Portrait and biographical record of Wyoming and Lackawanna counties, Pennsylvania : containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, Part 88

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 88
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 88

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

732

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ture, occupied by A. G. Stark as a restaurant, with a ten pin alley in the rear of same. Just below this, and on the same side of the street, stood a two-story double house, also of wood, the west half of which was occupied as an office by the late William M. Piatt, then a rising young attorney, and whose family occupied rooms over- head. The east half of the building was occu- pied by Carl Hcninger, a German watchmaker and jeweler, who had come to the town in 1847. The three last-named buildings were burned at this time. About one hundred feet further down on the same side of the street stood a large frame building which, however, the fire did not reach. It stood flush upon the street, and was then used as a dwelling house and a tin and hardware store by John R. Coudry. The next year after the fire, a three-story brick building was erected by the late C. P. Miller, who was afterward president of the Wyoming National Bank for many years. This was built upon the site of the wooden struc- ture previously occupied by A. G. Stark. The following year Samuel Stark put up a row of three-story brick buildings covering the site of the old stores destroyed by the fire. This was known as the Arcade Block. The easternmost store room of this he himself occupied. When these buildings were first erected the basement story was about half above the level of the walk, and the front doors of the store rooms were ap- proached by a flight of stairs of some five steps, the basement story being reached by a corres- ponding flight of stone steps leading down to the entrance. The whole front was connected by a narrow stoop, and that and the steps leading thereto were guarded by an ornamental iron railing.

Mr. Stark continued in the mercantile business until 1864, and at the organization of the Wyo- ming National Bank in 1865, he was elected its cashier, a position he held until his retirement from business in 1877. For years he was prom- inent in the affairs of the Tunkhannock Bridge Company, and he was also interested in the building and management of the Montrose Rail- road Company. Every project that had for its aim the upbuilding and permanent improvement of the town found in him ready support and aid.

He was converted and joined the Methodist Church in 1843. For some years prior to 1828, church services were held by the Methodists and others in what was known in later years as the Keating school-house, there being no regular place for divine worship in the town. This school- house was located on the south side of East Tioga Street, close to the banks of the creck, and just east of the old Sarah Whitmore house on the opposite side of the street. It was a one-story frame structure, on the street line, unpainted and possibly thirty feet square, and with the high peaked roof drawing to a point in the center, which was common in those days. This was taken down in 1892, and the mansion house of Stephen J. Keating was erected on the premises. The Methodist Church of Tunkhannock in those days had but few members, about seven, but they were faithful and zealous in the Master's work. In 1828, under the preaching of Elder David Holmes, D. D., there was a revival of religion, and as a result sixteen new members were added to the church, and it was then decided to erect a place of worship at once. For this purpose a building site for same was donated by Henry Stark, and with a determination that betokened success, the male members of the church went to the woods and hewed out the timber for the frame, rafters and floor joists and the necessary sawed timber was gotten out at the old Marcy saw-mill, two miles up Tunkhannock Creek. The timber was framed, the building erected, covered and sided. At this point work was discontinued, and the building remained unfinished until the great revival of 1843, under Elder Holmes, stirred the community to its very depths, and a great many were brought to Christ and joined the church. The work of completing the Lord's house was then taken up and the structure com- pleted in 1844. This church was located on the site now occupied by the Baptist Church, faced Bridge Street, and set up about six feet above the street level and about twenty feet back. It was a frame building, seventy-two feet deep, and fifty-six feet wide, with entrance into a .vestibule, in which were staircases on either side leading to the gallery. The pulpit, which was a high one, was in the end of the church as you en-

---

S. JUDSON STARK.

735

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

tered. A gallery ran around three sides of the church, and the old-fashioned pews were closed by means of doors. The church was painted white. In 1868 it was destroyed by fire. When the Methodist congregation had outgrown this church and it became necessary to erect the new one, which was located on Warren Street, oppo- site the court house and dedicated in 1869, Samuel Stark was among the most liberal con- tributors to the building fund, as well as an earn- est advocate and helper.

