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 37
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 37
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37
"In all matters of public improvement, in all matters of education, in all matters of social advancement, in all matters of charity and benevolence, in all matters connected with the suppression of vice and the promoting of temperance, in all matters relating to societies and libraries for intellectual ad- rancement, in all matters connected with the pushing forward of publie improvement, for the developing of the resources of , the State, and disemboweling and utilizing its mineral wealth- in all these, and other kindred things, Judge Conyngham took an active and often foremost part. He was one of the recog- nized and accredited leaders of public thought and public action. Careful to scrutinize and weigh well every measure projected, yet when satisfied of its propriety he threw himself into it and pressed it, if possible, to a successful issue. As a Judge, the character of our departed friend has been por- trayed by his brethren on the bench and at the bar, in the tribute that was paid to him last summer, on the occasion of his resigning his President Judgeship. You all remember that occasion. The whole Bar of Luzerne County, as one man, rose up to do him honor. With a unanimity never before seen, the legal profession gathered to the banquet given in his honor, and subscribed to the elegant testimonial preseuted to him as the lasting evidences of their personal and official · regards. It is not often that such a tribute is paid to a Judge. It was the first instance of the kind in Pennsylvania. But it was an instance so marked in its leading characteristics, that it will ever stand out as a remarkable tribute of genuine affec- tion to official worth. No less than sixteen Judges, from the Supreme Court of the United States down through all our State Judiciaries, gave in writing their deliberate judgment of his character as a Judge. One speaks of him 'as the noble gentleman and the eminent jurist,' who has ' long and so ably maintained the dignity of his office and the purity of the ermine ;' another a ' profound lawyer, a learned and upright Judge ;' another speaks of his ' unwearied and incessant labor, his perfect conscientiousness and impartiality, his world-wide learning and unexcelled ability ;' another writes of him, 'To the solid attainments and sound judgment of a disciplined law-
yer, he united the strong sense of justice and the inflexible uprightness of an impartial Judge ;' another says, ' To unsus- pected purity of purpose he has joined the greatest fidelity and the most eminent legal learning and ability ;' another writes, 'There is no man living for whom I have a greater veneration and respect than Juge Conyngliam. By his retire- ment the Judiciary of the State loses one of its brightest orna- ments ;' and another says, 'His learning and industry, and purity of character, made him a model Judge.' Let it be remembered that this was said of him while living, by Judges with whom in various relations he had been associated, and who knew and had tested his value, by all the legal standards which could compute worth or measure greatness.
" While it does not become me to go into any discussion of the principles which regulated the discharge of his official duties, there is one aspect connected with his position on the bench, which I cannot pass over without notice. I allude to the fact that from the bench, and as a Judge, and during the whole period of presiding there, he was incessant in teaching and moulding the public mind in the hundred ethical as well as legal points which came before him. In his charges to juries, in his decisions on questions of law, in his protecting the rights of witnesses, in his strict upholding of all the forms and processes of law, in his sentences to the condemned, in his maintenance of the full amenities of the bar, in the spot- lessness of his own private as well as public character, he was constantly instructing the people-line upon line, precept upon precept-reaching men whom the pulpit could not reach, in- stilling principles with the noiseless, yet effectiveness of the dew, shaping opinion by the insensible processes which ever emanate from the upright bench, and thus he was ever wisely governing and teaching the people, educating them. all uncon- scious to themselves, to discharge the high duties and respon- sibilities which devolved upon them in all the phases and conditions of civil, social and domestic life.
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"Among his ancestry and relatives were several distin- guished Divines and Prelates of the Church of England and Ireland. His grandfather, Redmond Conyngham, was, a hun- dred and twenty-five years ago, connected with old Christ Church, Philadelphia, and his name appears in a list of sub- scribers for building a steeple and providing bells, with Wm. Bingham and Benj. Franklin, and Edward Shippen, and Chas. Meredith and Elias Boudinot and others, as those * who sub- scribed liberally to this object.' Shortly after Redmond Con- yngham was elected Vestryman and Warden of Christ Church, and in 1758, when it was resolved to build another church in the southern part of the city, he was one of the building com - mittee, and thus was one of the founders of St. Peter's Church, Third and Pine Streets, which was first opened for Divine service, September 4th, 176r. He continued a member of the Vestry of the United Parishes of Christ Church ano St. Pe- ter's until his death.
