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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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REV. THOMAS J. COMERFORD, pastor of St. John’s Nepomucene Catholic Church of Troy, and St. Michael’s Church of Canton, and Assumption B. V. Church of Cascade, Pennsylvania Missions, was born in Pottsville, Pa., June 26, 1857, a son of John and Katherine (Devey) Comerford, and of Irish descent. He was reared in Wilkes-Barre,Pa., and educated at Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, same state, took a classical and philosophic course at St. Vincent’s College Pittsburgh, and began his theological course at St. Mary’s Seminary, Cleveland, Ohio, which he finished at Grand Seminary, Montreal, Canada, in 1882. He was ordained to the priesthood at Scranton, Pa., November 16, 1882, and was assistant pastor of St. Peter’s Cathedral of that city one year. He was then transferred to Wilkes-Barre, where he was assistant pastor of St. Mary’s Church four years. In October, 1887, Father Comerford was appointed pastor of St. John’s Church, Troy, Pa., and Missions, and during his pastorate has purchased a parochial residence, repaired the interior of the church in Troy; repaired and built an addition to St. Michael’s Church, Canton, and purchased all equipments necessary for conducting services there. The church and missions have had a steady, healthy growth and spiritual condition of his people is ninety-nine percent better than ever before.
EMERY L. CONANT, farmer, Wilmot township, P.O. Sugar Run, was born at Owego, N.Y., December 11, 1846, and is a son of Alfonzo and Amanda (Barton) Conant, natives of New York, born of New England parentage. He was reared until seventeen years of age at Owego, N.Y., when his parents removed to this county and settled in Wilmot township, where he began life for himself at twenty-one, farming, and in 1878 he purchased his present farm of two hundred and fourteen acres, which includes some of the best farming land in Bradford county, all in an excellent state of cultivation. He married December 9, 1868, to Miss Maria, daughter of Milton and Lucretia (Bennett) Carson, of Wilmot, and they have eight children, viz.: Clarinda, born April 4, 1870; Lorena, born April 29, 1871; Martin L., born June 8, 1872; Amanda L., born July 10, 1875; Milton A., born November 25, 1878; Pearl A., born August 25, 1885; Bertha, born January 20, 1887; and John H. born August 16, 1889. Mr. Conant is a member of the I.O.O.F. at Sugar Run and in politics he is a Republican.
JOSEPH L. CONKLIN, farmer, Wysox township, P.O. Wysox, was born at his present home in Wysox township, April 7, 1842, a son of John and Joanna (Compton) Conklin, who came from Orange county, N.Y. in 1840, and located on the farm now occupied by Joseph L., which was partially cleared; they had four children: Frane (deceased), married to John R. Post, a farmer in Wysox; Sarah Ann, married to Norman White, a farmer in Wysox; Allen P., a farmer in Wysox, and Joseph L. Joseph L. Conklin was reared on the farm, educated in the common schools and William P. Horton’s select school; he remained at home with his parents until their death, and then became the owner of the homestead, which is one of the finest farms in Wysox township. He was married March 27, 1867, to Charity, daughter of William and Eunice (Billings) Patterson, natives of Orange county, N.Y., they have two children: Iola E., born May 20, 1868 (married January 7, 1891, to Harry C. Shores, a farmer in Wysox) and John W., born December 11, 1869, who is at home. Mrs. Conklin is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Bond Hill. Mr. Conklin is a firm believer in the policy of the Democratic party, and is at present assistant assessor in Wysox.
