USA > Pennsylvania > Lackawanna County > The Wyoming Valley, upper waters of the Susquehanna, and the Lackawanna coal-region : including views of the natural scenery of northern Pennsylvania : from the Indian occupancy to the year 1875 > Part 29
USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > Susquehanna > The Wyoming Valley, upper waters of the Susquehanna, and the Lackawanna coal-region : including views of the natural scenery of northern Pennsylvania : from the Indian occupancy to the year 1875 > Part 29
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Mr. Taylor's . idca of finanec are as simple as they are just. They rest upon the substance and not the shadow of things. Whilst no man can, with more acutencss, detect and expose what is fallacious in financial pretence, so no man can, with more effectiveness, unfold and execute a sound financial scheme. If he approve it, it
must be sound; for, before approving it, he ex- amines the basis upon which it rests, and he knows that, however specious appearances may be, there can actually be no substantial or eudur- ing superstructure upon any other than a solid foundation. It is because of his soundness of judgment upon this subject, and the unswerving integrity of his eharaeter, that he exereises so controlling an influence, as he docs, in the man- agement of the various corporations with which he is connected.
As an evidente of its high standing in public confidence, a significant fact may be stated. During the great panic of 1857, when ruin swept over the commercial world, and confidence in all of the established safeguards of property seemed to have been obliterated, and fear, sus- picion and apprehension took complete possession of the mind of the business community ; at this time, whilst the ever to be remembered "run" was being made upon the banks, a meeting of the presidents of those institutions was held for the purpose of taking counsel together as to the best means of providing against the storm in which they were involved. At this meeting, `upon the enquiry being made how cach of the banks had been affected by the day's operations, it appeared that many of them had lost from fifty to ninety per cent. of their specie reserve; but when the city bank was called upon for informa- tion as to its condition, Mr. Taylor was able to answer, "We had $400,000 this morning; we have $480,000 to-night."
After Mr. Taylor's fortune had, by the regular prosecution of his mercantile pursuits, attained to such a magnitude that a large surplus remain- ed over what was amply sufficient, as a capital for his house, his energetie nature sought other. fields of enterprise and usefulness, and he be- eame largely interested in various directions iu the development of the mineral and industrial wealth of the country. The great results which he has accomplished in these enterprises, both of benefit to himself and to the communities where they have been carried on, are due to the same qualities which rendered his mereantile earecr so brilliant and prosperous a one. Ilis clear per- ceptions and sound judgment guided him in the
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MOSES TAYLOR AND WM. E. DODGE.
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selection of the field operations, and his wonder- ful energy was employed in its development. At an early day, when the Wyoming Valley lay in agricultural repose, and the mineral treasures „of its hills were undisturbed in their natural de- positories, he, from personal investigations, was convinced of the value and importance of the project of connecting it, by a railroad ecmmuni- cation, directly with New York. He became, therefore, one of a small band of enterprising men, who combined for the purpose of carrying this project into effect. It was a great and diffi- cult undertaking, but their indefatigable zeal was equal to it. The work was finally completed under the combined efforts which were made to- wards its consummation, and it has, at last, yielded the ample reward which they anticipated from it. But for them, it would, probably, have been long delayed, if it would not have been en- tirely abandoned. They, however, were con- vineed of its importance, and determined that it should be accomplished ; and that must, indeed, be no ordinary obstacle which would not have yielded to their determined will. The panting locomotive, whose shrill whistle now awakens the echoes of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Val- leys, seems, as it struggles along with its burden of mineral wealth toward the seaboard, to typify the strength and energy, and to illustrate the wisdom and forecast of these sagacious men.
We have thus given a brief outline of Mr. Taylor's career. It has not been practicable, in the limits which we have imposed upon our- selves, to enter into details, or to particularize the many and important operations in which, from time to time, he has been engaged. Nor does the purpose which we have had in view render it desirable that we should have done so. It shows that extraneous aids are not essential to the greatest success in business life; that inher- ited wealth, or favorable circumstances, or the assistance of frien Is, are really unnecessary helps in the road to fortune; and that innate qualities of mind and . character are, after all, the most effective instrumentalities in overcoming the many obstacles that beset the path of the man of business.
