C. EDWARD FAAS, dealer in stationery, cigars and tobacco, Freeland. This energetic young business man is a Philadelphian by birth, in which city he began his earthly existence, January 11, 1871. He is a son of Anthony J. and Mary (Weygandt) Faas, who now reside in Philadelphia, the former being a native of that city, the latter of Easton, both coming of German origin. In their family there are two children, C. Edward and Bertha, the latter of whom now resides with her parents. Our subject received his education in the High School of Philadelphia, and then went into the stationery business under Chas. J. Cohen, of No. 617 Market Street, Philadelphia. From there he entered the employ of the Ledger job office as letter artist, where he remained until the summer of 1892, when he came to Freeland and established his present extensive stationery and tobacco business, in the conducting of which he commands a justly merited large public patronage. Mr. Faas was married November 5, 1891, to Miss Edith Davis, one of Audenried's most accomplished young ladies. Our subject is a strong supporter of the principles of the Republican Party.
HENRY S. FAIRCHILD, retired, Nanticoke. This gentleman is a descendant of early pioneer families of the locality of Luzerne county. He was born March 18, 1839, in the portion of Newport township which is now a part of Nanticoke Borough, and is a son of John and Martha (Line) Fairchild. Our subject's father, also his grandfather, Solomon Fairchild, were born in Luzerne county. As far back as we are able to trace the Fairchild family, of which our subject is a member, is to three brothers of early New England stock, who lived in Connecticut. They all emigrated westward, one of them locating near the present site of Nanticoke, where he lived the remainder of his days in the unbroken wilds of the keystone State, and there reared a family, one of whom was Solomon Fairchild, grandfather of the subject of this memoir. Martha Line, the mother of our subject, was born in Hanover township, and was a daughter of Henry Line, a native of New England, and who settled in Luzerne county at a time when there were more Indians than coal miners. Mr. Fairchild was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools of his native town.
WILLIAM FAIRCHILD, a prominent retired farmer, Nanticoke, was born February 7, 1837, in Newport township, Luzerne county, and is a son of Solomon and Elizabeth (Alden) Fairchild, both of whom were natives of this county and descendants of some of the earliest settlers of this Valley. Mr. Fairchild was educated in the common schools of his native town, and at the tender age of eight years commenced work on the canal, which business he followed until 1872. He was chiefly engaged in boating between Nanticoke and Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York, and various other shipping points in the locality of Chesapeake Bay. In 1864, he commenced business for himself on the canal, and it may well be said of him that he made boating a success. Upon abandoning the canal in 1872, he purchased a farm in Hanover township, where he resided until 1888, in which year he sold his farm and removed to Nanticoke, where he now resides in his handsome and cozy residence on West Main Street. He was one of the promoters of the First National Bank of Nanticoke, and is a present a stockholder and a director in same. In the spring of 1860, Mr. Fairchild was married to Miss Anna, daughter of John Fairchild, of Newport. They have had five children, viz.: Monroe, who died at the age of twenty four; Harvey, a machinist in Berwick, Pa.; Edith; Edna, who is a student at the State Normal School, at Bloomsburg, Pa.; and Byron. Our subject is a supporter of the Presbyterian Church; he is a member of the I.O.O.F. and in politics is a Republican.
GEORGE FAIRCLOUGH, dealer in boots and shoes, Yatesville, was born in Monmouthshire, England, December 20, 1840, and is a son of William and Fannie (Harding) Fairclough, natives of the same place. He received his education in his native country, and in 1863 came to the United States, residing in Tioga county, Pa., nearly a year, and moving in 1864, to Yatesville, this county. He had learned his trade of shoemaking in England, but for six years after coming here he worked as a laborer in the mines of the Pennsylvania Coal Company. In 1870 he opened a workshop, and now has as finely a stocked store and shop, equipped with all the latest improved machinery, as any country town in the State can boast of. Our subject was married in England June 16, 1861, to Sarah, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Dando) Greenwood, natives of Gloucestershire, England, which union was blessed with ten children, eight of whom are living, as follows: Fannie, born October 31, 1862; Nellie, born April 26, 1870, married to Joseph Kenny, clerk, Binghamton, N.Y.; Elizabeth, born December 3, 1872; Susan, born January 3, 1875; George, born June 18, 1877; Charles, born May 30, 1880; Alfred, born July 1, 1883, and Rena, born march 28, 1884. Our subject is a Republican, and was a member of the borough council for two terms; school director from 1885 to 1891, and was elected justice of the peace in May 1891, for a term of five years.
JACOB FALK, butcher, Wilkes-Barre, was born near Cologne, Prussia, December 8, 1831, a son of Daniel and Eva (Marcus) Falk. He was reared and educated in Prussia where he learned the butcher's trade, and where he served three years in the Prussian army. In 1856 he came to America and worked at his trade as a journeyman one and a half years in New York City. In the fall of 1857, he located in Wilkes-Barre, where he opened a meat market, and has since conducted a successful business. In March, 1859, Mr. Falk married Miss Helen, daughter of Lyman and Mary Sulzbacher, of Bavaria, Germany, and by her has four children, Samuel, Matilda, Sarah, and Harry. Mr. Falk is a member of the Jewish Reformed Church, of the F.& A. M., and of the I.O.O.F. Encampment and Canton; and politically he is a Democrat and served one term of three years as a member of the Wilkes-Barre city council.
JOSHUA FALKENBRIDGE, carpenter in the repair shop of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, at Ashley, was born in Derbyshire, England, March 1, 1839, and is a son of William and Anna (Thorpe) Falkenbridge, the former of whom, who was a knitter by trade, emigrated to America and died in Utah. The family consisted of six children, three of whom are living, and of them Joshua is the youngest. Our subject worked about the mines in his native country, his education having been obtained by private study, and came to America in 1866. After passing a few months with his brother in New Jersey, he went to Scranton and worked for six months on the bridge then being built at that place across the river; then was successively engaged in mining as follows: at Port Bowkley, six months; Kingston, six months; Nanticoke, one year, and then removed to Ashley where he worked in the mines until 1886, when he accepted his present position. Mr. Falkenbridge was married July 31, 1865, to Miss Benedicta, daughter of William and Benedicta (Dronfield) Bradley, in whose family there were nine children, six of whom are living, and she was the sixth. Mr. and Mrs. Falkenbridge are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church; he is a member of the Sons of St. George. He built his present residence in 1883.
REV. M. J. FALLIHEE, pastor of the St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church, Hazle township. This gentleman is a native of Susquehanna county, Pa., born near Friendsville, August 15, 1844. He was reared on a farm, and in his early boyhood days attended the common schools of his native county. He then entered St. Joseph's college, at Choconut, Pa.; later went to St. Joseph's University, at Ottawa, Canada, where he spent one year. He then attended Niagara Univerisity, at Niagara, N.Y., and afterward entered upon the study of philosophy and theology, at St. Charles' Seminary, Philadelphia, where he was graduated in the class of 1869. On September 17, 1869, he was ordained at Scranton by Bishop O'Hara. He was then stationed at the cathedral at that town for a short time, when he was transferred to Eckley, at which place he was an assistant, but did not remain as such, for shortly afterward he was made pastor of that parish, which at that time included White Haven, Drifton, Jeddo and Freeland. Father Fallihee has been an unceasing worker and a thorough organizer in his church. Previous to 1871, he said Mass in Upper Lehigh and Freeland, at the latter place in a schoolhouse. In 1870, Hon. Eckley B. Coxe donated to the congregation of these last-named places six acres of land to be used for a church, cemetery, convent and parsonage, and in 1885, he made an additional donation of six acres. In 1871, St. Ann's Church was built under the supervision of Father Fallihee. In 1881, he had completed his residence at Drifton, and removed from Eckley. In 1884, the convent was built and here the parish school has been in progress since 1886. In 1890 the congregation numbered 2,000 above the age of nine, and the Church property, including convent, school and residence, was valued at $30,000. In his congregation, Father Fallihee has organized many religious and temperance societies, which have had far reaching beneficial results.
ALEXANDER FARNHAM has a New England ancestry on both his father's and mother's side. The Farnhams were with the earliest of the Puritan comers to the New World. Alexander Farnham's great-grandfather was a captain, on the American side, in the Revolutionay War, and died from the effects of hardships suffered while confined in one of the British prison-ships located in New York Harbor, and largely used by the enemy for the safe keeping of their captives during that great struggle. Alexander's grandfather was Samuel Farnham, a native of New London, Ct., who removed to Oxford, N.Y., being the first merchant in that place of whom there is any record, and who organized the first artillery company in that town. Alexander's father, John P. Farnham, was born in Oxford, was educated for the practice of medicine and shortly after graduating moved to Carbondale, then in Luzerne, now in Lackawanna county, Pa., where for a time he pursued that profession; but finding that his health was not equal to its requirement, he turned his attention successfully to mercantile business. His wife (the mother of Alexander) was Mary Frances Steere, daughter of Mark Steere, of Providence, R.I. (later of Norwich, N.Y.), who was a shipping merchant in the early part of the present century, and largely concerned in the West Indies trade. He was captured by the British during the War of 1812, in one of his own ships, called the "Comet," and imprisoned on the island of Jamaica for many months, his release being finally effected by a decision that the ship, when taken, was in neutral waters, and therefore not subject to rightful capture. Alexander Farnham was born in Carbondale January 12, 1834, and his general education was acquired at Madison Academy, Waverly, Pa., and at Wyoming Seminary. He was prepared for the practice of the law at the National Law School at Ballston Spa, N.Y., and in the office of Fuller & Harding, in Wilkes-Barre. He was just twenty one years and one day old, when on January 13, 1855, he was formally admitted to practice in the Luzerne Courts. Mr. Farnham is a Republican in politics, and was district attorney of Luzerne county, through the favor of that party, from 1874 to 1877. He filled the position with ability, and to the satisfaction of the people of the county. Several times he has been prominently spoken of for judicial honors, and when the new county of Lackawanna was formed out of Luzerne, was solicited by a large number of the leading Republicans to become their candidate for the president judgeship, but declined. It is not doubted that, had he been at all anxious, he might long ago have occupied a seat upon the bench, or have represented his district in Congress. He was one of the most active of the Blaine adherents in the Republican National Convention at Chicago in 1880. He has served as director of the public schools of Wilkes-Barre (in the old Third District), and in the city council occupying in the latter body the position of chairman of the committee on law and ordinances. He was also delegate to the Republican National Convention at Minneapolis in 1892. He is now president of the bar association of Luzerne county, having been elected in the fall of 1892 to succeed Hon. A. T. McClintock (deceased), who was its first and only president from the time of its incorporation in 1867. July 18, 1865, he married Augusta, daughter of the late Rev. John Dorrance, who was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, of Wilkes-Barre, from August, 1833, until he died in 1861; his degree was conferred by Princeton College. Rev. John Dorrance's grandfather was Rev. Samuel Dorrance, a graduate of the university of Glasgow, Scotland, who emigrated to America in 1722, and preached at Voluntown, Ct., until he died, fifty-three years later. Mr. and Mrs. Farnham have three children—two sons and one daughter.
JAMES FARRELL, retired miner, Plains, was born in County Longford, Ireland and is a son of James and Rose (Fox) Farrell. The father was thrice married, and had in all twenty-one children; the last family consisting of six children, of whom James is the second. Our subject came to America in the spring of 1846, and after remaining in Brooklyn two months, engaged in mining at Wilkes-Barre, where he remained four years; he was then employed in mining in Schuylkill county, two years; in North Carolina, one year, and then returned to Wilkes-Barre, in which vicinity he has since remained and was engaged in mining until he retired from active life. Mr. Farrell was married July 10, 1854, to Miss Catharine, daughter of John and Ellen (Lines) Farrell, natives of County Longford, Ireland, and this happy union has been blessed with eleven children, viz.: Ellen, born May 24, 1855, married to Edward Milot, of Scranton; James J., born October 10, 1856, was educated in the common schools at Plains, Niagara University, and the Montreal Theological Seminary (he was ordained in December, 1886, and after acting as curate at Freeland, Pa., for a short time, he was appointed pastor of the Catholic Church at Friendsville, Pa., where he is now located; he has had the degree of D.D. conferred upon him); Mary E., born January 8, 1859, married to J. J. Wisley; John C., born October 7, 1861, traveling salesman for Wallace Elliott, of New York, and A. B. Noys, of Georgetown, Mass., with sample rooms in the Welles Building, Wilkes-Barre; Garret T. born August 10, 1863, engaged in the hardware business, Plains; Frank A., born June 19, 1865, for several years was in charge of the drug-store of O. B. MacKnight, Plains, and is now a student at Jefferson Medical College; Thomas, born February 20, 1867, died August 17, 1868; Catharine, born November 21, 1868; William L., born August 22, 1870, is engaged with John C., they together having charge of the State of Pennsylvania; Lawrence deceased in infancy; and Margaret A., born May 21, 1876. Mr. Farrell and family are members of the Catholic Church, and Democratic in their political views.
JAMES FARRELL, miner in the Delaware Shaft, Plains, was born in County Longford, Ireland, in 1842, and is a son of James and Bridget (Keenan) Farrell, the former of whom was a farmer. They reared a family of seven children, viz: Catherine, who died in New Orleans at the age of twenty-five years; Thomas, a farmer in Ireland; Christopher, a miner in Plains; James, the subject of this sketch; Patrick, a farmer in Ireland; and John and Martin, stock-raisers about 200 miles from Buenos Ayres, South America. Our subject came to America in 1866, and locating in Plains, Pa., where he railroaded two years, labored in the mines nine years, and has been mining since 1876. During the years 1873-5 he traveled through the west as far as Omaha. Mr. Farrell was married, September 20, 1874, to Miss Mary, daughter of Jeremiah and Mary (Davin) Dailey, natives of Ireland, and they have eight children, seven of whom are living, viz.: Catherine, Mary A., Matthew, James, Ann, Agnes and John W. Mr. Farrell and family are members of the Catholic Church; he is a member of the Father Mathew Society, and in politics he is a Democrat. His uncle, Thomas Farrell, was a soldier in the Mexican War. Mr. Farrell purchased his present residence and removed therein in 1875.