WILLIAM H. CONKLIN, farmer, Wysox township, P.O. Myersburg, was born October 12, 1838, a son of Joseph and Sophia L. (Pierce) Conklin, natives of Orange county, N.Y., and Wysox, respectively. Joseph Conklin came to Bradford county about 1830, and engaged in the tailor’s trade; he located on the Barstow farm, afterward owned by J. W. Poole and now by William H. Conklin. He afterward removed to Myersburg, and later purchased at sheriff’s sale sixty-five acres of land where William H. Conklin now resides, and there followed farming and tailoring until his death, which occurred September 1, 1875, when aged sixty-seven years. He was married to Sophia L. Pierce, August 23, 1837. The Pierce family are of early New England stock. Mrs. Conklin’s grandmother, Lydia Shepherd, was a descendant of the Shepherd family that came to this country in the "Mayflower." Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Conklin were blessed with two children: William H., and George, the latter of whom was born March 17, 1842, and was married to Nancy Coolbaugh, and is now engaged in farming in Wysox township. William H. Conklin was educated in the common school, and afterward attended Williamsport Commercial College. He is now the owner of the homestead and much other valuable farm and mill property in Wysox. He is a Republican in politics, and has held the offices of town commissioner and justice of the peace, being familiarly known as "Squire" Conklin.
CYRUS COOK, farmer and stock grower, of Orwell township, P.O. Potterville, was born in Orwell township, this county, February 16, 1818, a son of Joel Cook, who was born in Litchfield county, Conn., December 29, 1791, came to Orwell in 1810, and after a short sojourn returned to Connecticut, but came back to Orwell in 1811, and settled permanently in this county; he was the son of Joe Cook, Sr., and Diana (Dunbar) Cook, natives of Connecticut, who had a family of ten children, of whom he was the youngest; his father was a lineal descendant of Henry Cook, a native of the county of Kent, England, who had immigrated to Massachusetts and settled at Plymouth, prior to 1640. Joel Cook, Sr., served his country in the Revolutionary War, enlisting in the army under Washington in 1776; but after a time spent in the service he was taken sick and died. Joel Cook, Jr., spent his life in agricultural pursuits, clearing his land and fitting it for the plow; was prominent in all the movements of his day having a tendency to better the condition of his neighbors; was the first to organize a Sunday school in Orwell township, and was largely interested in the temperance movement of 1829; he was a great reader, and familiarized himself with the best literature of his time, besides spending many of his leisure hours studying his Bible; his life was pure from his childhood to his death, which occurred May 12, 1886; he was united in marriage, May 22, 1814, with Polly, daughter of Dan, Sr., and Polly (Chubbuck) Russell, and had a family of five sons and one daughter, viz.: Darwin, born April 1, 1815, a graduate of Easton College and Princeton Theological College, and who became a Presbyterian clergyman; May, born October 18, 1816; Cyrus; Seth, born September 18, 1822, of Orwell; Ralph, who died at the age of twenty; Philip B., born January 17, 1832. Cyrus Cook spent his boyhood on a farm, receiving fair educational advantages at the common schools of his time, and attending select school at LeRaysville, and also Lafayette College. In 1839 he began teaching, which profession he followed several years, and then commenced farming. In 1841 he purchased a farm close to Potterville, which was covered with a dense forest and there resided several years in a log house, much of his time engaged in clearing his farm. After eight years he removed to the place now owned by his son, Avery, where he resided until 1866; then came to his present place, and devoted over ten years of his life to lumbering and rafting down the river. Mr. Cook owns fifteen acres of as beautiful land as is to be found in his section on the county- well fenced, mostly with stone wall, and he has built over 600 rods of wall in his time; the farm is well stocked with cattle, sheep and horses. Mr. Cook was united in marriage, September 16, 1840, with Caroline A., daughter of Oliver and Mary (Keith) Ellsworth, the former of whom was one of Orwell’s pioneers, and had a family of eight children, of whom Mrs. Cook is the seventh. To Mr. and Mrs. Cook have been born five children as follows: Avery C., born May 21, 1841, married to Augusta Darling; Joel D., born August 21, 1843, married, for his first wife, to Amanda Upson, and after her death to her sister, Rhoda (he is a farmer and stock grower in Nebraska); Oliver E., born August 14, 1845, married to Sarah Lent; Emma A., born July 1, 1849, married to George Stocking, a farmer of Nebraska; and R. P., born April 4, 1856, married to Addie Crawford. Mr. Cook’s family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church; he is a stanch Republican, and has been called by his friends and neighbors to every local office at their disposal, and was assistant revenue collector during 1879-80.
