JOHN CHRISTIAN WIEGAND, was born in Laurel Hill, Hazle township, this county, September 5, 1862, and is a son of Nicholas Wiegand (deceased), who was one of the pioneers of Hazleton, having worked for years at his trade of blacksmith, and also in the mines. In later life he engaged in the hotel business, and at the time of his death was proprietor of the "Liberty Hotel," on South Laurel street, Hazleton. During his long residence in that city he was a leader among his German friends, and had gained a reputation for the most sterling integrity and honesty; for twenty-five years preceding his death he was an active Democrat. The subject of this sketch was reared in Hazleton, and educated in the public schools of that city. At the age of seventeen years he became general bookkeeper for the firm of Arnold & Krell, Hazleton brewers, with whom he remained four years, when he resigned to take a position in the Hazleton Savings Bank. During his service with Arnold & Krell, he took a special course in banking, and after several years' service in the bank, was promoted to the position of teller. In 1890, when the Hazleton National Bank was organized, he was elected teller of that institution, but resigned that position to take the office of prothonotary of Luzerne county, to which he was elected in November, 1891. His first move in politics was in the spring of 1884, when he was elected auditor of Hazleton borough, and in 1886 he was elected tax collector of Hazleton by a flattering majority. He was re-elected in 1888, and was elected a treasurer of the school board in June, 1891. On September 20, 1888, Mr. Wiegand was married to Harriet, daughter of Joshua Fetterman, of Bloomsburg. In all the positions he has held, Mr. Wiegand has shown an ability and integrity of the highest order, and has established himself in the confidence of the community.
VALENTINE WIEH, proprietor of Washington Market, Wilkes-Barre, was born in Bavaria, Germany, February 15, 1845, a son of Michael and Mary (Eber) Wieh. He lived in Germany until fourteen years of age, and in 1858 came to America, locating in Wilkes-Barre, this county, where he apprenticed himself to the butcher's trade. In February, 1865, he enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Fourth Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served until August 25, of the same year, when he was honorably discharged. He returned to Wilkes-Barre, and in 1866 embarked in business for himself, in which he has since successfully continued, and is now the proprietor of one of the finest markets in the city. April 25, 1867, Mr. Wieh married Miss Mary, daughter of Morris and Mary Engel, of Wilkes-Barre, and has three children living: William, Jennie and Minnie. He attends the Presbyterian Church, and, politically, is independent.
HENRY WILBUR, horse and mule dealer, Wilkes-Barre, was born in Carbondale, Luzerne (now Lackawanna) county, in September, 1832, and is a son of Reuben and Laura M. (Norton) Wilbur. His paternal grandfather, Christopher E. Wilbur, a native of the State of New York, settled at Carbondale about the year 1800. He was a wheelwright, and made spinning wheels, which he disposed of among the families of that vicinity. He resided in Carbondale over fifty years, and died on a farm near Hollisterville. The father of our subject spent most of his life in what is now Lackawanna county. He was a farmer and Hotel-keeper, his hotel being known as the "Four Mile Tavern," in Carbondale township, where he died in 1848. His first wife was Laura M., a daughter of John Norton, formerly of New Jersey, and a pioneer farmer of Lackawanna county. His second wife was Mary A. Moffatt. He reared a family of twelve children. The subject of this sketch was reared in Carbondale township until sixteen years of age, when he started in life for himself. At the age of nineteen he embarked in the livery business at Hawley, in which he continued three years; then located at Pittston, where he was under contract to deliver coal for the Pennsylvania Coal Company nine years, and for two years ran a bus line and livery. In 1865 he located in Wilkes-Barre, where he kept a boarding stable two years, and ran a stage line to Pittston one year, after which he was three years engaged with Hillard Bros., in the manufacture of brick. Since 1871 he has been successfully engaged in his present business. In 1857 Mr. Wilbur married Elizabeth, daughter of John Hudson, of Carbondale. This wife dying, he married, for his second wife, Mary A., daughter of Jacob Fell, of Pittston, by whom he has one daughter, Elizabeth M. Mr. Wilbur is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and in politics is a Republican.
DANIEL DENNIS WILCOX, was born January 15, 1835, in what is now Plains township, a son of Isaac and Sarah (Stark) Wilcox, natives of Dutchess county, N.Y., and of Plains, Pa., respectively, and of English origin. He is a grandson of Isaac Wilcox; his grandmother, Nancy (Newcomb) Wilcox, was at Forty Fort at the time of the Wyoming Massacre. He is a great-grandson of Aaron Stark, who fell in the battle of Wyoming, July 3, 1778. In his fathers family there were seven children, of whom he is the sixth in order of birth. He was reared on the farm, receiving his education in the common schools and at Charlotteville, N.Y. He enlisted at Wilkes-Barre June 10, 1861, in Company F, Seventh Pennsylvania Reserves, participating in the following engagements: Mechanicsville, Gaines Hill, White Oak Swamp, Bull Run (Second), South Mountain and Antietam, and was discharged on surgeon's certificate of disability, October 18, 1862, returning home. When Lee invaded his native State in 1863, he enlisted in Company K, Thirtieth Pennsylvania, Emergency men; went to Harrisburg, Cumberland Valley, and remained in service until Lee was driven from the State. In 1870-71 he was engaged in the livery business, and in 1875-76 in the grocery business at Plains. Mr. Wilcox was married, November 30, 1865, to Miss Rebecca, daughter of Thomas and Catherine (Hartman) Stocker, natives of Northampton and Berks counties, respectively, and of German origin. This happy union has been blessed with three sons and one daughter, viz.: William S., born October 17, 1866, was graduated at the New England Conservatory of Music at Boston in 1887, and is now teacher and composer of music, also piano tuner, at Plains (he married Miss Clara Louise Becker, of Boston, by whom he has two children, Bernard, born February 25, 1889, and Daniel Stark, born April 7, 1892); Thomas and Isaac (twins), born January 30, 1871 (Thomas died July 17, 1871, and Isaac July 21, same year); and Catharine A., born November 14, 1872. Mr. Wilcox is a member of the Sons of Temperance, a trustee of Plains Presbyterian Church, and in his political views is a Republican.
JOHN D. WILCOX, farmer, P.O. Plains, was born in what is now Plains township, May 28, 1828, and is the third child born to Isaac Wilcox. Our subject spent his boyhood on the farm, was educated in the common schools and in the Wilkes-Barre graded school, and assisted his father on the farm until 1856. He was then engaged for two years on the construction of a railroad between Galesburgh and Burlington, Wis., since which time he has given his attention chiefly to farming. Mr. Wilcox was married, July 3, 1884, to Miss Augusta C., daughter of William and Mary (Head) Stark, natives of Tompkins county, N.Y., and of English and Dutch origin, respectively. Their union has been blessed with three children: Adelaide, born August 2, 1890; Louise, born September 23, 1885, died August 7, 1886; and John, born January 28, 1888, died March 27, 1888. Mr. Wilcox is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he is deacon, trustee and steward, and has been a teacher in the Sunday school for thirty years; he is a member of the I.O.O.F. and Encampment, the P.O.S. of A., and the Sons of Temperance; in politics he is a Republican.
C. B. WILCOX, brick manufacturer and general builder, Kingston. Among the enterprising business men of Kingston may well be counted the gentleman whose name heads this memoir. He was born in Kingston, November 10, 1848, and is a son of E. Brown and Nancy (Maxfield) Wilcox, both natives of Pennsylvania, the former of Irish descent, and the latter of New England origin. Mr. Wilcox was educated in the common schools of Luzerne county, and began life for himself, embarking in his present business in Kingston, where he has since been engaged. He is doing a very extensive trade in the line of brick manufacturing, as well as in general building and contracting. Mr. Wilcox was married, January 15, 1876, to Miss Jennie, daughter of Robert Major, of Lehman, Luzerne county. This union has been blessed with three children, viz.: Elmer H., Bertha and Martha. Our subject and his family are members of the Methodist Church. Politically he is a Republican.
FRANKLIN J. WILCOX, farmer, P.O. Lehman, was born in Jackson township, August 11, 1854. He is a son of William S. and Anna M. (Mandeville) Wilcox, the former of whom was born in Orange county, N.Y., March 3, 1824, the latter in Jackson township, this county. William S. is a son of Joseph, who was a prosperous farmer in Orange county, N.Y., and moved to this county in about 1833, locating in Jackson township, near "Browns Corners." In his early life Joseph was a poor boy, but, by commendable perseverance and economy, he has accumulated a comfortable home with pleasant surroundings. He is now living in Canton, Bradford Co., Pa., at the age of eighty-nine years. His family consisted of eight daughters and three sons; five daughters and three sons are now living. His son, William S., is a man of ability, and in early life he taught school with marked success. He began his active life in Jackson township, where he successfully followed farming as his life vocation; he is living on his farm of 114 acres of well-improved land; he also owns seventy-five acres, on which his son Franklin J. lives. He has been honored with several township offices, which he has filled with honor, serving as tax collector several terms. His family consisted of six children, four living. Franklin J. is the third in the family, and was reared and educated in his township at the common schools. From his youth up he has confined himself to farming. At the age of twenty-four, on June 2, 1878, he married, at Plymouth, Miss Laura C., daughter of John and Rachel Anderson. They have had three children, two of whom are now living: Archie F. and Burton R. W. H. is deceased. Mrs. Laura C. Wilcox was born in Kingston September 23, 1854. Mr. Wilcox is a practical farmer, and a man whose word is as good as his note. He is hospitable to a fault, and his estimable wife vies with him in entertaining and making at ease those who come under their roof. They are well known and highly appreciated for their worth in the community. Both are members, in full fellowship, of the Christian Church.
SAMUEL WILCOX (deceased), who in his lifetime was a prominent farmer of Huntington township, was born August 31, 1801, a son of Crandall and Joanna Wilcox, and a grandson of Isaac Wilcox. Our subject was the third child in a family of ten, two of whom are now living, and was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools. He was a coal operator in his early life, and in 1866 bought the present Wilcox farm, following farming until his death, which occurred November 6, 1887, when he was aged eighty-six years. Mr. Wilcox was married, July 3, 1842, to Miss Eleanor Killmer, of Plains township, which union was blessed with twelve children, seven of whom are living, viz.: Hannah L. (Mrs. J. S. Jenkins, of Plains); Margaret J. (Mrs. Peter L. Mellick, of Huntington township); James, a farmer at Waterton, Pa.; Mary and Clara, both at home; Samuel, living in Iowa; and Luther P., who conducts the farm.
B. W. WILDE, Hazleton, was born near Pottsville, Pa., in 1854. His father was a native of Yorkshire, England. His maternal ancestors (Beck) emigrated from Germany at the beginning of the present century, and settled near Philadelphia, where his mother was born. Mr. Wilde became a resident of Hazleton, in 1870, soon after which time he entered the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, in their shops, and learned the trade of machinist, at which business he was employed until 1890, when he resigned the position of assistant general foreman of the works to accept that of postmaster at Hazleton. Mr. Wilde has been a stanch Republican all his life, and has served his party on every occasion, yet never before held public office, except during 1886. Upon the death of P. B. Conner, a member of the borough council, he was, without his knowledge, elected by the council to fill the vacancy. In 1882, Mr. Wilde married Miss Isabelle, daughter of William McDonald, and by her he has two children: Florence, aged (1892) eight years, and Walter, aged six years.
ALVIN WILDONER, farmer, lumberman and merchant, Hunlock Creek, was born in Hunlock township, October 18, 1842, where he was reared and educated. He is a son of John and Ann (Van Horn) Wildoner, the former of whom was born in Hanover township in 1806, the latter in Mount Bethel, Northampton county, in 1813. John was a son of George, who was born in Germany, and who, after emigrating to this country, located in Hanover township, where he owned a large farm. He was a hard-working, energetic man, and an old pioneer. He reared a family of seven children, all of whom are now dead. His son, John Wildoner, began his business career in Huntington township, on a farm on which he lived but a short time, when he sold it and removed to Union township, on a farm of ninety acres, where he resided for thirty years. He then removed to Hunlock Creek, on the Joseph Sorber estate of 140 acres, which his two sons George and Alvin purchased, and on which he resided the rest of his life. John Wildoner was a practical farmer and an honest, industrious man. He died in 1877 at the age of seventy-two years. His family numbered ten children, eight of whom are now living. Alvin is the fourth in order of birth, and has always lived in his native township. His permanent occupation has been lumbering and farming. July 4, 1867, he married Miss Susanna Moss, who was born in Ross township, May 6, 1847, daughter of Peter G. and Lydia Moss. To this union have been born five children, all of whom are yet living: Harry, Asher, Charles, Lillie and Viola. In 1868 Mr. and Mrs. Wildoner removed to their present place of residence, a farm of seventy acres, on which is situated a valuable mill property. Our subject embarked in the mercantile business in 1884, keeping a general store. Politically he is a Republican, and has filled several township offices; he is quite popular in his neighborhood.
SAMUEL WILKINS, farmer, P.O. Meeker, was born in Easton, Pa., January 1, 1818, son of John and Barbara (Getter) Wilkins, both of whom are supposed to have been born in Northampton county, of German parents. Mr. Wilkins, having lost his parents when very young, knows very little about them. He is a man of a varied experience of local travel, and was at one time extensively engaged in the mercantile business. He has a farm of fifty-four acres, on which he moved in 1883. Our subject has been elected to several township offices , and , politically, he is a Democrat. In 1860 he was married, at Elmira, N.Y., to Jeanette Baldwin. She was born in Jackson township, a daughter of Jered R. and Mary (Baker) Baldwin; the former a native of Newark, N.Y., the latter of Huntington township, this county. Jered was a son of Nathaniel Baldwin, and came to this county when he was nineteen years of age, locating near Huntsville in Jackson township. He was a man of marked ability and influence, being honored by several offices, at one time being commissioners clerk, and holding the office of justice of the peace for forty years, having been appointed to that position by the governor before the election law came into force. He worked for Joseph Reynolds, and finally married his adopted daughter Mary, by whom he had ten children, seven of whom grew to maturity, and three are now living. Mrs. Jeanette (Baldwin) Wilkins was reared in Jackson and Wilkes-Barre, and taught school in her early life. She is a lady of refinement and culture. To the union of Samuel and Jeanette Wilkins have been born three children: Anna M., Margery E. and Fredrick. Margery E. married Dr. C. O. Harrison, of Plymouth; Anna M. is a successful teacher in Plymouth; Fredrick is also a teacher of marked ability.
