USA > Pennsylvania > The Wyoming Valley in 1892 > Part 8
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REV. HENRY LAWRENCE JONES, M. A.
Son of the late Rev. Lot Jones, for over thirty-three years rector of the Church of the Ephiphany, New York city; born may 30, 1839. Was graduated A. B., Columbia College, New York, 1858; A. M., 1861; graduated Virginia Theo- logical Seminary, 1861. Ordained Deacon by Rt. Rev. Horatio C. Potter, D.
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D., LL.D., May 24, 1861. Priest by same, 1863. After a year passed as assist- ant to his father, he became, in 1863, rector of Christ Church, Fitchburg, Mas- sachusetts. In 1874 he resigned from Christ Church and accepted St. Stephen's Church, Wilkes-Barre, where he has been the beloved rector for over seventeen years. He has in that time held the highest positions in the ecclesiastical affairs of the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, that is Examining Chaplain, 1876-80 ; President N. W. Convocation (now Archdeaconry of Scranton), and member of the Board of Missions, 1876-87, when he refused re-election; Deputy to the General Convention in 1886-91; member of the Standing Committee contin- uously since 1876. Mr. Jones is one of the Executive Committee of the Ameri- can Church Missionary Society, of which Hon. John N. Conyngham, LL.D., of this city, was long the President. He is also a Trustee of Osterhout Free Library and a Vice-President of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society. He married Miss Sarah Eastman Coffin, of Massachusetts. One of the Bishops who has known Mr. Jones intimately, writes thus of him: "The present Bishop of New York once wrote me in a private letter: 'The Rev. Henry L. Jones is a prince among men.' To those who know Mr. Jones this description does not seem extravagant, for in the composition of his character there is a remarkable combination of strength and beauty. Simple and unostentatious in manner, there is yet something in his looks and speech and action that suggests a large reserve force, and in his administration of parochial affairs this is more than realized, for he is not only wise in counsel, but possesses exceptional executive gifts. Keeping as he always does his mental and moral equipoise, his judgment is asked by many people in and out of the church, and being both just and gen- erous, he has the confidence of all that know him. As a preacher he is thought- ful and instructive and has a becoming literary style. As a pastor he is sympa- thetic, active and. unusually self-sacrificing, while as an administrator he has few peers. The work in St. Stephen's parish has been large and exacting, but his success therein has been remarkable. His assistants love him as a brother, and the affection for him shown by his parishioners is as unusual as it is delight- ful. He receives and deserves the love of all who know him.
REV. HORACE EDWIN HAYDEN, M. A.,
Son of Hon. Edwin Parsons Hayden of Maryland; born at Catonsville, Mary- land, February 18, 1837. Educated at St. Timothy's Military Academy, Mary- land, and Kenyon College, Ohio; honorary degree of M. A., Kenyon College, 1886. His college course was interrupted by the War between the States, during which he served as a private in the Confederate States army, 1861-65. Grad-
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uated from the Virginia Theological Seminary in 1867. Ordained Deacon by Rt. Rev. John Johns, D. D., LL.D., who was his cousin, June 26, 1867; Priest by Rt. Rev. F. M. Whittle, D. D., August 7, 1867. Rector of Christ Church, Point Pleasant, Diocese of Virginia, 1867-73; of St. John's Church, West Brownsville, Pennsylvania, 1873-79; assistant minister of St. Stephen's Church, Wilkes-Barre, since November, 1879. Since 1885 Mr. Hayden has been one of the Examining Chaplains of the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania. He is a member of many historical and scientific societies, and has done something in the field of historic research. He is a member of the Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania Sons of the Revolution, which has about fifty members in the Wyoming Valley. He resides in Wilkes-Barre.
REV. JAMES PORTER WARE, B. D.,
Born in Massachusetts, April 6, 1859. Graduated B. L. from Delaware College, Delaware, 1883; B. D., Episcopal Theological Seminary, Cambridge, Massa- chusetts, 1886. Ordained Deacon by Rt. Rev. Thomas M. Clark, D. D., LL.D., Rhode Island, June 19, 1886; Priest by the same, 1887. Rector at Woburn, Massachusetts, 1886. Manville, Rhode Island, 1887. He became assistant and minister of St. Stephen's Church, Wilkes-Barre ; in charge of St. Peter's, Ply- mouth, 1888. He married, October 12, 1887. Miss Helen E. Story. He resides in Plymouth.
