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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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GEORGE W. WILCOX, farmer, LeRoy township, P. O. East Canton, was born in LeRoy, this county, August 4, 1834, a son of Hezekiah and Eliza (Moore) Wilcox, the former of whom was born in Orange county, N. Y., December 24, 1809, and the latter at the same place March 30, 1806. The subject’s father was unfortunate in losing one of his limbs when quite a young man, in consequence of which he learned the tailor’s trade; he soon turned his attention to farming, which occupation he followed until fifty years of age, when with the aid of his sons he engaged in the lumber business under the firm name of H. Wilcox & sons, which firm continued until his death, April 22, 1876. His family consisted of six children: Samuel W., born October 30, 1831, and died in infancy; George W.; Mary, born March 23, 1836, married W. P. Tillotson; E. Western, born July 13, 1838; S. A., born October 8, 1841, and R. D., born January 7, 1844. Our subject is the second in the family and was reared and educated in his native town; in early life he taught school in this county several terms. He married, at Canton, November 4, 1857, Joanna Elizabeth, daughter of Augustus and Amy Ellis, of Tompkins county, N. Y. to them were born three sons and three daughters, as follows: Mary O., born March 30, 1860, married to Jonathan Bellows; Amy E., born December 8, 1861, married to J. T. O’Brien, of Williamsport, Lycoming Co., Pa.; J. D., born April 9, 1863; H. S., born august 31, 1867; Charles E., born May 20, 1869, and Sarah, born March 24, 1872, all of whom grew to maturity. Mr. Wilcox devotes his time to farming, but often fills the position of clerk for the merchants of Canton. He owns a farm of 100 acres of fertile land, which is well watered with living springs, and which he has stocked with Jerseys. His principal pursuit is dairying and market gardening. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, also of the Grange, and in politics he is a Prohibitionist.
JOHN L. WILCOX, merchant, Bentley Creek, was born June 20, 1863, in Smithfield, this county, a son of Orrin and Esther (Harkness) Wilcox, the former of whom, also born in Smithfield, is a carpenter and farmer; His father (the grandfather of John L.) was among the pioneers of Ridgebury township and a veteran of the War of 1812. The mother’s grandfather, John Harkness, was the first permanent settler in the town of Smithfield, and was a Revolutionary soldier. John L. Wilcox is an only son, and has two sisters. He was reared to the carpenter’s trade with his father, and graduated at the Mansfield Business College in April, 1885. In August, 1883, he located at Bentley Creek, and engaged as clerk in the mercantile establishment of Craig & Tuton. On September 14, 1887, he married Ettie B. Raynor, who was born in Orange county, N. J., and moved to Wellsburg, N. Y., many years ago. The grandfather was a veteran of the War of 1812. She was a granddaughter of Elijah and Lucetta Brown. Her father died June 30, 1863, aged thirty-three years, and her mother is now the wife of James Stirton, of Ridgebury. Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox have one son, Earl O., born August 27, 1889. Mr. Wilcox is a Republican in politics, but takes little interest in the affairs of the party, rather devoting his attention to business affairs; is also a consistent member of the Disciple Church, of Smithfield. He has one of the most pleasant homes in the village, and is one of the growing business men of his community.
LUCINDA M. WILCOX, farmer, P. O. East Canton, widow of Samuel W. Wilcox, was born in Brady township, Kalamazoo Co., Mich., February 2, 1837, a daughter of Levi and Philena (Clark) Burton, who removed from Michigan to Tioga county about 1840, where they engaged in farming. In 1854 she came to this county, and made her home with William Lewis. On August 5, 1855, at LeRoy, she married Samuel W. Wilcox, a carpenter, who was born in Bradford county, Pa., a son of Isaac Wilcox, one of the pioneers of this county. To this union were born four sons, three of whom grew to maturity: Emery B. and Emerson B. (twins), born April 13, 1856 (Emery B. married, in September 1881, Rose, daughter of Lewis and Elizabeth Sellard, of Canton; Emerson B. married, May 2, 1877, Hattie R., daughter of Walter and Emily Leavett, of Canton), and George L., born August 22, 1860, married, in December, 1884, to Lettie D., daughter of Orlando and Lucinda Perry. Samuel W. Wilcox (deceased) enlisted in the army in 1862, in Company C, One Hundred and Thirty-second P. V. I., and, for courage and good behavior, he was promoted during the first year to the rank of sergeant; he was wounded in the first finger of the right hand. After his discharge from the One Hundred and Thirty-second he joined, on September 16, 1864, a regiment of New York Cavalry for the term of three years, of which he served six months. while on a raid near Goldsborough he was shot dead on the field. Mr. Wilcox was a soldier loved and respected by his comrades in arms. His widow, the subject of this sketch, lives on the farm of eighty acres, and on which are raised stock, grain and butter. Her two eldest sons were educated at the Soldiers’ Orphans School, Hartford, where they spent six years. Mrs. Wilcox is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
S. A. WILCOX, farmer, LeRoy township, P. O. East Canton, was born in LeRoy township, this county, October 8, 1841, a son of Hezekiah and Eliza (Moore) Wilcox, natives of Orange county, N. Y., who removed to and settled in LeRoy about 1830, on a farm of eighty acres, where in addition to farming Mr. Wilcox also gave his attention to the lumber business. At the age of twelve the father lost one of his limbs through sickness, which made it difficult for him to move around in after years; his family numbered four sons and one daughter, all of whom grew to maturity. The subject of these lines, who is the fourth member of the family, was reared and educated in his native town. On June 19, 1863, he married Carrie, daughter of George W. and Hannah (Morse) Porter, of LeRoy, and to them has come one child, Coryell, born May 21, 1866, who married Mary, daughter of Hiram and Lucinda Parkhurst, and is now a prosperous merchant in North Dakota. Mr. Wilcox is engaged in general farming on a tract of 117 acres. He served nine months in Company C, One Hundred and Thirty-second P. V. I., was wounded at the battle of Fredericksburg, and now draws a pension of $10 per month. Mr. Wilcox is a member of the I. O. O. F., and of the G. A. R., and is a Republican in politics.
FREEMAN N. WILLCOX, farmer, P. O. New Albany, was born on the farm where he now resides, in Albany township, this county, April 19, 1828, a son of Hiram S. and Maria (Langford) Willcox, farmers, of English origin, former of whom was also born in Albany township. Grandfather Freeman Willcox, who was a pioneer in New Albany, and one of the first permanent settlers, was a great hunter, and is believed to have killed more deer and panthers than any man in the county; he was a soldier in the War of 1812, a man of influence in political matters, one of the founders of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Albany township, and a great Abolitionist. Hiram S. Willcox was also an active man in politics, and was a justice of the peace many years. Freeman N. Willcox was reared on the farm and at the age of fifteen years engaged in a general store at Wyalusing as a clerk; was also many years in mercantile business for himself, and has been successful in all his enterprises. Returning to his farm in 1859, he engaged in farming. In August, 1861, he enlisted in Company K, Fiftieth P. V. I., and in April, 1862, he was discharged on account of ill-health, but re-enlisted in March, 1864, in company G, same regiment; he was wounded through the thigh by a gun-shot at the battle of Spottsylvania, and was eight months in the hospital; then was detailed as clerk of his regiment, which position he held until July, 1865, when he was discharged. Mr. Willcox is a Republican in politics, and in 1880 he was elected a justice of the peace, and is now serving his third term. He was married, November 16, 1852, to Celinda A. Lawrence, who was born February 24, 1830, and whose maternal grandfather, Ephraim Ladd, was one of the pioneers of the township of Albany. Mr. and Mrs. Willcox have had the following named children: George H., married to Ada L. Jones; Frankie J., wife of Edward E. Cole; Freeman C., married to Ida Bowman, and Maud E. Mr. Willcox has a fine farm of seventy-five acres, and his grandchildren are of the fifth generation of the name who are living on the place. He is much respected by the entire community.
