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History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania with Biographical SketchesBy H. C. Bradsby, 1891If You Have Photos of People Mentioned on the Page, Send Them In For Inclusion |
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removed from New Jersey, located in Monroeton, this county, where he engaged in the milling business in 1850, which he followed five years successfully; he then embarked in a new enterprise in the sale of Phillip’s Water Wheel, at which time he accumulated considerable money. He traveled through various States in the sale of these wheels. At the age of twenty-seven he married, March 25, 1860, Miss Mary L., daughter of S. S. Hinman, by which union there were born four children, two of whom are now living: Charles E. (married to Miss Mary Summers, of Newark, N. J.; they have one child, Edward B.) and Carrie M. Mr. Park is a prosperous farmer, and follows a general line of industry. He is living on a farm of 140 acres of well-watered and fertile land on the Towanda creek, between Franklindale on the east and West Franklin on the west; also owns a farm in LeRoy township of 108 acres. He is a respected and honored citizen, having held the office of justice of the peace fifteen years. Mrs. Park’s father, S. S. Hinman, was one of the earliest and most successful business men of Monroeton; he was born June 18, 1811, died May 22, 1881; his grandfather, John Hinman, was the first man connected with the history of Bradford county; he was born February 5, 1748.
DOCTOR IRA R. PARK. The family name of this gentleman is that of one of the most noted families in the early history of Susquehanna Valley. The name of Thomas Park is full of history of both Bradford county and the Wyoming Valley, of those dreadful times that tried men’s souls, and by marriage the blood is linked with that of Col. John Franklin, a name that will stand pre-eminent for all time in the history of the struggles of the Connecticut people in the settlement of the "Seventeen Townships." Thomas Park, the grandfather of the gentleman whose name stands at the head of this sketch, was the first settler in the present township of Litchfield. Josiah Park, father of Thomas, was an Englishman, who, when young, was a sailor, but who left the sea and came to America, settling in Connecticut, where his son Thomas was born; when he had grown to be a young man, he heard of the condition of the people in Forty Fort, and was one of the first to volunteer to come to their rescue, but reached the ground, unfortunately, a few days after the Wyoming massacre, or battle. He remained here, however, some time in the stockade the settlers had built, and hearing that some sugar-campers were surrounded by Indians, he raised a company and went to their rescue, and, in the skirmish that ensued with the Indians, he was wounded by a musket ball in the thigh, and he carried the leaden bullet with him to the grave. He was married in Wyoming county, at the Shawnee stockade, to Abigael Nesbitt. He reared a family of children, as follows: Daniel, Samuel, James N., Thomas, Joseph, Amos, Benjamin, Sally, Mary Elizabeth and Susanna. Josiah Park, when old and infirm, came and spent his last days with his son, Thomas. He cleared away the brush for a cemetery, and was the first to be buried there, nearly one hundred years ago. The third son, James N., was the first child born in the present township of Litchfield, in 1793, and in time became a prominent farmer. He married Margaret McKinney, by whom there was one son, Orrin, when she died, about the year 1820. His second marriage was about 1823, with Sybil
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Franklin, daughter of Samuel Franklin, a brother of Col. John Franklin, and of this union there were children as follows: Margaret, Samuel, Loduski, Ulysus, Ira R., Clarissa and Hugh W. After this last marriage the father went to Luzerne county, where this family of children were reared. The mother of the last above-named children died in 1841, when Mr. Park returned to Bradford county to make his home, and afterward he married Annie Bronson, by which marriage there were two children: Elizabeth and Homer. James Park died in Litchfield township, in 1858, and was soon followed to the grave by his widow.
Dr. Ira R. Park is the fifth in the order of birth, as noted above, in the list of names of the children of James Park, and his home, early life and education were in Litchfield, his birthplace. When he attained his majority he diligently engaged int he study of medicine, and graduated at the Philadelphia Medical College in 1870, and from that time he has continued in the practice. Dr. Ira R. Park and Martha Park were united in marriage in Litchfield; she is the daughter of Reuben and Maria (Snider) Park, natives of New York and of German descent. Dr. Park then moved to Overton, in 1870, where he has made his permanent home. Their family of five children were as follows: Reuben, James F., Maria O., Edgar R. and Sybil G. (died at the age of five). The Park family have been noted Democrats in their political faith.