REV. DANIEL WEBSTER COXE, D. D.,
Graduated at Kenyon College, Ohio; A. B., 1885; A. M., 1868. Honorary degree of D. D., Chicago Lit. College, 1884. Ordained Deacon by Rt. Rev. Thomas H. Vail, D. D., LL.D., July 19, 1868; Priest by same, 1869. He was rector of various parishes in Kansas, under Bishop Vail, until 1880. Rector at Tremont, Ohio, 1880-85, and West Pittston, Pennsylvania, 1885-89. In 1889 he became assistant minister of St. Stephen's Church, Wilkes-Barre, at Alden and Nanticoke. He is Secretary of the Archdeaconry of Scranton. Is married and has three children. He resides at Alden.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
The first Methodist itinerant in the valley was Rev. Nathaniel R. Mills, although Anning Owen, a blacksmith, had been licensed to exhort and had formed Methodist classes. George Peck was the first Methodist minister sta- tioned at Wilkes-Barre (1826), and a large office-room in the old Court-House
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was rented for ten years at a yearly rental of ten cents. In 1829 Wilkes-Barre became a Conference appointment, and in 1831 the Methodists became the pro- prietors of the old church by purchasing from the Presbyterians the property for $1,000. The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Wilkes-Barre was formally organized in 1830, and Rev. Charles Nash was preacher in charge. In 1836 Ziba Bennett presented the organization a lot on North Franklin street, and the old church on the Square was sold and a new church was dedicated in 1846, which cost $8,200. The elegant edifice that now occupies the site was dedica- ted by Bishop Foster, October 4, 1885, and is one of the finest church edifices in our State, costing $75,000, with a seating capacity of one thousand three hun- dred. The organ, costing $4,800, was the gift of Mrs. Priscilla Bennett.
REV. JOHN RICHARD BOYLE, D. D.
The present pastor of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Wilkes-Barre is the Rev. John Richards Boyle, D. D., who succeeded to its pulpit in Decem- ber, 1890. Dr. Boyle is the son of a Methodist Minister, the Rev. John A. Boyle, and was born in Philadelphia, June 23, 1844. He was educated in the public schools of that city, and under private instruction. He also learned the printer's trade, and in early life was for several years a newspaper editor. En- listing in the IIIth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, in September, 1861, he served through the Civil War, in several grades, as an officer both of the line and staff. His final military rank was Captain and Assistant Quartermaster, to which position he was appointed by President Lincoln, and in it he was attached to the staffs of Generals Logan and Hazen. He was slightly wounded at the battle of Peach Tree Creek, Georgia, July 20, 1864, and was honorably mustered out of service, March 20, 1866. He was prepared for the ministry in 1869 and 1870, and entered the Philadelphia Annual Conference of the Methodist Epis- copal Church in March, 1871. Since then he has successively been a member of the Wilmington, Newark, New York and Wyoming Conferences, and has been pastor of several of the leading churches of the denomination. In 1880 the honorary degree of A. M., and in 1885 that of D. D., were conferred upon him by Dickinson College.
THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
The first efforts to establish religious worship in this valley were by the Pres- byterians and Baptists following the Moravian missionaries. The first church was located on the Square and completed in 1810. The first minister that was
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stationed here was Rev. Jacob Johnson, a Congregationalist. In 1803 the organization of the Presbyterian church was completed. The pastors were Jabez Chadwick, James W. Woodworth, Cyrus Gildersleeve, Nicholas Murray. Up to this time the church had been part congregational (1833). In 1853 Rev. John Dorrance, D. D., was installed. He was succeeded by Rev. A. A. Hodge, D. D., and him by Rev. S. B. Dodd. In 1868 the present pastor, F. B. Hodge, D. D., began his pastorate. The magnificent church in which the con- now worships was completed in 1889, and cost $170,000, and has a seating capacity of one thousand one hundred.
F. B. HODGE, D. D.,
Was a graduate from Princeton College in 1859, and from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1862. He was ordained May 9, 1863, and installed pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Oxford, Pennsylvania. Called to the First Presbyterian Church, of Wilkes-Barre. In 1863 he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Princeton College, of which institution he is a Trustee, having succeeded his brother, the late A. A. Hodge, D. D. Dr. Hodge is one of the leading ministers in the Presbyterian Church.
MEMORIAL CHURCH
Is a branch of the First Presbyterian Church of this city (Wilkes-Barre). It was erected by Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Wadhams, in memory of their three chil- dren who were victims of scarlet fever, in the winter of 1871. At the laying of the corner-stone, July 20, 1872, a paper prepared by Mr. Wadhams and signed by himself and wife, was read, in which the following lines were written: " These children were not permitted to live long enough to exert much influence for good in the world. We therefore desire to enlarge that influence by erecting this edifice for the worship of God. We feel that as our children can no more speak for Jesus here, they may have a representative to do it for them ; and as they cannot go about doing good, the money that would have been theirs may be profitably spent in getting others to go about doing good for them." While waiting for the completion of the building, the arrangements for the organiza- tion of a church were made by application to the Lackawanna Presbytery and the request was granted. This beautiful edifice, built of Campbell's Ledge stone and delightfully situated, was publicly dedicated to the worship of God, Wednesday, April 8, 1874. Rev. W. H. Swift was its beloved and successful
LC.B. Sutton
John Lanning
J. B. wolbaugh
H. H. Harvey
G L. Baldwin.