WILLARD COOK, farmer and stock grower, Windham Centre, was born in Windham, Bradford county, July 1, 1849, a son of William and Betsey (Hartsborn) Cook, natives of New York, who came to Bradford county in 1835, and located in Windham township, on the land now the home of the son. This land was cleared and improved by William Cook, chiefly by his own hands, and to farming he added milling, becoming, from a poor boy, one of the most prominent men in Windham township. At the time of his death, in 1886, his farm contained 500 acres of well-improved land; his wife had preceded him to the grave, in 1873, and their family consisted of four children, of whom Willard is the eldest. He grew to his majority in the family home, receiving fair English education in the public schools, and became a farmer. At his father’s death he received his portion of the estate, the land being 195 acres, to which he added, from time to time, and now owns 260 acres of fine farm land, all under good cultivation. Mr. Cook was married to Delphene, daughter of Verus N. and Eliza (Hill) Boardman, of Tioga county, Pa., who came to this county in 1847, and settled in Windham. Mr. Boardman enlisted in March 1863, in the One Hundred and Eighty fourth P.V.O., Company I, and was in the battles of Petersburg and Gettysburg, and died in Beverly Hospital, N.J. in 1864. Mr. and Mrs. Willard Cook have had children: Myrtie M., born October 24, 1878; and Leon W., born September 27, 1889, died December 9, 1890. Mr. Cook is Democratic in his political affiliations.
ZERI COOK, farmer, P.O. Potterville, was born in Orwell, this county, January 8, 1822, a son of Uri and Phoebe Cook, the former of whom was born in Connecticut in 1780, and came to this county in 1818; they had a family of six children, viz.: Sallie (married to Griswold Matthews); Elizabeth (married to John Black); Syrinda (deceased); Fannie (married to Isaiah Potter); Zeri and Laura. Zeri Cook was married to Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Newcome, of New York, and by that marriage had a family of five children, viz.: Delette (married to Leroy Corbin, of Potterville, Pa.,); Annette; Franny (married to D. W. Carry, and resides in Philadelphia); Reed; and Carleton, of Hammonton, N. J. Uri Cook was a prominent man in Orwell township; was may years a deacon of the Presbyterian Church, and might be called the father of that church organization in Orwell. The house which Reed Cook now occupies was built nearly seventy-five years ago, on the farm of 200 acres of land, of which he cleared the greater part; Zeri and his son, Reed, still own 140 acres. Reed Cook, who manages the homestead farm, was born and reared on it, and received the advantages of a common school education. When twenty-four years old he began farming, and with the exception of two summers passed in the West, he has spent his life so far on the old farm. He was united in wedlock June 11, 1884, with Frances daughter of Iram and Harriet (Pendleton) Manchester, of Warren township, this county, and to them have been born three children: Robert (born May 26, 1885,; Leora (born January 23, 1887); and Paul (born July 7, 1889). The family are members of the Congregational Church. Zeri Cook was stricken with paralysis, which deprived him of the power of speech and of the entire use of one side, but he bears his affliction with fortitude and resignation. He and his son are Republicans in politics, and the latter now holds the office of school direction.
