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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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old his parents came to Port Jervis, New York, where he had relatives. He served an apprenticeship at the molders trade in Port Jervis and Middletown, New York, in 1862 came to Athens, where he remained about four years, during which time he worked about one year in Williamsport, and from Athens went to Wilkes-Barre, and was there two years. He returned to Athens, and in 1869 removed to Owego, New York, and worked at his trade until 1890, and then worked a short time in Williamsport. In the spring of 1890 he erected a building, 30 by 68, for his foundry, where he makes castings for plows, stove trimmings, hitching posts, chimney tops, window weights, and all kinds of castings in the rough. He was married and Athens, in April 1863, to Miss Mary, daughter of John and Mary (Buck) Doran, natives of Ireland; she is the fifth in a family of six children, and was born in Athens in 1842. To them were born two daughters, Mary and Hanora. The family is members of the Roman Catholic Church, and the father is a Republican, politically.
James W. Shiner, harness manufacturer and dealer in hides and wool, Towanda, was born in Towanda, this County, Aug. 4, 1864, he is a son of Andrew and -- -- (Wilcox) Shiner. His paternal grandfather, Stephen Shiner, came from New Jersey to Bradford County in 1836, settling in Towanda Township, where he engaged in farming, and died. His wife was Sally A. Pearson, by whom he had nine children, as follows: Silas, Andrew, Stephen, Jacob, Mary A. (Mrs. Wells Goff), Susan (Mrs. John Annis), Phebe J., Lydia E, Eliza Shiner. His maternal grandfather was James V. Wilcox, a resident of Towanda, where he still resides. Andrew Shiner is a farmer of Towanda Township, where he was reared from six years of age. His children were four in number, viz.: Fanny (Mrs. Dr. F. W. Brockway), James W., Charles S., and Fred. James W. Shiner, the subject of this sketch, was reared in Towanda Township, received a common school education, and learned the harness makers trade with his grandfather, J. V. Wilcox, of Towanda, serving an apprenticeship of three years. In 1887 he engaged in business for himself, and has build up a successful trade. He married in November 1886, to Mary E., daughter of Stephen and Caroline (Holmes) Strickland, of Wysox, Pennsylvania, and has one daughter, C. Eugenia. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and politics he is a Republican.
Abram F. Shoemaker, farmer, Greenville Township, PO Granville Summit, was born in Granville, this County, May 31, 1833, and is the son of Malachi and Susan (Shafer) Shoemaker, formerly of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, who settled in Granville in 1826, cleared and improved the farm now owned by T. F. Porter, and died there. Their children were: Payne, Catherine (Mrs. Alex Lane), William, Susan (Mrs. Alva Mitchell), Malachi T., Martha A. (Mrs. Peter Groom), Elizabeth (Mrs. John Fenton), Mary A. (Mrs. James Davis), Sarah (Mrs. Lewis Spalding) and Abram F., the latter of whom was reared in Granville, and settled on the farm he now occupies, in 1858, where he has since resided. He married, October 10, 1858, Sophia, daughter of David and Sally (Downs) Coe, of Granville, and his four children: Frances E., Hattie (Mrs. O Hawthorn), L.D. and Harry. Mr. Shoemaker enlisted, Sept. 27, 1864, in the Civil War, and served in the 15th New York Engineers, and after nine months service was honorably discharged; is a member of the GAR and P. of H.; politically he is a Democrat.
Mahlon W. Shores, teacher, Sheshequin Township, PO Sheshequin was born in Sheshequin, this County, April 3, 1863, and is the only son of Meramon and Mary (Shores) Shores, natives of Sheshequin and of English origin. He is a descendant of the Shores family, who occupies so important a place in English history, as well as in history of Bradford County. Our subject was reared on a farm, educated in the common school, Towanda graded school, Susquehanna Collegiate Institute, and Warner's Commercial College, Elmira, from which he was graduated in 1884. He has taught nine terms of school in Bradford County, and has been salesman in various capacities and in different lines. He is in strong sympathy with the Republican Party, but votes purely on principal and for the best man.
