Phineas Waller (January 31, 1774 – June 3, 1859) was an American landowner and the father of

David Jewett Waller Sr. David Jewett Waller Sr. (January 26, 1815 – December 7, 1893) was an American Presbyterian minister, entrepreneur, landowner and civic leader who lived in the American state of Pennsylvania. He also helped build several local railroads, such ...

In the first part of the 1800s, he worked as a farmer and distiller, but in 1823, he moved to his father's farm in Oaquago, New York. While in New York, he created the failed village of Wallersville and attempted to build a bridge across the Susquehanna River. In 1836, he returned to Pennsylvania and purchased a number of tracts of land.

Early life

Waller was born on January 31, 1774, in Wilkes-Barre. He was the first child of Nathan Waller and Elizabeth (Weeks) Waller. When he was an infant, at the beginning of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, his family temporarily relocated to

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. By 1799, Waller was one of 121 taxable residents in an area in and around Wilkes-Barre, which was then a village.

Career

In April 1816, Waller was one of three viewers of the second petition to create a new township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Dallas Township. The other two viewers were Anderson Dana and David Richard. While in the Wilkes-Barre area, Waller was a farmer and distiller. He was listed as such on an 1818 directory of Wilkes-Barre businessmen. Waller gained land in the vicinity of Wilkes-Barre and built a home there, but moved to his father's farm near Oquago, New York (also known as Windsor) in 1823. His children David Jewett and Nathan P. were left in Pennsylvania, but occasionally came to visit his farm. He also mined

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

and

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

while in the area. Additionally, he developed the village of Wallersville and gained approval for a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

by that name. He served as the postmaster from 1831 to 1836. To enhance the area's postal service, he established a line of mail coaches running from

Utica, New York Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...

, to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

via Oquago and Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. The village of Wallersville never succeeded and its post office was closed in 1836. Waller also attempted to construct a toll bridge across the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

at Wallersville. However, this endeavor failed and a similar bridge was built further upriver by others. In 1836, Waller sold his farm to his son Nathan P. and returned to the Wyoming Valley, where he purchased some more tracts of land. By the time of his death, he owned a considerable amount of land in the Wyoming Valley, including two or more coal mines. His heirs were surprised by the size of the distribution that they gained from his estate.

Personal life and death

Waller first married Hannah Bradley on January 2, 1800. They had three children: Abraham Bradley (1800–1867), Nathan P. (1807–1884), and William Lindsey (1810–1887). Hannah Bradley died while the third child was still an infant. On March 31, 1814, Waller married Elizabeth Jewett, of

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

. They had several more children:

David Jewett David Jewett (June 17, 1772 – July 26, 1842) is known for his role in the sovereignty dispute between the United Kingdom and Argentina over the Falkland Islands. He was an American naval commander in the Quasi-War with France and following th ...

(1815–1893), Harriet (1817–1887), Charles P. (1819–1862), George G. (1821–1888), and Martha (1825–1826). All three sons from this union would go on to become prominent figures. After the death of his wife in February 1859, Waller went to

Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania Bloomsburg is a town and the county seat of Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and is located southwest of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre along the Susquehanna River. It is the only ...

to live with his son David Jewett. Phineas Waller died in Bloomsburg on June 3, 1859, at the age of 85.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waller, Phineas People from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 1774 births 1859 deaths New York (state) postmasters American landowners