" The father of Judge Conyngham, David Hayfield Conyng- ham, was also connected with, and a liberal supporter of, Christ Church ; and in that Parish the Judge was baptized and brought up as a child. On his removal to Wilkes-Barre he took an interest in the feeble Church of St. Stephen's, and in 1821 was elected a Vestryman, so that had he lived until last Easter he would have completed a half century of service as a Vestryman and Warden of this Parish. He first took his seat in the Diocesan Convention as a member of the Special Convention, held in St. Peter's, Philadelphia, in October, 1826, called by Bishop White, to take into consideration the expe- diency of electing an Assistant Bishop of the Diocese. In 1850 he was nominated and elected by the Convention, a Dep- uty to the General Convention, and in company with his lay colleagues, Hermar Cope, George M. Wharton and Judge
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Stroud, took his seat in that body in Cincinnati, in October of that year. With one exception, he was returned to the Gen- eral Convention every session since. .
"In the General Convention he also rose to a prominent position. This body, made up of picked men, four clergy- men and four laymen from each Diocese, and meeting but once in three years, and legislating on matters involving the interests of the whole Church in the United States, is one of the noblest arenas for the display of forensic and ecclesiastical learning, and one of the most solemn and responsible posi- tions which a Christian can hold. The known ability of Judge Conyngham early brought him into notice, and in 1862 he was placed on the most important of all committees of the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies, viz : the Committee on Canons, his lay colleagues on that committee being Judge Chambers. of Maryland; Murray Hoffman, of New York; Robert C. Winthrop, of Massachusetts. His influence in the Lower House was a constantly increasing one. The high estimation in which he was held by those with whose theological views he mostly sympathized, was shown in October, 1868, when he was elected President of the American Church Missionary Society. Such was Judge Conyngham in public-the large minded and law-obeying citizen-the wise and upright Judge- the sincere and active Christian-the sound and devoted churchinan."
HON. EDMUND L. DANA.
The Dana family, in the Wyoming Valley, is one of the oldest, and there are but few in the early history of the county which can exhibit a more ardent devotion to the infant settlements during the times of struggling infancy than this interesting one, from colonial times to the pres- ent representation-General Edmund L. Dana, now a Judge at Wilkes-Barre. Charles Miner, in his history of Wyoming, concludes the chapter on the "Dana Family" in these words :
"Let those who have no taste for such details, turn from them. I own the pleasure it gives me to trace up from the dark and bloody scenes of '78, families of the old sufferers rising into joyous light, independence and honor."
According to the same author :
" Anderson Dana, esq., came from Ashford, Windham Co., Connecticut, and was a lawyer of handsome attainments. Immediately on his removal to Wilkes-Barre, took a decided lead in the establishment of free schools and a Gospel minis- ter. It is a pleasure to trace in the old records the noble im- press of his Puritan zeal on both subjects. Before the first stump cut on his plantation had begun to decay, his son, Daniel Dana, was placed at school in Lebanon, to prepare himself for a collegiate education at Yale. On his return from the assem- bly at Hartford, near the close of June, 1778, where, at that most trying period, the people had chosen him to represent them, the enemy having come Mr. Dana mounted his horse and rode from town to town, arousing, cheering, for the con- flict ; though by law exempt from militia duty, he hastened to the field and fell."
Besides this sacrifice of the paternal grand- father, in defense of Wyoming, Asa Stevens, the
grandfather on the maternal side, fell in the struggle. General Edmund L-Dana, the great- grandson and subject of our sketch, has added to history a military career befitting the decend- ant of two such families. He was born in Wilkes-Barre, 1817, and passed his boyhood upon a farm in Eaton Township, now Wyoming County, to which his father had removed. He was sent to school at the Wilkes-Barre Academy, whence, after completing his preparatory studies. he entered the Sophomore Class at Yale College in 1835, graduating with honors in 1833. Upon his return he was employed as a Civil Engineer, for which he had fitted himself, on the North Branch Canal as Assistant Engincer. He then commenced the study of law in the office of Hon. Luther Kidder at Wilkes-Barre, and was admit- ted to the bar April 6th, 1841, and frem that time to December, 1846, was actively engaged in practice in the counties of Luzerne and Wy- oming.