E. L. WILKINSON, M.D., Lehman, was born in Huntington township, September 23, 1860, and is a son of A. H. and Matilda (Walton) Wilkinson, both of whom were born in this county; A. H. is a son of Alvin, who was either born in this county or came to it when he was very young, locating in Ross township. He was a thorough-going man, the owner of a large tract of land which he utilized to the best advantage; he was not only an extensive farmer, but also a merchant of some ability. He also held several important local offices, which he filled with credit. He lived to be over ninety years of age, and died in the year 1885; his family consisting of seven children, five of whom are now living. His son A. H. began life in Huntington on a farm of one hundred acres, on which there were neither buildings nor improvements; but, being a young man full of energy and determination, he brought the wild land under cultivation, and built a handsome dwelling house thereon, of which the owner may be proud. He is an extensive lumber manufacturer, owning a sawmill in which he saws his own lumber. He is a man of influence, and, like his father, has served his town and county as a loyal citizen; he is now in the enjoyment of good health. His family numbered ten children, seven of whom grew to maturity and are now living. E. L. is the seventh in the family, and was reared and educated in Huntington township. He began the study of medicine with Dr. H. J. Colley, of Lehman, where he spent three years. In the meantime he attended lectures, and in 1885 graduated, in the same year commencing the practice of medicine in Lehman, where he now resides and enjoys an extensive practice. At the age of twenty-six he married, at Town Hill in March, 1886, Miss Ella Harrison, who was born in Huntington township September 26, 1863, daughter of M. D. and Jane Harrison. By this union there were three children born to them, one of whom is living: A. L. born November 25, 1888. Dr. Wilkinson is a member of the I.O.O.F. Politically he is a Republican.
WILLIAM EZRA WILKINSON, farmer, P.O. Irish Lane, was born in Ross township, March 14, 1843, where he was reared and educated. He is a son of William P. and Mary A. (Edwards) Wilkinson, the former of whom was born in Huntington township, the latter in Trucksville, Kingston township. William P. Wilkinson was a son of William Wilkinson, who was born in Connecticut, and about 1797 removed to this county, locating in Huntington township. William Wilkinson was a son of Jonathan, who was also from Connecticut, and with his family settled in the same part of this county. The Wilkinsons were sturdy pioneers, honest men, and hardy yeoman of Huntington Valley. Jonathan had three sons, who in their turn became the advance guard of their day and generation. William, his son, after he removed to Huntington, married Miss Phoebe Taylor, who bore him five children. He settled on part of the land owned by his father, and was a hard-working man, religious, and conscientious in all his dealings; he died in 1872, aged seventy-nine years. William P. began his business career in Ross township, as a progressive farmer, having removed from Huntington township after his marriage with Miss Edwards. He owned a small farm and was a thrifty man; he is still living, and enjoying good health. He reared a family of thirteen children, all of whom grew to maturity, William E. being the fifth. Our subject has always confined himself to agricultural pursuits. On August 10, 1862, he was mustered into the service of the United States as a member of Company D, One Hundred and Forty-Third P.V.I., for the term of three years, and he participated in the following battles: Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, and other minor engagements; in all of which he proved himself a valiant soldier, having served two years and eleven months of his term of enlistment. He was honorably discharged while holding the rank of corporal, and now draws a pension of $6 per month. After his return to citizenship, he settled on a farm of fifty acres in Ross township, on which he resided until 1886, when he removed to his present place of 110 acres in the same township. He is a practical agriculturist, and an energetic man of business. On December 31, 1868, he married Miss Amanda Culver, who was born July 19, 1847, in Ross township, a daughter of Wesley and Fannie Culver, and to this union were born four children, viz.: Jennie A., Emma J., William Irvin, and Sarah F. Of these Jennie A. was born November 22, 1869, and was married August 8, 1891, to William George Rummage, son of William L. Rummage, and they live in Ross township; William Irvin was born August 10, 1874, and Sarah F. on January 23, 1880. William Ezra Wilkinson is honest in all his dealings as a business man, strictly temperate and religious in all his dealings.
WILLIAMS BROS. (RICHARD S. AND DAVID S.), wholesale grocers, Wilkes-Barre, are natives of Cardiganshire, Wales, and sons of John S. and Mary A. (Roberts) Williams. The parents came to Wilkes-Barre in 1870, where the father for a time engaged in the shoe business, and resided until his death. His children were eight, as follows: Mary (Mrs. John Evans), John, Richard S., David S. and William (twins), Jane (Mrs. William Thomas), James and Elizabeth A. (Mrs. Rees R. Morgan). Of these David S. came to America in 1868 and located in Wilkes-Barre, where he was employed in the wholesale grocery house of J. B. Stark & Co., until the spring of 1869, after that with Grady, Ward & Co. When his brother, Richard S., came to Wilkes-Barre, they formed a partnership in the wholesale grocery business under the firm name of Williams Bros., in which they have since successfully continued, and their house is among the most prominent in the Valley. David S. married, in November, 1880, Mary F., daughter of John and Hannah (Jones) Luca, of Pottsville, Pa., and has six children: Grace, John L., William G., Roger, Howard and an infant son. His brother, Richard S., was married in 1876 to Mary, daughter of Rev. James Thomas, of Wilkes-Barre, and has six children living: James, John, Richard, Mary, Hattie and Robert. Both gentlemen are members of the Welsh Presbyterian Church, and in politics are stanch Republicans. David S. served one term of three years as member of the Wilkes-Barre city council.
CHARLES M. WILLIAMS, assistant postmaster at Plainsville, and proprietor of the "Plainsville Hotel," is a descendant of two families who held a prominent place in the early history of Wyoming Valley, viz.: the Williams and Cary families; in fact, there are but a few pages of its pioneer history upon which these names can not be found. Mr. Williams was born in Wilkes-Barre, October 11, 1835, and is a son of Moses and Sarah (Cary) Williams, the former of whom was born in Danbury, Conn., in 1793, and when three months old came to Wilkes-Barre with his father, Thomas Williams, and his grandfather, Thaddeus Williams. Mrs. Sarah (Cary) Williams was born in what is now Plainsville, Pittston township, in 1797, and was a daughter of Samuel Cary, a native of Dutchess county, N.Y., who came to the Valley with his father, Eleazer Cary, in 1769, and settled where the Prospect Breaker now stands. His parents were both of early English extraction. Moses Williams family consisted of seven children: one died in infancy; one at three years; one at five; four sons reached majority, viz.: Henry F., druggist, Tombstone, Ariz.; John C., farmer, Plains township; Robinson, who died in 1871 at the age of forty years; and Charles M. The last-named gentleman was reared on the farm, and educated in the common school and Wyoming Seminary. In 1854 he made a trip to Iowa, where he remained one year; then went to Kansas, his stay there being a little over a year, and in 1856 voted to make it a free State; then came back to Iowa, and in 1856 returned to Plainsville. In 1857 he made another trip west, during which he voted to make Minnesota a State. Again returning to Plainsville, he gave his attention chiefly to farming until 1882, when he engaged in the hotel business. Mr. Williams was married February 22, 1860, to Elvira A., daughter of Philip and Rebecca Dodder, natives of Pennsylvania and of German origin. The fruit of this union was three children, viz.: Harry R., an electrician with the W. B. & Wyo. Val. Trac. Co. (he is second lieutenant of Company A, ninth Regiment, N.G.P., at Wilkes-Barre); Joseph Hooker, machinist in the Lehigh Valley Machine Shops, and Ida Elvira, who died at the age of sixteen. Mrs. Elvira A. Williams died May 25, 1873, and September 10, 1874, Mr. Williams was married to Marian E., daughter of William and Theressa (Brandon) Baker, natives of Luzerne county and of English and Irish origin, respectively; they have three children, viz.: Clara E., Charles M. and Burton B. Our subject is a member of the F. & A.M. and the Red Men; politically he is a Republican, and was for seven years supervisor of Plains township; he also held the offices of tax collector, school director, and auditor, and was mercantile appraiser in 1873. While in Kansas, in 1855, he enlisted in the Wakarusa Liberty Guards, from which he received an honorable discharge, signed by all the proper authorities, among whom was Major-General C. Robinson, afterward the first governor of the State of Kansas.
DARIUS M. WILLIAMS, farmer, of Huntington township, P.O. Huntington Mills, was born July 12, 1829, and is a son of Matthias and Tacy (Sutliff) Williams, natives of New Jersey and Connecticut, respectively, of English origin. Matthias Williams, who was a farmer by occupation, died August 13, 1870, aged eighty-two years. He was a son of Jabez and Martha Williams. Our subject, who is the youngest in a family of twelve children, six of whom are living, was reared on the farm he now owns, educated in the common schools, and when twenty-one years of age began farming for his father, and so continued until the death of the latter when he inherited the farm, and has since resided thereon. He was married May 3, 1856, to Miss Harriet Osgood, who was born September 14, 1839, a daughter of Dr. Joseph Osgood, of Wayne county, whose father was a soldier in the Revolutionary war under Gen. Washington. This happy union was blessed with eight children, five of whom are living, viz.: Milford D., a farmer of Hazleton, married April 26, 1881, to Ida Laubach, of Hazleton (this union resulted in the birth of one son Charles, who is living); Emma A., married January 3, 1884, to H. D. Gearhart, a blacksmith of Town Line, Pa. (This union was blessed with two sons, George Dana, and Freddie E., both of whom are living); Lizzie A., at home; George R., at home, helping on the farm; and Laura D., a teacher in the public schools, also living at home. Mrs. Williams is a member of the M.E. Church. Our subject is a Republican; and has held the office of school director in his township.
DAVID WILLIAMS, moulder, Inkerman, was born in Montreal, Canada, and is a son of Oliver and Rebecca (Sharp) Williams, natives of Wales and England, respectively, who came to Canada about 1842, and were there engaged in the hardware business on quite an extensive scale. Our subject was educated in Montreal, where he learned the trade of moulder. He came to Pittston in 1885, and has been working at his trade here ever since that time. Mr. Williams was united in marriage, November 2, 1884, with Alice C., daughter of George and Theresa (Brown) McPherson, natives of Scotland and England respectively. Their union has been blessed with two children—one son and one daughter: Robert M., born May 20, 1886; and Ellen, born May 13, 1889. Our subject is an Episcopalian in religious faith, and in politics is a member of the Republican party.
DAVID B. WILLIAMS, was born at Burry Port, Carmarthenshire, South Wales, where he resided until he reached the age of eleven years, when he went on board the vessel "Lion" as a cabin-boy, which was plying on the coast service between England, France, and Ireland. He was on this vessel about six months, when he went on the brig "Albion" as cabin-boy, also as an apprentice sailor. This vessel was on the same service as the "Lion," and he remained on her about a year and a half. He then went on board the "Wallace" of Belfast, which set out on a voyage to South America, by way of Cape Horn, en route to Valparaiso, on the coast of Chili. This port they never reached, being shipwrecked of the coast of Africa, near Castle Blanco. In this disaster, the captain, the first mate, and two seamen were lost, and the survivors of the crew, of which our subject was one, when they reached shore, set out on foot, hungry and naked, for Tangier, a seaport town in the northwest corner of Africa (and situated a few miles from Gibralter), whence after a short rest they proceeded to the latter place, where they embarked on the vessel "Rufus," bound for London, via Portugal, with a cargo of cork and lead. Immediately after landing in England, Mr. Williams proceeded to Shields, and there joined a crew as able seaman, the vessel being bound for Havana, West Indies, with a cargo of coal. From Havana, laden with sugar, they sailed to Milford Haven, Wales, for orders; from there proceeding to Antwerp, Belgium, their port of discharge. He then joined as able seaman the crew of the "Sutliff," which was laden with coal, bound for Trieste, Austria, in the Adriatic sea, near Venice. From there they sailed to Constantinople for orders, and from that port proceeded to Odessa, Russia, and was on the Black Sea when the Crimean war broke out. They then returned to Queenstown, Ireland, and from there sailed to Cork, their port of discharge. Our subject then sailed to Cardiff, South Wales, where he joined the "Mayflower," which was bound for Aden, Arabia, and from there they navigated to Madras, Bay of Bengal, thence to Calcutta, and from there back to London with a general cargo. He then repaired homeward, remaining there a short time, when he proceeded to Swansea, Wales, and engaged as able seaman on the vessel "Woodlands," which sailed for Malta, in the Mediterranean, and then returned to Gloucester, England. Later he then went to Newport, Wales, and from there sailed to Caldera, Chili, this voyage occupying seventy-four days. He then left the sea for about three and a half years, and accepted a position as foreman in saltpetre mines in Chili; but, owing to ill health, he returned to the sea, and sailed to Liverpool on the vessel "Unicorn," as second mate. He then went on the "Perry" as first mate, a vessel plying between England and France, which ship he left at Port Talbot, and joined the "Sarah" bound for Genoa, Italy, and for twenty-seven months he was navigating the Mediterranean between Sicily, Greece and England. He was first mate on this vessel also, and, leaving the "Sarah" at London, went on the "John Daniels" as captain, which was engaged in the coast trade, along the British islands and France. In 1868 he went to his home (which was at Port Talbot, in Wales), and was engaged there about a year in rigging vessels, and this was the close of his seafaring life of over twenty-two years, during which time he visited nearly every part of the earth, and has been in several vessels and various ports not mentioned in this biography. In the spring of 1869 he came to America, and located at Plymouth, Pa., where he engaged in paper-hanging and paint business. He remained at Plymouth until 1885, conduction a paint and paper supply store, and then removed to Nanticoke and operated a branch store there about a year, at which time he removed his entire business to Nanticoke, where he has since enjoyed a prosperous trade. He is the owner of the "Broadway House," the leading hotel of the city. On February 26, 1860, Mr. Williams was married at Swansea, to Miss Margaret Davis, an accomplished lady of Port Talbot. Mr. Williams has served two terms on the Nanticoke borough council, and is one of Luzerne county's most respected citizens, also the most enterprising councilman of the borough in the cause of making all improvements toward having good streets and sewerage for the benefit of the town; and the people of the First Ward still think he should be councilman for the next two years, as they are well pleased with his past and present service. No doubt Nanticoke will be a city before many years, the town is improving so rapidly, and so many different kinds of works are opening out.
DAVID D. WILLIAMS, assistant mine foreman, No. 11 Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Co., Plymouth, was born in Caernarvonshire, North Wales, March 31, 1850, and is the second in the family of nine children of David and Eleanor Williams, also natives of Wales. Our subject was educated in his native land, and while yet a mere lad engaged at work about the lead mines there, where he worked for several years. He then went to England, where he worked with a builder for about one year, afterward coming to America and settled in Wilkes-Barre where he followed mining for a number of years. He then took the position of assistant foreman at the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Mines at Wilkes-Barre, and here remained nearly twelve years, going from there to the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Mines at Plymouth, where he is now employed in the same capacity. On November 26, 1872, Mr. Williams was united in marriage with Martha, daughter of David and Ann (Elias), natives of Wales, and they have been blessed with four children: Eleanor, David D., Ann and Tudur (deceased). Mr. Williams is an advocate of Prohibition, and supports that party. He is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, and of the I.O.O.F. The family attend the Congregational Church. Mr. Williams is the patentee for a lamp that is used in all the mines of Pennsylvania, and also has improved the "Davy Safety Lamp."
