Portrait and biographical record of Wyoming and Lackawanna counties, Pennsylvania : containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, Part 43

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 43
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 43

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

wanna Iron & Coal Company and has remained in the same capacity since the consolidation as the Lackawanna Iron & Steel Company. He is a member of the New England Society, a director in the Engineers Club, a Republican in politics, in religious connections identified with the Sec- ond Presbyterian Church of Scranton and is a member of the board of directors of the Y. M. C. A. Soon after coming to this city he joined the Thirteenth Regiment and was a member of Company A, of which he was first lieutenant for two years. In 1895 he was appointed by Colonel Coursen as inspector of rifle practice for the Thirteenth Regiment, which position he has since held.

T HANIEL C. SNOVER. There are many citizens of Scranton whose unaided exer- tions have resulted in prosperity, and an excellent representative of this class may be found in Mr. Snover. Hislife affords an illustration of the power of courage and industry in enabling a man to overcome the difficulties he may meet. Early years of labor on the home farm and the hard- ships of army life during the late war, combined to develop in his character sturdy traits of self- denial and self-reliance, which too often in the wealthy lie dormant.

The Snover family was founded in America by two brothers from Holland who came here in the sixteenth century and settled in the northern part of Warren County, N. J. The father of our subject, Henry K., and grandfather, George, were born there and engaged in farming, the lat- ter dying on the homestead at the age of sixty, December 5, 1857. The mother of our subject, Marie Kishbaugh, was born in what is now Sus- sex County, N. J., and died at the age of eighty- two; she was a daughter of Henry Kishbaugh, a farmer, and a descendant of a family that emi- grated from Holland to New Jersey.

The parental family consisted of ten children, of whom seven attained years of maturity, and four daughters and two sons are now living, namely: Sarah, Martha, Electa and Marietta, all residing in Scranton; Joseph H., whose home is in the Maple River Valley in Iowa; and

Thaniel C., the youngest son. Elijah S., who enlisted in the late war as sergeant of Company G, Thirty-first New Jersey Infantry, resided in Scranton from the close of the war until his death at the age of forty. Reared on the home farm in Warren County, our subject received public school advantages and after eighteen taught school four succeeding winters. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company G, Thirty-first New Jersey Infantry, and was mustered in at Fleming- ton, as a private, for nine months of service. At Belleplaine he was on fatigue duty, but after Burnside's march and the battle of Chancellors- ville, the regiment moved to the north, entered Washington and was mustered out and honorably discharged at Flemington in July, 1863. He with others of the regiment voted to return to the field of action, but the majority opposed the meas- ure.

Coming to Scranton in the spring of 1864, Mr. Snover was for one year employed as a carpenter in the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western car- shops, after which, in 1865, he opened a grocery on the corner of Linden Street and Penn Avenue. One year later he sold out to his partner and embarked in the sale of tobacco and smokers' supplies in South Main Avenue, Hyde Park. In 1867 he purchased J. D. Clark's interest in the firm of Gregory & Clark, corner of Penn and Lackawanna Avenues, where the Coyne House now stands, and, under the title of Gregory & Snover, engaged in the wholesale and retail to- bacco business. In February, 1872, he bought his partner's interest and removed to the Pauli Building, in Lackawanna Avenue, where he en- gaged in the same business as before. The title became Clark & Snover in June, 1873, and the business was transferred to the corner of Adams and Lackawanna Avenues, where as manufactur- ers and wholesale dealers the firm gained a place among substantial business men. The business was, in June of 1891, sold to a syndicate that in- corporated the Clark & Snover Tobacco Com- pany and erected the present building in Adams Avenue. Mr. Snover was an original stockhold- er in the corporation and a director from the first, but has retired from its management, and de- votes his attention to his numerous real estate

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and financial interests. At the establishment of the Scranton axle works he became vice-presi- dent and has since served in that capacity and as director. He was one of the first stockholders in the Scranton Lace Curtain Manufacturing Com- pany, in which he is vice-president and a director. Besides this, he is a stockholder and director in the Lackawanna Trust & Safe Deposit Com- pany, a director and stockholder in other con- cerns. He has erected numerous buildings here, including a fine brick block in Penn Avenue and several residences.