During the latter year the Wyoming Artiller- ists, with which he was connected, holding the rank of Captain, and in response to a call by the government for troops, for the prosecution of the war with Mexico, tendered the services of his company, which were accepted. They started by canal boat for Pittsburg, the rendezvous of the regiment, on the afternoon of the 7th day of December, 1846. It was snowing when the boat left Wilkes Barre, and much of the way was rendered uncomfortable by the ice, which hindered the passage.
Arriving at Pittsburg, December 13th, the company, ninety one strong, was mustered into service as Company "I," in the 1st Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, on the 16th of the same month. On the 22d they started on board the steamer St. Anthony, arriving at New Or- leans about daylight on the morning of Decem- ber 31st, going into camp on the ground below the city, memorable as the Battle Field of New Orleans. On the 15th of January, 1817, they embarked on board the sailing ship Russell Glover, landing at the Island of Lobos on the 1st of February, 1847, where Captain Dana was detailed, because of his qualifications as an engi- neer, to make a survey of the harbor. The fleet
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THE JUDICIARY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
and transports having assembled there, with Gen- eral Scott aboard, set sail for Vera Cruz on the 1st and 2d of March, arriving March 5th at Anton Lizardo, a few miles south of the city, where they landed on the evening of the 9th, and on the day following, in forming the line of investment, cneountered the first fire, which called Captain Dana and his command into action, they partaking of a share of the skirmishing.
They were actively engaged during the bom- bardment of Vera Cruz; present at the eapitu- lation and surrender, March 20th, the regiment forming one side of the gauntlet through which the captured forces passed, depositing their arms, flags, musical instruments, and other material of war. On the 9th of April they started for the interior, arriving at Plan del Rio, near Cerro Gordo, and on Sunday, the 18th, they partiei- pated in the battle of Cerro Gordo.
He next moved with his command to Jalapa, Perote, on to Puebla. In the march to the latter city, Captain Dana was selected to lead a detach- ment composed of Companies "A" and " I," sent out to dislodge a party of the enemy posted on a hill commanding the Pass of El Pinal ; the enemy fled, and the position was occupied with- out loss. They were also engaged at the siege of Puebla, and for meritorious conduct here, Captain Dana was complimented in the reports. After the siege was raised the detachment moved on to the City of Mexico, and upon its arrival there General Scott sent for the officers, who appeared at his room, where he received them personally, and shaking hands with each, thanked tbem for their praiseworthy conduct.
The Treaty of Peace having been signed, the small remains of Company "I," less than one. third of the original number, arrived at Wilkes- Barre, in August, 1848, after nearly two years absence. Captain Dana again resumed the prac- tice of the law.
Holding in 1862 the position of Major-Gen- eral of the 9th Division, comprising the counties of Luzerne, Columbia and Wyoming, he was appointed Commandant of Camp Luzerne, near Kingston, and upon the organization of the 143d Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, was elected Colonel. This regiment, in which every
household of Luzerne had at that time some special interest, it being a purely Luzerne organ- ization, broke camp and started for Washington on the 6th of November, 1862. It was tempo- rarily assigned a position in the northern defences of Washington; on the 17th of February it moved down the Potomac, going into Camp at Belle Plain. It was attached to the Ist Army Corps, General Reynolds, and assisted in the march on Port Royal, April 21st, 1863; in the skirmish below Fredericksburg, April 28th and 29th ; was at the battle of Chaneellorsville, May 2d, 3d and 4th ; at the battle of Gettysburg, on the 1st, 2d and 3d days of July. Colonel Dana at this battle commanded the 2d Brigade, 3d Division of the 1st Corps, which was actively and severely engaged in each of the three days fight, suffering heavily in killed, wounded and prisoners, especially in the terrible conflict on the 1st of July. Succeeding the battle Dana's Brigade was active in following up Lee's forces, and encountered them in a skirmish at Funks- town.