WILLIAM H. FAULDS, physician, Luzerne, was born in Minersville, Schuylkill Co., Pa., January 20, 1845, and is a son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Wagner) Faulds, the former of whom was of Scotch descent, the latter of German. Our subject was educated and reared in Columbia county, Pa., and at the age of eighteen years began the study of medicine under the tutorship of Dr. Thompson, of Danville, Pa. He soon afterward entered the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in the class of '76, and not long thereafter located at Luzerne, where he has since enjoyed a large practice. In the medical fraternity he invokes much respect. He was the presiding officer of the Luzerne county Medical Society, for the year 1891, and is a member of the American Medical Society. Dr. Faulds has been twice married, first in 1869, to Miss Mary, daughter of Richard Thompson, and by her he had one child, Bertha, who is a graduate of Wyoming Seminary, class of '90, and who at present resides with her father. Mrs. Mary (Thompson) Faulds died in 1872, and the Doctor's second wife is Mary Ella, daughter of James and Christiana (Yorks) Curry, natives of Pennsylvania. One child, Agnes L., born October 2, 1883, is the fruit of this union. The Doctor in church connection is a Presbyterian; socially he is a member of the F. & A. M. and of the P. O. S. of A.; in politics he votes the Republican ticket.
REUBEN FAUX, carpenter and foreman, Knelly's Planing-mill, Conyngham, was born in Hollenback township, this county, March 31, 1842, a son of Michael and Mary (Eroh) Faux. His father, who was a native of Prussia, came to America in 1830, first locating in North Carolina, later he removed to Quakake, Schuylkill Co., Pa., after which he resided in Jeansville, this county, nine years, and has been a permanent resident of Hollenback township since 1855, where he has been engaged in farming, though by trade a carpenter. His wife was a daughter of Mathias and Mary (Boyer) Eroh, pioneers of Hollenback township, and by her he had seven children who grew to maturity: Catherine (Mrs. Samuel Swoortwood), Reuben, John, Richard, William, Frank and Michael. Our subject was reared in Luzerne county, and served an apprenticeship of two years at the carpenter's trade, which he has followed since 1869. Has been a resident of Conyngham since 1877, and held his present position since 1880. He was a soldier in the Civil war, enlisting August, 1862, in Company F, One hundred and Forty-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, and participated in the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, as well as all the engagements of Sherman's army when on the march to the sea, and was at Johnston's surrender. Mr. Faux was honorably discharged June 5, 1865. In that year he married Susan A., daughter of Daniel and Lydia (Flickinger) Spaide, of Sugar Loaf township, and he has seven children: Horace U., Cora, Ezra W., Mary E., Bessie, Levi C. and Elwood R. Our subject's second wife was Mrs. Lydia (Ulrich) Voglie, of Conyngham. Mr. Faux is a member of the M.E. Church, and of the G.A.R.; in politics he is a Republican.
GEORGE FEAR, Eckley. This gentleman, who is foreman of the machine department for Coxe Bros. & Co. at Eckley and Stockton, is a native of Germany, and was born April 2, 1854. His parents came to America, locating at Hazleton before he was two years old; the father died in 1886; the mother now resides at Wenton. At the age of seven our subject commenced picking slate at Stockton, and later worked inside. At sixteen he learned cabinet making; then served his time at pattern making, and later worked at the trade of machinist. His first machine work was for J. Leisenring & Co., at Eckley, and after remaining there a short time he went to Black Ridge, where he took charge of the work for eighteen months; then, in 1886, accepted his present position. Mr. Fear was married November 24, 1883, to Miss Emma Shelhammer, of Rock Island, Ill., and they have four children, viz.: Thomas, Frank, Eva and Carrie. Mr. Fear is a member of the F.&A.M., the American Legion of Honor, and in his politics is a Republican.
M. FEATHERSTON, mine contractor, was born in County Kildare, Ireland, July 4, 1858, a son of James and Kate Featherston, natives of Ireland. They came to America in 1869, settling in Wilkes-Barre, where the father engaged in the market business until 1885. The family consisted of the following children: Arthur, Thomas, Eliza (Mrs. Hugh Nolan), Joseph, James (deceased), Mary (deceased), John (deceased), Michael, Anna (Mrs. C. Nolan) and Arthur. Our subject was reared in Ireland and England, and was eleven years of age when he came to Wilkes-Barre with his parents. He received a limited education in the common schools, began life in 1869, in the mines as a breaker-boy and later worked as driver-car runner, loader and miner. He has since followed mining and contracting on a small scale, and since 1882 has been in control of gang work. In 1882, Mr. Featherston married Miss Anna, daughter of Con and Annora (Hughes) McMunnigel, of Wilkes-Barre, and has two children, Kate and Anna. He is a member of the Catholic Church, also of the A.O. of H., Board of America. In politics he is a Democrat.
WILLIAM A. FEIST, White Haven, editor and proprietor of the White Haven Journal, was born October 24, 1857, a son of Albert and Delilah J. (Taylor) Feist, natives of Germany and Pennsylvania, of German and English origin, respectively. Our subject, who is the eldest in a family of three children, was educated in the common schools of White Haven, and at the age of fifteen beame a clerk in the general store of Kleckner & Schuler, where he was regularly employed for nearly three years. He subsequently entered the postoffice as clerk, where he remained three years, and in the fall of 1879 he purchased the plant of the White Haven Standard, and, changing the name to Journal, has since issued his paper once a week. It is a seven-column folio paper, bright and newsy, published every Saturday morning, and enjoys a large circulation. Mr. Feist does a large show-printing business, doing work for four circuses, and a dozen or more theatrical troupes. He is a member of the F.&A.M. and Royal Arcanum, and in politics is a Republican.
MICHAEL J. FELDMANN, of Feldmann & McVeigh, butchers, Wilkes-Barre, was born in Minersville, Schuylkill Co., Pa., January 1, 1868, a son of Louis and Ann (Bambrick) Feldmann, and of German and Irish descent. He was reared in Carbon county, Pa., educated in the common schools, and began life as a breaker-boy in the mines. Later, as inside driver, he spent six years in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he learned the butcher's trade, and in September, 1890, located in Wilkes-Barre, where he has followed his business one year. In December, 1891, he embarked in business for himself as senior member of the firm of Feldmann & McVeigh, having one of the best-equipped butcher shops in the city. Mr. Feldmann is a member of the Catholic Church. In politics he is a Democrat.
DANIEL ACKLEY FELL, attorney at law, Wilkes-Barre, was born in that city November 23, 1858, a son of Daniel A. and Elizabeth (Gray) Fell. His first paternal ancestor in America was Joseph Fell (a son of John and Margaret Fell), who was born October 19, 1768 at Longlands, county of Cumberland, England, and came to America in 1705, settling in Bucks county, Pa. The paternal grandparents of subject were Jacob and Mary (Ackley) Fell, the former of whom was a son of Amos and Elizabeth (Jackson) Fell, all among the pioneers of Luzerne county. Amos was a son of Thomas and Hane (Kirk) Fell, and Thomas was a son of Joseph Fell above mentioned. Daniel Ackley Fell, father of our subject, was born at Pittston, Pa. May 29, 1817, and is an architect, contractor and builder. He has superintended the erection of many of the principal buildings of Wilkes-Barre, among them being the present courthouse and the "Wyoming Valley Hotel," and for several years he was master builder for the Lehigh & Susquehanna division of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, having succeeded to that position from: first, the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company; second the Lehigh & Susquehanna Railroad Company, then the Lehigh & Susquehanna division of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. His wife was a native of Wilkes-Barre, and a daughter of Alexander Gray, born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1804, whose wife was Jane Russell, a native of Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. In 1832 his maternal grandfather settled in Wilkes-Barre, and superintended the works of Baltimore Coal Company, holding this position until 1862, when he operated Hollenback Mines; he later began mining operations in Schuylkill county, Pa., and subsequently removed to Princeton, N. J., where he died. D. A. Fell, Sr., is the father of two children living, Daniel A., Jr., and Alexander, a prominent physician of Wilkes-Barre. The subject of this sketch was reared in Wilkes-Barre, educated in the public schools of his native city, at Wyoming Seminary (Kingston), at Lawrenceville (New Jersey) High School, from which he graduated in 1878; at the Wilkes-Barre Academy, and at Princeton College, where he was graduated in 1883. He read law with E. G. Butler, Esq., and was admitted to the Luzerne county bar July 27, 1885, and immediately began the practice of the profession in Wilkes-Barre, where he still resides, and is now serving his first term as councilman of the city. Mr. Fell married, October 18, 1888, Frances L., daughter of Arnold and Adelia A. (Stevens) Bertels, of Wilkes-Barre, and has one son living, named Harold.
HARVEY EDGAR FELL, engraver, Wilkes-Barre, was born in that city March 16, 1862 and is a son of Henry Nicholas and Elizabeth (Beissel) Fell. His paternal grandfather, Jacob Nicholas Fell, formerly of Easton, Pa., was at one time a resident of Luzerne county. He was supposed to be a descendant of Joseph Fell, formerly of England, who settled in Bucks county, Pa., in 1705. The father of the subject of this sketch is a native of Northampton county, Pa.; he is a wheelwright by trade, and has spent most of his life in Wilkes-Barre. His wife was a native of the Conyngham Valley, and by her he has had eight children: Alice (Mrs. Fred B. Fregans) Clara, Harvey E., Milton (deceased), Charles, Mary, and John and Josephine (twins). Our subject was reared in his native city, educated in public schools, and served an apprenticeship of three years at the engraving trade with T. C. Parker, Esq., of Wilkes-Barre, with whom he afterward worked seven years as a journeyman. In 1890 he embarked in business for himself, in which he has since continued. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Wilkes-Barre, and in politics is independent.
CHARLES M. FELTER, manager of Miner & Co.'s Flour and Feedmill, Plymouth, was born at Exeter, Luzerne Co., Pa., January 11, 1859, and is a son of Daniel and Nancy (Dichinson) Felter, natives of Pennsylvania. There were eight children in the Felter family, the subject of this sketch being the fifth in order of birth. He was educated in the public schools of Luzerne county, and at an early age began work in and about the mines. He then took a position as fireman, in which he continued until a position was offered him by Miner & Co., as a shipping clerk. This position he filled for four years, at the end of which time he came to Plymouth and took charge of the large feed and flourmill, which is now under his management. Mr. Felter was married December 2, 1879, to Martha J., daughter of Edwin K. and Eliza M. (Philo) Townsend, natives of Pennsylvania. Five children have blessed this union, viz: Lela B., Edith and Emma (twins), Willard E. and Anna M. Mr. Felter was elected assessor of Plains township for two terms in succession, on the Republican ticket; he and his family are members of the Methodist Church.
JAMES K. P. FENNER, insurance and real estate agent, Ashley, was born in Shawnee, Monroe county. Pa., July 20, 1844, son of Abraham and Catherine (Smoke) Fenner, natives of Pennsylvania, and of early German origin. His father, who was a stonemason by trade, and later a farmer, reared a family of fifteen children, three of whom died in infancy. The others were: Mary A. (Mrs. Josiah Coleman, of Howell, Mich.); Hiram, a retired tailor in Bucyrus, Ohio; George W., carpenter and contractor, also in Bucyrus (he was a veteran of the Mexican War); Benjamin P., contractor, in Elmira, N. Y.; Susan (deceased wife of James H. Price, of Henryville, Pa.); David (deceased), a physician; Amanda (Mrs. Philip W. Cyphers, Wilkes-Barre); Sarah (Mrs. John B. Wallace, Ashley); William, who was the predecessor of his brother as justice of the peace, and who was for twelve years deputy prothonotary and clerk of the courts of Luzerne county (he died in Ashley at the age of fifty-three years); Catherine (Mrs. Eldwood Gardner, Ashley); James K. P., and John W., a commission merchant in Wilkes-Barre, with residence in Ashley. Our subject received a common-school education, and afterward taught school in Monroe county for two years. In 1863 he came to Wilkes-Barre, where he clerked in a drug-store for three years, and thence coming to Ashley, and engaging in a general mercantile business for seventeen years, after which he embarked in his present business. In 1882 he built the portion of Fenner's Block, known as the "hotel block," and the rest, adjoining and including his residence, in 1885. Mr. Fenner was married September 7, 1870, to Miss. Caroline P., daughter of J. Turvey and Marilla (Pettibone) Fellows, of Scranton, natives of Pennsylvania, and of English origin. The issue of this union was five children, viz: James, Carrie May, George L., Samuel R., and Charles A., who died at the age of five months. Our subject and his family worship at the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a member of the F.&A.M. and the K. of H., and a democrat in his political views. On February 27, 1890, Governor Pattison appointed him justice of the peace to succeed his brother, William, to which office he was duly elected in 1891; he has also held the commission of notary public, about twenty years; in 1891 he was elected burgess of Ashley, being re-elected in 1892. He has also been a member of the school board and council, and served as postmaster from 1885 to 1889.
JOHN W. FENNER, wholesale produce merchant, Wilkes-Barre, residing on Ross street, Ashley, was born in Shawnee, Monroe Co., Pa., June 27, 1846, and is a son of Abraham and Catherine (Smoke) Fenner. He was educated in the public school of his native town, and the Delaware Water Gap Academy; he then taught school two years in Monroe county and one year in Luzerne county, after which he clerked in the company store at the Franklin Mines three years, and in the store of his brother James, at Ashley, six years. He then served as deputy warden of Luzerne county prison, three years, after which he engaged in the hardware business in Ashley as the junior partner of Florey, Dreher & Co., and in 1881 engaged in his present business, which he has since successfully followed. Mr. Fenner was married November 5, 1874, to Miss Emma King, daughter of Levi and Julia (Greenamayer) King, natives of Monroe county and Holland, respectively; the King family have been in this country for many generations. Mr. And Mrs. Fenner have had four children: Edwin K., Warren B., Ernest, who died at the age of five and a half years, and Nellie. This gentleman is a member of the F.&A.M.; he is a Democrat in his political views, and has been a member of the council in Ashley borough.