CHESTER J. COOLBAUGH, Towanda, was born in Wysox township, this county, March 20, 1844, and is a son of Moses and Sally Hickok) Coolbaugh. His great-grandfather, Moses Coolbaugh, was a pioneer of Wysox township, where he reared a family of four sons and three daughters: William, Cornelius, David, Samuel, Elsia (Mrs. Ridgeway), Eleanor (Mrs. William Allen), and Sarah (Mrs. Pierce). Of these, William, who was a farmer of Asylum township, lived and died there on the farm now owned and occupied by his grandson, William Ackley. His children were Moses, Harry, John, Betsey (Mrs. Amos Holbert), Sally (Mrs. Jonathan Stevens, Polly (Mrs. Lloyd Ackley), and Ellen (Mrs. Joseph Sill). Of these Moses, a native of Bradford county, was for many years a pilot on the North Branch of the Susquehanna river, and in later life carried on farming and lumbering in Grandville township, on what is known as the "Coolbaugh Hill;, he died in Lycoming county, while away from home, at the age of seventy-nine years. Moses and Sally (Hickock) Coolbaugh had six children as follows: Ruth, Amanda, Praxy, Emma, Sally and Chester J. Chester J. Coolbaugh, who was reared in Bradford county received a common-school education; in 1863 he began clerking in a story at Troy, this county, being employed in different stores up to 1868, when he came to Towanda, where he has been employed by Evans & Hildreth in same capacity for twenty years. In April, 1875, he married Melissa D., daughter of Danford and Deborah (Rockwell) Chafffee, of Rome, and has one son, George W. Mr. Coolbaugh is a member of the Episcopal Church, of the K. of P. and K. of H., and in politics he is a Democrat.
EUSTIS A. COOLBAUGH, farmer, Wysox township, P.O. Wysox, was born November 5, 1819, near where the creamery now stands in Wysox, a son of Samuel and Nancy (Ogden) Coolbaugh, the former of whom was a native of Wysox, of Holland origin, the latter a native of Wyalusing, of Irish lineage. Samuel Coolbaugh was a farmer, and also did considerable mercantile business; he owned the farm where E. A. Coolbaugh now resides, and operated two sawmills thereon, rafting his lumber in large quantities down the river; also built and operated a gristmill. In his family there were ten children, of whom our subject, who is the second, was reared on the farm and educated in the common school and Towanda graded school. At the age of twenty-seven he engaged in business for himself, farming and lumbering for a short time, and also carried on mercantile business; he purchased his present home from his father, and has since given his attention chiefly to farming, being one of the best farmers in Bradford county. Mr. Coolbaugh was married August 10, 1846, to Harriet, daughter of Amos and Harriet (Hineman) York, and they have had born to them six children, viz.: Frances Elmore, born November 24, 1847, died July 30, 1848; Frances Alice, born March 2, 1849, married Richard E. C. Myer, now in Kansas; Elizabeth Ellen, born October 10, 1850, married Harry Seaman, mail agent at Harrisburg, Pa.; Nancy C., born May 16, 1852, married George Conklin, farmer, Wysox; Henry Y., born May 27, 1854, is employed in the Elmira Bridge Works, Elmira, N.Y.; Jesse Allen, born February 6, 1856, died July 14, 1876. Mrs. Coolbaugh dying April 25, 1856, Mr. Coolbaugh married, June 12, 1857, Sophronia Elmore York, a sister of his first wife, and this happy union has been blessed with one son and three daughters; Albert E., born December 28, 1860, employed as lineman by the Towanda Electric Company; Harriet W., born October 29, 1862, married Dr. Addison A. Armstrong, of Fair Haven, N.J.,; Wealthy Ann, born May 27, 1865, married to Albert Lent, a farmer of Wysox township, and Agnes S. born November 16, 1866, living with her parents. The family are members of the Presbyterian Church, at Wysox, of which Mr. Coolbaugh is elder and trustee; he is a member of the Masonic Lodge at Towanda, and is a charter member of Wysox Grange; in politics he is Democratic, and has been school director, town clerk, and justice of the peace ten years. Mr. Coolbaugh’s great-grandmother, Wigton, was in the fort at Wyoming at the time of the massacre, but, being warned by a friendly squaw, made her escape.