During the winter of 1863-4, the 1st Army Corps being consolidated into one Division and transferred to the 5th Army Corps, his eommand was engaged in the several contested affairs on the different fords of the Rappahannock. In the first day's battle of the Wilderness, May 5th, 1864, Colonel Dana was wounded and taken prisoner, his horse having been shot under him. He was conveyed to Danville, thence to Lynch- burg, and again to Moscow. He was next sent to Charleston, S. C., arriving there June 15th, and was one of the memorable fifty officers who were placed under fire, and kept there in retalia- tion for the action on the part of our forees shelling the eity. He was exchanged on the 3d of August, 1864, with fifty Federal officers, for a like number of Confederates of rank. He rejoined his command in the investment of Pe- tersburg.
Was engaged in the several movements during the fall of 1864, and on the Sth of October was assigned to make and conduct an advance of the entire corps, outposts, skirmish and picket lines. This was effected after a sharp encounter with the enemy's outposts, and for his management of
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the affair he was complimented by the General commanding the corps, in the following official communication :
"HEADQUARTERS, " FIFTH ARMY CORPS, October 9th, 1864. 5
" COLONEL E. L. DANA, Com'ding. 143d Pa. Vols.
" Colonel : The General commanding the Corrs directs ine "to express to you his satisfaction with the performance of "your duties yesterday, as commander of the line of skir- "mishers of the Corps.
" Your duties were important, arduous, and of a highly "responsible character ; all of which you performed with "credit to yourself and the command.
" I am, Colonel, very respectfully, .
" Your obedient servant, "FRED. T. LOCKE,
" Lieutenant-Colonel, A. A. General. " Through Brigadier-General BAXTER,
"Commanding 5th Division."
He was at the first battle of Hatcher's Run, October 28th and 29th; on the Weldon Road, from the 7th to the 12th of December; in the second Hatcher's Run battle of the 6th and 7th of February, 1865.
The 143d, together with the 149th and 150th Pennsylvania Regiments, and a Michigan Regi- ment, was subsequently sent on special service to Baltimore, and thence the 143d was ordered to Hart's Island. It was mustered out of the service on the 12th and 13th of June, 1865. Reaching Wilkes-Barre the Regiment and its officers were welcomed home, after three years absence, with an enthusiastic reception.
Colonel Dana was retained in the service, dc- tailed on Court-Martial duty at Elmira, and later at Syracuse. For his long, faithful and tried services, he was brevetted Brigadier General, and was honorably mustered out of the service on the 23d of August, 1865.
His military record surpasses that of any other individual in Northern Pennsylvania; it is great in extent, experience and brilliancy. As an officer, his reputation is best attested by his old comrades in arms, the 143d Regiment, who wor- ship him with a devotion rarely surpassed.
After the cessation of hostilities he again resumed the practice of the law, and in the fall of 1867 was nominated and elected to the office of Additional Law Judge of the 11th Judicial District, comprising the county of Luzerne. He took his scat on the 2d December, 1867, and is still serving in that capacity. For several years,
in addition to presiding alternately with Judge Conyngham in the Courts at Wilkes-Barre, he also presided as ex-officio Recorder in the Mayor's Courts of the cities of Scranton and Carbondale.
As a Judge he has earned for himself a repu- totion which will last while the hills of Wyoming may remain. Strict in integrity, living on a plane above the questionable conventionalities of the age, he retains much of that deportment which characterized the gentleman of the old school. He is a man of culture, of scholastic tastes, of literary discernment and capacity, true and honorable under all circumstances, a fitting representative of an old family, whose homestead he still retains as his residence. It is often remarked that his personal friends are quite as numerous among political opponents as in the ranks of his own party-the Democratic. Such is the record of a long life devoted to country.
GENERAL HENRY M. HOYT.
Henry Martin Hoyt is a descendant of one of the pioncer families of the Wyoming Valley. He was born in Kingston, Luzerne County, Pa., June 8th, 1830. His grandfather came from Danbury, Conn., in 1789, and was known in Kingston and throughout the valley as Deacon Hoyt. His son, Ziba Hoyt, the father of Gen. H. M. Hoyt, became extensively known, having participated in the war of 1812. We are in- debted to James A. Gordon's sketches of old memories of Lackawanna and Wyoming, for many facts pertaining to the history of Lieut. Ziba Hoyt.