JOHN A. FENSTERMACHER, farmer, P.O. Beach Haven, was born in Salem township, September 13, 1846, and is a son of John and Susan (Hess) Fenstermacher. His paternal grandfather, John Fenstermacher, formerly of Lehigh county, Pa., was one of the pioneers of Salem township, and his wife was Mary Andress, by whom he had nine children: George, John, Susan (Mrs. Michael Hess), Julia A. (Mrs. William Weiss), Polly (Mrs. Jacob Hasnacht), Nancy (Mrs. Andrew Seely), Kate (Mrs. Andrew Seely), Sarah (Mrs. Siles Rumbach), and Elizabeth (Mrs. Catline Stookey.) The father of our subject was a native of Conyngham township, and was a blacksmith by trade, which occupation he followed for many years in Salem township, in connection with farming. He has been a resident of that township for seventy-five years, and is still living, now in his eightieth year. His wife was a daughter of Jeremiah and Catharine (Fenstermacher) Hess. Our subject, who was an only child, was reared in Salem township, where he has always resided; was educated in the commons schools and New Columbus Academy, and has followed farming. He married February 23, 1868, Elizabeth, daughter of Francis and Hannah (Croll) Mifflin, of Salem township, and has five children: Minnie E. Fred H., Lizzie, John and Grace. Mr. Fenstermacher is a member of the German Reformed Church; is a Democrat in politics, and has been constable of Salem township nine years.
LEWIS D. FERRELL was born in Lehman township, this county, December 1, 1863, a son of Samuel R. Ferrell, who was of Irish extraction; his mother's people were of Dutch and German stock. His father was a farmer, and the lad's chances for securing a common school education were very limited.
When Lewis D. was ten years of age his parents removed to Waverly, N.Y., remaining there, however, but a short time when they moved to Wilkes-Barre, where our subject attended the public school one term and a portion of another. About this time the boy's mother was left a widow with two children, and only her own resources to depend upon. Being possessed of that spirit which characterized her forefathers when they settled in the wilderness, she went to work, but the hard times of the "seventies" coming on, she was forced to take the boy from his studies and put him to work. A position as errand boy in the large dry goods house of Issac Long was secured for him, and here he remained a little over five years, when he was given the opportunity to learn the machinist's trade at Ashley. Here he served his full apprenticeship, remaining a few months over, when, desiring to see something of the country, he secured a promise of work in Denver, Colo., and so started west. In Denver he remained about fourteen months, and by practicing close economy he saved a neat little sum, most of which he gave to his mother. Meeting with a painful accident which cost him a finger, he returned to Luzerne county, and again secured a position at Ashley, but in a short time he embarked in the butchering business. In this not being successful, he accepted a position with the Sheldon Axle Company, in which he remained until November, 1887, when he took a trip through some of the Southern States, locating in South Pittsburgh, Tenn., only for a short time, as in the latter part of December he received an offer of a position as assistant foreman in one of the departments of Sheldon Axle Works, and he returned to Wilkes-Barre, but remained there only a few months. He next embarked in the newspaper business, being offered a position on the Wilkes-Barre Telephone, where his labors met with high appreciation, and April 14, 1890, he was called to his present position as editor and office manager of the Nanticoke Sun, where his abilities have had full play in successfully resurrecting the dead. October 14, 1889, he was married to Eva Jackson, of Wilkes-Barre, and he attributes much of his success to her assistance and advice.
GEORGE S. FERRIS, attorney at law, Pittston, who is among the most prominent attorneys of the Luzerne county bar, was born in Pittston, Pa., April 28, 1849. He is a son of Edwin F. Ferris, who was born in Unudilla, N.Y., February 19, 1822; he came to the Wyoming Valley in company with the late Rev. Reuben Nelson, D.D., and after the opening of the Wyoming Seminary, September 24, 1844, was a teacher in that institution. He resided in Pittston many years, and in 1847 was made superintendent for Lord and John L. Butler during their early coal operations. He subsequently engaged in the milling business, and was in partnership, at various times, with James Mott, Theodore Strong, J. A. Wisner and Charles Steel, until the summer of 1861, when he accepted a civil service position in Washington. He died at Pittston, June 7, 1877. Edwin F. Ferris married, December 7, 1877, at Hanover, Margaret, daughter of Joseph Steel. Our subject was educated at Columbia College, Washington, D.C., and at Allegheny College, Meadville, Pa., graduating from the later in 1869. In 1870 and 1871 he was clerk in the Treasury Department at Washington, and while in that position studied law in the Columbia Law School of that city, graduating from that institution in 1871, and being at once admitted to the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. He now returned to Pittston and entered the law office of the late C. S. Stark, and was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, February 19, 1872. He soon entered upon the practice of his profession in the Luzerne county courts, and shortly won for himself a position among the first attorneys of the county. Mr. Ferris was married, September 1, 1875, to Ada, daughter of Lewis G. Stark, of near Nicholson, Pa. This union has been blessed with one child, Edwin F. Mr. Ferris is a member of the West Pittston Presbyterian Church and politically is a stanch Republican.
HOMER B. FERRY, farmer, P.O. Orange, was born in Eaton, Wyoming Co., Pa., December 1, 1841, where he was reared and educated. He is a son of Alonzo and Catharine (Garrison) Ferry, both of whom were born in Wyoming county. They removed to this county in 1869, locating in this township where they remained about two years, then moving to Iowa, where the father farmed for twenty years, after which he came east again, but feeling dissatisfied with the country returned to Iowa , where he now resides. His family consisted of ten children, eight of whom are now living. Homer B. is the second in order of birth. He has always confined himself to agricultural pursuits. In 1862 he enlisted for three years in Company A, Sixteenth Pennsylvania Calvary, but, on account of disability, was discharged from the service. In 1864 he again enlisted, this time in Company G, Two Hundred and Tenth P.V.L., and served to the close of the war. In 1866 Mr. Ferry was married to Miss Olive, daughter of George and Sally Ann Munson. There were five children born to them, four of whom are now living: George M., born October 28, 1871; Harry W., born August 15, 1875; Walter L., born December 14, 1883; and Homer B., born June 21, 1889. Mrs. Olive (Munson) Ferry was born April 26, 1844, in Franklin township, on the farm adjoining her present residence. She is a daughter of George, who is a son of Walter and Mehetable Munson. Walter was a son of Obadiah, who removed from Connecticut to this county in about 1772, and owned a large tract of land. He was a son of Obadiah Ferry, and was descended from Danish stock. Walter located in Exeter in 1806, where he owned six hundred acres of land. The Munsons were among the first settlers, but are fast dying out. Homer B. Ferry is an enterprising farmer, always keeping ahead of the times. In 1866 he moved on his present farm, which formerly belonged to the Munsons. It consists of seventy acres, and is mostly cleared. He has made many improvements in the line of building and farm improvements. He and his worthy wife are consistent members of the M.E. Church.
JAMES FERRY, proprietor of the "Ferry House," Hanover township, was born in County Donegal, Ireland, October 26, 1852, a son of Patrick and Sophia (Coyle) Ferry. The family came to America in 1869, two years after the arrival of Michael and Daniel, and consisted of five sons, viz.: Michael, employed in the Ashley shop; Hugh, who is in Australia; Daniel, who lives in Scranton; James, and John, who works with a steamfitter in Wilkes-Barre. Mr. Ferry's education was limited to the meager advantages offered in Ireland, where he worked on a farm, and after reaching America he commenced mining. He followed this occupation for seventeen years, but in that interval engaged in braking on the Central Railroad. He turned his attention to his present business in 1888. December 16, 1878, Mr. Ferry married Miss Mary, daughter of Patrick McCloskey of Port Carbon, Pa., and of this union have been born five children, viz.: Sophia, John, Patrick, Sarah and Mary. The latter died November 25, 1891, at the age of three years, seven months and fourteen days. Our subject and his family are members of the Catholic Church, and he is a Democrat in his political views.
IRWIN E. FINCH, coal and iron police, Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company, was born in Wilkes-Barre February 20, 1845, a son of Silas and Minerva (Horton) Finch. His paternal grandfather, Darius Finch, a native of New York State, and a stone mason by trade, settled in Wilkes-Barre in 1822, where he resided until his death. Silas Finch, his son, was also a stone mason by occupation, and has been a resident of Wilkes-Barre since 1822. He has reared a family of five children, namely: Edwin, Deborah (Mrs. William Stevens), Emily (Mrs. P. L. Hoover), Irwin E., and Ada ( Mrs. Elgin May). Irwin E. Finch was reared and educated in Wilkes-Barre and is a plasterer by trade, which occupation he followed for ten years. For six years he has been in the employ of The Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company, as coal & iron police. He enlisted April 16, 1861, in Company F, Eighth P.V., and was honorably discharged after three months of service. He re-enlisted August 16, 1864 in Company A, Fifty-second P.V., as fourth sergeant, and was honorably discharged as second sergeant in November 1864. During the years 1875 to 1886 he was a member of the Wilkes-Barre police force. In 1868 he married Marilla, daughter of David and Sarah (Preston) Wise, of Wilkes-Barre and has four children living, Viz.: Williston W., Bertram K., Anna and Monroe. He is a member of the G.A.R., and in politics is a Rebublican.
PATRICK FINN, proprietor of hotel, Miners Mills, was born in County Mayo, Ireland, June 25, 1861, and is a son of Martin and Ellen (Wallace) Finn. His father, who was a farmer, came to America in 1863, and located in Wilkes-Barre, where he worked in the mines until his death, which occurred in 1881. The family consisted of seven children, viz.: Bridget (died at the age of twenty-three), Thomas, Patrick, Anna, John, Dennis and Martin. Our subject began life working about the mines, which vocation he followed twenty-one years, and in 1867 engaged as clerk in Michael Maycock's store, where he remained eight years, and then improved his place to its present condition and engaged in the hotel business. Mr. Finn was married, April 13, 1887, to Miss Catherine, daughter of Thomas and Catharine (Kane) Corcoran, natives of County Mayo, Ireland, and they have three children, viz.: Alice, Anna and James. Our subject and family are members of the Catholic Church; he is a member of the C.M.B.A. and the A.O.H. In his political views he is decidedly Democratic and has rendered his party much valuable aid; he is jury commissioner of Luzerne county at present, and has held the offices of school director, assessor and collector in Miners Mills.
CAPT. FRANK N. FINNEY, Ashley, was born at Bristol, Addison Co., Vt., March 19, 1834, a son of Noble and Maria (Smith) Finney. He was reared and educated in his native State, where he learned a general mechanical trade, and was in the employ of Howe Scale Works at Brandon, Vt., for five years. On November 16, 1861, he enlisted in Company B, Seventh Vt. V., and was promoted from the ranks of Company B to Company G as second lieutenant, from this to Company D as first lieutenant, and then to Company H as captain, and was mustered out of the service April 2, 1866, having served four and one-half years. After the mustering out of the regiment, he was retained as assistant mustering officer, military division of the Gulf. After his discharge he located at Great Bend, Pa., where he was in the employ of the American Scale Company three years, coming with them on their removal to Wilkes-Barre in 1868, and remaining with them there for three years. From 1870 until 1883 he was foreman of the Wyoming Valley Pattern shops and foundry, and then entered the employ if the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company, Hollenback Shaft No. 2, serving as outside foreman one year. He was then transferred to Ashley, holding the same position for the same company at New Jersey Colliery, No. 8, until February, 1891, since which time he has been in their general supply store in Wilkes-Barre. He war married, July 12, 1857, to Sarah J., daughter of James and Mary Kelly, of Vergennes, Vt., and has one son, Will N., born February 12, 1859, now a resident of Delano, Schuylkill county, and in the employ of the L.V.R.R. Company as a pattern maker. Capt. Finney is a F.&A.M., R.A.M. and K.T., also a member of the G.A.R. and Royal Arcanum; in politics he is a Democrat.
E. E. FISHER, butcher, P.O. Sybertsville, was born in Hazleton, Pa., March 19, 1864, a son of Anthony and Mary (Henry) Fisher. His paternal grandfather, Joseph Fisher, a butcher by trade, was a resident of Hazleton and Conyngham for many years, and died in Hazle township. His wife was Mary Charles, and his children were Anthony, Emeline (Mrs. Theodore Soliday), Martha (Mrs. John Williams), Rose (Mrs. Lewis Reed), Bella (Mrs. David Dodson), Eliza, Maria (Mrs. Samuel Fetter), Matilda and J. Frank. The paternal great-grandfather of subject was Anthony Fisher, a pioneer of Nescopeck township, and at one time a resident of Sugar Loaf township. The maternal grandfather was Jacob Henry, a pioneer of Nescopeck township. Anthony Fisher, father of subject, was a native of Luzerne county, a butcher by occupation, and for many years in business in Hazleton, and now a resident of Sugar Loaf township. The children yet living are six in number, viz,: Viola (Mrs. William L. Beisel), Ida, Elmer E., Annie (Mrs. Eugene Beisher), Mary (Mrs. G. P. Beisher), and Theodore. Our subject was reared and educated in Sugar Loaf township, and has followed the butcher business sixteen years. On May 1, 1888, he married Lizzie, daughter of Evan and Mary Reese, of Sugar Loaf township, and has two children, Viola M., and Carrie L. Mr. Fisher is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and in politics he is a Democrat.
GEORGE W. FISHER, proprietor of the "Beach Haven Hotel," Beach Haven, was born in Northumberland county, Pa., a son of Jacob Fisher, and of German descent. He was reared in his native county, and is a millwright by trade, which occupation he followed sixteen years. In 1852, he settled in Salem township, where he has since resided. He helped to erect the "Old Josiah Beach Gristmill" (since burned down), and which he operated in 1854-5, after which he was engaged in the grocery and canal supplies businesses for several years. In 1856, he built a hotel at Beach Haven, which burned down in 1857, but he rebuilt same year, and has since been engaged in that line of business. On January 18, 1852, he married Caroline E. Nolf, of Salem township, by whom he has four children, viz.: Anna M. (Mrs. Dr. William Morris), Lydia (Mrs. Michael Frett), Ellen (Mrs. John White), and Margaret. Mr. Fisher is a member of the F.&A.M., and he is a Republican.