DAVID D. WILLIAMS, hotel proprietor, P.O. Edwardsdale, was born June 15, 1842, at Tredegar, Monmouthshire, England, and is the son of John and Ann (Williams) Williams, natives of Wales, the former born in Caermarthenshire, and the latter in Breconshire. Our subject was educated in his native town, and began life for himself, mining in Tredegar at the age of twenty-one. In 1879 he came to America and settled in his present place, engaging in his present business. Mr. Williams was married, December 6, 1862, to Miss Ann, daughter of David and Ann (Lewis) Williams, of Tredegar, England, and they have had children as follows: David, born January 31, 1863, died March 15, 1865; Elizabeth, born October 24, 1864, married Joseph Palmer, a miner, of Summercourt, England; Catharine, born January 30, 1867, married to William Keirle, a miner, of Edwardsville; David J. and Hannah (twins), born December 1, 1868, died in infancy; John, born December 11, 1869, a miner, in Edwardsville, married Mary Richards, of Edwardsville; Annie, born March 15, 1872, died June 18, 1879; Thomas, born June 15, 1874; William, born August 20, 1876, died June 3, 1879; Edward, born November 29, 1878; Annie, born March 10, 1882; and Mary, born July 5, 1884. Mr. Williams is a member of the A.P.A., the I.O.R.M., and the S.P.K., in politics he is a Republican.
DAVID J. WILLIAMS, coal inspector, Hazleton. This practical young coal inspector was born at Oakdale, Luzerne Co., Pa., January 3, 1864, and is a son of Watkins H. and Anna (Jones) Williams, natives of Wales. The subject of this sketch, who is the twelfth in a family of fourteen children, was educated and reared in Luzerne county, and when but a lad began working about the mines, serving as driver-boss and a general work until May, 1892, when he was appointed coal inspector at the South Sugar Loaf Breaker. He is a competent and shrewd judge of coal, and sees that it never leaves the colliery until it is fit for the market. Mr. Williams was united in marriage, in 1884, with Miss Mary, daughter of Anthony and Margaret (Schaffer) Miller, natives of Germany, and this union has been blessed with three children, namely: Watkins, Margaret A. and Maud Dorothy. In political matters Mr. Williams is to be found in the Republican ranks. He is a member of the I.O.R.M.; the family attend the Baptist Church.
EDWIN WILLIAMS, who was in his lifetime a Prominent citizen of Homer, Liking Co., Ohio, died at his residence in that place October 10, 1890. He was born in Plains township, July 26, 1822, and was a son of George W. and Abigal (Wilcox) Williams, also natives of Plains township. His father, who was a farmer, reared a family of ten children, two of whom are living, and of whom he was the second in order of birth. Our subject was educated in the common schools, and in the Wilkes-Barre and Honesdale high schools. He served as first sergeant all through the Mexican war, and for a long time acted as recruiting officer in Stark county, Ohio, with headquarters at Canton. In 1850, he emigrated to Ohio, where he led a very successful life as farmer, merchant, and public officer. Mr. Williams was married, April 25, 1850, to Miss Catherine, daughter of John and Mary (Stark) Searle, of Plains, natives of Pennsylvania, and of English origin. This happy union was blessed with nine children, seven of whom are living, viz.: James S., a shepherd in Hartford, Kan., married Ella Dumbauld of Ohio (they have one child, Clendon S.); George W., a lawyer in Columbus, Ohio, married Eva L. Shoemaker of that place (they have three children: Edwin, Ambretta and Cyrus); Mary S., married Dr. John Rouse of Louisville, Ohio (they have two children, Catherine and Searle); Clarissa M., married William Burner, a draftsman in Columbus, Ohio (they have one child, Nellie); Ruth C., married Louis W. Yost, farmer, Homer, Ohio (they have one child, Nenia); Elizabeth V., married Franklin Yoakam, a farmer in Homer, Ohio, and Helen D., lives with her mother. Mrs. Williams is a member of the Episcopal Church. Mr. Williams always stood firmly by the side of Democracy; he was a postmaster at Homer from 1856 to 1860, and sheriff of Licking county from 1871-1875.
EVAN WILLIAMS, physician and surgeon, Sugar Notch, was born in Neath, Bradford Co., Pa., July 2, 1855, and is a son of Philip and Harriet (Evans) Williams, natives of Glamorganshire, Wales. His father, who was a farmer, reared a family of eight children, of whom are living: Margaret (Mrs. Dr. R. Davis, Wilkes-Barre); Catherine (who was first married to Rev. David Parry and after his death to Daniel Morris, also deceased); Gwennie (Mrs. William L. Thomas, Neath, Pa); Evan and Philip B. The family were early settlers in Neath, where the parents died and where our subject spent his boyhood on the farm, and in attending the public schools. He then went to Wyoming Seminary and afterward to Jefferson Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1885, in which year he began the practice of medicine in Sugar Notch. He built his present residence and office inclusive in 1888. Dr. Williams was married in 1887, to Mary A., daughter of Edward and Catherine (Jones) Herbert, of Jeddo, natives of Wales. The issue of this union was three children: Jane, Margaret (who died when thirteen months old), and Baby. He is a member of the A.O.F. of A., and a Republican in his political views.
FRED. WILLIAMS, justice of the peace, Edwardsville, was born July 30, 1848, at Summercourt, Cornwall, England, and is a son of Thomas and Selina (Hocking) Williams. His education consisted of two or three years schooling, when very young, in the parochial school of the place of his birth. When seventeen years of age he went to Scotland, where he remained about a year, and then returned home and engaged in mining. During his spare hours he took up the study of music as a pastime. In 1870 he came to America and located for a short time in Honesdale, Pa.; then went to Carbondale, and in the early part of 1871 he moved to Williamstown, Pa., where he worked in the mines, and taught a band recently organized there. After a years residence in that place, he removed to Plymouth, same State, where he engaged in teaching bands, a business he followed for about five years. In the spring of 1873 he came to Ross Hill, in what was known as Kingston, and in December, 1873, married Isabella Jardine, of that place. When the borough of Edwardsville was incorporated, in 1884, he was appointed burgess and justice of the peace, serving three terms as burgess, and acting as justice of the peace continuously from the time of incorporation of the borough to the present. In addition to the duties of justice of the peace, he carries on an extensive real estate and fire insurance business. His family consists of six children, viz.: Selina M., Katie A., Ellie E., Fannie L., Jenette W. and Ivie John.
GWILYM M. WILLIAMS, inspector of mines, Fourth District, Anthracite Coal Region, Wilkes-Barre, was born in Braeconshire, South Wales, August 14, 1841, a son of Morgan and Margaret (Davis) Williams, and was educated in his native country. In March, 1859, he came to America, and located in Coal Rain, Carbon Co., Pa., where he labored in the mines two years, and then moved to Scranton. There he engaged in mining up to 1873, when he was appointed inside foreman of Oxford Colliery, which position he held up to 1880. In July, of that year, he was commissioned mine inspector of the Fourth District, now serving his third term, since which time, he has resided in Wilkes-Barre. On June 4, 1863, Mr. Williams married Jane, daughter of Lewis and Esther (Herbert) Lewis, of Jeansville, this county, and by her he has two children: Margaret (Mrs. Samuel Jones) and John L. He and his wife are members of the Welsh Presbyterian Church. In politics he is a Republican.
HOPKIN J. WILLIAMS, engineer No. 1 Deep Shaft, Susquehanna Coal Company, Nanticoke, is a native of South Wales, born May 1, 1855, and is a son of Thomas and Mary (Williams) Williams. At the age of nine our subject engaged in working in a tin factory, where he remained about four years, and then went to work in a machine shop, remaining there nearly three years. He was then employed in a blacksmith shop, where he worked about seven years, and next engaged as a locomotive engineer, being employed in the latter position about two years, when he was made master-mechanic for a mining company; here he remained until 1882, when he came to America and located at Nanticoke. Here Mr. Williams entered the employ of the Susquehanna Coal Company as a mechanic, and in 1884 was sent to Morgantown by the same company, as stationary engineer. He remained at that place about two years, and was then transferred to the position which he has since held. Mr. Williams was married in 1881 to Miss Sarah Ann Howell, who was born in South Wales, and they have one child, Minnie. Mr. Williams is still undecided as to the best course in American politics, but judging from an impartial standpoint, he is inclined to think that he will take his place in the ranks of the Democratic party.
ISHMAEL WILLIAMS, miner, Plains, was born in Anglesea, North Wales, in August, 1841, and is a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Evans) Williams. The father, who was a farmer, and later a coal dealer, reared a family of fourteen children, nine of whom are living, and of whom Ishmael is the eighth. Our subject came to America in 1869, worked six months in a slate quarry at Wind Gap, Pa., and then went to Scranton, where he engaged in laboring about the mines, and later in mining, for seven years; there he was injured by a fall of coal, which disabled him for a year and a half. He next removed to Plains, where he has since resided, with the exception of the years 1880-88, when he was coal mining in New Mexico. Mr. Williams was married, April 1, 1861, to Miss Grace, daughter of William and Ellen (Jones) Morris, and they have one child, Morris W., born June 25, 1862, a miner in Plains (he married Elizabeth, daughter of Wyrood Thomas, of Parsons, and they have had six children, two of whom are living, viz.: Ishmael and Grace). Our subject and family are members of the Welsh Congregational Church, and he is a Republican in his political preferences.
JAMES E. WILLIAMS was born in England in 1841, and is a son of Mark and Rebecca (Thorpe) Williams. He came to America in 1863, engaged in mining and continued in that occupation until 1864, when he recrossed the ocean, and passed one year in England. Returning to America in 1865, he again worked at mining until 1871, when he became manager of a boarding house operated by the Susquehanna Coal Company. At the end of two years he became proprietor of the "Hotel Avondale" located at Avondale, Pa., and two years later moved to Luzerne, where he engaged in the hotel business for twelve years. He next embarked in the grocery business for a year, and then engaged in farming on what is known as the Dockstader farm, Hanover township. After tilling the soil eighteen months he returned to Luzerne and opened a wholesale liquor store, a business that has since engaged his entire time. Mr. Williams has been twice married: first, in 1872, to Miss Margaret Watkins, daughter of William Watkins, a native of Wales. Mrs. Margaret (Watkins) Williams died in May, 1889, after which Mr. Williams married a widow lady, Mrs. Blight, of Luzerne. Mr. Williams is usually found in Republican ranks, although he does not confine himself strictly to that party, reserving the right to vote for the best man.
JOHN C. WILLIAMS, mine foreman, Parsons, was born in Scotland, March 2, 1843, a son of William and Jennette (Carus) Williams. He was educated in his native land, and coming to America in 1862 located in Pittsburgh, and engaged in mining, being in the employ of the Pennsylvania Coal Company. In 1872 he removed to Plains, where, as mine foreman for the Lehigh Valley Coal Company, he remained about six years, and then moved to Parsons where he has since been employed by the Delaware & Hudson Coal Company, and is now foreman for that company at the Baltimore Mine, the oldest of its kind in the Wyoming Valley. Mr. Williams was married at Pittston, Pa., December 28, 1868, to Miss Agnes, daughter of Gilbert Jones, of Scotland, and by her has two children, William, who was born October 26, 1869, and died April 1, 1870; and Isabella born March 16, and married in 1875 to John Alexander, carpenter, Parsons. Mr. Williams attends the Presbyterian church of which his wife is a member, and he is a member of the Knights of Honor, and of the Caledonian Club. His political views are pronounced Republican.
J. FRANK WILLIAMS, Ashley, passenger conductor on the Central Railroad of New Jersey, was born in Plains township, this county, October 14, 1854, a son of Andrew Jackson and Louisa (Mills) Williams. His father, who was a farmer, later a carpenter, and finally a contractor, was a son of Ezra, who was a son of Thomas, who was a son of Thaddeus, the last named of whom came to the Wyoming Valley some time before the massacre. [See pioneer chapter.] Thaddeus died in 1796, and his wife in 1815. Thomas died November 12, 1837, aged eighty-three years, having accumulated a handsome property in Plains township; his wife was Elizabeth Robbins, of Bethel, Conn. Ezra died when a comparatively young man, and his son, Andrew J., passed away at the age of sixty-four years; he had held the office of county commissioner and numerous local offices. "The Andy Williams Blarney Stone" was a larger boulder which the united strength of the family had brought into the use of a front step, upon which Mr. Williams was wont to sit for hours and hours and read the news to his illiterate neighbors, or relate with ever increasing interest to his youthful hearers the incidents and anecdotes of pioneer life. It was said that whenever Mr. Williams could get a Republican to sit on this stone he was sure to convert him to the principles of Democracy. Our subject received a public-school education, and remained with his father till he was twenty-two years of age, after which he spent about three years traveling through the Southern and Western States and Canada, meanwhile working at clerking, teaming and various other occupations to obtain the "wherewithal" to satisfy his desire for travel. Finally, in 1879, he located in Ashley, where he was brakeman one year, coal and freight conductor two years, yard master three years, again coal and freight conductor three years, and was promoted to his present position in 1889. Mr. Williams was married, April 14, 1881, to Miss Jessie G., daughter of W. R. C. and Sarah (Fields) Butler; her father, who was train master at Ashley, had two children, Jessie G. and Rebecca A. (the latter of whom is the deceased wife of James Black). The issue of this union was three children: Florence E., Louisa M, and Sadie L. (the last named died at the age of six years and eleven months). The family worship at the Methodist Episcopal Church; Mr. Williams is a member of the O.R.C. and is a liberal Democrat in his political views.
THOMAS W. WILLIAMS, hotel proprietor, Plains township, P.O. Hudson, was born in Plains township August 31, 1847, and is a son of Andrew J. and Louisa (Mills) Williams, and a grandson of Ezra and Sarah (Black) Williams, pioneers in the Wyoming Valley. His father, who in early life was a farmer, and later a carpenter and contractor and builder, was a man of much prominence in his day, and was once elected county commissioner. His family consisted of eleven children, seven of whom are living, and of whom our subject is the third. Thomas W. Williams spent his boyhood on the farm, and in attending the public schools; he learned the carpenter's trade with his father, and at the age od twenty-one embarked in life for himself. He worked at his trade and farmed for five years, was fireman on the Delaware & Hudson Railroad for two and a half years, and afterwards engineer for fourteen years. In 1887 he engaged in his present business at the old stand which his father opened in 1855; to the original property he has built large additions, including entertainment and Society halls, and is well provided to furnish man and beast with the necessaries and luxuries of life. James E. Williams, a brother of Thomas W., went to Kansas to seek his fortune in March, 1879, and is now one of the largest shippers of cattle from that state to the Chicago market. Our subject was married, November 3, 1868, to Miss Jennie, daughter of William and Jennette (Templeton) Dunn, natives of Scotland, and they have six children, two of whom are living, viz.: Gertrude married to P. F. Flood, a machinist in the Lehigh Valley shops, Wilkes-Barre (they have one child, Thomas W., born on Chirstmas Day, 1891), and Bessie, who lives with her parents and attends school. Mr. Williams and his family attend the Methodist Episcopal Church; he is a member of the F. & A.M., I.O.O.F., I.O.R.M., and the P.O.S. of A.; in his political views he is a conscientious Democrat, and is at present treasurer of Plains township.