Our notice of Mr. Taylor would be incomplete
without some reference to his kindness and gen- erosity. Prosperity has not hardened him, nor made him selfish, nor rendered him indifferent to the claims of friendship or the impulses of be- nevolence and humanity. Throughout his whole mercantile life he has been especially an efficient helper of young men. His course, in this re- speet, has been marked by many noble and gen- erous deeds. To his friends he has ever been a pillar of strength; and many an industrious young man, who has attracted his notice, and many others who have had claims upon his re- gard, have reason to be grateful for the generous and efficient way in which it is habitual with him to fulfil the obligations of friendship.
WILLIAM E. DODGE.
One of the men who, during the early years of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Rail- road Company, aided it by funds, counsel and energy, was William E. Dodge. There is not a more prominent or esteemed merchant and finan- cier in the city of New York than this gentle- man, who forms the subject of our sketch.
Like all the men who contribute most largely to our national wealth he is strictly a self made man, having entered a wholesale dry goods store as a clerk in September, 1818, and has been ac- tively connected with that business in New York ever since, now fifty-seven years.
His intimate relations with the railroad and other industries of this coal region, is what brings him specially to our notice. He was one of the pioneers in the movement to effect an out- let from this region, and has adhered to the cour- pany with remarkable fidelity. The subjoined letter from himself will throw light upon some incidents of history which are interesting to the inhabitants of Scranton :
PHELPS, DODGE & Co., 1
Cliff st., between John and Fulton, N. Y. )
My recollections of the early efforts of the Messrs. Serantons, which resulted in giving character to what is now the flourishing city of Seranton, are very vivid. I was then a director of the Erie Railroad, and the supply of rails for the Delaware division, then almost inaccessible, was a very serious problem. The Messrs. Seran- tons then had a small furnace and rolling mill at what was then generally known as "Slocum's Hollow." They made a proposition to the Frio
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Railroad to furnish the rails for a part of the road at a given price, and destribute them along the line, provided the company would advance them $190,000 to enable them to enlarge their works, offering as security a mortgage on some 7,000 acres of lands, part of which were coal lands.
Mr. Benjamin Loder and myself were ap- pointed a committee to visit the property and report. We made a journey there, taking three days passing over the old " Drinker Turnpike," and found a little village of some three hundred inhabitants, consisting mostly of workmen. We were greatly pleased with all we saw, and partic- ularly with the prospective value of their enter- prises, but concluded they could not arrange their works in time for us, and fearing a disap- pointment the proposition was declined.
Having then formed the acquaintance of Messrs. Geo. W. and Selden T. Scranton, and seeing the importance of their location and the value of their property, I invited them to come to the city, and having arranged a plan for en- larging their works and increasing their capital, I invited some thirty gentlemen to come to my office, when the plan was presented and the pro- posed amount was subscribed that day, and the new company formed under the name of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, my late partner, Mr. Anson G. Phelps, heading the list, followed by myself, and the full amount was made up by the names of Messrs. Loder, Dater, Miller, Sprague, Sturges, Buckley, Phelps; Rog- ers, Howland, Blair, Murdock and others. The present extensive irons works tells the rest.
A few years later Colonel Scranton undertook to secure the capital to build the "Leguett's
Gap Road," to extend from Scranton to Great Bend; again I invited some fifty gentlemen to meet at my office to consider the project ; most of the gentlemen interested in the iron company were present, who with others at once started a subscription, which as before was headed by Mr. Phelps. This secured its success, the iron com- pany taking a large amount of stock, and also furnishing the rails.
Soon after this was under way the plan for a road from the New Jersey Central to Scranton was started by Colonel Scranton, he having secured an old charter in Penn., and Mr. Blair having also secured that of the Warren Road. A meeting was called, and its great importance to the city was set forth in one of Colonel Scran- ton's very best addresses. The result was the commencement of the Delaware and Susque- hanna Railroad, which was subsequently made the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western, and which has more than met the most sanguine predictions of its early projectors.
Colonel Scranton also undertook and did more than any other man to secure the building of the Lackawanna & Bloomsburg Road.
When I think of these carly days of struggle, and of what Scranton then was, and then look at its present position, I can hardly realize the wonderful change ; it has now become a centre, and I feel very confident that it will eventually become a great manufacturing city, equal to almost any in the State, but I never think of it without remembering how much those noble men, Colonel G. W. Scranton and Joseph H. Scranton, did to make it what it is.
