Portrait and biographical record of Wyoming and Lackawanna counties, Pennsylvania : containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, Part 30

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 30
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 30

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Mr. Mitchell has always been pleased to help on public improvements. In religious belief he is a Presbyterian, politically he votes the Repub- lican ticket, but does not confine himself to it when he considers the opposing candidate the best man for the public interest; and in fraternal relations he is identified with the Masons.

T HOMAS T. MORGAN, who served the fifteenth ward of Scranton as alderman for sixteen years, was born in Ton-y-Ravil, on the Taf River, Glamorganshire, Wales, in 1835. He is a son of Thomas, whose father,

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William Morgan, was a lifelong resident of his native shire, Glamorgan, where he died at eighty- six years. The former learned the shoemaker's trade in Wales and in 1865 came to America, settling in Hyde Park, Scranton, where he died at the age of eighty-five. He chose as his wife Miss Janet Williams, a native of Ton-y-Ravil, Glamorganshire, and the daughter of Isaac Wil- liams, who spent his life in farming pursuits and died at eighty-two years. Mrs. Janet Morgan died in Wales, having been the mother of three children, of whom Thomas T. is the only sur- vivor and the only one who came to the United States.

Reared in Wales, the subject of this sketch learned the shoemaker's trade under the super- vision of his father. In 1862 he went to Liver- pool and took passage on the sailer, "Harvest Queen," which cast anchor in New York City after a voyage of five weeks. He proceeded at once to Scranton and for six months worked at his trade, after which he was employed in the coal mines of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Company, and became a practical miner. In 1879 he was appointed alderman from the fif- teenth ward to fill a vacancy in that office and was commissioned by Governor Hoyt. The fol- lowing year he was elected on the Republican ticket to the same office and was commissioned by the sanie governor. In 1875 he was re-elected and commissioned by Governor Pattison. Five years later he was again elected and was com- missioned by Governor Beaver. In May, 1895, after sixteen years of service, he retired from the office, but still continues as notary and convey- ancer, in connection with the life insurance busi- ness. Since 1895 he has been tax collector.

In Scranton Mr. Morgan married Miss Caro- line Gore, daughter of Thomas Gore, both na- tives of Radnorshire, Wales. Her father, who was a son of Henry Gore, a farmer, came to this country in 1861 and later brought his family to Scranton, where he was employed as a miner until his death. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan, with their two children, Mary and Morbydd, reside at No. 506 South Main Avenue. In former years our subject was connected with the Ivorites. He is in sympathy with Republican principles and

has served on city and county committees. In the labor reform movement in this state he has taken an active part and has served on the state and other committees. In 1872 he was elected a delegate to the convention of the Labor Reform party, when David Davis, of Illinois, was nomi- nated for president, and Joel Parker, of New Jersey, for vice-president.

D WIGHT MILLS. In the suburbs of the city of Carbondale, on a hill overlooking the place and commanding a splendid view, stands the pleasant home of Dwight Mills, a well known resident of Fell Township and a suc- cessful farmer and dairyman. Mr. Mills is a mem- ber of one of the oldest families of the county and was born July 13, 1839, in what is now Fell Township, then a part of Carbondale. His par- ents, Theodore and Maria (Smith) Mills, spent their entire lives in this locality, and died at the respective ages of sixty-seven and eighty. Of their seven children four are living, namely: John Edwards, a farmer living near Crystal Lake in this township; Dwight; Mary E., who lives in Elmira, N. Y .; and Maria, a resident of Vanetten, N. Y.

In boyhood our subject attended the district schools as he had opportunity and also spent one term in the Carbondale schools. Though not a graduate, yet he is well educated, mainly by self- instruction, and is well read in general literature and political economy. From a very early age he began to assist in the cultivation of the home farm, and on the death of his father he succeeded to the management of the estate. He has never been away from home for any extended period except the nine months he spent in the army. In 1862 he enlisted as a member of Company H, One Hundred and Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania Infantry, and went to the front, but unfortunately was taken ill and obliged to remain in a hospital for three months. On the expiration of his term of enlistment he returned home and resumed the peaceful avocations of life.

The Mills family is one of the best know11 in this township. The first of the name here was our subject's grandfather, Jolin Mills, who came to

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the county in an early day and settled in the midst of the forest, clearing and improving a valuable farm. Agriculture has been the prin- cipal occupation of the family and in it they have gained a competency. Since boyhood our sub- ject has watched with interest the development of this locality and especially the growth of Car- bondale, which he has seen increase in popula- tion until it is now an important city. Like all old soldiers, he is a warm friend of the Grand Army and interested in its work. Politically he is a Republican.

