Friends of Shady Lane Cemetery

06/06/2026

06/06/2026

Shady Lane Resident of the Week, 6/6/2026: Joseph Wirth (1863-1927)

Joseph Wirth was one of the many German immigrants who helped to populate Scranton, particularly South Scranton. Joseph was born in Milheim, Germany in 1862 or 1863. We don’t know anything about his parents or his early life, but on December 5, 1889, he sailed from Hamburg for his new country.

We know that Joseph initially settled in the area of Syracuse, which is where he filed his Declaration of Intent to become a citizen in 1894. But by 1900, he was in Scranton, working as a day laborer and boarding with the family of George and Rose Weisel. Also boarding with the family was a young widow, Ella Brock Heisler, and her 9-year-old son, Freddie Heisler.

Ella was a Southerner, born in Tennessee to a father from Virginia and a mother from South Carolina. She had married Fred W. Heisler around 1890. Freddie was born in St. Louis, Missouri, which is probably where his father died. Once she was widowed, Ella might have come to Scranton because her late husband was from Pennsylvania. It’s possible there were family members in town who were able to help Ella support herself and her son.

In any event, a romance blossomed between Joseph and Ella. The couple married in June 1900 and Joseph became Fred’s stepfather. Joseph and Ella went on to have three children together: Joseph Jr. (1901), Nellie (1904), and Edward (1907). Times weren’t always easy for the family. In 1907, Joseph was advertising for work as a watchman or a fireman. In 1910, a judgement against him in the amount of $53.15 was advertised for sale.

By 1910, the family was living on Union Avenue and Joseph was working as a fireman for a bolt works. Fred, now 19, was making his own income as a wagon driver, and in 1913, he married Nora Pratt. In 1915, Joseph took his oath of allegiance as a naturalized citizen of the United States, an important step for German immigrants to take as Europe spiraled into war.

Things improved for the family as the years passed. By 1920, Joseph was working for the railroad and had purchased the family home on Union Avenue. Fred, who had served in the Army during WW1, was once again home and safe. Joseph Jr., now 18, was working as an electrician and contributing to the family expenses.

Joseph Jr., however, had a vibrant and exciting life outside of work. Baseball was his true passion. He was a talented player for the Petersburg Athletic Club team and he also managed the team. Besides sports, Joseph Jr. was highly social. He was a member of the East Scranton Bachelor Club and the intriguingly-named “I Won’t Tell” Club. It seems probable that it was Joseph Jr., rather than his father, who was involved in an accident in 1924 where his car flipped upside down.

But Joseph Sr. had his own tragic accident a few years later. On January 12, 1927, he reported to work as usual at the boiler plant of the Laurel Line. He started the conveyor used to remove ashes and apparently began inspecting the machinery. Investigators determined that somehow Joseph’s clothing became caught, and he was dragged into the machinery and crushed to death.

Ella and the children were devastated by his loss, especially in such a horrific manner. They purchased a family plot in the Upper Pine Section and had Joseph Sr. laid to rest there after a large funeral. Then, the Wirth family attempted to go on with their lives.

In August of 1927, Edward Wirth married Ruth Stark, though the wedding was not announced until November. At some point in 1927 or 1928, Nellie married James Henderson. Fred’s marriage, however, seems to have fallen apart, and he separated from his wife.

Ella bravely attempted to support herself as a widow. She allowed Edward and Ruth to move into the house on Union Avenue, while she took a job operating a boarding house on Madison Avenue. Both Fred and Joseph Jr. also lived there, where they could keep an eye on their mother and help her as needed. Fred worked fulltime as a chauffeur, while Joseph Jr. continued his work as an electrician, as well as his volunteer baseball efforts.

But Ella didn’t live long after the loss of her husband. She died at the boarding house in June 1930, at the age of 59. Her children had her laid to rest with Joseph Sr. in the Upper Pine Section. In September 1933, when Nellie gave birth to a stillborn son, she and James had him laid to rest in the Clover Section at Shady Lane, just down the hill from his grandparents.

By 1940, Nellie and James were living in the home on Union Avenue, and Joseph Jr. was living with them, presumably still enjoying an active social life. But when WW2 started, Joseph Jr. finally bid his bachelor days goodbye. He enlisted in the Army in 1942, and in November, returned home from California to marry Margaret Lynch.

Of Joseph and Ella’s four children, Fred Heisler was the first to die, passing away in 1958. He was laid to rest in the family plot at Shady Lane with his mother and stepfather. Joseph Jr. died in 1962, and Edward in 1982. Nellie was the last to die; she passed away in 1985 in Connecticut.

Joseph Sr., Ella, Fred, and Baby Boy Henderson all now reside at Shady Lane Cemetery—may they rest in peace!

06/03/2026

Not a runner? No problem!

Come out and enjoy all the fun at the Shady Lane Cemetery Race! Browse our amazing Basket Raffle, cheer on the racers, and support a great cause. You don't need to run a single mile to be part of the excitement.

