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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
NELSON BOROUGH.
JOSEPH CAMPBELL, SR., a native of Scotland, came from the north of Ireland to Pennsylvania, in 1810, locating in what is now Nelson borough, Tioga county, on the farm now owned by his grandson, Joseph D. Campbell, where he resided until his death. His wife was Mary Harper, and their children were as follows: John, Sally, who married Samuel Hazlett; Jane, who married John Hazlett; William, who died young; Joseph, Elizabeth, who married Richard Ellison; James, and Mary, who married a Mr. Gibson. Mr. Campbell was a very strict Presbyterian, and it is said that in maple-sugar season he would turn over his sap-buckets on Saturday night, and would not permit any work to be performed on the Sabbath day, even forbidding the cooking of food for family use. In politics, he was a Democrat.
JOSEPH CAMPBELL, JR., son of Joseph Campbell, Sr., was born in Scotland in 1793, and came with his parents to Tioga county, Pennsylvania, in 1810. He soon after took up 250 acres of land in Nelson township, upon which he resided until his death in 1864. In 1822 he married Anne Clinch, a daughter of Thomas Clinch. She was born in England, and became the mother of twelve children, eleven of whom grew to maturity, viz: William, Sally, who married Benjamin D. Congdon; Mary A., who married Allen Seely; Eleanor, who married M. D. Bosard; Elizabeth, who married Daniel H. Hughey; Phoebe, who married William Hoyt; Jane, who became the wife of George Tubbs; John H., Joseph D., Maria, wife of James Loop, and Julia, wife of Edward Selph. Mr. Campbell was a member of the Presbyterian church at Nelson, which he assisted in organizing, and was a deacon and elder in that body. Politically, he was a Republican.
JOHN H. CAMPBELL, son of Joseph Campbell, jr., was born in Nelson township, Tioga county, January 12, 1836. he was educated in the common schools of his district, in the Wellsboro High School, and at Union Academy, and commenced his business life as a farmer in Farmington township. In August, 1864, he enlisted in Company H, Two Hundred and Seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was in the battles of Fort Steadman, Dutch Gap and Petersburg. In June, 1865, he was honorably discharged at Alexandria, Virginia. On his return home he engaged as a traveling salesman for a firm in Corning, New York, but since 1867 he has followed the general insurance business at Nelson. On February 10, 1858, Mr. Campbell married Calfurnia L. Bottum, a daughter of Nathan and Betsey (Lockwood) Bottum, of Tyrone, New York, and has two children, Adelbert E., and Luella B., wife of Philip E. Young. Mr. Campbell and wife are members of the Presbyterian church of Nelson, and he is connected with the I. O. O. F. In politics, he is a Republican, and has held various local offices.
ADELBERT E. CAMPBELL was born in Farmington township, Tioga county, December 19, 1859, and is the only son of John H. Campbell. He received a common school education, and engaged in the general insurance business with his father at Nelson, with whom he was in partnership five years. In 1886 he embarked in business for himself at Nelson, but removed to Elkland in the spring of 1891, where he conducted a successful insurance business until January 1, 1896, when he sold out and removed to Elmira, New York, where he is now engaged in the fire insurance business. On April 6, 1882, he married Carrie Sebring, a daughter of Siras and Almira (Fenno) Sebring, of Tyrone, New York, and has two children, J. Harvey and William S. In politics, Mr. Campbell is a Republican, and is recognized as an enterprising and progressive young business man.
JOSEPH D. CAMPBELL was born in Nelson, Tioga county, December 29, 1839, and is the youngest son of Joseph Campbell, Jr. He was educated in the public schools and Union Academy, and remained working on the old homestead farm until 1866. For the succeeding five years he was in the mercantile business at Nelson. From 1871 to 1876, he was in partnership with his brother, John H., in the general insurance business, but since the latter year he has been a member of the firm of J. Bottom & Company, of Nelson, wholesale and retail dealers in coal, grain, pressed hay, etc. From 1879 to 1881, this firm had a large commission house in New York City, and from 1880 to 1883 were the proprietors of a wholesale grain and feed store at Elkland, Tioga county. They were afterwards proprietors of a general flour and feed store at Harrison Valley, Potter county, where in 1883, they erected a building suitable for carrying on that business. This firm took an active part in securing the right of way for, and building the Cowanesque branch of the Fall Brook railroad, of which Mr. Campbell has been station agent at Nelson since 1879. He was married December 2, 1862, to Dolly Bottom, a daughter of Charles and Phoebe (Pierce) Bottom, to which union have been born three children, viz: Grace, wife of G. W. Buck, of Elmira; Myra and Phoebe, the last two of whom are dead. Politically, Mr. Campbell is a Republican, and in religious faith, an adherent of the Presbyterian church. He is a charter member of Nelson Lodge, I. O. O. F., has held most of the offices in nelson borough, including justice of the peace for ten years, and has served two terms as burgess. He is a gentleman of commendable enterprise and public spirit, and has done his full share towards promoting the best interests of the Cowanesque valley.
WALTER BOTTOM, formerly spelled "Bottum," was a native of Connecticut, and settled in Nelson, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, in 1827. He built a mill and was engaged in lumbering for many years, dying there at the age of seventy-five. His wife was Dolly Clark, and their children were as follows: Eliza, who married Gilbert Phelps; Walter, Dolly, who married Leander Culver; Charles, Sally, who married William Clark; Nathan, and Sophronia, who became the wife of Jacob Brooks.
CHARLES BOTTOM, son of Walter Bottom, was a native of Connecticut, and came with his parents to Nelson township, Tioga county, in 1827. On attaining his majority he settled in Farmington township, where he cleared and improved one of the largest farms in the township, upon which he lived upwards of thirty-five years, and then removed to Nelson, which has since been his home. His wife, Phoebe, is a daughter of Cromwell Pierce, of Farmington township. They are the parents of five children, three of whom grew to maturity, as follows: Dolly, wife of Joseph D. Campbell; Jerome, and Rebecca, widow of Robert Lugg. Mr. Bottom has been a life-long member of the Presbyterian church, and has been a Republican since the organization of that party.
JEROME BOTTOM was born in Farmington township, Tioga county, January 21, 1842, and is the only son of Charles Bottom. He was reared on the old homestead, and attended the public schools of his district in boyhood, also assisting his parents in the duties of the farm. In 1861 he commenced buying and shipping stock, in which he continued for some years. Since 1876 he has been the senior member of the firm of J. Bottom & Company, wholesale and retail dealers in coal, grain, pressed hay, etc. Mr. Bottom has been in business at Nelson since 1870, and a resident of the town since 1879. He was prominent and active in securing the right of way for, and in the construction of the Fall Brook railroad, and in 1875 shipped the first car load of pressed hay over that road to New York City. January 8, 1861, he married Mary Redfield, a daughter of Joseph B. and Ann (Lee) Redfield, of Farmington township. Mr. Bottom is a staunch Republican, and is recognized as one of the public-spirited and substantial business men of the Cowanesque valley.
SAMUEL RATHBUN, a native of Massachusetts, was an early settler of Nelson township, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, locating on the farm now occupied by Mrs. Mariam Rathbun, widow of his oldest son, Henry. He cleared and improved this property, and continued to reside there until his death, in 1845, and was buried on the homestead, where all of the deceased members of the Rathbun family have been interred. His wife, Jane Vroman, who died March 18, 1876, was a native of the Mohawk valley, and bore him eleven children, named as follows: Henry, Mary, who married Henry Dinninny; Eliza, second wife of William Heysham; John, Susan, who married Philip Perkins; Betsey, first wife of William Heysham; Orsemus, who died December 7, 1896; Samuel, Thomas, Job and G. M. Dallas. Mr. Rathbun was one of the leading citizens of his day in the Cowanesque valley, and in addition to farming, he was associated with Joel Parkhurst, of Elkland, in the lumber business for some years. He assisted in clearing the land in Wellsboro whereon the present court house stands. In politics, he was a Democrat.
HENRY RATHBUN was born in Lawrenceville, Tioga county, March 6, 1816, and was a son of Samuel Rathbun, who soon afterwards located in Nelson township, where Henry spent nearly all his life, engaged in farming. He married Mariam Owen, a daughter of Ambrose and Betsey (Wright) Owen, of Addison, New York, January 16, 1844, to which union were born nine children, who grew to maturity, named as follows: Rosetta, wife of Emory Bland; Elizabeth J., wife of Theodore Smith; Diantha, wife of John R. Mack; Lydia, wife of Frank Congdon; Julia, wife of William Cady; Cora, wife of Frank Rice; Tressa, deceased wife of William Rice; Carrie, wife of Herbert Dunning, and George Dell. Mr. Rathbun died August 19, 1871. He was an ardent Democrat, and served one term as treasurer of Tioga county. He was a member of the I. O. O. F., and one of the most respected citizens of the community in which he lived.
JOB RATHBUN was born in Nelson township, Tioga county, March 18, 1841, and is a son of Samuel Rathbun. He grew to manhood upon the old homestead, and attended the common schools and Union Academy during his boyhood days. For many years he was engaged in farming in Nelson township, and spent nine years in the west, where he followed lumbering in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. He has been a resident of Elkland since 1889, where for three years he conducted a milk route, but since 1893 he has been in the lumber business. He still owns a farm in Nelson township. Mr. Rathbun was married March 7, 1869, to Susie Tubbs, a daughter of Benjamin and Susan (Bowman) Tubbs, of Westfield, and has one son, Benjamin S. Mr. Rathbun is a member of the E. A. U., and in politics, an ardent Democrat.
GEORGE HENRY BAXTER was born in Tuscarora, Steuben county, New York, November 9, 1824, and is a son of Ira and Betsey (Manley) Baxter, and a grandson of Rev. Aaron Baxter. The latter was born in Connecticut, in 1766, a son of Aaron Baxter, both of whom served in the War of the Revolution. Ira and his father removed from Connecticut to Schoharie county, New York, and subsequently to Chenango county, early in the present century. Ira afterwards settled in Steuben county, where for a number of years before his death, which occurred in 1838, he was a justice of the peace. George Henry Baxter was reared in his native town, and there received a common school education. In 1849 he located in Nelson, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in merchandising, which he followed the greater part of his time up to 1880. Mr. Baxter was twice married. In 1845 he married Clarissa Campbell, of Nelson. His second marriage occurred in 1850, to Clara Manley, a daughter of Thomas and Betsey (Wright) Manley, of Canton, Bradford county, Pennsylvania. Her grandfather, Charles Wright, was a Revolutionary soldier, and her father, a soldier in the War of 1812. She bore him five children, viz: Nora, Tella F., Eva, wife of J. E. Hazlett; Susan, wife of M. F. Cass, and Calvin S. Politically, he was a Republican, was postmaster of Nelson from 1860 to 1880, associate judge of Tioga county from 1880 to 1885, and from 1889 to 1892 he filled the office of jury commissioner. Mr. Baxter was a member of the Presbyterian church, and belonged to the I. O. O. F. After giving up merchandising he engaged in farming, which he followed the latter years of his life.
CALVIN S. BAXTER, physician and surgeon, is a son of Judge George Henry and Clara (Manley) Baxter, and was born in Tuscarora, New York, October 8, 1860. He was reared in Nelson, Tioga county, and was educated in the public schools and at the literary institute of Franklin, New York. In 1878 he commenced his medical studies with Dr. A. M. Loop, of Nelson, and graduated at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Baltimore, Maryland, in 1882. For five years he practiced his profession in Carbon county, Pennsylvania, locating in Nelson in 1887, where he has since devoted his attention to its active duties and is recognized as an able physician. Dr. Baxter has been twice married. His first wife was Hattie Elderkin, a daughter of David and Hattie (Robinson) Elderkin, of Franklin, New York, who bore him two children, Clara and Florence. His second wife was Mary A. Renton, a daughter of James and Mary (Whitney) Renton, of Elmira, New York. The Doctor is a member of the Pennsylvania State Medical Society, also of the F. & A. M. and the I. O. O. F., and in politics, he is a Republican. Dr. Baxter lives on a part of the land settled and improved by his great grandfather, Rev. Aaron Baxter, whose wife, Abigail Webster, was a direct descendant of Gov. John Webster.
JEROME L. BOSARD was born in Osceola, Tioga county, May 29, 1849, and is the third son of Andrew Keller Bosard, and grandson of Andrew Bosard. He was reared upon the homestead farm and obtained his education in the Osceola High School. He learned the carpenter’s trade with his father, which he has followed more or less since attaining his majority. With the exception of three years, from 1882 to 1885, that he spent in Dakota, he has been a resident of Nelson since 1871. Mr. Bosard was married May 9, 1871, to Alice M. Smith, a daughter of Henry and Phoebe M. (Cook) Smith, of Nelson, and has three children: Myra L., Andrew K. and Edith M. In politics, Mr. Bosard is a Republican, and in religion, a Presbyterian. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and the K. O. T. M. societies.
CHARLES M. PRESTON was born in Steuben county, New York, March 8, 1853. His father, Aaron O. Preston, a native of Massachusetts, married Ann Olcott, and in 1857 located in Elkland, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, where he carried on a hotel for several years. He was the father of three children, viz: Charles M., William O. and Emma L. He died in Elkland in 1884, aged sixty-five years. Charles M. was about four years old when his parents came to Tioga county, where he grew to manhood. In the spring of 1880 he went to Dakota, where he spent nine years, and then returned to Tioga county. He has since devoted his attention to farming, and is one of the substantial farmers of Nelson township. Mr. Preston was married December 22, 1887, to Ellen Tubbs, a daughter of Philip and Betsey (Spencer) Tubbs, of Nelson, and has two children, Otis and Ernest. Politically, he is a Republican, and is at present serving as one of the school directors of Nelson.
WILLIAM B. STEVENS, physician and surgeon, was born at Campbell, Steuben county, New York, January 1, 1865, a son of Ralph and Margaret (Gilmore) Stevens, and is of English and Scotch extraction. He was reared in his native county, and there obtained a public school education. He entered a drug store at Campbell, New York, and served an apprenticeship of four years at that business. In 1884 he established a drug store at Elkland, Tioga county, which he carried on two years, and the following two years conducted a similar business at Harrison Valley, Potter county. in 1885 he began the study of medicine with Dr. M. R. Pritchard, of Harrison Valley, and in 1888 entered Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, where he graduated in April, 1891. He immediately located at Nelson, Tioga county, where he has since been actively engaged in the practice of his profession, and has built up a successful business. Dr. Stevens was married September 28, 1887, to Anna M. Gray, a daughter of Robert T. and Fannie (Brown) Gray, of Corning, New York, and has two daughters, Fannie L. and Margaret. He is an ardent Republican, and an earnest advocate of the principles and measures of that party. In religion, he is a Presbyterian, and is a member of the F. & A. M., the I. O. O. F., and the K. O. T. M. societies.