Fredrick chilerr
Elijah C. Wadhams
John Welles Hollenback
N. Rutter
J.C.Stroh
CHER
F. B. Mvers.
George W. Guthrie
Osterhout Free Library
Lewis H. Taylor
JaL. Reader
John Mulkey
Samuel Hoyt
George Woodward
R. Devis
M. Newel
George Kingsley
D. O. Coughlin.
isaac P. Hand
W. C. Pricc.
D. L. Greveling.
Failiem . Eldridge.
Charles Jacobs .
A. P. O'Malley.
S. S. Jones .
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pastor for ten years, when he accepted a call to the church in Honesdale, Penn- sylvania. Rev. C. R. Gregory was installed November 12, 1884.
REV. CASPER R. GREGORY
Was born at Oneida, New York, Nov. 13, 1859. Graduated from Princeton College and Lincoln College, Oxford, Pennsylvania. Mr. Gregory came to the Memorial Church of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in 1884, and served his charge acceptably until his death, December 2, 1891.
ST. MARY'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.
The first church was organized in Wilkes-Barre in 1846, by Rev. Father Fitz- simmons, who attended it from a distance. It was a small frame church that stood on Canal street, and was abandoned on the construction of the little brick church which is now occupied as a parochial school. The present St. Mary's was built by the late lamented Father O' Haran.
REV. D. O'HARAN
Was born in the County of Fermaugh, Ireland. Prepared for College in his native town. Came to the United States, and entering St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Overbrook, near Philadelphia, completed his education. Ordained at twenty-three years of age. Served at Easton for several years. Pastor of St. Paul's Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and then came to Wilkes-Barre in I868. He died September 28, 1889, in his fifty-eighth year.
FATHER McANDREW
Was educated at the Holy Cross College, Worcester, Massachusetts, and at the Theological Seminary of St. Charles Borromeo, at Overbrook, and ordained by Bishop O'Hara in 1877. Rector in Scranton for ten years, and had charge of St. John's Church, that city. Came to Wilkes-Barre in 1889, as pastor of St. Mary's Church.
JOHN W. HOLLENBACK,
Son of Charles F. and Ellen J. Welles, daughter of Matthias Hollenback of Wilkes-Barre, was born in Wyalusing, Bradford county, Pennsylvania, March 15, 1827. He came to Wilkes-Barre in 1862, and his family moved into
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the old Hollenback homestead in 1863, on the corner of River and West Market street, now occupied by one of the finest, if not the finest, blocks in Northeastern Pennsylvania (erected by Mr. Hollenback). He has been asso- ciated with many large corporations. One of the principal stockholders of the Bridge Company. A member of the Board of Trustees and a liberal contributor of Lafayette College for many years, He has given liberally to many institu- tions as well as churches and private benevolences. President of the Hollenback Cemetery Association, President and promoter of the new bridge, President of the People's Bank since the death of R. J. Flick.
HOLLENBACK.
The family by this name is well ascertained to have no connecton with the large and widely extended family which emigrated from Holland during the Dutch occupation of New York, and whose patronymic has suffered so many changes, being variously spelled Hollenbeck, Hallenbeck, Haulenbeek, Hallem- baek, etc., and occasionally Hollenback. The Wilkes-Barre family of this name is descended from George Hollenbach (the original and proper spelling of the name), who emigrated from the German Kingdom of Wurtemberg about the year 1717, and settled in the township of Hanover, then Philadelphia, now Montgomery county. He died in the year 1736; and from his will and inven- tory, still on file among the records of the Register of Wills in Philadelphia, we learn that by occupation he was a blacksmith and "Inn-hoolder," and that by habits of thrift and industry his family of four children were left in very comfortable circumstances.
From Matthias, his eldest son, is descended a very large family, but only in the female line, the late Governor Hartranft being his great-great-grandson, through his daughter Mary Magdalena, who married George Dieter Bucher.
From George, the youngest son of the original George, is supposed to be descended a large family in Berks and the adjoining counties; but the links of descent have not been traced in this connection.
