Portrait and biographical record of Wyoming and Lackawanna counties, Pennsylvania : containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, Part 36

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 36
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 36

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ager, and in this responsible position has main- tained the high standard of the works. Employ- ment is furnished here to some three thousand hands, while many others are employed in the mines.

Since 1891 Mr. Wehrum has made his home in Elmhurst, where he has a fine residence. While he has never taken an active part in politics, he is well informed in public affairs and is a Republi- can in opinion, favoring protection and sound money. Fraternally he is identified with the Be- nevolent Protective Order of Elks, Lackawanna County Society of History and Science and the Engineers Club. Formerly he held the position of president of the Liederkranz.

W ILLIAM F. KIESEL, cashier of the Lackawanna Iron & Steel Company at Scranton and one of the honored citi- zens of this place, is a native of Germany, born in the beautiful old city of Stuttgart, Wurtemberg, in December, 1836. He is a son of John G. Kiesel, who was born on his father's farm near Stuttgart, and on attaining manhood took a po- sition as watchman in the royal palace at Stutt- gart, continuing in that capacity until his death, which occurred at the age of seventy-four; his wife, who bore the maiden name of Dorothea Stierle, was born in Gundelbach, kingdom of Wurtemberg, and died in Stuttgart at the age of forty-four. The family consisted of only two children, William F. and Charles, both residents of Scranton.

Receiving his education in the gymnasium near his home, the subject of this sketch, after graduation, secured a position as junior clerk in the government office and afterward was made bookkeeper, remaining there for three years. In 1854 he crossed the Atlantic in a sailing vessel, "Ocean Queen," which made the voyage from Havre to New York City in thirty-nine days. On his arrival in this country, he went to Dan- bury, Conn., where he worked on a farm for four months, and afterward was employed for six months in a factory at Waterbury, Conn. In 1855 he went to Wilkesbarre, Pa., where he worked in the coal mines for two months, and

then became a clerk in the store of Gray & Bro.

Almost immediately after coming to Scranton, in February, 1857, Mr. Kiesel was given the po- sition of bookkeeper for the Lackawanna Iron & Coal Company, and held the same until 1881, when he was made cashier. When the consolida- tion took place, he continued as cashier of the Lackawanna Iron & Steel Company, and now has the honor of being the oldest employe con- nected with both concerns. He is a director in the Scranton Savings Bank and for six years held a commission as notary public. In the Scranton Liederkranz he is an active member. The religious faith of his forefathers is the one in which he believes, and he is a trustee of the German Lutheran Church, at times having been president of the board.

November 20, 1859, in Stuttgart, Germany, occurred the marriage of Mr. Kiesel to Miss Mary J. Neuffer, who was born there June 14, 1841, being a daughter of Jacob Neuffer, a de- signer at that place. Eleven children, all of whom are living, comprise the family, namely: Mary, who is a notary public and insurance agent; Jennie; William, a graduate of Lehigh Univers- ity and now employed as mechanical engineer at Altoona, Pa,; Emily; Charles and Theodore, who are bookkeepers in the First National Bank; Anna, a graduate of the Mansfield State Normal School and wife of E. J. Fuchs, of Moosic; Al- bert, bookkeeper in the "Republican" office; Ernest, who is attending school; Lillie and Helen. The sons and daughters are well educated, intel- ligent and refined, respected in business circles and popular in society, comprising a family of whom the parents may well be proud.

J OHN McCAWLEY. A resident of Carbon- dale since 1854, this gentleman has wit- nessed the rapid growth of the city and has taken a warm interest in the welfare of its people. His life has been a comparatively uneventful one, marked by no startling events, but he has "pursued the even tenor of his way" in an honest, manly and industrious manner. His active life was given to work in the employ of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, but he

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is now living retired in his comfortable home at No. 30 River Street.

The early years of Mr. McCawley were passed in County Sligo, Ireland, where he was born in 1823. Obliged to support himself from boyhood, he did not have any opportunities for acquiring an education, but the knowledge he has acquired was gained through experience in the hard school of toil. Resolving to seek a home in America, where better opportunities were pre- sented to a poor man, he crossed the Atlantic, landing in New York, and thence a week later coming to Carbondale, where he has since re- sided." He at once secured employment on the Gravity road of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, with whom he did faithful service for many years, until his retirement in advanced age.