REV. HALLOCK ARMSTRONG, pastor of the Presbyterian church at Nelson, was born in Minisink, Orange county, New York, October 31, 1823. His parents, James T. and Ruth (Hallock) Armstrong, were natives of Orange county, his father’s ancestors being Scotch-Irish, and those of his mother early settlers of Connecticut. During the Revolutionary War his paternal grandfather was confined for several months on a British prison ship in New York harbor. His father, a farmer by occupation, removed to Sussex county, New Jersey, in 1830, and thence to Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, in 1838. In his old age he located in Binghamton, New York, where he died in March, 1884. His mother died in February, 1878, aged seventy-eight years. The subject of this sketch was the second in a family of five children, viz: Frances Maria, deceased wife of Simeon Hanchett; Hallock, of Nelson; Mary Elizabeth, who died in childhood; James Horace, a contractor and builder, of Binghamton; Albert D., an attorney at law, who died in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1886. Mr. Armstrong was educated in the public schools and at Lafayette College, graduating from the latter institution in 1848. He then took a course in Princeton Theological Seminary, where he graduated in 1851, and then entered the ministry. He began preaching at Wilkes-Barre, where he preached and taught three years, and then went to Bethany, Genesee county, New York, and taught in the Presbyterian Academy two years, preaching at Portage. He next preached and taught six years at Laporte and Dushore, Sullivan county, Pennsylvania, and served as county superintendent of schools in that county from 1858 to 1861. His next charge was at Monroetown, Bradford county, where he remained nineteen years, seventeen of which he spent in teaching, fourteen being passed in the same school room. In 1864 he was drafted into the army and mustered in as chaplain of the Fiftieth Pennsylvania Volunteers, in which capacity he served nearly a year. In 1881 he went to Aspinwall, Bradford county, where he had charge of a congregation for ten years. In July, 1891, he became pastor of the church at Nelson, which position he has since filled acceptably. Mr. Armstrong was married on September 2, 1851, to Mary Bronson, of Harford, New York, a daughter of Rev. Edwin and Mary H. Bronson. Her father died in November, 1893, aged ninety-three; her mother resides with our subject, at the ripe age of eighty-eight. The following children were born to this union: Mary Frances, wife of Charles Myer, of Athens, Bradford county; Charles E., of Troy, Bradford county; A. A., a physician, of Fair Haven, New Jersey; Ruth Hallock; William C., a physician of Redbank, New Jersey, and James Edwin, a resident of Brooklyn, New York. Mr. Armstrong is a Republican, in politics, and is connected with the I. O. O. F., K. of P. and G. A. R. societies. Since entering the ministry in 1851, he has lost but two Sundays by reason of illness, and during the last thirty-four years has moved but twice. He is able and scholarly, and, notwithstanding his advanced years, an eloquent preacher.
ELKLAND BOROUGH.
LINTSFORD COATES, a native of Otsego county, New York, a son of Timothy and Content (Stuart) Coates, was of English and Scotch extraction. He settled at an early day in Elkland, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, cleared and improved a farm, and was quite extensively engaged in lumbering. He resided there until his death. He married Mary A. Taylor, of Tioga county, and they were the parents of the following children: Betsey, who married Perry Daily; Timothy, David, Mahala, who married Daniel Parks; Harriet, Ruby, who married Charles Ouderkirk; John, Diana, who married John Daily, and Morgan.
TIMOTHY COATES, second child and eldest son of Lintsford Coates, was born in Elkland, Tioga county, July 20, 1812. He there grew to manhood and cleared a farm within the present limits of Elkland borough. The homestead is now occupied by his widow and children. Mr. Coates was in the mercantile trade at Elkland for many years, and was also extensively engaged in lumbering. He married Almira B. Johnson, a daughter of Moses and Betsey (Cole) Johnson, of Wellsboro, November 11, 1850. Six children were the issue of this union, viz: Mary E., Timothy L., Lintsford M., Franklin N., Edwin W. and Eva L. Mr. Coates was an advocate of temperance in all things, and was a very worthy citizen. He died August 9, 1891, in the eightieth year of his age. In politics, he was a Democrat, and filled the offices of councilman and burgess of Elkland.
LINTSFORD M. COATES, son of Timothy Coates, was born in Elkland, Tioga county, February 5, 1856, and attended the public schools of that town in boyhood. In 1879 he embarked in the livery business, which he continued up to 1886. In that year he formed a partnership with his brother, Edwin W., under the firm name of E. & L. Coates, and engaged in the general hardware, agricultural implement and harness business, which they have since successfully carried on, doing the leading business in this line in Elkland. Mr. Coates was married in June, 1888, to Ann Taylor, a daughter of Philip S. Taylor, of Osceola, and has one son, Roy T. In politics, he is a Democrat.
EDWIN W. COATES, of the firm of E. & L. Coates, was born in Elkland, Tioga county, June 23, 1862, and is a son of Timothy Coates. He received a good common school education, and at the age of seventeen taught one term in Nelson township. In 1886 he became a member of the firm of E. & L. Coates, of Elkland, general hardware and implement dealers, with which he has since been connected. From 1885 to 1887, he was collector of taxes for Elkland borough. In politics, he is an adherent of the Democratic party.
JOEL PARKHURST was born at Marlborough, New Hampshire, April 8, 1800, and received a good English education. When seventeen years of age he came to Pennsylvania and located at Loyalsock, Lycoming county, where he taught a term of school during the winter season. The next winter he taught at Long Reach, near Williamsport, and then removed to the vicinity of Painted Post, New York. During the winter of 1822 he taught at Mansfield and studied medicine during his spare hours, his father and several brothers being physicians. Not liking the profession, he gave up his studies and entered the government employ as a surveyor. While on Lake Erie, en route to Michigan to fulfill this engagement, the steamboat carrying him and others was overtaken by a storm and compelled to put into Cleveland for repairs. This delay caused him to change his plans, and he walked to Steubenville, Ohio, carrying his baggage on his shoulder. Here he purchased a horse and saddle, intending to return to his home in Richmond, New Hampshire, which he did, after a short stay in Pittsburg. He clerked two years for a merchant in Richmond, accepting goods to the value of $300 for his services. After buying a horse and wagon on credit, he loaded his goods and made his way to Mansfield, Pennsylvania, where his brother, Dr. Dexter Parkhurst, was engaged in the practice of medicine. This was in 1825. After remaining here a short time he went to Lawrenceville and there formed a mercantile partnership with his brother, Dr. Curtis Parkhurst. In 1828 this partnership was dissolved and he went to Elkland and entered into partnership with John Ryon and Robert Tubbs, whose interests he soon afterwards bought out, and continued the business alone. He was the second postmaster of the village and held the office several years. Mr. Parkhurst became the leading merchant of the Cowanesque valley, his business tact and ability enabling him to safely weather the panic and convulsions of 1837. Through the passing years he accumulated a large fortune and became one of the wealthy men of the northern tier. In 1867, in connection with John Parkhurst, he established the banking house of J. & J. Parkhurst, in Elkland, with which he was connected for several years. The Pattison National Bank of Elkland is the lineal successor of that institution. Mr. Parkhurst was also intimately identified with the principal manufacturing enterprises of Elkland during his business career, and did much to forward the growth and prosperity of the borough. Mr. Parkhurst was twice married. On November 16, 1835, he married Emeline R. Allen, at Cortland, New York. She was born in Bridgewater, New York, December 13, 1815, and bore him a family of eight children, as follows: Edward J., John C., Sarah M., Anna S., Mary, Frank, Curtis S. and Charles, all of whom died in childhood except Anna S., who became the wife of Charles L. Pattison. Mrs. Parkhurst died in Elkland October 29, 1854. On May 14, 1855, Mr. Parkhurst was again married at Lindley, New York, to Martha H. Steele, to which union were born two children, viz: Susan A., deceased wife of Rev. John B. Grier, and Benjamin H., of Elkland. Mr. Parkhurst died at his home in Elkland, December 6, 1884; his wife survived until February 17, 1889. In religion, he was a Presbyterian and in politics, an active and influential supporter of the Republican party. He is one of the best remembered citizens of the Cowanesque valley, where he lived for more than half a century.
CHARLES L. PATTISON was born in Chestertown, Warren county, New York, February 16, 1841, a son of Thurman and Susan W. (Bishop) Pattison. In 1847 he removed with his parents to Lawrenceville, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, where his father was extensively engaged in the lumber business up to 1867. In that year Thurman Pattison removed to Lock Haven, Clinton county, where he continued the same business until 1872. He then retired from active life, and since 1882 he has been a resident of Wellsboro. To Thurman and Susan W. Pattison were born four children, viz: Orville, Charles L., Mary A. and John. The subject of this sketch was but six years of age when his parents came to Tioga county. He was reared in Lawrenceville and there received an academical education. During his schoold days he occasionally assisted his father in rafting and lumbering. In August, 1860, he began clerking in the store of the Fall Brook Coal Company, at Fall Book, in whose employ he remained ten years, two years of which time he was paymaster and four years cashier. On October 21, 1868, Mr. Pattison married Anna S. Parkhurst, a daughter of Joel and Emeline (Allen) Parkhurst, of Elkland, and in October, 1869, he came to Elkland and obtained a half interest in the banking house of J. & J. Parkhurst, the name of which was then changed to J. Parkhurst & Company. It continued until August 1, 1889, when the title was changed to C. L. Pattison & Company, and from June 20, 1890, up to his death, Mr. and Mrs. Pattison were sole proprietors. The bank was well and favorably known throughout the Cowanesque valley and transacted a large business. It was succeeded by the Pattison National Bank, June 2, 1896, so named in honor of the dead financier. Mr. Pattison was secretary and treasurer of the Cowanesque Valley Railroad Company, since absorbed by the Fall Brook Company, and the chief promoter of the enterprise. he also organized and was president of the Addison and Pennsylvania Railroad Company, which completed the section from Addison to Westfield in ninety days and ran a train of cars between those points within that period. He was president of the Pennsylvania division of the road during the last twelve years of his life. Another of his enterprises was the Elkland Furniture Factory, which he established in 1883 and kept in operation until its destruction by fire ten years later. Mr. Pattison studied law and was admitted to the bar of Tioga county, September 7, 1888, but gave no attention to his profession aside from using his legal knowledge to avoid litigation and successfully guide and manage his many large and diversified interests. He was also a member of the bar association and one of its most liberal friends. He affiliated with the Democratic party up to 1890, since which year he was a Republican, though he took no active part in political affairs. He, however, served as burgess of Elkland from 1894 until his death, April 10, 1896.
The death of Mr. Pattison was a severe blow to the business interests of the Cowanesque valley, of which he was one of the foremost citizens. This sad event occurred at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, where he had gone with the hope of obtaining relief through a surgical operation for disease of the stomach, but died soon after the operation was performed. The bar, of which he was a member, passed appropriate resolutions on his demise, and several of his legal friends, including the court, spoke warm words of praise on his many excellent qualities as a business man, citizen and friend. Mr. Pattison was a kind-hearted, generous and upright man, courteous in his social relations, and thorough and practical in his business methods. The accuracy and rapidity with which he transacted business, his wonderful capacity for work, his quiet reserve and dignity, and his absolute truthfulness were among the strongest traits of his character. In his death the church and the school lost a liberal supporter and the poor a benevolent friend, to whom suffering humanity never appealed in vain.
Dr. Edward L. Wilson, of New York, an old personal friend, pays the following tribute to the memory of Mr. Pattison in the June number (1896) of Wilson’s Photographic Magazine:
Mr. Pattison was the head of the banking firm of C. L. Pattison & Company, at Elkland, and was connected with many business enterprises in Tioga and Potter counties. He was an enthusiastic friend and patron of photography. Besides owning a fine camera and assisting others in the practice of our art, he was able, owing to his peculiar opportunities, to do more than usually falls to the lot of the busy man, to create food, so to speak, for the camera. His home was situated at Elkland, in the beautiful Cowanesque valley, a few rods from the picturesque river of the same Indian name, where lovely views of hill and valley appear on every side. Mr. Pattison, we say, did more than any one to bring about these sublime combinations of natural scenery. He came into this valley nearly fifty years ago from Chester, New York, with his father (one of the most prominent early settlers). Then the hills were covered with dense forests, and there were no thoroughfares along the Cowanesque. Since then the mines of coal have been developed; the woodsmen, the lumbermen, and the raftsmen have been and are gone; the forests have fallen; well-kept highways now zigzag along each side of the stream and wind over every hill. The rolling stock of two railways may be seen from any incline, ascending, descending, plunging through a valley lined by magnificent farms, the scene varied by many prosperous towns on the way. With the development of all this Charles L. Pattison had to do. His happy school-days were broken into occasionally by rafting experiences, many of which were related by him as we strolled together with the camera among the pictures which his industry and enterprise had helped to make. After serving a time as cashier of a great coal company, he in turn became operative farmer; manager of real estate; banker; a party to all sorts of enterprises; a member of the bar; a railroad president and manufacturer. He never forgot the importance of keeping a photographic record of the many changes which contributed to making the valley of the Cowanesque prosperous and picturesque. He was a noble, warm-hearted, generous man. Prospered unusually, he took the unusual view that wealth was a blessing which should be used to assist others; and so it was his policy to keep his means employed in the development of the community to which he resided. Thus he brought much personal labor upon himself that he need not have undertaken; thus he became the great blessing he was to the people among whom he lived. So, it came about that those who best knew him, most loved him. His word was truth. No one ever thought of doubting what he said. He was manly and brave. One of his mottos (a legacy for all of us) was, "I never dread anything that I fell I ought to do." His passing away seems untimely; but as to that we may not judge. A great shadow hands over all the pictures now; yet we may continue to gather sunshine and inspiration from his busy life.
ORVILLE PATTISON, president of the Pattison National Bank, of Elkland, Tioga county, was born in Chestertown, Warren county, New York, May 12, 1838, eldest son of Thurman and Susan W. Pattison. In the summer of 1847 he came with his parents to Lawrenceville, Tioga county, where he graduated from the public schools at the age of nineteen, and later took a course in the Bryant and Stratton Business College, Buffalo, New York. Returning home he clerked in a general store at Lawrenceville, and also had charge of the books, which he attended to in the evening after his day’s work was done. In May, 1860, he entered the service of the Fall Brook Coal Company, in whose employ he remained more than twenty years. After spending two years at Fall Brook, he was promoted to the position of head book-keeper in the general office at Watkins, New York, where he continued until 1879, when because of failing health he was appointed agent of the company store at Antrim, Tioga county. In the spring of 1884 he located at Elkland and formed a partnership with his brother, Charles L., and engaged in the manufacture of furniture. He also assisted his brother in the private banking office of J. Parkhurst & Company. He continued in the furniture business until the factory was burned, in January, 1893. In 1890 he entered the bank of C. L. Pattison & Company, of which institution he was cashier until the death of his brother necessitated a re-organization of the business. When the Pattison National Bank was organized, June 2, 1896, Mr. Pattison was elected president, a tribute to his financial ability and careful business methods. November 7, 1867, Mr. Pattison married Susie Bloore, daughter of Joshua and Catherine Bloore. Her father died at Waterford, New York, and her mother married Judge George C. Shearer. Her maternal grandfather was a surgeon in the United States navy, and his son was Rear Admiral John A. Livingstone, U. S. N. Mrs. Pattison is the mother of two sons, John Orville and Charles Lewis, twins. Mr. Pattison’s early habits of industry and long association with careful business men have fitted him to fill the responsible position he now holds, and to continue the successful financial record established by his deceased brother.
