Tri-Counties Genealogy & History by Joyce M. Tice 1885 Seven Counties History - Bradford County PA

Photo by Joyce M. Tice June 1999

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 The township of Monroe was formed in 1821, taken from Burlington and Towanda.  Monroeton was incorporated as a borough in 1855.  The township of Monroe is bounded on the north by Towanda; on the east by Asylum; on the south by Albany; on the west by Overton, Barclay and Franklin.  It is well watered by the Towanda creek and its branches, the Fowler and Schrader, and contains a very fertile and productive soil.  Some portions of it is hilly and uneven, but it has been brought under a fair state of cultivation.

 Its early settlers were Gordon Fowler, Reed Brockaway, Jonathan Fowler, Roger Fowler, Noadiah Cranmer, John Cranmer, Samuel Cranmer, John Schraeder, John Neeley, Harmon Schraeder, Reese Stevens, William Dougherty, Jacob Bowman, David Gilbert, Timothy Alden, Jared Woodruff, Eliphalet Mason, Gordon F. Mason, Chester Mason, Ebenezer Mason, Andrew Irving, Geo. Irving, Welch Irving, Nelson Gilbert, James Lewis, Amos V. Mathews, Henry Salisbury, Elisha Cole, Anthony Vanderpoel, Russel Fowler.

 --Andrew Irving was the first tanner in Monroe township.
 --Anthony Vanderpoel built a grist mill, in the township, in 1800.
 --The coal was discovered on the Barclay mountain, by Edsall Carr.
 --Jared Leavenworth was the first blacksmith to use the Barclay coal.
 --The first school was taught in the township, in the year 1801, by Miss Polly Fowler.
 --Mrs. Gordon Fowler, planted the first apple orchard, from seeds she brought from Connecticut.
 --James Lewis, an early settler, of Monroe, was taken prisoner when twelve years of age, by the     French and Indians.
 --Evergreen Lodge, No. 163, A. Y. M., was instituted March 1, 1819.  The first officers were:     Eliphalet Mason, W. M.; Simon Kinney, S. W.; Russel Fowler, J. W.
 --Monroeton is a pleasant village, situated at the junction of the Sullivan and State Line  Railroad and the Towanda and Barclay Railroad.
 --Eliphalet Mason was an early settler of Monroe, a teacher, Justice of the Peace, Deputy Sheriff, County Commissioner, Register and Recorder, He was the father of  Hon. Gordon F. Mason.
 --John Schraeder, an early settler, was a Hessian.  He deserted from the British Army, in New Jersey, during the revolutionary war and joined the Continental Army, and remained in service Until Independence was won.
 --“Old Mother Northrup,” died in Monroe, in the year 1837, aged one hundred and twelve years, and ten months.  She was married when she was about one hundred years old, to Mr. Alexander Howden; a revolutionary soldier.  The magistrate performing the service was Samuel Gore, Esq., Of Sheshequin.
 --Monroeton Lodge, No. 137, I. O. O. F., was instituted at Monroeton, February 12th, 1846.  The first officers were: D. C. Salisbury, Noble Grand; E. W. Morgan, Vice Grand; Gordon F. Mason, Secretary; William H. Strickland, Treasurer.  The first initiations were: Anthony Mullen, Henry S. Salisbury, William Gosline, Joseph B. Smith, Robert Hunter, Eliphalet Mason, Dr. Samuel Huston, Ira H. Stevens, S. S. Hinman, Peter C. Ward, Elias Mathewson, O. D. Satterlee, O. O. Shipman, Benjamin Wilcox, George Tracy, James H. Wells, Byron Kingsbury, Wilson Rogers, Gordon F. Mason.  This was the first lodge of Odd Fellows instituted in the county of Bradford.  For years a strong feeling had existed against the formation of secret societies, and especially Free Masons.  The introduction of Odd Fellowship was regarded by the uninitiated as being only Masonry revived in a re-organized form, and strong sentiments of opposition to any secret societies was manifested.  Many who had been Free Masons joined Odd Fellowship, and together they turned in a measure, the strong tide of opposition in its favor.  Yet they were extremely cautious, and for many years had much to discourage and annoy them.  The order  however, continued to flourish and increase in numbers and strength, until Odd Fellowship in Pennsylvania stands first in the list of Odd Fellows in the United States.  Monroeton has the  honor  of having the first Odd Fellows Lodge in Bradford county, established within its limits,  and Athens, the honor of the first Masonic lodge.  It is a subject worthy of remark, that there has  never been any rivalry, contention, or disagreement at all between Odd Fellows and Free Masons notwithstanding, they are two separate and distinct organizations, thus setting an example worthy  of imitation by other organizations.  They both aim to improve the morals, instruct their members relieve the poor and needy and spread the mantle of charity in its broadest form.
 

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