Portrait and biographical record of Wyoming and Lackawanna counties, Pennsylvania : containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, Part 71

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 71
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 71

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F INLEY ROSS, assistant superintendent of the coal department, Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, and a prominent Repub- lican of Scranton, was born in Ayrshire, Scot- land, in 1839, the son of Nathaniel and Janet (Frazier) Ross, also of that shire. His grand- father, Finley Ross, a native of Ross-shire, re- moved in young manhood to Ayrshire, where he was employed as a miner. The maternal grandfather, Robert Frazier, was a miner of Ayrshire, and married Miss Margaret Jeanfrey, of the same place. Nathaniel Ross, who was a miner, became foreman with the Summerlee Iron Company, and was connected with their coal department for many years. Three of his chil- dren are living: Janet Ross, wife of Aaron Her- bert, who is with the Delaware & Hudson Com- pany at Providence; Finley; and Nathan, an en- gineer at The Plains, Luzerne County.

With the Summerlee Iron Company of Glas- gow, the subject of this sketch worked for some years, becoming their foreman after a time; he also attended the mining school in that city. In 1860 he came to Scranton and engaged as a machinist with the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, becoming inside foreman at Leggett's Creek shaft. Later he was traveling assistant superintendent, then foreman, and in 1893 was promoted to be assistant superintendent of the coal department, Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, which position he has since held. He was one of the first to build on the extreme north end of Main Avenue, his residence being No. 2801 that street.

In 1867 Mr. Ross married Miss Elizabeth Jones, who was born in Jeanesville, Pa., the second of eight children, her sisters and brothers being Mrs. Mary Joles, of Pittston; Reese, who was accidentally killed in the mines at fourteen years; David, a miner at Leggett's Creek shaft; Simon, who is similarly engaged; Margaret, who died in girlhood; Daniel, inside mine foreman; and Reese (2d), member of the Scranton police force. The father of this family, Manasseh, was born in Caermarthenshire, Wales, and in youth assisted in his father's copper works there, but in early manhood came to America, settling in Carbondale, removing thence to Pittston, and afterward going to Beaver Meadows, where he married. Returning to Pittston, he was employed as a contractor in sinking shafts in Luzerne and Schuylkill Counties, and made that city his home until he died in 1865. During the war he enlisted as a member of a Pennsylvania regiment, but the close of the conflict rendered his services 11nnecessary. His wife, Rachael, a native of Gla- morganshire, Wales, was the daughter of Griffith Gwyne, a manufacturer there. After the death of her husband she reared the family and still lives in Pittston, now about seventy years of age. For more than half a century she has been a member of the Baptist Church. The living chil- dren of Mr. and Mrs. Ross are Finley E., Agnes and Rachael Gwyne, and two died in infancy.

Fraternally Mr. Ross is identified with the Heptasophs and Hiram Lodge of Masons. For many ycars he was a deacon in the Christian

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Church of Providence, but is now connected with the Providence Presbyterian Church. In- terested in politics, he is always in the front rank of local workers. Though his responsible posi- tion demands thoughtful attention, yet he finds time to see that the affairs of his ward are prop- erly conducted and the people well represented. In 1884 he was elected to represent the first ward in the common council for four years, but by a legislative enactment governing cities of this class the term was reduced to three years. In 1891 he was re-elected, and in 1895 was chosen to serve four years more in the same position. He has also done effective work as a member of the county committee.

J AMES MCKINNEY. The family of which this gentleman was the first representative in Scranton has borne a worthy part in American history for several generations. The first of the name in this country crossed the ocean from Scotland and settled in Connecticut, which then presented an appearance in marked con- trast with its present cultivation and improve- ments. The home farm was situated at Elling- ton, about fifteen miles from Hartford, but the journey was not performed in those days as rapidly as now, through the medium of the swift steam cars. Instead, it was necessary to ride horseback, picking one's way through the thick woods that laid on every hand. In clearing the land and cultivating the soil, the family bore its part, and its members were people of genuine worth of character.