Henry W. Shortelle, shoemaker, LeRaysville, was born June 23, 1853, a son of Robert P. and Mary (Finn) Shortelle, the latter of whom, who is still living with her son H. W., was born in Carrickon-Suir, County Tipperary, Ireland, the third in the family of six children of Stephen and Margaret (Briscon) Finn. She was married, in 1833, to Robert P. Shortelle, also a native of Ireland, and they came to America in 1836, settling at LeRaysville, where the father was employed as superintendent of a boot and shoe department, and afterward had a shop of his own; he was for several years overseer of a boot and shoe factory in Elmira, New York; he died November 8, 1859. They had the following children: Patrick, born March 17, 1834, died Feb., 1836; Robert, born 1835, died in infancy; Robert, Jr., born in 1837, died in infancy; Margaret, born 1840, married Perley Coburn, who has been principal of the Elmira Grammar School twenty-six years; Robert (third), born March 30, 1843 (enlisted as clerk in company I, state Pennsylvania reserves, in 1861, rose to adjutant’s clerk and his commission of lieutenant arrived the day after his death; he participated in fifteen battles, and was killed in Gettysburg, July 3, 1863, by a. grape shot; he was a graduate of Binghamton Commercial School); Stephen, born in 1845, and died 1850; James E., born in 1847 (was graduated from the Susquehanna Collegiate Institute, Towanda, appointed cadet at West Point, on recommendation of Judge Mercur, was graduated in a very good standing in his class, June 12, 1871, and died in Elmira, on his way home, Aug. 5, same year. Once, when home on a vacation, a young man by the name of Davis, who had been in the army, requested James to go through the West Point drill to see if it was the same as in the army; he did so with an old musket that had lain untouched many years; when the order was given to "fire" his hands seemed to tremble on the trigger and he refused, but young Davis, who was acting as drill master, stamped his foot, repeating the command; James fired and killed Davis instantly; as these two young man were the greatest of friends, the incident is sad to relate, and, it has been often remarked, "the shot killed them both"). The youngest child is Henry W., born June 23, 1853, a shoemaker by trade, who had a shop for some time in LeRaysville, and has been in the employ of Carl and Pierce several years. The Shortelle family are members of the Roman Catholic Church, in politics are Republicans. Mrs. Shortelle was married, Jan. 25, 1868, to Azariah Champion, a farmer in Pike Township; he died Dec. 18, 1884. Mrs. Champion, who is now seventy-four years of age, still takes much interest in all kinds of literature; she is a great reader and an excellent conversationalist, fully up with the times; she is one of those types of true and upright womanhood one always feels better by having met.
John Anderson Shuman, blacksmith, Sugar Run, was born at Tamaqua, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, and is the fourth in the family of eight children of George and Mary (McCancey) Shuman, the former a native of Pennsylvania, born of German lineage, and the latter a native of Ireland. He began life for himself at the age of fifteen, blacksmithing with Joseph Geiger, of Mainsville, where he was engaged at clerking for a time, but resumed blacksmithing, and finally went into the hotel business, in which he remained about a year, when he sold out and moved to Wilkes-Barre, where he continued in the hotel business two years; thence went to Panther’s Lick, where he operated a sawmill for Schurchill; then went to a Foot of Plain, where he superintended the Schrader Land Company’s sawmill at that place, until 1874, when he removed to Sugar Run and resumed his trade. In 1887 he went to Wyalusing, where he worked at his trade until the spring of 1891, when he returned to Sugar Run. Mr. Shuman married Amanda Gitling, of Columbia County, who died, leaving one child, Kate M., married to H.G.Gouvier, a produce dealer at Hazleton. Mr. Shuman married, for his second wife, Deborah, daughter of Daniel Wilson, of Wilmot. The subject of these lines is a member of the IOOF. at Sugar Run, the Masonic Lodge at Laceyville, and the Knights of Pythias at Barclay, in politics he is a staunch Democrat.