In Scranton, where Hotel Jermyn now stands, was solemnized the marriage of T. C. Snover and Miss Mary A. Gregory, who was born in Clinton, N. Y., and is a refined and cultured lady. Their four children are Marie Sophia, who re- ceived an excellent education in the schools of Scranton and Rochester; Welcome C., a gradu- ate of the Philadelphia Dental College and now engaged in practice in Scranton; Elizabeth and Jesse A. Mrs. Snover is a daughter of John W. Gregory, who came to Scranton from Connecti- cut, engaged in business here as a partner of Mr.

Snover and was the last burgess of Scranton; he died in Washington, D. C., about 1881. Politi- cally Mr. Snover is a firm Republican, but has never desired official position. Fraternally he is associated with Peter Williamson Lodge No. 323, F. & A. M., Lieut. Ezra S. Griffin Post No. 139, G. A. R., and is a charter member of the Benevo- lent Protective Order of Elks.

W ILLIAM H. HISTED, conductor on the Delaware & Hudson Railroad, with residence at No. 14 Wyoming Street, Carbondale, has been in the employ of this company since the age of fourteen years and through his long and efficient service has won a high place in the regard of superior officials. He was born in Waymart, Wayne County, Pa., February 14, 1851, the son of Stephen and Adelia (Bunnell) Histed, of whom the latter died at the age of about thirty-five. Stephen Histed was born in Otsego County, N. Y., later lived on a farm near Honesdale, Pa., and then entered the employ of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Com-

pany, with whom he has since remained, making more than a half century of work with the same concern. For forty-five years he has resided at Waymart and has operated a stationary engine on the Gravity road.

The children born to the union of Stephen and Adelia Histed are named as follows: William Horace, of this sketch; Oscar E., who is em- ployed as engineer on the Delaware & Hudson Railroad; Andrew, formerly an engineer, who was killed on the same road; Sarah, wife of Boyd Case, a freight conductor residing in Carbon- dale; and Hortense, wife of Thomas Cooper, who is connected with the gravity road at this point. After the death of his first wife, Stephen Histed was married to Charlotte Oliver, and they became the parents of two children, one deceased, and the other, Edward, in the employ of the Peck Lumber Company at Peckville.

The first work in which our subject engaged was on the cars at the foot of Gravity Plane and after a time he secured a position as brakeman on a gravity coal train. Later he was transferred to a construction train, during the building of what was then called the Valley road, a part of the Delaware & Hudson. On the completion of the road he became brakeman on a coal train, then conductor, afterwards was made conduc- tor on freight and accommodation trains, and finally was promoted to be conductor of pas- senger trains in November, 1886. This position he has since held. He gained it by merit and has held it by fidelity to its duties. Known to be competent and trustworthy, he has the regard of the officials of the road and of the traveling pub- lic.

September 5, 1877, Mr. Histed was united in marriage with Sarah, daughter of the late George and Olive (Starkweather) Hubbard, natives of Connecticut, but residents near Waymart, Pa., for many years prior to their death. Her father, who was a poor man in early life, by energy and perseverance gained a large measure of success and ranked among the well-to-do men of his lo- cality. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Histed are Frank Hubbard, Van Allen and Ruth. While Mr. Histed has never taken an active part in politics, he has decided opinions on the subject

JOSEPH B. VAN BERGEN.

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and is a stanch Republican. In youth he alternat- ed with his brother, attending school for three months and then working for a similar period, and in this way the foundation of his education was laid. Subsequent reading has broadened his fund of knowledge and made of him one of the well informed men of his city.

J' OSEPH B. VAN BERGEN, the head of the Van Bergen Company, Limited, one of the leading manufacturing enterprises of Carbondale, was born in Bainbridge, Che- nango County, N. Y., February 28, 1828. His father, who was born in Catskill, Greene County, N. Y., in July, 1800, engaged in the mercantile business in Bainbridge until 1832, when he came to Carbondale and began as a merchant and in the lumber business. After four years, however, he removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was interested in the lumber trade until 1858. From that place he went to New York City, af- terward to Newark, N. J., and until his death, in 1877, was connected with the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company as sales agent. He was a man of business ability, strict integrity and firm religious belief, and for many years was a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church.

As the name indicates, the Van Bergen family originated in Holland. Its representatives were among the earliest settlers along the Hudson River in New York, and from that day to this they have been known as honorable, energetic people, a credit to any community in which they may reside. The grandfather of our subject, William Van Bergen, was a native of Catskill, N. Y., and kept the first hotel in the now famous Catskill Mountain region, where he remained until his death. He was a regular attendant at the Dutch Reformed Church. His two sons were Henry, our subject's father, and J. Champ- lin, who was associated with his father in the hotel business, and spent his entire life in the Catskill region.