FRANK W. PARKS, P. O. Athens, was born in Sheshequin township, April. 12, 1854, on the farm now owned by Julius White, and is a son of James G. and Lenora (Green) Parks. His father was a lumberman and farmer, and spent the greater portion of his life in Bradford county; was a soldier in the War of the rebellion, a member of the Fiftieth New York Engineers, Company B. Frank W. was the second in the family of four children, Edward, the eldest, Medora, the third, the fourth died in infancy. Frank attended school in Monroe township, and in Athens, Litchfield and Rome, and completed his studies at the Susquehanna Collegiate Institute, Towanda. He commenced teaching in 1873, and followed that occupation seven years; then obtained employment in the Sayre Axle Works, and remained there three years; then engaged with the Milton Steam Forge Company one year, after which he went to Lewisburg, and was there about one and one-half years, and then went to Litchfield and commenced farming on the farm now owned by Phoebe Campbell. Later he removed to the farm he now owns, of 105 acres, about sixty of which are improved. October 12, 1887, he married Kate, daughter of Joel and Pheobe (Perry) Campbell, sixth in the family of ten children: Edgar, the eldest, married Mary Cranford, and resides in Elmira; George is with his mother; Emery married Emma Hulett, and resides in Litchfield; Newton married Mary Lufkin, and resides in Iowa; Jane was married to William Ferguson, of Ithaca, N. Y.; Alice was married to William Carpenter, of Athens; Jay died in infancy; Lottie, Pearly and Kate. John C. and Harrison, uncles of Frank W., were soldiers of the Civil War. John was a member of the Fifty-seventh P. V. I., while Harrison joined the Michigan Cavalry. Mr. Parks is a member of the I. O. O. F., Litchfield Lodge, No. 938, and is at present assistant secretary of that Order; he is a Democrat in politics.
ISAAC AUSTIN PARKS, farmer and stock-grower, P. O. South Hill, was born in New London, Conn., October 26, 1814, a son of Isaac Parks, who was born in Groton, Conn., October 25, 1784. Grandfather Stephen Parks, a native of Connecticut, a farmer by occupation, was drowned in the North river while trying to cross on the ice, in 1792; he married Annie Williams and they had four children, viz.: Stephen, Isaac, Eunice (wife of R. Avery) and Darius. He had served in the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Stephen Parks died in her eightieth year. Isaac Park attended school until his fifteenth year, and served an apprenticeship at the boot and shoe trade, while attending school, three months each year, until he attained his majority. In 1805 he joined the militia, and served until 1813; was a Minute Man the remainder of the year. In 1814 he removed to Otis, Mass., where he built a tannery and shoe shop, and carried on business four years; then sold and came to Pennsylvania, settling in Orwell township, where he took up a "possession claim," now the homestead, and here spent the remainder of his life. He married, at New London, Conn., in 1812, Hannah, daughter of Jonas and Lucy (Spicer) Gray, and died in 1850; they had three children, viz.: Isaac Austin, Lucy (deceased) and Jackson. Isaac Austin Parks attended school at Orwell until his nineteenth year, and then worked on the farm five years, and went to Arkansas two years, as a mill-wright; then to "old Dick Gentry," of Missouri, who was engaged in the Santa Fe carrying trade, arriving at Kansas, Council Grove. Mr. Gentry was called to New York and Mr. Parks assumed the responsibility of delivering the goods in Santa Fe, which place he reached, and, after disposing of part of the goods, was rejoined by Mr. Gentry, and they (after wholesaling the balance of goods) started for San Francisco, via the Gila and Sacramento rivers route, arriving in June, 1840, and remaining until October, when he returned to Kansas; then at Fort Scott, Kans., he worked at his trade four years, after which he returned home, and purchased his present place of about two hundred
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and fifty acres, which was a portion of the property bought by his father. Here he has made his permanent home. He has ten horses, sixteen cattle, sixteen young stock and sixty sheep. He erected his present dwelling in 1857. In 1862 he raised, and was made captain of, Company D, One Hundred and Forty-first Regiment, P. V. I., went to the front and participated in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and numerous other engagements; when his command was on the Rappahannock he resigned, after twenty-two months’ service, went to Washington, and was discharged. He married, January 1, 1845, Melissa A. Mericle, the second in the family of thirteen children of Levi and Eunice (Coggswell) Mericle, and they had children as follows: Norman L., deceased; Arthur M., deceased; Edith M., deceased; Emma A., wife of A. R. Brutzman; Ida A., wife of Joseph W. Allen; Elbert J.; Charles F.; Willie, died in infancy; Flora M., wife of Charles Ellis, and Ella, wife of O. J. Buttles. Mr. Parks is a member of LeRaysville Lodge, I. O. O. F.; member of Hurst Post, No. 86, G. A. R. He is a Republican, and served as county commissioner from 1853 to 1856; as town assessor nine terms; as school director twenty years, and town commissioner, twelve years.