HENRY I. FISHER, salesman, Wilkes-Barre, was born in Gordal, Staffordshire, England, December 21, 1851, and is a son of Isaac and Maria (Marinin) Fisher. They came to America in 1853, and located in Nesquehoning, Carbon Co., Pa., where the father engaged in mining and died in August, 1891. His children who grew to maturity were five, viz.: Anna I. (Mrs. B. F. Holvey), Henry I., George, Maria (Mrs. R. L. Thomas) and Hannah (Mrs. John Cox). Our subject was reared from the age of two years in Carbon county, where he received a common school education, and at the age of fourteen began work about the mines, where he was employed in various capacities until 1873. He then engaged in the greengrocery trade at Nesquehoning, continuing until 1876, when he located in Wilkes-Barre, where he has since resided; up to 1880 he was helper in a blacksmith shop; was for two years in the book and sewing machine business, and since 1882 has been employed as salesman in a leading tea house of his city. Mr. Fisher was twice married; his first wife was Elda Barnes. She dying, he married, for his second wife, Effie M., daughter of Jesse and Louisa (Squier) Silvius, of Susquehanna county, Pa., and by her he had three children: Edna M., who died May 29, 1892; George S. and Emma L. Mr. Fisher is a member of the M.E. Church, and of the Y.M.C.A. In politics he is a Republican.
PATRICK FISHER, tax collector, Nanticoke, was born in Donegal, Ireland, and is a son of Hugh and Ann (Scanlan) Fisher. Our subject was educated in the national schools of Ireland, and at the age of twenty-four came to America, locating at Summit Hill, Carbon Co., Pa., and began working in the mines. Here he remained about eighteen months, when he removed to Trenton, N.J., where he was engaged as an iron worker, remaining from January 1, 1867, until June, 1871. He then came to Nanticoke, and engaged in mining in the employ of the Susquehanna Coal Company until August, 1866, where he was elected tax collector of Nanticoke, which office he has since held by reelection; he was also assessor during the year 1888. Mr. Fisher was united in marriage, July 16, 1865, with Miss Ellen Sweeney, of Summit Hill, and they have six children, viz.: Miles, Mary, Hugh, Margaret, James, and Patrick. Mr. Fisher and his family are members of the Catholic Church; in politics he is a Democrat.
MRS. LYDIA FISK, widow of the late S. A. Fisk, farmer, Sweet Valley, was born in Exeter township November 26, 1842, a daughter of Israel and Maria Letteer. S. A. Fisk was born at Abington, where he was reared and educated. He was a son of Welcome Fisk, a native of Rhode Island, and removed to this county about 1847. He located in Ross township, near the North Mountain, where he purchased 150 acres of woodland, out of which has been produced, by the combined efforts of himself and sons and grandsons, a most beautiful and productive farm. Mr. and Mrs. Fisk were married in 1863, and they had eight children, seven of whom are living: Ida M., Loxley W., Alfred M., Sarah R., Dora R., Alice B. and Sydney D. Of these, Ida M. married Steven D. Lord. Mr. Fisk was an active man and a practical farmer, enjoying the full confidence of his fellow citizens. He held several township offices with credit. He died September, 1890, aged fifty years. His widow is a most estimable woman, carrying on the farm with the aid of her sons, two of whom are young men.
ANDREW FITZSIMMON, stable boss at No. 6 Colliery, Inkerman, Jenkins township, was born in County Cavan, Ireland, in 1842, and is a son of Thomas and Margaret (McDermot) Fitzsimmon. The father, who came to America about 1857, worked in New York City thirteen years, and then removed to Pittston, Pa., where he died in 1877, being survived three years by his widow. The family consisted of six children, one of whom died in Ireland, and four are yet living, viz.: Mary, Walter, Ann, and Andrew. Our subject embarked in life working about the mines of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, doing all the various kinds of work, and was promoted to his present position in 1880, when he removed to Inkerman. Mr. Fitzsimmon was married November 3, 1887, to Miss Maria Langan, who was born February 2, 1857, a daughter of Patrick and Catherine (Langan) Langan, natives of Ireland. Our subject and wife have two children, Walter and Andrew. Mr. Fitzsimmon and family are members of the Catholic Church. He is a member of the Father Mathew Society, and in his political views is a Democrat.
THOMAS J. FITZSIMMONS, jeweler, Pittston. Distinction and universal recognition is attained by some men through the efforts of their political friends; others become subjects of public notice by virtue of the unavoidable drifts of circumstances which force them to be factors in mighty national or social events. But there is a class of men who, by their own constant efforts and their high standard of intellectual acquisitions, justly merit the praise and admiration of the whole world. These are the inventors, the mechanical geniuses, who have made the nineteenth century the great epoch of electricity. In this list of marvelous men the name of Thomas J. Fitzsimmons may appropriately be recorded. He was born at Pittston, January 17, 1865, and is a son of Simon and Hannah (Cawley) Fitzsimmons, natives of Ireland. He attended the public schools of Pittston, and from his early childhood evinced a strong desire for the use of tools, and for mechanical work of all kinds. When he was but a mere child he would frequent some workshop, and there would spend all his leisure hours instead of at play. He would get watches and clocks and repair them, make his own tools, etc. At the age of fifteen he began the construction of the celebrated "Fitzsimmons Automatic Clock," which in its mechanical construction was certainly astonishing, ranking second to none of the great mechanical wonders of the age. He was about seven years engaged in its construction, for it was a tedious piece of work, and he made every piece in the whole structure with his own hands. The clock was about eleven feet in height and eight feet wide, and, along with its complicated machinery for recording time, numerous automatons representing various characters performed their several offices with more than human precision. Among them was a train of cars which at regular intervals dashed along a railroad; the movements of the engine and car wheels being perfect. At the approach of the train a gate-tender came out of his shanty, lowered the safety gates, and after the train passed hoisted them and again returned into the shanty. Stars rose and fell, and the movements of the sun and moon were correctly imitated. The clock kept perfect record of the minutes, hours, weeks, months and years until 9,999, thus necessitating an extensive and nice calculation in adjusting the requisite wheels, cogs, pulleys, etc. The clock was completed January 10, 1890, and the next day its inventor placed it on exhibition at Pittston, where its movements were witnessed by thousands of people. After showing it for a week at this place, Mr. Fitzsimmons started on a tour through the principal towns of the country, where he purposed placing it on exhibition. His trip was most successful; but just as he was fast earning a fortune from the clock upon which he had labored so long, and which he loved so well, disaster overtook him. At Owego, N.Y., March 9, 1890, the building in which the clock was on exhibition was destroyed by fire, and the result of his seven years' thought and labor was reduced to ashes. The disaster almost rendered him disconsolate, and for a time it seemed as if malicious fate had conspired to rob him of that which his genius had called into existence. Shortly after the destruction of the clock he returned to Pittston and engaged in the jewelry and watchmaking business, in which he has since enjoyed a lucrative public patronage. Mr. Fitzsimmons was united in marriage October 27, 1891, with Miss Sarah J. Rielley, an accomplished young lady of Pittston.
MARTIN FLANAGAN, miner, Kingston, was born in County Mayo, Ireland, in March, 1826, and is a son of John and Mary (Welsh) Flanagan, both of whom were also born in that county. They were honest and industrious farmers, and lived and died in their native isle. They reared a family of three children, two of whom are now living: Bridget and Martin; the former is still a resident of Ireland. The latter, the subject of this sketch, emigrated to this country in 1857, and located in Pittston, soon removing to Wilkes-Barre, and thence to Kingston township, where he has since resided. He was thirty years of age when he came to this country, and has followed mining continuously from that time to this, during which period he has met with no serious accidents. In 1867 Mr. Flanagan purchased a lot on Prindle Hill, and was the first man who built on that place. He now enjoys a beautiful home, the result of hard, honest, faithful and persistent toil. In 1867 he married Miss Sarah, daughter of John Kelly, and they have had nine children, five of whom are living: Charles, Martin, Mary, Joseph and James. Mr. Flanagan is a member of the Emerald Society. The family are members of the Roman Catholic Church; Martin, Jr., is a member of one of their benevolent societies. Politically our subject is a Democrat.
MICHAEL J. FLANLEY, stationary engineer, Ashley, was born in County Sligo, Ireland, March 27, 1859, a son of John and Catherine (McCarty) Flanley. The family came to America in 1866, preceded one year by the father, and located in Hanover township. There were four children, viz.: Mary (Mrs. George Evans), Catherine (Mrs. Edward Casey), Michael J. and John. Our subject was educated in Ireland and in Ashley, and at the age of nine years began picking slate in the breaker, where he has since worked, doing every kind of work but mining, and has occupied his present position for eight years. In 1886 he built the "Hanover House," which he still owns. He is a member of the Catholic Church; a Democrat in his political views.
HON. JOHN T. FLANNERY, Pittston. In glancing over the many young men of Luzerne county, whose industry and ability have ushered them into the front rank of enterprise, we find the subject of this memoir to be one of the most conspicuous figures. Pittston is his native town, having been born there June 24, 1862. His parents, Patrick and Mary (Kelly) Flannery, natives of Ireland, now reside at Pittston, where the family is well-known and highly respected. Our subject, not unlike the average boy of the anthracite coal regions, at a very early age experienced real life on the culm bank and in the breaker, where shrewdness is developed and a knowledge of worldly affairs prematurely acquired. He attended the public schools of Pittston till he became well advanced in years, when he entered the Wyoming Seminary at Kingston, where he was graduated in the class of 1886. He then embarked in the insurance business, and has since been very extensively engaged in that line. On April 12, 1881, before he had reached the age of twenty, he enlisted in Company C, Ninth Regiment N.G.P., and was honorably discharged, by reason of the disbandment of the company November 28, 1882. On May 28, 1883, he enlisted in Company H, Ninth Regiment N.G.P., and in the following August he was appointed first sergeant; on September 1, 1887, he was elected captain of the company. The Captain is well known in military circles as a very popular officer in the National Guard; and it may be here said that his company is the best-drilled military body in the Ninth Regiment; they took first honors in the regiment competitive drill in 1888-9 and '90, every soldier in the company being a qualified marksman. In 1888 they won the regimental trophy for company marksmanship, and in 1888 the Captain won the colonel's badge by the highest score in the regiment. In 1890 Mr. Flannery was elected representative of the Fifth District with a majority of seven hundred, by the Democratic party, which office he has ably and honorably filled. He was secretary of the Pittston borough council from 1885-90; was chairman of the Democratic borough committee from 1887 to 1890, and in 1891 was a delegate to the Democratic State Convention. He is a member of the A.O.H., and in 1892 was a delegate to the National Convention of that order at New Orleans. On February 24, 1892, Capt. Flannery was united in marriage with Miss Bridget Tigue, one of Pittston's most accomplished young ladies.
DR. EDWARD C. FLETCHER (deceased) was at the time of his death a resident of Plymouth, and was one of the most prominent physicians in the borough. He was born at Netherton, Staffordshire, England, July 3, 1843, and received his education at Townsend House School, Kidderminster. At the age of seventeen he commenced reading medicine with Dr. Durur, of Dudley, Worcestershire, England, continuing with him five years, at the expiration of which term he entered Queen's College, Birmingham, England, and successfully passed his preliminary examination, prior to attending the course of lectures. In August, 1866, he came to America, locating at Scranton, Pa., and in November, 1866, he opened an office at Hyde Park where he practiced until 1871. About this time he was married to a daughter of William Pierson, of Scranton, and removed to Providence, Pa., where after eighteen months of wedded life, death claimed the partner he had chosen, and his home was made desolate. He soon afterward came to Plymouth and opened an office, where he built up a large practice, in the meantime making many friends, who were ever ready to serve him. He was married, the second time, July 16, 1874, to Miss Mary, daughter of George P. and Sarah (Thomas) Richards, pioneers of Plymouth, and four children blessed this union, viz.: Sally (deceased), George P., Richards Edward, and William Challingsworth. The Doctor was a stanch Republican; the family were members of the Episcopal Church. He was at one time a leader of the Sons of St. George, and although a patriotic American, yet he believed in recognizing and remembering the land that gave him birth. His death occurred May 10, 1890, and he will long be remembered as one of Plymouth's intelligent, prominent and liberal-minded citizens.
PATRICK E. FLOOD, salesman, P.O. Ashley, was born in County Meath, Ireland, Janaury 15, 1856, a son of Patrick and Mary (O'Neill) Flood, who came to America in 1863, locating at Ashley, this county, where the father resided until his death, which occurred in 1886. Their children were six in number: Patrick E., John, Edward, Catharine (Mrs. Michael Devenay), Anne (Mrs. A. F. McGuire, now deceased) and Ellen (Mrs. James Bennan). Our subject was reared at Ashley from seven years of age; he was educated at Susquehanna Collegiate Institute, Towanda, Pa., and Wyoming Seminary, Kingston. He began his business career in 1883, as a teacher in the common schools, which occupation he followed until 1890, and has since been employed as salesman by the leading school furniture companies of the United States. He married, November 25, 1885, Mary A., daughter of Philip and Mary (Masterson) Riley, of Wilkes-Barre. Mr. Flood is a member of the Catholic Church; in politics he is a Democrat.