William Shumway, one of the prominent citizens of Spring Hill, was born, Jan. 17, 1841, on the farm where he now resides. He is a son of Cyrus and grandson of Reuben Shumway, and came from Steuben County, New York, in 1803, and settled near the present village of Wyalusing. The grandfather spoken of was an old Revolutionary soldier. When the commander of the Continental forces needed the most trustworthy of his men to guard Major Andre, he was the one selected. At another time, when it was deemed necessary that he should perform picket duty at a place where several preceding him had been shot, he said to the officer in charge: "you'll hear my gun before morning." That night and Indian, covered with a hog skin, cautiously approached the sentry, and became a corpse. In every respect a thorough pioneer, he built for himself fourteen log houses, and, as some one has said, "moved into all the empty ones he could find." He located, in 1805, where William now resides, and took from the land office a government land warrant for 436 acres, a considerable share of which is still owned by the subject of the sketch, the same having never passed out of the possession of the family.
Cyrus Shumway was a man of great physical and mental force. His ambition did not allow him to reach middle age, before he had wrested from the wilderness a valuable home for himself and for those who might succeed him. A large part of this, together with much of his native energy, he transmitted to his son. But he gave him a still better inheritance in training him, by both precept and example, to a life of integrity and usefulness.
The settlement of Reuben Shumway is believed to have been the first one made in the Township of Tuscarora. The descendant occupying these ancestral acres is a man of a thoughtful caste of mind, and of pure truthfulness and honor. Only the generosity of his character has prevented him from being the possessor of large means. Though never an aspirant for public recognition, he has held such positions as are within the gift of his friends and neighbors. In 1874 he materially aided in organizing a Farmer's Mutual Insurance Company, which now, among the citizens of Eastern Bradford, has the risks in forced to nearly $3 million. This enterprise has been so conducted as to save its members many thousand dollars. At that time he was given a place at the head of the Company as president, a position which he has ever since continued to fill. In 1863, he married Addie, daughter of Ferris Ackley, by whom he has two surviving children, the elder one Daisy, being a graduate of the Susquehanna Collegiate Institute, in the class of 91. His wife dying in 1877, in 1884 he was remarried, this time the partner of his choice being Minnie, daughter of George Sumner. Their union has been blessed with three children. In politics, by daring to act "upon the courage of his convictions," Mr. Shumway has become a leading "Independent" Republican, and is recognized, also, wherever known, as one of Bradford County's most progressive Farmer's. The family are of French extraction, the original ancestors in this country having been Huguenots, who, on account of religious persecution, came to America in about 1695. It should be added, that in every war waged for the creation or preservation of our institutions, its blood has been represented.
Henry R. Sible, railroad watchmen, Wysox Township, was born in Rome Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, July 16, 1862, and is the youngest of the four children of Isaac and Alma (Lent) Sible, natives of Pennsylvania. He was reared on a farm, educated in the common school and in the Towanda graded schools, and began life at the age of sixteen at farming, but at twenty began braking on the Lehigh Valley Railroad. While coupling cars at Sugar Run, Nov. 14, 1885, he received an injury by which he lost the two first fingers of his right hand, and on Dec. 14, 1886, his left arm was badly crushed while working in the yard at Towanda. As soon as he was sufficiently recovered, he was employed as watchmen by the Railroad Company, and is now stationed at the East Towanda Crossing. Mr. Sible was married June 27, 1883, to Miss Sarah, daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth (Walker) Schoonover, of Standing Stone, this County, natives of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Sible have had born to them two children: Edna L., born Jan. 19, 1888, and Pearl M., born July 29, 1890. Mr. Sible has always been identified with the Republican Party.