W. B. PARKS, farmer, Rome township, P. O. Rome, was born in Rome township, this county, March 19, 1820, and is a son of John and Margaret (Strope) Parks. His father was born in Massachusetts, August 20, 1879, and died in Rome, December 8, 1873. W. B., who is the third in a family of twelve children, spent his boyhood on his father’s farm, and attended the district school; his youthful days were spent in the usual occupation of the boys on the frontier - chopping, lumbering and rafting. In 1858 he purchased a one-half interest in his father’s farm, and, in 1866, bought the remainder, and added other land to it, until he owned 132 acres. On September 5, 1864, he enlisted in Company G., One Hundred and Eighty-fifth N. Y. V. I., and served until the close of the war. He was in all the battles in the campaign against Richmond, and was present at the surrender of Lee; he was discharged with his regiment, May 30, 1865, and came home and resumed farming; here he lived until 1865, when he removed to Michigan, where he remained four years; then went to Nebraska, remaining until 1890, when he returned to Bradford county. Mr. Parks married, September 21, 1846, Kansas C., daughter of James Smith, of Windham township, and to them were born two children - Ophelia and James. The family are Methodists, and James and his father vote the Republican ticket. Mr. Parks is a member of Stevens Post, No. 9, G. A. R., and has held all the offices in the same.
E AUSHMUN PARSONS, proprietor of the Bradford Argus, Towanda, the oldest newspaper in the county, and for the last twenty-six years Democratic to the core, and which has been in the Parsons family during the long and surely lonely, days of the Democracy, in good old Bradford county. "Patience, and shuffle the cards" might well have been the ornamenting motto of the faithful Argus, since it came into the hands of the Parsons - father and son - but the "silver lining" is now visible in a great, broadening band, and who shall say that so many years of hopeless gloom to this political organ may not
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return, after "an hundred days," in compound interest. Ashman, the more common name of this gentleman, well-known all over the county, is a son of Elijah Parons, and was born in Towanda, March 17, 1846; his mother’s maiden name was Miss Ethlin Brown, the family originally came from Stonington, Conn., and both families were of Bradford county. Ashman is as much the product of the Argus as any "dodger" from the regular job office; in short, the paper and the Parsons family have "pulled for the shore" together for more than half a century - through sunshine and storm, with a great preponderance of the latter. The present proprietor came near breaking the long record, when appointed deputy postmaster, in 1885, but kept one hand, all the four years of his office, on his family favorite. He graduated at the Susquehanna Collegiate Institute, but the education received there was little compared to his better, very thorough and long schooling in a country printing office, where he was under the tuition of Wilmot, Grow, Mercur, Piollet and other prominent men, giving him a more than ordinary insight into the intricacies of politics and statecraft. He was married, in Towanda, January 19, 1887, to Anna Laning, daughter of William H. Morgan, an eminent civil engineer and contractor, son of Judge Morgan, of Wysox. The Morgans were from the East, and were among the earliest families in this county, and were very prominent people. W. H. Morgan made all the first surveys and maps of Towanda and vicinity; and all over the county his surveys and plots were esteemed rare specimens of his skill as a civil engineer. He was in the Civil War during its existence, and was in the Commissary Department. He died in 1876, though yet a young man, and was as widely known, and as much respected, as any man in Bradford county. Mr. and Mrs. Parsons have two children: E. Ashman, Jr., born December 11, 1887, and William Morgan, born June 11, 1890. In their beautiful cottage on York avenue, this is one of Towanda’s happiest and most pleasant families.