Truly yours, W. E. DODGE.
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SECOND NATIONAL BANK.
CHAPTER XXXV.
REPRESENTATIVE OFFICIALS OF THE DELAWARE, LACKAWANNA & WESTERN R. R.
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JOHN BRISBIN.
A name that has been familiar to the people of northeastern Pennsylvania for years, is that of the subject of this brief sketch. For a long time a resident of the city of Scranton, and a participator in all the leading movements of the valley, he deserves to be treated as one of the historical men of this section of the State.
He was born in Chenango County, New York, in 1818; remained at home working as a farmi- er's boy, enjoying only the usual advantages of a common school education, until he was fifteen years old, after which he attended an academy for two years, teaching a country school in the winter, then went to New York as a clerk in a wholesale grocery and provision store, where he remained for two years ; married his wife there and went to Wyoming County, Pa., where he read law, teaching school to pay his board. Was admitted to the bar in 1842, and continued in the practice of his profession until the first of January, 1855, when he received the appoint- ment of counsel and general land agent of the D. L. & W. RR. Co. and removed to Scranton. Served in that capacity for two years, when he was appointed general superintendent, which position he occupied until 1863, when he was chosen president of the company, and continued in that eapacity for about five years ; he then resigned and was appointed counsel and general adviser, which position he still occupies, thus having been in the service of the company eon- tinuously for twenty years.
WILLIAM R. STORRS.
Intimately connected with the annals of eoal records, and more especially with the coal de- partment of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company, stands the name of William R. Storrs, General Coal Agent.
Like most of the men of sterling worth and steadfast adherence to duty of this section, he is of New England origin, and has all of that reso- luteness which has ever characterized the gen- uine "Down Easter." He was born on the 28th of December, 1824, in Ashford, in the county of Windham, Connecticut. His ancestry in this country dates back to 1683, in which year the pioneer of the family, Samuel Storrs, emigrated from Nottinghamshire, England, to Barnstable, Mass., where he remained a few years, and then removed to and settled permanently in Mansfield, Connecticut. From this family there have been numerous descendents, many of whom in the liberal professions, especially the ministry, have been well and widely known. His education was of the sort usually given to farmer's boys in that age-that of the country district school-with the addition of one term at the academy. If his scholastic career was thus limited, he has yet accomplished a broader and more comprehensive education from the large and varied experience of his business life and has fitted himself to move in the sphere of cultured attainment as a thorough, consistent, conscientious thinker aud actor.
His boyhood, while it may not have differed materially from that of thousands of New Eng.
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land youths, is still strangely in contrast as re- gards its opportunities and advantages with that of the young men of the present day. He worked hard, long and earnestly. and measured hope of gain far in the future. Content with a little, his ideas were liberal, but patience, a strong and marked feature in his character now, ruled all his boyhood plans. School teaching employed his talents for three winters, when he obtained a. clerkship in a manufacturing establishment; undeo John W. Boynton, where he remained four and a half years. The name of Mr. Boynton he still holds in marked and fervent veneration, and has never forgotten the many aets of kind- ness shown to him by this generous, whole souled man.
The writer, in a conversation onee held with Mr. Storrs, in which the fortunes of young men in the wide world was the theme, can recall with what fullness of soul and deep gratitude he re- counted the noble, almost filial qualities which characterized this truly good man in his endea- vors to see William, his young friend, succeed. The story would be of little interest, perhaps, to our readers, but the impressions made upon the mind of the writer were lasting, and alas, sadden- ing, for few there are in the world like John W. Boynton. We gladly record his name on our pages, and ean but reeall those touching lines by gentle "Bobby " Burns, when he received the heart-rending intelligence that his best, dearest, and most devoted friend, the Earl of Glencairn, was dead.
" The husband may forget the bride Was made his wife but yester 'een ; The monarch may forget the crown That on his head an hour has been ; The mither may forget the child That smiles sae sweetly on her knee : But I'll remember thee, Glencairn, And a' that thou hast done for me."