The mother of our subject, whose maiden name was Emma L. Benjamin, was born in South Egremont, Berkshire County, Mass., in 1800, and died in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1839. Her

brother, Joseph Benjamin, for whom our sub- ject was named, engaged in the foundry and mercantile business in Carbondale for many years, and after retiring from active labors went to New York City, where he died. At the time of his demise he had interests in Carbondale and Scranton. Our subject and his sister, Catherine, are the only survivors of five children by their father's first marriage. By the second marriage there were four children, of whom the sole sur- vivor is the wife of George H. Newell, a lumber merchant in New York City.

In the schools of Cincinnati and at Marietta College, Ohio, the subject of this sketch received a good education. From 1846 until 1850 he was a clerk in Laurel, Ind., where his father had busi- ness interests, but in the latter year he returned to Cincinnati and entered the insurance business with Samuel E. Mack. In 1856 he went to Dav- enport, Iowa, and was engaged in business for two years, but returned to Cincinnati and ac- cepted a position tendered him in the Ohio Val- ley Bank. January I, 1860, he became a partner in the foundry and machine works with J. Benja- min & Co. in Carbondale. Out of that then small business the great establishment that bears his name has grown, and for thirty-six years he has been the leading factor in its management.

Aside from business affairs, Mr. Van Bergen is interested in matters affecting the welfare of the city, and has filled many positions of trust. For eleven years he was a member of the board of education, for some time served as a member of the city council and for four years was mayor. In 1863, 1864 and 1865 he was deputy collector of United States Internal Revenue for the Twelfth Congressional District of Pennsylvania. In 1876 he was a delegate to the national Republican convention that nominated Hayes for the pres- idency. He was elected treasurer of Lackawanna County in 1886, and served for one term. In the Republican party he is an active worker. He is a Knight Templar Mason, was master of the blue lodge, higli priest of the chapter and commander of the Knights Templar. In the Order of Odd Fellows he is a past chief patriarch. In religious belief he is a Presbyterian.

In October, 1851, Mr. Van Bergen married

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Miss Mary F. Boal, daughter of a retired mer- chant of Cincinnati. They had five children, but three died in infancy, and two sons are now living. Robert B., who is married and has one child, is interested with his father in business. Henry graduated from Hackettstown Collegi- ate Institute and the Homeopathic Medical Col- lege of New York. The mother of these chil- dren died in June, 1888, and in August, 1890, Mr. Van Bergen married Mary Helen, daughter of James and Mary Dickson, and widow of the late Andrew Watt. In addition to his business, Mr. Van Bergen is interested in many of the local enterprises, being president of the Crystal Lake. Water Company that furnishes the city with its fine system of water works, and was one of its organizers. He is a director of the Car- bondale Gas Company, and was treasurer of the Providence & Carbondale Plank Road Com- pany for fourteen years.

W ILLIAM BRIGHT. From a perusal of the life records of prosperous men may be gleaned much that is interest- ing to readers of mature years as well as many lessons worthy of emulation by the young. Mr. Bright deserves especial credit in that from an early age he has been self-supporting and while he has met with his share of reverses, he has never grown discouraged, but has worked steadi- ly and energetically toward the fruition of his hopes. He has proved what it is in the power of an industrious and determined man to accom- plish, though unaided by what we call "luck" or by influential friends.

Now a business man of Scranton, Mr. Bright was born near Budehaven, Cornwall, England, in April, 1847, and is a son of William and Har- riet (Hill) Bright, natives of Devonshire. His paternal grandfather, William, was a carpenter and builder in Devonshire, his native place; and his maternal grandfather, Thomas Hill, was a stone cutter in the same shire, where he died in 1871, aged eighty-four years. Our subject's father, who was a carpenter and wagonmaker and a skillful mechanic, settled at Marham Church, near Budehaven, after his marriage and was em-

ployed in the works of the Bude Canal Com- pany. He died in England at the age of forty- six; his wife survived him a few years, passing away in 1880, when fifty-four years of age.