JOHN M. WILLIAMS. Among the progressive citizens and prosperous business men of Hazleton, the subject of this sketch occupies one of the most conspicuous places. He was born at Slatedale, Lehigh Co., Pa., in June, 1854, a son of William G. and Elizabeth (Morris) Williams, natives of Wales. The father died at Slatington, Lehigh county, in 1883, at the age of sixty-eight; the mother now resides at Hazleton. In their family there were thirteen children, besides the subject of this sketch, four of whom are living. Mr. Williams at no time had the advantage of a scholastic training, but by diligence in studying during his leisure hours he secured an excellent business education; and in the higher scientific and literary branches he is competent to converse with those who have distinguished themselves at the great universities. At the tender age of eight years, Mr. Williams found employment in a school-slate factory, where he remained five years, when he secured a position in a general store at Slatington, remaining there two years. He then went to Ringtown, and continued in a similar business nearly one year, and in 1870 came to Hazleton, where he clerked in a general store nearly two years. At the age of nineteen he embarked in the grocery business on his own account. This he followed about six years, when he engaged as clerk with H. E. Sutherland. After an experience of one year with him, he embarked in the stationery business, which he has since carried on on an extended scale with much success. Mr. Williams was united in marriage, October 8, 1887, with Miss M. E. Schlicker, of Mountain Grove, Columbia county. Both husband and wife are upholders of the Presbyterian Church, and in politics Mr. Williams is a Republican.
JOHN W. WILLIAMS, miner, Plymouth, was born at St. Clair, Schuylkill Co., Pa., February 3, 1851, and is the fifth in a family of ten children born to William and Elizabeth (Price) Williams, natives of Wales. He attended school at Danville, Pa., and at the age of ten years began work with his father in the iron ore mines at Danville and Millerstown, Pa., continuing in that until 1864, when the family removed to Fall Brook, same State, the father and son engaging in coal mining at that place and remaining there until 1866, when they went to Lochiel, and received employment at the rolling mills of that place. In 1868 our subject removed to Shickshinny, and worked at mining until 1870, when he came to Plymouth, and has since been a miner at the Avondale. Mr. Williams is a Republicanin politics, and is a member of the I.O.O.F. He attends the Welsh Presbyterian Church.
MILTON F. WILLIAMS, merchant postmaster and justice of the peace, Nescopeck, was born in that village March 26, 1849, a son of John and Rachel M. (Traugh) Williams. His paternal grandfather, Samuel Williams, settled in Nescopeck in 1827, and resided there until his death, which occurred in 1840. His wife was Maria White, by whom he had seven children, viz.: Mary (Mrs. Wesley Bowman), John, Samuel, Harriet (Mrs. Franklin Fortner), William, Nelson and Susan (Mrs. Charles D. Fowler). The father of our subject, who was a native of Birdsboro, Berks Co., Pa., came to Nescopeck with his parents in 1827; he was sixteen years engaged in the mercantile business, was honored and respected at the time of his death, and was the wealthiest citizen of the place. His wife was Rachel M. Traugh, of Columbia county, Pa., by whom he had six children: Milton F., Susan (Mrs. Oliver E. Yohey), Henry C., Harriet M. (Mrs. Eber H. Roth), John W. and William L. He died June 24, 1891, in his seventy-first year. His eldest son, Milton F., the subject of this sketch, was educated in the township schools, and learned the mercantile business with Bowman & Crispin, at Berwick, Pa. He was afterward manager of his father's store at Nescopeck, and in 1890 he, with his youngest brother, William L., succeeded his father in the store, taking the firm name of Williams Bros. Mr. Williams was married, November 20, 1873, to Alice, daughter of Stephen and Julia (Fritz) Adams, of Briar Creek township, Columbia Co., Pa., and they have three children, viz.: John (a graduate of the Berwick high school), Kingsley and Victor. Mr. Williams (as his name implies) is of Welsh descent, his grandfather having been a native of Wales. His maternal grandfather emigrated to America from Germany in 1735. A tradition says that the head of the family originally came from Greece. So well is his ancestry in this branch known that he can trace his genealogy back for sixteen generations, beginning with Peter Moelich, who lived about the time of the discovery of America by Columbus, and was a prominent citizen of Winningen, Germany. Mr. Williams is a member of the Presbyterian Church and of the F. & A.M. He served as county appraiser one term, and has held several township offices; is now a justice of the peace of his township, and has been postmaster of Nescopeck since 1876. In politics he is a Republican. Mr. Williams is recognized as one of the leading and influential citizens of the "lower end", and one of its enterprising and highly respected business men.
HON. MORGAN B. WILLIAMS, a prominent citizen of Wilkes-Barre, was born in Rhandir-Mwyn, Parish of Llanfair-ar-y, Carmarthenshire, Wales, September 17, 1831, and is a son of William and Rachel (James) Williams. In early boyhood he attended one of the primitive elementary schools at Cit-y-Cwm, where he was taught to read, write, and work out some of the primary rules of arithmetic. In early youth, on account of the ill health of his father, who had charge of the important work of separating the clearing the lead ore at the mines, our subject was taken to assist him, and thus soon learned to supervise the work, and in the absence of his father (which frequently happened) the oversight and responsibility of properly and carefully clearing the ore fell entirely upon him. On the death of his father, in March, 1874, the company placed this work entirely under the charge of our subject, who was then but sixteen years of age. Thus, at the commencement of his career, he was placed in a position which developed within him the power of self-reliance and independent judgment. After performing the duties of this position with fidelity and satisfaction for two years, he went to work as a miner in the lead ore mines. In March, 1856, he sailed for Australia, and after a voyage of 103 days landed at Melbourne, whence he walked a distance of ninety miles to Camp Forest, and at once began the search for gold. For five years he labored faithfully, succeeding fairly well. In 1861 he sailed for home, where he arrived in August of the same year; in 1862 he sailed for America, landing in New York in March; from there he went to Hyde Park, Pa., where he worked in the coal mines until the strike of 1865, when he removed to Wilkes-Barre, where he engaged as a foreman in the Hollenback Slope. and where he has since resided. While in the position of mine foreman, which he held fourteen years, he met with a severe accident which nearly cost him his life: While going through some of the old workings, an explosion of fire damp occurred, which burned him severely, but in time he entirely recovered, with only a few scars remaining. Mr. Williams was twice married: His first wife was Catherine, daughter of Joshua and Mary (Armstrong) Jones, of Rhandir Mwyn, Wales, and by her he had three children: Mary (Mrs. T. H. Griffiths), Rachel (Mrs. J. H. Williams) and Benjamin F. His second wife was Mrs. Mary (Edwards) Davies, of Susquehanna county, Pa., by which union he has one son, Willie M. In May, 1878, Mr. Williams leased a tract of coal land in the vicinity of Wilkes-Barre, and organized the "Red Ash Coal Company" to mine the coal from it. Although this land was pronounced worthless by some coal operators, Mr. Williams' sound practical judgment proved otherwise, for the enterprise has been successful beyond all expectations. Our subject has taken an active and prominent part in public affairs, and has been successfuly honored with various offices. He has been a councilman-at-large for three wards in the city of Wilkes-Barre, three years; also a member of the school board. He was an alternate delegate to the National Republican Convention at Chicago, in 1884, which nominated James G. Blaine for the Presidency; and the same year was elected State Senator for Luzerne county by a majority of over 1,200 in a District which usually had an adverse Democratic majority of 1,500. This position he held for four years with credit to himself and satisfaction of his constituents. He is prominently identified with a number of important enterprises in the Wyoming Valley, and especially in the city of Wilkes-Barre. He is one of the directors of the Wilkes-Barre Deposit & Savings Bank; a director of the Wilkes-Barre Electric Railway Company; a director of the West Pittston Manufacturing Company, and also a director, general manager, and coal agent of the Red Ash Coal Company; in 1891 he was elected one of the commissioners of the Columbia Exposition to be held in Chicago in 1893. Distinguished for his sound, practical judgment, his public spirit, his enterprise, his generosity, and genial bearing, Mr. Williams has become one of the most successful and influential Welshmen in the State of Pennsylvania.
PETER E. WILLIAMS, jeweler, Dallas, was born September 17, 1835, in Monroe county, Pa., where he was reared and educated. He is a son of Jacob and Hannah (Eyere) Williams, both of whom were born in Monroe county, of Welsh and German origin, respectively. They moved to this county in 1850, before the division, locating in Gouldsboro, now in Lackawanna county. Jacob learned the weaver's trade in early life, but, being ambitious, and desiring to make the best of the time allotted him, and not being afraid to work, and weaving not being a lucrative business, he turned his attention to the manufacture of lumber. Being a live man and an expert sawyer, he became successful. There were born to him twelve children, eleven of whom grew to maturity, six of them now living, Peter E. being the fourth in the family. In early life he learned the trade of wheelwright, but it not agreeing with him he went to shoemaking. After following that trade a few years, he felt that he had not been called to minister to the wants, or the repairing, of shattered soles. Being a natural genius, he took to the jeweler's trade, at which he has become an expert. Dallas was without a jeweler, in fact a business of that nature would not be sustained there—no blame attached to Dallas. Several parties started the business but failed. In 1888 Mr. Williams moved in as a practical jeweler, went to work, first feeling his way; but, governed by business principles, and carrying out the "golden rule," he succeeded in gaining the full confidence of the people, and ingratiating himself into their good graces. He is now doing an extensive business, and carries a full line of goods and small musical instruments. On January 1, 1863, Mr. Williams married Miss Sarah, daughter of Jacob and Jane Englemeyer, and there were born to them four children, one of whom is now (1891) living: John F. Mrs. Sarah (Englemeyer) Williams was born in Hamilton township in January, 1831. Mr. Williams has had and now holds the full confidence of his fellow citizens. He has held the office of justice of the peace for seven years, and that of constable for two years. In 1865 he entered the army for the term of one year as a member of company H, Two Hundred and Fourteenth P.V.I., serving to the close of the war; he was honorably discharged, and is now enjoying a pension. He is a member, in good standing, of the M.E. Church. Politically, he is a Republican.
RICHARD NORRIS WILLIAMS, was born in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1858, a son of Duane and Alice (Norris) Williams, and grandson of Charles and Mary (Duane) Williams. Mary Duane was a daughter of William J. Duane, a native of Clonmel, Ireland, born in 1780, who became secretary of the treasury in 1833, and was removed by Gen. Jackson for declining to remove the deposits from the U.S. banks at that time. He was a son of William Duane, journalist, born near Lake Champlain, N.Y., in 1760, and educated in Ireland; learned the printing business, and in 1784 went to India, where he amassed a large fortune, and edited a journal entitled The World; in 1795 he returned to Philadelphia, and became editor of the Aurora, the leading organ of the Democratic party. William J. Duane married Deborah, daughter of Richard Bache, who was born in 1737 and died at Philadelphia in 1811. He was secretary, comptroller, and register-general of Pennsylvania, and in 1776 became postmaster general, continuing in that office until 1782. His wife was Sarah Franklin, only child of Benjamin Franklin. The father of Richard Bache was Theophylact Bache, born in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, in 1734, and died in New York in 1807. Duane Williams was born in Philadelphia in 1833. His father Charles was born about 1804, and was a son of Samuel Williams whose great grandfather was one of the original Quaker settlers of Pennsylvania. Alice Norris, wife of Duane Williams, was the daughter of Richard Norris, and was born in Baltimore, Md., in 1835. Richard Norris was the son of Richard Norris, native of Virginia. The first Richard was the head of the firm of Richard Norris & Sons, locomotive builders, Philadelphia, and was a descendant of Sir Henry Norris who settled in Virginia about 1680.
CHARLES WILLIAMS was a merchant of Philadelphia, and his son Duane was a lawyer in the same city. He was reared in Philadelphia and Baltimore, and educated in the University of Pennsylvania; has been a resident of Luzerne county since 1874, and of Conyngham township since 1882, engaged in stock farming and the breeding of Jersey cattle. He was married, in 1882, to Marion Wharton Morris, daughter of Robert, Jr., and Ellen Markoe (Wharton) Morris. Her father was major of the Sixth P.V.C. during the Civil war, and died in Libby Prison in 1863. He was a son of Robert and Caroline (Nixon) Morris, of Philadelphia. Dr. Robert was a son of Robert Morris who was a son of Robert Morris, one of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence. The mother of Mrs. Williams was a daughter of George M. Wharton, a lawyer of Philadelphia, and his wife was Maria Markoe, granddaughter of Fishbourne Wharton, who was a son of Thomas Wharton, governor of Pennsylvania in 1777-78. Mrs. Williams' mother, Ellen Markoe Wharton, is now the wife of U.S. Circuit Judge George M. Dallas, of Philadelphia. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Williams are two in number, viz.: Alexander Coxe and Ellen Markoe Wharton, members of the Episcopal Church. Politically Mr. Williams is a stanch Democrat. He is a member of the American Jersey Cattle Club, and has a herd of forty Jerseys registered. His farm is said to be the scene of the fight between the Indians and soldiers after the Wyoming Massacre.
SAMUEL WILLIAMS, ["Gwentydd Fardd"], dealer in books and stationery, and publisher of Welsh Sunday-school books and other Welsh publications, Wilkes-Barre, was born in Glamorganshire, Wales, December 5, 1827, and is a son of William and Ann (Davis) Williams. He was reared in Monmouthshire, and his educational advantages were limited to a brief attendance at night and Sabbath schools. At the early age of nine years he began work in a rolling-mill, where he learned the heater's trade. In 1851 he came to America and settled at Scranton, Pa., residing there twenty-six years, employed at his trade. In 1877 he removed to Wilkes-Barre, where he has since resided, and for several years was time-keeper for the Wilkes-Barre Iron & Coal Company. In 1881 he embarked in the book and stationery business, which he has since continued, and in 1883 added a printing office, which he has since run in connection, having learned the art of setting type in his leisure moments. On May 25, 1849, he was married to Mary, daughter of Stephen and Mary A. (Jenkins) Jones, of Wales, and has nine children: William S., Mary A. (Mrs. George J. Llewelyn), Lizzie J. (Mrs. D. J. Levi), Stephen J., Ebenezer, Lincoln H., Samuel, Joshua and Sarah (Mrs. Edward B. Carr). Mr. And Mrs. Williams have long been members of the Welsh Presbyterian Church, in which he is a lay preacher, and has been secretary of the Presbytery since 1889. Mr. Williams has for years been a writer of Welsh magazines, and a successful competitor in Welsh literature, having won several valuable prizes. In politics he is a Republican.
SAMUEL WILLIAMS, tinner and plumber, Nanticoke, was born in Scranton, Pa., March 14, 1868, where he received his early education. At the age of ten he began work in Mt. Pleasant Breaker, at Scranton, in the employ of Howell & Company, remaining there until he was twelve years of age, when his parents removed to Wilkes-Barre, where the father, Samuel Williams, who is one of Luzerne county's leading educators, now resides. Our subject worked in the mines at Wilkes-Barre as runner and driver, about four years; then engaged with W. R. Williams, of Wilkes-Barre, as an apprentice at plumbing and tinning, remaining with him several years, at the end of which time he entered the employ of W. P. Connell & sons, at Scranton. For about one year he worked at his trade there, and then came to Nanticoke, where he worked for S. J. Willover & Co., two years. He then entered the employ of the Philadelphia Steam Heating Company, with whom he worked about eight months, when he returned to Nanticoke, and in 1889 embarked in business for himself, in which he has since continued with satisfactory results. He employs about nine mechanics, and is doing a continually growing business. In his father's family there were eleven children, nine of whom are living, viz.: W. S., collector for the Scranton Republican, at Scranton, Pa.; Mary, married to George Llewellyn, a hardware merchant in West Pittston, Pa.; Stephen, assistant foreman in the Empire mine, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Eliza, married to D. J. Levy, auditor for the Delaware & Hudson Railroad Company at Scranton; Ebenezer, a printer and justice of the peace; Lincoln, a plumber in Nanticoke, Pa.; Joshua, a book-binder in Wilkes-Barre; Sarah, now Mrs. E. B. Carr, living in Wilkes-Barre, and Samuel. Our subject was married November 24, 1888, to Miss Elizabeth M. Jenkins, of Nanticoke, and they have one child, Mary Jones. He is a member of the Cambro-American Society, and in politics is a Republican.