G. H. WILLEY, farmer, of Franklin township, P. O. Franklindale, was born in Franklin township, this county, May 26, 1852, a son of Horace S. and Debby Ann (Andrus) Willey, the former born in Dutchess county, N. Y., in 1801, the latter in Schuyler county, N. Y. The father removed to this county in 1830, locating at the mouth of Sugar creek, where he engaged in wool carding and fulling business. After the lapse of a few years he removed to Franklin township, locating on what is now known as the “Willey property,” a part of a 400-acre lot which he purchased from the State. His property was divided into two parts, one known as the “upper place,” and the other as the “lower place,” both being situated on the north side of Towanda creek. He first lived on the upper place, and operated a gristmill on the lower place, buying an old mill which he so materially improved and operated as to make a success of it, and at which he continued until his death, which occurred November 29, 1889, at the age of eighty-eight years. He was a self-made man, accumulating all of his property by hard labor, which property is now divided among his heirs. At the age of thirty-five he married Miss Debby Ann, daughter of Cyrus Andrus, by whom he had six children - three sons and three daughters - four of whom grew to maturity, our subject being the sixth in the family. He was reared and educated at Franklindale, spending two terms at the Mansfield State Normal School, and has always followed farming. On December 17, 1879, he married, at Monroeton, Marion, daughter of Humphrey and Esther Knickerbocker, former of whom was a native of New York, and died in Libby Prison during the Civil War. To this marriage has been born four children: Horace K., G. H., Jr., Max L. and Mattie L., all unmarried. Mr. Willey follows general farming. His stock is well mixed with Jerseys, and he has 100 acres of fertile bottom-land well under cultivation. He is a member of the Patrons of Industry, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is a Democrat.
A. D. WILLIAMS, of the firm of Burk, Thomas & Co., Canton, was born in Troy, May 25, 1840. His parents were Edwin C. and Julia A. (Williams) Williams, natives of Troy township, where the former was a mechanic and also followed farming; he died in Troy, in October, 1875, in his sixty-third year. The mother was the daughter of Ansel Williams, of Troy, and was born July 30, 1815, and for forty-five years resided on the spot where she died; she was person beloved by all who knew her. “Kind to the poor and unfortunate, her cheery words have lightened the gloom of many hearts and made life seem bright,” Her grandfather, David Williams, emigrated from Wales to this country in an early day. Our subject was an only child, and was reared in Troy, receiving his education in the public schools of Troy, Troy Academy and Dickson Seminary, at Williamsport, Pa. In 1867 he removed to Canton, and formed a partnership with Timothy Burk and E. H. Thomas in the general merchandising business, and it is one of the oldest and most successful business firms in the county. He was united in marriage in Canton, in 1869, with Emma, daughter of Samuel H. and Almira (Manley) Newman, natives of Wyoming county, Pa. Mrs. Williams, who is the second in order of birth in a family of six children, was born in Wyoming county, Pa., in 1843. To Mr. and Mrs. Williams was born one daughter, Anna. The family are members of the Presbyterian Church, of which Mr. Williams is an elder, and a teacher of the Sunday-school; politically he is a Republican.
FRANK WILLIAMS, farmer, Pike township, P. O Neath, was born in Middletown, Susquehanna Co., Pa., July 28, 1864, a son of Samuel F. and Elizabeth (Watkins) Williams, natives of Pennsylvania and of Welch descent. In his father’s family there were three children, of whom Frank is the second. Mr. Williams spent his boyhood on the farm, attended the common school and the LeRaysville Academy; he purchased his present home of 125 acres, in 1890. On April 16, 1890, he was married to Miss Anna, daughter of James and Mary (Howells) Jones, natives of Wales. Mrs. Williams is a member of the Congregational Church at Neath; in politics Mr. Williams is a Republican.
H. N. WILLIAMS, of the law firm of Williams, Elsbree & Williams, Towanda. This is one of the prominent firms of Bradford county, known all over this section, and commanding a clientage both large and respectable. Mr. Williams is a son on N. P. and Elizabeth (Miller) Williams, natives of the same place; the father of English descent, the mother Dutch. The family were agriculturists on their farm in Steuben county, N. Y., where they had located in 1835, and remained until the death of the father in 1884 at the advanced age of eighty-one; his widow survives and is aged eighty-six. They had born to them six children, of whom H. N. is the eldest living of the four sons. He grew to his majority as a farm boy, with the advantages of superior home influences, and was in attendance at the academy some time. When a well-grown youth he commenced teaching school, and followed this some time both in the country and village schools, and then was engaged as principal of the Wellsborough (Pa.) Academy, during three years. While teaching he occupied his spare hours, and commenced taking a bird’s-eye view of the “garnered wisdom of the ages” of a long time ago, when “the memory of man runneth not to the contrary,” and in 1859 was licensed to practice law in the town of Wellsborough. Soon thereafter he opened his office at Canton, where he remained in a busy professional life seventeen years. In 1878 he removed to Towanda, and has made this his permanent home and abiding-place. As an advocate before the courts it can be truthfully said of Mr. Williams that he has, upon appeal to the highest court, succeeded in reserving the decisions from which he has appealed in an average of more cases than perhaps any lawyer in the county, having had four cases reversed, and sent back at one term of the Supreme Court. His statement of the case to the high court is always so clear and distinct that it is all the printed argument that he needs to make. While Mr. Williams has eschewed office holding, and given himself almost wholly to his profession, yet he is not an unknown quantity in the politics of the day either in the county or State. A Republican, he has wielded a significant influence in the councils of his party, and has carried its banners, to many of its most brilliant victories, and has helped successfully in guiding it between the Scylla and Charybdis that at one time or another will frown upon the progress of every dominant party. In 1858 he was united in marriage with Miss Lucy A. Austin, who died April 1, 1889. They had a family of two children: Charles R. Williams (in the Government employ as postal clerk) and Robert H. Williams, a partner in his father’s law office.
JOHN WILLIAMS, molder Sayre, is a native of Bavaria, and was born March 1, 1837, a son of Frank and Magdalena (Achna) Williams, natives of Bavaria, who immigrated to New York City, in 1838. In early life the father was a farmer. John is the eldest in a family of four sons and daughters; he served an apprenticeship at the molders’ trade in New York City, where he remained about twenty-six years, and then worked in Buffalo, Jersey and Mauch Chunk, and remained in the latter place about ten years; then went to Elkhart, Ind., and from there returned to Mauch Chunk, and remained until March, 1885, when he came to Sayre, and has worked in the L. V. R. R. foundry since. He married, in Mauch Chunk, in 1873, Miss Mary A. Keefer, a native of Lehigh county. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Williams enlisted in the “One-hundred-day call,” in Company A, Eleventh N. Y. V. I., and was discharged at the expiration of his term; then re-enlisted in the later part of 1863, in the North Atlantic Squadron of the United States Navy, and was in the engagement at Fort Fisher and other battles along the Cape Fear river. He was mustered out after Lee’s surrender. Politically, Mr. Williams is a Democrat.
