Sylvester Mitchell

NJGenWeb ~ Morris County, New Jersey

Sylvester Mitchell

Biographical and Genealogical History of Morris County New Jersey. Illustrated. Vol. II., Lewis Publishing Company, New York and Chicago, 1899.

A member of the firm of Coe & MITCHELL, contractors and builders, of Morristown, Mr. MITCHELL has been identified with the interests of this city for about a decade and his presence has made itself felt through his connection with the improvement and consequent development of the city by reason of his efficiency in the line of his chosen occupation. He was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, on the 14th of September, 1860, and is a son of Lewis and Catherine (EVANS) MITCHELL, both natives of the same county, the birth of his father having occurred there February 22, 1834, and that of his mother on the 5th of January, 1836. By trade Lewis MITCHELL is a carpenter. His father, Lewis MITCHELL, Sr., lost his life by drowning in New York bay, about the year 1834, and his wife, Mrs. Lavina MITCHELL, long surviving him, departed this life on the last day of February, 1897, at the advanced age of eighty-six years. The great-grandfather of our subject was a native of Germany and, leaving the land of his birth, he crossed the Atlantic to the New World, taking up his residence in Pennsylvania, where representatives of the family have since been found---industrious, enterprising and reliable citizens. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Catherine EVANS and is a daughter of Conrad EVANS, whose family were pioneers of the Keystone state. The children of Mr. and Mrs. MITCHELL are

Mary, wife of Simon FELKER, of Portland, Pennsylvania;
Sylvester,
Frank and
Edward.

In his early youth Sylvester MITCHELL attended the public schools, but at the age of thirteen laid aside his text books and began learning his trade with his father. When he had mastered the business he spent four years working as a journeyman for a Mr. SMITH in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His twentieth and twenty-first years were spent in school, for he had realized how necessary to success in business is education. He afterward went to Bangor, Pennsylvania, where he followed his chosen occupation-for six years, on the expiration of which period he removed to Morristown, in 1889, and began that career which has identified him with the development and upbuilding of this city. For three years he had charge of the work of Theodore A. WILSON, and in the early part of the year 1894, the firm of which he is now a member was organized and is now one of the successful competitors for the best work being done in its line in and around Morristown. Among the important buildings which Mr. MITCHELL has erected are St. Bartholomew's school of Morristown, St. Francis Sanitarium at Denville, and the residences of William SMART, John B. VREELAND, Mr. LUSARDI and J. H. HENDERSHOOT. At present (August, 1898) he has in course of construction the mansion of George W. JENKINS, on Madison avenue, in Morristown. He is thoroughly master of his business, is a progressive, enterprising man, and his worthy ambition to succeed has carried him far toward the goal of affluence.

In Bangor, Pennsylvania, on the 24th of December, 1883, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. MITCHELL and Miss Ida E. SANDT, a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (KUNSLER) SANDT. They have had three children,

Lewis, who died when a year old;
Flora, who died at the age of five; and
Eddie, now nine years of age.

Mr. MITCHELL is a member in good standing of Loanica Council of the Royal Arcanum at Morristown; the lodge of the United Order of Foresters at Morristown; Nemonock Tribe, Improved Order of Red Men; Tataney Council, Knights of Pythias, at Portland, Pennsylvania; and has also recently identified himself with the Masonic fraternity at Morristown.

This biography was scanned and contributed by Catherine Smith DeMayo.