GEORGE DORRANCE was born in Columbia, Tolland county, Connecticut, October 10, 1802, and was a son of George Gershom and Mary (Crocker) Dorrance, and grandson of Col. George Dorrance. The ancestor of the American branch of the Dorrance family, was Rev. Samuel Dorrance, a Presbyterian clergyman, who came from Ireland in 1723, and had charge of the congregation at Voluntown, Connecticut, upwards of forty years. His son, George Dorrance, was born at Voluntown, March 4, 1736, and became a lieutenant colonel of militia in the Connecticut Line. He was one of the principal officers under Col. Zebulon Butler in his operations against the British and their savage allies. Colonel Dorrance took a leading part in the battle of Wyoming, fought July 3, 1778, and distinguished himself by his great bravery. He fell severely wounded, was taken prisoner and brutally slain by his Indian captors the following day. As he was highest in rank of the victims of this terrible slaughter, known in history as the Wyoming Massacre, his name is at the head of those inscribed upon the monument erected at Wyoming, in 1843, in commemoration of their courage and patriotism. In the spring of 1829, the subject of this sketch came to Elkland, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, then almost a wilderness, and purchased about sixty acres of land, containing a small clearing, erected a little frame house and began farming in true pioneer fashion. He soon afterwards commenced lumbering, and, as the country grew older, he gradually enlarged his operations, until he became one of the most extensive lumbermen in the Cowanesque valley. He was one of the most successful business men in the county, occupied a prominent position in its affairs, and stamped upon the business interests of the community the impress of his own high character. Mr. Dorrance continued to reside upon the old homestead, and, as the years rolled on, he made additions to his farm until he owned 320 acres of well-improved land. In place of the old house, he erected one of more commodious dimensions, which to-day, will compare favorably with any farm residence in the valley. In August, 1832, he married Susan Hammond, a daughter of David and Polly (Tubbs) Hammond, who were among the first settlers of Elkland. Seven children blessed this union, viz: Lester, Elizabeth, Benjamin, Mary, Sarah, George G. and Charles. Throughout his life, Mr. Dorrance was a generous contributor to the support of all charities having for their object the relief of human suffering. He was honored and respected by all who knew him, and his purse-strings were ever open in assisting every good work. He did no man intentional wrong, and his integrity and honesty were never questioned in the community where he spent the greater portion of his life. Politically, he was a Jeffersonian Democrat, and during the dark days of civil strife his influence was ever on the side of the Union. He contributed freely towards his payments of bounties of volunteers and the support of their families while they were absent in the field. Mr. Dorrance was a practical farmer, of liberal and advanced ideas, and the farmers of the county have missed his good example in the various improvements which have made the Cowanesque valley one of the garden-spots of the State. He died at his home in Elkland, June 13, 1881, and his remains rest in the new cemetery on the hillside, which his own hands helped to beautify and adorn.
HON. BENJAMIN DORRANCE, second son of George Dorrance, was born in Elkland, Tioga county, May 3, 1836. He was reared on the old homestead, and received his primary education in the district schools. He later attended Union Academy, Tioga county, and Alfred University, Allegany county, New York, entering the junior class of the latter institution at the age of eighteen, from which he was graduated at the age of twenty, having, in the meantime, taught two or three terms of public school. In 1856 the Republican party placed John C. Fremont in the field as its first presidential candidate, while James Buchanan was the choice of the Democratic party. The campaign resulted in the success of the Democracy. Although still in his minority, Mr. Dorrance took an active part in behalf of the new party, attended mass meetings and torchlight processions, and did his full share towards defraying the expenses. Until the day of his death, he remained true to his early convictions, though all the other members of his family were Democrats. After the close of the school years, he took charge of his father’s extensive lumber interests, making frequent trips down the river on rafts to the various markets, and in the summer seasons assisting in the farm duties. In the early sixties he entered the copartnership with J. G. Parkhurst and David Dunbar, in the mercantile business at Elkland, with whom he was associated until 1872, when the firm was dissolved. He then embarked in the drug business at Elkland, which he carried on five years. In 1877 he entered the political field as the Republican candidate for the legislature to fill out the unexpired term of Hon. Hugh Young. After a hard and spirited contest he received the nomination, which was ratified at the November election by a rousing majority. In the summer of 1878, he was a candidate for re-election, for a full term of two years. His party conceded him the nomination by acclamation, and in November following he was elected by an increased majority. The next session of the legislature was a lengthy and exhaustive one, and just before its close he was compelled to abandon his post on account of failing health. His disease being of a pulmonary character, he went to Colorado, where he spent nearly a year, seeking in vain for the restoration of his health. The winter and spring of 1880 was spent in the south, with the same futile result, and he arrived home in June, 1880. Here he spent the summer, and in the autumn went to Elmira, New York, for medical treatment, but science and skill were unable to cope with his disease, and he died in his rooms at Elmira, June 26, 1881. By strict attention to his business, and honorable dealing, he accumulated a competency of this world’s goods, which he judiciously disposed of by will ere he died. His death occurred while he was yet in the prime of manhood, with a future of great promise; but he had lived to good purpose, and his mission was already fulfilled according to the measure of his years.
GEORGE GERSHOM DORRANCE, third son of George Dorrance, was born on the old homestead in Elkland township, Tioga county, September 21, 1849, and has spent his entire life in his native place. He obtained a good common school education, and has devoted his attention to farming. On February 5, 1890, he married Carrie Bulkley, a daughter of Charles and Mariette (Perry) Bulkley, of Osceola, and has two children: Susan Mariette and George. Mr. Dorrance is one of the progressive and enterprising farmers of Elkland. Like his father, he has always been a Democrat, and has filled various local offices, including that of burgess of Elkland one term, and assessor and councilman about fifteen years each. In 1890 he was nominated by his party for the legislature, and ran far ahead of the ticket, thus proving his popularity among the people of his native county.
ASAHEL WRIGHT was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1789, and was a son of George and Betsey (Post) Wright. When quite young he removed to Greene county, New York, where he learned the miller’s trade, and later owned and operated a mill there. In 1844 he came to Tioga county, Pennsylvania, locating in Farmington township, where he cleared and improved a farm of 100 acres, during which period he also followed his vocation of miller in Lawrenceville and Nelson. After getting his farm in good shape, he sold it and went to Minnesota, where he invested his money in mortgages. After remaining there a number of years, he returned to Tioga county, and resided in nelson until his death, at the age of seventy-five. His wife, Temperance Jones, was born at Saybrook, Connecticut, in 1789, and was a relative of John Paul Jones of Revolutionary fame. She became the mother of nine children, viz: Cordelia A., who married David Stevens; Washington R., Oscar F., Charles B., Chauncey P., William W., Almira W., wife of Alonzo Lee; Omar H. and Judson P.
WILLIAM W. WRIGHT, physician and surgeon, was born in Cairo, Greene county, New York, March 21, 1830, and is a son of Asahel and Temperence Wright. He came to Tioga county with his parents in 1844, and was educated in the High Schools of Wellsboro, Tioga county, and Tompkins county, New York. In 1848 he began the study of medicine with Dr. Nelson Packer, of Wellsboro, attended lectures at Geneva Medical College, Geneva, New York, and was graduated in the class of 1849-50. In the latter year he commenced practice at Elkland, Tioga county, where, with the exception of four years’ residence at Nelson, he has continued in the active duties of his profession, for the past forty-seven years. Dr. Wright has been twice married. His first wife, Alice, was a daughter of David and Polly (Tubbs) Hammond, of Elkland; while his second wife was Agnes A. Whitney, of Ohio. He was a member of the old Tioga County Medical Society during its existence, and has always been an ardent supporter of the Republican party.
JOHN T. WOOD was born in Otsego county, New York, in 1797, and in 1836 settled in Elkland, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, where he cleared and improved a farm, on which he resided until 1868. In that year he removed to what is now the state of South Dakota, where he died June 9, 1871. He was a son of Amos and Ruth Wood, of Otsego county, New York, and came of Quaker ancestry. His wife, Phoebe, was a daughter of John T. and Betsey (Dartt) Benedict, formerly of Norwich, Connecticut, who settled in Otsego county, New York, in 1816. Eight children were born to them, viz: Eleazer, Edgar, Bligh, Robert T., Ruth, who married Samuel Hitchcock, Bucklin, Levantia, wife of George W. Benedict, and Lester.
COL. ROBERT T. WOOD was born in Laurens township, Otsego, New York, February 2, 1830, and is a son of John T. Wood. He was educated at Millville Academy, Orleans county, and Wilson College, Niagara county, New York. In 1850 he began the study of law with Hon. James Lowrey, of Wellsboro, Tioga county, and was admitted to the bar in 1853, and to the Supreme court of Pennsylvania in 1869. With the exception of six years spent in what is now South Dakota, and the time he was in the army, he has continued to practice his profession at Elkland since his admission to the bar. In August, 1861, he raised Company L, Second Pennsylvania Cavalry, and went to the front as captain of his company. On October 4, 1862, he resigned his commission, by reason of disability. But not contented to remain idle while the Nation’s life was in danger, he re-enlisted, July 6, 1864, raised Company H, Two Hundred and Seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, and again went to the front as captain of that company. On March 25, 1865, he was promoted to the rank of major, and was mustered out of service June 7, 1865, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was wounded in front of Petersburg, April 2, 1865. For six years he was district attorney of Bon Homme county, in what is now South Dakota. On December 10, 1851, he married Mary E. Culver, a daughter of Leander and Dolly (Bottum) Culver, of Elkland, and has two children, Leander and Jennie. Colonel wood is a stanch Republican, was clerk in the House of Representatives in 1869, 1870 and 1871, and has always taken a deep interest in the success of his party. He has been commander of J. Edgar Parkhurst Post, No. 581, G. A. R., of Elkland, five successive terms, and is a member of the Masonic order and the I. O. O. F. In religious faith he adheres to the Presbyterian church.
LEWIS W. FENTON was born in Woodhull, Steuben county, New York, June 23, 1846, a son of Lewis and Jemima (Rowley) Fenton, and is of American and English descent. Until eleven years of age he resided with his mother, and came to Elkland, Tioga county, in 1858, where he worked for his board, clothes and schooling four years. On October 27, 1861, he enlisted in Company L, Second Pennsylvania Cavalry, served until the fall of 1863, and then re-enlisted as a veteran in the same company and regiment. He was promoted to corporal in the spring of 1864, and June 28, 1865, was honorably discharged, after three years and ten months’ service. He was taken prisoner by Mosby’s command, near Fairfax Court House, Virginia, in 1864, and after six days detention was paroled. He took part in all the important engagements of his regiment, and was a good and brave soldier. After his discharge he returned to Elkland, and was employed on a farm as a teamster four years. In 1869 he went to Scranton, where for two years he was employed as a brakeman on the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railroad. Since 1871 he has been a permanent resident of Elkland, and for fourteen years was engaged in the livery business. Mr. Fenton was married June 4, 1878, to Sarah Case, a daughter of William John Case, of Tompkins county, New York, and has one son, Lewis Raymond. Mrs. Fenton died March 13, 1896. On October 4, 1896, he married Mrs. Lottie Rockwell, nee Earl. In politics, he is a Republican, and has been a member of the borough council of Elkland three years, and constable twenty-four years. He is a member of J. Edgar Parkhurst Post, No. 581, G. A. R.; the I. O. O. F., the K.O. T. M., and the K. of H. societies.
WINDSOR GLEASON was born in Warren, Washington county, Vermont, August 26, 1827, and is a son of Windsor and Sophia (Clark) Gleason. He was reared in his native county until eighteen years of age, and attended the district schools of his neighborhood. In 1845 he located at Chester, New Hampshire, remaining there about five years, when he removed to Massachusetts, where he was engaged in farming until 1863. In November of that year he enlisted in the First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, and participated in all the battles of the Wilderness Campaign. He was wounded near North Anna, Virginia, May 27, 1864, and was honorably discharged from the service in June, 1865. the same year he removed to Elkland, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, where he followed agricultural pursuits until 1888, when he was elected a justice of the peace, to which office he was re-elected in 1893. On July 4, 1850, Mr. Gleason married Mary Angelia Powers, a daughter of David Powers, of Hardwick, Worcester county, Massachusetts. Mrs. Gleason was born in Richmond, New Hampshire, February 16, 1829. Of the six children born to this union, three are living, viz: Eugene H., Fred D., and Lottie L., wife of Morgan Ouderkirk. The mother died at her home in Elkland, March 30, 1897, dying, as she had lived, a faithful, consistent Christian. Mr. Gleason is an elder in the Presbyterian church of Elkland, and is a member of the G. A. R., the K. of H., and the E. A. U. societies. Politically, he is a stanch Republican.
EUGENE H. GLEASON, eldest son of Windsor Gleason, was born in Petersham, Massachusetts, October 1, 1851, and was fourteen years old when his parents came to Tioga county. He obtained a good common school education, and since attaining his majority he has been engaged in lumbering merchandising, dealing in real estate, and contracting and building. On December 27, 1873, he married Mary Cady, a daughter of Chester and Catherine (Baxter) Cady, of Farmington township, and has one child, Pearl M. Mr. Gleason is a Republican, in politics, and a member of the I. O. O. F.
SAMUEL PERRY BABCOCK was born in Otsego county, New York, May 9, 1805, and came to Tioga county, Pennsylvania, in 1838, remaining one year at Lawrenceville. In 1840 he settled in Farmington township, where he had purchased 125 acres of land, and there made his home until his death, in 1878. He was twice married. His first wife, Maxamilla Tallman, became the mother of three children, viz: Lucretia, wife of Charles Weeks; Robert, and Hester A., wife of Luther Bradley. His second wife was Mary Ann Canniff, a daughter of William Canniff, of Broome county, New York. Ten children were born to this union, as follows: William, Oliver Perry, Juliaett, wife of Floyd Wiley; Buell R., Mercy J., Mary E., wife of J. D. Seely; Anne E., wife of Job Bronson; Eva, wife of Evlyn Shaw; Dolly, and Samuel R. Mr. Babcock was a Democrat, in politics, and in religion, a member of the Free Will Baptist church.