B. G. WILMOT, miller, and of the firm of B. G. Wilmot & Son, Rome Planing Mill, Rome, was born in Orwell township, this county, August 10, 1840, and is a son of Henry and Sarah (Crum) Wilmot. His father was twice married and had eleven children, three by his first wife, of whom our subject is the youngest, and the only one living. Of the children by the second marriage, Albert N. resides in Sullivan county, Pa.; Henry B. is in Larrabee City, N. Dak., the oldest engineer on the Union Pacific Railroad; Ida married George Fields and resides in Groton, N. Y., and Mary married Alonzo Robinson, of Towanda. Our subject’s boyhood, up to his tenth year, was spent on the farm, then he began driving teams, hauling merchandise and produce to and from Smithboro, N. Y., Orwell and Rome, and followed this six years, and attended district school, receiving quite a good education for that period. He then worked in a gristmill in Allegany county, N. Y., and remained there three years and learned the trade of a miller in a mill now owned by W. H. Sypher, and remained there until August 11, 1861, when he enlisted in the Union Army in Company G, Fifth N. Y. V. C., and participated in every battle fought by the Army of the Potomac, as well as many skirmishes; he was captured at the battle of Hagerstown, July 6, 1863, and was taken to Libby Prison, and then to Belle Isle, where he was paroled October 28, 1863, and sent to Navy Yard Hospital at Annapolis. From there he was sent to Dismount Camp, Geesboro, and Washington, D. C., and there he was prostrated by intermittent fever and erysipelas, and was sent to Dismount Hospital. After his recovery he was appointed ward master of that hospital, but when fully recovered rejoined his regiment at Fredericksburg. At the battle of Nye River he was recaptured, in company with his captain, May 15, 1864, and experienced all the horrors of all the Southern prison pens, as he was moved from one to another, from Richmond to Charleston, and after nine months of horror was released, January 3, 1865, a mere shadow of his former self, weighing only 112 pounds. He with others had attempted to tunnel out of the prison, with nothing but knives to dig their way, and some who got out, after weeks of such labor, were recaptured and returned. When again well, he rejoined his regiment, in May, 1865. He married, April 7, 1863, while at home on a ten-days’ furlough, Sophia C., daughter of Damford and Debora (Rockwell) Chaffee. The fruits of this marriage are six children, viz.: Lettie, married to F. E. Boothers; Minnie R.; Charles L., married to Alice J. Johnson (he is associated with his father in the planing mill); Claud B.; Daisie and Susie. After returning from the army our subject learned the trades of wagon making and house carpentering, which he has followed since, and he is also a stair builder of pronounced skill. He and his son Charles built the mill they now operate, in 1889; the machinery consists of two planers and two buzz-saws, turning lathe, one jig-saw, one scroll-saw, shingle machine and feed-mill; the mill has not the capacity to fill the orders they have. Mr. Wilmot is a member of Stevens Post, No. 69, G. A. R., is past senior commander, and now holds the office of adjutant; is a member of Roman Lodge, No. 418, F. & A. M.; has taken the degrees, is past master, and now fills the chair of senior deacon. He is a straight Republican, has been elected to nearly all the borough offices, and was constable and tax collector nine years.
ERASTUS WILSON, farmer, Terry township, P. O. West Terry, was born in Eaton, Wyoming Co., Pa., September 12, 1837, a son of Andrew and Margaret (Bush) Wilson, the former born in Northampton county, the latter in Monroe county, Pa. Andrew was a blacksmith, and worked at his trade in early life; he came to this county in about 1854, and located in Wyalusing township, on what is known as “Oak Hill,” where he purchased a farm of eighty-two acres, which he improved, and in a short time made a beautiful farm. At one time before he removed he held the office of constable; he died at the age of seventy-seven in the year 1883. His family numbered thirteen, ten of whom grew to maturity, and six are now living. Our subject, who is the sixth in the family, was reared and educated in Wyoming county, and has always confined himself to agricultural pursuits. In 1859 he married, at Wyalusing, Miss Eliza, daughter of John and Catharine Terry, and there were five children born to them, three of whom grew to maturity: Elma E., married to Lewis Hoffman, by whom she had one son, Erastus, and afterward married Freeman N. Phillips; Mary, married to Delmar Lenox, and George H. Mr. Wilson is a self-made man, having received only $400 from his father’s estate; the rest he has accumulated by economy and perseverance. He is a successful farmer, raising grain and hay chiefly. In 1889 he erected a beautifully constructed residence; has lived on his present property twenty-five years, and has the confidence of his fellow-citizens, who have elected him to the office of road commissioner four years. In 1864 he entered the army, and joined Company I, Forty-fifth P. V. I., and served until the close of the war, at which time he was honorably discharged, and now draws a pension. Politically he is a Republican.
REUBEN WILSON, farmer, Monroe township, P. O. Liberty Corners, was born in New York City, April 14, 1832, and is a son of Thomas and Caroline Wilson, natives of Connecticut, and of Scotch origin. In their family were two children, of whom Reuben, the elder of the two, came to Frenchtown in 1856, and three years later moved to Liberty Corners. On August 10, 1861, he enlisted, at Monroe, in Company K, Fiftieth P. V. I., and participated in the following battles: Pocataligo, Coosaw River, Second Bull Run, Poplar Springs, Chantilly, South Mountain, Antietam, Mine Run, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, South Anna, Nye River and Petersburg; was struck several times, and had his whiskers shot off, but was never wounded. At the expiration of his first term of three years he re-enlisted, and was discharged on surgeon’s certificate of disability, December 18, 1864; he then returned to Liberty Corners, where he has since resided. Mr. Wilson was married, March 22, 1865, to Miss Harriet T. Gale, born March 13, 1840, daughter of John and Charlotte (Benjamin) Gale, and they have one child, Herman A., born January 9, 1866, married, December 30 1885, to Mary Connmey, by whom he has two children: Nellie May and Ethel. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are members of the Methodist Episcopal and Baptist churches, respectively; he is a member of the G. A. R. Post at Towanda, and is a Republican.
STEPEHN F. WILSON, farmer, Austinville, was born in Columbia township, this county, September 25, 1858, a son of James and Mary (Gustin) Wilson. His paternal grandparents, George and Jane (Fowler) Wilson, were among the pioneers of Columbia township, settling on the farm now occupied by Orr Wilson, which with the assistance of their sons they cleared and improved, and there they died; their children are as follows: Letitia (Mrs. Hosea Kennedy), Nancy (Mrs. Labon Rockwell), John, James, William, Orr and Stephen. Of these James was born in Southport, Chemung Co., N. Y., in 1815, was reared in Columbia township, and cleared and improved the farm now occupied by our subject, and died there; his wife was a daughter of Thomas and Nancy (Kilgore) Gustin, by whom he had six children: Judd, Eva (Mrs. Stephen Kenyon), Stephen F., Hattie (Mrs. John Wolfe), Jessie (Mrs. Fred Watkins) and Frank (Mrs. Dr. G. M. Case). The subject of this sketch was reared on the old homestead which he now owns and occupies, and married Miss Flora Dewey, of Austinville. He is one of the enterprising young farmers of Columbia, and in politics is a Democrat.
MORGAN L. WINSTON, buyer of hides, leather and wool, Troy, was born in Stephentown, Rensselaer Co., N. y., July 31, 1811, and is a son of Lewis and Lydia (Bennett) Winston, of English descent. He was reared in his native State, educated in the common school and began life as a tanner and currier in his father’s tannery, in Chenango county, N. Y., which business he followed until thirty years of age; for five years thereafter he was engaged as a boatman on the Erie and Chenango canals, and then for four years was manager of a tannery in Greene, Chenango Co., N. Y. About the year 1850 he came to Bradford county, locating in Columbia township, when he engaged in farming two years; then removed to Wells, engaged in farming there two years, and one year as buyer of grain, produce and hides, and in 1856 he located in Troy, where he has since resided, engaged as a buyer and seller of hides, leather and wool. He was married three times, his first wife being Polly C. Benedict, his second wife Lucy Keech, and his third wife Harriet Madge, of Troy, by whom he has three children: Jennie, Nellie and Martie. Mr. Winston is a well-known and respected citizen of Troy; is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and politically is a Democrat.