JESSE PARSONS, farmer, of Columbia township, P. O. Columbia Cross
Roads, was born in Troy township, this county, September 11, 1861, and
is a son of William A. and Harriett (Whaley) Parsons. His paternal grandfather
was Allen S. Parsons, who was born in Columbia township, this county, in
1810, a son of Eli, Jr., whose father was formerly of Massachusetts, but
settled in Columbia township in 1800. All three cleared considerable land
in the township. The wife of Eli, Jr., was Hannah Rockwell, by whom he
had five children: Allen S., Almira (Mrs. Lorenzo Jones), Olive (Mrs. William
H. Pierce), Minerva (Mrs. Thomas J. Strait) and Cynthia (Mrs William Sherman).
Of these, Allen S., the only son, succeeded to the homestead, now owned
by M. S. Parsons, and died there. He was twice married: his first wife
was Eliza Harkness, by whom he had four children; Eli C., William A., Emma
(Mrs. Isaac Fogle), and Newton; his second wife was Mandana Taylor, by
whom he had two children, Mary (Mrs. John A. Patterson) and Mahlon. Of
his children, William A. was reared on the old homestead, has always been
a resident of Bradford county, and is now living in Burlington. His children
are Fred, Jesse, Frank, Newton, Grace (Mrs. Evert Andrews),
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Gertie (Mrs. Emmins Carr), Edward, Raymond, Cora (Mrs. Barney Henson) and Charles. Our subject was reared by his grandfather on the old homestead in Columbia, and has always followed farming as his occupation. He married, December 1, 1881, Ida, daughter of Nehemiah and Mrs. (White) Hodge, of South Creek township, and has one daughter, Nina. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., and in politics he is a Republican.
JOHN A. PARSONS, manufacturer, Troy, was born in Troy township, this county, December 27, 1846, a son of Dr. Alfred and Jane (Wilber) Parsons, the former of whom was a son of Thomas and Anna (Osborne) Parsons, and was born at Enfield, Hartford Co., Conn., November 16, 1797; was educated at Williams College, and studied medicine, attending lectures at Fairfield Medical College, Fairfield, N. Y., where he was graduated in 1825; in 1826 he settled in Columbia township, this county, and began the practice of his profession; and later removed to Troy township, where he was in active practice up to his death which occurred October 24, 1865. He attained a leading and prominent position in his profession, and accumulated a competency. He was one of the founders of the Bradford County Medical Society, in which he always took a deep interest, and was three times elected its president; in religious beliefs he was a Presbyterian, and gave the ground to that society, where the First Presbyterian Church of Troy now stands. His wife was a daughter of Hon. Reuben and Sally (Dobbins) Wilber, and granddaughter, on the paternal side, of John Wilber, a revolutionary patriot, and on the maternal side of William A. and Mary (McLean) Dobbins, who settled in Burlington township, this county, in 1791. Their children were four in number: Mary H. (who died in childhood), Sarah A. (Mrs. Theodora Waldron), Sophia L. (Mrs. Capt. W. H. Carnochan) and John A. Reuben Wilber, the maternal grandfather of subject, was a native of Rhode Island, born May 21, 1785, and settled in Troy township, this county in 1807, locating on a farm of 300 acres; was a soldier in the War of 1812, in which he did gallant service, and was paymaster with rank of first lieutenant; in 1825 he was elected sheriff of Bradford county; from 1830 to 1837 was State Senator and associate judge of Bradford county; from 1846 to 1851 was one of the presidential electors; was a State inspector of prisons and a member of the State Board of Equalization; he died November 5, 1881. John A. Parsons, the only son of Dr. Alfred Parsons, was reared on the old homestead in Troy township, and was educated at Troy Academy and Elmira Seminary. He began his business career as a druggist in Troy, in which he was engaged about four years; subsequently he became identified with the Enterprise Manufacturing Company (now the Troy Engine and Machine Company), and is at the head of that establishment and principal capitalist. He was married, October 4, 1871, to Mary E., daughter of Thomas and Maria (Briggs) Woodruff, of Towanda, and they have four children: Thomas W., Wilber H., Robert B., and Jane. Mr. Parsons is a prominent citizen of Troy township, a active member of the Presbyterian Church, and in politics he is a Democrat.