OLIVER PERRY BABCOCK was born in Farmington township, Tioga county, February 7, 1840, and is a son of Samuel Perry and Mary Ann (Canniff) Babcock. He was reared in his native township, there obtained a common school education, and began his business life as a farmer on the old homestead. In September, 1862, he enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and Seventy-first Pennsylvania Volunteers, and went into the war as second sergeant of his company. He participated in several skirmishes and minor engagements, and was honorably discharged in March, 1863. In September, 1864, he joined Company H, Two Hundred and Seventh regiment, was promoted to first sergeant, and served in the battles of Fort Steadman and Petersburg. He was wounded in the latter engagement; was sent to the hospital, and was honorably discharged from the service June 5, 1865. On his return home he purchased a farm in Woodhull, Steuben county, New York, lived there three years, and in 1869 bought his present homestead in Elkland borough, containing 150 acres, upon which he has since resided. Mr. Babcock has been twice married. On July 5, 1863, he married Mary Davenport, a daughter of Lemuel and Polly (Boardman) Davenport, of Elkland, who became the mother of two children, Charles L. and Oliver Perry. His second wife was Kate Johnson, a daughter of Newton and Elizabeth (Tipple) Johnson, of Wellsboro. Politically, Mr. Babcock is a Republican. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and also of the G. A. R., and I. O. O. F. societies.
CHARLES LEVI BABCOCK, eldest child of Oliver Perry and Mary (Davenport) Babcock, was born in Elkland, Tioga county, April 21, 1864, and there grew to manhood. He was educated in the public schools and State Normal School, Mansfield, and graduated at Lowell’s Business College, Binghamton, New York, in 1882. He then began clerking in the general store of R. K. Skinner, of Elkland, where he was employed five years. In 1887 he engaged in the general mercantile business at Nelson, which he successfully conducted until the fall of 1896, when he was elected by the Republican voters to the office of register and recorder, which position he now occupies. Mr. Babcock was married October 21, 1885, to Mae Bell Skinner, a daughter of Richard K. and Ellen (Baker) Skinner, of Elkland. Three children have been born to them, viz: Portia, who died at the age of thirteen months; Genevieve, and Richard O. During his residence in nelson, Mr. Babcock was the leading merchant and was well known as a gentleman of enterprise and public spirit. A stanch Republican, he has served the party in various official capacities. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, also of the F. & A. M., the I. O. O. F. and the K. O. T. M. societies.
JOSEPH CORNELIUS was born in Hampshire, England, May 4, 1815, and was a son of George and Mary Cornelius. He learned the tanner’s trade in his native land, and immigrated to the United States in 1854, settling in Graysville, Herkimer county, New York, where he was superintendent of a tannery for ten years. In 1864 he removed to Aldenville, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, where he was superintendent of a tannery until 1873. In the fall of that year he located at Elkland, Tioga county, purchasing the Elkland tannery, which he enlarged from time to time to accommodate his increasing business, and conducted it with gratifying success until the autumn of 1893, when he retired from active business life, and died in Elkland, November 15, 1895. On August 6, 1853, he married Eliza J. Taylor, a daughter of John and Jane Taylor, of Hampshire, England, who survived him one month, dying December 12, 1895. Eleven children were born to this union, as follows: Alice E., wife of John H. Brock; Florence, wife of William Brock; Mary J., Fannie E., wife of Eugene G. Webb; Frank M., William T., George S., Byron G., Charles H., Carrie B., wife of Fred T. Smith, and Thorne. Mr. Cornelius was a member of the Elkland Methodist Episcopal church, and the most liberal contributor towards the erection of the present church building. In politics, a Republican, he was one of the leading citizens of his adopted home and a prominent factor in the growth and development of Elkland.
FRANK M. CORNELIUS was born in Graysville, Herkimer county, New York, December 10, 1860, and is a son of Joseph and Eliza J. (Taylor) Cornelius, natives of England. He was reared in Wayne and Tioga counties, Pennsylvania, received a good education, and later began clerking in his father’s tannery office in Elkland. In 1881-83 he was employed as book-keeper and assistant cashier in the banking house of Joel Parkhurst & Company, of Elkland. In the fall of 1883 he took the management of his father’s tannery, and acted in that capacity until 1891, when he engaged in the wholesale lumber business, which he continued until May, 1893. He then became connected with the tannery interests of Proctor, Hunt & Company, of Boston, Massachusetts, as their agent and manager at Elkland, a position he still occupies. Mr. Cornelius was married September 26, 1888, to Myra Edwards, a daughter of Jacob C. and Ada (Carter) Edwards, of Elkland, and has three children, Guy E., Alice Margaret and Joseph. Both he and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of Elkland, and he was chairman of the building committee in the construction of the Methodist church in that borough. He was one of the organizers of the I. O. O. F. lodge in Elkland, and has always taken a deep interest in that society. Mr. Cornelius is an ardent Republican, and has filled nearly all of the local offices of Elkland borough.
ELIJAH SMITH came from Delaware county, New York, to Tioga county, Pennsylvania, in 1840, and followed the miller’s trade in this county up to his death, in February, 1858, aged fifty-one years. He was caught in the machinery at the Davenport mill, in Elkland, and was so badly injured that he died within an hour. For three years prior to his death he had resided at Osceola. He married Maria A. Romaine, who bore him three children, viz: Diantha C., wife of John Tubbs; Augustus and Eugene B.
AUGUSTUS SMITH was born in Franklin, Delaware county, New York, June 27, 1838, and is a son of Elijah Smith. He was but two years old when his parents came to Tioga county. Here he grew to manhood, and was educated in the public schools and Union Academy. He commenced clerking at Osceola in a general store, and later carried on the mercantile business there several years. Since July, 1883, he has been the agent at Osceola for the Addison and Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Mr. Smith was married April 30, 1863, to Helen Taylor, a daughter of Col. Philip and Sally (Ryon) Taylor, of Osceola, and has two children, Eva L. and Fred T. In politics, he is a Republican.
FRED T. SMITH was born in Osceola, Tioga county, January 27, 1870, and is a son of Augustus Smith, and grandson of Elijah Smith. He was reared in his native town until sixteen years of age, and then located at Knoxville as telegraph operator for the Addison and Pennsylvania Railroad Company, which position he filled six months. In June, 1887, he came to Elkland, where he held the position of railroad agent for the same company until January, 1894. In 1890 he engaged in the wholesale lumber business, in which he still continues, and since May, 1894, has also been sales agent for the lumber interests of C. L. Pattison. Mr. Smith was married November 12, 1890, to Carrie B. Cornelius, a daughter of Joseph and Eliza (Taylor) Cornelius, of Elkland, and has one son, Clayton C. In politics, he is a Republican, and in religion, a member of the Presbyterian church, and is also connected with the I. O. O. F. He is one of the enterprising young business men of Elkland, and gives a hearty support to every worthy project.
ROBERT P. McCANN was born in Bath, Steuben county, New York, August 16, 1847, a son of Jacob and Phoebe (Gregory) McCann. His paternal grandfather, John McCann, was a native of Ireland, while his maternal grandfather, Stephen Gregory, was from Connecticut, and a pioneer of Steuben county, New York, where he followed the occupation of a farmer. During the Rebellion, he served in Company F, One Hundred and Sixty-first New York Volunteers, and was wounded in the side by a shell in the Red River campaign. After three years’ service, he was honorably discharged, and died in 1873, from the effects of his wounds. The subject of this sketch was reared in his native county, was educated in the common schools, and from thirteen years of age was employed on a farm. In August, 1864, he enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Eighty-ninth New York Volunteers, and took part in the battle of Five Forks and other engagements. He was promoted to orderly sergeant in February, 1865, and the following May was mustered out with his regiment at Washington, D. C. After his return home, he learned the brick mason’s and plasterer’s trades, which he followed fifteen years. Since 1872 he has been a resident of Elkland, Tioga county, where he engaged in the general insurance business in 1889, which he still continues. In July, 1894, he was appointed postmaster of Elkland, which office he still occupies. In 1866, Mr. McCann married Mrs. Mary E. Strong, daughter of John E. Shott, of Waterloo, New York. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and also of the I. O. O. F., and the G. A. R. In politics, he is a Democrat, and served five years as justice of the peace of Elkland.
JOSEPH C. DULSO was born at Waterloo, Seneca county, New York, January 21, 1858, a son of Nicholas and Katherine E. (Ester) Dulso, and is of French and German descent. His father was a soldier in the Union army during the Rebellion, and died in the hospital at Newberne, North Carolina, in 1864, from yellow fever. Our subject was reared in his native town, and there obtained a public school education. He served an apprenticeship of over three years at the barber’s trade, in Seneca Falls, new York, and in 1875 he located at Elkland, Tioga county, where he embarked in business for himself. At that time he was the only barber in the Cowanesque valley, between Lawrenceville and the Potter county line. For the past twenty years he has continued to carry on the same business at Elkland, and has accumulated a competence. In 1893 he erected a substantial brick building for business purposes, fitted up with all modern improvements, including bath rooms. The building is conspicuous for its beauty, and would attract attention in a much larger town than Elkland, being no doubt the finest barber shop in Tioga county. Mr. Dulso was married May 27, 1877, to Sarah J. Cunningham, a daughter of John and Margaret Cunningham, of Campbell, Steuben county, New York, and has two children, Katie and Annie. In politics, Mr. Dulso, is a Democrat, and in religious belief, a Catholic. He is a member of the F. & A. M., and one of the enterprising citizens of the borough.
JOEL CHAMBERLAIN was born in Maryland, Otsego county, New York, in 1795, a son of Elisha and Deborah (Holdridge) Chamberlain, natives of New England and pioneers of Otsego county. In 1840 he came with his family to Chatham township, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, where he cleared and improved a farm, subsequently removing to Farmington township, where he died at the residence of his son, Henry, February 1, 1869, in his seventy-fourth year. His wife, Eleanor, was a daughter of Henry Waite, of Otsego county, New York, and died in Chatham township, June 26, 1879, in her seventy-seventh year. Their children were as follows: David W., Henry E., Jonathan Ed., Martha A., who married Eli Beard; Sally D., who married Oscar Clark; William, Eleanor, who married Frank Andrews; Joel, and Esther M., who married Samuel Kendrick. Mr. Chamberlain was a member of the Christian church, while his wife was a Presbyterian. In politics, he supported the Republican party, and was a member of the Masonic order.
HENRY ELISHA CHAMBERLAIN, son of Joel Chamberlain, was born in Maryland, Otsego county, New York, March 14, 1827, and came to Chatham township with his parents when about thirteen years old. He assisted his father to clear the old homestead, and after his marriage, in 1849, he settled on a farm of fifty-five acres in Chatham, which he subsequently sold and purchased 105 acres in the same township, twenty of which he cleared. In 1882 he removed to Elkland borough, where he resided until his death, June 2, 1895. On April 8, 1849, he married Maria Gleason, a daughter of Nelson and Esther (Taylor) Gleason, whose paternal and maternal grandfathers, Paul Gleason and Ebenezer Taylor, were pioneers of Tioga county. Four children were born to this union, three of whom survive, viz: Sarah M., wife of Truman E. Pierce; George E., and Dora A., wife of E. A. Howland. On September 13, 1864, Mr. Chamberlain enlisted in Company C., Ninety-ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers, was transferred to the One Hundred and Ninety-ninth regiment, and took part in the battles of Hatcher’s Run, Clover Hill, Appomattox and Petersburg, and was honorably discharged June 28, 1865. In religion, he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics, a Republican. He was connected with the G. A. R., and was a worthy, patriotic citizen.
LEMUEL CADY, a native of Connecticut, settled in Osceola, Tioga county, about 1810. In 1812 he removed to Farmington township and purchased 200 acres of land, which he soon afterwards sold and returned to Osceola. He was a carpenter, and worked at his trade up to 1823 in Osceola, when he bought 100 acres in Farmington adjoining his original purchased. He cleared and improved this property and resided upon it many years. In later life he removed to Iowa, and died in that State at the age of eighty-four years. He married Ruth Gleason, of Connecticut, who bore him eleven children, viz: Chester, Abner, Lemuel, William, Simeon, Selina, who married I. D. Foote; Polly, who married Lucius Daly; Emma, who married William Van Dusen; George, Charles and Erastus. In religion, Mr. Cady was an adherent of the Christian church, and in politics, a Republican.
SIMEON CADY, fourth son of Lemuel and Ruth Cady, was born in Osceola, Tioga county, January 27, 1822, was reared in Farmington township, and attended the common schools in boyhood. He made farming his life vocation, first clearing up fifty acres in Farmington, which he later exchanged for 156 acres in the same township. This he also cleared and improved, and owned it at the time of his death. He resided on his farm until 1886, when he removed to Elkland, and died in that borough, March 10, 1896, in his seventy-fifth year. Mr. Cady was married May 24, 1843, to Jemima Baxter, a daughter of John and Phoebe Baxter, of Farmington township, who bore him a family of six children, as follows: Melvin, deceased, who married Elizabeth Edwards; Edwin, who married Addie Upton; Marietta, wife of Ira Keeney; Marcus, who married Ella Beard; Milton, who married Lillian Shelly, and John, who married Bertha Bolt. Mrs. Cady died January 23, 1894. Mr. Cady was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church half a century, and in politics, an adherent of the Republican party. His life was an example of honesty and industry, as well as kindly charity towards his fellowmen.
GEORGE C. SIGNOR, proprietor of the Hotel Signor, was born at Kingston, Ulster county, New York, February 15, 1858, and is a son of Capt. David A. and Sarah M. (DeBell) Signor. His paternal grandfather, Jacob I. Signor, son of David Abiel Signor, was a prominent citizen of Ulster county, of which at one time he was sheriff. His paternal grandmother was Catherine Hasbrouck. His maternal grandparents, Daniel and Phoebe A. (Fairchild) DeBell, were also residents of Ulster county, New York. Our subject was reared in that State, and was educated in the Ithaca public schools and the State Normal School, at Cortland, graduating from the latter institution in 1875. After leaving school he studied law for a year and a half, for the purpose of fitting himself for business. He next spent three years in Kansas, as overseer and manager of a large cattle ranch. In 1880 he located at Knoxville, Tioga county, where he conducted the Eagle House for one year. He then sold out and bought the Westlake Hotel, at Addison, New York, which he carried on one year, and then sold it. In 1886 he purchased the hotel property in Elkland, Tioga county, since known as the Hotel Signor. Here he has built up a successful business, and conducts one of the model hotels of the Cowanesque valley. Mr. Signor was married September 8, 1880, to Etta Ray, a daughter of Nelson G. and Hattie (Howland) Ray, of Knoxville, Pennsylvania, and has one son, Ray. In politics, he is a stanch Democrat, and is a member of the I. O. O. F., the K. of H., and the S. F. I.