LELAND O. WOLCOTT, farmer and stock-grower in Windham township, P. O. Windham, was born in Warren township, this county, January 20, 1861, and is a son of Loren B. and Laura A. Wolcott, also natives of Bradford county. The maternal grandparents were Joseph and Laura Morey, natives of New York, who came to Bradford county in 1817, and located in Warren township; the paternal grandparents were Josiah and Lydia (Verbecks) Wolcott, of Connecticut, who came to Bradford county in 1830, and located in Warrren township; on both sides they were agriculturists, and had boldly ventured into the almost unbroken wilds. The parents of Leland O. are still living, and have reared five children, of whom he is the eldest. He was reared on his father’s farm and educated in the public schools of the vicinity. In 1880 he went to Windham township, where he commenced farming, and now is the possessor of a finely-improved farm of 120 acres. Leland O. Wolcott and Minnie Beckwith, of Orwell, were joined in happy wedlock; she is the daughter of Austin and Julia A. (Russell) Beckwith, of Pennsylvania. Of this union there are three children, as follows: Irving L., born February 1, 1886, and Florence and Flora (twins), born August 12, 1888. Mr. Wolcott is a Republican, and is now serving his fifth term as town clerk. Mrs. Wolcott is an exemplary member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
T. D. WOLCOTT, merchant, Athens, is a native of Litchfield township, this county, and was born February 11, 1840; his parents were Samuel P. and Lydia (Bidlack) Wolcott, natives of this county. Samuel P. Wolcott was a farmer, and was born December 27, 1811, and died in January, 1882; his maternal great-grandfather, Capt. James Bidlack, lost his life in the Wyoming massacre; it is a fact in history that he was held on a burning brush heap by the Indians with pitchforks, and burned to death. The paternal great-grandfather, Silas Wolcott, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War; was with Washington through many of the hard campaigns during that struggle, and acted as one of Washington’s body guards, during the memorable winter when the army lay encamped at Valley Forge. T. D. Wolcott is the third in a family of eight children, six of whom are now living. He received a common-school education, and the early part of his life was spent in the lumber business. He was foreman for Harris & Saltmons and Hunsicker & Harris, of Athens, Pa., and afterward for Canfield & Cotton, of Williamsport, Pa. He quit the lumber business in 1872, and in the spring of 1873 engaged in the grocery trade with Mr. Gohl, under the firm name of Wolcott & Gohl, and continued in that business until the fall of 1888, when he sold to his partner. Since then he was engaged in building and improving his property until 1891, when he went into his former business again. He was married, in Wellsboro, Pa., January 15, 1872, to Miss Eva, daughter of Edwin and Samantha (Horton) Hastings, the former a natives of Massachusetts, and the latter of New York; they have always lived in Tioga county since childhood, and he is one of the oldest merchants in Wellsboro. Mrs. Samantha (Horton) Hastings is a descendant of Barnabas Horton, who came with two of his brothers in the “Mayflower;” Mrs. Wolcott is the eldest in a family of six children, and was born at Stony Fork, Tioga Co., Pa., July 18, 1852. To Mr. and Mrs. Wolcott were born five children, viz.: Harry L., Carrie E., Mark P., and Edwin and Wyland (both deceased). Mrs. Wolcott is a member of the Universalist Church. Mr. Wolcott enlisted in the State Militia during the Civil War, but was out only a short time; he is a member of the G. A. R., Perkins Post, No. 202, also a member of the F. & A. M., rural Amity Lodge, No. 70; has served one term as burgess of Athens borough, and politically he is a Prohibitionist.
HORACE L. WOLF, baker, confectioner and proprietor of restaurant, Troy, was born in Troy, this county, August 27, 1850, a son of James and Anna (Mink) Wolf, the former a native of Columbia township, this county, a son of Michael and Betsy (Furman) Wolf, who settled in Columbia township in 1811; the maternal grandfather, Rev. William Mink, of Rhinebeck, N. Y., was a native of Germany, James Wolf, father of subject, who was a shoemaker by trade, and was for many years a resident of Troy, in later life removed to Elmira, N. Y., where he died in August, 1861; his children were ten in number: William, Martha (Mrs. J. W. Harding), Charles, John, Kate, Thaddeus, Lottie (Mrs. J. W. Gustin), Horace L., Frank and Howard. The subject of this memoir was reared in Troy, and educated in the public schools; during the Grant campaign in 1868, he lost both arms by the premature discharge of a cannon. In 1887 he embarked in his present business in Troy, in which he has since successfully continued; he is an enterprising citizen; in politics he is a Republican.
NELSON WOLF, a prominent farmer of Columbia township, was born in Columbia township, this county, August 11, 1815, and is a son of Michael and Elizabeth (Furman) Wolf. He was reared in Columbia township, where he has always resided, and occupies the old homestead of his father, which he partly cleared and improved. He married twice: his first wife was Cecelia Edwards, of Columbia township, by whom he had four children: Sarah J. (Mrs. Bayton Shepard), DeWitt, Mattie (Mrs. Harry Chase) and Miranda; his second wife was Phebe Ferguson, also of Columbia township. Mr. Wolf is a member of the Presbyterian Church; politically he is a Republican.
RENSELEAR WOLF, farmer, of Columbia township, P. O. Virtus, was born in Columbia township, this county, May 7, 1813, and is a son of Michael and Elizabeth (Furman) Wolf. His father was a native of Connecticut, of German parentage, and located in Columbia township in 1813, and soon after settled on what is known as the Wolf settlement, and, with the assistance of his sons, cleared and improved the farm now owned and occupied by his son, Nelson, and died there. His wife was a daughter of William and Abigail (Halleck) Furman, pioneers of Columbia township, and by her he had eleven children, as follows: Abigail (Mrs. Robert Early), William, George, John, James, Michael, Martha, Renselear, Nelson, Horace and Maria (Mrs. Henry Gifford). Our subject was reared in Columbia township, where he has always resided, and cleared and improved the farm of 120 acres he now occupies. He married twice: his first wife was Emma, daughter of Obediah Brown, of Columbia township, and by her he had one daughter, Alice (Mrs. Abram Joralemon); his second wife was Martha, daughter of James Fries, of Columbia township, and by her he had two sons: Jacob and James. Mr. Wolf is a leading and well-known citizen of the township; in politics he is a Republican.
HORACE WOLFE, retired farmer of Columbia township, P. O. Snedekerville, was born in Columbia township, this county, February 7 1819, and is a son of Michael and Elizabeth (Furman) Wolfe, who settled in Columbia township in 1813. He was reared in his native township where he has always resided, and cleared and improved the farm now occupied by his son-in-law, Lewis Hammond. His wife was Huldah Haynes, by whom he had three children: George H., Maria (Mrs. Lewis Hammond and John H.; his daughter (Mrs. Hammond) has one daughter, Nora. Mr. Wolfe has been one of the most successful farmers of Columbia township, and is one of its leading and representative citizens; politically he is a Republican.
GEORGE H. WOLFE, farmer, P. O. Snedekerville, was born in Columbia township, this county, October 11, 1854, and is a son of Horace and Huldah (Haynes) Wolfe. He was reared in his native township, educated in the common schools, and has always followed farming as an occupation. He lived on the farm where he has resided since 1880. On March 17, 1880, he married Belle, daughter of Ananias and Rachel (Gordon) Knapp, of Wells township, and has two sons, LeRoy H. and Hallock C. Mr. Wolfe is an enterprising and prominent farmer, and in politics is a Republican.
JOHN H. WOLFE, farmer, P. O. Snedekerville, was born in Columbia township, this county, November 8, 1858, a son of Horace and Huldah (Haynes) Wolfe, and a grandson of Michael and Elizabeth (Furman) Wolfe, who settled in Columbia township in 1813. the subject of these lines was reared in his native township, where he has always resided, and has occupied his present farm nine years. In August, 1881, he married Hattie, daughter of James and Mary (Gustin) Wilson, of Columbia township, and they have three children: Fowler, Olive and Horace. Mr. Wolfe is one of the leading farmers of Columbia township, and is an energetic and enterprising citizen. Politically he is a Republican.