In his political opinions Mr. McCawley is in- dependent, refusing to tie himself to any political organization, but casting his ballot for the man best qualified, in his estimation, for an official position. He was reared to the Catholic faith, to which he has since adhered and in which he has trained his children. His marriage, which was solemnized in March, 1860, united him with Mary Scott, a native of Ireland. They are the parents of six sons and one daughter, namely: James, who died in infancy; John P., who is employed on the railroad and resides in this city; Thomas; Peter, also a railroad employe; Frank, Mary Ann and James.

F RANK XAVIER LEUTHNER. The writer, having spent several hours in the foundries of the Lackawanna Iron & Steel Company at Scranton, and noting with deep in- terest the many intricacies connected with the moulding, heating and puddling of iron, is pre- pared to say that the man who can successfully fill the responsible position of general foreman certainly possesses abilities of no ordinary kind. It is apparent, to even the most casual observer, that Mr. Leuthner, the incumbent of this posi- tion, is amply qualified for the accurate discharge of his manifold duties. Himself . an incessant worker, his energy and vitality are infused throughout the entire place; he moves hither and

thither among his men, directing the work, su- perintending every department, and throwing into even the smallest details some of his own persevering enthusiasm.

The birth of Mr. Leuthner occurred December 1, 1846, in the city of Scheer, Wurtemberg, on the Danube, near Ulm. He is the son of Frank Xavier Leuthner, who was born in Baden, on the borders of Wurtemberg, and who in youth learned his father's trade of a hammersmith, emi- grating from his native land to America in 1885 and settling in Scranton, where he died at sixty- three years. He married Caroline Hummler, who was born in Scheer, and died in Germany at the age of thirty-three; her father, Nepemuk Hummler, owned the grist mills of Scheer.

Of the parental family of eight children, five are living, four in Scranton and one in Chicago. Our subject, the eldest of the number, spent his childhood years in Scheer, attending the com- mon schools until fourteen. The following year he was apprenticed to the molder's trade in his native place, and after two years went to Gopin- gen, where he worked a year. Later he was employed in Geislingen, seventeen miles from Ulm, where he remained for eight months. In 1866 he left Hamburg on the steamer "Titonia," and after a voyage of seventeen days landed in New York. His first work was in Williamsburg, a suburb of Brooklyn. In February, 1867, he came to Scranton, and a few days after his arrival began to work in the Dickson foundry. June 5, 1883, he was tendered the po- sition of foreman of the foundry of the Scranton Steel Company, and continued at the south mill after the consolidation. To his duties as foreman of the south, were in August, 1896, added those of foreman of the north foundry of the Lacka- wanna Iron & Steel Company. Here are man- ufactured castings of all sizes, from one-half pound to thirty thousand pounds, and the entire supervision of the work is in his hands.

The home of Mr. Leuthner is at No. 856 Capouse Avenue, Pine Brook. He was united in marriage, in Scranton, with Miss Mary Halde- man, who was born in Middletown, N. Y., and died in this city in 1887, leaving four children: Amelia; Minnie; Frank, a machinist; and Al-

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bert, who is learning the molder's trade under his father. The father of Mrs. Leuthner, Samuel Haldeman, was born in Switzerland, emigrated to this country, and settled in Albany, N. Y., then removed to Middleton and afterward came to Scranton, where he died. His trade was that of a molder.

Politically Mr. Leuthner is a Republican, and has represented the seventh ward upon the county committee. For two years he has been president of the Liederkranz and is one of its active workers. He is past master of Schiller Lodge, F. & A. M., in which he has held im- portant positions; is also a member of the Alli- ance Lodge, I. O. O. F., in which he is a past officer. Formerly he was identified with the en- campment and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.

T HOMAS O'CONNELL, of Carbondale, was born at Little Neck, Long Island, February 22, 1840, and is a son of Thomas and Mary (Ryan) O'Connell, natives of Ireland. His father, who emigrated to America at an early age, followed the trade of a shoemaker for some years in New York City, but died when our sub- ject was a small boy. The widowed mother after the death of her husband, in 1852, came to Car- bondale, where she had friends. She continued to make her home here until her death, in 1857. Of her family three sons grew to mature years. Andrew served in the navy on the Pacific Coast during the Civil War, after which he was en- gaged in business in Carbondale with his brother Thomas; he died in 1875. Daniel, who was a private in the Fifty-seventh Pennsylvania In- fantry during the war, afterward engaged in the hotel and bottling business in Carbondale, where he died in March, 1896.

