Tag Archives: Julie Esty

Cemetery Chronicles: Pinnell family established iron foundries

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“Family is not an important thing, it’s everything.” 
(Michael J. Fox)

Northeastern Pennsylvania has always been a hub of industrial activity. In its early years, coal was not the only manufacturing resource in this area. Iron foundries also dotted the region. 

John Wesley and Junia Pinnell, along with their daughters Lydia and Lucinda, rest peacefully in Section Nine of the Dunmore Cemetery.

The production of everything from train rails and wheels to automotive parts took place in all corners of this valley. Touhill Iron, Scranton Pump Company, I.A. Finch, Dickson Manufacturing, and Lackawanna Iron and Steel provided the country with vital products that were used nationwide. One of those foundries, operated locally, was owned by John Wesley Pinnell.

Born in New York state and raised in Dunmore, John Wesley Pinnell began his career in Jersey City, NJ, as a partner with Edward Gibson in the  Gibson and Pinnell Iron Works. This joint venture was short-lived. Following the dissolution of this partnership, Pinnell returned to Dunmore and partnered with his brother, Jones T., in Pinnell Brothers Foundry which was located on Apple Street. 

John Wesley eventually went into the metalworks business for himself, establishing his business on  Green Ridge Street. He finally relocated the foundry to 1200 Capouse Avenue and conducted business there until his death. Although Pinnell was a successful businessman, he is not noted here today for his manufacturing career. Pinnell and his family share an interesting trait that makes them unique in the Dunmore Cemetery for a numerical reason.

John Wesley Pinnell was born in July 1852. His future wife, Dunmorean Junia Dilley, was born in 1856. John Wesley Pinnell and Junia Dilley were united in marriage in 1876. Following their marriage the couple were blessed with the birth of three daughters: Lydia born in 1880; Hope, born in 1884, and Lucinda, born in 1892. 

This waste water cover located on Scranton’s South Side was produced by the Pinnell Foundry.

The birth and marriage years of John Wesley and Junia, combined with the birth years of their children, might not seem remarkable but they make the family distinctive in the Dunmore Cemetery. The family is a bisextile family. Special dates in the Pinnell family, birth years and marriage, occur in intercalary years or – leap years. 

Junia Pinnell died from pernicious anemia at the age of 61 in July 1917. John Wesley died from coronary related health problems at the age of 74 in 1927. Along with their children, Lydia Pinnell Shaffer, and Lucinda Pinnell Osterhout the bissextile Pinnell family now rest peacefully in Section Nine of the Dunmore Cemetery. 

The building that housed Pinnell’s Iron Foundry on Capouse Avenue remained for decades and served in  a variety of manufacturing capacities. It was plagued by multiple fires and passed out of  Pinnell family ownership in 1970. Despite the passing of John Wesley Pinnell and his iron works in the history of Northeastern Pennsylvania, evidence of his foundry remains and can still be found in wastewater covers and storm drains throughout the area.

Cemetery Chronicles: The Fahrenholts

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“A person should always choose a costume that is in direct contrast to her own personality.”  (Lucy Van Pelt, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown)

From the mid-1800s to early 1900s costumed dances, parties, theatricals, and of course, Halloween events, were frequent, well-attended events in the Lackawanna Valley. One Scranton couple, now buried in the Dunmore Cemetery, provided costuming to countless merrymakers and performers for almost four decades.

Katherine Horn, born in Germany in 1839, came to the United States in 1859. John Fahrenholt, born in Germany in 1844, came to the United States in 1866.  The two were married in St. Luke’s Church in Scranton in August 1871. During their marriage, the couple had 11 children, but only three –  Violet, Theodore, and  Henry- survived to adulthood. 

Earliest accounts of the Fahrenholt’s show that, following their marriage, the couple assisted Katherine’s father, John, in the daily operation of his hotel located on Penn Avenue in Scranton.

By the 1880s, John and Katherine Fahrenholt were in business for themselves as suppliers of costumes. Fahrenholt’s, a full-fledged costume shop on Penn Avenue, carried a complete line of masks, wigs and makeup. 