WILLIAM R. WILLIAMS, of Williams Hardware Company, Wilkes-Barre, was born in Carnarvonshire, North Wales, December 25, 1833, and was reared in that country until nineteen years of age. In 1852 he came to America, and located at Slatington, Lehigh county, where he was engaged in the slate business until 1867, in which year he removed to Wilkes-Barre, there engaging in the slate and roofing business until 1875. He then embarked in the hardware business, which he has since carried on with great success. In 1854 Mr. Williams was united in marriage with Mary A., daughter of William and Ellen (Jones) Lunt, natives of Carnarvonshire, North Wales. To this happy union four children were born, as follows: William, Robert, Ellen and Acquilla. In politics he affiliates with the Republican party; in his religious faith he is a Congregationalist, and his motto is: "Be true to thy country, love thy fellow-men, and reverence thy God."
THOMAS WILLIAMSON, outside foreman, Empire Mines, No. 4, Wilkes-Barre, was born in Northampton county, Pa, July 1, 1844, a son of James and Mary (Roarty) Williamson, natives of County Donegal, Ireland. His parents came to America about 1839, first locating in Northampton county, Pa., later in Monroe county, in 1856 in Luzerne county, and in 1860 settling in Wilkes-Barre, where they resided until their death. Their children who grew to maturity were James, Annes (Mrs. Daniel McBride), John, Thomas, Mary, (Mrs. Frank Hanlon) and Joseph. Our subject was reared in Pennsylvania, began life as a slate-picker in the mines, and came to Wilkes-Barre in 1859, where he has since resided. He worked as a miner until 1864, when he was appointed ticket-boss of the Empire Mines which position he held three years. In 1860 he was promoted to outside foreman, and has held that position continuously since. He was married twice. His first wife was Miss Ellen, daughter of John and Kate (Ward) Wallace, of Plymouth, Pa., by whom he had twelve children, eight surviving, viz.: James, John, Joseph, Thomas, Kate, Ellen, Charles and William. His second wife was Miss Mary, daughter of John and Ellen Brislin, of Wilkes-Barre, and by her he has had five children: Annie, Leo and Frank (twins), May and Rose. Mr. Williamson is a member of the Catholic Church and in politics is a Democrat.
WILLIAM WILLIAMSON, merchant, Freeland, is a native of Summit Hill, Carbon Co., Pa., born April 5, 1849. His parents, William and Matilda (Lees) Williamson, were natives of County Derry, Ireland, the former of whom died in 1886 at the age of sixty-five years; the latter now resides in Freeland. In 1857 the family removed to this county and located at Eckley. Here William, at the age of ten, entered the employ of Bellford Leisenring & Co., picking slate in the summer time, while in the winter season he attended school. He worked in various capacities around the mines, running a stationary engine four years. He then followed the carpenter's trade three years, at the end of which time he entered the employ of J. H. Lindsay, of Freeland, as clerk. With him he remained four years, and then engaged in general mercantile business at Freeland, in partnership with J. C. Berner. At the end of four years he sold out and embarked in the hardware business, in which he has since successfully carried on a large trade. Mr. Williamson was married June 22, 1880, to Miss Alvaretta Schlaubach, of Plains, Luzerne county; they have no children. He is a member of the I.O.O.F. and the Jr. O.U.A.M. He is a Republican, and has been a member of the Freeland school board, also collector of taxes one term.
GEORGE WILLIS, engineer at the Henry Colliery, Plains, was born in the County of Durham, England, September 24, 1850, and is the son of John and Mary (Cheaston) Willis. The father, who was a stationary engineer, reared a family of three children, of whom George is the eldest; since reaching maturity he has followed his father's trade as his life occupation. Our subject came to America in 1881, and located at Wilkes-Barre, where he did Company work for six months, and then secured a position as engineer at Maltby, where he remained one year, when he was removed to Plains and accepted the position he now occupies. Mr. Willis was married, November 25, 1872, to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Stephen and Jane (Sheigh) Graham, of North England, and their union has been blessed with eight children, viz.: John, who died at the age of seven years; Stephen, Thomas, both of whom are drivers in the Henry Colliery; Mary J.; Margaret A.; John; Pearl; and Edna. Mr. Willis and wife are members of the Primitive Methodist Church; he is a member of the A.O.K. of M. C., and the Sons of St. George, and is a Republican in his political views. He built his present residence and moved therein in 1888.
CHARLES F. WILSON, farmer, P.O. Carverton, was born in Franklin township, December 2, 1850. He is a son of E. D. and Sarah (Frantz) Wilson, the former born in Deckertown, Sussex Co., N.J., the latter in Northampton county, Pa. E. D. is a son of William Wilson, who removed to this county about 1833, locating in Exeter township on 200 acres of wild land, most of which he cleared during his lifetime. His family consisted of eight children, five of whom are yet living. His son E. D. began life for himself on fifty acres of the old homestead, to which he added 120 acres more, thus proving himself an industrious man and a practical farmer in every respect. He was a man of noted piety, a consistent member of the M.E. Church, and a trustee in that organization. He held various offices in the township, and at a time, too, when some offices and officers were odious in the eyes of people who were friendly to the South during the Civil war. His family consisted of seven children, six of whom are now living. He is still living, and is a resident of Wyoming, Pa. C. F. Wilson, who is the fourth in the family in the order of birth, and is the youngest son, was reared and educated in Franklin township, and spent several terms at the Wyoming Seminary, Kingston. Mr. Wilson has always followed farming, and his surroundings give ample proof of his success in that line. He lived with his father till he reached the age of twenty-three, when he married, October 16, 1873, Miss Sarah J., daughter of Nelson W. and Adeline Burgess. Four children have been born to them, three of whom are living: Addie M., Rollie B., and Harold E. After his marriage Mr. Wilson removed to his present place, consisting of seventy-five acres, which is a part of the homestead of Nelson Burgess, and to which he has added sixty more of the old homestead, making in all one hundred and thirty-five acres. The seventy-five acres on which he resides were uncultivated and entirely unimproved. He has erected a beautiful house and a commodious barn, and the whole scene reminds the beholder of a model farm. Mr. Wilson is a striving man, and keeps well abreast of the times. His principal crops are grain and grass; his stock is superior; and his house and barn are well watered by a living spring, which fully supplies the needs of both. He has held various offices of responsibility in the township, and is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, in high standing.
JOHN WILSON, hardware merchant, Plains, was born in Wilkes-Barre, July 3, 1846, and is a son of the John and Frances (Hunter) Wilson, natives of Yorkshire, England. The father, who was born July 10, 1804, came to America in June 1843, and located at Wilkes-Barre, where he resided until his death, which occurred January 10, 1889. His family consisted of eleven children, of whom John is the youngest. The subject of this sketch was educated in the public schools of Wilkes-Barre, and at the age of thirteen secured a position in a store, where he remained three years; then learned the tinner's trade which he has since followed. In 1872, he engaged in his present business, and has now a full line of hardware, tinware, plumbing, cutlery, etc. Mr. Wilson was married, February 26, 1880, to Miss Sally, daughter of Philip and Mary Wintersteen, and they have six children, viz.: Frances H., Mary S., Sally S., John S., Alice W., and Nancy W. Mr. Wilson is a Republican; was mail messenger between Plains and Plainsville from 1877 till 1886; at present he holds the office of school director. Socially he is a member of the I.O.O.F.
WILLIAM WILSON, mine foreman at Exeter Colliery, Pittston, was born January 12, 1849, at Dalkeith, Scotland, being the second in a family of nine children of Alexander C. and Ann (Walkinshaw) Wilson, natives of Scotland. His parents came to America in 1853, settling in Pittston, Pa., and the father followed mining until an accident happened while he was working at Bear Run Colliery that resulted in his death. Our subject was reared and educated in Pittston, and began working about the mines at the age of fifteen. In 1865 he began mining with his father, and worked with him until the latter's death, in 1867. He then continued a practical miner at the Bear Run Colliery until 1869, when he came to Pittston and began mining for the Pennsylvania Coal Company. He remained with this firm until 1882, next mined for the Lehigh Valley Coal Company until 1886, was promoted to the position of mine foreman at the Heidleberg Colliery (where he remained one year), and then came to Pittston and took charge of the Exeter Colliery, where he is still engaged. He has charge of 130 men, who mine about four hundred tons of coal daily. Mr. Wilson was united in marriage December 24, 1879. Mr. Wilson married Miss Susan, daughter of Jonas Booth, of Pittston, Pa., and this union has been blessed with three children, viz.: Martha B., Jennie L., and Alexander (deceased). In political matters, Mr. Wilson is a Republican. He is a member of the following: F. & A.M., I.O.O.F., and K. of P. The family attend the Presbyterian Church.
JASPER WINANS, farmer, P.O. Koonsville, was born in Union township July 15, 1843, and is the son of Benjamin and Susan (Dodson) Winans, the former of whom was born near Baltimore, Md., the latter in Huntington township, where he was married. After the death of his wife he removed to Union township, where he resided the remainder of his life; he was a man much respected for his worth. In religious faith he was a member of the P. M. Church, and politically was a stanch Republican. He was born January, 1801, and died in April, 1880. His family consisted of eight children, all by his first wife, six of whom are now living, Jasper being the sixth. Our subject was reared and educated in Ross township, and removed to Union township when eighteen years of age where he remained, engaged in agricultural pursuits. On Augusta 22, 1862, he was mustered into the United States service for the term of three years, and he participated in the following battles: Chancellorsville, Kelly's Ford, Thoroughfare Gap, Wilderness, Laurel Hill, Spottsylvania, Petersburg, and Weldon Railroad. At the latter place he was sunstruck which ended his real active service; he was honorably discharged at the close of the war. In January, 1868, Mr. Winans married Miss Susan, daughter of Garret and Sarah Scott, to which union have been born five children, four of whom are now living: A. M., B. F., W. M. and Sarah E. Mr. Winans owns sixty-two acres of valuable land, which he handles with the skill possessed only by an expert farmer. He is much respected in his locality, and has been honored with several township offices. Our subject and his wife are members of the M.E. Church; he is a member of the G.A.R., and, politically, is a Republican.
WINFRED WINDSOR, retired, Plymouth, was born in Somersetshire, England, September 15, 1820, a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Barnard) Windsor, both born in England, where they passed their lives. They were respectable, honest and industrious people, and they raised a family of seven highly-respected children, four of whom are now living. Our subject, the sixth in the family, and the only one living in America, was forty-four years of age when he emigrated from England in 1864. He located in Plymouth township when he reached the United States, and purchased property on which he has since resided. He followed mining until 1876, when he retired from labor. June, 1862, Mr. Windsor married Mrs. Ann Carver, widow of Aaron Carver, of England. Mrs. Windsor was born in England, May, 1816. She married Aaron Carver in 1834, and of this union were born seven children, five of whom are living, viz.: Worthy, born July 29, 18__; James, born March 21, 1840; John, born September 9, 1842; Mary Ann, born March 12, 1851; Enoch, born July 24, 1855. Aaron died, October 11, 1857. Mr. Windsor is a man of strict moral principles, who believes and practices the golden rule. His good wife has been an accepted member of the M.E. Church for over fifty years. They now live a quiet live in their own home, and enjoy themselves as only people can whose conscience is void of offence toward God and man.
FREDERICK WINTERS, millwright and carpenter, Forty Fort borough, was born February 7, 1832, in Monroe county, Pa., and is a son of John and Margaret (Conkline) Winters. In his father's family there were eleven children, of whom our subject is the fifth. He was educated in the public schools, engaged to learn the carpenter's trade at the age of twenty-one, and worked at the same for twenty-one years. In 1876 he engaged in farming, and on April 14, 1864, he enlisted in the Fifth U.S. Artillery, Battery F, prior to which he served five years in the State service. He participated in the following battles, etc.: Chapman's Farm, siege of Petersburg, siege of Richmond, and other minor engagements; was discharged in Richmond, Va., June 26, and came to Forty Fort, where he has since resided as a farmer and carpenter. Mr. Winters was married in September 1856, to Harriet, daughter of William and Lydia (Sill) Cook by which union he had nine children, of whom five are now living: James W., Harriet E., George F., Charles B. and Emma E. For his second wife Mr. Winters married, December 3, 1871, Amelia Prutsman, daughter of John and Julia (Walp) Prutsman, natives of Pennsylvania, and of German origin. By this union he also had nine children, of whom seven are yet living; Ida M., Jeanette, Samuel B., Isabella, Isaiah, Edgar and Henry L. Mr. Winters is a member of the Lutheran Church and of the G.A.R., and has been school director for twelve years in succession, at present officiating as such, and also as assessor and register for four years. In politics he is a Republican.
CAPTAIN LIBOR WINTER, proprietor of restaurant, Freeland, is a native of Germany, and was born July 21, 1836. He was educated in his native land, and at the age of thirteen began an apprenticeship at the shoemaker's trade. After working at it five years he came to this country, and located in Philadelphia. In 1854 he removed to Mauch Chunk, Carbon county, where he worked at his trade until President Lincoln made his first call for troops, when, on April 21, 1861, he went to the front as a member of Company A, Sixth Regiment Pennsylvania three months' Volunteers. He did not participate in any engagement or battle during the three moths, only a slight skirmish at Bunker's Hill and Falling Waters, while under Gen. Patterson's command. He was discharged July 21, 1861, in Charlestown, W. Va., at the expiration of three months. After waiting for pay for his three-months' service (which was at the rate of $11 per month), in Harrisburg, Pa., he reached his home in Mauch Chunk on or about August 6, 1861. He worked at his trade until September 5, 1861, when he then enlisted in Company G, Eighty-first Regiment Pennsylvania three years' Volunteers, joining as sergeant; was promoted to second lieutenant of the same company February 28, 1863; promoted to first lieutenant of the same company November 3, 1863; on June 15, 1864, he was promoted to captain of Company I, Eighty-first Regiment, and about two months prior to the end, or to his discharge, he was transferred to the command of Company C, one of the Philadelphia companies, but in same regiment; on Augusta 27, 1864, said Company C was discharged from the service, on the expiration of their term of service, and Capt. Winter being in command of them, was himself also discharged with them same date, August 27, 1864, near Petersburg, Va. He participated in many memorable engagements, including Fair Oaks, Savage Station, White Oak Swamp, Charles City Cross Roads, Malvern Hill, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, Gainesville, Gettysburg, Bristoe Station, Potts Tavern, Spottsylvania, Wilderness, North Ann River, Petersburg, also partly at the Weldon Railroad on August 25, from where he was ordered to the rear to make out muster-out rolls for Company C, which was discharged on the 27th, or two days later. Capt. L. Winter participated in all principal engagements and skirmishes in which the Second Army Corps took part. His record as a soldiers stands paralleled by few, and excelled by none. When first sergeant at Chancellorsville he was knocked down by the force of a grape shot, which struck his knapsack; at the Wilderness his uniform was perforated with thirteen bullet holes (but not thirteen bullets): One bullet through the hat, which made two holes, etc.; one bullet under the left arm through dress coat, which made two holes; one bullet about the height of the lower rib on the right side, which also made two holes through the coat and three buttons, and one hole on front of the sleeve of coat on right arm; one bullet close to the right hip, through the dress coat (which being doubled up made four holes in line); one bullet through the right leg of pants, inside about the ankle, which made two holes. At Chickahominy his haversack was shot off; at Cold Harbor his canteen was tapped by a playful musket ball, which put a hole through it. At Spottsylvania a request came from headquarters for twenty men and one officer to volunteer on forlorn hope to bring in two Confederate caissons, loaded with ammunition, which were lying between the lines of the armies, within short shooting range of the Confederates. The required number of privates volunteered, but no officer could be found who cared to risk such a dangerous service. At the time Capt. Winter had been out on picket duty, and the moment he returned and heard the situation from the colonel he said: "I'll go," and he did, and gallantly took the caissons from under the enemy's nose, and under fearful fire. "He did it well," as Mr. M. H. Wilson said in his oration at Gettysburg September 12, 1889.