There were twelve children in the parental family, of whom nine attained manhood and wo- manhood, and five are living. Two brothers, Robert and Thomas, died in Honesdale, Pa., and a sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Denniston, died in War- ren County, Pa. John is an oil operator in Warren County; Henry resides in Wisconsin, where he is employed as a millwright, Mrs. Ann Van Gorden lives in Kentucky; and Mrs. Mary Williams remains in England, her home being in Chester. William, who was third in order of birth, was educated in Cornwall, England, and there at the age of fifteen he began an apprentice- ship to the blacksmith's trade, which he com- pleted in Devonshire. After working in his na- tive village for six months, in 1868 he came to America on the steamer "Nebraska" from Queenstown to New York City, and proceeded at once to Bethany, Wayne County, where he was employed for four months. In the latter part of 1868 he came to Carbondale and secured work in the Delaware & Hudson shops, but after the strike of 1869 he was employed by Isaac Bun- nell, patentee of the Bunnell bed springs. Both there and in Hawley he worked at wagon mak- ing, and then went to White Mills, where for three years he was engaged at the blacksmith and mechanic's trade in the Darklinger works.

. Coming to Scranton in 1873, for a short time Mr. Bright worked for Oliver Brothers, but in 1874 embarked in business for himself, opening a blacksmith's and wagon shop in Dickson Ave- nue. Removing from there to Providence he formed a partnership with Alexander Dunbar and for three years was in the wagon business in Oak Street. In 1878 he rented the old street car barn and at end of five years purchased the same, which he rebuilt at an expense of $4,000. Just as everything seemed favorable and indica- tions pointed to a successful business career, the wagon shop of Andrew D. Lord, adjoining, caught on fire, and his place also burned down, entailing a total loss. In spite of this discourag- ing catastrophe, he at once rebuilt, and now has

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a substantial building, with a frontage of sixty- eight and' one-half feet, Nos. 1716-1718 North Main Avenue, and a depth of seventy-nine feet. One-half of the building is used for a repository, while the remainder is devoted to the manufac- ture of vehicles, and on the second floor, which is reached by elevator service, are the painting and trimming departments. In the rear of the building stands the wood shop. Vehicles of every description are manufactured, from heavy trucks to light surreys, and the business is carried on in a most efficient manner.

In Delaware County, N. Y., Mr. Bright mar- ried Miss Lucy A. Titus, daughter of Isaac B. Titus, a farmer of that county, where she was born. Two children blessed the union, of whom one is living, William, Jr. The family residence is pleasantly situated at No. 607 Breaker Street. While Mr. Bright has never actively identified himself with politics, he has decided opinions along that line, always giving his allegiance to the Republican party. He is a stockholder in the New York Mutual Building & Loan Associa- tion, and fraternally is associated with the Hep- tasophs and Celestial Lodge No. 833, I. O. O. F., at Providence, in which he has been an officer. His membership is in the Providence Methodist Episcopal Church and he has served as one of the trustees of the congregation.

F RANK V. BORCHERS, a representative young business man of Scranton, has been very rapidly making his way to the front ranks of those in his line of trade in the past few years, and judging from this fact we venture to predict for him a most successful future. He makes a specialty of taking contracts for decorat- ing interiors of residences and public buildings and for painting, paper-hanging, etc. His well stocked store, at No. 713 Cedar Avenue, is sup- plied with a fine line of artistic wall papers and all kinds of paints and oils.

August, father of F. V. Borchers, was born in Germany, and upon attaining mature years married Henrietta Ulrich. He was a cabinet- maker by trade and followed some branch of his calling all his days. Nearly fifty years ago he

crossed the ocean, to become a citizen of the United States, and with his family first located in Reading, Pa., and thence removed to Danville, Pa. There he engaged in the furniture business until 1870, when he went to Pittston, and a year later he came to Scranton, settling on the south side. Securing a position as pattern-maker for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western carshops, he was a most faithful and reliable workman there as long as he lived. He was summoned to his last rest in 1889, being sixty-three years old. The wife and mother departed this life May 30, 1895. Of hier eleven children eight survived to mature years: . Mrs. Sarah Lescher, of Mauch- chunk; Mrs. Mary Maus, of Danville; Maria, Mrs. J. J. Schneider; William, of Washington, Pa .; Mrs. Amelia Pfahler, of Petersburg; Mrs. Maggie Schautz, of Scranton; Mrs. Annie Long- cor, of Peckville; and Frank V.