By his marriage to Helen Fuder, of Carbon- dale, Mr. Mills had three children, of whom Mary is the only one now living. After the death of his first wife, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary C. Smith, who was born in York state. They are the parents of three children, Leonard Dwight, Grace and Lois.

S PRUKS BROTHERS. This firm, which is composed of Thomas H., Henry J., and Stephen S. Spruks, ranks among the lead- ing business concerns of Scranton, the members being successful contractors and dealers in lum- ber and building material, with office at No. 519 Alder Street. During the time in which they have been engaged in business they have estab- lished a reputation as honest and honorable busi- ness men and have built up a large trade in their special line.

The father of our subjects, John Spruks, was born in Paderborn, Westphalia, Germany, and was a son of John, Sr., a native of the same prov- ince, and a builder and lumberman by occupa- tion. The latter brought his family to America and spent some time in New York and Pennsyl- vania, but afterward removed to the vicinity of St. Louis, Mo., where he died. John, Jr., learned the carpenter's trade in Germany and in early manhood came to America, settling on Staten Island, where he married. Later he bought a farm at Beach Lake, Wayne County, Pa., but after cultivating it some years, he retired from active work and removed to Honesdale, where he still resides. At this writing he is quite rugged and hearty, though now seventy-four years of

age. His wife, Hannah Fenner, was born in Beidefeld, Westphalia, Germany, whence she ac- companied her father to America and settled in Stroudsburg, Pa. They were the parents of ten children: Thomas H., member of the firm of Spruks Brothers; Mrs. Josephine Huber, of Wayne County; John A., a merchant in Hones- dale; David, a wholesale merchant of Scranton; Henry J. and Stephen S., belonging to the firm of Spruks Brothers; Mrs. Anna Huber, of Wayne County; Bertha, wife of Charles Mueller, of Brooklyn; Charles, who is bookkeeper for his brothers; and Dena, who died when less than six years of age.

Henry J. Spruks was born at Beach Lake, near Honesdale, Pa., November 21, 1862, and was reared on a farm. January 9, 1884, he came to Scranton and for six months drove a team for the Lackawanna Iron & Coal Company. Later he learned the carpenter's trade with his brother, Thomas, then in business here. After continuing in that way for two years the firm of Spruks Brothers was organized and at the same time they started the lumber business in connec- tion with contracting. They occupy a quarter of a block in Alder Street, between Prospect and Pittston Avenues, where they have a lumber yard. They also have two blocks on the main line of the Erie Railroad, where they have sheds and conduct a retail coal business, the latter being under the firm name of Spruks & Gibbons. They prepare plans and specifications and contract for all kinds of buildings, having built up the greater portion of this locality. Besides a large number of the best residences of the city, they built two schoolhouses, Nos. 22 and 37, the Scranton axle factory, the Lutheran and Polish churches, and other buildings. They are interested in the Scranton axle works, Stephen S. being a director in the company. They are also interested in the Alleghany Lumber Company, operating in North Carolina. Henry is the largest stockholder in the Eureka Lumber Company, of Washington, N. C., which manufactures yellow pine and cypress lumber. He was married in Scranton to Miss Lena Baumeister, who was born here and is a daughter of Joseph Baumeister, an employe of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western road

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in this city. They are the parents of two chil- dren, Hazcl and Charles. Henry is a trustee in the Athletic Society, president of the Royal Ar- canum, member of the Patriotic Order Sons of America, and of Hose Company No. 10, in which he has been foreman and treasurer. Po- litically he is a Democrat, and in religious mat- ters belongs to the Presbyterian Church.

Stephen S. Spruks was born at Beach Lake, February 8, 1865, and was reared on his father's farm, attending the neighboring schools. He re- mained at home until seventeen, after which he clerked for the firm of Spruks Brothers, grocers at Honesdale. The business was sold out in 1885 and he then came to Scranton, where he became a partner of his brothers Thomas and Henry. Hc was one of the organizers of the Scranton axle works and is a director of the company, which employs one hundred hands. In the old Scranton Lumber Company he served as president until the concern was consolidated with the Alleghany Lumber Company, since which time he has been a director. He assisted in organizing the Eureka Lumber Company and is one of its directors. In this city he married Louise Miller, daughter of Michael Miller, an undertaker of Scranton. In 1890 he was elected county auditor on the Democratic ticket and three years later was re-elected for another term. He is a member of the city Democratic com- mittee, formerly belonged to the county commit- tee, and twice served as a dclegate to state con- ventions of the Democratic party. He is identi- fied with the Athletic Association, the Saenger- bunde, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Patriotic Order Sons of America, and Cen- tury Hose Company No. 10, of which he has been president since its organization.