ASA CRANDALL, a native of Rhode Island, was one of the first settlers of Covington, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, where he was engaged in the manufacture of furniture a number of years. He was of Scotch descent, his ancestors being members of the Clan McCannan. His wife, Matilda, was a daughter of Captain Saunders, an Englishman, who was lost at sea while on a whaling expedition. Mr. and Mrs. Crandall were the parents of the following children: John, Eliza, who married a Mr. Booth; Sarah, who married Deacon Kinney; Hannah, who married Chauncy Johnson, and Charles M. Mr. Crandall and wife were members of the Baptist church, and in politics, he was a Whig. He died in Covington about 1850, and is there buried.
CHARLES M. CRANDALL, youngest son of Asa and Matilda (Saunders) Crandall, was born in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, May 30, 1834, and was reared in Tioga county. In early life he engaged in mercantile pursuits in Indiana, but during the war, he returned east and located at Montrose, Susquehanna county, where he was engaged in the manufacture of toys and novelties from 1861 to 1863. In the latter year he removed to Waverly, New York, where he has since carried on the same business. Mr. Crandall has been twice married. His first wife was Susan, a daughter of Benjamin and Margaret (Wilcox) Kress, of Bradford county. her grandfather was an expert silversmith, and stole his passage to America because of an English law prohibiting silversmiths leaving that country. Four children were born to this union, viz: Fred W., Benjamin J., Jesse M. and Fannie. His second wife was Annie F. Austin, a daughter of Dana Austin, of Montrose, Pennsylvania, who bore him five children, viz: Bessie, Charlie, Florence, Mable and Dorothea. Mr. Crandall is an adherent of the Republican party, and in religion, a member of the Presbyterian church.
FRED W. CRANDALL, eldest child of Charles M. and Susan (Kress) Crandall, was born at Laporte, Indiana, March 29, 1855. When six years old he removed with his parents to Montrose, Pennsylvania. He was educated in the public schools, and at the State Normal School, Millersville, and when fifteen years of age he entered his father’s factory at Montrose. He served as manager for two years, and on attaining his majority he took entire charge of the factory under contract, occupying that position until 1880. A stock company was then organized, with a capital stock of $100,000, our subject taking one-fourth of the amount. He continued as manager of the manufacturing branch of the business up to 1883, when the stock company was wound up, Mr. Crandall purchasing the business and continuing it under the firm name of F. W. Crandall & company, until August 26, 1886. On that date the plant was destroyed by fire, entailing a loss of $40,000. Two weeks later he resumed business in rented rooms, using power from the agricultural works at that place, and in January, 1887, he removed to Elkland, Tioga county, purchasing the plant of the Elkland Chair Company. He has since added substantial buildings to accommodate his increasing business in the manufacture of toys and novelties, and gives employment to from fifty to seventy-five hands, doing an annual business of $30,000. He has also been engaged in lumbering since 1894, and is one of the enterprising and substantial citizens of the borough. Mr. Crandall was married at Montrose, Pennsylvania, October 12, 1876, to Augusta A. Seymour, a daughter of James and Ann E. (Howell) Seymour. They are the parents of four children, viz: Susie K., Mary H., Fannie M. and Helen A. Mrs. Crandall died March 14, 1893. Politically, he is a Republican, has served on the school board and common council of Elkland, and is a member and trustee of the Presbyterian church.
CLARK B. BAILEY, a son of Clark w. and Vesta (Judd) Bailey, and grandson of Roswell Bailey, a pioneer of Charleston township, Tioga county, was born in Richmond township, Tioga county, September 30, 1851. When he was five years of age his parents removed to Mansfield, where he obtained his education at the State Normal School. In 1884 he purchased a foundry plant at Knoxville, which was burned in 1888, and in January, 1890, he erected a plant at Elkland. This was burned in December following, and he immediately rebuilt in 1891, which he still owns, but leases. From August, 1893, up to March, 1896, he operated the Elkland Basket Works, of which he was four-fifths owner, and gave employment to seventy-five hands. On the latter date he sold to the Davidge Manufacturing Company, in which he is a stockholder, and the works were removed to Coudersport, Potter county. Mr. Bailey is general agent for the McCormick Manufacturing Company, of Chicago, for the sale of their machines in Tioga and adjoining counties, which position he has held since 1888. He has built up an extensive business, increasing his sales from twelve machines the first year to 300 in 1895. On March 15, 1882, Mr. Bailey married Nettie Bixby, a daughter of Gilbert H. and Louisa Bixby, of Waverly, New York. They are the parents of four children: Roy J., Clara V., Gertrude B. and Harold C. Mr. Bailey is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics, is a Republican.
PROF. MARION F. CASS, principal of the Elkland public schools, was born in Farmington township, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, October 26, 1850, a son of Willard and Esther (Cass) Cass, both natives of New Hampshire, and of Scotch extraction. His parents settled in Farmington township about 1847, where his father resided until his death in 1894. Marion F. was reared on the old homestead until thirteen years of age, when he went to Elkland and entered the employ of Joel Parkhurst, with whom he remained three years. He then returned to Farmington, and worked on a farm in summer, while he taught school during the winter seasons, for several years. He graduated at the State Normal School, Mansfield, in 1872, and subsequently taught six years at Nelson and three years at Lawrenceville. He was county superintendent of schools for nine successive years, and filled the office with credit and ability. In 1890 he was principal of the Elkland public schools, and since 1891 he has filled the same position, being to-day one of the most popular teachers in the county. Professor Cass was married May 17, 1876, to Susan M. Baxter, a daughter of G. Henry and Clara (Manley) Baxter, of Nelson township, and has two children, George W. and Eva E. In politics, he is a Republican, and is a member of the Presbyterian church, also of the F. & A. M., and the I. O. O. F.
CARL E. BAILEY was born in Richmond township, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, January 11, 1865, and is a son of Robert B. and Julia (Hager) Bailey, a sketch of whom appears in this work. He was educated in the public schools of his native township and at Charleston High School. In 1882 he went to Herkimer county, New York, continuing there for nearly seven years, during which period he learned his present business. In 1889 he located at Elkland, Tioga county, where he purchased a meat market, and has since successfully carried on a wholesale and retail business, the leading business of the kind in this vicinity. He also owns and operates the largest cold storage plant in Tioga county, and is the proprietor of the only ice business in Elkland. Mr. Bailey was married April 22, 1891, to Viola Cross, a daughter of Nathan and Adelia (Smith) Cross, of Little Falls, New York. In politics, he is a Republican, and in religion, both he and wife are members of the Presbyterian church. He is also connected with Elkland Lodge, No. 800, I. O. O. F., and is one of the progressive young business men of that borough.
JOHN WAKELY (originally spelled "Waklee"), born in Otsego county, New York, in 1796, was a son of John and Elizabeth (Cummings) Wakely, pioneers of Deerfield township, Tioga county, Pennsylvania. In 1827 he removed to Brookfield township, where he cleared and improved a farm of 136 acres. In the spring of 1864 he sold out and removed to Troupsburg, New York, where he died March 28, of that year, aged sixty-eight. He was twice married. His first wife, Dinah, was a daughter of Rufus and Mary Cook, of Otsego county, New York, and became the mother of six children. His second wife was Mary A. Murdock. During his residence in Deerfield township, Mr. Wakely served as constable for several years, and for twelve years he was a justice of the peace in Brookfield township. In 1837 he was elected sheriff of Tioga county, which office he filled for three years. In 1841 he was elected to the legislature and served in that body with marked ability. Mr. Wakely was a member of the Masonic order, and also of the I. O. O. F.
WILLIAM O. WAKELY, son of John and Mary A. (Murdock) Wakely, was born in Wellsboro, Tioga county, June 5, 1840, and was educated in the common schools and Union Academy. In 1862 he enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers, was slightly wounded at the battle of Fredericksburg, and after nine months’ service was honorably discharged. In 1864 he re-enlisted in Company D, Two Hundred and Seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served until the close of the war. For twelve years afterwards he dealt in horses, during which time he resided in Westfield, and from 1882 to 1884, he followed the same business in Wisconsin. Since that time he has been employed as a salesman of agricultural implements in Tioga county and vicinity, his residence being at Elkland since April, 1894. Mr. Wakely has been twice married. His first wife, Mrs. Kate Secord, was a daughter of John Losey, of West Pike, Potter county, Pennsylvania, who left one son by her former husband, Sheridan J. Secord. His second wife was Cassie Sherwood, a daughter of Orrin and Lucy A. (Seely) Sherwood, of Brookfield township. Mr. Wakely is a member of the G. A. R., and in politics, an adherent of the Republican party.
CHARLES SANDBACH, son of William and Catherine Sandbach, was born in Prussia, Germany, April 13, 1842, and immigrated to New York City in 1850. He there learned and followed the occupation of a feeder of cylinder presses. In 1864 he married Maria Wiesner, of that city, and the same year located in Germania, Potter county, Pennsylvania, where he became the proprietor of the Germania Hotel, which he conducted until 1880. In 1881 he purchased the Baldwin House, at Wellsboro, Tioga county, changed the name to the Sandbach House, thoroughly refitted and refurnished it, and has since successfully carried it on. Mr. Sandbach and wife are the parents of five children, viz: Robert W., Richard E., Emily M., wife of Dr. F. L. Dolbeare, of Brooklyn, New York; Martha and Elsa. In politics, Mr. Sandbach is a Democrat, and is a member of the Masonic order.
RICHARD E. SANDBACH, second son of Charles Sandbach, was born in Germania, Potter county, October 29, 1866, and was reared in Potter and Tioga counties. In 1884 he went to New York City, where he was employed as entry clerk and assistant book-keeper in a wholesale house until 1887, during which period he passed a civil service examination for a clerkship in the appraisers’ department of the United States Custom House, which position he filled from January 18, 1887, until March 6, 1890. On April 1, 1890, he returned to Wellsboro, Tioga county, where he clerked in his father’s hotel three months, and then assumed management of the same until January 1, 1891. In October of the latter year, he went to Ocosta, Washington, where he was engaged in the brewing business for two years and a half. In May, 1894, he removed his brewery to Reno, Nevada, but sold out in October and returned to Tioga county. His mother having purchased the Coles Hotel, at Elkland, he became proprietor of the same, and since November 1, 1894, he has since conducted it under the name of the Sandbach House. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., and K. of P., and in politics, an ardent Democrat.
WILLARD C. GRIFFITHS was born in Elmira, New York, February 28, 1867, a son of William E. and Mary C. (Gould) Griffiths, and is of Welsh descent. He was reared in New York state, and was educated in the Addison Union school and academy. On August 14, 1881, he entered the office of the Addison Advertiser, to serve an apprenticeship at the printer’s trade, and remained there six years. In November, 1887, he went to New Haven, Connecticut, where he worked on different papers, and finally held an important position in a large job printing and book publishing house of that city four years. In 1891 he located at Elkland, Tioga county, purchasing the plant of the Elkland Journal, which paper he conducted until September, 1896, when it suspended publication. Mr. Griffiths was married February 25, 1892, to Jennie M. Hammond, a daughter of John W. and Addie (Delamater) Hammond, of Osceola, and has two daughters, Helen M. and Florence A. Politically, Mr. Griffiths is a Republican.
OSCEOLA BOROUGH.
ISRAEL BULKLEY was one of the first settlers in the Cowanesque valley, locating in Osceola, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, in 1800. The Bulkley family is of ancient English lineage. Ten generations can be traced on English soil down to Rev. Peter Bulkley, of Odell, a graduate of St. John’s College, Cambridge, who immigrated to America in 1634, and settled at Concord, Massachusetts. From the Rev. Peter Bulkley, the line of descent runs through the Rev. Gershom and Rev. John Bulkley, to Peter Bulkley, of Colchester, Connecticut, who married Susannah Newton, and was the father of Israel, Bulkley, the pioneer of the family in Tioga county. Israel was born January 22, 1762, and served a brief time in Capt. N. Waterman’s company, in the Revolution, when the British burned New London. He married Lucy Chapin, born November 22, 1767. Their children were as follows: Ralph, born December 19, 1794; George, November 27, 1796, who died young; Lucy, March 29, 1799, who married Col. Lemuel Davenport; George (2nd), October 2, 1801, the first of the family born in Tioga county; Ira, March 3, 1804; Hiram, September 17, 1806; Newton, April 24, 1809, and Charles, September 18, 1812, who died in early youth. At the time of his removal to this county, Mr. Bulkley possessed considerable property, and was recognized as one of the leading spirits in the Cowanesque valley. He brought with him an improved breed of cattle and other live stock, cleared the farm upon which his grandson, Charles Bulkley, now resides, established a blacksmith shop, dealt in merchandise, built a grist-mill, carding-mill and distillery, and was a land surveyor and agent for the Strawbridge estate. He planted a nursery of fruit trees upon his farm, from which was raised the first orchards in Tioga county. His plantation was a central point in the pioneer settlements, and meetings, elections and general training-days were held at his place for several years. He died January 18, 1828, and was succeeded by his son, Ira, who then took charge of the homestead farm.
IRA BULKLEY was born in Osceola, Tioga county, March 3, 1804, grew to manhood on the homestead, and limited his business operations almost entirely to farming. He brought his farm under a high state of cultivation, and was awarded the prize of the Tioga County Agricultural Society several times for possessing the best improved farm in the county. One of the attractions of the place for many years was a well-stocked deer park. Mr. Bulkley was twice married. On October 4, 1826, he married Harriet Belding, a daughter of Cyprian and Harriet (Belding) Wright, to whom were born three children, viz: Charles, born November 25, 1827; Esther, June 13, 1829, and Harriet, December 13, 1831, the last two of whom died young. He was again married November 24, 1833, to Esther Maria Wright, born in 1812, who died September 18, 1895. Mr. Bulkley died November 19, 1876.
CHARLES BULKLEY, only living child of Ira Bulkley, was born on the homestead, November 25, 1827. He was educated in the common schools and at Union Academy. He succeeded to the home farm, and has acquired by successive purchase the larger part of his grandfather’s real estate, until to-day he is the owner of over 500 acres of highly improved farming land. He has held many local offices with much acceptance to those he served. He has been twice married. On November 26, 1856, he married Marietta, a daughter of Lloyd and Maria (Reynolds) Perry. Their children were: Perry, born August 29, 1857, who died young; Myra, November 15, 1858, wife of Henry Tubbs, and Carrie, September 24, 1867, wife of George Gershom Dorrance. He was again married August 26, 1885, to Mrs. Clarissa Mannigan, who died November 10, 1896.