A. J. Silvara, a merchant, Silvara, was born in Tuscarora Township, this County, Aug. 18, 1828, a son of Manuel and Jeanette (Marsh) Silvara, the former of whom was born in Portugal, and when about seventeen years of age, came to America, and worked for a man by the name of Nichols, learning the mason’s trade, which he continued about three years, and then removed to the then wilderness of Bradford and located on what is now Spring Hill; there he cleared up a farm, which after a few years residence he exchanged for wild land around where the hamlet of Silvara now stands. Here he resided nearly fifty years, and was largely instrumental in clearing up and settling the country about him; he has always been a farmer and lumber man, and built two of the first sawmills of this section; by the time of his death he accumulated a considerable fortune in money besides a large track of land containing over 800 acres. His family consisted of the following children: Joseph, a doctor (now deceased); BM, a merchant and banker of Dushore, Pennsylvania; Eliza Ann, married to Peter Cooley (deceased); Theodore, a retired farmer, of Tuscarora Township; A.J.; John, who was accidentally drowned in Muncy Creek, Pennsylvania; Emily, married to Charles Davidson (deceased); LB, a traveling salesman, residing in Silvara; E L., speculator and broker, of Perry, Michigan. A J. Silvara passed his boyhood on a farm, and received a limited common school education; at his majority he began business for himself, adapting farming as an occupation. After fifteen years he entered mercantile business in the hamlet of Silvara, opening a store in a building where he continued about five years, and then built the room he now occupies, where he has continued in business to the present time, conducting a general store. Besides his mercantile business he owns about 230 acres of valuable land and various building lots, etc. Mr. Silvara was united in marriage, Oct. 31, 1855, with Margaret E., daughter of Thomas Taylor, a prominent farmer of Tuscarora, and has a family of five children: Cora Edna, married to BP Raub, a steam sawmill owner, of Emporium, Pennsylvania; M.T., married to Francis Bunnell, a farmer of Wyoming County; T. A., married to Ethna Bennett, a farmer of Silvara; Lillie E. and Hinkley S. Politically Mr. Silvara is a Republican, and has filled the various town offices; in 1870 he was appointed Postmaster at Silvara, and with the exception of four years under Cleveland's administration has filled the office since. Mr. Silvara ranks well toward the front among the successful men of the County.
William R. Sims, farmer, PO Troy, was born in Troy Township, this County, Nov. 26, 1842, and is a son of John and Charlotte (Case) Sims, the former of whom, a farmer by occupation, was born in Wells Township, but spent most of his life in Troy Township, where he died at the age sixty years; his wife was a daughter of Reuben and Statira (Hugg) Case, and grandmother of Rubin and Experience (Nichols) Case, who settled in Troy Township in 1798; her father was the first white male child born in Troy Township. William R., Jerusha (Mrs. James Worden), Mary (Mrs. John Soper) and Charles. William R. Sims was reared in Bradford County, and educated in the common schools. In the Civil War he enlisted, Oct. 14, 1861, in Co. C., Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry; he participated in all the experiences of the regiment, with the exception of six months he was on detached duty; he was promoted to corporal, then to Sgt, and was honorably discharged as 2nd Lieut. at Macon, Georgia, Aug. 27, 1865, and mustered out at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Sept. 14, 1865. He then returned to Troy, where he was engaged in farming until 1884. He was appointed superintendent of the insane department of the County Poorhouse, which position he filled acceptably six and one half years. On March 1, 1891, he located in Columbia Township, on the farm he now occupies. He married, Sept. 26, 1867, Phebe A, daughter of William and Lucy (Barber) Brewer, of Wells Township, and has one son, Frank E. Mr. Sims is a member of the F.&A.M., IOOF, GAR and the Patrons of Husbandry; politically he is a Republican.
Charles J. Sleeper, farmer and stockmen, Warren Township, PO Warren Centre, one of the prominent citizens of the County, was born Sept. 9, 1827, a son of John and Abigail (Lathrop) Sleeper, natives of Vermont and Connecticut, respectively, farmers. John Sleeper came to this County in 1820, and located in Warren Township, where he married Abigail Lathrop in 1826; he died, Aug. 25, 1865; his widow died Jan. 9, 1889; their family of children were three in number, viz.: Charles J., Frank F. (married to Susan Stevens, has two children and resides in the Township) and Caroline (Mrs. James A. Nichols), of Warren Township. Charles J. Sleeper grew too strong manhood in the old family home, learning more of work than books, and early commenced farming on his own account; he has prospered well and now owns 100 acres of highly improved and well cultivated land, finely equipped with good and substantial buildings. He was married in Susquehanna County, Dec. 23, 1855, to Jane E, daughter of Robert and Parmela (Baily) Sleeper, natives of Vermont and New Hampshire, respectively, and of English extraction; they had only one child, Jane E. The family came to this County in 1865; the father died May 20, 1865, the mother on July 4, 1882. To Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Sleeper were born three children, viz.: Vielda (Mrs. Alfred Day), of Susquehanna County, Silas and Fred. Mr. Sleeper is a Democrat, and during President Cleveland's term he was Postmaster at Warren Centre. The Sleeper family have an ancient and honorable record, dating back to the early and prominent people of Bradford County. Mr. Sleeper's father, John, was the son of Robert and Catherine (Fox) Sleeper natives of Vermont, who both died in 1850; their family of children were ten in number, of whom John was the fifth, in the order of birth.