FRANK FLOSSER, proprietor of the "Flosser's Hotel," Nanticoke, and one of the most popular hotel-men in the Wyoming Valley, is a native of Bavaria, Germany, born July 21, 1843. He received his education in his native land, and at the age of thirteen years came to America. Young as he was, he came all the way alone without the aid or direction of friends or relatives, and stopped at Wilkes-Barre, where he remained until August 21, 1861, when he enlisted in the Ninth Regiment Pennsylvania Cavalry. He was discharged August 11, 1862, and then re-enlisted September 21, same year, in the First Battalion, U.S. Regulars, better known as "Sherman's Regiment." He was in the following engagements: Chickasaw Bayou; Arkansas Post; Falling Fork; Black Bogre; Haines' Bluff; Champion Hills; Vicksburg; Collier's Mill, and Mission Ridge, and was mustered out of service, September 21, 1865, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He then went to Philadelphia, where he worked in a hotel and restaurant, remaining there until February 1, 1867, when he came to Wilkes-Barre and engaged in general mercantile business. He was in the last named place during the great strike, which proved very disastrous to his business. In 1890 he came to Nanticoke, and engaged in the hotel business. Mr. Flosser was united in marriage, March 10, 1867, with Miss Margaret, daughter of Adam Turkes, of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and they have children as follows: William T., Sherman, Lillie, Maggie, Kate and Minnie. Mr. Flosser is a member of the F. & A.M., Knights of Honor, American Legion of Honor, Royal Society of Good Fellows, and G.A.R.; his political views are Republican.
FRANK FLYNN, merchant, Plains, was born in County Sligo, Ireland, August 15, 1851, and is a son of James and Celia (Laden) Flynn, the former of whom was a farmer. They reared a family of eight children, three of whom are living, and Frank is the seventh. Our subject came to America with his mother and sister in 1854, and located at Port Griffith, where they remained three years; then removed to Midvale at the time that vicinity was a forest. Here our subject obtained a common school education, and at an early age began working about the mines; he did all the various kinds of work including twelve years mining, chiefly at Midvale. In 1872 he embarked in the mercantile business at Port Bowkley, and built his present place of business, and removed thereto in 1875. Mr. Flynn was married, July 11, 1869, to Bridget, daughter of Michael and Mary (Flynn) Flynn, natives of County Sligo, Ireland, and they have three children, Thomas, Francis J., and Michael. Our subject and family are members of the Catholic Church; he is a Democrat in his political views, and has held the office of assessor in Plains township.
THOMAS FLYNN, miner, Port Blanchard, was born in Port Griffith, Luzerne Co., Pa., March 26, 1860, and is a son of Martin and Mary (Figue) Flynn, of the same place, natives of County Mayo, Ireland, who reared a family of nine children, of whom Thomas is fifth in order of birth. Our subject received his education in the common schools, and in 1872 went to work as a slate-picker in the mines. In 1875 he worked as driver, in 1877 as laborer, and has been employed as a miner by the Pennsylvania Coal Company since 1882. Mr. Flynn was united in marriage December 27, 1887, with Mary J., daughter of Michael and Mary (Walsh) O'Brien, of Port Griffith, natives of County Mayo, Ireland, and their union has been blessed with the following-named children: Frank, born November 19, 1888; Esther, born April 30, 1890, and Marie, born July 16, 1891. Our subject is a member of the Roman Catholic Church, and of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. In politics he is a Democrat, and in 1881 was elected assessor of his township for a period of three years.
ELWIN D. FOGEL, Wilkes-Barre, was born at Pennsville, October 31, 1863, and is the eighth son of Joseph Fogel, a native of Whitehall, this State. Our subject was educated in the public schools of his native place, and afterward learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed at Whitehall for a short time. In 1883 he came to Wilkes-Barre, and secured employment with W. H. Pethick, the contractor, and for the past six years has occupied the responsible position of foreman for that gentleman. He is one of the most expert wood-workers in this section, and specimens of his art are to be seen in the new People's Bank of Wilkes-Barre. Mr. Fogel was married December 25, 1883, to Mary J. Hummel, a daughter of William Hummel, of Kreidersville, Pa. Mr. Fogel owns a cozy residence on Moyallen street, Wilkes-Barre.
PATRICK J. FOLEY, Wilkes-Barre, was born in Minersville, Schuylkill Co., Pa., May 17, 1847, a son of Owen and Alice (Tininons) Foley, natives of County Kilkenny, Ireland. His parents came to America in 1845 and settled in Minersville, Pa., where his father engaged in mining, and where he died. Their children numbered six: Patrick, Joseph, Michael, David, Mary (Mrs. Adam Boyer), and Luke. Our subject was reared in Minersville, and received a limited education in the common schools. When eight years old he began life in the breaker, and from 1855 to 1861 was employed as slate-picker and driver. July 9, 1861, he enlisted in Company G, Thirtieth Pennsylvania Volunteers (afterward Ninety-ninth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers), and after serving three years was honorably discharged. May 5, 1864, he was wounded in the right arm in the battle of the Wilderness. From 1864 to 1879 he was employed in the mines. He has been a resident of Luzerne county since 1871, and in 1879 was elected justice of the peace of Wilkes-Barre township, serving one term of five years. In 1889 he was appointed notary public by Governor Beaver, confirmed by the Senate, and still holds the office. From 1884 to 1892 he was engaged in the liquor business. He was married, March 14, 1883, to Rose, daughter of Hiram and Mary (Davis) Freeman, of Wright township, this county. Mr. Foley is a member of the Catholic Church, also of the G.A.R. and A.O.H. In politics he is a Democrat.
MRS. ANNA M. FOLK, farmer, P.O. Pittston, was born in Germany, August 7, 1839, and is a daughter of John and Eva Terffessin, both also natives of Germany. They emigrated to this country in 1865, locating in West Pittston, where they both died, the former in 1882, at the age of eighty years, the latter in 1876, at the age of seventy-six years. There were nine children born to them, five of whom grew to maturity, and four of whom are now living. Mrs. A. M. Folk is the fourth in order of birth. She was reared and educated in Germany, and accompanied her parents on their emigration to this country in 1865. In 1870 she married Jacob Myers, a farmer, which union was blessed with nine children, six of whom are living: Emma, Metta, Albert, Theodore, Bertha and Lydia. After the death of Mr. Myers, she married on February 5, 1892, for her second husband, John Folk. Her beautiful and accomplished daughter, Emma, married Prof. John German, a professor of music. Mrs. Folk owns a farm of forty acres of surface land, devoted to gardening; the coal was removed and belongs to the Lehigh Valley Coal Company. Mrs. Folk is a hard-working, thrifty woman, hospitable and entertaining. She has a beautiful home on a very desirable site, about one and a half miles from Pittston postoffice.
GEORGE W. FOLTZ, Freeland. This gentleman was born at Hamburg, near Washington, D.C., June 7, 1863, a son of Martin and Sarah Bromheller, both natives of the District of Columbia, of German descent, and both now deceased, the father having died in 1886, at the age of sixty-eight; the mother in 1876, at the age of sixty-two. Mr. Foltz was educated in the common schools, and in his boyhood days worked with his father, who was a cooper. At the age of eleven he learned the trade of barber at Danville, where he remained seven years; he spent a short time at Bloomsburg. He then went to Jersey City, where he worked at his trade one year, afterward working at Williamsport, Lock Haven, Muncy and Danville. In 1884 he came to Freeland, and opened a shaving parlor, where he has since enjoyed a liberal patronage. Mr. Foltz is a thorough master of his art. On December 18, 1883, he was married to Mary Gallagher, of Eckley, and they have four children, viz.: Francis, John, Mary and Louisa. Mr. Foltz is a member of the Catholic Church, and in politics is a Republican.
EBEN FOOTE, retired, Duryea, was born in New York State, April 18, 1819, and is a son of Gideon and Lavinia (Gillette) Foote, natives of the same place. They reared a family of eight children, of whom Eben is the eldest. Our subject was educated in the common schools, and came to this county in 1834, where he worked as a teamster; in 1836 he bought a pair of horses, and went into the business for himself. In 1844, when Groovan Bros. Opened the first mine in this vicinity, he accepted a position with them, and remained there twenty years, proceeding, in 1864, to Mill Creek, where he was outside foreman for the Delaware & Hudson Company until 1868, when he retired. He was united in marriage June 30, 1839, with Martha, daughter of Jacob and Mary (Blanchard) Shiffer, natives of Luzerne county, Pa., and their union has been blessed with the following issue: Andrew, born March 19, 1840, died February 1, 1863; William L., born April 16, 1842; Harriet L., born April 16, 1842, married January 13, 1862, to Howard Knapp, carpenter, Duryea; Jeremiah, born December 2, 1846; Nancy E., born November 9, 1850; Nettie, born June 17, 1854, married June 6, 1877, to Robert Lamont, physician, Scranton, Pa.; Clarin, born March 10, 1856, married May 25, 1881, to John A. Wood, station agent, Lackawanna; Alice, born March 4, 1858, married September 26, 1883, to Henry L. Edsall, merchant, Duryea. Our subject is a member of the M.E. Church, and in politics is independent. He has held the following positions in his township: supervisor, poor director and school director.
ISAAC FORD, justice of the peace, Wilkes-Barre, was born in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, March 23, 1848, and is a son of Samuel and Ann (Brant) Ford. He was reared in England, where he received a public-school education, until seventeen years of age, and was employed in a warehouse two years in his native city. October 1, 1866, he sailed from Liverpool for New York, landing October 13. He soon after located in Scranton, Pa., and was there employed in the mines nine months, and has since spent most of his time in Wilkes-Barre, where he was engaged in mining until 1890. He married Mary A., daughter of Henry and Emma (Whaler) Ashford, of Wilkes-Barre, and has ten children: Samuel, Emma, Harry, Isaac, Sallie, Thomas, Annie, Mollie, Stanley and Nellie. Mr. Ford is a member of the Episcopal Church; in politics he is a Republican, has held the office of tax collector one term, and is now serving the second year of his second term as justice of the peace.
JOSEPH FORD, outside-foreman, Stockton, was born in Yorkshire, England, May 18, 1836, and is a son of James and Martha (Swift) Ford, also natives of England. His parents came to America in 1851, settling at Pottsville, Pa., where the children, six in number (Joseph being the eldest), were reared and educated. At the outbreak of the Civil war, our subject enlisted in the Pennsylvania Volunteers, for the three months' service, and served under Gen. Nagle until the expiration of his term of enlistment. In his youth Mr. Ford worked about the mines, and has done every kind of work connected with mining. In 1878 he was made outside foreman at Breaker No. 6, Stockton Mines, operated by Linderman, Skeer & Co., and has occupied that position at No. 6 and No. 7 ever since. At present he has charge of nineteen men, and the works produce 150 tons of coal daily. Mr. Ford was married, in 1856, to Mrs. Johanna Fraw, which union has been blessed with four children: William, Albert, Elizabeth and Selina. Mr. Ford is a stanch Republican, and the family are supporters of the Primitive Methodist Church.
M. J. FORD, miner and constable, Inkerman, was born March 31, 1862, in the house where he now resides, and is a son of Patrick and Margaret (Glynn) Ford, natives of County Galway, Ireland, who settled in this county in 1837, and reared a family of six children, of whom our subject is the youngest. At the age of eight years he commenced work as a slate-picker, but in 1874, when twelve years old, he went to school, continuing until 1878. He then commenced the study of medicine, and graduated in 1881, but the profession was not agreeing with him, he traveled to Colorado, where he engaged in mining. In 1882 he went to Mexico, where he followed the same line of business, and in the latter part of 1883 he returned to Inkerman, where he was employed by the Pennsylvania Coal Company in his present position as a miner. On December 25, 1888, he was united in marriage with Miss Alice, daughter of James and Ann (Cassidy) Harkins, natives of Pennsylvania and of Irish descent. This union has been blessed with three children: Michael and Frank (twins), born October 4, 1889, and Sarah, born February 19, 1891. In religion Mr. Ford is a Roman Catholic. He is a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, of which he is county secretary, and is president of Division No. 10. He is also a member and treasurer of the Father Mathew Cadets. In politics he is a Democrat, and is now serving as constable of the township.
F. C. FORSCHNER, jeweler, Nanticoke. This gentleman, who is one of the representative jewelers of Luzerne county, was born in White Haven, this county, and is a son of Charkes and Mary (Delay) Forschner, the former a native of Germany, the latter being one of the fair daughters of this county. Our subject received his early education in his native town, and has worked at his trade from his boyhood, at White Haven, where his father is still in the same business, being the oldest and most successful jeweler in the place. F. C. worked in his father=s store until he reached the age of nineteen, when he went to Freeland and in 1879 embarked in the business for his own account. There he remained until 1886, when he sold out the entire business and came to Nanticoke, where he began the trade again with an entire new stock, and where, by strict business methods, he has made himself a popular and reliable watchmaker and jeweler. Mr. Forschner was united in marriage, July 8, 1891, with Miss Mary E. Williams, an accomplished lady of Freeland, and this happy union has been blessed by five children, viz.: Myrtle, Edith M. and Eva L. (twins, the latter deceased), Ada and Frances.
REV. NICHOLAS FORVE, pastor of Holy Trinity (German) Catholic Church, Hazleton, is a native of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., having been born January 17, 1860. His parents, John and Mary (Becker) Forve, natives of Germany, came to Wilkes-Barre, where the father died and the mother yet lives. Father Forve received his classical education at Calvary, Wisconsin, where he was graduated in the class of 1880; he then took a theological course in the Grand Seminary at Montreal, Canada, and was ordained at Scranton, Pa., August 26, 1883, by Bishop O'Hara. He was then appointed assistant to Father Schelly, at St. Mary's, Scranton, where he remained from September, 1883, until October, 1884, when he was appointed pastor of St. Mary's Church at Pittston, where he remained until September, 1887, at which time he came to Hazleton, and has since been an untiring worker in the organization and development of his congregation there. He is justly entitled to the glory and reward of being the pioneer priest of the German Catholic denomination of Hazleton. The work of God, which he has accomplished, had long been neglected in that place. He has not only organized a healthy colony of Christians, as members of the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, but has promoted and organized many church societies within his congregation, which all tend to carry with them the glory of God and the good of Christianity.