At the time of coming to Carbondale our sub- ject was twelve years of age. However, he stayed here only a short time, when he returned to New York and was employed by a Mr. Fox in a bolt and nut shop. Later he went to New Haven, Conn., where he secured work in the shop of John Parsley. In 1854 he again came to Car- bondale, where he learned the confectioner's

trade. In 1858 he went via the Isthmus of Pan- ama to California, landing in San Francisco, and then proceeding to the mines on the Pacific slope, where he was employed. After staying for a while in Sacramento, Maysville and Grass Val- ley, he went to Virginia City, Nev., and embarked in mining on his own account, in partnership with several others. From there he journeyed to Idaho City, thence to Portland, Ore., and in 1860 sailed from San Francisco for his home in the east, having met with fair success in his enter- prises on the Pacific Coast.

Upon his return to Carbondale Mr. O'Connell began as a business man, and for the past thirty years he has been engaged in different branches of merchandise, including the dry goods and grocery business. At this writing he is pro- prietor of a grocery, in addition to which he has acted as administrator of various estates and guardian of minor heirs. In 1867 he married Miss Judith Gilligan, who was born in Carbon- dale, her parents having been among the very earliest settlers of the place. Her sister, who now resides with her, was the first child born here. Mr. and Mrs. O'Connell have three chil- dren, of whom the son, Andrew, is a traveling salesman in western New York. Mary and Mar- garet reside at home. The family attend the Catholic Church, and are devoted adherents of that faith. Politically Mr. O'Connell always ad- vocated Democratic principles, but the campaign of 1896 found him on the side of sound money, and he backed this belief at the polls, where he cast his ballot for McKinley and Hobart.

H ENRY T. KOEHLER, who has taken a very active part in political affairs in Scranton and has been elected upon the Democratic ticket to various positions of respon- sibility, is a Pennsylvanian by birth, born in Erie County, December 18, 1861. He is a son of Henry Koehler, a native of Germany, who emi- grated to the United States in young manhood and settled in York, Pa., where he married Christine Mitzel. A man of broad education, a graduate in classics and theology, he was an efficient teacher of German and English in vari-

PULASKI CARTER.

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ous cities of this state, but principally in Scran- ton, where he was employed in this capacity for twenty years. Later, removing to the west, he spent a short time in Iowa and Wisconsin, then went to Chicago, where he died about 1890. He adhered to the religious faith of his ancestors and was identified with the Lutheran Church. His wife, who was born in York, Pa., and still resides there, was the daughter of Jacob Mitzel, a farmer, who attained the age of ninety-seven years.

In the family of Henry Koehler there were six children, namely: Jacob, who preaches to a con- gregation of deaf mutes and resides in Wayne Junction, Pa .; Henry T .; Robert P., who is in the cigar business in Scranton; Kate, who re- sides with her mother in York, Pa .; Fred M., who is connected with the job printing business of Koeliler & Co., in Scranton; and Benjamin S., who resides in York, Pa. When our subject was only about nine years old he began to sell papers and afterward for several years he was office boy for the "Scranton Times." His next position was with Garney, Short & Co. (later Garney, Brown & Co.), cigar manufacturers, with whom he began as errand boy, but was soon promoted, in time becoming salesman in charge of the retail busi- ness. With this firm he remained from 1874 un- til the fall of 1891.

Meantime, in 1887, Mr. Koehler was elected county auditor on the Democratic ticket and served a term of three years, from January, 1888, until January, 1891. In the fall of the last-named year he was elected register of wills, and took the oath of office in January, 1892, after which he served for three years, retiring in 1895. In April of the latter year he embarked in the shoe busi- ness in Spruce Street, as a member of the firm of Schank & Koehler, but in August, 1896, tlie partnership was dissolved, and in the fall of that year he was nominated to represent the second district of Lackawanna County in the legislature. In the election that followed he was defeated after an exciting contest.

