it that they were afraid to sit near his grate fire. At one time he took coal on horseback, in a bag, to Philadelphia, and by showing people there how to burn it tried to cre- ate an interest in it, but other fuel was so plentiful that he had little success. In addition to improv- ing the farm, he sold goods, first on foot, then horseback. He built his first dwelling, a log house, at a site that is now the southeast side of North Main Avenue. When the country was bet- ter settled he built a frame store by the side of his log house, and carried on a general trade, this being probably the first store in Providence. There he did business and cultivated his farm until his death, April 10, 1826. The gravestone, which marks his resting place in the von Storch burying ground, states that he was fifty-five years, cleven months and eleven days old.

March 3, 1810, Mr. von Storch married Han- nah Scarle, who was born near Stonington, Conn., July 9, 1782. Her father, who was Wil-

252

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

liam Searle, and her mother, who had been a Miss Hewitt, moved from Connecticut to the Wyoming Valley at Wilkesbarre, before the In- dian war. On the outbreak of the Indian troubles they fled back to Connecticut and lived there a few years until peace was restored, when they again went to Wilkesbarre. They traveled by ox team, the trip requiring six weeks. The first time they came to Pennsylvania Hannah was an infant, and at the time of their second removal she was nine years old. Educated by her parents, she became a very intellectual woman, and after the death of her husband she, with her oldest son, carried on the business. In legal matters she was well informed, and drew up many deeds for early settlers. She was also well posted in local history and imparted to his- torians much valuable information, for which she never received due acknowledgment. She died May 14, 1862, aged seventy-nine years, ten months and five days. She had a brother, Judge Corrington Searle, a civil engineer and surveyor, who surveyed the state of Ohio into counties and townships, and later in life was chief justice of the supreme court of Ohio; he resided at Zanes- ville, that state.

Mr. and Mrs. von Storch had seven sons and one daughter, but the latter died young. Of the sons we note the following: Ferdinand died November 2, 1868; Theodore died May 30, 1886; Leopold passed away in Lackawanna County November 4, 1882; Ludvig died, child- less, April 12, 1886; William is the only surviving member of the family; Godfrey died in Scranton December 3, 1887; Justus died here October 28, 1890.

S AMUEL SYKES. Throughout the most of the period from 1861 until his death, September 5, 1894, Mr. Sykes was identi- fied with the history of Scranton as one of its pro- gressive business men. In all his enterprises he displayed an industry, as well as an understand- ing of the future of the place, that made him a strong and prominent factor in the welfare of the locality, and his faith in the future of his city and county enabled him to aid much in their de-

velopment. His standing as a business man was always of a high order. Indeed from conversa- tions with the people among whom he resided sc long, the evidence is strong that he commanded in a degree second to none the confidence and respect of the entire people. His record was one upon which no shadow of a stain ever fell.

Marley, Yorkshire, England, was the place of the birth of Samuel Sykes, and August 30, 1846, the date thereof. He was next to the eldest of nine children in the family of Joseph and Pris- cilla (Kidd) Sykes, and was reared and educated in England, where in youth he was employed in woolen mills. At the age of eighteen he came to America, and at first followed the mason's trade in Philadelphia. In 1861 he came to Scran- ton and acted as foreman for his brother in the building of St. Luke's Episcopal Church and a number of residences. Later he was foreman for J. H. Hawk, of Danville, Montour County. Returning to Scranton in 1874, he began as a contractor, having a shop at the entrance of For- est Hill. After ten years or more he formed a partnership with Patrick Muldoon under the firm name of Sykes & Muldoon, carrying on business in the same place, but on a larger scale than before. A specialty was made of flagging and cut stone, the firm furnishing the stone for some of the most substantial buildings in the city. The connection was dissolved in 1886, after which he continued alone until 1893, and then his two sons, John Kidd and Harry R., were taken into partnership, the title becoming S. Sykes & Sons and continuing so until the death of the senior member. He started a stone yard in North Washington Avenue, where he sup- plied the trade and filled contracts for all kinds of stone.

The death of Mr. Sykes was widely mourned .. By business men it was regarded as a common loss, for he had ever been active in promoting the commercial interests of the place. Citizens of every class united in bearing testimony to his worth. He had been prominent in Union Lodge and was buried, in Forest Hill cemetery, with Masonic honors. Death came to him in the prime of manhood, at a time when, having ac- cumulated a competency, he might have antici-

29.13 Elevens

255

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

pated many years of quiet enjoyment, free from the fatiguing cares of business. For some years he had been a vestryman in the Church of the Good Shepherd, and his hand was ever ready to aid religious enterprises. Fraternally he was identified with the Masons, Foresters and Sons of St. George.

The marriage of Mr. Sykes to Miss Josephine Hirschman was solemnized in St. Luke's Church, Scranton, March 25, 1869. Mrs. Sykes and Mrs. Benjamin Lewis were the only children of John and Amy (Dailey) Hirschman, natives respect- ively of Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany, and Connecticut. Mr. Hirschman, on coming to the United States, was employed at Blairstown, N. J., by the Iron & Steel Company, and later was with them at Scranton, then worked in the Carey Company mines until he retired. He died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Sykes, at the age of ninety-two years. His wife, who died years ago, was a daughter of Dr. Nathaniel Dailey, a native of Connecticut and an early settler of Lackawan- na County, where he was a well known ecleetic doctor. Mrs. Sykes was born in Hyde Park and received a good education here. She was the confidant of her husband in all his enterprises and since his demise has, with the co-operation of her sons, continued the business successfully. A lady of genial, pleasant disposition, she has a warm place in the esteem of her many friends.

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 26

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