JEFFERSON L. COOLBAUGH, farmer, P.O. Liberty Corner, was born May 23, 1834, in Monroe township, this county, and is a son of Absalom and Catherine (Bull) Coolbaugh, natives of this county, and of Dutch and English ancestry, respectively. He is the eldest in a family of five children, and was reared on his father’s farm. He was united in the bonds of matrimony January 14, 1869, to Savannah, daughter of Madison and Rebecca (Place) Decker, of Monroe county, Pa., and who was born December 15, 1842, the seventh in a family of fourteen children, thirteen of whom are living, all but one being in this county. There have been no children born to this union. Mr. Coolbaugh’s mother, hale and cheery at the age of eighty-eight years, lives with him. Mr. Coolbaugh is a successful farmer, and has a very fine farm in one of the very beautiful locations of the county. He is a Republican, and has held many places of public trust. He is a genial, honorable gentleman, and is noted as one of the prominent and most honored citizens of old Bradford county. He carries on general farming, raises some fine horses and other stock, and in his dairying makes a specialty of fine butter. Mrs. Coolbaugh is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
RODNEY H. COOLEY, farmer, P.O. Box Troy, was born in Springfield township, this county, April 16, 1830, a son of Isaac and Margaret (Kent) Cooley. Isaac Cooley was a native of Springfield, Mass., and settled in 1807, in Springfield township, this county, where he cleared and improved the farm now owned by our subject comprising over 200 acres of land. He resided in this township until his death, which occurred in 1868, when aged eighty-four years; he was a deacon of the Baptist Church; was county auditor, 1829-31; commissioner of Bradford county, 1832-34, and a member of the State Legislature, 1836-37; politically he was a Democrat. His first wife was Betsey Norman, by whom he had four children: Norman, Mary (Mrs. Beley Adams), Jane (Mrs. Caleb S. Burt) and Isaac. For his second wife he married a daughter of Beley Kent, of Springfield township, formerly of Schenectady, N.Y., and by her he had two children: Rodney H., and Maria (Mrs. James Allen). Rodney H. Cooley was reared and educated in Springfield township, succeeded to the homestead at this father’s death, on which he remained until 1879, when he removed to Troy, where he has since resided, but stills owns the homestead. He married in 1860, Elsie A., daughter of Eben F. Parkhurst, of Springfield township, and has one daughter, Anna P. Mr. Cooley is a well-known and prominent citizen of Bradford county; in politics he is a Democrat.
G. M. COONS, proprietor of the planning-mill, Canton, is a native of New York, born December 23, 1839, a son of Philip M. and Polly (Fay) Coons, native of Chenango and Onondaga counties, N.Y., respectively; the former was of German and the latter of English descent; the father was a stone cutter and salt boiler, also followed farming; he died in Canton in 1873, in his sixty-third year; the mother died in 1860, in her forty-fifth year. The great-grandfather Fay was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. G. M. Coons, who is the fourth in a family of five children – two daughters and three sons – was reared in his native place until twelve years of age, when the family moved to Union township, Tioga Co., Pa., where he made his home until the breaking out of the war, working the principle part of the time in the lumber mills in Williamsport. He first enlisted in May, 1861, in the three months’ service, and re-enlisted in November 1861, in Company D, One Hundred and Sixth, P.V.I.; some of the engagements in which he participated were the siege of Yorktown, Fair Oaks, Savage Station, White Oak Swamp, Malvern Hill, Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg and Wilderness; he was slightly wounded at Antietam, but did not leave the field, and at the battle of Wilderness, May 6, 1864, he received a flesh wound in the right arm. He was mustered out at Petersburg, November 1, 1864, and returned to Tioga county, where he farmed on year. In 1869 he moved to Lycoming county, Pa., where he remained one year; then in December, 1870, he came to Canton; he had worked one year in the lumber business in Williamsport, and in 1871 he embarked in the business for himself. In 1872 he purchased an interest in a sash and blind factory, the firm name being Lewis & Coons; they built a large factory on Mill Creek, Canton borough, and at the end of three years A. B. Brain bought Mr. Lewis’ interest, and the firm was known as Coons & Brain; they enlarged the plant, but eighteen months after this change the Minnequa Improvement Company’s dam burst, and a column of water twenty-two feet high entirely destroyed the factory. Mr. Coons continued the business alone, built his present mill, and is doing a successful business. He was married in Tioga county, Pa., in 1867, to Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. William and Rhoda (Lapham) Braine, natives of England; her father, who was a Wesleyan minister, moved to Knoxville, Tenn., where he died. Mrs. Coons was born in Sullivan county, Pa., in March, 1848, and is the fifth in order of birth in a family of ten children. To Mr. and Mrs. Coons were born four children, as follows: Jennie L. (deceased), one that died in infancy, Giles C. and Howard S. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Coons is a member of the G.A.R., Ingham Post, No. 91, and of the Union Veteran Legion, No. 48. Politically he is a Republican, and served one term on the borough council.