The father of our subject, Justus Mckinney, was born in Ellington, and spent his entire life engaged in farm pursuits there. James, also a native of Ellington, born in 1809, grew to man- hood on the home farm, gaining a thorough familiarity with farm pursuits. At the age of twenty he started out for himself and went to Phillipsburg, N. J., and in 1836 married Mary Carling, of that city. After a time in Easton, Pa., he went to Schuylkill Haven, and four years later removed to Kutztown, where he spent one year. In 1846 he came to Scranton and engaged in the meat business, later becoming constable

and then crier of the courts, and was holding the latter position at the time he died in October, 1872, at the age of sixty-three. Fraternally he was connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

The lady who was united in marriage with Mr. McKinney in 1836 and who remained his faithful helpmate and devoted wife from that time until his death thirty-six years afterward, was born in Stewartsville, N. J., the daughter of Peter and Mary (Tomer) Carling, natives of New Jersey. Her grandfather, Baltzer Tomer, was a saddler near Finesville. Her father was for some years proprietor of the Phillipsburg Hotel and on re- tiring from business came to Scranton in 1851, remaining here until his death at the age of seventy-nine. Mrs. McKinney resides at No. 128 Adains Avenue. Her old homestead at the cor- ner of Adams and Spruce was for years marked by the large willow tree, a landmark here, and not cut down until 1896. In girlhood she re- ceived such educational advantages as could be had at that time, which were by no means of the best, for the schools were held in buildings rudely constructed and inadequately equipped, and were presided over by teachers whose learning ex- tended but little beyond the three R's. However, she was bright and intelligent, and made the most of her opportunities. Having always kept in touch with advances in literature and the realm of thought, she is well informed upon current topics. She is the mother of three daughters and a son: Mrs. Helen M. Gage, of Huntington, Pa .; Mrs. Mary J. Klock, who died in Scranton; Carl W., and Maggie, Mrs. Renshaw, of Newark, N. J.

J ESSE H. SNYDER, a resident of Elmhurst since March, 1864, is of English descent and remote German extraction. His grand- father, George Snyder, was born in England and emigrated to America, where he became a farmer. From the records of Ulster County, N. Y., he appears to have been a man of considerable prominence, as his name is found on many docu- ments and public papers, among them being peti- tions to the governor for more freedom and ex- tended religious liberty, also a petition against the

PETER STIPP.

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mobilization of lands and rents. His name also appears in old histories of York State.

The father of our subject, George Snyder, was born in Rhinebeck, N. Y., and spent his entire life there, dying when seventy-two years of age. He married Mary, daughter of John Shultz, a pioneer of York State, and she died at seventy-eight years of age. Their eight children were named as fol- lows: Benaiah, who resides in Kingston; Emma and Eugene, deceased; Catharine, who has spent her life in her native town of Rhinebeck; Robert, also a resident of Rhinebeck; Rutsen, of New Jersey; John B., deceased, and Jesse H. The last-named was born in Rhinebeck January 26, 1839, and was reared upon a farm, where he remained until the fall of 1862. The best edu- cational advantages of the locality were given to him, and his education was an excellent one for that day.

From the home farm Mr. Snyder went to Ellenville, Ulster County, and worked in the tan- nery of Shultz Sons until the spring of 1864. He then came to Elmhurst and continued in the same business for years. His clerical ability was utilized in keeping the books. Keen and clear in insight, he has always been regarded as a capable office man and his management of the tannery was very satisfactory. In the summer of 1896 he retired from the business in which he had so long engaged. His first presidential vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln and he has since adhered to the principles of the Republican party, being in favor of protective tariff. Fraternally he is a Mason. He is a member of the Baptist Church, and has been superintendent of the Sun- day-school, in which he is deeply interested.

The first wife of Mr. Snyder was Adeline Bird of New York, who died in the spring of 1867. The only child of this union died in infancy. The present wife of our subject was Sarah E. Wal- lace, a native of Pennsylvania, and they are the parents of five children, to whom they have given every advantage, training them for useful posi- tions in the world. Lillian, who graduated from Scranton Business College, is the wife of A. B. Clay, of Elmhurst, and they have two children, Grace and Faimon. Addie B. graduated from the state normal school and at the age of seven-

teen began teaching, which profession she fol- lowed for three years very successfully. She is now the wife of A. E. Cobb, of Jefferson Town- ship. Wallace is a student in the normal school, where he is fitting himself for the teacher's pro- fession. Robert F. is attending a business col- lege in Scranton. Mary E., the youngest mem- ber of the family, is with her parents.