GEORGE NEWTON BULKLEY was born in Osceola, Tioga county, October 8, 1845, and resided on the Newton Bulkley homestead in Osceola borough until his death, January 7, 1885. He was a son of Newton and Phoebe Ann (Barker) Bulkley, and a grandson of Israel and Lucy (Chapin) Bulkley. His father was born in Osceola, April 24, 1809, married Phoebe Ann Barker, and lived and died upon the farm now occupied by his grand-daughter, Mrs. Robert C. Baker. The subject of this sketch was married March 19, 1867, to Hannah Eudora Brader, a daughter of George and Mary (Chapin) Brader, of Kingston, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, who bore him two children: Thomas B., deceased, and Phoebe Frances, wife of Robert C. Baker. Mr. Bulkley was a florist and market gardner, took a deep interest in horticulture, and own many prizes at county fairs and exhibits. He owned 235 acres of land, of which 160 acres is in the old homestead. In politics, he was an ardent Republican, and in religion a member of the Presbyterian church.
ABNER GLEASON was born in Oxford, Massachusetts, December 6, 1745, a son of Joseph and Lydia (Tarbox) Gleason. He came from Charlton, Massachusetts, to what is now Osceola, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, in 1809, and worked at the cooper’s trade. He was twice married. His first wife, Abigail Rich, bore him six children, viz: David, Rachel, Paul, Abigail, Abner and William. His second wife, Deborah Baker, was the mother of two children: Ruth, who married Lemuel Cady, and Polly, who married Simon Nicholas. Mr. Gleason died in 1816, and his remains were the first interred in Osceola cemetery.
PAUL GLEASON, son of Abner and Abigail Gleason, was born in Charlton, Massachusetts, January 12, 1778, and came with his parents to Osceola, Tioga county, in 1809, where he worked at the shoemaker’s trade and also engaged in farming. On February 16, 1802, he married Judith, a daughter of John and Catherine Warren. Seven children were the fruits of this union, viz: Nelson, Julia, who married Armon Cloos; Warren, John W., George R., Anna, who married James Tubbs, and Mancir. Mr. Gleason was the first constable of Elkland, and held several other local offices at different periods. He died June 28, 1842.
MANCIR GLEASON, youngest child of Paul and Judith Gleason, was born in Osceola, Tioga county, July 14, 1824, and in early manhood began working in the lumber woods, and also on a farm. He later spent two years as a jobber in clearing land in Chatham township. In 1844 he purchased the farm in Osceola upon which he now resides, where he has lived for more than half a century. Mr. Gleason was married November 9, 1851, to Mary Van Zile, a daughter of Isaac and Hannah (Mills) Van Zile, of Osceola, and has three children: Ezra, James and Metta. Mrs. Gleason died November 6, 1896. In politics, he is a Republican, and a member of the Patrons of Husbandry.
EZRA GLEASON, eldest child of Mancir Gleason, was born in Osceola, Tioga county, September 22, 1852, grew to manhood upon the old homestead, and was educated in the public schools of Elkland and Osceola. In 1877 he purchased ninety acres of the old farm, most of which he has cleared and improved, and has since added sixty-six acres to his original purchase. On March 22, 1877, he married Sarah S. Perkins, a daughter of Samuel and Marietta (Brown) Perkins, of Steuben county, New York. They are the parents of four children: Judd, Bertha, Samuel and Harry. Mr. Gleason is a member of the P. of H., and the K. & L. of H. He is a Republican, in politics, and is one of the school directors of Osceola.
EBENEZER TAYLOR was born on the Delaware river, in either Pennsylvania or New Jersey, November 15, 1767, a son of Ebenezer and Permelia Taylor. He settled in what is now Elkland, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, in 1803, removing to what is now Osceola in 1811. He was a hunter of considerable note, and when not out on the chase, devoted his attention to farming. He married Polly Cook, a daughter of Reuben Cook, the pioneer, who died at Osceola, June 25, 1829. Their children were as follows: Sally, who married John Mascho; Samuel, Permelia, who married Samuel Tubbs; Philip, Polly, who married Benjamin Tubbs; Margaret, who married Abel Cloos; Esther, who became the wife of Nelson Gleason; Catherine, who married Asahel Morey; Lavina, who married William Weeks; Lucinda, who married John W. Gleason, and Elvira C., who became the wife of David M. Van Zile. Mr. Taylor died November 14, 1850.
COL. PHILIP TAYLOR, son of Ebenezer and Polly Taylor, is a well-remembered farmer of Osceola, where he cleared and improved the farm now owned by Charles B. Hoyt. He was married by Nathaniel Seely, Esq., June 2, 1825, to Sally Ryon, a daughter of Judge John and Susannah Ryon, who settled on the site of Elkland in the spring of 1811. She was born in Newtown, now a part of Elmira, New York, December 28, 1808, the eldest in a family of twelve children, six of whom are living. Mrs. Taylor became the mother of eight children, seven of whom survive, as follows: Polly, who married Jeremiah Stoddard; Charlotte R., widow of Prof. I. G. Hoyt; Hiram, Susan, who married J. B. Payne; Helen M., who married Augustus Smith; Charles R., and Permelia, who married P. G. Wass. Mr. Taylor was a colonel in the militia prior to the Rebellion, hence his title. He filled several local offices in the township at different periods, and took an active interest in public affairs. Colonel Taylor and wife united with the Presbyterian church of Elkland, March 12, 1859, and remained consistent members until their death. He died in 1866. His wife survived him thirty years, dying in Osceola, Sunday morning, March 1, 1896, in the eighty-eighth year of her age, one of the last links that bound the historic past to the eventful and changing present.
CAPT. CHARLES RYON TAYLOR was born in what is now Osceola borough, Tioga county, August 9, 1840, a son of Col. Philip and Sally Taylor. He was reared in his native town, and was educated in the public schools and Union Academy. He commenced his business life as a clerk in a general store at Academy Corners. October 8, 1861, he entered Company L, Second Pennsylvania Cavalry, as first lieutenant, and was promoted to captain November 1, 1862. He participated with the Army of the Potomac in the battles of Wolfton, Cedar Mountain, Second Bull Run, New Baltimore, Little Washington, Berryville, Occoquan, Gloucester Point, Frying Pan, Gettysburg, Culpepper, Bristoe Station, Brentsville, Beverly Ford, Brandy Station, Mine Run, Beaver Dam, Meadow Bridge, Hawe’s shop, Trevillian Station, White House Landing, St. Mary’s Church, Jerusalem Plank Road, Deep Bottom, Lee’s Mills and Ream’s Station, where he received a gun-shot wound in the right hand, August 23, 1864, and was mustered out of the service November 5, of that year. Captain Taylor returned to Osceola, and in 1871 embarked in the mercantile business in that borough, which he continued three years. He was constable of Osceola for thirteen years, and has held the office of justice of the peace since 1886. On February 17, 1870, he married Stella A. Seely, a daughter of Morgan and Harriet (Beebe) Seely, of Osceola. In politics, Captain Taylor is a stanch Republican, and is also a member of the F. & A. M., and the G. A. R.
SAMUEL TUBBS, SR., a son of Lebbeus and Bathsheba (Hamilton) Tubbs, was born in Lyme, Connecticut, in 1755. In 1773 he came with his parents from New London, Connecticut, to Pennsylvania, and settled at Wyoming. August 26, 1776, he enlisted in Capt. Robert Durkee’s Independent Company, which was attached to Col. John Durkee’s regiment of the Connecticut Line. He remained in the service until the close of the Revolution, participating in the battles of Bound Brook, Mill Stone River, Mud Creek, Brandywine and Germantown. He wintered with his army at Valley Forge, and served in Sullivan’s Expedition against the Indians of the Genesee valley in 1779. His father and the other members of the family were in the fort at Wyoming during the massacre, but escaped unhurt. His command was on its way to the valley at the time and stopped the night before at Shoup’s Tavern, Northampton county, Pennsylvania. In 1787 he removed to Newtown, now Elmira, New York, where he remained until March, 1811, when he came to Tioga county and settled at Elkland, on a tract of land the original warrant for which was issued to Dr. Henry Lattimer, of Wilmington, Delaware. Here he remained until his death, September 7, 1841. Mr. Tubbs married Sarah Susannah Dorrance, eldest child of Lieut. Col. George and Mary (Wilson) Dorrance. Colonel Dorrance was killed in the Wyoming Massacre. Mrs. Tubbs was born in 1760, and died August 16, 1838. She was the mother of eleven children, as follows: A son born in 1778, who died in childhood; Robert, born March 24, 1780, married Clara Hoyt, and died August 9, 1865; Cynthia, born May 11, 1782, married Samuel Jenkins, and died March 6, 1860; Betsey, born in 1786, married Jonathan Jenkins, and died March 28, 1817; Polly, born September 15, 1789, married David Hammond, and died January 21, 1867; George, born in 1790, and died in 1792; Susannah, born January 10, 1794, married John Ryon, Jr., and died March 5, 1881; Samuel, born December 15, 1794, married Permelia Taylor, and died May 15, 1870; Benjamin, born December 19, 1796, married Polly Taylor, and died August 19, 1873; James, born in January, 1800, married Sally Coates, and died November 20, 1823, and Hannah, born December 25, 1802, married Martin Stevens, and died May 24, 1850.
SAMUEL TUBBS, JR., son of Samuel Tubbs, Sr., was born at Newtown, New York, December 15, 1794, and was in his seventeenth year when his parents located at Elkland. In 1815 he married Permelia Taylor, a daughter of Capt. Ebenezer and Polly (Cook) Taylor, to which union were born six children, viz: Polly, who married Benson Tubbs; James, of Osceola; Clara, who lives with her youngest brother, George; Sally, who married Lyman P. Hoyt; Philip, whose first wife was Sarepta Crandall, and second wife, Betsey Spencer, and George, who married Jane Campbell. Mr. Tubbs lived nearly all his life in Osceola. In 1840 he built the house now occupied by Morgan Seely, and died at the home of his son, George, May 15, 1870. His wife died on July 21, 1851.
JAMES TUBBS, eldest son of Samuel Tubbs, Jr., was born in Osceola, Tioga county, February 12, 1818, there grew to maturity, and made farming his principal vocation. In early manhood he taught school in Elkland and other places in the Cowanesque valley. He was married May 9, 1841, to Anna Gleason, born December 19, 1819, a daughter of Paul and Judith (Warren) Gleason, to which union were born two children, viz: Charles and Henry, both residents of Osceola. Mrs. Tubbs died April 29, 1879, and her husband makes his home with his son; Charles. He was a captain of militia from 1841 to 1850, a school director for thirty years, a supervisor for fifteen years and has also served as burgess of Osceola. In politics, he is a Republican.
GEORGE TUBBS was born in Osceola, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, January 12, 1829, and is a son of Samuel and Permelia (Taylor) Tubbs. With the exception of three years that he lived in Elkland, he has spent his entire life in his native township. He attended the common schools in boyhood, and has since been engaged in farming, having assisted in clearing several farms, including a part of the old homestead. On April 10, 1852, he married Jane Campbell, a daughter of Joseph and Anna (Clinch) Campbell, of Nelson township, and has three children, viz: Frank, Ann, wife of O. A. Van Dusen, and Minnie, wife of W. H. Clark. Mr. Tubbs is a stanch Republican, and has held various local offices, such as supervisor and collector, and has been a school director of Osceola ten years. He is a member of the Patrons of Husbandry, and takes a deep interest in the growth and progress of that society.
JOHN TUBBS, son of Robert and Clara (Hoyt) Tubbs, was born and reared in Osceola, Tioga county. He cleared a farm of 150 acres, now owned by his son, Edward r., and was also extensively engaged in the lumber business. His wife, Rebecca, was a daughter of James and Nancy (Robb) Atherton, of Elkland, and bore him two children, Edward R., and Lizzie A., wife of Russell Wentworth. Mr. Tubbs was a member of the Presbyterian church, also of the Masonic order, and in politics, a Republican. He died January 9, 1892. His wife died June 3, 1872, at the age of thirty-seven years.
EDWARD R. TUBBS, only son of John and Rebecca Tubbs, was born in Osceola, Tioga county, July 19, 1857, attended the public schools of his township in boyhood, and later the State Normal School, at Mansfield. He has always been a resident of Osceola, and is engaged in farming and in buying and shipping live stock for the New York markets. Mr. Tubbs has been twice married. His first wife was Mrs. Della G. Pratt, a daughter of Philip Fridley, of Seneca county, New York, who bore him one son, John R. His second wife was Alice Perry, a daughter of Albert and Fannie (Coykendall) Perry, of Steuben county. In politics, Mr. Tubbs is a Republican, and is a member of the Masonic order.
NATHANIEL SEELY was a native of Southport, Chemung county, New York, born November 20, 1788, a son of Nathaniel Seely, Sr. He settled in what is now Osceola, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, in 1812, where he engaged in farming up to 1830, also kept an inn for the accommodation of travelers, and for twenty years was a justice of the peace. He was married February 16, 1809, to Lucy Kelsey, a daughter of Abner and Ann (Eaton) Kelsey, who became the mother of thirteen children, only seven of whom grew to maturity, viz: Jonas B., George G., Morgan, Henry, Jane E., who married Russell Crandall; Ann K., who married A. W. Lugg, and Allen. Mrs. Seely was born August 31, 1791. Both she and her husband were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He died at his home in Osceola, October 15, 1866. His wife survived him until September 15, 1873.
MORGAN SEELY, banker, was born in Osceola, Tioga county, May 15, 1816, and is a son of Nathaniel and Lucy Seely. He was reared to manhood in his native town, and completed his education at Wellsboro Academy. He commenced his business career as a clerk in the store of the late Joel Parkhurst, of Elkland, with whom he remained several years. In 1845 he embarked in the mercantile business at Elkland, where he carried on merchandising one year. He subsequently conducted the same line of business at Nelson and Osceola, his mercantile career extending over a period of thirty years. In 1869, as a member of the firm of Seely, Coates & Company, he established a bank at Knoxville, which existed for eight years. In 1877 he founded a bank at Osceola, which he has carried on successfully up to the present. In 1885, as a member of the firm of Tucker & Seely, he established his Farmers’ and Traders’ Bank, of Westfield. This partnership existed until November, 1892, when he was succeeded by his son, Frank J. Mr. Seely was married in February, 1847, to Harriet Beebe, a daughter of Anson and Lucy (Lincoln) Beebe, of Lawrenceville, Tioga county, and is the father of four children, viz: Mrs. Stella A. Taylor, Ida V., deceased wife of Dr. C. H. Bosworth; Frank J., and Ed M. Politically, Mr. Seely is a Republican, and in religion, a member of the Presbyterian church.