PETER FORVE, plumber, gas and steamfitter, Wilkes-Barre, was born in Obernkirchen, Prussia, March 3, 1847, a son of Jacob and Mary (Miller) Forve, who came to America in 1852. The father who was a carpenter, followed his trade in the mines until 1885, and then retired. The family consisted of the following children: John (deceased), Jacob (deceased), Nicholas, Peter, Philip, Kate (Mrs. Fred Zimmerman), Margaret (Mrs. Anthony Myer), Mary (Mrs. Jacob Brown), Lizzie (Mrs. William Weiss), Theresa and Lena. Our subject has lived in Wilkes-Barre since five years of age, and was educated in the Catholic parochial school. He served three years' apprenticeship at the gunsmith's trade, four years at the plumbers' trade, worked as a journeyman several years, and August 17, 1870, embarked in business for himself, and in this successfully continued alone until 1888. He then admitted his brother, Philip, as a partner, and the business has since been conducted under the firm name of P. Forve & Brother. Mr. Forve married Miss Lizzie Kinley, of Wilkes-Barre, and by her has six children: Jacob, Peter, George, Louis, Marie and Carl. He and his family are members of the German Catholic Church, and in politics he is a Democrat.
CHARLES DORRANCE FOSTER. In this gentleman mingles the blood of several families, notable as among the earliest English settlers of New England, and in connection with the troublous times of the first comers to the beautiful and rich Wyoming Valley. Through his paternal grandfather's marriage, he comes from the Nash family. Thomas Nash, the founder of the American branch of the family, came to Boston in 1637 with a wife and five children. In 1638 the company, mostly merchants and artificers of London, with whom Thomas Nash came, removed to and founded in Connecticut a town called Quinnipiack, now New Haven. A second and third generation abided in New England, solid men and women in their several communities. Phineas Nash, of the fourth generation, came to Plymouth several years before the massacre, where he became one of the first three directors chosen for that settlement, under the rule of the Susquehanna Company. At the age of eighty-three he rode four hundred miles to Shelburne, Vermont, and died at ninety-three. His daughter Lowly married February 10, 1791. Edward Foster, who came to the Valley from Montpelier, Vermont, in 1803, and died in 1814. His son, Phineas Nash Foster, who was seven years old when his father came to Wyoming, lived more than seventy-five years, and died on his large farm in Jackson township. His wife was Mary Bailey Foster, daughter of Rev. Jacob Johnson, who came to Wilkes-Barre in 1772, and was the first permanently located minister west of the Blue Mountains, in the territory now comprising the State of Pennsylvania. He was Congregationalist, the teachings of which church were for more than half a century the prevailing religion of the Wyoming Valley. He was a remarkable man, was especially influential with the Indians, speaking fluently the language of more than one of the tribes, and was a conspicuous figure on the Connecticut side, through all the so-called Pennamite troubles. Of the union of Phineas Nash Foster with Mary Bailey Johnson came Charles Dorrance Foster, who was born in Dallas, Luzerne county, November 25, 1836. He attended the local schools, giving his vacations to work on his father's farm. This continued until he had attained the age of twenty years, when he entered Wyoming Seminary. After a three years' course at that institution, he taught school in Jackson township for a year, and subsequently went to Illinois where, for a short time, he followed the same calling. He later, however, returned to Luzerne, and after putting in another year at farming; was entered as a student at law in the office of the late Lyman Hakes. He was admitted to the bar April 23, 1861. Clients soon came to him, but having inherited an area of more than a mile of choice farm land in Dallas and Jackson townships, he found that possession sufficient to occupy most of his time and for all of his wants, so he gave only incidental attention to legal practice. Mr. Foster is a Republican in politics, and an active worker in the party. He was nominated for the Lower House of the State Legislature in 1882, but was defeated by the late Hon. Herman C. Fry, who had served one term acceptably and was a candidate for a second. Two years later Mr. Foster was again his party's candidate, and was elected. In 1884 he came within fifteen votes of being nominated for Congress, against Gen. E. S. Osborn. He has been prominently identified with many of Wilkes-Barre's business institutions, among them the Wilkes-Barre & Kingston Street Railway Company, of which he was in turn secretary, treasurer and president, and the Wyoming National Bank, of which he has been for a number of years a director. Mr. Foster married, October 4, 1865, Mary Jane Hoagland, of the New Jersey Hoaglands, who have been leading people in New Jersey, since before the Revolutionary war. Our subject and wife have one surviving child a daughter, Narcissa Florence, wife of Dr. Frank Hornto Jenkins, of Philadelphia, whose father, Hornto A Jenkins is a rear admiral in the United States Navy, and during the war was appointed chief of staff, by Admiral Farragut.
E. D. FOWLER, farmer, P.O. Prichard, was born in Union township, March 16, 1851, where he was reared and educated. He is a son of William and Mary (Stroud) Fowler, the former of whom was born in Berwick, February 5, 1819, the latter in Stroudsburg, April 10, 1824, and they were married at the latter place in 1840. In the following year they removed to this county, locating in Union township, where the father has carried on blacksmithing ever since. He is a strong, muscular man, in the enjoyment of robust health. He owns a house and lot in Hunlock township, to which he removed in 1879, and where he now resides. He has been a consistent member of the M.E. Church for forty years. His family consisted of eleven children, of whom seven were reared, Edmund D. being the fourth in order of birth. Our subject married Miss Eliza S. Naugle, who was born in Hanover township in 1855, a daughter of Charles and Mary A. Naugle. They have no family to gladden their declining years. Mr. Fowler is a practical farmer, and now owns eighty-seven acres of good land, sixty of which are under improvement. He removed to his present place about eight years ago. He is a promising young man, and will yet surpass in agricultural attainments. Politically he is a Republican.
OWEN FOWLER, Freeland. Among the active and successful business men of this county may well be noted the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch. He was born in Light Street, Columbia Co., Pa., May 29, 1859, a son of Thomas C. Fowler, also a native of Columbia county. Mr. Fowler was educated at the high schools, and at the age of twelve years entered the office of the Danville Intelligencer as an apprentice to the printer's trade. He remained here five years, when he went to Hazleton as foreman on the Mountain Democrat, and afterward to Omaha, Neb., being there employed on the Omaha Herald. He returned to Danville and worked at his trade about one year, afterward going to Mauch Chunk, where he remained a short time. He then accepted a position as foreman and local editor of the Mountain Echo, Shickshinny. In 1881 Mr. Fowler came to Freeland and began the publication of The Progress, the pioneer newspaper of the town. He published it as a weekly journal until May, 1887, when he made it a Daily, which he continued six months as an experiment; he then concluded that a semi-weekly was just what the people wanted, and The Progress has since been so published, the paper being now known as the Semi-Weekly Progress. Mr. Fowler received an appointment as postmaster of Freeland, which he still holds. He was united in marriage with Miss Nettie Sherman, and they have on child, Howard S., born July 7, 1885. Mr. Fowler is a Republican, and through the columns of his paper champions the principals of his party. Socially, he is a member of the A.L.of H., P.O.S. of A., I.O.O.F. and S. of V.
WILLIAM FOX, carpenter in the Ashley carshops, was born in Cornwall, England, April 14, 1838, and is a son of Nicholas and Elizabeth (Harvey) Fox. The family were originally gardeners, but his father was a miner. The family consisted of eight children, viz: Thomas, who died on Lake Superior, at the age of fifty-five years; Nicholas, who was killed in a pit in Ontario, Canada, at the age of thirty-four years; Elizabeth, widow of Richard King (deceased), of Michigan; Kittie, who died at the age of Twenty-five years; William the subject of this sketch; John, who was drowned in Lake Superior; Catherine, wife of Nicholas Richards, Cornwall, England; and Richard, a farmer by occupation. Our subject was educated in England, where he worked at mining. He came to America in 1865, locating in Canada, and working in the Bruce mines for five years; he then removed to Mahanoy City, Pa., where he remained six months, and went to Reading, where he worked at mining, and contracted on the cellar foundation of the Market house for eight months. In December, 1870, he came to Ashley, and worked at mining until 1881, at which time he engaged in his present occupation. He built his present residence in 1872 and owns much valuable property in Ashley. March 20, 1860; Mr. Fox married Miss Susan, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Kneebone) Richards, of Cornwall, England. Her father, a blacksmith by trade, reared a family of eight children, seven of whom are living and of whom she is the third. Mr. And Mrs. Fox have five children: William J., a painter in the Central shops, Elizabethport, N.J.; Fred, married to Martha L., daughter of William Kelly, ex-chief of police, Wilkes-Barre, by whom he had one child, William H. (Fred is head clerk at Livy's carpet store, Wilkes-Barre); Clara, Nicholas and Susan live with their parents. Mr. Fox is a member of the A.O.F.; he is a Republican in his political views, and he, together with the other members of his family, belongs to the Episcopal Church.
WILLIAM A. FRANKLIN, farmer, Huntington township, P.O. Huntington Mills, was born in Huntington township, Luzerne Co., Pa., September 14, 1826, a son of William and Ann (Hann) Franklin, natives of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and of German and English origin respectively. The father, who was also an agriculturist, died June 15, 1829, aged thirty-seven years; he was a son of Samuel and Mary (Ransom) Franklin, natives of Connecticut, who came to the Huntington Valley about 1775, and settled on the farm now owned by our subject. Samuel Franklin was a son of John and Kezia (Pierce) Franklin, the former of whom was a brother of Col. John Franklin. Our subject is the fourth in a family of five children, was reared on a farm, educated in the common schools, and has devoted his whole life to agricultural pursuits. When he was an infant, his father died, so that from early boyhood he was obliged to do whatever work he could, and he has always lived on the farm owned by his forefathers. When he was twenty-two years old, he taught the district school for four winters. He was married, October 23, 1852, to Ann E. daughter of David and Phoebe A. (Carpenter) Mc Daniels, natives of New Jersey and of Scotch and English origin, respectively. She is the second in a family of nine children, six of whom are living, and was born March 6, 1834. This union was blessed with six, children, viz.: Permelia A. (Mrs. Sam H. Harrison, of Huntington township), born March 29, 1854; John Everett (of whom mention is made further on); Mary J., born April 8, 1857, died March 4, 1870; David C., born July 31, 1858, residing in Wilkes—Barre, as general agent for the A. F. Hawthorn's U.S. Roof paint (he married, September 11, 1881, Miss Cornelia J. Wolf; he is a member of the Junior Order United American Mechanics): Maud Gertrude, born March 7, 1868, died March 4, 1870; and Howard H., born July 9, 1871, working for his brother in Wilkes-Barre (he is a member of the P.O.S. of A.). Mr. Franklin is a Republican, and has held the office of overseer of the poor. The Franklin farm is situated one quarter of a mile south of Huntington Mills post office, and contains about one hundred acres of prime land.
JOHN EVERETT FRANKLIN, a progressive young farmer, residing at Huntington Mills, was born March 10, 1855, and was married July 20, 1881, to Cora E. daughter of Edward and Mary (Hutton) Hull, of Irish and Dutch origin, respectively. She is the eldest in a family of six children, five of whom are living, and was born November 30, 1858. By this union there are four children, namely; Edward B., born April 12, 1882; Charles H., born July 23, 1883; William R., born July 22, 1886, and Tacy M., born January 23, 1891. Mr. John E. Franklin is a member of the Junior Order American Mechanics and of the I.O.R.M. Mrs. Franklin is a member of the M.E. Church.
ELIAS H. FRANTZ, farmer, P.O. Dallas, was born in Kingston township, January 11, 1846, and is a son of George W. and Sarah M. (Wilson) Frantz, both of whom were born in Kingston township. George W. was a son of Jonas, who came from Northhampton county to this in its early settlement, locating in Kingston township on a large tract of land. Jonas was a man of integrity, a practical farmer, and a loyal citizen. He lived to be over seventy years of age, and died in 1871. His family numbered five sons and six daughters, all of whom grew to maturity and seven of whom are now living. George W. began life on a farm, as a farmer in Kingston, and in 1848 bought a farm of his own consisting of 100 acres, in Wyoming county, where he has since resided, and where he is now living with his wife at the age of seventy. He has been honored with several offices in the township, and discharged them with credit. His family consisted of five children, four of whom are now living. E. H. is the first of the family, and was reared and educated in Wyoming county. At the age of twenty-seven, February 1873, he married Miss Eliza, daughter of George and Ann M. Sutton. They have had three children; George W., Elizabeth and Clarence. In 1882 Mr. Frantz moved on his farm of eight-four acres, known as the De Mon farm. He is an enterprising man of natural ability, honest, industrious and persevering, with an eye to business, and a man of influence in his own neighborhood. Politically he is a Democrat. Mrs. Eliza (Sutton) Frantz was born in Mehoopany, Wyoming county, September 16, 1855.
E. L. FRANTZ, farmer, P.O. Sweet Valley, was born near Stroudsburg, Monroe Co. Pa., August 8, 1851. He is the son of Thomas and Eunice (Metzger) Frantz, both of whom were born in Monroe county, the former in Ross, the latter in Hamilton township. Thomas is the son of Jacob, who was a native of France, and who emigrated to this country when a young man. His family consisted of nine children, eight of whom are living. He lived to a good old age. His son, Thomas, began his active business life in Monroe county. By occupation he was both a cooper and shoemaker, and has the reputation of being an expert at both. He is at present in good health, and an active man of his years. There were eight children born to him, five of whom are living. E. L. is the sixth in order of birth. He was reared and educated in Monroe county, and is a man of marked intelligence for his limited opportunities. He removed from Monroe county to Lackawanna county, where he was engaged in the manufacture of clothes pins—the first factory of the kind in what was then Luzerne county. In 1873 he removed to this county, locating at Orange, in Franklin township, where he served an apprenticeship at the blacksmith's trade with a Mr. Williams. He has worked at his trade more or less ever since. Mr. Frantz is a first-class mechanic and a keen businessman. In 1877 he removed to Ross township, where he now resides. In the same year—January 2, 1877—he married Miss Lizzie, the accomplished daughter of Dr. A. P. and Lizzie Gardner, and to them have been born three children: Sarah A., Parcel G., and Lizzie A. Mrs. Lizzie Frantz was born in Carbondale, May 9, 1849. Her father, Dr. Gardner, owns the beautiful residence known as "Glen Home Farm." In 1882 Mr. Frantz took a western trip, by way of exploring. He went to Kansas and Colorado, down to the Mexican line, and visited may other places of interest. During his trip he kept his eyes and ears open, consequently he makes it deeply interesting to listen to his experiences. He is highly entertaining at all times. He owns 100 acres of valuable land in Sweet Valley. He has also a beautiful house and lot attached to his extensive wheelwright and blacksmith shop. Fr. Frantz has held several township offices with much credit to himself. He is a member of the Jr. O.U.A.M. He and his family are devout Christians. Politically he is a Republican.