It was through the good offices of Mr. Boynton, that the subject of our sketeh first entered upon railroad service, he having been appointed to take charge of a station on the New London, Northern Railroad, named Williamantie. His strict, me- thodical and persevering attention to his duties, did not pass unobserved, and after remaining there for three years he was promoted to the superintendeney of the road, which position he
occupied for five years, when he was induced to go west to represent a coal operation, and soon after, at the beginning of the year 1861 became connected with The Delaware, Lackawanna an l Western Railroad Company, as their General Salesman in the western markets. In August, 1866, he came to Scranton as their General Coal Agent, a position which he has filled with marked efficiency and ability until the present time.
As a man, Mr. Storrs is quoted as a model for striet integrity and exemplary usefulness. A prominent capitalist and an old and wealthy officer of one of our heaviest corporations, wish- ing to express his appreciation of a certain eitizen to the writer, said : "He is as uear like Storrs as any man that you can find, perfectly square every time and in every particular." The comparison was pleasingly fitting in both cases.
His duties are arduous, but with the thousand and one petty annoyances which must of neces. sity foree themselves upon his position, he is still the patient, affable, christian gentleman, devoted wholly in body, mind and strength to the eare and success of the vast business which rests upon his shoulders. In years to come, should his health be spared, a retrospective view of his owa life must convince him that were mankind all disposed to follow up the busy life which he has led, the world would be strikingly in contrast to what it appears at present.
WILLIAM F. HALLSTEAD.
Another of the living spirits which keep in motion, day and night, in almost endless sueces- sion and duration the whizzing trains of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, is William F. Hallstead.
He was born in Luzerne County, in this State, on the 22d day of March, 1837, and followed farming in his earlier years, remaining on the soil until he reached the age of fifteen, when he commeneed working for the Delaware, Lacka- wanna and Western Railroad Company, on the Northern Division.
His career is a marked one; he commenced at the bottom of the ladder, and has worked up
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REPRESENTATIVE OFFICIALS OF THE D., L. AND W. R. R. CO.
step by step until he has reached a position which calls for the best faculties of man to man- age. He has toiled with the shovel on the road himself; he has been brakeman, dispatcher, con- ductor, assistant superintendent, and for the last four years he has been superintendent of the Northern Division, from Binghamton to the Junction, known as the "main line," and re- eently, in addition to the burdensome duties, he has been placed in charge of the Syracuse and Binghamton line, making in all 225 miles of railway, operated by one of the most vigorous corporations in the country. His constant watch- fulness has made his line so secure that the local press along the entire line have always been ful- some in praise for his strict devotedness to duty, and obliging attention paid to public wants.
Mr. Hallstead is in every sense a thoroughly self-made man, and a hard worker. As an offi- cer he stands supreme in fidelity to his trust ; as a eitizen he is quiet, modest and unassuming nearly to a fault ; but his insight into character, which he has obtained from an extensive ae- quaintanee with the world, has made him a mas- ter of his situation. He is considered by the publie, where he is intimately known, as one of the most efficient and competent railroad men of northern Pennsylvania.
As we go to press, his spere of usefulness has been enlarged by being appointed Superintendent of the the Utica, Chenango and Susquehanna Branch of this road. The most prominent jour- nal of the northern eoal basin predicts that he will yet superintend the entire lines of the road.
JAMES W. FOWLER.
Another of the landmarks of the company was born in the eity of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., August 22, 1835. His education was received at the Dutchess Academy, then the leading in- stitution of learning in that section of the State. He came to Seranton February 20, 1856, and went into the employment of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company's machine shop office, and was promoted to ehief clerk, 'superintendent's offieo, October 19, 1860,
which position he now holds to the satisfaction of all parties interested. He is an exemplary eitizen, and commands the respect of the entire community in which he resides.
In addition to the above named officials may be mentioned William Frink, the freight agent at Scranton, who has won for himself golden opin- ions from all who have ever transacted business with him.
Mr. James Ruthven, who has been connected with the company's office in Scranton, has be- come known as a fixture, and may be regard- ed as part and parcel of the corporation. Many others, deserving of notice, after having served a life-time in connection with this great enter- prise, may be justly treated as historical eharac- ters in some future edition.