E DWIN G. SMITH, Civil and Mining En- gineer for the firm of Bartl & Smith, Scranton, was born in Norwich, Chenango County, N. Y., December 17, 1863, and is a son of Charles V. and Elizabeth (Bliven) Smith, na- tives respectively of Rhode Island and Connecti- cut. His father, who was a son of a farmer ot Rhode Island, went to New York City in carly

manhood and engaged in milling and later was at the old Beaver mill in Williamsport, Pa. After- ward for a few years he was engaged in business in North Carolina, but finally returned north and now resides in Scranton. During the Civil War he was corporal of Company F, Twenty-second New York Infantry. He was the only son in his father's family and has not a relative in the world by the name of Smith, aside from his son, our subject.

The maternal grandfather of our subject, Wil- liam D. Bliven, was born in Hartford, Conn., wlicre he was a millwright and miller. From that place he moved, by wagon, with his family to Chenango County, N. Y., where he owned and operated five mills on Yorktown Creck. Though now advanced in years, he still attends to his business affairs and superintends his large farm. He is onc of the oldest surviving settlers of Che- nango County, of which he was at one time super- visor and in which he has long been prominent. In religion he is identified with the Free Will Baptists.

In the family of Charles V. Smith there were six sons, but most of them died in childhood and Edwin G., the eldest, is the only survivor. He attended the public and high schools of Norwich, and the high school at Scranton, to which place he came with his parents in 1878. In 1880 he entered the engineer's department of the Dela- ware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, working under Chief Engineer John F. Snyder until 1890. In the mean time, through private instruction un- der Prof. J. F. Hawker, he gained a thorough knowledge of mathematics and civil engineering. It is worthy of note that his present partner, E. A. Bartl, entered the employ of the Delaware, Lack- awanna & Western in 1881, and the two gentlc- men have been together cvcr since.

In 1890 Mr. Smith went to the Pittsburg min- ing regions at Irwin, Pa., as mining engineer for the Westmoreland Coal Company. He also had charge of the mines of the Manor Gas Coal Com- pany. While there he opened up two of the com- pany's new mines. In 1894, on account of his wife's ill health, he resigned his position and re- turned to Scranton. Herc he formed a partner- ship with Edmund A. Bartl, locating at No. 404

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Lackawanna Avenue and actively entering upon his work as civil and mining engineer. Some of his contracts have been large and important, in- cluding railroads, sewers and water works, and seven skilled men are employed as assistants.

In Scranton Mr. Smith married Miss Mary C. Green, who was born in Columbia, N. J., daugh- ter of James F. Green, now superintendent of the Continental mines for the Delaware, Lack- awanna & Western Railroad. She is a member of a family that was identified with the history of New Jersey for many generations, her great- grandfather having settled and entered land in Warren County. Of her marriage a son was born, Roland Green Smith. Fraternally Mr. Smith is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Royal Arcanum, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and Society of Mining Engineers, and in politics he votes the Republican ticket. For three years he served in the old Columbia Fire Com- pany, of which he was financial secretary. Prior to his removal to western Pennsylvania he was for three years a member of Company C, Thir- teenth Regiment, Pennsylvania National Guard.

U LYSSES S. WONNACOTT is senior member of the firm of Wonnacott & Peck, proprietors of the steam laundry at No. 20 Salem Avenue, Carbondale. Notwithstanding the fact that he started in business here during the financial depression and has suffered some- what from the hard times that ensued, he has nevertheless built up a good trade among the people of the city and has doubled the original amount of business. He has succeeded in grasp- ing every detail connected with its management and has increased the patronage to such an ex- tent that eleven girls and four men are now em- ployed.