George B. Sleeper, farmer, Warren Centre, is a native of Warren Township, this County, born April 28, 1844, and is a son of Josephus and Maria (Bowen) Sleeper. His father was a native of Vermont, and his mother of Warren Township, a daughter of George Bowen. The father, who was a farmer, came to this County in 1818, when it was still a wilderness, and hewed away the dark woods to make his farm on which he lived; he died Jan. 8, 1889; the mother died Sept. 5, 1860. Their family consisted of eight children, viz.: Catherine, Olive, George B., Thomas J., David A., Laura, Robert F., and James D. Their father was twice married, his second wife being Mary E. Bowen, a sister of the first wife, and by her there were two children: Willy and Mabel. The subject of this sketch, who is the third child in the family by the first wife, grew to manhood in his family, was educated in Warren Centre, engaged in farming and has followed same with evident success, clearing his own way to fortune, and is the possessor of 140 acres of well tilled and improved land, one of the finest farms in the County; has also a fine residence in the center, where he now lives. He was married here to Mary L., daughter of Caleb and Rebecca (Goff) Abell, natives of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, respectively; they had five children, as follows: Nancy B., Sarah A., Caleb T., Mary L., and Lois R. To Mr. and Mrs. George B. Sleeper were born three sons, viz.: Merton A. (a clerk in New York), G. Milton, and Roy A. Mr. Sleeper is a Republican, has been elected a justice of the peace for two terms, and has been assessor twice. This is one of the much esteemed families of Bradford County, well-known for integrity and industry.
John Jay. Slocum, farmer, Pike Township, PO LeRaysville, was born in Herrick, this County, Sept. 16, 1848, a son of Micajah and Mary E. (Fairchild) Slocum; the father was a Shoemaker and farmer, native of Connecticut and of New England origin; the mother a native of Pennsylvania and of New England lineage. In Micajah’s family there were six children, of whom John Jay is the third. He was reared on the farm, educated in the common school, and began life for himself at the age of 21, retailing milk in Binghamton, New York, where he remained six months; then worked for P.J. McCauley six months, and worked on the farm with his father, who died Sept. 21, 1877, at the age of eighty-one. Our subject purchased the homestead consisting of 165 acres of well-improved land, known as the "Perley Buck farm;" and has since build two large barns and a dwelling house. Mr. Slocum was married, February 26, 1875, to Helen, daughter of Joel and Celinda (Acla) Chilson, of Durell. Her parents and grandparents were early settlers. Mr. and Mrs. Slocum have one child, Hattie A., born Jan. 8, 1877. Mr. Slocum is a brother of Oscar B. Slocum, baggage master for the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Wilkes-Barre. In politics is a Republican.
Winfield S. Sluyter, farmer, PO Towanda, was born Feb. 24, 1855, a son of William A., and Polly (Bennett) Sluyter; his father was a native of Allegheny County, New York, and his mother of this County, whose ancestors were among the early settlers, and of German and Irish extraction. Winfield S. was born in this County, and reared on his father's farm, the one on which he now lives. He was married, August 25, 1880, to Mary J., daughter of John and Emma L. (Adams) McQueen, who were of Scotch and English ancestry. Mr. Sluyter is the seventh in a family of ten children, two of whom, Sylvester and Alonzo, were in the Civil War, where they both died. Mrs. Sluyter is third in a family of ten children, four of whom are living. There have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Sluyter five children, as follows: Anna (died in childhood), Edwin H., (born June 5, 1882), Frank M. (born July 15, 1883), John B. (born Dec. 14, 1884), Bertha M. (born October 19, 1886). Mr. Sluyter is a Republican, and takes an active interest in public affairs. He has a fine farm, under a good state of cultivation, and has combined with general farming that of market gardening and the raising of tobacco. The family are widely esteemed and prominent in the social affairs of the County.