John Hollenback, the second son of the original immigrant, removed from his birthplace in Montgomery county to the Lebanon Valley, then Lancaster county, as early as 1750, settling in Lebanon township, not far from Jonestown. By his wife, Eleanor Jones, he had children: (1) George, married Hannah Barton, and had eleven children, who, all but one, settled in the Western States. From this George are descended Charles W. Hollenback, Mrs. Jerome G. Miller and Mrs. Edward Welles, all of Wilkes-Barre; (2) Jane, married David Hunter, Virginia; (3) Matthias, otherwise known as Judge Hollenback, whose children were Mrs.
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Mary Ann Laning, Mrs. Charles F. Welles, Mrs. Jacob Cist (afterwards Mrs. Chester Butler), and the late George M. Hollenback, Esq., of Wilkes-Barre; (4) John, of Mill Creek, great-grandfather of the late John M. Hollenback of Mill Creek and Wilkes-Barre; (5) Mary Ann, who was keeping house for her brother Matthias before the battle of Wyoming, and who escaped to Virginia on horseback, and there married William Cherry. She is the ancestress of a very numerous family, scattered over many of the Western States.
Matthias Hollenback, well known for sixty years in the history of Wyoming Valley, was only seventeen years of age when he came here from the Lebanon Valley in the year 1769, and took a share in the township of Hanover, under the Connecticut claimn. His sum-total of educational advantages was comprised in a course of five or six weeks at one of the country schools of that period. Being a born man of business, he at once entered into merchandise in a small way, at first within the walls of a stockade at or near the mouth of Mill Creek. During the Revolutionary War he erlisted in one of the two companies raised at Wyoming for frontier defense, and which were afterwards drawn into the service of the Continental army, his commission from Congress being as Ensign, dated August 26, 1776. During the campaign of 1777 he served at various engagements in New Jersey, in particular at the battles of Elizabethtown and Monmouth. When the rumors of the invasion of Wyoming by the Tories and Indians under Colonel John Butler became alarming, and Congress was unable to afford protection, many of the Wyoming settlers in the Continental service were allowed to return home for defense. Hollenback was one of the number, and served as Ensign, with the good fortune to escape with his life by swimming the river near Monockonock island. On the following day, July 4, 1778, having hurried off during the night to meet Captain Spalding, who was on the way to Wyoming with reinforcements, he saw from the top of the Wilkes-Barre moun- tain his own house and store in flames, and had to abandon the idea of trying to save anything out of the general wreck. His trading interests had been carried on during his service in the army by his younger brother John; and there is in existence an inventory of the losses of the firm through the invasion of Butler, amounting to £671 3s. The books of the firm of Matthias and John Hollenback are still in existence, having been sent down the river in a boat previous to the battle.
Matthias Hollenback's earliest commissions in the civil service are dated May II, 1787, one being as Justice of the Peace and the other as Justice of the County Court of Common Pleas, or "Justice of the Quorum." These are signed by Benjamin Franklin, President of the Supreme Executive Council. On the 17th August, 1791, he was commissioned as Associate Judge, a position which he
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filled until his death in 1829. He was also several times commissioned as Lieut- enant-Colonel of the Militia, both by Franklin and Governor Mifflin.
During his long business life, Colonel Hollenback stood easily at the head of business in this frontier neighborhood, his operations extending far and wide, through the Susquehanna Valley and reaching far into the State of New York. He established trading posts at several points in the Wyoming Valley, at Wya- lusing, Wysox and Tioga Point, in what is now Bradford county, and also at Newtown (now called Elmira), New York. And along with trade went the acquirement of farming or timber lands, and the manufacture of flour, lumber, distilled liquors, paper, etc., in the prosecution of which numerous industries he displayed an energy and untiring industry that has few parallels at the present time. The season of the year and the condition of the weather or roads were not factors in determining any question of duty. Early and late, in heat and frost, rain or snow, he was always at the post of duty, until nature gave out and the time came to rest from his labors. Says Dr. Egle, in his History of Pennsylvania:" "He made many toilsome journeys on horseback through the wilderness to points as widely apart as Philadelphia and Niagara, encountering countless perils and hardships. Through all these experiences, in peace and war, he showed unfaltering bravery and sound judgment. On February 18, 1829, he died. His only son, Colonel George M. Hollenback, inherited his father's positive qualities, and was successful in developing the family estate and amassing great wealth."
