Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.pdf/482

 424

COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES

sons, Samuel and E. Newton, the latter now connected with the house of John T. Lew is & Bros., o f PhiUdclphin. M r. W ig fa lls grandfather, also named Sanmel, w as engaged in the liardwarc busi­ ness at Augusta, Ga., for some time, later settling in Montgomery county, Pa., where he died. Samuel W igfall passed his youth in P h ib dclphia, obtaining his education in the public schools, and when a young man w as employed as a runner for the F irst National Bank there. H e remained with that institution until he came to Bloomsburg. Ju n e t i, 18S9, here be­ coming secretary and treasurer of the North Mountain Lum tor Company, with which con­ cern he continued until it dissolved, in the fail o f 1892. Since Ja n tu ry, 1890. he has been connected with the Bloomsburg & Sullivan Railroad Company. T his company received its original charter from the State Dec. 27, 1883. the promoters being C* R^ Buckalew and Col. Jonn Jam ison, o f Bloomsburg. Capt. H. J. Connor and S ib s M cIIcnry secured the right o f w ay the entire length of the road. T he first ground for the road w as broken at the bridge a short distance north o f O range­ ville in August, 1886, and the work went fo r ­ ward under the direction o f John A. Wilson, o f Philadelphia, constructing engineer, and Jam es C. Brow n, o f Bloomsburg, surveying engineer. Ic was substantially constructed and the same policy has been continued to the pres­ ent, the comiKiny being noted for its high standards o f maintenance and efficiency. The road was completed to Benton in IM 7, on Ju ly 4th o f which year the first train left Blootnsbu^ for Orangeville, canning a b ig c d e l a t i o n o f officials and stockholders. It w as completed to Jam ison City in t888. It is twenty-nine miles long, the route lying through the beautiful and historic Fishing crcck valley, connecting the tcrritor>* along the Susquehanna river with the North moun­ tains. There arc many highly productive farm s in this section and agricultural interests have expanded notably as one direct result of the advent of the railroad. T he industrial centers along the line, Light Street, O range­ ville, Forks, Stillwater, Benton, Coles Crcck, Central and Jam ison City, have felt the im­ petus which convenience o f transportation has gixcn thcir activities, and many thriving busi­ ness pbn ts have b m located in those com­ munities because of the desirable opportuni­ ties the railroad has brought w'ithin the reach o f investors. The road tra*crscs a beautiful section, a delightful region for fishing or hunt­

ing, and ideal spots for camps and recreation arc numerous. Eight (xisscngcr trains a day arc run, four each way, and two to four extra freight trains to Berwick by w ay of the Paper Mill. T he road uses (lie Delaware, tockawanna & Western depot at Bloomsburg, and connections are made with the principal pas­ senger trains on that road as well as the P h ib dclphia & Reading, and at the Paper Mill, with the Susquclunna, Bloomsburg & Ber­ wick. The head office of the company is at Market and Sixth streets, Bloomsburg. near the D. L. & W. depot. About fifty men are employed in all departments, and the present officers a re : Samuel W igfall, president; H. T. Dcchcrt, vice president; George A. Ritter, secretary and auditor; W. C Snyder, treas­ urer and superintendent; W. C. Fortune, supervisor. M r. Fortune, Conductor J. W. Scott and Engineer Jam es Carey have been with the company from the very beginning. Capt. II. J. Connor w as secretary* and treas­ urer until his death, M ay 30, 19(2. M r. W ig fall's time has been devoted p rin ­ cipally to nis responsibilities as head of the B oomsburg & Sullivan Railroad Company, but he has also had other local interests, and he is a director of the Bloomsburg National Hank, treasurer and director of the Industrial BuiUling & I«oan Association since its incor)0ration in i8<^i, and a director of the Bloonislurg W ater Company, H e is a member of the Episcopal Church, and a Republican in ]K)litical sentiment. On Feb. 4, 18 9 1, M r. W igfall m arried Helen R . Belfield, o f Philadelphia, and they have one daughter, Elizabeth, who w as bom in August, 19 0 1. C O U JO H N G O S S K F R E E Z E, laic of lllcMmsburg. I lortored and remembered chiefly for his long connection with the Co­ lumbia county bar. at which he practiced for over sixty years, a simple recount of the duties which occupied Colonel Freeze aside from his profession shows that he w as much more than a successful Lawyer. However, a mere recital o f his achievements in the law and in the activ­ ities of the community would suggest (he large place he filled in its life but give no adopiate idea of the accomplishments which n u d e his career remarkable for more than its length. Though he attained his cighty-cighlh vcar he was SI ill nuintaining his association with sev­ eral trusts he w as reluctant to relinquish in spite o f his age. I-le had withdrawn from legal practice two or three years before, how­ ever.