David Smiley, farmer, PO West Franklin, was born in Canton, Pennsylvania, Sept. 7, 1822, the son of John and Susannah (Stone) Smiley, of whom the former was born near Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and the latter in this County. John Smiley was a son of Thomas Smiley, one of the early settlers in West Franklin; John had a family of eight children, all of whom grew to maturity, and six of them are now living. David is the eighth in the family, and was reared and educated in Canton and Franklin; he always lived and worked on the farm; he commenced with nothing and now has a farm of 120 acres of fertile land. On September 23, 1846, he married in Towanda, Miss Phebe Ann, daughter of Alpheus and Hannah (Kingsbury) Holcomb, natives of Connecticut, and who belong to the old class of settlers of LeRoy. To Mr. and Mrs. Smiley have been born four sons and two daughters: Oscar, married to Hattie Newell; Flora, married to B.M. Walters; Augusta, married to M. R. Foster; OL, married to Lizzie Taylor; O’Mera, and Jay, married to Blanche Andress. Mr. Smiley entered the Army in 1864, and served during the remainder of the conflict, attached to Company L. 12th New York C; Col. Savage commanding, and now in his old age draws a pension. He has retired from business in favor of his sons, O’Mera and Jay. His son O. L. has been honored with the office of deputy register and recorder, while he himself holds some important town offices; he is a member of the G. A. R., in faith a Baptist, and a Republican in politics.
Alvah C. Smith, of Smith Brothers and Turner, furniture dealers and undertakers, Towanda, was born in Wysox Township this County, Jan. 19, 1845, and is a son of John B. and Lucinda (Horton) Smith. He was educated in the common schools and Susquehanna Collegiate Institute at Towanda, and since attaining his majority has been engaged in farming and dairying. In 1886 he became a member of the firm of Smith Brothers and Turner, leading furniture dealers of Towanda, and has been a resident of the borough since 1887. Mr. Smith has been twice married; his first wife was Louisa Sanders, and his second wife was Isabel, daughter of Darius R. and Anna S. (Merwin) Manley, of Monroe County, Pennsylvania, and by her has one son, Randolph A. Mr. Smith is a member of the Methodist Church and of the K of P. In politics is a Republican, and he has held several offices while a resident of North Towanda.
Cady Smith, physician and surgeon, Alba, is a native of Ames, Montgomery County, New York, born July 11, 1849, a son of Charles and Ellen (Bowman) Smith, natives of Herkimer and Flatbush, New York, respectively. Charles Smith was a millwright by trade, and died in Schuyler County, New York, October 28, 1890, in his seventy-fourth year. Mrs. Smith still survives him, and resides in Schuyler County, New York. The subject of this memoir is the youngest in order of birth and a family of four children, viz.; Dr. O. W. Smith, of Union Springs, New York; Mary A. Wellar and Elsie Willer, of Monterey, New York, and Cady. He was reared in Schuyler County, New York, from the time he was five years of age; received a public school education, read medicine for three years, and was graduated from the Eclectic Medical College of Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia, in 1879; also attended the Medico-Chirurgical College, of Philadelphia, during the Winters of 1887 and 1888. The doctor began the practice of his profession in West Burlington, where he remained three-months; then removed removed to Schuyler County, New York, and was there until February 1881, when he came to Alba, and has since been practicing his profession in that place. Dr. Smith was married July 5, 1869, to Julie E, daughter of R.H. and Eliza D. (Goddard) Ward, natives of Troy and West Burlington Townships, respectively. R.H. Ward was a blacksmith by trade, and died in West Burlington, June 7, 1888, in his seventy-fifth year. Mrs. Ward still survives him, and resides in West Burlington. Mrs. Smith is the third in order of birth in a family of six children, and was born in Burlington, Aug. 15, 1849. The family are members of the Disciple Church. The doctor and wife are members of the Equitable Aid Union; he is also a member of the Schuyler County Medical Association; is justice of the peace, also school director, a position he has filled seven years, and has been secretary of the board during that time; politically he is a Republican. He is liberal in religion, medicine, and politics.