Fraternally Mr. Koehler is identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, Knights of Pythias No. 263 and Washington Camp No. 242, P. O. S. of A., in which order he served for

one term as state vice-president and assisted in organizing most of the camps in the northeastern part of the state. In 1888, when the state con- vention met in this city, he was chairman of the reception committee and took an active part in promoting the success of the gathering. He was the originator of the erection of the statue of George Washington on Court House Square, facing the federal hall, and being made president of the Washington Statue Association, carried the plan to a successful consummation. The statue was unveiled July 4, 1893, with appropriate cere- monies, Clarence Huth, national president of the Patriotic Order Sons of America, delivering the spcech of presentation. In addition to his other public work, Mr. Koehler has frequently been a member of the county and city committees, and at one time was treasurer of the latter organiza- tion. In all his efforts he has been influenced by a desire not only to advance party interests, but, above all, to secure the welfare of his fellow- citizens and promote the prosperity of the city with which his business interests are associated.

P ULASKI CARTER. Providence may well complain that while the ability and public spirit of Scranton has been told by many a historian and celebrated at the elaborate annual banquets of the New England Society, the deeds and achievements of its foremost citizens have been relegated to the background by local his- torians, who delighted to call it "Razorville." Yet Providence was a place of considerable im- portance when Scranton was still "Slocum's Hol- low," and had it not been for the unfortunate termination of a dispute between rival hostelries as to the location of Drinker turnpike across the river, it might to-day be a powerful rival of Scran- ton, if it had not been the real city.

Among the men who built up Providence no name stands out clearer for strict integrity and honorable, upright honesty than does that of Pulaski Carter. He came of a family of New Englanders who prided themselves on the fact that for generations their word had been as good as their bond, and he inherited all the stern, un- bending honcsty of his race. He was born at

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Westminster, Conn., June 23, 1813. His mother was of a gentle nature, possessing many lovely and lovable traits of character. Her health was never firm, and she died when Pulaski was nine months old. His father was an honest, upright, but very austere man, of a strong will and very strict in his family discipline, a devout Christian of the Congregational faith, rigid to a fault in exacting observance of religious forms and cere- monies. It was said that after his wife's death he was scarcely ever known to smile. He was in good circumstances, and desired that young Pu- laski should become a physician, but the young man had inherited his father's strong will, and he had decided to be a business man. With this end in view lie went to Brooklyn, Conn., and learned the blacksmith's trade. While here he had the free use of the library of Rev. Samuel J. May, the Unitarian clergyman, who afterward became so well known as a leader with Garrison, Phillips and others in the anti-slavery conflict. Mr. Carter's memory was so retentive that in after life he was able to recite whole pages of the works read in those years. When he finished learning the blacksmith's trade at Brooklyn, he went to Winsted, Conn., and entered the shop of Capt. Wheelock Thayer to learn scythe mak- ing. He was determined to know his business from the bottom up, and when he sold a man a scythe or an axe to know that it was good all the way through. While there he formed the ac- quaintance of Henry Harrison Crane, and the two young men formed a friendship that lasted through life.

August 5, 1839, Mr. Carter married Susan Sophia Spaulding, of Abington, Conn., being then twenty-six years old. Having now learned his trade and being ready to go into business on his own account, he started out the next year on a prospecting tour to find a place where he could locate and commence his life's work. He visited several places, but finally decided that he would settle at Providence, Pa. He returned to Con- necticut, and the next year, 1841, brought his wife to her new home. In October, 1841, a little one came to brighten the home, but the mother died in November. The next July the daughter followed, and Mr. Carter was left alone. On his

arrival in Providence he rented shop room of Jacob Sager and Larned White, and entered upon the business of making scythes. In June, 1842, in company with Jerison White, he purchased the axe factory of Sager & White, and com- menced the manufacture of axes and scythes. This was the first manufactory of the kind in the state. In a little while Jerison White sold his interest to Larned White, and April 25, 1843, Mr. Carter purchased Mr. White's interest and asso- ciated Mr. Crane with him in the business.