The father of our subject, Daniel Wonnacott, was born in England, emigrated thence to Amer- ica at the age of thirteen years, and for more than forty years has been a trusted employe of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad Company, his res- idence at present being in Waymart, Pa. By his union with Minerva Jane Bunnell, a native of Pennsylvania, he became the father of eight chil-

dren, of whom six are living, namely: Eugene A., baggage master on the Delaware & Hudson Railroad; Zegonia, living in Waymart; Emma, wife of D. B. Robbins, of Carbondale; Ulysses S .; Minnie, Mrs. B. M. Peck, of this city; and Oscar, who works for his brother in the laundry.

Born in Waymart, January 25, 1868, the sub- ject of this sketch was given a good opportunity for acquiring an education in the excellent schools of his native place. When a boy he was employed in carrying water for a gang of men on the railroad and in this way earned his first money. The most of the time between the ages of thirteen and nineteen he was employed on the Gravity branch of the Delaware & Hudson Rail- road, and during this period attended school whenever possible. Going to Avoca, he was em- ployed as clerk for the Florence Coal Company about two years, and then went to Troy, N. Y., where he clerked for Jones Brothers' Tea Com- pany a year. On coming to Carbondale, he was employed in the store of Byron Clark. Through his experience in different lines of business and under different circumstances, he became familiar with human nature, of which he is a good judge, and also became an expert in bookkeeping and clerical work. He then bought an interest in the steam laundry with which he is now connected.

Politically Mr. Wonnacott has always advo- cated Republican principles and never fails to up- hold its doctrines by his ballot and influence. His marriage, in 1895, united him with Miss Jennie Aunger, of this city, and they, with their daughter Dorothy, have a comfortable home at No. 52 Wyoming Street.

F REDERICK G. KRUEGERMANN, su- perintendent of the Scranton Iron Fence & Manufacturing Company, was born in Berlin, Prussia, April 7, 1862, and is a son of Frederick and Minnie (Schreib) Kruegermann, natives respectively of Magdeburg and Oeden- burg, Germany. His father, who worked upon a farm in boyhood, was in early life apprenticed to the locksmith's trade and afterward removed from Magdeburg to Berlin, where he manufac- tured all kinds of iron work for twenty years. He

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then came to America and settled in Bethlehem, Pa., where he engaged in the manufacture of ornamental iron work. His wife died in 1869, and of their three children two are living, Fred- erick G. and Antonia, Mrs. E. G. Keuhling, of South Bethlehem.

Educated in public and private schools of Ber- lin, the subject of this sketch began an apprentice- ship, at the age of fourteen, to the locksmith's trade in an establishment for the manufacture of general iron work in Berlin. There he remained for four years. Afterward, as a journeyman, he traveled through Hanover, Rhine Province, Oed- enburg, Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and other provinces, becoming a practical machinist through long experience. In the spring of 1882 he went to Glasgow, Scotland, where he was employed for two years in the ship yards. Thence going to Ire- land, he took passage soon afterward for Amer- ica and on landing in New York went at once to Allentown, Pa. His first position was in the Bethlehem Iron Works under John Foitz, in the machine shop, where he remained until De- cember, 1884.

Coming at that time to Scranton, Mr. Krueger- mann was for two months employed as machinist in the Cliff works of the Dickson Manufacturing Company. In the spring of 1885 he started in the general iron and ornamental fence business in Franklin Avenue, and the following year lo- cated in Washington Avenue, where he built his works. The business was incorporated, in July, 1892, as the Scranton Iron Fence & Manufac- turing Company, in which he has since been a stockholder and the general superintendent. At the same time the location was changed to Lack- awanna Avenue and Mattes Street. After one year the present location was secured, Nos. 1335- 37 Capouse Avenue, where the company has a shop, 50X121, with a wing 30x60, and boiler and engine house adjoining. From forty to fifty hands are usually employed. Fancy iron work, railings, grille work of every description, and wire screens of all kinds are manufactured here, and the business is upon a solid financial basis.

In this city Mr. Kruegermann married Miss Mary Maus, a native of Schuylkill County, and a daughter of Jacob Maus, who was born in

Oedenburg, Germany, emigrated thence to Penn- sylvania and was engaged for some years as a hotel keeper in Scranton. One child, Emma, blesses the union. The family residence is at No. 1366 Washington Avenue. For four years Mr. Kruegermann was a member of Company D, Thirteenth Regiment, P. N. G., and is now an honorary member of the General Phinney En- gine Company No. 4, also belongs to the Order of Heptasophs. As a Republican, he has frequent- ly served on county and city committees, and has been delegate to conventions of the party. Among the contracts which he has had may be mentioned those for the iron work on the post- office building, Lackawanna County jail, T. H. Watkin's fence, the Dunmore cemetery, where six thousand feet of fencing are used; Delaware & Hudson depot, a very important contract ; Washburn cemetery, the German Catholic ceme- teries at Petersburg and Dunmore, schoolhouses Nos. 27, 19, 36 and 37, Con Schroeder's residence, the Moses Taylor Hospital, Lackawanna Hos- pital, and the residences of Victor Koch, William Connell and William T. Smith.