P ETER STIPP, a contractor and builder, who has resided in Scranton since 1884, was born in Rheinpfalz, Bavaria, Germany, September 30, 1858, and is a son of Ludvig and Mary A. (Deitrich) Stipp, natives of the same place as himself. His father, who served in the German army, was a builder by trade and spent his entire life in his native province, but after his death his widow came to America and died November 27, 1896, in Scranton. The paternal grandfather, Peter Stipp, was born in 1801, served in the German army for twelve years, and after returning from the army lived retired until his death, when more than sixty years of age.

The parental family consisted of five sons, of whom four are in America, all being in Scran- ton. Peter, who is the eldest of the number, was educated in the German schools and at the age of fourteen was apprenticed to the trade of a mason and bricklayer under his father. Upon completing his apprenticeship he worked at the trade until 1879, when he was mustered into the German army and served for three years as a non-commissioned officer. In January, 1883, he came to the United States, and for a short time worked in the mines at Oxford Furnace, N. J., after which, in 1884, he came to Scranton and was employed by others for a year. He and his brother Matthias then began together as con- tractors, continuing for three years, but in 1888 the partnership was dissolved. Our subject con- tinued in the stone quarry business, opening a quarry near Nay-Aug Falls, which he has since carried on and which furnishes him a valuable quality of blue stone. The quarry is provided with steam power, drills and derricks, and is one of the best in the locality.

As a contractor Mr. Stipp has done some of

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the most important work in Scranton, having erected many of the most substantial structures of the city, among them the Schimpff, Wagner, Williams and O'Hara buildings, and school No. 16, in Chestnut Street. Two hundred men are employed, and at times the press of work obliges him to hire a much larger number than that. In Scranton he married Miss Lena C. Wehrung, daughter of George and Catharine Wehrung, and they and their sons, Harry and Peter, Jr., have a comfortable home on the corner of Harri- son Avenue and Olive Street. Fraternally Mr. Stipp is a member of Schiller Lodge No. 345, F. & A. M., the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, Liederkranz and Kreigerbunde. In poli- tics he is a Democrat and has served as a mem- ber of ward committees and in other local posi- tions.

W ILLIAM THOMAS. Should a new- comer in Spring Brook Township wish to learn the history of the early days of this section, he would doubtless call upon Mr. Thomas, who, having resided here since 1849, may justly be termed one of the pioneers of the town. He belongs to that class of early settlers to whom so large a debt of gratitude is due from the rising generation, owing, as it does, all its ad- vantages for a higher degree of culture and the refinements of life to the noble hearts who en- dured privations and cleared the dense forests. About a half century has passed since he sought a home here. He was then a young man, rugged and robust, and now he is old, but still athletic and strong, equaling many younger men in the amount of work he is able to accomplish. Many changes have been wrought since those times when there was not

"In all the land from zone to zone, A telegraph or telephone."

The parents of our subject, Rev. Thomas and Barbara Thomas, were natives of Wales, where much of their lives was passed. When the fath- er was sixty years of age, in 1852, he brought his wife to America and settled in this community, having been preceded here by his son, who came

in 1849. He soon gained prominence as a local preacher, helpful friend and capable farmer. His advice was frequently sought by those in the neighborhood and his opinion was deferred to in important matters. He died at the age of seventy-eight, and his wife was about the same age when she passed away. Their only child, William, was born in Wales, February 12, 1822, and there grew to manhood. He took passage on the sailing vessel, "William Penn," which landed in Philadelphia after a voyage of five weeks. His first work in this country was min- ing coal, iron and mineral, in which he became an expert. He also assisted his father in clear- ing and placing under cultivation the farm where he now resides, and which has been his home since September, 1849.

By his marriage to Mary Evans, Mr. Thomas had eleven children, one of whom died unnamed in infancy. The others are named as follows: John T., deceased; Margaret, whose home is in Hyde Park; Thomas, who died December 12, 1896; Mary Ann, Aaron, Martha, Richard, David; Martha, deceased, and Jane. In his po- litical views Mr. Thomas is a Republican. In 1864 he enlisted in the Union army as a member of Company I, One Hundred and Ninety-eighth Pennsylvania Infantry, and remained in service until the close of the war. He is now identified with the Grand Army Post at Moscow. From his earliest residence here he has identified him- self with every interest of the township, political, social and agricultural, and is justly regarded as one of her law-abiding and public-spirited citi- zens.