The Kingston Volunteers, as Miner designates the company, was raised about the year 1810, and called the " Volunteer Matross," an artil- lery organization. Licut. Hoyt, with the com- pany, left for the Western Frontier in 1813, and his bravery and coolness in the campaign about Lake Erie, has become a matter of history. Colonel Rees Hill, to whose regiment this com- pany was attached, in his report to Gen. Tarry- hill, of one of the engagements, says :
" I cannot close this report without bearing testimony of the good conduct of this company. This being the first time the company was ever under fire, it was hardly to be expected
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JOHN B. SMITH.
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THE JUDICIARY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
that their conduct would come up to the standard of tried and practiced veterans. Great praise is due to Captain Thomas and Lieutenant Hoyt, for their cool bravery and soldier-like bearing."
Lieutenant Hoyt afterwards accompanied Gen. Harrison to the river Thames, where he partici- pated in that battle with the British under Gen- eral Proetor, and the Indians under Tecumseh. Lieut. Hoyt and his company were the guides to the "Hunters of Kentucky."
The writer of the sketehes above referred to, state that Captain Thomas onee remarked to him, when Mr. Hoyt passed him on the street, " There goes as brave a soldier as ever fired musket or drew sword from scabbard. I would trust him in the command and direction of a forlorn hope before any other man I have ever known."
His son, General Hoyt, the subject of this sketch, inherits the qualities of his father in an eminent degree. His military record is a bril- liant one, and as the regiment which he eom- · manded during the late war was familiar to the writer hereof, because of the personal friends and old classmates which had enlisted in it, it is with well qualified knowledge we write.
General Hoyt was educated at the old Wilkes- Barre Academy, Professors Owens and John W. Sterling being his teachers; subsequently, at Wyoming Seminary, thence at Williams Col- lege, where he graduated in the elass of 1849. He taught in the Academy at Towanda, was one year a Professor at Wyoming Seminary, and afterwards read law with Hon. Geo. W. Wood- ward and Warren J. Woodward, esq., at Wilkes- Barre, being admitted to the bar, April, 1854. He then moved to Memphis, Tenn., remaining but one year; after which he returned to the home of his ancestors, where he has remained sinee, excepting the time he gave to his country during the struggle.
He entered the military service in 1861, as Lieutenant-Colonel of the 52d Reg't., Pa. Vols., John C. Dodge, Colonel, and John Butler Con- yngham, Major. The Regiment, after leaving Washington, moved towards the Peninsula before Yorktown. Its first duty was under command of General Henry M. Naglee, making a recon- noissance to Bottom Bridge and Seven Pines.
After this, followed the historical events of Fair Oaks, Mechaniesville, Bottom Bridge, White Oak Swamp, Harrison's Landing. The Regi- ment was next sent with sealed orders to aecom- pany the Monitor. The Monitor having been lost in a storm, the command put in at New bern, and in a few days after went to Charleston har- bor, about the time of the great naval attack on Fort Sumter. Then followed the Morris Island and Fort Wagner details of history. An expe- dition was sent over to attack Fort Johnson in Charleston harbor, Colonel Hoyt commanding one of the detachments of the attacking party, on the night of the 3d of July, 1864. The fol. lowing extract from the Charleston Mercury of July 6th, 186-4, says :
"The second column, under the immediate command of Colonel Hoyt, of the Fifty-Second Pennsylvania Ree.ment, attacked the Brooke Gun, and landing in overwhelming num- bers, Lieut. Rowoth, of the ad S. C. Artillery, was composed to fall back, after himself and men fighting bravery. The enemy, cheered by this success-with their commander at their head waving his sword-advanced in heavy : fce uj on Fort Johnson, but there they were received with a terrific hire by the light and heavy batteries on the line."
The "overwhelming numbers" thereia referred to, were Hoyt's one hundred and twenty men against the four hundred rebel garrison. Col. Hoyt was highly complimented for his deport- ment in this action, by a General Order issued by General Foster, commanding. In this en. counter Colonel Hoyt and nearly the whole of the command, were captured. He was at Charles. ton, ineareerated with General Dana. He was imprisoned also at Maeoo, Ga.