HOSEA C. WOLFE, farmer, P. O. Columbia Cross roads, was born in Columbia township, this county, October 10, 1932, a son of George and Leefe (Kennedy) Wolfe; his paternal grandparents, Michael and Elizabeth (Furman) Wolfe, settled in Columbia township, in 1813, and his maternal grandfather, Alexander Kennedy, was one of the pioneers of Springfield township. George Wolfe, father of subject after reaching his majority settled on the farm now occupied by his son, John D. Wolfe, cleared and improved it and died there; his children were six in number, as follows; Lydia (Mrs. Charles W. Joralemon), Susan (Mrs. Oliver O. Besley), Hosea C., Rhoda (Mrs. Eugene Youmans), John D. and Betsey (Mrs. Jefferson Warner.) Hosea C. Wolfe was reared in Columbia township, where he has always resided, cleared up a good deal of land in the township, and has occupied his present farm since 1867; he is owner of four farms containing, respectively, 170 acres, 107 acres, 100 acres, and 235 acres. He married, February 15, 1855, Lucy L., daughter of Levi and Fannie (Luther) Cornell, of Columbia township, and by her he had three children: Clinton A., Ella E. (Mrs. Charles P. Shaw) and George L. the last named was born October 26, 1865, resides on the homestead with his father, and was married, December 7, 1887, to Minnie E., daughter of Churchill and Ida (Goodrich) Strait, of Columbia township, and they have one daughter , Dora. Mr. Wolfe is one of the most prominent and enterprising farmers of Columbia township. In politics he is a Republican.
PETER WOLFE, farmer, P. O. Sheshequin, is a native of New Baltimore, N. Y., born February 18, 1820, and is a son of John and Esther (Parker) Wolfe, of New York. There were six children in his father’s family, and four came to this county: William, Ephraim, Jane and Peter. The family were tillers of the soil, and came to this county about 1842, settling in Ghent. The grandfather, Peter Wolfe, served in the Revolutionary War seven years, was a captain, and was a prisoner two years, confined in the hulks. The father was a successful farmer; he sold the farm at Ghent, and bought 300 acres in the same township. Peter was reared at North river, N. Y., where he was educated until he was twelve years of age, when he commenced life for himself. In 1868 he bought the farm he now owns, and which consists of 100 acres of bottom-land, well improved, and has a dairy of eight cows. He married, February 21, 1845, Marshie, daughter of Roswell and Polly (Webster) Russell, the latter of whom was related by blood to Daniel Webster. To them were born the following children: Adelaide, married to Rufus Mallery; John, married to Thelen Brown, of Sheshequin; Roswell, died when aged sixteen; Ida, died in infancy; Kate, married to Cornelius Alliger; Peter, married to Emma Smith; Isabelle, married to Ossie Vandozer, and Jessie, married to Loyd Kinner, of Waverly; there are eleven grandchildren. Mr. Wolfe was in the country’s service during the Civil War, four months, employed in the Construction Corps, serving in Tennessee; he is a Democrat in his political preferences.
BEEBE W. WOOD, farmer and stock-grower, P. O. Laceyville, was born in Pike township, this county, December 29, 1827, and is a son of David Wood (born in Dutchess county, N. Y.) and Amy (Wells) Wood, the latter of whom is a native of Bradford county. The father of subject came with his parents to Pike township prior to 1800, where they took up a considerable tract of land. The father passed his life in that township, and had the following children: Polly Ann, Beebe W., William J., Sarah Ann, Abigail, Abner, Harriet and John A., of whom Beebe W. and William J. are the only residents of this county. Beebe W. Wood was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools of his day. At the age of twenty-one he purchased the farm where he now resides, the only improvements at the time being a small clearing and a small frame dwelling; the purchase contained seventy acres, which he proceeded to clear and improve; he has added to it until he now owns over 200 acres well improved, 175 acres being cleared and under cultivation. He operates a large dairy, and has his farm well stocked with horses and cattle. Mr. Wood was united in Marriage, April 30, 1856, with Susan E. Wood, daughter of Josiah Wood, of Pike township, and this union was blessed with two children: Mary, married to Cornelius Overton, now a farmer of Nebraska, and Ella (deceased). His wife dying in 1868, Mr. Wood married, November 4, 1869, Emma E. Wakeley, a daughter of Burton Wakeley, of Tuscarora. The family are members of the Baptist Church of Laceyville; he is a deacon of the church, and also licensed to preach, but has not made a practice of preaching. He is a charter member of the Tuscarora Insurance Company, and has been its treasurer since its organization; politically, he is a Republican, and has filled various town offices.
CHARLES C. WOOD, master painter, Northern Division L. V. R. R. Shops at Sayre, is a native of Binghamton, N. Y., and was born July 10, 1834, a son of Orin and Sallie (Baldwin) Wood, the former a native of Connecticut, who settled in Binghamton, in early life; the latter a native of Montrose, Susquehanna county. The father, who was a mechanic and boot and shoe merchant, removed to Niles, Mich., in 1835, where he died in 1840, in his thirtieth year; the mother died in Candor, N. Y., in the spring of 1869, in her sixty-fifth year. Great-grandfather Baldwin was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. The family consisted of five children, of whom the last three died in Michigan; the surviving brother, Orlando S., is a physician and resides in Omaha, Neb. Charles C. Wood came with his mother from Michigan to Susquehanna county, where he received a common-school education, and learned the baker’s trade in Montrose. In 1853 he began an apprenticeship at the painter’s trade in Sullivan county, and completed same in Owego, N. Y., where he remained about four years; then went to Towanda in 1861, and worked at house and carriage painting. In October, 1869, he accepted the position of foreman painter on the railroad, which he has held ever since. Mr. Wood was married in Candor, N. Y., December 31, 1854, to Caroline E., daughter of Elijah and Marion (Boeie) Moody, the former a native of Massachusetts, the latter of Roylston, N. C.; her father, who was a merchant and extensive live-stock dealer, died in Towanda, in 1863; her mother died in the same place in 1874. Mrs. Wood was the youngest in a family of seven children - five daughters and two sons - of whom three are living; she was born in Montrose September 26, 1834, and died in Sayre, November, 1886, a most estimable wife and a consistent member of the Episcopal Church. To Mr. and Mrs. Wood were born three children, of whom two are now living, as follows: Minnie, wife of Edward Blackmure, of New York City, and Charles M. The family are members of and worship at the Episcopal Church. Mr. Wood is a member of the Knights of Honor, and is serving his third term as president of the Wilbur Hook and Ladder Company, No. 1; is also president of the Democratic club of Sayre.
C. M. WOOD, stone-cutter, Tuscarora township, P. O. Silvara, was born in Tuscarora township, this county, January 11, 1867, and is a son of W. J. and Elizabeth (Owen) Wood. His mother died, and his father married, for his second wife, Mary Finch. By the first marriage he had the following children: Milly, married to B. E. Wood, a lumberman, of Sullivan county, Pa.; Louie, married to James Harvey, a farmer, of Susquehanna county, Pa.; George, a farmer, of Bradford; Hattie, married to Horace Bristor, a farmer, of Pike township; C. M.; Carrie, married to George Share, a miller, of Pike township, and Gertie, residing with her grandparents on Spring Hill. Our subject passed his boyhood in Silvara, and at the age of fourteen began life for himself; he followed farming a few years, and then for five years was in the lumber business, and since then has been following the trade of a stone-cutter. He began his occupation in the Bennett quarry, and for the past several months has been in the quarry of Fish & Houdly; he is a Republican in politics, and takes an active interest in the political affairs of his neighborhood.