August 7, 1843, Mr. Carter married again, his wife being Olive Ingalls, of Canterbury, Conn. She was a double cousin of the first wife, and they were said to be strikingly alike in form and feature. Mr. Crane, disliking the care and re- sponsibility the business entailed upon him, dis- posed of his interest, though still remaining withı the concern. After this Mr. Carter associated Artemus Miller with him for a time, but soon after purchased all the outstanding interests and conducted the business alone. Prior to this some thirty acres of land were purchased, on which were erected the shops, buildings, etc., of the growing establishment, for there was a vast wil- derness all around them in those early days, and vigorous workmen were slaughtering the giants of the forest right and left, and "Carter's axes" were known to be reliable and were in great de- mand. For many years Mr. Carter remained sole owner of the "Capouse Works," named. from the old Indian chief of the Monceys, from whom also the Capouse Meadows received their name.

In 1847 a great controversy arose over the question of "pay schools" or "free schools." Full of his New England ideas on education, Mr. Car- ter, then a young man of thirty-four, threw him- self into the struggle heart and soul. Up and down the valley he went preaching the gospel of free schools. When the day came he had his forces well in hand and marshalled for the fray. The cause of free schools so ably championed by the young New Englander won by a decided majority, and this when Scranton was only just getting ready to grow. In 1850 the first public school building in Providence was erected on land given by Mr. Carter as long as it should be used for school purposes. In 1857 the first graded

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school building in the city was erected on the hill in Providence, and in the celebration of that event Mr. Carter received ample praise for his labors in behalf of free schools. He had made his mark and could have had any office in the gift of the people. In the early days of the city he was urged to run for mayor, but his was a retiring nature, not caring for the bustle and excitement of politics, and he modestly but firmly put these offers by, and contented himself with seeing his business grow from year to year. However, he was treasurer of the Providence school board for twenty-eight years.

In 1864 his factory burned down. It was only insured for $10,000, and the loss was a heavy one, but as soon as his customers and friends heard of his loss, offers of help began to flow in. They knew the man, knew his uprightness and integ- rity, and this one and that one wrote him that they had ten, fifteen or twenty thousand dol- lars which he was welcome to, if he could find a place for it in his business, but again he put the tempting offer aside and rebuilt himself, without borrowing a dollar and preserved the independ- ence he loved so well.

But it was as a temperance man that he was best known. He preached temperance and he practiced it. He was always active in the cause. Many a man he helped reclaim from a life of degradation and shame. He was an active, zealous worker, and the saloon keepers dreaded him. He fought licenses persistently. He was always ready to contribute of his time and means to aid the cause of temperance. That sounds as though he might have been fanatical, but he was not. He was an unostentatious man, but his great heart was easily moved to pity, his ear was ever open to the cry of distress, his hand and his purse ever ready to help the unfortunate and the down-fallen.

In November, 1876, he met with a fearful acci- dent. Two men, reckless from drink, were racing their teams. Their wagons crushed in on each side of Mr. Carter's carriage, wrecking it and most seriously injuring him; for days his life was despaired of, but a good constitution and the ab- stemious life he had always led prolonged his days. He never recovered front the effects of this

accident, and died October 13, 1884, aged seventy-one years. He left surviving him his widow and three children, the former still residing at the old homestead. The children, Pulaski P., Marvin P. and Amelia M., married to William De Witt Kennedy, still carry on the business he left, maintaining the high reputation he had built up. Mrs. Kennedy has always been inter- ested in church and charitable work, and was for thirteen years secretary of the Home for the Friendless, until she was elected vice-president.

W ILLIAM H. McGRAW, D. D. S. Dur- ing the years in which he has been a resident and professional man of Car- bondale, Dr. McGraw has become known as one of the energetic and stirring citizens of the city. Though young in years and in the practice of his profession, he is acknowledged to be one of the best dentists here, and his skill in this special line of work is well known.

The birth of the subject of this sketch occurred at Silver Lake, Susquehanna County, Pa., April 8, 1868. His father, Dennis McGraw, who was a native of New York, removed in early life to Pennsylvania and settled at Silver Lake, where he became a prosperous and enterprising farmer. Among the various local offices which he was called upon to fill were those of assessor, school director and poor officer. He was united in mar- riage with Mary McCormick, who was born in Apolachon Township, Susquehanna County, be- ing a member of one of the pioneer families of that locality. Her father, John McCormick, was killed by accident when our subject was a child. The remote ancestors were from Ireland, as were also the founders of the McGraw family in America.

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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 36

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