06/01/2026

Help our volunteers maintain abandoned Shady Lane Cemetery! Thank you!

05/31/2026

There are many things we need to hire companies for to do the things we can not do as volunteers. One big project completed this year was straightening and cleaning the standing markers in our Soldier’s section. There is an example of what some looked like and the completed work. We would like to thank John Pesavento of Pesavento Monuments for not only the amazing job he did, but for completing it for our Memorial Day Service last week and his continued support to our mission. Everyone’s support, donations and sponsors for our two major fundraisers in our 5K and Golf Tournament and flower programs are vital to what we need to maintain the cemetery and continue to improve it. We are very grateful for your continued support! Thank you!

Bill Lester
President, Friends of Shady Lane Cemetery

05/31/2026

It’s a busy day here at Shady Lane Cemetery. We had Board members here with volunteers planting flowers, some here mowing and I installed two signs at the entrance. Thanks to Rob Evans of Precision Sheet Metal and Scott Brown of SAB Graphics, two of our Golf Hole Sponsors for getting me what I needed for the signs and to all the volunteers for all they do to help us maintain Shady Lane Cemetery!

Bill Lester
President, Friends of Shady Lane Cemetery.

05/30/2026

Shady Lane Resident of the Week, 5/30/2026: Esther Davies Curl (1870-1940)

Esther Davies Curl was born on April 8, 1870, in Glamorganshire, Wales. She was the daughter of John Davies and Gwenllian Williams Davies. Esther appears to have had older siblings by the names of Jane, Rees, and Elizabeth, and a younger sibling by the name of Mary. John supported the family by working as a “puddler” in an iron works, a highly-skilled job that required enormous stamina.

We don’t know the fate of Esther’s birth family, other than that it seems her mother died in 1877. John remained in Wales and presumably the other children did too, assuming they survived. What we know for sure is that Esther immigrated to the U.S. around 1888. She might have done so in company with her “adopted” family of William and Sarah Morgan (or Morgans).

William and Sarah had two daughters of their own, Caroline “Carrie” Morgan and Mary Ann Morgan. Both William and Sarah list Esther as a daughter in their obituaries, while Esther’s obituary includes only the two Morgan girls as siblings. A 1937 newspaper article refers to Esther as Sarah’s adopted daughter, though this adoption was probably done informally.

Once Esther arrived in Scranton, she married George Curl, a man who had immigrated from Somerset, England. The couple wed in 1888 and had three children: Catherine (1890), Margaret (1895), and Hazel (1903). George supported the family as a coal miner.

By 1900, the family was living at 229 Spring Street, where they entertained friends at a party in 1905. They had moved to 2040 Wayne Avenue by 1910, and 19-year-old Catherine was working as a binder for the International Correspondence School. The following year, Catherine married William R. Morgan.

Catherine had one child with William, then lost her husband through a workplace tragedy. In 1912, his body was found at the bottom of the no. 2 shaft at the Storrs Colliery. Initial reports placed the blame on William for being inattentive, but an investigation discovered that the negligence of other workers had caused his death.

Catherine remarried in 1914, this time to David Lewis Jones, with whom she had another child. The couple divorced in 1927 and Catherine then married Morgan Rees in 1930. Her sisters also got married, Margaret to Thomas Garfield Richards and Hazel to Clint Miller.

Esther lost her adopted father, William Morgan, in 1916. He was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery. By 1920, she and her family were living at 2017 Margaret Avenue. Esther was an active member of the Dr. Jones Memorial Church, participating in the Ladies’ Aid Society and the Women’s Missionary Society. She also promoted Welsh culture as a member of the Welsh Women’s Club, even winning an award in 1922 for the best Welsh costume.

As the 1930s dawned, George was still working in the mines, despite being 63. Though the girls were all out on their own, George and Esther had their 18-year-old grandson, Roger Morgan, living with them. In 1937, Esther and all three of her daughters attended the 90th birthday celebration for Sarah Morgan. Newspaper coverage of the event included the fact that Esther was Sarah’s adopted daughter.

In 1938, Esther and George celebrated a significant milestone—their 50th anniversary. The entire family gathered to celebrate the event with an open house and a family dinner. All seven of Esther’s grandchildren attended the event. The following year, Esther’s adopted mother, Sarah Morgan, died in September at the age of 92 and joined William at Forest Hill.

By the time of Sarah’s death, Esther was already dealing with her own health problems. She received medical treatment for months, but to no avail. She died on January 18, 1940, at the age of 69. George purchased a plot in the Lower Pine Section and had his wife laid to rest there.

After Esther’s death, George moved in with his daughter Margaret and her family. He then moved with them to Lancaster, NY, eventually dying there in 1947. His body was returned to Scranton to be buried with Esther. As for Esther’s three daughters, Catherine died in 1969, Margaret in 1988, and Hazel in 1994.

Esther and George now reside together at Shady Lane Cemetery—may they rest in peace!