FRANK J. SEELY was born in Osceola, Tioga county, November 14, 1854, and is the third child and eldest son of Morgan Seely. He was reared in Osceola, and obtained his education in the public schools of his native town and Wellsboro High School. In 1875 he engaged in merchandising at Nelson, where he continued in business until 1884. He then entered the banking house of his father, at Osceola, and filled the office of cashier until November, 1892, when he removed to Westfield to accept the same position in the Farmers’ and Traders’ Bank, succeeding his father as a member of the firm of Tucker & Seely. He is also a member of C. W. Morgan & Company, wholesale dealers in hay, grain, etc., established at Osceola in 1889, to which place he returned in the spring of 1897. On October 20, 1880, he married Maria August Phelps, a daughter of Volcut C. and Diantha (Smith) Phelps, of Osceola, and has two children, Gertrude and Sara. Mr. Seeley is an ardent Republican, is a member of the Presbyterian church, and is connected with the F. & A. M., and K. & L. of H.
ED. M. SEELY, youngest son of Morgan Seely, was born in Osceola, Tioga county, May 15, 1861. He obtained his education at the public schools and at the State Normal School, Mansfield, and received a preliminary banking training in New York, and in 1880 entered his father’s bank in Osceola. He was cashier of that institution from 1882 to 1885. November 1, 1885, he was transferred to the Farmers’ and Traders’ Bank, of Westfield, of which he was cashier until November, 1892, when he returned to Osceola and resumed his old position as cashier of his father’s bank, which he still retains. Mr. Seely was married July 4, 1892, to Kittie M. Strawn, a daughter of Samuel and Ann (Curran) Strawn, of Chatham township. He and wife are members of the Presbyterian church, and in politics, he is a Republican.
ANDREW BOSARD, one of the early settlers of Osceola, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, was born on the old Bosard homestead, in Monroe county, Pennsylvania, February 14, 1780. His grandfather, Johan Philip Bossert, immigrated from Alsace, Germany, in 1729 and settled at Bossardsville, Monroe county, immediately below the Delaware Water Gap, in 1745, where he purchased a tract of land from the sons of William Penn. Andrew there grew to manhood, and learned the trade of cabinet-making. On February 22, 1804, he married Nancy Hammond, a sister of the late John Hammond, of Elkland, and settled upon a farm about two miles from Bossardsville, where he remained until 1809, when he removed to Chemung county, New York, locating near Elmira. In 1813 he came to the Cowanesque valley and settled on the Bosard homestead, in Osceola, where he practiced the arts of husbandry for many years. In 1814, during the War of 1812, he enlisted in the army, but was never mustered into actual service. He died in Osceola on August 20, 1858. His wife, Nancy Hammond, was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, April 4, 1784, and died in Osceola on November 24, 1839. Their children were as follows: James Huntington, Alvers, Emma, Maria, Arthur F., Andrew Keller, Melchior De Pui, Nancy and Peter. Alvers Bosard succeeded to the homestead, and his widow and daughter now occupy the same. James Huntington, Emma and Nancy died in 1834, 1831 and 1836, respectively. Maria married Henry C. Bosworth, in 1843, and lived for some time at Smithfield, Pennsylvania, but removed to Osceola about 1852, and resided there until her death, in 1870.
ANDREW KELLER BOSARD was born in Osceola, Tioga county, December 27, 1819, a son of Andrew and Nancy Bosard. He was educated in the common schools and at the Wellsboro Academy, which he attended for a short time. He learned the trades of a cabinet-maker and carpenter, and also taught school four or five years in early manhood, subsequently devoting his attention to working on his farm and at his trade. In October, 1843, he married Hetty Cilly, a daughter of John and Marcia (Goodwin) Cilly, of Osceola. His wife died November 22, 1865, and in 1867 he married Anne Sherman. He resided at Osceola until his death, which occurred March 12, 1877. His second wife survived until 1882. Mr. Bosard reared a family of ten children, seven by his first wife and three by his second, as follows: James Huntington, born in 1845, a lawyer of Grand Forks, North Dakota; George Leroy, born in 1847, a carpenter and farmer, who married Mary Beagle, a daughter of the late Cornelius Beagle, of Elkland, and died in 1878; Jerome Leon, born in 1849, a carpenter residing in Nelson; Florence Hortense, born in 1851, who married Willis R. Bierly, of Williamsport, in 1872, and died in that city in 1873; Sara Louise, born in 1853, who married Willis R. Bierly, in 1874, and resides at Grand Forks, North Dakota, where her husband is a newspaper man; Willie Burns, who married Carrie Fical, in 1878, and in 1880 removed to North Dakota, and now resides at Emerado; Maria, born in 1859, wife of Herbert B. Mitchell, of Rock Island, Illinois, a son of Judge John I. Mitchell, of Wellsboro; Emma, born in 1867, wife of J. B. Redfield, of Farmington; Stella M., born in 1869, wife of Fred Allison, of Mills, Potter county, and Lizzie, born in 1874, wife of Jesse O. Treat. In the days of the State Militia, before the war, Mr. Bosard was colonel of his regiment, and was active on muster days at military encampments. During the Rebellion he was employed by the township as recruiting agent, and represented Osceola at Williamsport, Harrisburg and Carlisle. In politics, he was first a Whig of the Henry Clay school, and was one of the first to join the ranks of the Republican party at its organization. True to the instinct and teaching of his mother, he was a member of the Presbyterian church, and lived and died in that faith. He was also connected with the I. O. O. F. and the F. & A. M., in which societies he always manifested a deep interest.
STENNETT CRANDALL was born in Rhode Island, November 1, 1767, resided in Madison county, New York, for many years, whence he removed to what is now Osceola, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, in 1823, settling on the farm originally occupied by David Jay. He engaged in farming, and also worked at the shoemaker’s trade, having his shop in his dwelling house. His wife, Caty Greenman, born June 10, 1773, bore him a family of eleven children, viz: Silas, Joel, Rhoda, who married Stephen Card; Truman, Jairus, Barney, Stanton, William, Henry, Russell, and one that died in infancy. Mrs. Crandall died August 17, 1837, and her husband, November 12, 1853.
RUSSELL CRANDALL was born in Cazenovia, Madison county, New York, August 9, 1817, and the youngest son of Stennett Crandall. He was about six years old when his parents located at Osceola, where he attended the pioneer schools of the neighborhood, obtaining but a limited education. At the age of seventeen he commenced life for himself, as a farm hand, working in that capacity eight years. In 1841 he engaged in general merchandising at Osceola, which he followed successfully up to 1890, a period of nearly fifty years, when he retired. Mr. Crandall was twice married. His first marriage occurred March 12, 1844, to Jane Seely, a daughter of Nathaniel and Lucy (Kelsey) Seely, pioneers of Osceola. Of the four children born to this union, three grew to maturity, viz: Francis M., deceased; Vine and Albert S. His second wife was Mrs. Julie Scott, nee Carr, of Milesburg, Pennsylvania. Mr. Crandall is one of the leading citizens of Osceola, with which borough he has been prominently connected for more than half a century. He took an active part in establishing the Osceola High School, in 1860, served as a school director for twenty-five years, and was treasurer for nearly as long. In politics, he is a Republican.
FRANCIS MARION CRANDALL, eldest son of Russell and Jane Crandall, was a native of Osceola, where he followed the mercantile business from 1868 until 1880, when he removed to Grand Forks, North Dakota. He there continued merchandising until his death, which occurred in 1881. His wife was Orcelia C., a daughter of Charles and Maria (King) Toles, of Tioga county, who bore him one son, Charles L. During Lee’s invasion, in 1863, he served three months with the Emergency Men. In politics, he was a Republican, and was connected with the Masonic order.
VINE CRANDALL, second son of Russell and Jane Crandall, was born in Osceola, Tioga county, September 17, 1846, and obtained a good education in the Osceola High School. In 1866 he entered the general mercantile business with Philetus Crandall, under the firm name of P. Crandall & Company, in which he continued until 1869. He then located at Knoxville, where, as a member of the firm of Seely, Coates & Company, he was engaged in the banking business a number of years. In 1878 he returned to Osceola, where he has since devoted his attention to lumbering. Mr. Crandall was married December 15, 1869, to Sarah A. Kinney, a daughter of Rev. Chester D. and Eliza (Northrup) Kinney, of Osceola, and has one son, Henry K., born April 15, 1879. In politics, Mr. Crandall is a Republican, is a member of the F. & A. M., and is a trustee in the Presbyterian church. He is one of the most progressive and enterprising citizens of Osceola.
TRUMAN CRANDALL, third son of Stennett Crandall, was born in Rensselaer county, New York, February 5, 1796, and settled in what is now Osceola township, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, in 1822, taking up 130 acres of land, which he cleared and improved. In 1850, he embarked in the general mercantile business at Osceola, in which he was engaged for many years. He married Nancy Card, a daughter of Judge Card, of Madison county, New York. She died November 12, 1863. To this union were born seven children, named as follows: Philetus, Sarepta, who married Philip Tubbs; Lydia, who married Henry Seely; Silas G., Phoebe, Charles and Rebecca. Mr. Crandall died March 23, 1882, in his eighty-seventh year.
SILAS G. CRANDALL, son of Truman and Nancy Crandall, was born in what is now Osceola township, Tioga county, May 12, 1827, was reared upon the old homestead, and obtained a limited education in the public schools. He followed farming until 1850, and then engaged in the mercantile business at Osceola with his father and brother, under the firm name of P. Crandall & Brother. He also built, in connection with others, a tannery at Osceola, which he operated for several years. In 1859 he removed to Nelson, where he was engaged in farming up to 1883. In that year he located at Knoxville, which has since been his home, where he conducted the hardware business for a number of years. Mr. Crandall was married January 24, 1858, to Mary Weeks, a daughter of William and Lovina (Taylor) Weeks, of Osceola township, and has two children: Eva G., wife of James C. Goodspeed, and Lettie, wife of George W. Bottum. In politics, Mr. Crandall is a Republican, and is a member of the E. A. U.
JAMES WORKS, a native of Exeter, New Hampshire, settled in what is now Osceola, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, in 1813. In 1814 he removed to what is known as the Ouderkirk farm, in Farmington township, and thence to Troupsburg, New York, where he died and was buried. His first wife was Rachel Cass, of Exeter, New Hampshire, who bore him six children, viz: James F., Matilda, who married Hosea Aldrich; Loncy, who married George Champlin; Sally, who married a Mr. Clark; Jane, who married a Mr. Brooks, and Asa. His second wife was a Miss Whitaker, to which union was born one son, Leonidas.
JAMES F. WORKS was born in Exeter, new Hampshire, February 13, 1808, and removed with his parents, James and Rachel Works, to Tioga county when about five years old. He was reared by the Bulkley family, of Osceola, with whom he lived twenty-eight years, and obtained a limited common school education. In 1841 he purchased seventy-five acres of land on Holden creek, in Osceola township, upon which he resided until his death, which occurred December 22, 1894, in his eighty-seventh year. His wife, Jane, was a daughter of Selas and Elizabeth (Horton) Taylor, of Osceola, and bore him three children, viz: Esther M., wife of A. L. Brant; Benjamin, deceased, and Justus M. R. Mr. works was of a retiring disposition, temperate in all things, and was one of the last of the original settlers in this section of the county to pass to the great beyond. In politics, he was a stanch Democrat, but never took any active interest in public affairs.
JUSTUS M. R. WORKS, son of James F. and Jane Works, was born in Osceola, Tioga county, August 12, 1860. He obtained his education in the public schools and Woodhull Academy, and has made farming his vocation, having spent his entire life upon the old homestead, where he was born and reared. In politics, he is a Democrat, has held various local offices in Osceola borough, and is at present a school director.
JOHN HAZLETT, SR., son of Robert Hazlett, was born in the North of Ireland, and immigrated to the United States in 1810. The same year he settled in Nelson township, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, where he cleared and improved the farm now occupied by his descendants, upon which he died. On April 11, 1811, he married Jane Campbell, a daughter of Joseph Campbell, of Nelson township, and their children were as follows: Rachel, who married James Cook; Mary, who married John Flint; Samuel, who married Catherine Knapp; Archibald, Jane, John, Eliza Ann, who married William Merritt; Sally J., who married Charles Horsley, and Maria, wife of Washington Richardson.
JOHN HAZLETT, son of John and Jane Hazlett, was born on the homestead farm in Nelson township, Tioga county, and spent his entire life there, engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was married March 25, 1855, to Lucy Dunham, a daughter of James and Nancy (Brown) Dunham, of Farmington township. Six children were born to this marriage, viz: Frank R., Nancy, wife of William Pepper; Edward, Ella, deceased; Fannie, wife of William Monroe, and Herbert. Mr. Hazlett died March 15, 1892. He was a member of the I. O. O. F., and an adherent of the Republican party.
FRANK R. HAZLETT was born in Nelson township, Tioga county, April 2, 1856, and is the eldest son of John and Lucy Hazlett. He was reared in his native township, and completed his education in the Corning High School. He began his business career as a clerk in the largest grocery house in Ithaca, New York, and followed that occupation five years. He was subsequently in the employ of the Fall Brook Railroad Company at Academy Corners for eleven months. In 1885 he embarked in general merchandising at Osceola, which business he has since continued, and by judicious management and strict attention to the details of his business he has built up one of the largest trades in the Cowanesque valley, though he conducts his establishment on a strictly cash basis. In 1894 he built a store in Elmira Heights which is conducted by Hazlett, Monroe & Company. On December 22, 1888, Mr. Hazlett married Eula M. Taylor, a daughter of Hiram Taylor, of Osceola, and has three children: Clinton E., John H. and R. Blaine. Politically, he is a Republican, and is now serving as a justice of the peace. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and is also connected with the K. of H., the K. & L. of H., and the K. O. T. M.
HENRY C. BOSWORTH, M.D., was born in Vernon, New York, March 8, 1811, and was a son of Reed and Amarilla (Peck) Bosworth. He was reared in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, and in 1837 was graduated from Geneva Medical College, New York. For thirteen years he practiced his profession at Smithfield, Bradford county. In 1850 he removed to Deerfield, Tioga county, where he engaged in farming for two years, and also in general merchandising at Academy Corners. In 1852 he removed to Osceola, where he continued the mercantile business up to his death, December 5, 1870. His wife, Maria, was a daughter of Andrew and Nancy (Hammond) Bosard, pioneers of Osceola, and bore him three children: Edward E., Urbane A. and Charles H. Dr. Bosworth was a man of genial disposition and possessed hosts of friends. He was a member of the Presbyterian church. In politics, a Republican, he served as postmaster of Osceola from 1861 to his death.