Our subject was born in Danville, Pa., Sep- tember 24, 1863, and was brought to Scran- ton when a mere infant. A good education was given him in our excellent public schools, and when he was only eleven years or so he secured a clerkship in a dry-goods store in Lackawanna Avenue. Then he was employ- ed by Hill & Connell, learning furniture finish- ing during his five years' stay with that firm. The succeeding twelve months he was in the car- shops and next he went to Little Washington, Pa., where he assisted his brother in oil opera- tions. In a few months, however, he returned to this city and started in business for himself in a very humble way, in a poor building in Willow Street. After a while, he moved into a base- ment under John Armbrust's place of business and subsequently he came to the building in which we find him located to-day. At first he only had the basement, but now he occupies the two floors, the ground floor being used as a show-room for goods. The business has grown remarkably from year to year and in the busy season six or more men are employed. In 1896 a stock of toys and novelty-goods were added to the regular line of wall-paper, etc. Many of the best houses in Scranton have been decorated and painted by Mr. Borchers, among these being David Powell's home in Linden Street, William

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Borcher's residence in Madison Avenue and also part of the court-house.

The marriage of our subject and wife, Hat- tie, was celebrated in Scranton in 1892. The lady is a daughter of Hertz Lowenstein, who was a native of the Fatherland, and who, after com- ing to America, was engaged in the grocery busi- ness until his death. The two sons of Mr. and Mrs. Borchers are called respectively Paul Fred- rick and Ulrich William.

The only society with which Mr. Borchers is identified is the Odd Fellows, he belonging to James Connell Lodge No. 170. Religiously, he is a member of the German Methodist Episcopal Church.

J ACOB K. SMITH, who is engaged in the grocery and provision business at No. 215 West Market Street, Scranton, was born in New Village, Warren County, N. J., March 4, 1849, and is a son of John K. and Margaret (Kin- ney) Smith, natives of New Jersey. Through his maternal ancestors he is of Scotch-Irish descent. His father, who was at one time a captain of the old militia in New Jersey, was for some years a drover and an extensive dealer in cattle and horses, but afterward engaged in the hotel busi- ness at New Village, where he died in 1860. His widow is living, and is now seventy-four years of age.

In the family of John K. Smith there were six children, namely: Mary, Mrs. James Bell, of Dover, N. J .: Mrs. J. C. Clugston, who died in Trenton; Adam R., who served in a New Jersey regiment for nine months prior to the close of the Civil War, and died in Washington, that state; Jacob Kinney, of this sketch; James K., who is a resident of New Village; and Maria, Mrs. John Hawks, of Washington, N. J. Our subject received his education in the public schools and Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College, graduating from the latter institution in April, 1870. In August of the same year he came to Scranton and entered the employ of Am- brose Mulley as a clerk, a year later becoming head clerk and bookkeeper. For eighteen years he remained with the same employer, after which

he spent one year in recuperating his health. In 1889 he opened the store at No. 215 West Mar- ket Street, where he has since carried on a gro- cery and provision business.

Fraternally Mr. Smith is identified with Celes- tial Lodge No. 833, I. O. O. F., in which he is past grand; he was chosen to represent his lodge in the grand lodge at Williamsport in May, 1897. Politically he is a Democrat, and was elected on that ticket to the office of assessor, which he held for one year. Since 1871 he has been a member of Liberty Hose Company No. 20 of the Scran- ton fire department, and has served as chief of the First Fire District. In religious connections he is a member of the Providence Presbyterian Church. January 21, 1874, in this city, he was united in marriage with Miss Emma A. Pearce, who was born near Honesdale, Wayne County, and prior to her marriage taught school here and in Milford, Susquehanna County. They are the parents of two children, Harry A. and Jennie Belle, the former of whom graduated from Scran- ton Business College in December, 1896, and is also a graduate from the stenographic depart- ment.

The father of Mrs. Smith, William Pearce, was born January 23, 1818, and was a grandson of William Pearce, who came from Devon or Liv- erpool, and was for a time a soldier in the Brit- ish army. The latter died at seventy-two years. William's father, who was a butcher by trade, was married in Davenport, and two days afterward took passage on the sailer "Philadelphia," reach- ing America after a voyage of eighteen days. The father of Mrs. Smith went by canal boat from Rondout to Honesdale, the trip requiring three days and two nights, and he reached the latter city May 28, 1841. Shortly afterward he was joined by a brother, Edmund, and another brother, John, became a farmer near that 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 43

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