March 29, 1838, Samuel Stark married Lydia, daughter of Colonel Abel and Affa (Harding) Marcy, and granddaughter of Zebulon Marcy, one of the pioneer settlers of Tunkhannock. In May of the same year they began housekeeping in a frame house on the west side of Bridge Street, which then adjoined the north end of Henry Stark's brick store block. The old home- stead that stood on the north side of Tioga Street and adjoining the (now) Catholic Church on the east, was erected in 1840, and occupied by them in the fall of the same year. He died December 15, 1879, and in 1884 this house was removed to make way for a more spacious and modern structure, in which the widow lived until her death, in 1889. She was a godly woman, and identified herself with every interest of the church and of the Master's cause. To her hus- band she was a true helpmate, to her children a loving mother, and her kindness of heart and sympathy were such as to lead her to be gen- erous almost to a fault. Five children of this union grew to maturity: Kate M., who married John Day; Eleanor G., Mrs. Stanley W. Little; Affa C., whose first husband was Calvin Detrick, and her second James E. Seeley; Abel M., who died unmarried; and S. Judson, of whom men- tion is made on the following pages.

S. JUDSON STARK was born at Tunk- hannock, Pa., October 2, 1850. After completing his studies in the schools of his native place, in the fall of 1866 he took up his college preparatory course at Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, Pa., and going from there in 1869 he entered the class of '73 in Dickinson

College at Carlisle, Pa. Being obliged to lay aside his college course by reason of ill health, in the fall of 1870 he took a business course in Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College, Phila- delphia. After clerking for a year or more, in 1872, he entered into partnership with Dr. A. B. Woodward in the drug business in Tunkhan- nock, and shortly afterward he took up the mer- cantile business in the same place, the firm name being Stark, Osterhout Brothers. Closing out his business relations here, he became secretary and treasurer of the Tunkhannock Toy Com- pany, which had its factory at the foot of Lake Carey, and this position he held from the date of its organization, in 1876, until the plant was destroyed by fire. He was a charter member of Triton Hose Company, which was organized in 1872, and was its first treasurer. From 1886 to 1388 he was engaged in the furniture business on Court House Square. He was brought up in a Democratic fold, but does not incline to poli- tics, as he has no love for the political arena, yet he has been honored by his fellow townsmen in being called to fill many local offices of respon- sibility. Fraternally a Mason, he is a past mas- ter of Temple Lodge No. 248, of this place; the present king of Temple Chapter No. 172, of said place, and a charter member and past eminent commander of Temple Commandery No. 60, also of Tunkhannock. He received his thirty- second degree in Caldwell Consistory at Blooms- bury, Pa., in 1888, and when Keystone Consis- tory of Scranton, Pa., was constituted in 1890, he was one of its charter members. His inclination has led him to the work of the church, he having been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Tunkhannock for more than twenty- five years, during which time he has served it as steward, trustee and Sunday-school superintend- ent for years, and still continues in an earnest en- deavor to build, not for a time alone, but for eter- nity as well. October 2, 1873, he married Eva W., eldest child of Ephraim J. and Elizabeth (Neigh) Keeney, of Windham Township, where. her father had settled upon a farm after serving two terms as prothonotary of the county. She is a granddaughter of Seth L. and Mary (Wall) Keeney; great-granddaughter of Joshua

736

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

and Phebe (Sturdevant) Keeney, and great- great-granddaughter of Mark and Abigail Keeney. Mark Keeney was born in Litch- field County, Conn., and came into the Wyo- ming Valley in 1787, and soon after 1790 moved to Braintrim Township, this county. He was a soldier in the French and Revolutionary wars, and is buried in the Lacey Street cemetery near Laceyville, in Braintrim Township.

On his mother's side, S. Judson Stark is a grandson of Colonel Abel and Affa (Harding) Marcy. Colonel Marcy was commissioned August 1, 1814, as captain of the Third Com- pany, Seventy-sixth Regiment, Militia of Penn- sylvania, and October 16, 1823, as lieutenant- colonel of the One Hundred and Sixth Regiment of Pennsylvania Militia. Affa Harding was a daughter of John Harding, of Exeter, Pa. This Harding, then a boy, was one of a party of eight who, on the morning of June 30, 1778, just three days before the massacre, not being aware that the savages were so close at hand, went as usual to their labor, about three miles up the river in to Exeter. They were attacked by the savages, four of their number killed and horribly muti- lated and three taken prisoners, after a desperate resistance. The boy, John Harding, managed to escape by jumping into the river and concealing himself among the willows and drift. He was so near that he could hear the dying groans of his friends. After careful search the Indians were not able to find him and gave up the hunt, and so he escaped with his life. He was the only survivor of this first massacre, that was so soon to be succeeded by the terrible one of July 3, 1778.