COURT COOPER, farmer, P.O. Litchfield, was born September 16, 1856, on the farm where his father now resides, a son of J.H. and Eliza (Cranse) Cooper, natives of Vermont and New York, respectively. J. H. Cooper, a farmer by occupation, came to Litchfield township in 1840, where he has since remained; his family consisted of the following named children: Alvin (deceased), Amanda, Louise (deceased), Cort and William, latter married to Jessie McKinney and living on the homestead. Cort /cooper was reared on the farm and received his early education in the schools of Litchfield and Rome townships. Leaving school when eighteen years of age, he began farming on the property where he now resides. He married, November 8, 1877; Della S., daughter of Henry and Lucretia (Filter) Case, and to this union have been born three children: Amanda, Jessie and Bernice. Mr. Cooper is the owner of ninety-five acres of land, fifteen of which are finely improved; he keeps a dairy for family use, and raises cereal crops; his farm is well stocked, and on it he has a fine, handsome Percheron yearling colt, weighting 1060 pounds. In politics Mr. Cooper is a Republican, and has held the offices of assessor and school treasurer.
JOSEPH S. COOPER, merchant, Warren Centre, was born July 17, 1841, in Warren township, this county, a son of Robert and Anna (Steenburg) Cooper, natives of England and New York, respectively. The father came to this country in 1818, first settling in Susquehanna county, but removed to Bradford about 1822; he was by trade a cabinet-maker, and engaged in farming in connection with his trade. In 1842 he commenced merchandising at Warren Centre, and was in time succeeded by his son, Joseph; the father died in 1869, and his widow departed this world in 1883; they had thirteen children, the second and third of whom died, Charlotte in infancy, and Charles when nine years old; those who grew to maturity were: Angelina (Mrs. Curtis Bostwick); Charlotte (Mrs. Dr. Alfred Peirounet); James E., of Newark Valley, N.Y.,; Emma E. (Mrs. John Jones); Betsey (Mrs. Theodore Randell); Charles (died aged twenty-seven in 1865); Mary (Mrs. Augustus Olmstead, who died, aged twenty-seven, in 1864, leaving a son, Robert, and husband); Robert (was killed in the battle of Chancellorsville, in 1863; he enlisted, in 1861, in the One Hundred and Forty-First, N.Y.V.I., and participated in all the battles of his regiment); Joseph F.; Rebecca T. (Mrs. Roger B. Howell) and Elizabeth B. (who died in 1871, aged twenty-four). Joseph F., who it will be seen was next but one to the last of this large family, was educated in the common schools and finished in Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Commercial College in 1863. Soon after leaving school he engaged in merchandising, and was one of the first to commence building up Warren Centre in its present site, in 1882, and to him is mostly due the credit of the business importance of the place. Both his store and residence are among the fine buildings of the county; in his store is a large and varied stock, suitable to a country trade, consisting of dry goods, groceries, drugs, boots and shoes, etc. Mr. Cooper was married in Warren township, to Emma, daughter of William and Abigail (True) Green, the former of whom, an Englishman, came to America in 1817, and settled in Philadelphia with his parents when he was eight years of age. For eleven years he sailed before the mast, all over the world, before he was thirty years of age, and when he was tired of roaming he came to Susquehanna county, in 1839, and removed to Bradford in 1855; he is a quiet and respectable farmer, and now makes his home in Warren with his son, E.O. Green; his wife came to New Hampshire in 1820, locating first in Springville, but removed to Bradford about 1827 and located in Warren, where she was married in 1841; they had three children, of whom Emma was the eldest. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper have a son, Robert, who is in his father’s store. Mr. Cooper is a Republican; was postmaster nineteen years and went out only when he was not in accord with a new administration; was town clerk and treasurer, two terms each. An incident of his father’s life is, that when he reached New York, on his way West, he had but one shilling, but boldly pushed out on foot for his destination, and reached Susquehanna county, went to carpentering and built many houses, and among other experiences walked twelve miles to and from work (once a week) for one hundred days on the old Owego bridge. While living in Warren he built a church, in LeRaysville, walking eight miles, then built the church in his own township, and no matter where he worked he never spent any time "nooning". His eldest son, who was nine years old, when he was working on the LeRaysville church, helped to haul lumber. These are lessons in thrift and industry that posterity may well look at.