O HRISTIAN STORR. The business in- terests of Scranton have a representative in the subject of this sketch, who is a suc- cessful furniture dealer and one of the foremost citizens of the place. He has his place of busi- ness at No. 615 Cedar Avenue, in a building erected by himself many years ago. His biogra- phy, which we now review, affords an illustra- tion of the fact that industry and perseverance almost invariably bring their possessor material success, although he may begin in business without friends or capital.

Born in Sensweiler, Rhine Province, Prussia, in April, 1841, our subject is a member of one of the old families of that locality. His great-grand- father, Christian Storr, who was a miller, had a son Christian, also a miller, who was a member of the army under Napoleon and took part in the memorable march to Russia; the latter died in 1845, aged seventy-two. His son, Christian, our subject's father, was born in Rhine Province, where he was employed as a merchant tailor un-

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til his death in 1847; he married Mary E. Nilius, a native of Wirschweiler, Rhine Province, and daughter of Peter Nilius, a land owner and a man of broad learning. Our subject's mother came to America, married a second time, and died in Petersburg, Pa., in 1866. In religious belief she was a Lutheran. She had two children, of whom the daughter, Mrs. George Rosar, died in Scran- ton in 1893.

At the age of fourteen, on leaving the public school, Christian Storr was apprenticed to the cabinet-maker's trade under his uncle Fred, who is still living in Germany. With him he contin- ued for two and one-half years, later spent four and one-half years in another town in the same province. Afterward he was employed in Metz, Strassburg, Paris and other places for three years. July 15, 1865, he reached New York City, where he worked at his trade until October, 1865, and then, his health being poor, he decided to seek another location. He reached Scranton on the 4th of October, joining his mother and sister here, and securing work at his trade with Colvin & Kiezer, Nos. 316-318 Lackawanna Ave- nue. He continued with this and other firms until able to embark in business for himself. In 1867 he bought his present location in Cedar Avenue, and two years later started in the furni- ture and undertaking business, building a shop and employing five workmen. In 1870 he built the three-story structure at No. 615 Cedar Ave- nue, which he has since occupied. He has the distinction of being the oldest undertaker on the south side and the third oldest in the city, as well as the oldest furniture maker in the city to-day. In 1885 he bought a lot in Alder Street and built the residence at No. 524 that he now occupies.

While giving his attention specially to the fur- niture and undertaking business, Mr. Storr has found time for other matters. In 1891 he started in the ice business, and for one year was with the Maplewood Ice Company, but that concern consolidating with the Consumers', he embarked in the business for himself in 1892. His two sons, Christian and Carl A., are in charge of the business and have a large number of customers, running two teams on the south side.

In 1866 Mr. Storr married Miss Mary Wey-

and, who was born in Germany. Their family consists of five daughters and two sons, the latter previously mentioned, and the former named as follows: Matilda, wife of John Woodworth, of Scranton; Carrie, Mrs. Charles Dippre, of this city; Louisa, Mamie and Katie, who are with their parents. In national politics Mr. Storr is a Democrat. He has served on the county cen- tral committee, and in 1887 was elected alderman from the nineteenth ward, was re-elected in 1892, serving from May, 1887, until May, 1897. The nomination in both instances was conferred upon him without solicitation, and he has never asked a man to vote for him, so that his election proves his personal popularity. He aided in organizing the old Germania Building & Loan Association and was a director until 1895. He is now presi- dent of the Anthracite and the Industrial Build- ing & Loan Associations, both on the south side, and is a stockholder in others. Fraternally he is a member of Schiller Lodge No. 345, F. & A. M., Residenz Lodge No. 513, I. O. O. F., and Nay-Aug Tribe No. 140, I. O. R. M., of which he is past sachem. In the organization of the first fire company on the south side, Neptune No. 2, he took an active part, and was its secretary and president. In religious matters he is con- nected with the German Presbyterian Church.

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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 30

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