Zebulon Marcy, who was the great-grand- father of Mr. Stark, was one of the earliest set- tlers in this section of the country, and, about 1771, he erected his first log cabin on the creek flats just above where the mill of Aaron Brown now stands. The second house, which stood on the main road just east of the present borough limits, near the site of the brick dwelling-house occupied by James G. Leighton, a beautiful site commanding an extended view of the surround- ing country, was probably not erected until after the close of the Revolution. Putnam Township,

which was one of the seventeen towns acquired by the Connecticut claimants, contained twenty- five square miles, exclusive of the river, and em- braced a large part of what is now Tunkhannock Township, including the borough of that name, and parts of Eaton and Washington Townships, was surveyed by said Marcy. From his records as town clerk we have the following bits of early history : On the Ist of April, 1772, the Susque- hanna proprietors, at a meeting held at Norwich, empowered a committee to make out grants of townships of five miles square to a number of proprietors who should appear by themselves or agents with proper credentials to make it appear that they were proprietors, and their taxes paid. In pursuance of this action Isaac Tripp appeared as agent for twenty proprietors, also exhibiting a map or survey of the township of land on the east branch of the Susquehanna, at a place called Tunkhannock, for confirmation of the same, which was duly granted and confirmed by the committee October 24, 1775. This was fol- lowed, August 12, 1776, by a request for a call for the proprietors of the town- ship to assemble and fix a date of meeting for the purpose of choosing a proprietor's clerk and to take measures to survey the lots in said township; and on the 20th of August following, a

"warning" was published, fixing the date of meeting for September 12 next, at the dwelling- house of Zebulon Marcy. At this meeting Elisha Wilcox was made moderator and Zebulon Marcy was elected proprietors' clerk. This office Marcy held continuously up to at least June 25, 1794, the date of his last entry in the record book of the township. In February, 1777, a list of the proprietors of the township, with the numbers of their lots, was filed with the clerk. There were but twenty-seven lot-holders in this list. The years that followed were years of strife and blood- shed. The sorrowful plight of Washington's army demanded all the help that could be given, and all that were able took up arms and has- tened away to defend their country in her hour of peril. Taking advantage of its unprotected condition, the Tories and Indians swept down from the north and invaded the beautiful Wyo- ming Valley, which brought on the battle and

737

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

dreadful massacre at Wyoming, July 3, 1778, in which so many lost their lives. Those that were fortunate enough to escape the tomahawk of the Indians were obliged to seek safety in flight, tak- ing their families with them; and the larger part of them did not find their way back again until some years later. This will explain why, in this old Putnam town record, there is a break from 1777 to 1786. The old grant having lapsed by reason of its not being settled within two years of its date, the same was renewed in 1786, Zebu- lon Marcy appearing as agent of the proprietors and exhibiting the former grant and survey. He was also authorized by the proprietors to lay out their several rights, which on the 27th of April of the same year were drawn for by lot. Thirty- four took up lots at this time. Out of the twenty- seven names that comprised the first list of lot- owners in 1777, only ten of them appear in the second drawing. The original book of the old Putnam Township records, the original survey of the township as well as the old compass, chain and drafting instruments which were used in this survey, are in possession of Mr. Stark. The com- pass has been in the family for more than one hundred and twenty-five years, and it is said that it came over with one of William Penn's survey- ors, from whom Marcy obtained it. Zebulon Marcy was a man of great energy and determin- ation of character, as well as of pronounced views, and during the stirring times of the Revo- lution he was a conspicuous figure, and was very active in behalf of the independence of the col- onies. On one occasion, in 1777, while scouting along the river, watching the suspicious move- ments of the Tories, one of them shot at him, and the bullet struck an old iron tobacco box in his vest pocket, dropping harmless at his feet, and thus saving his life. The Tory was not so for- tunate. When the Harding boys were murdered at Exeter, June 30, 1778, the Indians left two of their number to lie in wait and surprise and kill their friends when they should appear on the scene. These were surprised by Zebulon Marcy and a companion scout. One of the Indians was shot where he sat, and the other was killed by Marcy while attempting to escape by swimming the river. This Indian seems to have been the

favorite son of Queen Esther, she of Bloody Rock, for the scenes enacted there on the night of the battle and massacre of Wyoming were said to have been largely in revenge for the death of the favorite son whom Zebulon Marcy had slain at Exeter a day or two previous. Marcy had many desperate encounters with the Indians, and was driven three times from the valley. In 1779 he was appointed at Tunkhannock as one of the justices of the peace at Wyoming under Con- necticut, and in 1790 he was appointed by the governor of the state to the same office. He died at Tunkhannock in 1834 in his ninety-first year.