Katherine designed and constructed costumes. John traveled throughout the Lackawanna Valley with portions of the store inventory for rental to those residing outside of Scranton. One regular town on the sales route was Carbondale where Fahrenholt’s supplied costumes for numerous parades and balls. 

In addition to providing costumes for valley residents, over their years in business, John and Katherine branched out in their financial endeavors. Visitors to Fahrenholt’s Penn Avenue establishment could also purchase an array of confections and ice cream. 

Over the years, the store was also stocked with a line of men’s clothing, a barber shop and John Fahrenholt was also a real estate and steamship ticket agent. One reason for the varied offerings was that despite the success of the costume store,  possibly it was not enough to consistently sustain the family. Damage and loss of costuming was an expected part of the enterprise. 

The Fahrenholts now rest in unmarked graves in Section 22 of the Dunmore Cemetery.

One example of this was the 1896 Carbondale Fourth of July parade. Torrential rains caused considerable damage to a substantial number of costumes.

In his discouragement on this occasion, John Fahrenholt stated that the costumes were reduced to being only usable for linings, and that despite not having any competition for 150 miles, the costume business did not pay. Regardless of this setback, Fahrenholt’s continued to dress partygoers and theatricals for another two decades.

Katherine Fahrenholt died at the age of 78 on July 28, 1917 of  a gastric ulcer. John followed her in death on December 23, 1918 at the age of 74r from acute gastritis. The couple who provided beautiful disguises to Northeastern Pennsylvania revelers for decades now rest peacefully together in Section Twenty-two of the Dunmore Cemetery.

Cemetery Chronicles: George P. Friant

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Visitors to Scranton’s Everhart Museum can view hundreds of wildlife specimens ranging from forest animals to birds. In many cases, examples in this menagerie of fauna have been in the possession of the museum for over 100 years. One man, buried in the Dunmore Cemetery, had a hand in their creation and care which may also have contributed to his death.

Little is known about the early years of George P. Friant. What is known is that he was born in 1859 in Scranton, the son of David and Catherine Shoemaker Friant. The Friant family men were avid hunters and through this hobby George Friant became interested in the field of taxidermy. He then studied under the tutelage of Dr. Isaiah Everhart. The earliest account of Friant’s work appears in 1883 when he stuffed and mounted a wildcat that was exhibited at a local Hyde Park hotel. Following this, Friant regularly advertised his trade in local newspapers stating that preserving birds was his specialty. 

In 1892 Friant assisted the state ornithologist at Harrisburg in the preparation of the Pennsylvania display for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and the 1895 Cotton States and International Exhibition  in Atlanta, Georgia. The exhibit highlighted forest animals that inhabited the woodlands of Pennsylvania and Friant earned a Gold Medal for his efforts from both events. 

Also in 1893, Friant worked extensively on the restoration and remounting of a preserved mountain lion that was donated to Penn State University. For former students and followers of that school, the preservation of that specimen in the history of the university certainly holds a special significance.

In addition to his work in taxidermy, Friant also reported to the Pennsylvania Agricultural Department regularly. As a taxidermist, Friant could relay information such as population count and diseases on birds and other wildlife in the region to this department. 

In 1908 Friant worked with numerous wildlife specimens from the personal collection of Dr. Everhart and those purchased by Everhart from the collection of Williamsport brewer August Koch. Koch, like Dr. Everhart, traveled extensively and collected a vast number of museum worthy pieces.    

Friant played a significant role in cataloging and preparing the vast array of wildlife for display in the Everhart Museum. Over the next few years, Friant worked diligently to prepare hundreds of specimens and exhibits for the Everhart Museum. In 1912, he was appointed taxidermist for the institution, but his tenure would be short-lived.

George Friant died at the age of fifty-six on January 25, 1916. His death certificate reports that his death was due to chronic kidney disease. Newspapers of the day reported that Friant died as a result of arsenic poisoning. In his work as a taxidermist Friant used substantial amounts of arsenic and sulfuric acid. Both substances are toxic and continued exposure to the chemicals required for his work could have been contributing factors in Friant’s death. George Friant was laid to rest in Section 10 of the Dunmore Cemetery.