At the close of this eventful military career Capt. Winter returned to civil life at Mauch Chunk, where he remained until 1868, when he moved to Stockton, this county, where he remained ten years, and then removed to Hazleton. In 1882 he came to Freeland, where he has since been engaged in the hotel and restaurant business. Capt. Winter was married December 25, 1864, to Miss Magdalena Nussbaum, of Hazleton, and they have had twelve children, six of whom survive, viz.: Henry, a printer in Freeland; Mary A., married to George Wilmot, in Freeland; Anna L.; Kate; Laura and Florenia. In his political preferences Capt. Winters has always been a Republican.
WILLIAM WINTERS, farmer, P.O. Orange, was born in Franklin township, March 1, 1830, a son of Matthew and Sally (White) Winters, the former of whom was born in Orange county, N.Y., the latter in Pennsylvania. Matthew Winters is a son of Ebenezer and Margaret Winters, who removed from Orange county, N.Y.; the latter was a native of Ireland, coming to this country when she was a very little girl. Ebenezer located in Franklin township at what is known as the "Flat Rock Neighborhood." He was one of the early settlers of the place. His farm was well improved, showing his desire to cultivate and subdue the land. He was a good and loyal citizen, serving one year in the war of 1812. His family consisted of eight children, seven of whom grew to maturity, and one of whom, Samuel, is now living. His son, Matthew, was also a farmer, and was about eighteen years of age when he accompanied his father to this county; he was a carpenter, and worked his farm of forty acres in conjunction with his trade. He was a good moral man and a loyal citizen. He was twice married, and reared a family of nine children.
William Winters, who is the eldest by the first marriage, was reared and educated in his native town, and always confined himself to farming. On November 1, 1849, he was married to Miss Rachel, daughter of Lewis and Amelia Strait, by which union there were born eight children, five of whom are living: Maggie, Mary, Luella, Parker and Nellie. Of these, Maggie married Thomas J. Sorber (deceased); Mary married Jonah Nulton, a farmer in Kansas; Luella married John Willis Yale, a blacksmith; Nellie married Le Roy Sickler, a farmer. In 1862 Mr. Winters enlisted in Company G, One Hundred and Forty-third P.V.I., for the term of three years, serving to the close of the war, after which he was honorably discharged. He participated in the battles of Gettysburg, Wilderness, Weldon Railroad, Hatcher's Run, and others. After his return from the army he removed with his family to Union township, where he was engaged five years in the lumber business. He then went to Plymouth where he remained eight years, after which he proceeded to Kansas, but in a few months returned again to Plymouth, and here resided four years more. He next went to New Jersey, where he remained two years, and finally returned to Franklin, where he now remains on a farm of seventy-five acres. Mrs. Winters was born in Jefferson township, Morris Co., N.J. Politically Mr. Winters is a Republican.
H. M. WISEMAN was born in Honesdale, Pa., February 20, 1858, and is a son of Morris M. and Matilda (Goldsmith) Wiseman. His father was a lawyer, and practiced his profession in Wayne county; he was for years associate judge and justice of the peace, and died in 1881. He had a family of ten children, of whom but two grew to maturity: H. M. and Rose (Mrs. I. R. Blatner). Our subject was educated in the public schools, and afterward served as clerk in a boot and shoe store five years. He has been in business for himself twelve years, and is now one of the leading prominent boot and shoe merchants of the city. Mr. Wiseman was married January 25, 1884, to Ida Schulman, of Montgomery, Ala., and they have one child, Maud. Our subject is a prominent member of the F. & A.M., and in politics he is a Republican.
J. J. WISLEY, furniture dealer and undertaker, Plains, was born at Summit Hill, Carbon Co., Pa., February 22, 1854, and is a son of William and Margaret (Smith) Wisley, natives of County Derry, Ireland. The father came to America in 1840, and was killed by a fall of rock in 1868, while eating his dinner in the mines; he reared a family of seven children, of whom James J. is the fourth. The subject of this sketch began life for himself at the age of eighteen, working at the house carpenter's trade, at Hazleton, which occupation he followed for a year and a half, and then engaged in the cabinet and undertaking business, and after six months was given sole charge of the shop, which position he held for two years. Mr. Wisley then went to Plymouth, where he was engaged in the construction of breakers for six months; after which he came to Plains, for the purpose of establishing an undertaking business for Philip Wintersteen. After six years spent in this capacity he engaged in business for himself, and now has on hand a very complete line of furniture and undertaking supplies. Mr. Wisley was married, April 25, 1881, to Miss Mary E., daughter of James J. and Catherine (Farrell) Farrell. Mr. and Mrs. Wisley have had four children, one of whom is living, Gertrude, born September 21, 1884. Mr. Wisley and family are members of the Catholic Church, and he is a Democrat.
PETER WOLCOTT, retired locomotive engineer, Kingston, may appropriately be called one of the pioneer railroaders of the Wyoming Valley. He was born in Clyde, Columbia Co., N.Y., June 24, 1834, and is a son of Adam and Catharine (Race) Wolcott, natives of New York and descendants of the early Holland families who settled in the Mohawk Valley. Mr. Wolcott's parents removed to Pennsylvania and settled at Old Forge, Luzerne (now Lackawanna) county, when he was eleven years of age. When he was fifteen he went to Razarville (now New Providence), and engaged in driving team for a Mr. Cotterrell, with whom he remained about two years. He was then for a time employed in driving stage between Scranton and Montrose, on what was then known as the "Wildcat Route," after which he entered the employ of William Blackman, at Hyde Park, as teamster, remaining there about three years. In 1852 he began railroading in the capacity of brakeman on the Leggets Gap Railroad (now the Northern Division of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad), immediately after it was completed. He continued braking for a year and a half, was then promoted to fireman, which he followed two years, and then promoted to engineer. After "pulling the throttle" for a period of three years, he engaged in running a stationary engine, in the employ of John Jermyn, at Rockwell's Slope, where he remained two years; then moved to Old Forge, where he was engaged as stationary engineer in sinking a shaft for the Chittenden Coal Company. Here he remained about two years, when his former ambition for railroading again actuated him to "mount the foot-board," and he entered the employ of the Lackawanna & Bloomsburg (now the Bloomsburg Division of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western) Railroad, running a locomotive fourteen years. After that he engaged in the hotel business at Kingston, and for eighteen years he kept the "Kingston House," at the end of which time he retired from business and leased his hotel, a truly model house, equipped with all modern conveniences. Mr. W. Scott Davis ably succeeds our subject as proprietor of the hotel. Mr. Wolcott was married April 2, 1852, to Miss Harriet, daughter of John Fellows, one of the early pioneers of Scranton, and, later, one of the wealthy and prominent citizens of that hustling city. They have had children as follows: Albert; Jeanette, married to Rufus Devans (deceased); Lizzie, now Mrs. George Kingsley; Pierce; Electa, now Mrs. Edward Irvin; John, Jessie and Bessie. Mr. Wolcott is a member of the F. & A.M., Lodge No. 395, and in his political views is a Republican.
MOSES WOLF, proprietor of "Wolf's Hotel," Wilkes-Barre, was born in Russia, near the Baltic Sea, September 15, 1849, a son of Michael and Edith (Abram) Wolf. He lived in Russia until sixteen years of age, received a good Hebrew education, and in 1869, after spending four years in traveling through the principal countries in Europe, he came to America, locating in Wilkes-Barre in May of the same year. After a varied career he embarked in the grocery business at Plymouth, in which he continued nearly a year; in 1886 he embarked in his present business on Canal Street, Wilkes-Barre, in which he has since successfully continued. On September 15, 1874, Mr. Wolf married Miss Clara, daughter of Abram and Edith Lippman, of near Frankfort, Germany, and of this union have been born four daughters: Gertrude, Edith, Dora and Rosa. They are members of the B'Nai Jewish Synagogue. In politics our subject is a Republican.
S. HARVEY WOLF, farmer, P.O. Rock Glen, was born in Black Creek township, this county, December 15, 1848, a son of William and Ann (Rittenhouse) Wolf. His paternal grandparents, Andrew and Louisa R. (Hasha) Wolf, settled about 1805 in what is now Black Creek township, cleared a farm and died there. Their children were John, Jacob, Nancy (Mrs. Amos Rittenhouse), William, Philip, Sally (Mrs. George Miller) and Joseph. Of these, William, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born August 19, 1808, in what is now Black Creek township, and is probably the oldest native-born resident of the township. He has always resided in Black Creek township, and since 1842 has occupied his present farm, fifty-five acres of which he cleared himself. He married Ann, a daughter of Martin and Amelia (Rittenhouse) Rittenhouse, of Black Creek township, and has two children living, Martin V. and Stephen Harvey. William Wolf served one term as commissioner of Luzerne county, 1865-67; he cast his first vote for President Jackson, in 1832, and has voted at every Presidential election since, being a staunch Democrat, and always taking an active part in politics. S. Harvey Wolf was born and reared on the old homestead where he now resides. He was married to Hannah M., daughter of David and Lydia (Karchner) Lartzel, of Luzerne county, Pa., to which union have been born eight children: Ursula (Mrs. Frank Mann), Elmer, William R., Fannie, Morris, Carrie, Claude, and Grace. Mr. Wolf is a member of the Reformed Church, and of the P.O.S. of A.; in politics he is a Democrat, and has served as supervisor of Black Creek township, being now tax collector, which office he has held four years.
CLARK WOLFE, farmer, P.O. Pike's Creek, was born in Union township, June 6, 1816, a son of Jacob and Sarah (Bonham) Wolfe, both of whom were born in Monroe county, Pa. Jacob and his wife removed from Monroe county to this county in 1805, locating in Union township. In company with his wife's father, Benjamin Bonham, he purchased 300 acres of wild land, on which they built a log house and began to clear away the forest, a work they accomplished to the surprise of their neighbors and their own satisfaction. When the land was afterward divided, 160 acres fell to Jacob Wolfe, seventy-five of which were brought under the plough during his lifetime. He was an extensive and practical farmer in those days, and paid particular attention to the raising of grain, which he shipped by wagon to the southern towns of this state. He was a conscientious member of the Baptist Church, in politics a Whig, and lived to be seventy-three years of age. His family consisted of nine children, all of whom are yet living, Clark being the sixth. Our subject began life as a farmer in Union township, and lived and worked with his father until May 28, 1836, when he married Miss Althea, daughter of Nathaniel and Thankful Goss. There were born to them nine children, all of whom are living: Mary A., Josiah, Nathaniel, Martha C., Theodore, Joseph, Jane, Jacob and Rhoda. Mr. Wolfe removed to Lake township in 1841, settling on a farm of 106 acres of uncultivated land, which he subdued and improved and divided among his sons. He is a man of sterling qualities, and of pure moral principles. He held several offices of trust in his township, and was elected a justice of the peace, but declined to serve. His wife died January 16, 1885, a member of the Baptist Church, as is he himself.
T. D. WOLFE, dealer in marble and granite, P.O. Sweet Valley, was born in Lake township April 5, 1845, a son of Clark and Althea (Goss) Wolfe, T. D. being the fifth in a family of nine children. He was reared and educated at the common schools in Lake township, and spent several terms at the Wyoming Academy. Mr. Wolfe was at that institution of learning when the Civil War broke out, and from there he entered the army. He was mustered into the U.S. service in 1864, as a private of the Third Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery. During his service he was disabled, for which cause he was discharged, and now draws a pension. He was a brave soldier and a true patriot, and is a loyal citizen. Since his return from the army our subject has been engaged in his present business, in which he is remarkably successful. In January, 1867, he married Miss Lucinda, daughter of Jabes and Margaret Church, and to this union were born two children, one of whom is living, Ada L., a beautiful and accomplished young lady, who is now teaching school. Mrs. Lucinda Wolfe was born in Kingston township in 1846. Mr. Wolfe has a beautiful residence near the line of Lake and Ross townships, the aspect of which shows the passerby the refined taste of the owner. He is a member of the G.A.R., and a Republican, politically.
J. B. WOLFE, farmer, P.O. Bloomingdale, was born in Union township, November 24, 1818, and is a son of Jacob and Sarah (Bonham) Wolfe, both of whom were born in Northampton county, Pa. They removed to this county about 1800, locating in Ross township, where they owned 180 acres of valuable land. They lived as other pioneers, beginning first in a log cabin, which soon gave way to a more pretentious dwelling. Mr. Wolfe was a hard-working man, and did much for the advancement of the county as a pioneer of Ross township. He held several offices, and died in 1850, aged seventy years. His family consisted of nine children, all of whom grew to maturity, and three of them are now living. J. B. is the eighth in the family, was reared and educated in Ross township, and has always resided in the same township and county. He is a practical farmer, and owns 108 acres of land; though now retired from active work, he still superintends his affairs. In 1873, late in life, Mr. Wolfe married Miss Christina, daughter of Lot Search. No children have been born to this union. He and his wife are members of the Baptist Church, and politically he is a Republican.