M OSES S. KINTNER, owner of the lead- ing flour and grist mill in Mehoopany, is one of the representative citizens and most energetic business men of Wyoming Coun- ty. A native of the Keystone State, he began his early career May 19, 1835, in Monroe County, of which his parents, Benjamin and Elizabeth (Winans) Kintner, were also natives. There the father was reared upon a farm, and several years after his marriage came to Wyoming County about 1838, locating in Washington Township just across the Susquehanna River from Mehoop- any, where he purchased a farm and made his home for a number of years. He then lived for about a year in Meshoppen, coming to Mehoop- any Township in 1844. Upon a farm which he here purchased, he spent his remaining days, dying at the age of seventy-eight. He was an industrious, energetic man, but was not very suc- cessful in business. He took an active interest in the success of the Democratic party, which he always supported by his ballot, but was no poli- tician in the sense of office seeking, though he creditably filled a number of local positions, in- cluding those of supervisor, and inspector and judge of elections. With the Baptist Church he and his wife held membership. She was called to her final rest in 1869 at about the age of forty- three years.

Our subject was one of a family of seven chil- dren, and was reared in much the usual manner of farmer boys until nineteen years of age, when he began learning the carpenter's trade with his

738

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

father's brother, Daniel Kintner of Mehoopany. There he continued to work at his trade the greater part of the time for thirty-five years, and from 1865 until 1867 was a pattern maker in a foundry, making patterns for heavy mill gearing and plows. At the end of that time he purchased the mill in Mehoopany, which he has since suc- cessfully operated, though he has remodeled and equipped the plant with the latest improved ma- chinery. Since 1890 his son Fred J. has been a partner in the business.

On the 19th of May, 1857, Mr. Kintner was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth (Betsy) J. Jacobey, of Meshoppen, and they became the parents of three sons and two daughters, namely : Isabella, now the wife of H. B. Gailord; Fred J. . and Frank, twins; James A .; and Clara, wife of Foster Wells. In politics Mr. Kintner is an ar- dent adherent of Republican principles. For several years he has efficiently served as school director, and was a member of the board of elec- tion and justice of the peace for two years, but at the end of that period he resigned. In religious belief both he and his wife are Presbyterians, and they have many warm friends throughout the community. He started out in life with nothing but his own indomitable energy, and his accu- mulation of this world's goods is attributable to his good business judgment, industry and perse- verance. His word in business transactions is considered as good as his bond, and he is justly recognized as one of the energetic and represent- ative citizens of Wyoming County.

E DWARD S. KELLY has been engaged, for some thirty years, in superintending his valuable farm, situated about a mile north of Tunkhannock. Much of his attention is given to the raising of small fruits, in the culti- vation of which he is thoroughly informed. Ev- erything about the place shows the careful and systematic management of the owner, and few country homes in the vicinity are more attractive than this.

Dr. James Kelly, father of our subject, was one of the pioneer physicians of Tunkhannock, ac- customed to be called out at all hours of the day

and night, and frequently obliged to go long dis- tances in cold, sleet and mud, to attend the sick and suffering. He was a man whose heart was ever open to the poor and needy, and he cheer- fully gave his services where the people were too poor to pay fees. His books show that there are still thousands of dollars due his heirs. He was born in Hartland, Vt., March 13, 1793. His father, who was born and reared in Connecticut, was named Ebenezer, which in Scripture means a monument or mark whereby some notable event is commemorated. He reared five sons and three daughters, namely: Eben, Joshua, Miner, Sargent, James, Polly, Nancy and Susan. In early manhood the children (with the excep- tion of Eben) all came to Pennsylvania. Eben, in later years, with his wife and several children, moved to the then far west. Joshua, who was a hatter and settled in Tunkhannock, had four children: Royal Tyler; Dr. Charles; Mary Ann, Mrs. Austin Lull, and Eveline, Mrs. P. W. Red- field. Dr. Miner married Sarah Porter, of Spring- field, Susquehanna County, Pa., but later re- moved to Tunkhannock. Sargent also settled in Tunkhannock. Polly was the wife of Joshua Bates, of Tunkhannock. Mrs. Nancy Barrell had two sons, James and Albert W., whose fa- ther died when they were small, and soon after- ward Mrs. Barrell moved to Pennsylvania, where she taught school for a time; her second husband was Bildad Bennett, of Auburn, Susquehanna County. Susan married a Mr. Hoisington, and settled at Orange, a little west of Warsaw, now Wyoming County, N. Y.