ALFRED B. CORBIN, a leading farmer of Warren township, P.O. Warren Centre, is a native of Warren township, this county, having been born May 5, 1840, a son of Alonzo D. and Mary Ann (Prince) Corbin, natives of that township. On both sides they were farmers and early pioneers of Bradford county, who endured the severe trails and hard experiences of those advance couriers of civilization, who helped to hew away the deep forests; the mother died April 28, 1871, and the father was laid by her side September 15, 1889. They had three children, viz.: Alfred B.; Elmira, (Mrs. Jonathan Ross) of Susquehanna county and Mary Jane (Mrs. John M. Dowley), of Binghamton, who has three children: Steven, Ella and Mamie. Alfred B. Corbin received his educational training at the neighboring schools, and learned to use the axe, hoe and plow, and to plant and cultivate the usual farm crops of this locality. He became a successful and prominent farmer, and now owns thirty-three acres of land-a choice farming spot well cared for. He has been thrice married; his first wife was Olive, daughter of Joseph Sleeper, and by her there was one child, Frecklie, who died in infancy. This wife dying April 3, 1863, Mr. Corbin married, November 24, 1864, Romanda M., daughter of Abel Prince, and by her had one child, Manson E., whose mother died December 23, 1870, and in 1872 Mr. Corbin was married to Dorcas A., daughter of Edward T., and Maria (Haner) Cornell, who was of English extraction, former a native of Rhode Island, latter of New York State. To this union have been born two children: Harriet (Mrs. Edmund W. Chaffee, who has two children, Frank L. and Fred) and Docras. In his political preferences Mr. Corbin is a Republican, but he is more of an honest farmer than an active politician, and he loves his country, his family and his friends.
G. F. CORBIN, merchant, Potterville, was born in Warren township, this county, January 6, 1837, and is a son of R. W., and Betsie (Shurts) Corbin, the former of whom was born in Warren township, February 15, 1811, and is now living on a farm near to Potterville; he is a son of Oliver and Lucy (Hill) Corbin, the former born in Connecticut, removed to Nichols, N.Y., and afterward to Warren township, about 1810. Ira W. Corbin followed teaching over thirty years, he had several brothers who were teachers and met, with great success in that profession; he was married March 5, 1835, and had seven children, viz.: George G., Pamelia (deceased), Jacob B. (deceased), LeRoy, Emma A. (Married to James Lewis of Towanda), Amanda (married to Frederick Wells, of Elmira, N.Y.), and Frank (married to George Chamberlain, of Towanda). G. G. Corbin passed his boyhood in Warren township, and was educated in the common schools and at Camptown Academy. After attaining his majority he began teaching, and followed it about sixteen years. In 1863 or ’64 he purchased a farm on which he made his home until June, 1877, when he removed to Potterville, and embarked in merchandising with A. C. Frisbie, but after one and a half years Mr. Frisbie retired, and Mr. Corbin has continued in the business to the present time, conducting a general store, on July 3, 1861, he was united in marriage with Ellen E. Newell, and to them have been born six children, as follows: Mary (born June 23, 1863, married to Wilbur Gorham, a farmer of Orwell), Newell G. (born November 9, 1865), Dewitt G. (born July 28, 1874), Cora St. Leon (born December 6, 1875, died in infancy), Georgiana (born October 8, 1878), Winnie L. (born November 4, 1884). Mr. Corbin is a Republican, is a school director and for the last twelve years has been justice of the peace.