Of this son, Colonel George M. Hollenback, it may be said that his lines were cast in pleasanter places. Born to the possession of competence, and flourishing in times of comparative luxury and refinement, he was not forced to endure such fatigues and privations as were the lot of his ancestors. Yet he did not act upon the conclusion that the goods of life were safely his, and that he had naught to do but enjoy them. On the contrary, he took up the burdens of 11fe long before his honored sire had laid them down ; and through a business career of about the same duration, he was hardly less assiduous and untiring than had been the parent to whom he owed his start in life. His concerns, if less ex- tended, were even larger in mass than those of his father, and were conducted with the same careful prudence, judgment and energy that made the career of Matthias Hollenback so memorable. He began his business life at the corner of River and Market streets, Wilkes-Barre, about the year 1816, which was also the year of his marriage to Miss Emily Lindsley. This was the theater of most of his business achievements; but he had other establishments for business, and his operations were everywhere upon a generous scale. Among his business associates were such well-known and honored names as Bennett, Butler, Reets,
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Flick, Sterling, Arnot of Elmira, etc. For many years he was at the head of business affairs in the Wyoming Valley, as his father had been before him. Prompt and accurate in all his dealings, he expected the same qualities in all his associates and employes, and nothing vexed him more than any care- less dereliction of duty or disposition to waste. Ever faithful to his friends, he never forgave an act of treachery; and being once deceived, his confidence was gone forever. His dignified walk, his courteous salutation, his deference to age and worth, without regard to station, are all memories still among many friends and acquaintances who knew him in life, and who still survive. Born August II, 1791, after a busy and useful life of seventy-five years he died suddenly of heart disease, in full harness, and in the full possession of his faculties, Novem- ber 7, 1866, leaving a second wife, but nochildren to follow him to his rest in the beautiful cemetery of which he was the founder; and leaving, moreover, the memory of an honorable name, and a character without reproach.
JOHN B. REYNOLDS
Was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, August 5, 1850. Educated at Wyo- ming Seminary and Lafayette College. Admitted to the Luzerne Bar in 1875. Built the North street iron bridge across the Susquehanna above Wilkes-Barre, and opened it in 1878. Organized and built the West Side electric road. Ran for Congress in 1890, but was defeated.
ROBERT BAUER,
Publisher of the Democratic Wachter, was born in Germany in 1825, and came to the United States in 1848.
ADOLPH BAUER,
Son of Robert Bauer, born and educated in Wilkes-Barre, and is a partner with his father in the printing business. They have one of the best equipped printing offices in this section. Mr. Bauer is well known as a singer.
SAMUEL HOYT,
Son of Elias and Mary Weston Hoyt, was born in Kingston, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, November 2, 1815, and died October 7, 1875 ; buried at Forty Fort cemetery. Mr. Hoyt was a cousin of ex-Governor Hoyt. Mr. Hoyt was regarded as one of the solid men of the Wyoming Valley. After completing his
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studies, he assisted his father as county surveyor and continued in this line for many years. This work made him familiar with the properties and industrial interests of Luzerne county, so that he became an authority as to title and own- ership, both of surface and coal lands. He became identified with coal interests and railroads, and was intimately associated in these with Mr. Abram Nesbitt. His name and life are interwoven with the history and prosperity of Kingston and the Wyoming Valley. Mr. Hoyt was a man of strong convictions in poli- tics as well as business, but his modesty forbade any proclamation of them.
THOMAS R. MARTIN, EsQ.
Educated at Mercersburg, Franklin and Marshall College, and graduated in 1874. Began practicing law in Wilkes-Barre in 1876. He was a candidate for nomination for Congress and for District Attorney of Luzerne county. Mr. Martin's office is at 14 South Franklin street.
CHARLES F. COOK,
The oldest Photographer in Wilkes-Barre, was born in Newburg, New York, in 1834. He served in the War of the Rebellion.
W. P. RYMAN, EsQ.,
Was born at Dallas, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, August 23, 1847. Was educated at the common schools in Dallas, at Wyoming Seminary and at Cornell University, from which last named institution he is a graduate of the class of 1871. He also took a post graduate course in law at the Harvard University Law School in the years 1871-72, and was admitted to the Luzerne County Bar September 20, 1873, since which time he has continued actively engaged in the practice of law at Wilkes-Barre. Though a pronounced Republican in politics, he has never sought or received any political office. He is identified with and interested in several important business enterprises in this city and elsewhere. He was the original promotor of the organizations which led to the first intro- duction of the telephone and electric light in the city of Wilkes-Barre. He was married in December, 1879, at Freeport, Illinois, to Miss Charlotte M. Rose, daughter of George P. Rose, now of Funton, Michigan, a native of New York State, and descendant of Dr. Rose of Binghamton, New York, for whom the town of Montrose, Pennsylvania, was named. Charlotte M. Rose was educated at Dansville and Elmira, New York, and at Packer Institute, Brooklyn, New
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