FRANCIS WOOD, farmer, P. O. East Smithfield, was born June 16, 1845, on the farm where he now resides, a son of Merit and Abigail (Kingsley) Wood, natives of this county. The Woods trace their genealogy back to the year 1582, and one of the family came to this country from Derbyshire, England, settling at Concord, Mass., in 1638; the great-grandfather of our subject was Samuel Wood, born at Westminster, Mass., in January, 1761; when sixteen he enlisted in the service of his country, and served through the Revolutionary War; in 1780 he was in the Department of West Point, and was one of the participants in the taking of Maj. Andre into camp after his capture by the three “cow boys.” He settled in East Smithfield township, this county, in 1809, with his family. Francis Wood, who is second in a family of five children, was educated in the common schools of the township and at Mansfield Normal School. He was married, December 28, 1869, to Louise D. Campbell, who was born July 17, 1847, a daughter of Alber and Rowena (Phelps) Campbell, of Athens. To Mr. and Mrs. Wood have been born five children, viz.: Raymond, born May 31, 1871; Minnie, born June 22, 1872; Merit, born August 5, 1877; Glennie, born January 29, 1879; and one not named, born November 17, 1890. The family are members of the Disciple Church, of which Mr. Wood is deacon. He is a strong Prohibitionist, and was on the ticket of the party in the fall of 1890 for sheriff of the county; has a fine farm, dairying being his principal business, and is very prosperous.
J. M. WOOD, merchant, Allis Hollow, was born in Wysox, this county, May 10, 1857, and is a son of Henry and Mary (Waters) Wood, the father a native of Susquehanna county and the mother of Wales. His grandfather, Jonathan Wood, a pioneer, lived many years in Standing Stone, and his maternal grandfather, Morgan Waters, came to this county from Wales about 1830, and located first in Pike, and afterward removed to Burlington, where he died. The father’s family consisted of six children, four living, viz.: Nancy (married to Charles Daugherty), Frank D., Elizabeth and J. M. Our subject was born and reared on his father’s farm in Wysox, attending the district school until he was aged twenty. When reaching his majority, he began farming for himself, and was so engaged until March 27, 1889, when he traded his farm for the property he now owns and a stock of general merchandise - his present business. He was married, December 7, 1880, to Fidelia A., daughter of Dr. M. E. Reed, of Standing Stone, now of Genesee Fork, Potter Co., Pa., and this marriage has been blessed with two children: Carleton H., born December 19, 1885, and Iva Christine, born December 18, 1887. Mr. Wood is a Republican, and has been postmaster at Allis Hollow since June 12, 1890.
DR. SKILES M. WOODBURN, a prominent physician of Towanda, was born in Penn township, Cumberland Co., Pa., June 20, 1850, and is a son of John and Isabella (Dunlap) Woodburn, and of Scotch-Irish descent. He was reared in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and educated in the common schools and Pennsylvania State College. He began the study of medicine, in 1869, with Dr. J. T. Rothrock, now professor of botany in the University of Pennsylvania, in which institution, in 1870, he continued his medical studies, where he was graduated in the spring of 1872, and immediately located in Towanda, where he has been in active practice since and has built up a lucrative business. In the fall of 1871 he married Margaret E., daughter of Leonard K. and Elizabeth B. (Robbins) Dilts, of Ringoes, Hunterdon Co., N. J., and has two children living: Charles L. and Isabella E. Dr. Woodburn is a member of the Presbyterian Church, R. A., K. of H., etc., and of the Bradford County Medical Society and Pennsylvania State Medical Society. He was for nine years pension examiner for Bradford county, and in politics he is a Republican.
ALLEN WOODIN, liveryman, Canton, is a native of Granville township, this county, born December 18, 1843. His parents were Joseph and Sarah Jane (Vroman) Allen, natives of Newfield, N. Y., and Schoharie county, N. Y., respectively; his father, who is a blacksmith and farmer, resides in Granville township; his maternal grandfather, Peter I. Vroman, was a soldier in the War of 1812. Allen Woodin, the subject of this sketch, is the eldest in a family of ten children - eight sons and two daughters (the average height of the family, including the parents, is six feet one and one-half inches). Our subject was reared in Granville township, and educated in the common schools. He enlisted in August, 1862, in Company I, Fifteenth New York Engineers, and served until the close of the war; was mustered out at Elmira in June, 1865. He then returned home and engaged in farming and lumbering, also operated a sawmill until the fall of 1883, when he removed to Canton and engaged in the livery business. He was married in Granville township, January 1, 1867, to Elise, daughter of Charles and Harriet (Brigham) Taylor, natives of Springfield and Granville townships, respectively; she is the eldest of five children, and was born in West Burlington township in February, 1845. To Mr. and Mrs. Woodin were born the following children: Jennie (wife of Burton Kiff), Harvey, Hattie, Billy, Alison, who died in 1876, and Charles. the family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Woodin is a member of the G. A. R., Saxon Post, No. 63, at Granville Centre; he was commander-in-chief of the Encampment of the G. A. R. during 1886; is also a member of the I. O. O. F., Canton Lodge, No. 321, and in politics he is a Democrat.
GEORGE E. WOODRUFF, proprietor of Woodruff’s book-store, Towanda, was born in Monroe township, this county, September 17, 1863, and is a son of J. Ferris and Jane (Howie) Woodruff. His paternal grandparents were Jared and Sophia (Alden) Woodruff, pioneers of Monroe, and his maternal grandfather, William Howie, was a native of Scotland, and for several years a resident of Ulster township, this county. George E. Woodruff was reared in Monroe township and educated at Monroeton graded schools. In June, 1887, he embarked in the book and stationery business at Towanda, in which he has since successfully continued. On October 23, 1889, he was married to Hattie, daughter of Stanley W. and Eleanor (Stark) Little, of Towanda. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and is a Republican.
WILLIAM W. WOODRUFF, blacksmith, LeRoy, was born in Dresden, Ohio, September 17, 1845, a son of L. V. and Eliza (Allen) Woodruff, the former a descendant of the Quick family, a native of Wyoming county, Pa., and a blacksmith by trade. Their family consisted of five children - four sons and one daughter - three of whom grew to maturity. William W., the subject of this sketch, who is the eldest, was reared and educated in Illinois, from which State he enlisted in the army in Company C, Fifty-third V. V.; he was wounded at the battle of Jackson, July 12, 1863. After serving his country during the entire war, and being honorably discharged, he came to this county, locating in Litchfield in 1866. He was twice married: to his first wife, Gustie Johnson, on July 4, 1868; his second wife, whom he married July 21, 1888, was Rose E, daughter of James and Seba Crofutt, and by her he had two sons: John E. and James L. Mr. Woodruff is an enterprising mechanic and a good workman in general blacksmithing; in politics he is a Democrat.
AFTON M. WOOSTER, of Wooster & Boothe, grocers, Troy, was born in LeRoy township, this county, February 5, 1849, and is a son of Malvin and Fidelia (Holcomb) Wooster. The paternal grandfather, Enos Wooster, was born in 1794, came to this county from Danbury Conn., and died in LeRoy in 1823, leaving two children, Malvin and Lucy. The maternal grandfather, Marlin Holcomb, was also a pioneer of LeRoy township. Malvin Wooster, a farmer by occupation, was born in 1822, and died October 11, 1854; his wife died November 28, 1854, both dying with typhoid fever, which was very fatal in LeRoy that year; they had a family of five children: Lowell A., Maria (Mrs. A. E. Case), Afton M., Lillie J. (Mrs. S. S. Surdam) and Seymour M. Left an orphan at five years of age Afton M. Wooster was reared in the family of L. D. Taylor, at Granville Centre; he received a common-school education, and on reaching his majority engaged in farming one year in Troy township. He settled in Troy borough in 1872, and for six years was engaged in the dray business; in 1878 he embarked in the grocery business with Mr. O. E. Boothe, under the firm name of Wooster & Boothe, in which he has since successfully continued. He married, November 16, 1870, Philena, daughter of Dr. S. W. and Amanda (Bailey) Shepard, of Troy, and has three children: Melvin S., born February 7, 1875; Frank A., born February 7, 1881, and Harold A., born November 8, 1886. Mr. Wooster is a member of the Disciple Church, and in politics is a Republican.