J. W. PARSONS, physician and surgeon, Canton, is a native of
EDWARD PARTRIDGE, farmer, P. O. East Smithfield, was born in Schoharie county, N. Y., October 20, 1837, a son of Ahira and Seba (Hodge) Partridge, who came to Ulster when Edward was three years old, settling in the wilderness, where they cleared a large farm. The father was a Republican from the formation of the party, and in religion, during the latter part of his life, he united with the Methodist Episcopal Church. The great-grandfather was a quartermaster in the Revolutionary Army. The subject proper of this sketch is the ninth in a family of eleven children - six sons and five daughters - and was reared on his father’s farm. He married, September 13, 1870, Malvina Wright, who was born February 2, 1848, a daughter of Owen and Amanda (Parshall) Wright, early settlers in the town Columbia, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Partridge have had four children, three of whom are living, as follows: Carrie J., born March 13, 1877; Mattie M., born August 28, 1879; and Edward L., born August 16, 1888. Mr. Partridge has, by perseverance and industry, accumulated a nice property, being now the owner of a fine farm of 100 acres, where he raises horses and cattle. Politically he was formerly a Republican, but for the past few years he has been a strong Prohibitionist. He is a very genial and
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pleasant gentleman, and has wide circle of friends. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
J. E. PASSMORE, merchant, Gillett, was born in Wysox, this county, October 4, 1853, a son of Henry and Polly (Allen) Passmore. Of his ancestors the Passmores were from New England, and early settled in Susquehannah county, while the Allens have been for a long period identified with Wysox and Rome townships, this county. Henry Passmore’s family consisted of eight children, who grew to maturity, of which the subject of this sketch is the fifth. He was reared in Wysox, and attended the pubic schools. He began business as a clerk in the county store at Wysox. After two years’ experience, he opened a store for himself at Gillett, in 1884, and has remained there, building up a profitable trade. He has been postmaster, and a member of various Democratic committees. In 1880 he married Olive, daughter of William and Eunice Patterson, of Sheshequin. They have three children: William H., Charity A. and John A.
THOMAS PAUL, nurseryman and gardener, Waverly, N. Y., is a native of Clackmannan (near Edinburgh), Scotland. His parents, James and Christena (Livingston) Paul, were natives of Scotland, the former of whom was a gardener, and died in his native place in 1885, in his eightieth year; the latter died, in 1854, in her fiftieth year. Thomas Paul, the subject of this sketch, is the youngest in a family of seven children, six of whom grew to maturity. He was educated in Musselburgh, Scotland, and at Kinnaird Castle, Forfarshire, served an apprenticeship at the gardener’s trade; he was a gardener for Queen Victoria, at Windsor Castle, four years. He came to this country in the spring of 1868, and in a short time went to Rochester, N. Y., where he remained about one year, then removed to Athens township, and engaged in the nursery business and farming, and for the last few years has been engaged in gardening. He has a fine grove near his residence, with a dancing hall and dining hall, patronized quite extensively for picnics and dances. His sister, Mary Ann, lives with him; he has served three years as road commissioner in Athens township. He is a Republican in politics.
EDWARD DUGGAN PAYNE, M. D., surgeon in the U. S. Navy, residence Towanda, is the second son of Rev. Thomas and Elizabeth Payne, and was born at Reading, Fairfield Co., Conn. They were of an old English Protestant family, long settled at Athlone, Ireland. Capt. Edward Payne, of the Royal Light Horse, married into the Duggan family of Tullamore, of the Established church; their son Thomas was born in 1804, and their son Edward two years later. Their father died when they were young, and they went to the care of an uncle, Thomas Duggan, who designed young Thomas for the army; the lad refused an ensign’s commission, joined the Dissenters, and was ordained to preach; he exhorted at sixteen, and preached regularly at twenty years of age. He came to America in 1830, joined the Methodist Conference, and was given charge of the Cherry Street Church, Philadelphia. Soon after he was sent as a missionary through northern Pennsylvania, where he labored until 1831, when he returned to the Conference, and was then sent to Centreville, N. J., for one year, then
Dr. Payne spent his youth with his parents in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York, and the principal part of his education was gained at Wilson Collegiate Institute. While yet a youth (in 1850) he came to northern Pennsylvania, and in September of the next year found employment in the drug store of Dr. H. C. Porter, in order to learn the business and was thus employed four years, in his leisure moments studying medicine, and in the winter of 1855-56 attended Jefferson Medical College. On his return to Towanda that spring, he had a flattering offer to go into the drug business with Hon. J. G. Patton, and accepted it, but returned in the autumn of that year, to Jefferson College, and graduated in 1857. The self-helpful boy was now a self-made man, who carved his way, unaided, and was as thoroughly grounded in the fundamentals of medicine and surgery as any young man that had ever come from his Alma Mater. He continued in business with Mr. Patton until a long and severe sickness (in 1860) compelled him to retire; he had overtaxed a delicate constitution, and a long rest was enforced.