CHARLES H. BOSWORTH, physician and surgeon, was born in Deerfield township, Tioga county, November 22, 1851, and is the youngest child of Dr. Henry C. and Maria Bosworth. He was educated at Union and Woodhull Academies, commenced reading medicine in 1879, and was graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Baltimore, Maryland, in 1881. From 1870 to 1890, he was engaged in general merchandising at Osceola, and was postmaster of that borough from 1879 to 1886. He began the active practice of his profession at Osceola in 1890, to which he has since devoted his whole attention. Dr. Bosworth was married September 2, 1872, to Ida V. Seely, a daughter of Morgan and Harriet (Beebe) Seely, of Osceola, and has two children: Ford E. and Reed S. Mrs. Bosworth died April 14, 1896. In politics, he is a stanch Republican, a member of the Masonic order, and an adherent of the Presbyterian church.
PROF. ISAAC GUNN HOYT was born in Kingston, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, July 23, 1826, a son of Levi and Sarah (Gunn) Hoyt. His paternal grandfather, Daniel Hoyt, a son of Comfort and Anna (Beach) Hoyt, of Danbury, Connecticut, settled in Kingston, Pennsylvania, in 1795. His maternal grandfather, Abel Gunn, was a direct descendant of one of the Scottish chiefs, who was head of a clan in the Highlands of Scotland. He came to America prior to the Revolution, and served in that was as a member of Washington’s body-guard. The subject of this sketch was educated at the Kingston graded schools, Wyoming Seminary and Poughkeepsie Seminary, and studied music at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Poughkeepsie, New York, and the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, Massachusetts. For several seasons he attended the annual sessions of the New England Institutes of music, thus availing himself of the advantages to be obtained by these courses under the best musical directors. He devoted his life to the musical profession, and to the cultivation of music as an art. His method of teaching was the same as that used by the New England Conservatory of Music, obtained from L. Franklin Snow, secretary of the Conservatory, and consisted of studies from Bach, Moschelles, Kohler, Beethoven and others of the old masters. In 1853 Professor Hoyt located at Osceola and entered upon his life-work as a musical instructor. He taught here one year, and in 1854, at Ithaca, New York. From 1856 to 1859 he was musical instructor at Osceola and Union Academy; from 1859 to 1861 at Greensboro Synodical Female College, Atlanta, Georgia; from 1861 to 1865 in the Osceola High School, and from 1866 to 1871 at the State Normal School, Mansfield. In 1872 he opened the Osceola School of Musical Instruction, which he conducted successfully four years. In 1884 he was again called to take charge of the Musical Department of the State Normal School at Mansfield, which position he filled until 1887. He resigned and returned to Osceola, where he was engaged in giving musical instruction and dealing in musical instruments up to his death, November 12, 1895. In 1859 Professor Hoyt married Charlotte R. Taylor, a daughter of Philip and Sally Taylor, of Osceola. They reared an adopted daughter, Leah Louise. Professor Hoyt was a member of the F. & A. M., and was an adherent of the Republican party from its organization.
SYLVANUS S. BAKER was born in Otsego county, New York, November 28, 1813, a son of George and Susan (Knapp) Baker. He was reared in his native county, whence he removed in 1844 to Chatham township, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, and a year later settled in Westfield township, where he cleared and improved a farm, upon which he died in the winter of 1895. In May, 1834, he married Sally Guiles, a daughter of Ray and Molly (Hodge) Guiles, of Otsego county, New York. Nine children were born to this union, viz: Leroy, Molly, who married Anderson Burdick; George, Susan, who married Samuel Pierce; Aaron E., Lester, Arsula, who married Albert Gament; Annie, wife of Dana Learn, and Allen. Mr. Baker was a member of the Westfield Methodist church, and in politics, a Republican. Mrs. Baker was an able and willing helper, bearing cheerfully a large part in providing for her family. She was one of whom those who knew her could say only good.
AARON E. BAKER, son of Sylvanus S. Baker, was born in Chatham township, Tioga county, May 25, 1844, and was reared to manhood in Westfield township. In 1867 he located on his present farm situated on the line of Osceola and Farmington townships, and lived on the Farmington side up to 1884, when he moved to his new residence in Osceola. Mr. Baker was married December 25, 1866, to Ann Casbeer, a daughter of Robert and Susan (House) Casbeer, who were among the pioneers of Farmington township. Of the five children born to this union, four are living, viz: Robert C., Raymond E., Victor H., and S. Lelia. Mr. Baker and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is superintendent of the Sunday-school, also a class leader. In politics, he is a Prohibitionist, and is a member of the Patrons of Husbandry.
ROBERT CASBEER BAKER, eldest son of Aaron E. Baker, was born in Farmington township, Tioga county, August 30, 1868, was reared beneath the parental roof, and obtained his education in the Osceola public schools. With the exception of four years that he clerked in a general store at Osceola, farming has been his occupation, and he has lived on his present farm since the fall of 1888. Mrs. Baker is a grand-daughter of Newton and Phoebe Ann (Barker) Bulkley, and great-grand-daughter of Israel Bulkley, who settled in what is now Osceola in the year 1800. Mr. and Mrs. Baker have two children living, Frances Edna and Anna C. They reside upon the old Newton Bulkley homestead. Mr. Baker is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, while his wife is an adherent of the Presbyterian faith. In politics, he is a Republican.
GAYLORD G. COLVIN was born in Herkimer county, New York, and was a son of Joshua Colvin, and a grandson of Joseph Colvin, pioneers of Deerfield township, Tioga county, Pennsylvania. Joshua Colvin improved upwards of 300 acres of land near Academy Corners, in which work he was assisted by our subject. The Colvins were of Rhode Island Quaker stock. Joseph was a son of Joseph, a grandson of Thomas, a great-grandson of Samuel, and a great-great-grandson of John Colvin, the first of the family to settle in America. The children of Joseph and Ruth Colvin, the pioneers of Deerfield, were as follows: Wealthy, who married Nehemiah Robinson; Joseph, Betsey, who married Daniel Cummings; Lydia, who married Jonathan Matteson; Joshua, Christopher and Thomas. Of these Joshua and Christopher were the father and father-in-law, respectively of our subject. Gaylord G. Colvin came with his parents to Deerfield township, Tioga county, and was successively a farmer and merchant. In later life he removed to Osceola, where he died May 8, 1883, at the age of eighty-two years. His wife, Ruth, was a daughter of Christopher and Elizabeth (Hills) Colvin, of Herkimer county, New York. She became the mother of seventeen children, only three of whom grew to maturity, viz: Benjamin F., Daniel C., and Mary C., wife of Charles L. Hoyt.
BENJAMIN F. COLVIN was born in Herkimer county, New York, January 10, 1826, a son of Gaylord G. and Ruth Colvin. From the age of seven years, he was reared in Spring Mills, New York. In 1848 he removed to Bingham, Potter county, Pennsylvania, where he lived until 1871. In that year he removed to Osceola, Tioga county, where he was engaged in farming until 1883, when he retired from active business. On January 31, 1862, Mr. Colvin enlisted in Company K, One Hundred and Eleventh Pennsylvania Volunteers. In May following he was injured in a railroad wreck, between Harper’s Ferry and Winchester, Virginia, and was honorably discharged from the service January 31, 1865. In October, 1865, he married Jennie Crissman, of Blairsville, Pennsylvania. Mr. Colvin is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is also connected with the Masonic order and the G. A. R. In politics, he is an advocate of the principles of the Prohibition party.
JOHN BROWN was born in Sweden, January 2, 1847, a son of Johannes and Kate (Andrus) Brown. He was reared to manhood in his native country, there received a common school education, and came to the United States in 1869. He remained in Hartford, Connecticut, eight months, coming to Fall Brook, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, in 1870, where he found employment in the mines five years. In 1875 he removed to Elkland, entering the employ of Joel Parkhurst, and in 1876 engaged in farming, which business he has since continued. He lived in Elkland up to April 1, 1894, when he removed to Osceola, which was his home until the spring of 1897 when he took charge of one of the Pattison estate farms in Elkland. During his former residence at Elkland, he was buyer for a large wholesale tobacco house of New York City. On January 24, 1874, he was married in Fall Brook to Christina Hunson, a native of Sweden, and has three children, viz: Ann, Charles and Emma. In politics, Mr. Brown is a Republican, was burgess of Elkland three terms, school director three years and assistant assessor three years.
HORACE ELDRIDGE, a native of Saratoga county, New York, was a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Graham) Eldridge, natives of Vermont, and New York states, respectively, who settled in Clymer township, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, in 1847. Horace assisted his father in clearing a farm, and in 1861 returned to Saratoga Springs, New York. In 1862 he enlisted in Company F, Ninety-fifth New York Volunteers, and was killed at the battle of Weldon Railroad, near Culpepper, Virginia, in May, 1864. His wife, Mary, was a daughter of Sylvester Hall, of Saratoga, New York, and bore him two children: Elizabeth, wife of William Baker, of Woodhull, New York, and John Edward, of Osceola, Tioga county.
JOHN EDWARD ELDRIDGE was born in Clymer township, Tioga county, September 21, 1849, and is the only son of Horace and Mary Eldridge. He was educated in the common schools of his native township and at Fort Edward Institute, Fort Edward, New York. He followed clerking in a general store for two years, and from 1866 to 1880 clerked in various hotels, including the Marvin House, Saratoga Springs, New York; Sun Hotel, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Frasier House, Elmira, New York. Since 1880 he has been employed in the Osceola tannery, and for the past ten years has held the important position of superintendent of the liquor department, being in charge of the liquid used in tanning leather. Mr. Eldridge was married October 4, 1874, to Mary Gleason, a daughter of John and Mary Gleason, of Elmira, New York. They have four children, viz: George, Frances, Walter and Gertrude. In politics, Mr. Eldridge is a Democrat, and is a member of the K. of H.
PROF. ARTEMUS EDWARDS was born at Norwich, Chenango county, New York, October 31, 1843, and is a son of Andrew and Sarah A. (Brookins) Edwards. He was educated at Professor Kenyon’s academy, Troupsburg, New York, and Alfred University, Alfred, New York, and began his career as a teacher at seventeen years of age. He taught twenty terms in the common schools of New York state. On March 27, 1863, he enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Sixty-first New York Volunteers, was with General Banks on the Red River Expedition, and took part in the battles of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely. He was honorably discharged at Tallahassee, Florida, November 17, 1865, and returned to his home in New York, where he resumed teaching. In 1882 he located at Westfield, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, where he was principal of the graded schools six years. In 1888 he became principal of the Osceola High School, a position he filled in a very creditable manner and to the satisfaction of the people up to the spring of 1896. In the autumn of that year he took charge of the schools at Potter Brook, which position he still occupies. On March 14, 1867, he married Maria Brown, a daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Bartles) Brown, of Oxford, New York, and had three children by this union: Fred E., Edith M. and Paul J. His second wife was May Northrop, a daughter of Dr. G. W. and W. Ellen (De Wolf) Northrop, of Bradford county, Pennsylvania, who is the mother of two children: George A. and Ellen M. Professor Edwards is a Democrat, in politics, and in religion, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a R. A. M. in the Masonic order, and is also connected with the G. A. R.
GEORGE REBER was born in Locust Valley, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, September 19, 1824, and is a son of George and Mary (Knittle) Reber. His paternal grandfather, George Reber, was a native of Schuylkill county, where he kept a hotel for many years, and was an extensive owner of coal lands. His maternal grandfather, Abraham Knittle, was a prominent farmer of that county. The subject of this sketch was reared in Schuylkill county, and received a meager common school education. He served an apprenticeship at the blacksmith’s trade, which he completed in 1851, and followed that vocation upwards of thirty years. In 1885 he located at Academy Corners, Tioga county, where he was engaged in quarrying stone for three years. He quarried the first flag-stone from the Ingham quarry, near Academy Corners, and also from the Westfield quarry. In 1888 he located at Osceola, where for the past nine years he has been engaged in quarrying a fine grade of flag-stone from a quarry which he leased at that place. Mr. Reber has been twice married. His first wife, Mary Jane Cavenaugh, was a daughter of James and Mary (Clark) Cavanaugh, of Elmira, New York, and bore him five children, viz: James, George, Charles, Ella and Wilson. His second wife was Mrs. Elizabeth Reed, nee Fuller. Mr. Reber is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics, a Republican.
EDWIN E. CLARK, physician and surgeon, was born in Woodhull, Steuben county, New York, May 15, 1866, and is a son of Eleazer and Julia A. (Johnson) Clark, and is of New England ancestry. He was reared in New York state, and was educated in the common schools and Starkey Seminary. In 1889 he commenced the study of medicine and was graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Baltimore, Maryland, in April, 1893. In May of that year he located at Osceola, where he has gradually built up a good practice, and has secured the confidence and esteem of the community. Dr. Clark was married October 17, 1894, to Bertha May Duley, a daughter of John G. and Alice (Ives) Duley, of Osceola. He is a member of the F. & A. M., and in politics, a Republican.
LEWIS J. CLARK was born at Scio, Allegany county, New York, July 10, 1867, and is a son of John and Sarah (Russell) Clark. His maternal grandparents, Hamilton and Sarah (Van Zile) Russell, were pioneers of Osceola, Tioga county, Pennsylvania, where his grandfather was a miller and merchant, and died in that place. Lewis J. was reared in his native county, and began his business life clerking in a general store at Allentown, New York, in which capacity he served one year. He then learned telegraphy and was an operator on the Bradford, Eldred and Cuba railroad, and also carried on a variety store at Allentown four years. For a short time he was employed as a traveling salesman, and for two years was a band leader and director of music in Allegany county, New York, and Potter county, Pennsylvania. In the spring of 1895 he opened a grocery and variety store at Osceola, Tioga county, and has since built up a good trade. On February 20, 1895, he married Ruth, a daughter of O. B. and Mary Van Velzor, of Wirt Centre, Allegany county, New York. In politics, he is a Populist, and is a member of the I. O. O. F., the Jr. O. U. A. M., the Knights of St. John and Malta, and the College of Ancients.
W. RENSSELAER COLVIN was born in Woodhull, Steuben county, New York,
May 29, 1870, a son of DeLancey and Mary (Brooks) Colvin. He was educated
at Woodhull Union school, where he graduated in 1889. Mr. Colvin began
life as a merchant, which he continued five years, and subsequently was
a buyer of live stock for the New York markets. In the fall of 1894 he
embarked in the hotel business at Osceola, where he has since conducted
one of the best hotels in Tioga county, known as the Osceola Hotel. On
December 24, 1890, he married Cora Wildrick, a daughter of William and
Susannah (Tubbs) Wildrick, of Woodhull, New York, who died November 15,
1896. Mr. Colvin is a member of the K. O. T. M., and in politics, an adherent
of the Republican party.
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