ANDREW WORTENDYKE, retired farmer, Gillett, was born in Sussex county, N. J., April 29, 1820, a son of Abraham and Rachel (Doremus) Wortendyke, natives of Bergen county, N. J., the former of whom was a son of Rynear Wortendyke, who was a native of Holland, born March 11, 1759, and whose father removed to this country about the time the colony was started at “Bergen Hill.” Rynear Wortendyke’s wife, Hannah, was also a native of Holland, born May 4, 1765. Abraham, about 1820, left Bergen for New York City, where he remained six years; he was a shoemaker by trade, but, being a natural mechanic, worked also at other vocations as opportunity presented itself. In 1827 he removed to this county, locating in South Creek township, at that time a part of Wells; this was in the early settlement of the town when there were only a few houses where the village of Gillett now stands. Mr. Wortendyke experienced the privations of all the pioneers; the mill facilities were limited, taking two days to go to mill and return; at that time wages were one dollar per day in harvest season, and flour was worth twelve dollars per barrel. During his residence in Gillett he worked at the cooper’s trade, which increased the facilities on the settlement in that direction; he spent thirty-four years of his life in South Creek township, clearing and improving his farm which consisted of one hundred and twenty-one acres; he died September 20, 1861, at the age of sixty-five years; he had a family of eight children, all of whom grew to maturity, and five of them are now living. Andrew, the second, and subject of this sketch, was reared and educated in Wells and South Creek townships, and in early life followed the example of his father, working at the cooper’s trade which he pursued in connection with farming about fifteen years; he fell heir to his father’s property. In 1865 he married Nancy M., daughter of Gideon and Sarah Ingersoll, of South Creek township. The Ingersolls were among the oldest settlers in the township. Mrs. Wortendyke in her maiden days was a prominent and competent teacher in the schools of the various townships for twenty-five years, and at her present age is a lady of marked intelligence. Mr. Wortendyke is now living in a neat little home in the village of Gillett; he owns a farm of one hundred and twenty-one acres of fertile land, and it is believed that the farm lies above an iron ore mine. He has always enjoyed the confidence of his fellow-citizens who elected him to the office of town commissioner for a term of four years.
RAYMOND H. WRIGHT, farmer, P. O. Canton, is a native of Canton township, this county, and was born July 9, 1865, a son of Charles Clark and Elizabeth (Fitzwater) Wright. Charles Clark Wright was born in Middletown, Vt., August 11, 1818, and died January 4, 1889; he was a son of Joel and Mary (Holbrook) Wright, natives of Connecticut. Joel Wright was a soldier in the War of 1812, removed to Canton township with his family, in 1833; he was a carpenter by trade, and died in 1866, in his eightieth year; his wife died in 1867, in her seventy-fourth year. His father, also named Joel, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Mr. Charles Clark Wright in early life worked at the carpenter’s trade with his father, and invested his savings in a land claim (then a forest), where he resided until the time of his death; he was a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church for more than twenty-nine years. He married, in May, 1844, Elizabeth Fitzwater, who was born in Jerusalem, N. Y., January 11, 1826, and still survives her husband. Our subject is the youngest of eight living children, as follows: Oscar, married to Mary Adell; Diantha, wife of Frank Ammerman; Silas, married to Anna Hatten; Mary, wife of John Turner; Clara, wife of Delos Webster; Martin, married to Jessie Crandle; Lena, wife of Lawrence Wright, and Raymond H., who was reared on the farm and received his education in the common and graded schools of Canton borough. He was married in Grover August 28, 1889, to Addie L., daughter of James and Cassandra (Congdon) Rittenhouse, the former of whom was born in Newfield, N. Y., March 21, 1834, and the latter in same place, February 25, 1839. They were married, December 3, 1857, and removed to LeRoy township, this county, about the year 1863, and to Canton township in 1882. James Rittenhouse is a carpenter by trade and resides in Grover. Mrs. Wright is the third in order of birth in a family of five living children, as follows: Dell (wife of Horace Kiff), Byron (married to Nelia Denmark), Addie L. (born in LeRoy, January 20, 1864), Hattie (wife of Elisha Bloom), and Elda, still residing with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Wright are members of the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches, respectively; politically he is a Republican.
WILLIAM S. WRIGHT, justice of the peace, and a cooper by trade, of Burlington township, P. O. Burlington, was born May 3, 1832, in Wyoming Valley, and had friends killed by the Indians in the massacre at that place. He is a son of Chancy D. and Elizabeth (McKean) Wright, the former of whom was of English extraction, a shoe-maker, and also a rope-maker, and quite a politician; the latter was of Scotch-Irish descent. The grandfather Wright was an officer in the War of 1812, and died of a wound at the age of nearly one hundred years. Our subject was reared as a farmer, and in August, 1862, enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Forty-first P. V. I., and at once went to the Army of the Potomac; was wounded in two places in his left leg at Chancellorsville, and laid twelve days on the battlefield; was taken prisoner, but was soon paroled, then exchanged, and served to the end of the war. He was, for a time, orderly on the staffs of Gens. Hancock and Humphreys. January 1, 1860, he married Emily, daughter of Daniel H. and Lydia (Morton) Lane, of Burlington, of Scotch-Irish origin, who was born April 24, 1844, and whose parents were of the same family as Gen. Lane, of Kansas fame. Mrs. Wright’s grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather fought side by side in the Revolutionary War; her grandfather, who died at the age of eighty years, was buried in Burlington township. She had two brothers in the Civil War, Alexander and Daniel. She has born our subject seven children, all of whom are living, as follows: Willie S. (married to Maggie Fenner), Daniel W. (married to Jane Walters), Permelia (wife of Douglass Brown), Homer D., Howard H., Arthur L. and Lydia May. Mr. Wright is a Republican and a worker at the political wheel; has been a justice of the peace seven years, and is on his second term; is generally known in all political circles.
MANASSAH M. YORK, farmer, Wysox township, P. O. Wysox, was born March 28, 1821, a son of Amos and Harriet (Hinman) York. He has been engaged in contracting, lumbering, milling and boatbuilding, in various parts of the United States and Canada; he was foreman on the North Branch Canal, and assisted inputting the first water over it, and has charge of keeping a portion of it in repair. He enlisted, February 15, 1864, at Ithaca, N. Y., in Company K, New York Artillery, and was in the following battles: Wilderness, North Anna, South Anna, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, and was wounded while on picket duty in front of Petersburg, June 17, 1864; was taken to Harwood Hospital, Washington, D. C., and was discharged on surgeon’s certificate of disability, May 29, 1865. He returned to Wysox, boated on the canal, and contracted in lumbering as long as he remained in active life. For several years after the war he carried his disabled left arm, but was finally obliged to have it amputated at the shoulder. He purchased his present home in 1879, and has resided on it ever since. Mr. York married Arila Birchard, and they had three children: Nellie H., Loella and Frederick W. His first wife having died April 1, 1879, Mr. York married Mrs. George Fox, of Wysox. He is a member of the G. A. R. Post, at Towanda, and has always been a most loyal Democrat.