DAVID T. BOUND
The Superintendent of the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Division of the Delaware, Lacka- wanna and Western Railroad Company, was born October 14th, 1829, at Conklin, now Kirkwood, Broome County, New York. He remained on the farm with his parents until ten years of age, when he eommeneed life for himself by working on another farm at $4.00 per month. When the New York and Erie Road was commenced he drove a team, doing the first work on that line between Susquehanna and Great Bend, on what was then known as Baker's Cut. At this branch of business he continued until the road was com- pleted to Binghamton, when he worked at eighty- seven and a half eents per day as a laborer on repairs and track.
After some months of this toil he was ap- pointed seetion foreman at Great Bend at $30.00 per month, holding this position until May, 1853, when he emigrated west and was appoint- ed track-master of the then Lawrenceburg and Upper Mississippi Railroad. Staying there but six months he returned to Pennsylvania, com- mencing his connection with the company which he has served sinee that time to the present. His first efforts were devoted to laying switches. next as conductor in 1856 (shipping engines) of
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THE LACKAWANNA VALLEY.
coal train running between Seranton and New man, thorough in business, and reliable as elock Hampton Junction. In the following year he work. His example is well worthy the study of was appointed dispatcher of the Seranton yard, the young men of the present day. which he held until July 20, 1861, when he re- ceived the further promotion of Superintendent of the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Road. On The D. L. & W. RR. Co.'s officers elected during the month of February, 1875, for the ensuing year, were : President, Samuel Sloan ; Secretary, A. J. Odell; Treasurer, Fred. Il. Gibbons. March 1st, 1862, he took the running by con- tract of what was then known as the Pittston Branch of the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Railroad, and on March 1st, 1869, was again appointed Superintendent of the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Railroad, which position he still holds.
His entire scholastic training sums up in about eight months at a country district school, a point well worth considering by the laboring men of the Anthracite basin. He is another self-made
Managers : William E. Dodge, Moses Taylor. George Bulkley, John J. Blair, Rufus R. Graves, S. B. Chittenden, John Brisbin, George Bliss, Perey R. Pyne, W. W. Phelps, James Blair, Wilson G. Hunt, Marcellus Massey, A. L. Dennis.
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CHAPTER XXXVI.
WILLIAM W. WINTON.
" Few, few were they whose swords of old. Won the fair land in which we dwell ; But we are many. we who hold The grim resolve to guard it well."
-W. C. BRYANT.
Intensely interesting to the history of the im- mense growth of the Lackawanna Valley, and the marvelous enterprise shown in the bringing out of a comparative wilderness and building up the third eity of this commonwealth, is the sub- jeet of this sketeh-Mr. W. W. Winton. It is well to aseribe honor to whom honor is due, and it is a pleasure to state that the genius and fore- sight of this eminently publie man has had much to do with our prosperity, and it is fitting to add that his brain projceted and contributed largely to the vast operations resulting so successfully and prosperously, and we do not over-rate him when we commend him to his fellow-eitizens as ranking among the foremost of our thriftest operators and noble benefactors.
He was born on the 29th of January, 1815, in the town of Butternuts, Otsego County, New York, where he received a very liberal educa- tion, well qualifying him for any business pur- suit he might adopt. ITis father, Andrew Win- ton, moved to Providenee, now in the city of Scranton, in September, 1833, where the sun, fresh from school, was soon engaged as the vil- lage sehool-master at twelve dollars a month and " board around." The school house then used was the building opposite the barn of the l'eo- ple's Street Railway, at present the residence of Mrs. Delia Sloeum. One evening his school- house was honored by a sprightly sermon from the famous Lorenzo Dow, that eeeentrie Ameri- ean preacher, whose manners and attractive elo- quence drew after him immense crowds.
In the spring of 1834, he was engaged in the lumber business, having charge of operations in the forest then eovering that portion of our eity where the present blast furnaces are situated. In July of the same year he commenced teaeh- ing sehool in Providence, in the new Bell school house erected opposste the present residenee of E. W. Weston, esq. In August, 1835, he com- meneed teaching sehool at Danville, in this State, and oeeupicd every spare moment in the assidu- ous and arduous study of the law under the able instruction of Joshua W. Cowley, esq., who since then has become one of the most profound and able lawyers of Pennsylvania. Here he luid the foundation of the legal knowledge which has contributed largely to his success as a busi- ness man, and to which he has added by constant legal reading ever sinee.
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