At the age of eighteen, Dr. James Kelly en- tered the army for service in the War of 1812, was made a corporal under General Wool, and took part in the battle of Lake Champlain. At the close of the war he went to Attica, N. Y., and entered the office of Dr. Disbrow as a medical student. After completing his studies, he opened an office at Gainesville, now Wyoming County, N. Y. There, in 1822, he married Maria Vieley, and thence in 1823 moved to Tunkhannock, now Wyoming County, Pa., where he resided almost uninterruptedly until his death. At the time he came to this place Dr. Nathan Jackson, who had become enfeebled by age and disease, was about

739

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

the only practitioner in a radius of twenty miles. At once Dr. Kelly entered into an extensive prac- tice. The country was new, roads bad, and no carriages. He rode on horseback by day and by night, and was one of the most graceful riders in the country. In 1826 he was commissioned a captain in the One Hundred and Seventy-first Military Regiment of the state of New York, by De Witt Clinton, then governor of that state. At the general trainings, which were quite extensive in those days, he appeared on horseback, having been appointed surgeon of the One Hundred and Sixteenth Regiment, Second Brigade, Eighth Division, Pennsylvania Militia, which embraced the counties of Luzerne, Northumberland, Un- ion, Columbia and Wayne. His commission bears the signature of Gov. Andrew Shultz. In 1834 he was commissioned a justice of the peace for a number of townships by Gov. George Wolf. The office was then by appointment of the gov- ernor, and. was for life. It was made elective by the state constitution of 1838. In 1845, at the second election for sheriff in Wyoming County, he was the Democratic nominee for the office. The parties then being Whig and Democratic, were more evenly divided than in later years. The Doctor was elected by a small majority over Harry Roberts, of Falls Township, his opponent, who was a very popular man. In 1853 he was commissioned postmaster at Tunkhannock by President Pierce. As a physician he was suc- cessful, combining in his practice superior judg- ment and skill. He died December 7, 1882, at the age of eighty-nine years and nine months. The remains were borne to their last resting place by six ex-sheriffs of Wyoming County, namely : Thomas Osterhout, James B. Harding, Ziba Bil- lings, Ahira Gay, Edwin Stephens and George L. Kennard.

Dr. Kelly had a large family of children, but several died in infancy, and eight grew to mature years. Miner, born in 1823, died at the age of nineteen. E. Sargent, born September 24, 1826, traveled to the Pacific Coast three times, twice via the Isthmus and once overland, and at this writing (1897) resides on his farm in North Tunkhannock, in sight of the place where he was born, and at the age of seventy he is the embodi-

ment of a well spent life. J. Henry settled in Lemon Township, Wyoming County. Dr. H. N. Kelly settled in Nicholson, where he is still practicing medicine. Charles and George H. settled in California. George, who was the youngest of the family, and a printer by trade, was foreman of the "Sacramento Union" of that city for ten years, and was accidentally killed in San Francisco a few years ago, leaving a wife and three children, now residents of Oakland, that state. Eveline Kelly married the late Judge C. D. Gearhart, by whom she had seven children. Mary C. married the late D. C. Gearhart, of Tunkhannock, by whom she had five children. Maria, consort of Dr. James Kelly, was born in Ulster County, N. Y., in 1804, the daughter of Cornelius Vieley. Her grandfather Vieley lived in what is now the city of New York, and owned many slaves; his wife was Rachel Swarthout. Mrs. Kelly's maternal grandfather was Peter Palmetier, of French lineage, and her mother was of Dutch descent; she died a few years ago at the age of eighty-eight.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Portrait and biographical record of Wyoming and Lackawanna counties, Pennsylvania : containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, Part 88

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