C.C. Smith, merchant, Camptown, was born at Skinner’s Eddy, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, June 30, 1855, a son of Leon and Mary (Bryant) Smith. His father was born in New Hampshire, and learned the trade of a blacksmith, in the shop of his father; he followed that business until forced from active life on account of failing health, and removed with his parents to Wyoming County, in 1828, and still resides there, being now in his sixty-eighth year; was a soldier of the Rebellion, and served his country faithfully throughout the war. He had a family of five children, viz.: CC; Lillie C., married to Arthur L. Vandervoort, of Skinner’s Eddy; Prescott A; Leonie, married to G.P. Stalford, agent for the LVRR, at Laceyville; and Edward E. Our subject past his boyhood at Skinner's Eddy, and learned telegraphy; when twenty-one was appointed night operator at Tunkhannock, and, remaining there three months, was then appointed day operator at Wyalusing, where he remained from 1875 to 1881; then spent a short time in Colorado, but returned to Bradford County, and in connection with his brother, P.A. Smith, purchased the mercantile business of C.S. Lafferty, of Camptown, where they have since continued as the firm of Smith Brothers. They have one of the most commodious stores in the County, and have it stocked with general merchandise, hardware, stoves and tinware, drugs, etc. They carry the greatest variety of goods of any firm in the County, and besides their mercantile interests have invested largely in real estate in California and Colorado, the investments being made under the direct supervision of Mr. C. C. Smith, who spent some time in those localities, in 1889. Mr. Smith has also made numerous inventions, among which we may mention a revolving baggage check, patented both in United States and England (in the former, April 20, 1884, in the latter, March 15th, 1884), which check is now in use on the Queen and Crescent Route; also a spring for buggies and platform wagons, patented in 1884; a sure cure for sick headache, which remedy was a discovery of Dr. P. H. Sumnee, but Mr. Smith owns a one-half interest in the patent; a ribbon clasp, patented in 1891, and "Crownet," a game to be played with disks and board, and one of the most interesting games ever invented, patented in 1889. He has pushed most of these articles to a successful issue. He was united in wedlock, Oct. 23, 1885, with Mary E. E. Avery, daughter of Major Avery, of Camptown, and this union has been blessed with two children, Raymond, born Sept. 25, 1886, and Bryant E., born Dec. 29, 1889. Mr. Smith is a member of the Baptist Church, of Camptown; of the IOOF Lodge, No. 503, and is past grand; politically, he is identified with the Prohibition party; is one of the successful businessman of the County, and has made a record of which he may be justly proud.
Clark H. Smith, superintendent of the Sayre Stream Forge and Ironworks, Sayre, is a native of Paterson, New Jersey, born Jan. 20, 1852, and is a son of Henry and Lucinda (Babcock) Smith, natives of New Jersey. His father was a farmer, and died in his native place, in 1865, in his fortieth year, while his mother died in 1885, and her fiftieth year. His grandfather, Babcock, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Clark H. Smith is the second in a family of four children; he received a common school education, and learned the ironworker’ s trade in Paterson, New Jersey, with the Paterson Forge and Ironworks, and worked there until 1873, when he went to work for William S. Sizer, in Buffalo, New York. He worked there about eight years, and the last three years was superintendent of the mill. When he left there he went to Boston, in the employ of Fisher and Son, Locomotive Forge Works, and was there about three months when he returned to Buffalo and was superintendent for the Henry Childs Buffalo Steam Forge Company for about fourteen months. He then gave up the forge business, two years, on account of his health, and went to Pittsburgh. He worked in the Locomotive Works about a year, then returned to Buffalo, and was superintendent for the Buffalo Steam Forge Company about fifteen months; thence went to Kingston, Canada, and worked in the Locomotive Works there, about two years, after which he returned to the Pittsburgh Locomotive Works, then came to Sayre, and accepted the position he now has. He married, in Paterson, New Jersey, April 13, 1873, Miss Margaret (Taylor) Feeney, natives of Ireland (she is the second in a family of six children, and
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