G EORGE W. JENKINS, druggist, at No. IOI South Main Avenue, Scranton, was born in Prompton, Wayne County, Pa., April 10, 1852. The family is of Welsh extrac- tion and in this country was first represented in Connecticut, the birthplace of his great-grand- father, Edward Jenkins. That gentleman, who was born December 17, 1744, purchased a tract of land in Wayne County, Pa., in 1813. By his mar- riage to Jerusha Neal, he had sixteen children, of whom, Asa, our subject's grandfather and the tenth in order of birth, was born in Connecticut

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May 25, 1777, married Ann Fisk, and became the father of thirteen children. An early settler of Oneida County, N. Y., he engaged in farming there, but later located in Prompton, Pa., when the surrounding country was a wilderness, and there contributed to the development of the land until his death.

William, the father of our subject, was sixth among thirteen children, and was born near Rome, Oneida County, N. Y. With his parents he came to Pennsylvania and settled in Wayne County, where he engaged in farming and the lumber business. In 1845 he made the first as- sessment of the borough of Prompton. Form- ing a partnership with a brother, he engaged in railroad building and contracting. He built two sawmills on the Lackawaxen and rafted logs down to Prompton from lumber camps, after-

ward shipping the lumber by the Delaware & Hudson Railroad. In 1865 he came to Scranton and settled in Hyde Park, where he died at seventy-nine years. Until he removed from Prompton, he held the position of justice of the peace. His wife, who died in Scranton, bore the maiden name of Mary Sherman and was born at Pleasant Mount, Wayne County, of which place her paternal grandfather was a pioneer settler from Connecticut.

Of the four children of William and Mary Jenkins, one son and three daughters are living. George W., who is the eldest of the family, ac- companied his parents to Hyde Park in boy- hood. At that time most of the business build- ings in Hyde Park were small and of frame, and later, when he began in business, his store and another in South Main Avenue were the only brick buildings here, while on both sides spread unoccupied commons. He has seen the frame buildings replaced by brick structures, the waste land built up, and a great transformation wrought here and in Scranton proper. In 1870 he entered the pharmacy of Albert Crees and continued with him and others at the same location until 1881, when he started in the drug business at this cor- ner and has continued here since. This is the oldest drug store in Hyde Park, and its pro- prietor is known as an efficient business man and skilled pharmacist,

In Schwenkville, Montgomery County, Pa., occurred the marriage of Mr. Jenkins and Miss Jennie, daughter of L. H. Swank, a merchant of that place. They are the parents of three chil- dren: Bertha L., wife of D. J. Davis, assistant city solicitor of Scranton; Harry S., an assistant · in the pharmacy, and Jennie M. Mr. Jenkins is a member of the West Side board of trade, the New England Society, the Washburn Street Presbyterian Church, and fraternally is associated with Hyde Park Lodge, F. & A. M., Lackawanna Chapter, R. A. M., and Coeur de Lion Command- ery No. 17, K. T. In his political views he be- lieves in Republican principles and upholds them upon all occasions. Personally he is a man of genial temperament, fine physique and indomit- able energy, and is justly numbered among the popular business men of Hyde Park.

F REDERICK WARNKE, proprietor of the Mechanics Hotel at No. 115 North Main Avenue, Scranton, and assistant chief of the fire department, was born in this city, on the west side, September 12, 1866. He is the son of Frederick Warnke, a native of Oldenburg, Ger- many, and a blacksmith by trade, who in early manhood emigrated to the United States and settled in Scranton some time during the '50s. For a few years he was employed as blacksmith with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Com- pany, but afterward resigned in order to start in business for himself. He bought property in North Main Avenue, where his family now live, but was unfortunate in losing the building by fire. However, he at once rebuilt, and in partner- ship with Jacob Hower, under the firm name of Warnke & Hower, carried on a profitable groc- ery business until he retired. His death occurred in 1884, at the age of fifty-three. During his entire residence in Scranton he was an active factor in the German societies and also in the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows.

After coming to Scranton Frederick Warnke married Miss Mary Hower, who was born in Leistadt, Germany, and came to America with her mother and other members of the family, settling in this city, where she has since resided.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

She is the mother of six children, of whom four are living: Jacob W., of the firm of Heiser & Warnke, on the west side; Frederick; Charles, who is engaged in the meat business on the south side, and George, a clerk on the west side. In boyhood our subject attended the grammar schools, and for one year was a student in the Hyde Park high school. When about fifteen he began to learn the carpenter's trade under John Nelson, inspector of buildings, and followed that occupation about twelve years. In 1893 he opened the Mechanics Hotel, which he has since conducted. He is the father of three sons, Fred, Willard and Charles, by his marriage to Miss Gertrude Van Camp, of this city.