An item of general history may not be out of place here. The first Federal flag ever puten Fort Sumter, after it was vacated, was put up ! y Major Hennesey, of Colonel Hoyt's Regiment. Colonel Hoyt was breveted Brigadier General for meritorious eonduet, and his old comrade- join heartily in declaring that it was well carne i
Returning to Wilkes-Barre he resumed the practice of the law. In May, I-67. L. w . appointed Additional Law Judge of Luz r ... County, until the new office was created in I .. . cember following. He now holds the position of Internal Revenue Collector for the 12th Distra :.
General Hoyt is a clear thinker, a man of strong common sense, and is justly regarded as one of the leading citizens of Northern l'enn. sylvania.
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HON. GARRICK M. HARDING,
The President Judge of the Eleventh Judicial District, was born at Exeter, Luzerne County, July 12th, 1830. He descends from one of the oldest families of Wyoming Valley, two of his ancestors having been killed, and John Harding, the grandfather, being the survivor.
He graduated at Dickinson College in 1848, admitted to the bar of Luzene County in 1850, and speedily attained great success, especially in jury trials. In 1858 he was elected District Attorney. Oa the 12th of July, 1870, he was appointed by Governor Geary, President Judge, to fill vacancy caused by the resignation of Hon. John H. Conyngham. During the fall of that year he was elected to the position, and still holds it.
HON. JOHN HANDLEY
Came to Scranton in 1860, and engaged in the law practice. He has been eminently successful in the accumulation of a vast estate, ranking with the wealthiest men of the Lackawanna Valley. Be it said to his credit, that he has used his means liberally in aiding to build up this young city. His improvements exhibit a liberal spirit in their style of architecture, and he has already plans for the future, which, when matured, will leave to his name and memory monuments of an enviable nature. He was " elected Additional Law Judge during the past year (1874).
HON. D. L. RHONE,
Judge of the Orphans' Court, was elected to that position last year. He was born January, 1838, in Huntington Township, his parents be- ing farmers. After leaving the common schools of his neighborhood, he studied at Dickinson Seminary, Williamsport, and at Wyoming Semi- nary, Kingston, after which he commenced the study of the law in the office of Hon. Charles Denison in April, 1859, and was admitted to the bar April, 1861. He served three months in the earlier campaigns of the Union army, and returning, applied himself to practice. Was elected District Attorney in 1867; member of
Constitutional Convention in 1873, but his health being enfeebled he resigned. He has always taken active part in all measures tending to im- prove the public schools of Wilkes-Barre.
HON. GEORGE W. WOODWARD.
Though not of the local Judiciary, his posi- tion as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania commends him to our notice. He was born March, 1809, in Bethany, Wayne County, Pennsylvania, his father at the time of his birth being Sheriff of the county. His father placed him at Geneva Seminary-now Hobart College-at Geneva, in the State of New York, where, for some years, he was the class- mate of several young men who have since been distinguished in public life. From there he was transferred to the Wilkes-Barre Academy He entered the law office first of Thomas Fuller, esq., of Wayne County, and then of the Hon. Garrick Mallery. In 1836 he was elected a delegate to . the Convention called by the Legislature, to reform the Constitution of the State. His first elevation to the Bench was in 1841. On the 23d of December, 1845, President Polk appoint- ed him a Justice of the Supreme Court for the Circuit composed of the States of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Hon. Henry Baldwin. His term expired in April, 1851. In 1852 Gov. Bigler appointed him a Judge of the Supreme Court of the State, to fill a vacancy caused by the death of the Hon. Richard Coulter. In 1867 he went to Europe, and while absent the death of Hon. Charles Denison occurred. He came home and found himself elected for the unexpired term, the first intimation that he had received of the people's intention. He was afterwards re-elected, and again in 1873 was elected as a member of the Constitutional Con- vention. Judge Woodward ranks as one of the leading men of the nation.
Since writing the above, and while the fornis were going to press, the sad intelligence has reached us by cable from Rome, Italy, that Judge Woodward died in that city of pneumonia, on the 9th day of May, 1875, in his 67th year.
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CHAPTER XXXXI.
JOHN B. SMITH AND THE PENNSYLVANIA COAL COMPANY.