SIMEON A. YORK, farmer, P. O. Wysox, was born in Wysox township, this county, October 15, 1829, a son of Amos and Harriet (Hinman) York, the former a native of Wysox, and a descendant of the old English York family; the latter a native of Connecticut, and of English origin. Amos and Lucretia (Miner) York, great-grandparents of Simeon A. came to Wyalusing, in 1876, where he was taken prisoner and carried to Canada, the mother escaping with the children and making her way back to Connecticut; one of the children died on the way, and she was obliged to bury it with her own hands under a sawmill. Her husband, being liberated, returned to Connecticut, and was buried one day before she reached there. The paternal grandparents of Simeon A. were Rev. Manassah M. and Elizabeth (Arnold) York, who came to Wysox, and the maternal grandparents were John and Hannah (Mallory) Hinman, who came to Wysox about 1791, the grandfather having made a previous visit and taken up a farm soon after his arrival; he built the first gristmill in Bradford county, on the farm now owned by J. L. Morgan, and it was in operation three years, hence is not remembered by some as the first mill in the county. Rev. Manassah Minor York was bout the first permanent minister in the county, and preached from Wyalusing to Athens. The children of Amos and Harriet (Hinman) York were: Wealthy Ann, married to J. V. Woodward, of Williamsport, Pa.; Nelson H., of LaGrange, Ill.; Manassah M., a one-armed soldier living in Wysox; Harriet M., deceased wife of E. A. Coolbaugh; Saphrona E., E. A. Coolbaugh’s second wife; John C., a farmer in Missouri; Simeon A., the subject of this article; Penelopy F., who died at fifteen years of age; James S., clerk in drug store at Rockford, Ill., and three deceased. Simeon A. York has always been connected with the homestead farm and now owns seventy-five acres of it. He was married, June 11, 1856, to Jane D., daughter of John and Phebe (Kelley) Barnum, natives of Delaware county, N. Y., of English and Irish lineage, respectively; they have six children, as follows: John, born April 9, 1857, engaged in ranching in Montana; Harriet M., born October 8, 1858, married Lyman J. Norton, a farmer, Hillsgrove, Pa.; Charley H., born August 23, 1861, a farmer, Colorado; Mary N., born March 30, 1864, married D. A. Crawn, of Wysox; Amos M., born September 5, 1866, and Lizzie F., born March 6, 1868. Mr. and Mrs. York are members of the Presbyterian Church at Wysox, of which he is elder, Sunday-school superintendent and president of the board of trustees. Politically he was formerly a Democrat, then a Republican, but is now separated from all party influences, and votes independently.
EDWARD B. YOUNG, druggist, Montoeton, was born December 11, 1838, in Beaver Meadows, Pa, a son of Edward F. and Eunice E., (Hinman) Young. His father, who was a native of Oneida county, N. Y., was a molder, machinist and draftsman by trade. As early as 1830, he located in Towanda, and later at Monroeton, where he engaged in the foundry business; from there he went to Beaver Meadow, and thence to Foundryville. In 1838, he returned to Monroeton, and operated a furnace and foundry, which in 1850 was completely destroyed. He immediately rebuilt on the site where H. W. Rockwell’s foundry now stands, and to whom he sold in 1864. He resided in Monroeton until his death. His wife was a daughter of John B. Hinman, a pioneer of Monroeton, and by her he had two children: Marion E. (Mrs. Stephen R. Ormsby) and Edward B., our subject, who was reared in his native State. He received a common-school education, and most of his life has been spent in Monroeton, where he managed the store of D. J. Sweet, for fourteen years, and was deputy postmaster during that time. For three years after the war he was in the restaurant business. He had an interest with Mr. Sweet in business two years, and since 1888 has been engaged in the drug business. He was in the Civil War, having enlisted October 14, 1861, in Company F, Twelfth Wisconsin Volunteers, and served four years, when he was honorably discharged, having re-enlisted January 3, 1864. He married twice: his first wife was Lou Douglas, and his second was Sarah A., daughter of William B. and Mary (Warren) Reifsnyder, of Albany, this county, and by her he had five children: Carrie E., Edward F., Willie M., Till. B and Marion Genevieve. Politically Mr. Young is a Republican. He is a member of the K. of H., the G. A. R., and the P. O. S. of A.
JOHN M. YOUNG, proprietor of “Knight’s Hotel,” Troy, was born in Columbia township, Bradford Co., Pa., June 24,1841, and is a son of Edward and Celinda (Woodruff) Young. His father was a native of Lincolnshire, England, and came to America in 1825, settling in Bradford county. In 1839 he located in Columbia township, cleared a farm, and there he died. His wife was a daughter of Jesse and Polly (Dobbins) Woodruff, pioneers of this county, and by her he had three children: William J., Henry and John M. Our subject was reared in his native township and remained on the old homestead until 1874, when he engaged in the hotel business at Troy, later at Burlington, and has been the proprietor of “Knight’s Hotel,” in Troy, since 1887. He was married October 18, 1866, to Harriet A., daughter of James and Martha (Brace) Bullock, of Columbia township, and has one son, Edward J. Mr. Young is a popular and genial landlord; politically he is a Republican.
CAPTAIN ROBERT YOUNG, farmer, P. O. Troy, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, June 30, 1819, a son of John and Mary (Anderson) Young, who came to America in 1824, locating in Schuylkell county, Pa., and later removing to Lycoming county. In 1876 the father came to Troy township, this county, and died at the residence of our subject, in 1880. Capt. Robert Young was reared in Lycoming county, learned the molder’s trade, in Williamsport, in 1840, located in Troy, where he was employed in the foundry of Seth W. Paine, fifteen years; then moved to Tioga, Pa., and engaged in the foundry business for himself, two years; in 1857 he removed to Wellsboro, Pa., and conducted a foundry there until 1863. In June, 1863, he joined, as second lieutenant, Company A, First Battalion Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was mustered out after three months’ service; he immediately re-enlisted as a private in Company A, One Hundred and Seventh P. V. I., and was soon after promoted to first lieutenant and later to captain, serving in latter capacity about two years, and was honorably discharged and mustered out of the service in August 1865. He then located in Troy, where he was in the employ of Mr. Paine until the burning of the foundry, after which he took an interest as a stockholder in the Enterprise Foundry and Machine Works, in Troy, with which he was connected until 1884, since which time he has been engaged in farming. Capt. Young was thrice married: first time to Elizabeth Williams, of Troy; and second time to Mrs. Eunice Gilmore, of Troy, and third time to Mrs. Melissa (Mosher) Lanud, of Troy, his present wife. Capt. Young is a popular and well-known citizen of Troy township, a member of the F. & A. M. and G. A. R.; in politics he is a Republican.
WILLIAM W. YOUNG, clerk, Austinville, was born in Mainsburg, Tioga Co., Pa., December 22, 1840, and is a son of William and Almira (Basett) Young, early settlers of that place. He was reared in Tioga county, Pa., until ten years of age, when he removed to Columbia township, this county, where he has since resided. After reaching his majority he engaged in farming, at which occupation he continued ten years, and since then has been in the employ of the late A. B. Austin and J. W. Hibbord as clerk in a general store. He married, July 4, 1861, Sarah, daughter of Abijah and Thursa (Palmer) Ayres, of Canton township, and has four children: Austin, Lilian (Mrs. William Watkins), Lizzie and Curtis. Mr. Young was in the Civil War, having enlisted March 1, 1865, in Company I, Ninety-seventh P. V. I., and served six months, when he was honorably discharged. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he is a Democrat.
ALFRED D. ZELLER, foreman of the car blacksmith shop of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, Sayre, is a native of Sheshequin, this county, and was born March 18, 1860, a son of Andrew and Mary (Stickles) Zeller, natives of Wurtemberg, Germany, who came to this county about the year 1851. The father, who was a stonecutter, and, during the latter part of his life, a farmer, died in Sheshequin, December 18, 1880, in his sixty-second year; the mother resides in Sheshequin. Alfred D. Zellar, who is the sixth in a family of seven children, was reared in Sheshequin, and received a common-school education. He commenced his trade in Sayre, in 1881, in the locomotive blacksmith shops, and promoted to his present position in December, 1890. He was married in Waverly, N. Y., January 22, 1884, to Miss Hattie A., daughter of John and Hattie (Decker) Codet, the former a native of France, a ship-builder by trade, and the latter a native of this county (Mrs. Zeller is the youngest in a family of three children, and was born in Rome township, this county, December 12, 1864). To Mr. and Mrs. Zeller were born four children, viz.: Lora B., Lillie G., Jennie M. and Grace P. The family are members of the Baptist Church, and Mr. Zeller is a member of the Patriotic Order Sons of America, Iron Hall and Sexennial League, and is treasurer of the latter. In politics he is a Democrat, and was elected one of the town councilmen of the borough of Sayre in February, 1891.
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