Politically a Democrat, Mr. Warnke has served on both city and county committees and as chair- man of the first legislative committee. He is identified with the Turn Verein, Veteran Fire- men's Association and German Benevolent As- sociation. During the last year of D. W. Con- nolly's service as postmaster, he was employed in the postoffice. He is a member of Franklin En- gine Company No. I, and in April, 1896, was appointed by Mayor Bailey assistant chief of the fire department.

C HARLES T. RAFFELT, foreman of the boiler department of the Lackawanna Iron & Steel Company, is thoroughly master of everything pertaining to the business. He has been steadily employed at this trade, as man and boy, for about forty-six years, and was the first boiler-maker in Scranton, where he has been one of the respected inhabitants for many decades. By all who know him he is greatly liked, and his stories of the days of Scranton's infancy are very entertaining. He was born in Schleswig, Germany, in 1835. His father, Charles, was a mason by trade, and followed this vocation after he came to America. In 1842 he crossed the ocean with his family, leaving Hamburg in the sailer, "Fire Island," and settled in Reading, Pa. His death occurred there at the age of seventy-nine years. Grandfather John Raffelt was a farmer, and was in the army of Napoleon. Charles Raffelt chose for his wife Jennie, daugh-

ter of Michael Arlt, who was a gardener and hunter. Mrs. Raffelt departed this life in Read- ing, at the age of seventy-three years, and was survived by her three children.

Until he was twelve years old C. T. Raffelt attended the public schools, but it then becoming "necessary for him to make his own livelihood, he worked as a stocking-weaver about two years, and then was an apprentice with a shoemaker a like period. These occupations were not to his taste, however, and therefore he determined to try his hand at boiler-making. Entering the shops of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad at Reading, he remained about four years, after which he went to Harrisburg and was employed in Dunnings' shop for a short time. He was next in Pottsville, and from there was sent to overhaul the switch-back engine, at Nesquehoning. When the Dickson works were started here, he put in their first stationary boiler, and worked for that concern a year and a half. Subsequently, he became an employe of the railroad, and until 1866 was in the boiler shop under James Hughes. The Lackawanna Iron & Steel Company now secured his services, and for some time he was in the old boiler shops, or until the fine new ones were built on South Washington Avenue. They are as well equipped as any to be found in the state, and are 300x65 feet in dimensions. He has been foreman in the several shops ever since he came to Scranton.

In this city Mr. Raffelt and Anna E. Homeis- ter, a native of Kur-Hessen, Germany, were mar- ried in 1858. They have had ten children: Jennie, George, Charles, Anna and Louise, who are de- ceased; Mrs. Matilda Wachtel and Mrs. Carrie Stipp, of Scranton; Lizzie, Edward and Harry, who are at home. The family residence is at the corner of Mulberry Street and Taylor Ave- nue.

When he left his Fatherland, a lad of seven years, Mr. Raffelt had little idea of what was in store for him, in common with the other mem- bers of the family. The slow-sailing vessel was not sufficiently well-stocked with provisions and water, and ere the welcome shores of the western continent came into view, thirteen weeks after leaving Germany, they had nearly starved for the

GODFREY VON STORCH.

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want of food. A strange contrast, truly, between ocean-travel then and today. In 1856 Mr. Raffelt joined Capouse Lodge, I. O. O. F., at Hyde Park, and later he became identified with Residenz Lodge, of which he is past noble grand. During the riots of 1877 here, he was one of the fifty picked men who were constituted guards, for the protection of property and lives. At present, he is chief of the special fire department of the Lackawanna iron and steel works. In politics he is a Republican, and religiously he is a member of the Hickory Street Presbyterian Church.

G ODFREY VON STORCH. Lord Bacon has somewhere written that "a good man is like the sun, passing through all cor- ruption and still remaining pure." In no case can this be applied with greater justice than to the career of Godfrey von Storch. His entire life was passed in Scranton, and those of his asso- ciates who still survive unite in bearing testimony to the noble character that "through all the tract of years he wore the white flower of a blameless life."

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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 71

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