STEPHEN R. WOLFE, farmer, P.O. Muhlenburgh, is a native of Union township, born November 12, 1827, a son of Samuel and Catherine (Roberts) Wolfe, both of whom were born in Union township, the former on January 20, 1805, the latter on September 24, 1803. Samuel Wolfe was a son of Jacob Wolfe, a native of Bucks county, and one of the old pioneers of Union township, locating there about the year 1780. He was a man of marked piety, a member of the Baptist Church, and an honorable, upright gentleman. He was hard working and industrious, and did much to bring Luzerne to its present state of agricultural advancement. He reared a family of interesting children, who grew to maturity, and in their turn made useful and loyal citizens. He died about 1850, aged seventy-eight years. His son, Samuel, lived at home on the old place till his marriage in 1828, when he removed to Muhlenburgh on a farm, where he resided four years. He then bought eighty acres of new land, whereon was a log house, which soon, however, gave way to the more modern structure, while the wild and virgin soil, under his magic touch, gave place to waving fields of golden grain. He was an industrious man, and much respected by his people, who elected him to various offices in the township. He, like his father, was a strict Baptist; politically, he was a Republican. He died in 1878, aged seventy-six years; his wife died in 1867, aged seventy years. Their family consisted of eleven children, all of whom grew to maturity, and five of them are now living. Stephen R., who is the eldest in the family, was reared and educated in his native township, has always confined himself to farming, but is also skillful in the use of carpenter tools, which he uses to a great extent. Mr. Wolfe has all his life been a continuous resident of Union township, and is a worthy citizen and practical farmer. He has been married three times. First time, October 2, 1852, to Miss Dorcas, daughter of Isaac and Sarah Benscoter, by which union there was no issue. Mrs. Dorcas Wolfe died March 30, 1853, and, for his second wife, Mr. Wolfe married, January 5, 1854, Miss Eliza, daughter of James and Samantha Harding, by which union there were born three children: Catherine C., Jessie and Chester B. Mrs. Eliza (Harding) Wolfe died January, 1861, and for his third wife our subject married, January 5, 1862, Miss Rachel E., daughter of George and Margaret Muchler, and three children are the result of this union: Margeret, Edward I. and Samuel M. Mr. Wolfe has been honored with nearly all of the offices of the township; is a man of influence and enjoys the confidence of his fellow citizens. He and his wife, three daughters and one son are consistent members of the Baptist Church, and of which he is clerk. Politically, he is a Republican.
GEORGE W. WOMELSDORF, proprietor of the "What Cheer House," Wanamie, was born in Newport township, October 28, 1847, and is the fifth in the family of eleven children born to Jordan and Mary (Belles) Womelsdorf, natives of Pennsylvania. George W. was educated and reared in Luzerne county, and, at an early age, began working about the mines. He did company work until 1877, when he was given the position of driver-boss at the Spike Island Mine, remaining there in that capacity for two years, afterward occupying the same position at the Seven Foot Mine one year. Our subject was then employed by the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Company, as driver-boss for twelve years, two years at No. 3, and ten years at No. 2. In April, 1891, he became proprietor of the "What Cheer House," which he has since successfully conducted. Mr. Womelsdorf was married September 12, 1875, to Miss Emma, daughter of Theodore Hagenbaugh, and three children have blessed this union, namely: Daisy, Edgar and Eckley. In politics our subject is a Democrat, and belongs to the following Orders: I.O.O.F., Knights of Pythias, and A.P.A. The family attend the Presbyterian Church.
JAMES WOOD, farmer, Muhlenburgh, was born in Yorkshire, England, May 26, 1833, son of Samuel and Ann (Garthwaite) Wood, both of whom were born in England. Samuel was a weaver by occupation, a worker in fine fabrics, and was counted a first-class mechanic by his craft. He and his wife died in their native land, he at the age of thirty-five, she at the age of twenty-eight years. They had reared a family of five children, two of whom are living. James is the third in order of birth, and was nine years of age when he emigrated to this country with his grandparents (Garthwaites), who located in this county in 1842. Our subject was reared and educated largely in Union township, and has been a constant resident of the county. By occupation he is a carpenter, which trade, in conjunction with his farm, he has pursued for twenty-seven years. In September, 1864, he was mustered into the United States Service for the term of one year, in Company G, One Hundred and Ninety-ninth P.V.I. He served to the close of the war and was honorably discharged, returning home with health so impaired that he was unable to work for two years. His health improving somewhat, however, he became able to work part of the time, though still a constant sufferer for the past twenty-seven years; about a year ago Mr. Wood had a stroke of paralysis, since then he has been unable to perform any manual labor whatever. On October 29, 1854, he married Miss Frances C., daughter of Elisha R. and Dorcas Roberts. To this union have been born five children, three of whom are living: Harriet R., who married Rev. Rolandus Kocher, a Baptist minister, Martha J. and Frances C. In 1864 Mr. Wood removed to his present residence, a farm of sixty-nine acres. He is much respected in his neighborhood, and is the first man who was ever nominated for sheriff on the Prohibition ticket. He is a member of the G.A.R. He and his wife and family are members of the Baptist Church, in which he is a deacon.
JOHN BEILBY WOOD is a descendant of Michael Wood, of Tenker Hey, North Dean, in the vicarage of Halifax, in the county of York, England, whose will, written in 1537, is in the possession of the family, having passed down through the preceding generations. Joseph Wood the great-grandfather of John B. Wood, was a cloth manufacturer of England. Robert Wood, the son of Joseph Wood, married Elizabeth Ingham, of Crowstone Hall, Greetland, West Riding, County of York, England, and was a man of great energy. He purchased a grant of land in America, and set on foot a movement to raise a colony and settle in this country. He had large carved oak chests made and filled with clothing, and preparations were nearly completed for sailing when the war for the independence of the colonies broke out and thwarted his plans. Moses Wood, grandson of Robert Wood, was born in Yorkshire, England, July 24, 1766. He married Jane Beilby, daughter of John and Esther Beilby, of Wetwang, England, and remained in the land of his nativity until 1819, when he, with his family, removed to the United States. His family consisted of his wife, eight children, and two servants. He also brought with him a tailor, shoemaker and blacksmith, and the oaken chests made by his father years before. They sailed in the ship "Mary Ann Isabella" from Burlington Quay, and, after a tedious voyage of nine weeks and four days, landed in Philadelphia, and from there proceeded to Wilkes-Barre. Here Mr. Wood purchased 300 acres of land, nearly one-third of which has been occupied as part of the city, and the remainder has developed into valuable coal lands. When Moses Wood landed in Philadelphia he had several thousand dollars in gold, which he deposited in a Philadelphia bank for safe keeping; but while he was prospecting in the Wyoming Valley for land the bank broke and he lost his deposits; he was, therefore, compelled to depend on home resources to complete his purchases in Wilkes-Barre. In the settlement of the affairs of the bank he, however, realized a part of his money by taking land located in Bradford county, the tract given in part payment being 1,000 acres in extent. Moses Wood resided upon his farm in Wilkes-Barre for many years after his settlement here, and educated and reared his sons in habits of industry and economy. In 1823 he commenced mining coal, which he shipped down the Susquehanna River in keel boats, or "arks," as they were called. He donated the land on which the Central M.E. Church is built (chartered as the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Woodville), and contributed liberally toward the building, which was erected in Woodville, a suburb of the borough of Wilkes-Barre, now nearly the central part of the city. He died March 11, 1853.
John Beilby Wood, son of Moses Wood, was born in Halifax, England, in 1804, and came to America with his father's family. He was for many years a successful business man in Wilkes-Barre engaged in merchandise the greater part of his life, and in 1871 he established the banking house of J. B. Wood & Co., contributing the greater part of the capital. He died in 1877. The wife of John B. Wood was Miss Sarah Gore, daughter of John Gore, whose great-great-great-grandfather, John Gore, was born in England, came to America from Waltham Abbey in 1634, and settled in Roxbury, Mass., where he purchased a large tract of land. He was a member of the famous Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, and for many years was town clerk of Roxbury, and the records of the settlements, transcribed by his hand, are now deposited in the city hall, Boston. He died in Roxbury, June 2, 1657. Samuel Gore, son of John Gore, was born in Roxbury, Mass., in 1652, and died there July 26, 1692. Samuel Gore (second), son of Samuel, born October 20, 1681, died at Norwich, Conn., May 27, 1756. Obaidiah Gore, son of Samuel (second), and great-grandson of John Gore, was born in Massachusetts, July 26, 1714, moved to Plainfield, Conn., with his father's family in 1718; came to the Wyoming Valley in 1769, and died in Wyoming January 10, 1779. He was a magistrate under the laws of Connecticut, and his commission, signed in April, 1778, bears the name of Jonathan Trumbell, then governor of Connecticut. His eldest son, Obaidiah Gore, was born in Norwich, Conn., in 1744, was one of those who attempted to settle the Wyoming Valley in 1762-63, and came again with the first 200 settlers in 1769. He was one of the most prominent men of his day in Wyoming. In 1776 he entered the Connecticut army, in a regiment commanded by Col. Isaac Nichols, and served six years; was commissioned first lieutenant by John Hancock October 11, 1776, and by John Jay, March 16, 1779. In 1778 he was appointed a justice of the peace for Westmoreland county, Conn., as the Wyoming Valley was then called. In 1781 and 1782 he represented Westmoreland in the Legislature of Connecticut, and after the Treaties decree, which held that this section of the state belonged to Pennsylvania and not to Connecticut, was commissioned one of the judges of Luzerne county. In 1788, 1789 and 1790, he represented Luzerne county in the Legislature of Pennsylvania. He, in connection with his brother, Daniel Gore, was the first white man in Wyoming, and we might say in the United States, to give practical recognition and development to anthracite coal as a generator of heat. This was in 1769, twenty-two years before coal was discovered in the Lehigh region. He died in 1820. His father was an aged man at the time of the battle and Massacre of Wyoming, and was left in Forty Fort while the army went out to meet the enemy. In the little band that marched forth July 3, 1778, were his sons, Samuel Gore, Daniel Gore, Silas Gore, George Gore and Asa Gore, the father in the fort and five sons marching out to the conflict. Nor was this all; John Murfee, who married a daughter of Mr. Gore (the sister of these five brothers), was also in the ranks; and Timothy Pearce, another brother-in-law, having ridden all night, came in and joined our little army on the battle field. Thus there were seven in the battle, while an eighth was in the service with the regular army, and it proved a most bloody and disastrous day to the family. At sunset five of the seven were on the field mangled corpses: Asa and Silas, ensigns, George and Murfee were slain; Timothy Pearce held a commission in the regular army, but had hurried in and was killed. Lieut. Daniel Gore was near the right wing, and stood a few rods below Wintermoot's Fort, close up to the old road that led up through the Valley, and when he stepped into the road a ball struck him in the arm. He applied a bandage, tearing it from his shirt. Just at that moment Capt. Durhee stepped into the road at the same place. "Look out," said Mr. Gore, "there are some of the savages concealed under yonder heap of logs," and at that instant a ball struck Capt. Durhee in the thigh. When retreat became inevitable, Mr. Gore endeavored to assist Capt. Durhee from the field, but found it impossible, and Durhee said, "Save yourself, Mr. Gore, my fate is sealed." Lieut. Gore then escaped down the road, leaping the fence about a mile below, lay crouched close under a bunch of bushes. While there an Indian climbed the fence and stood near him. Mr. Gore said he could see the white of his eye, and was almost sure he was discovered, but a moment later a yell was raised on the flats below, the Indian drew up his rifle and fired, and instantly ran off in that direction. Though the wave of death seemed to have passed over and spent itself, yet Lieut. Gore remained under cover until dusk, and after dark found his way to the fort where he met his brother Samuel, the only survivor of the seven. The distress of Mrs. Murfee was very great, as she feared her husband had been tortured, but when she learned he fell on the field she was less distressed. She begged her way, with the rest of her family and other fugitives, traversed the wilderness and sought a home in the state from which she had emigrated, having a son, George Murfee, born in Esquire Depew's barn on the Delaware, near Stroudsburgh, while yet a fugitive. No tongue can tell, no pencil can paint, the sorrows and the sufferings of poor Wyoming, and all undoubtedly occasioned by drawing away the men raised here for its special defense. John Gore, the only son who was not in the battle, was but fourteen years old, and he fled with his father and family after the Massacre. He married Elizabeth Ross, a native of New London, Conn., daughter of Jeremiah Ross, who was born July 26, 1727, and died at Wilkes-Barre, February 28, 1777. She was the youngest sister of Gen. William Ross, and sister of Lieut. Perrin Ross and Jeremiah Ross, both of whom were slain in the battle and Massacre of Wyoming. Sarah Gore, the wife of John B. Wood, was the daughter of John Gore and his wife, Elizabeth Ross. John Gore was born in Connecticut, February 25, 1764, and died in Kingston, August 3, 1807. Elizabeth Ross, his wife, was born in 1764, and died September 23, 1838, aged seventy-four years.
On February 21, 1836, John B. Wood married Miss Sarah Gore, who was born in Kingston May 28, 1806, and died in Wilkes-Barre, December 21, 1886. They had seven children: Elizabeth J., John Gore, Martha M., Ruth S., Maria E., George B. and Edgar Wood. Ruth S., born December 3, 1843, died January 24, 1875; Edgar, born November 29, 1853, died March 6, 1861; George B., born December 24, 1848, died February 17, 1890.
JERE. WOODRING, civil and mining engineer, Sandy Run, is a native of Luzerne county, born in Butler Valley, a son of Stephen and Eliza (Thomas) Woodring. He was educated in the public schools of Luzerne county and in Doylestown Seminary. When a boy he worked considerably around the mines, and at the age of fourteen engaged in clerking in a store in Freeland, where he remained about two years. He then came to Sandy Run, and engaged in clerking in the supply store of M. S. Kemmerer & Co., remaining at this place four years, when he was transferred to Pond Creek as manager of their stores there. During all the time he was engaged in clerking Mr. Woodring kept his studies constantly before him, and as he always possessed a natural taste for mathematics, his studies were principally in mathematical scientific channels. He finally devoted his attnetion to the subject of civil and mining engineering, and at the age of twenty-two had so thoroughly mastered his subject, that he received the appointment as engineer for the M. S. Kemmerer Coal Company, at Sandy Run, a position he has since satisfactorily filled. Mr. Woodring was married in May, 1891, to Miss Lizzie Caskey, of Easton. He is a member of the P.O.S. of A., and in his political views is a Republican.
REV. JAMES OSCAR WOODRUFF, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Plymouth, was born at Connecticut Farms, N.J., February 27, 1838, a son of David M. and Mary L. (Davis) Woodruff, of the old Connecticut Yankee type. There were seven children in the family, our subject being fourth in the order of birth. He was educated at the Westfield Academy, N.J., and he has since been an earnest and profound student, mastering the sciences and languages under private tutorship. He has always been a persistent searcher of knowledge, and by diligent labor has attained a high proficiency as a scholar. The subject of this sketch was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1860, and was immediately assigned to what is known as the Blakslee Charge, where he remained two years, going from there to Sterling, Wayne Co., Pa., where he served two years, thence to Salem, where he served three years, building a church in the meantime at that place. Carbondale was his next abiding place, where he had charge three years; then Honesdale, Pa., where he erected another edifice; and after remaining there three years, he was called to Owego, N.Y., for three years; then at Pittston, Pa., three years; Norwich, N.Y., two years; Kingston, two years; and thence to the Franklin Street Church, Wilkes-Barre, where he assumed charge for three years, and during that time he interested the members of the church in the erection of a new building, which now adorns and beautifies that pleasant street. From Wilkes-Barre Mr. Woodruff was appointed to take charge at Waverly, N.Y., where he remained the three years' term, coming from there to Plymouth, where he now presides. As a man, Mr. Woodruff is of pleasing address, and his courteous manner and kindly disposition toward all, whether in a business or a social way, makes him unusually respected. Our subject was married July 4, 1855, to Eliza J., daughter of David and Susan (Clark) Townley, natives of New Jersey. To this union have been born eight children, five of whom are living: Mrs. M. D. Compton, Newark, N.J.; Wesley, city editor of the Wilkes-Barre Evening Leader, and a graduate of Wesleyan College; Carrie, wife of H. W. Hallett, of Waverly, N.Y.; Oscar A., a resident of New York City; and Minnie L., who is at home. As to whether Mr. Woodruff has succeeded in the ministry, one has only to gaze over broad fields of labor he has performed, to be convinced that he has indeed served his Master well by serving his fellow men.