REUBEN FRANTZ, farmer, Lehman township, was born October 4, 1827, and was reared and educated in Monroe county, Pa. He is a son of Michael and Mary Frantz, both born in Monroe county, the former of whom was a son of Peter Frantz, who was of German extraction, and who settled in Monroe county. All of them were tillers of the soil, and were honest and industrious. Michael's family consisted of four children, all reaching maturity, and of them is now living the subject of this sketch. In early life Reuben Frantz learned the blacksmith's trade at which he was an expert. In 1852 he came to this county, locating first in Wyoming, where he worked at his trade two years, after which he moved to Trucksville, where he remained eleven years, earning, by honest toil, dollar after dollar, and where the ring of his anvil was heard far and wide. Thus with brawny muscle and determined will, circumstances yielded to his will. After the lapse of eleven years he moved to Lehman township, where he now resides. In these days he worked at his trade and on his farm, but at no time confined himself to agriculture exclusively. His farm consists of ninety-two acres, which he has materially improved since he moved on it; his land is good, his buildings neat, and his stock is excellent. At the age of twenty-four he married Miss Emily, daughter of John and Sarah Shaver, of Wyoming, by which marriage there were born six children, three of whom arrived at maturity, and are now living: James F., Edgar B. and Charles W. James F. married Miss Emma Ketchan, by whom he has one child; Edgar married Miss Kate Montgomery, by whom he has two children. Mr. Frantz is a practical farmer, looking with a masterly eye to all the interests of his fertile fields. He has held various offices in his township; offices which he honored by the discharge of duties well performed. In religious faith he is a Presbyterian; he is a member of the Grange; politically he is a Democrat.
SHERMAN P. FRANTZ, butcher, Luzerne, Pa., was born on the Frantz farm, Luzerne county, April 13, 1864, and is a son of Perry and Jane (White) Frantz, natives of Pennsylvania. After receiving his education Mr. Frantz engaged in the butcher business at Dallas, Pa., which he followed a short time, removing from there to Luzerne, where he has a first-class market, and caters to the wants of his many patrons, who highly appreciate his methods of doing business. Mr. Frantz was married to Miss Rose, daughter of Walter J. and Caroline (Welter) Wilson, natives of New Jersey. This union has been blessed by three children, Howard P., Walter J. and Hazel. Mr. Frantz is a member of the M.E. Church; he votes with the Republican Party, and belongs to the Junior Order of United American Mechanics.
DANIEL FREDERICK, one of Ashley's oldest and most respected citizens, was born in Northampton county, Pa., December 24, 1807, a son of John and Christiana (Foglan) Frederick, natives of Pennsylvania and of German origin. His father, a farmer; came to Ashley in 1821, and for two years managed the "Red Tavern," and next engaged in farming, and afterward moved to the village of Ashley. The family consisted of six children, three of whom are living, viz.: Isaac, Millersville, Ill.; Daniel and Joseph, Hanover township. Our subject was educated in his native county and in Luzerne county, and then learned the carpenter's trade which he followed till 1877, when he retired from active life. In 1834 he built the residence which he still occupies, and hewed out most of the lumber of which it is made, with his broad-ax. Mr. Frederick was married February 24, 1832, to Miss Christiana, daughter of Adam and Mary (Ross) Steel, natives of Bethlehem, Pa., and of German and Yankee origin. They removed at a very early date to Hanover township, where Christiana was born October 29, 1808. Her grandfather, Thomas Ross, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, was taken prisoner and saved his life by picking grains from an ear of corn concealed in his pocket. Mr. Frederick and his wife are a nice, sweet-tempered old couple who have always lived happily together, and it is pleasant to note that they have by their industry and good habits provided themselves with a comfortable home in which to pass their declining years. They have been blessed with eight children, seven of whom are living, viz.: Mary (Mrs. Alonzo Quick); Charles, farmer, Iowa; Howard, carpenter and machinist, Wilkes-Barre; Merritt, mine foreman, Plymouth; Annetta (Mrs. Stewart McIntosh); Catherine (Mrs. Peter Farley,) and Ruth (Mrs. Clarence S. Detro). Mr. Frederick's political views are at present in sympathy with the Republican party. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, of which he is an elder, and of which she has been a member forty-six years.
MERITT FREDERICK, foreman at the Parrish Colliery, Plymouth, was born at Ashley, Pa., July 24, 1841, and is the fourth in the family of seven children of Daniel and Christina (Steel) Frederick, the former a native of Pennsylvania, the latter of New Jersey. Our subject was educated in Luzerne county, and learned the machinist's trade, which he worked at in this county for fifteen years. In 1864 he was employed by the Parrish Company as machinist, working in that capacity until 1871, when he accepted a foremanship at the Hartford Mine, Ashley, Pa. He remained in charge here from 1871 to 1885, when he was given the outside foremanship at the Parrish Colliery, where he has since been employed. Mr. Frederick was married in August, 1872, to Miss Margaret Barre, of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and children were born to them as follows: Daniel, Millie, Edith (deceased), Walter (deceased), Lida, Gertrude, Charles (deceased) and Harry. Mr. Frederick belongs to one of the pioneer families of the county, and one that has always been identified with the Republican party. The family attend the Presbyterian Church.
SAMUEL Y. FREDERICK, outside foreman for C. H. Knelly, Conyngham, was born in Conyngham village, July 29, 1863, a son of Ernst and Elizabeth (Benner) Friedrich. His paternal grandparents were Lawrence and Barbara (Jacobs) Friedrich, of Germany, and his maternal grandparents were Christopher and Mary (Strunk) Benner, pioneers of Butler township, this county. His father was born in Saxon-Coburg, Germany, in June, 1829, learned the shoemaker's trade with his father, and in 1852 came to America, locating in Sugar Loaf township, where he has since resided, engaged in the shoe business. The subject of this sketch was reared in Conyngham village, and educated in the public schools; he served a three years' apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, worked as a journeyman five years, and since 1886 has been in the employ of C. H. Knelly, of Conyngham, as outside superintendent of his business. He was married, December 1, 1883, to Emma M., daughter of Solomon and Mary (Fetter) Klinger, of Sugar Loaf township, and they have two children, Mabel L. and Charles C. Mr. Frederick is a member of the Reformed Church, I.O.O.F. and P.O.S. of A. In politics he is a Democrat.
P. H. FRENCH, coal operator, Pittston. This enterprising and successful gentleman was born at Cincinnati, Ohio, March 9, 1852, and is the youngest in a family of twelve children—eight sons and four daughters—of Maynard and Julia (Eams) French, the former a native of Vermont, the latter of New York origin. The subject of this sketch was reared and educated in Cincinnati (Ohio) and Utica (N. Y.), receiving a liberal education at the highest educational institutions of those cities. After completing his studies he entered the mercantile business as a dry-goods salesman at Evansville, Ind., where he remained six years, afterward going to New York City. There he continued in the mercantile line for eight years, at the end of which time he came to Pittston. He has since been engaged in the coal business in Luzerne county, and he has at the present time an interest in the coal separator near the Washington Mine, at Plymouth, which is capable of turning out about three hundred tons of coal daily. The father of our subject was in the hardware business the greater part of his business career, and for many years prior to his death, which occurred in 1867, he was president of the Indianapolis, Rochester & Chicago Railroad Company, and was always considered a proficient, able man in all his ventures. He commenced business at Cincinnati in l835, and continued it there for over thirty years. The subject proper of this sketch is single. He votes the Republican ticket, and attends the Presbyterian Church.
CAPT. S. L. FRENCH was born at Plymouth, which has ever since been his place of residence. In 1861 he enlisted in the Fifty-second Regiment, commanded by Col. John C. Dodge, and subsequently by Col. (afterward governor) Henry M. Hoyt; was in Gen. MacClellan's command during his Peninsular campaign before Richmond, participating in the battle of Fair Oaks, and was the last to leave the Chickahominy during MacClellan' s retreat to Malvern Hill and the James River, being on guard at Bottom Bridge. In 1862 and 1863 he was second lieutenant of a company organized in Plymouth, and as Company G, Thirtieth Regiment was stationed on the southern border during Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania; in 1872 he was elected register of wills of Luzerne county, and as such, under the new constitution, became the first clerk of the Orphans Court; was chief burgess of Plymouth for several terms, and is president of the board of trade, president of the board of armory trustees, and holds several other offices in different organizations.
Company I, Ninth Regiment, N.G.P., was organized December 12, 1888, at which time it was mustered into the Guard by Col. Morris J. Keck, at McAlarney's Hall, Plymouth. The original members of the company were: S. L. French, captain; Stanley W. Davenport, first lieutenant; F. L. McKee, M. D., second lieutenant; A. E. Gregg, first sergeant; Frank Madden, second sergeant; W. E. Renshaw, third sergeant; William H. Croop, fourth sergeant; P. H. Gallager, fifth sergeant; I. A. Weil, first corporal; C. H. Jacobs, second corporal; William J. Williams, third corporal; Chauncey L. Naugle, fourth corporal; Samuel French, fifth corporal; John P. Harris, sixth corporal; John Crossin, seventh corporal; John Davenport, eighth corporal. Privates: E. F. Bisher, G. P. Bisher, Eli Bittinbender, William Crossin, A. C. Compton, Chris Conrad, Harry Davenport, John J. Flaherty, C. A. Furguson, T. F. Gwillym, John F. Griffin, James Griffin, George K. Hendershot, J. M. Hamway, John Krothe, William Krothe, George B. Kostenbader, Henry T. Lees, John J. Lynch, George H. Monk, D. W. Megines, James P. Murray, John Mutchler, A. McDaniels, E. Lloyd Marks, John May, Robert J. Nevins, Harry W. Pierce, George G. Pritchard, David Percy, William F. Powell, Frank H. Price, I. M. Renshaw, John J. Renshaw, Max Reese, John J. Richards, Adam Smeaton, Thomas H. Smith, D. M. Shafer, Irvin Vanloon, James Ward, R. E. Williams, Martin Walsh, I. M. Weil, Charles E. Waters, Freas Yaple and Harvey Zimmerman.
From the time of its organization, Company I made rapid progress, and soon took a prominent position in the Ninth Regiment, which place it has thus far maintained. During the first year of its existence, and before it had attained a full year's growth, it succeeded in qualifying, as marksmen, every member of the company—a circumstance without parallel in the history of the National Guard. This record has since been maintained, and in the third year of its existence its record of sharpshooting is excelled by only one company in the regiment. Soon after the company was organized, its need of a permanent home and place for drill became apparent to the captain who, after mature deliberation, boldly determined to attempt the erection of an armory. At first, it was thought that a wooden structure, at a cost of about $8,000 for lot and building, would serve the purpose, but, after further consideration, a brick structure was determined upon. A desirable lot on Gaylord avenue, 60x130 feet, was offered for the purpose, and Capt. French, in full confidence of the success of his project, purchased the same for $1,900 in his own right. A petition was in the meantime circulated, soliciting subscriptions for bonds to be issued, payable in ten years, bearing interest at the rate of five per cent. per annum, the proceeds of which were to pay for the building. It took considerable time and much persuasion to secure the required amount of subscriptions for bonds—in some instances a personal guarantee for their payment being necessary before a subscription could be secured. However, by persistent and indomitable perseverance the necessary amount, $11,000, was finally secured, and the building commenced upon plans which had already been adopted. The property was turned over to trustees—these trustees being named—and the future disposition of the property being provided for in the deed of Capt. French. In event of failure to maintain a military company in the town, the building was to revert to the town for a hospital or public library. The armory was opened with appropriate ceremonies on April 20, 1891, there being an immense attendance of people from the surrounding country, and many distinguished people from a distance, of both civil and military dignity—the Lieutenant-Governor and the Governor's staff, Major-General Snowden and staff, and the Ninth Regiment. The fair, which continued eight days, realized over $7,000, and marked an event in the history of the town of Plymouth, which will long be remembered.
FRANCIS FREW, miner, P.O. Plains, was born in the parish of Irving, Ayrshire, Scotland, March 24, 1854, and is a son of John and Mary (Patterson) Frew. The father, who was a miner, reared a family of ten children, seven of whom are now living, and our subject is the fourth. He came to America in 1880, and located at Plainsville, where he engaged in mining, which occupation he has since chiefly followed; he built his present residence and removed there in 1884. Mr. Frew was married June 12, 1877, to Miss Jane, daughter of Alexander and Jane (Taylor) McCall. There have been seven children born to them, four of whom are living, viz.: Mary P., Elizabeth T., Francis, and William M. He and his wife are members of the Free Church of Scotland, but usually attend the Presbyterian Church; he is a member of the K. of H., and in politics sympathizes with the Republican party.
EMIL FRIEDRICH, butcher, Conyngham, was born in Sugar Loaf township, July 21, 1860, a son of Ernest and Elizabeth (Benner) Friedrich. His father was born in Sachsen Coburg, Germany, in June, l829, a son of Lawrence and Barbara (Jacobs) Friedrich. He served an apprenticeship at the shoemaker's trade with his father, and in 1852 came to America, locating in Sugar Loaf township; since 1859 he has been a resident of Conyngham, where he is engaged in the shoe business. His wife was a daughter of Christopher and Mary (Strunk) Benner, of Butler township, and by her he has three children: Emil, Minerva J. (Mrs. William M. Heller), and Samuel Y. Our subject was reared and educated in Conyngham, and at fourteen years of age entered a general store as clerk, in which capacity he served three years, and then engaged in the produce business four years. In 1881 he embarked in the butchering trade, in which he has since successfully continued. On August 15, 1882, he married Mary, daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Knelly) Beishline, of Sugar Loaf township, and has one daughter, Getha A. Mr. Friedrich is a member of the German Reformed Church, of the I.O.O.F., and P.O.S. of A.; in politics he is a Democrat.