The war came in 1861, and his quickened pulse beat high again. During
the summer he received an unsolicited permit to appear before the army
medical board, was examined, and was urged by the eminent Dr. H. H. Smith,
surgeon-general of the State, to apply to the Navy Department, and was
at once appointed, September 20, assistant-surgeon in the navy, and assigned
to duty at the Naval Asylum, Philadelphia. On December 17, following, he
was ordered to the U. S. frigate "Congress," Hampton Roads, and was in
the battle of March 8, 1862, when the "Congress" and "Cumberland" were
destroyed by the rebel "Merrimac." On his vessel, out of a crew of 250,
one hundred were killed and thirty wounded. The commanding officer was
killed, the surgeon disabled, the vessel on fire beneath the magazine,
and the duty of caring for the wounded, getting them on shore and into
a hospital, devolved upon Dr. Payne. He was detailed to bring the wounded
to Hygiea Hospital, Old Pointe Comfort, which was accomplished on the 10th,
the steamer "Adelaide" being placed at his disposal for that purpose. For
his gallant services on that occasion he received high commendations from
Surgeon Shippen. On Sunday, the 9th, he witnessed the battle
between the "Monitor" and "Merrimac." In June, following, he was ordered
to the "Powhatan," and joined the
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South Atlantic blockading squadron, off Charleston, and witnessed the first iron-clad attack on Fort Sumter. In May, 1863, he was invalided and sent North, but in a few days reported for duty and was appointed to the Naval Rendezvous, Chicago. On August 15, following, he applied for surgical duty, and was ordered as surgeon of the U. S. S. "Metacomet," and in her joined the West Gulf blockading squadron, under Farragut. At the battle of Mobile Bay, August 5, 1864, the "Hartford," Farragut’s flag ship, and the "Metacomet," led the line of battled, lashed side by side. When opposite the fort the "Metacomet" received orders to cast loose and engage the rebel vessels. She pierced the "Gaines" with a shot which sent her disabled under the walls of Fort Morgan, chased the "Morgan" behind the defenses, below the city, and captured the "Selma." Here again Dr. Payne was highly commended for his conduct, by the commander of his vessel, to the Admiral, as appears in the reports of the Secretary of the Navy. On January 24, 1865, he was ordered North, and March 6, to the Naval Rendezvous, Philadelphia. While there he was examined for surgeon, and on the 28th of that month was promoted to passed assistant-surgeon. On July 19, he was ordered to the Pacific Station, Panama, where he joined the ship "Farallones," and went to the Straits of Magellan to meet the squadron under Commodore Rogers; returned to Panama, in April, 1866, and in May was sent to the "St. Mary’s," and in this ship to San Francisco; then was ordered home, via Panama.
On the opening of the U. S. Naval Hospital, Washington, 1866, his
good friend, Dr. Maxwell, who had been fleet surgeon of the Pacific Station,
and was then in charge, asked the Navy Department to give him, as first
assistant, Dr. Payne, and he was on duty here until 1868, when he was placed
on waiting orders, and given a long leave of absence; but in July, following,
was again ordered to the Pacific Station, via Panama, to the U. S. Steamer
"Saranac," at Mare Island. In January, 1869, the officers and crew were
transferred to the "Jamestown," and ordered to cruise among the Pacific
islands. Hardly had the vessel left port, when the small-pox broke out
and forty cases were reported, with but one death. They touched at Mazatlan,
Mexico, and surveyed the gulf of California, especially the Bay of Topolobampo,
in the hope of finding a harbor of outlet to the great Arizona Valley;
then proceeded to Panama, where they received orders to proceed to the
Fiji Islands, and Dr. Payne was appointed a member of a board to consider
all unadjusted claims between citizens of the United States and residents
at Fiji, and the natives. The board discharged its duties, and January
21, 1870, the ship returned to San Francisco, from which station she sailed,
in March, for Honolulu, and was anchored in the beautiful bay of these
fairy islands about a month, when she was again sent cruising among the
Pacific islands, and returned, in a few months, to Honolulu. In March,
1871, she arrived at Panama, and there received mail, which brought Dr.
Payne the intelligence of serious illness in his family. His three years’
cruise being nearly completed, he asked for orders to return home, and
received the same. In September, he received orders as senior assistant
to the Naval Hospital, at New York, and hoped to remain here some time,
but circumstances
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