STANLEY WOODWARD's paternal ancestry is traced in a direct line to Richard Woodward, who emigrated, April 10, 1634, from Ipswich, England, to Massachusetts, and a year later was admitted a freeman of Watertown, that State. Stanley Woodward is of the eighth generation of the stock thus planted in the New World. His great-grandfather, Enos, was the first of the line to leave New England, which he did about the year 1775, settling in the wilds of Pike county, this State. Abishai, the great-grandfather's son, and Stanley's grandfather, removed to Wayne county, Pa., where, because of the loss of a hand by an accident, which rendered him incapable of working on a farm, he took to school teaching, and subsequently attained to many important public positions, including those of sheriff and associate judge. George Washington Woodward, Abishai's son, and Stanley's father, was born in Wayne county, Pa., and lived to be one of the most notable men in the State. He was a delegate in the Constitutional convention of 1836, and a delegate-at-large in that of 1873. In 1841 he was appointed president judge of the Fourth Jucicial District, composed of the counties of Mifflin, Huntingdon, Centre, Clearfield and Clinton. In 1844 he was the candidate of the Democrats in the State Legislature for United States Senator, but was defeated by Simon Cameron, who was the candidate of the Whig and Native American Combination. In 1845 President Polk nominated him to be a justice of the supreme court of the United States, but the Senate, for partisan reasons, refused to confirm him. In the early part of 1852 Governor Bigler appointed him a justice of the supreme court of Pennsylvania, and the same year he was nominated and elected to the position for the full term of fifteen years, during the last four of which he was chief justice. He was the Democratic candidate for governor in 1863, and he represented the Twelfth District in the XLth and XLIst Congresses. He died in Rome, Italy, May 10, 1875, aged sixty-six years.
In 1832 Mr. Woodward married Sarah Elizabeth, the only daughter of Dr. George W. Trott, of Wilkes-Barre, and of this union Stanley Woodward, born in Wilkes-Barre August 29, 1833, was the oldest son. Stanley entered Yale College, after preparation at the Episcopal High School of Virginia, near Alexandria, in that State, and at Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, and graduated therefrom in 1855 with high honors. He read law with his cousin, Warden J. Woodward, who afterward became a justice of the supreme court of the State, and was admitted to the bar in August 1856. He soon achieved a large and lucrative practice, being regularly retained by a number of leading railroad and other corporations. He was twice a captain in the volunteer service during the Civil war; was for two months in the Antietam campaign, and for three months in the Gettysburg campaign. He was the Democratic candidate for the State Senate in 1865, and for Congress in 1872, but was beaten both times by Hon. L. D. Shoemaker. In 1879 he was appointed, by Governor Hoyt, additional law judge of Luzerne county, to fill a vacancy; in 1880 was nominated and elected to the position for ten years, and in 1890 was elected for a second term, the Republicans naming no candidate against him. He was for twenty-two years an active member of the Wilkes-Barre Fire Department, serving during twenty years of the time either as assistant or chief engineer. He served three years in the council of the old borough of Wilkes-Barre; was editor for a time of the old Luzerne Union, then the Democratic organ of the county; was on the staff of Governor Hartranft as as aide, with the rank of colonel; has been for many years one of the trustees of the Home for Friendless Children, in Wilkes-Barre, and has at various times held many other important positions of like character. On June 3, 1857, he married Sarah Richards Butler, who came of old New England and Revolutionary stock, and by her he has had two sons; John Butler, an attorney in practice at the Luzerne bar, and George Stanley, a physician practicing in Philadelphia, both being graduates of Yale. The family are Episcopalians.
J. M. WOODWORTH, farmer, P.O. Town Line, was born in Union township July 22, 1844, where he was also reared, receiving his education at the common schools. He is a son of Almon and Loley (Monroe) Woodworth, the former born in New York State, July 7, 1804, the latter in Huntington township, February 18, 1813. Almon Woodworth removed to this county about 1833, locating in Union township, near Town Line, on a farm of 101 acres, on which were a few improvements. By perseverance, hard work and untiring energy, he succeeded in building and improving as only a man of taste and refinement could. Mr. Woodworth was a local Methodist preacher; he was a man of deep convictions, and a powerful worker in the church. His influence was good, his teaching was moral, and his life was pure. He died in 1854, aged fifty years, followed by his widow November 2, 1869, when she was aged fifty-six years. Mr. Woodworth was twice married; for his first wife he wedded Miss Eliza Wilkenson, by whom he had seven children, six of whom grew to maturity. By his secon union, with Miss Loley Monroe four children were born, two of whom grew to maturity. One by the first, and two by the second wife, are all now living. J. M. Woodworth has always confined himself to agricultural pursuits, and has always resided on the place on which he was born. in 1866 he married Miss Sarah A., daughter of G. C. and Susannah Benscoter, and to their union were born two children, Loley and Susannah, both of whom are dead. Mr. and Mrs. Woodworth are members of the M.E. Church, of which body he is a trustee. He is also a member of the P. of H. He is a practical farmer, a perfect gentleman, and in politics is a stanch Republican.
JONATHAN D. WOODWORTH, merchant, Shickshinny, was born in Fairmount township, this county, September 29, 1845, and is a son of James and Eliza (Davenport) Woodworth. His father, who was a native of Connecticut, was reared in Canisteo, N.Y., and in 1832 came to Luzerne county, settling in Fairmount township, where, for twenty-five years, he followed the cabinet and undertaking business, for years having been the only undertaker in that section of the county. In later life he engaged in farming and at the time of his death, which occurred July 3, 1885, he was a resident of Hanover township. His children were seven in number, of whom we have record of five, viz.: Clark (killed at the battle of Gettysburg), Almon (who was a member of the Seventh Regiment Pennsylvania Reserves in the Civil war, and is now a resident of the State of Washington), Jonathan D., Cordelia (Mrs. Roland Metcalf), and Hamlon D. Our subject was reared in Fairmount township, and received an academic education at New Columbus. On August 8, 1864, he enlisted in Company B, one Hundred and Ninety-Ninth Regiment, P.V., and was honorably discharged July 2, 1865. He participated in the battle of Hatcher's Run, Va., where he was wounded April 2, 1865. Since the war Mr. Woodworth has been principally engaged in mercantile business, at Shickshinny since March, 1892. On July 10, 1870, he married Susan, a daughter of Redmond C. and Helen (Steadman) Betterly, of Huntington township, and has six children, as follows: Jennie (Mrs. Dr. C. A. Wilkinson), Laura, Barton, Allen, Helen and Madge. Mr. Woodworth attends the services of the M.E. Church; socially he is a member of the F. & A.M. and G.A.R., and, in politics, he is a Republican.
WILLIAM WOOLCOCK, an enterprising young druggist of Freeland, is a native of Mahanoy City, Pa., born January 20, 1867. He is a son of Thomas and Christiana (Robertson) Woolcock, both natives of Schuylkill county, the former of English and the latter of Scotch descent. In their family were seven children, of whom the subject of this memoir is the third in order of birth. He received his education in the high school of Mahanoy City, and in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, where he was graduated in the class of 1889. Previous to attending college at Philadelphia he was employed in the drug store of William Reynolds, at Mahanoy City, and after receiving his degree was employed in his father's drug-store in Mahanoy City. He then came to Freeland and engaged in business for himself, where he has built up a large trade, and is doing well. he is a member of the P.O.S. of A., and the Jr. O.U.A.M., and in politics is a Republican.
ANDREW R. WORTHINGTON, liveryman, Plymouth, was born at Harvey's Lake, Pa., October 15, 1828, and is the seventh in the family of nine children of Joseph L. and Hannah (Fuller) Worthington, who settled at Harvey's Lake when the county was a wilderness. Our subject was educated in the public schools of Luzerne county, and quite early in life began canaling, running from Wilkes-Barre to Baltimore and Philadelphia. This he continued till 1860, when he went into the mines as a contractor at the Washington Breaker, where he remained two years. He then established the livery business, in which he has since continued. Mr. Worthington was married March 8, 1855, at Plymouth, to Miss Charity, daughter of John and Phoebe (Davenport) Pringle, natives of Plymouth, and one child, Joseph L. has been born to this union. He (Joseph) married Miss Emma, daughter of Elijah and Amelia Davenport, and four children have been born to them, as follows: Ralph D., Andrew R. Nellie V. and Gertrude. John and Phoebe Pringle were blessed with nine children of whom our subject's wife is the seventh in order of birth; a brief record of them is as follows: Thomas, born April 4, 1821; Elizabeth, born January 1, 1824; Clara, born September 17, 1825; Liddie, born February 5, 1826; William, born March 27, 1828; Dennison, born May 7, 1830; Charity D., born September 19, 1832; Stephen, born June 9, 1834; Martha, born December 9, 1836. Politically, Mr. Worthington is a Republican.
GEORGE RIDDLE WRIGHT is of Quaker origin through his father, and has Puritan blood in his veins, inherited from his mother. John Wright came to America with William Penn, in 1681, and shortly afterward took up his residence in Burlington county N.J., being the first settler of what is now called Wrightstown. Joseph Wright, a descendant of John Wright, and grandfather of George Riddle Wright, came from Wrightstown to Plymouth, in 1795, and soon became one of the substantial citizens of the place. He had a numerous family, including three sons—Hendrick Bradley Wright, Harrison Wright, and Caleb Wright—who afterward became distinguished lawyers. The first named of the sons was the father of George Riddle Wright, and was born April 24, 1808, educated at Dickinson College, and read law with the late Judge John N. Conyngham. He was admitted November 8, 1831, and for ten years was a leading member of the Luzerne county bar, and a most remarkable, eloquent, and successful jury lawyer. In 1841 he was elected a member of the Lower House of the State Legislature, was re-elected in 1842, and again in 1843. He was largely instrumental during these years in securing the passage of a law abolishing imprisonment for debt, and during his last term was Speaker of the House. In 1844 he was both temporary and permanent chairman of the Democratic National Convention that met in Baltimore, and nominated James K. Polk for the Presidency, a convention that was in session nearly a week and one of the first memorable events in the country's history, being finally decisive of the great conflict growing out of the decision of the Texas annexation question. In 1852 he was elected to Congress, but in 1854 was defeated for re-election by Henry M. Fuller, the American or "Know-Nothing" candidate. In 1861 he was nominated by both parties and elected as a War Democrat. During this season, he took a leading part in the debates, favoring a vigorous prosecution of the war, and no compromise with rebellion. In 1872 he was the Democratic candidate for Congressman-at Large, was endorsed by the workingmen, and ran largely ahead of his ticket. In 1876 he was again elected to Congress from the Luzerne District, and in 1878 re-elected, ending March 4, 1881—an honorable service of thirteen years. He was chairman of the Democratic State Convention that nominated Cyrus L. Pershing for Governor, and the same year acted as chairman of the State Committee. He wrote "A Practical Treatise on Labor," and "Historical Sketches of Plymouth." His wife (our subject's mother) was Miss Mary Ann Bradley Robinson, a daughter of John W. Robinson, of Wilkes-Barre, a scion of the "Mayflower" Robinsons, and a granddaughter of Col. Zebulon Butler, who commanded the colonists at the battle of Wyoming.
George Riddle Wright, their only surviving son, was born November 21, 1851, in Wilkes-Barre. He was educated at Edge Hill School and Princeton College, read law with his father, was admitted to practice September 6, 1875, and until the death of his father, the two conducted their legal business in partnership. Since then Mr. Wright's attention has been fully occupied with other interests. He has been president of the Wilkes-Barre Water Company, is still a director of the same company; is also director of the Wilkes-Barre Electric Light Company. He has large coal and other property interests. He is a Democrat, and has been frequently urged to become a candidate for political honors, but has always refused. He is an Episcopalian. Mr. Wright is unmarried.
ROBERT H. WRIGHT, lawyer, Hazleton, was born in Perry county, December 4, 1841, and is the eldest in the family of six children (three girls and three boys) of Charles and Eliza Jane (Hunter), natives of Perry county. Our subject was educated in the common schools of Perry county and in the Bloomfield Academy. He started life in mercantile business, running a general store at Rope Ferry one year, and then at Thompsontown two years. In 1866 he entered the employ of Samuel Smith, coach manufacturer, as painter and trimmer and later as manager, and after working at this business for about four years engaged in the sewing machine business for one year. In 1871 and 1872 he read medicine with Dr. D. H. Sweeny; in 1872 he purchased a photograph business, learned the profession, and conducted the establishment until 1877; when he entered the law office of J. Alsoner, of Hazleton, and March 22, 1878, was admitted to the Luzerne county bar. He had studied during his work in the coach factory, in 1867-68; in the office of Hon. C. A. Baum, of New Bloomfield, Pa, and also with Thomas Faley during the years of 1875 and 1876, while engaged in the photograph business. Since his admission to the bar he has devoted his entire time to his profession in Luzerne county, where he commands a large practice. December 22, 1863, Mr. Wright married Miss Kate E., daughter of Samuel and Mary (Hall) Smith, natives of New Bloomfield, Pa., and by her had three daughters and one son, viz.: Minnie W. (Mrs. George Harris, of Braddock, Pa.), Lulu I. (Mrs. Louis W. Melenna, of Afton, Iowa), Florence A. (Mrs. William H. Cook, of Mauch Chunk, Pa.), and Edgar S., who resides with his parents. In politics Mr. Wright was formerly a Republican, but, owing to his views on the tariff, has gone over to the Democrats. Mr. Wright has resided in Hazleton since 1874, and his family attend the Methodist Episcopal Church.
PATRICK WYNN, miner, in Shaft No. 14, Inkerman, Jenkins township, was born in County Roscommon, Ireland, March 3, 1844, and is a son of William and Ellen (Conroy) Wynn. William Wynn, who was a miner, reared a family of nine children, six of whom are living, and of these our subject is the only son in America, whither he emigrated in 1869. he located for a short time in Tuscarora, Schuylkill Co., Pa., whence he removed, in 1870, to Inkerman, where he has since been engaged in mining. He purchased his present residence in 1880. Mr. Wynn was married, February 17, 1865, to Miss Ann, daughter of Peter and Mary (Smith) Hughes, natives of County Monahan, Ireland. The fruit of this union was twelve children, ten of whom are living, viz.: William (a miner in Shaft No. 14), Mary, Peter and Michael (twins, the former of whom is a baker in Scranton, the latter a school teacher in Jenkins township), Patrick, John and Thomas (laboring in Shaft No. 14), and Edward, Ellen and Frank; Martin died at eleven months, Maggie at the age of fifteen years. This family are members of the Catholic Church. Our subject is a member of Father Mathew Society, and in his political views is a Democrat.