REV. ABRAHAM FRISBIE, farmer, P.O. Lehman, was born in Wayne county, Pa., October 16, 1825, a son of Solomon and Charlotte (Morgan) Frisbie. Solomon Frisbie was a son of Abraham (first), who was a native of Connecticut, and came to this State in the early history of Luzerne county. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and his son Solomon was a soldier in the war of 1812. A man of genius, he was one of Nature's mechanics in the true sense of the word. He settled in Wayne county where he owned a well cultivated farm, and his family consisted of sixteen children, thirteen of whom reached maturity, nine of them now living. Abraham, who is the fourth in this numerous family, was educated in Plymouth at the common school. He always carried on farming as his chief business, but for fifteen years he followed mining in conjunction with it. Mr. Frisbie has always resided either in Plymouth or Jackson, in the former twenty-three years, in the latter thirty-five years. For twenty-nine years he has lived on his present farm, which consists of 100 acres of well-improved land, and he deserves great credit for the improvements he has made on his place, whilst his two sons, George C. and A. P. have proved invaluable aids in this arduous task. There is a mineral which Mr. Frisbie has discovered on his place that proves to be aluminum with a mixture of silver, and if it proves to be in large quantities, it will make Mr. Frisby and family rich and affluent. He is an able preacher of primitive Christianity, a true believer in the Apostle's doctrine, taking the Word as his infallible guide in faith and practice. He has preached with marked success for twenty years and has been a consistent member of the Christian church for fifty years. He has held several offices in his own town, such as assessor, supervisor, and poor master. He is also a successful auctioneer, and is in great demand as such. On August 22, 1847, Mr. Frisbie married Miss Mary Ann, daughter of Chester and Mary Nesbit of Plymouth, and there were born to them five children, three of whom are now living. George C., A. P. and Emma G. Of these, George C. married Miss Ella M. Edwards; A. P. married Miss Sarah D. Wilkinson, by whom he had two children: Cora B. and Wilber P.; Emma G. married Alfred Ayers, a wealthy farmer residing in Dallas township. Mr. Frisbie is proud of his family which has proved to be a blessing to him, causing him to rejoice as he passes down the declivity of life's journey. He is a member in good standing in the I.O.O.F.
GEORGE C. FRISBIE, mechanic, Cease's Mills, was born May 5, 1849, in Plymouth, a son of Rev. Abraham and Mary Ann (Nesbit) Frisbie, the former born in Wayne county, Pa., the latter in Plymouth, Luzerne Co. In early life our subject learned the trade of wheelwright, at which he has become an expert, and he devoted himself to the service of his father in clearing the farm, which was in those days unimproved. On March 22, 1873, he married Miss Ella M., daughter of Michael and Sarah J. Edwards, and by her he had four children: Walter A. Charles M., Ira B. and Rosie M., all yet living. In 1890 Mr. Frisbee purchased the old mill property of Chester Ransom, which he has renovated and improved, and in which he intends manufacturing lumber, shingle, lath and pickets. He has also erected on the ground a cider-mill, which has proved lucrative. Mr. Frisbie's facilities for manufacturing can not be surpassed, as he is situated on a never-failing creek (Harvey's) having a fall of eighteen feet, and has easy and near approach to market (Nanticoke), four miles from the river. He is a thorough going man, and with the development of upright principles instilled in his mind in his younger days, must be successful. Politically he is a Republican.
CHARLES FRITSCH, photographer, Pittston, was born in Scranton, February 11, 1863, son of Jacob G. and Margaret: (Walter) Fritsch. His parents were natives of Baden, Germany, and his father, while a resident of that city, was a carpet weaver by trade. They came to the United States in 1855, and located at Cherry Ridge Pa., after a short sojourn there removing to Scranton, where his mother yet resides; the father died at Scranton, December 31, 1877. The parents had a family of eight children, viz: Mary, deceased, Michael, a mechanic residing at Scranton; Jacob, a carpenter, of Scranton; John a baker, of New York City; Elise, married to Harry Harder, a real estate dealer, of Scranton; two who died in infancy and Charles. Our subject passed his boyhood in Scranton, and attended the public schools of that city until his fourteenth year. His father dying at this time, he was compelled to leave school, and contribute his aid to assist in the support of the family. From that time until 1880 he was employed as a slate picker at different coal breakers, in the vicinity of Scranton; he then secured a position as brakeman on a railroad, and served in that capacity until 1883, when he entered the Keystone Academy and pursued a course of study there for one year; then returned to Scranton and began the study of photography. After mastering the art he was employed in the capacity of an expert photographer in the cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Lebanon and Factoryville. March 1, 1891 he opened a studio at his present quarters on North Main street, Pittson, where the excellency of his work soon secured for him a large patronage. He was united in wedlock November 7, 1890 with Jessie Hollenback of West Pittston; this union has been blessed with one child, Frances Florence. Mr. Fritsch worships at the M.E. Church of West Pittston, and politically is a Republican. During his short residence in Pittston he has secured a host of friends.
HON. JAMES M. FRITZ, an able lawyer of the Luzerne county bar. Nanticoke, was born March 10, 1857, at Orangeville, Columbia Co., Pa. His father died when he was but eight years old, and his mother having five small children to support, found herself, soon after the death of her husband, hard pressed by the hand of poverty. James M. was the second eldest child; when but ten years of age he was sent to work on a farm, where he remained two years, working during the summer and attending school during the winter; during this time doing all he could to assist his mother in supporting the little household. While he was in his twelfth year his mother and family removed to New Brunswick, N.J., where he found employment in one of the city grocery stores as errand boy. After working there one year he changed his vocation, obtaining employment in a hosiery factory, where he also remained a year. By this time he began to get acquainted in the city, and by his courteous and modest demeanor, his strict honesty and uniform habits of industry he attracted the notice of a dry goods merchant, by name W. K. Lyons, in whose store he was proffered employment as errand boy. Accepting the position, he at once assumed its duties. Here he soon commenced to display his inborn industry, fidelity and promptness. His wages were but four dollars per week during the first year, after which they were increased to five, then to six. This pittance he devoted to the wants of his mother and little sisters, excepting a very small amount which he invested in a loan fund until he was able to buy out two shares at fifty dollars each. When he was about eighteen years of age, his mother died. James had been her main stay through life; he paid the doctor's bills incurred during her last illness. During the five years he worked in the dry-goods store, he never allowed an opportunity to pass to improve his growing mind, his pliant intellect, his natural genius. When he first entered the store he could scarcely write his own name. Becoming conscious of the advantages of an education, he formed a resolution to teach himself the rudiments of English. When his day's work was done, he would go home and instruct himself in reading, writing and other common branches, purchasing books whenever he could spare the money. Step by step he stored his mind with knowledge, and soon mastered the rudiments of an English education. After five years of arduous labor, he graduated from his own academy, and soon after accepted a position as a teacher in the public school of Cole's Creek, Columbia county, this State. This was in 1875; in 1876 he went to Orangeville, where he attended school in the summer and taught in the winter. After two years of hard work, he had prepared himself to take a classical course, and the fall of 1879 found him registered in Lafayette College. When he entered he had only $100, which he knew would not go far toward paying his expenses, so he began to look around for some means to supply the deficiency. In this he was successful, for the beginning of his third term found him the manager of a boarding club, which duty he performed for his board and one dollar per week. During his summer vacations he was not idle, but taught school; and one winter, finding his finances running low, he taught a school at Rupert Station, Columbia county, keeping up his college studies at the same time. Although he had continually practiced a very strict economy, he had, nevertheless, found it necessary to borrow money to assist himself, so that when he graduated, in 1883, he found himself $300 in debt; but be it said to his credit that he paid back every dollar. After graduating, he registered with Charles G. Barkley, a leading lawyer of Columbia county, and began the study of law, at the same time accepting an offer to teach a private school in Fishing Creek township for a few months. In the fall of 1884 he was elected principal of the Shickshinney high school for one year, at the expiration of which time he was elected to a similar position at the New Columbus Academy. In December, 1885, he entered the office of Mr. Barkley, and began the study of law in good earnest, and on December 13, following, he was admitted to the Columbia county bar. Soon after this Mr. Fritz removed to Nanticoke, and in January, 1887, was admitted to practice at the Luzerne county bar, where he now commands an extensive practice, and is regarded by all who know him as an esteemed citizen and an advocate of unusual talent and ability. In 1890, Mr. Fritz became the candidate of the Democratic party for the Pennsylvania Legislature, and was elected by a good majority. He was married in September, 1886, to Annie E. daughter of John Stackhouse, one of the leading members of the Salem Coal Company at Shickshinny, Pa. This union has been blessed with two children, Margaret and John.
EUGENE K. FRY, of Richards & Fry, dealers in wall paper and stationery, Wilkes-Barre, was born in that city, December 22, 1863, a son of Herman C. and Ellen R. (Phillips) Fry. His paternal grandfather, Conrad Fry, was of German descent, a brick and stonemason by trade, and had been a resident of Wilkes-Barre for many years when he died. His father was a native of Northampton county, was a brick manufacturer and contractor, and resided in Wilkes-Barre upward of fifty years. He was a member of the city council several terms, and represented Luzern county in the State Legislature two terms. He died in May, 1891. Of the children of Herman C. Fry, eight reached maturity: Wilbur W., Ada (Mrs. H. N. Bard), Herman R., Hendrick W., Mary E. (Mrs. A. C. Luder), Eugene K., Augusta M., and Annie L. Our subject was reared in Wilkes-Barre, educated in the public schools, and served for a time as clerk in a wall-paper store. September 1, 1890, he embarked in business as a member of the firm of Richards & Fry, and is meeting with great success. December 31, 1891, Mr. Fry married Miss Mary J., daughter of Rev. George and Malvina (Rowland) Frear, of Wilkes-Barre. He is a member of the Baptist Church, and in politics is a Democrat.
CHESTER FULLER, farmer, P.O. Huntsville, was born January 22, 1815, in Lehman township where he was reared and educated. He is a son of William and Amy (Allen) Fuller, both of whom were born in Stockbridge, Mass., the former December 17, 1778, the latter December 30, 1782. William was a son of Bennajah Fuller, who was a valiant soldier and did good service in the Revolutionary war in defense of liberty and independence. Our subject's maternal grandfather, Allen, was also a Revolutionary soldier. Both families (the Allens and Fullers) moved to this county; the Allens about 1800, and locating near Trucksville; the Fullers about 1795, locating near Huntsville on the property owned by Mr. Ittle. Those pioneers did much for their adopted country, both by their own individual efforts, and in giving to the town, county and country, descendants worthy of their name. Bennajah Fuller owned about 700 acres of land in company with his brother Joshua; they were both pioneer farmers, honest and hard-working. Bennajah died in 1830 at the age of eighty-five. He reared a family of eight children—four sons and four daughters. William, one of his sons, began life in Huntsville, remaining with his father until 1801 when he married Miss Amy Allen, and in 1802 he moved north of Huntsville onto the farm now owned by his son Chester. He was an honest and industrious man, teaching his children those principles of truth and integrity that they afterward practiced. He was an extensive and practical farmer, his place comprising 165 acres. He was the first poor master and school director in the town. The Fullers were patriotic citizens, devoted to their country, as the following will illustrate: William received a captain's commission from Gov. Snyder; Jeremiah was first lieutenant, while Isaac was drummer, all in the same company, and did active service in the war of 1812. In religious sentiment, William was a Baptist; politically he was a Whig. After a life of much usefulness, he died May 2, 1848, at the age of sixty-nine years. There were born to him eight children, four of whom grew to maturity, and two are now living, Chester being the sixth in the family. Our subject has always confined himself to agriculture, and is now living on the farm on which he was born. He is a practical farmer, enjoying the full confidence of his fellow citizens. He has held several offices in the town, such as school director, constable, supervisor, etc. In February, 1843, he married Miss Mary J. daughter of Samuel and Nancy Elston, and there were born to them five children, four of whom are now living: Nettie, Clarissa, Matilda M., Albertina and Estella. Mr. Fuller is a gentleman in the full sense of the term, an extensive farmer, raising a general crop, giving preference, however, to grain raising. He deals in livestock considerably, supplying the dealers in the adjacent towns and cities. He has been a consistent member of the Baptist Church for the last forty years. He is a member of the I.O.O.F., in good standing. Politically he is a Republican.
THOMAS M. FUREY, clergyman, Yatesville, was born in Springville, Susquehanna Co., Pa., May 21, 1860, son of Rev. John G. and Keturah (Rhoades) Furey, natives of County Londonderry, Ireland, and of Pennsylvania respectively. Mr. J. G. Furey is a clergyman of the Episcopal Church, and is at present engaged on the Board of City Missions in Philadelphia. Our subject was educated in the public schools and the Philadelphia Episcopal Academy. In 1877 he went to learn the wholesale drug business, and followed that vocation until the latter part of 1879; during that time he was a student at the College of Pharmacy, but his health failing, he was compelled to abandon the trade. He then went into the Conferences of the M.E. Church, and in 1881 commenced to preach, his first charge being at Berrysburgh, Dauphin county, following which he was at Fairfax Court House, Va. In March, 1884, he was transferred to the Wyoming conference; since that time he has been stationed in Fairdale, Susquehanna county, Oakland, Susquehanna county; Union Centre, Broome Co., N.Y.; Lake Como, Wayne Co., Pa.; Thompson, Susquehanna county; and in May, 1892, to his present charge at Yatesville. He was united in marriage October 14, 1881, with Martha Annie, daughter of William and Sarah J. (Breech) Wilson, natives of Schuylkill county, and of English extraction. Our subject is a member of the Prohibition party.