The Pennsylvania Coal Company is represented in the mining distriet by John B. Smith, esq., who is one of the oldest and most experienced of the representative coal men of the two valleys. He was born in Sullivan County, New York, his father being a foreman and contractor, having come from New England. The boy left school at the age of thirteen, and entered a store as clerk. In 1830 he was driving horses upon the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company's Rail- road ; then he became a machinist; afterwards an engineer, and since 1848 has been engaged with the Pennsylvania Coal Company as Master Mechanic, and since 1854 as General Superin- tendent. He resided in Dunmore during the past quarter of a century, devoting his time and energics to the developing of the mineral re- sources of the company in a creditable and . highly exemplary manner.
The Pennsylvania Coal Company was origi- nated under the name of the "Wyoming Coal Association" in 1847, by which a number of gentlemen, principally stockholders in the D. & H. Canal Company, sought to add to the im- provements of the Lackawanna Valley, by a larger production of coal. After the surveys were conducted under a charter granted to Wm. A. Dimmick and other citizens of Honesdale in 1838, a lage body of lands located in the present Borough of Dunmore, then held by Messrs. William and Charles Wurts, of Philadelphia, came into the possession of the association. During 1847, a point at the junction of Middle Creek with the Lackawaxen was agreed upon as a terminus, and a town sprung up, which was
named Hawley, after the chief executive officer of the association. The road extending over the Moosic Mountain, toward the Coal Fields, was begun in 1849. The machinery of the road, and the necessary appliances for separating, screening and delivering the coal, was under the charge of John B. Smith. esq. The land pur- chases were extended farther down the Wyoming Valley, until they reached the north line of Wilkes-Barre Township. By the purchase of a large quantity of land, upon which much of the present flourishing town of Pittston is situated. they came into possession of a charter granted in 1838, incorporating Jas. W. Johnson, Chas. T. Pierson, Charles Fuller and associates, under the title of " The Pennsylvania Coal Company."
The entire road was completed in 1850, and the first coal sent out in May of that year. Ample deposit grounds are owned at Newburg, on the Hudson, and at Jersey City The loca- tion of the Machine Shops were at first located at Hawley, afterwards, for convenience to the mines, large and extensive shops were erceted at Dunmore, where fine stone buildings were located.
The shipments of the Pennsylvania Coal Com- pany are now about 4,500 tons per day. It has one hundred miles of railroad in operation, and that part of their route, from Pittston to Haw- ley, has already earned the reputation of being the most romantic pleasure route for summer tourists in the Eastern States. The company, in anticipation of the great demand, which will be made upon them in the future by tourists, have fitted for their accommodation neat and commodious passenger carriages, to be used dur-
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THE LACKAWANNA VALLEY.
ing the summer season, for all who choose to visit this truly romantic section. With a spacious hotel at Moosic Lake, and moderate rates of charge, this region could attract thousands cach year to the coal regions. The high rates of the large hotels in the coal region, serves as a barrier in keeping away many who would desire to come. Families from neighboring cities can see but little pleasure in prospect, if they are compelled to leave their own spacious rooms in heated weather, and take instead the contracted walls of a brick hotel in the coal regions, more dusty and oppressive than the ones already vacated. Summer travel must be accommodated if we expect it to float this way, and Moosic Lake is the only really desirable spot at present.
The coal fields are generally considered as among the most valuable owned by any corpora- tion in this coal basin. In addition, the-com- pany is possessed of nearly ten thousand acres of wood land, some eight thousand of which
being heavily timbered are carefully preserved against a future day of need.
The President is John Ewen, esq., of New York city, who is considered one of the ablest men of the coal railroad princes. Assisted by Mr. John B. Smith, of Dunmore, the company is justly entitled to rank with any corporation of the kind in the country. It is said that owing to their system of transporting coal over the planes of their gravity road, that they are en- abled to produce and sell cheaper than their competitors ; however this may be, it is a fact that when many of the inines in this region are idle, the Pennsylvania Coal Company's Breakers are engaged to their fullest capacity in turning out coal. The longest descending plane, loaded, is 20 72 100 miles. The cars are drawn up the planes by three stationary engines of fifty horse-power each, placed at the head of the plane, and then descend the "level" by their own gravity.
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FINIS
2250
2180
நகல்
41ம்.
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