J. T. CORBIN, physician and surgeon, Athens, is a native of Warren township, this county, and was born July 26, 1819; his parents were Oliver C. and Lucy B. (Hill) Corbin, farmers, natives of Connecticut; the father came from Connecticut to this county in 1801, and with five brothers went to work to clear up homes in the forest. His mother, with her family came to Owego in 1796, and they were married in Owego and removed to Warren, Ps. Oliver C. Corbin died in Athens in March,1870, in this eighty-seventy year; Mrs. Corbin died in 1880, in her ninety-fourth year. Dr. Corbin is the sixth in a family of nine children, who grew to maturity, six sons and three daughters. He completed his medical education and began to practice his profession in Athens, in February, 1848. The doctor married in Athens, in 1850, to Miss Mary A. Tozer, daughter of Julius and Meribah Tozer, the former a native of this county, and the latter of Otsego, N.Y. Mrs. Corbin was born in Chemung county, N.Y., July 23, 1826. To Dr. and Mrs. Corbin were born the following children: One that died in infancy; Mary (deceased); Annadell (wife of Prof. William H. Benedict, of Elmira, N.Y.); Julius T., and attorney at law; John E. (deceased); and Ida W.
ALVAH M. CORNELL, farmer, P.O. Altus, was born at Swansea, Mass., August 22, 1825, a son of Levi and Fannie (Luther) Cornell, natives of Bristol county, Mass., who settled in 1827, in Columbia township, this county, on a farm now occupied by our subject, which his father had cleared and improved and resided on may years; the last twelve years of Levi’s life were spent in Austinville, where he die July 19, 1874, aged twenty-seven years. He was a son of Asa and Martha (Mason) Cornell, and his wife was a daughter of Rev. Childes and Lucy (Kelton) Luther, all of Bristol county, Mass.; they had seven children who grew to maturity as follows: Frederick P., Level M., Alvah M., William C., Sally M. (Mrs. John Howland), Lucy L. (Mrs. Hosea C. Wolfe) and Mary J. Alvah M. Cornell was reared on the old homestead in Columbia township from two years of age, and, with the exception of one year, he was superintendent of the County Poor Farm, has since resided there. On June 7, 1849, he married Betsey, daughter of Nathan and Nancy (Rockwell) Bullock, of LeRoy township, this county, and by her had three children: Fannie (Mrs. Uel C. Porter), Edith (Mrs. Merville Sweet) and Albert M., the latter of whom resides on the old homestead farm, married to Emma, daughter of Charles and Hannah (Andrews) Talbot, of Bristol county, Mass., and they have one daughter, Eva M. Mr. Cornell is a prominent citizen and one of the leading and enterprising farmers of Columbia township. He is a member of the Universalist Church, and of the Patrons of Husbandry; in politics he is an Independent.
JAMES W. CORRELL, of Dobbins & Correll, general hardware dealers, Troy, was born in Northampton county, Pa., June 27, 1849, a son of Philip and Maria (Dutt) Correll, and of German descent. He was reared in his native county and educated at the State Normal School at Millersville; he served a three years’ apprenticeship at the carriage-maker’s trade in Tunkhannock, Pa., and afterward worked as a mechanic six years at Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Towanda and Troy, locating in Troy in 1875, where he followed his trade three years. In 1878 he removed to Canton township, and in the fall of same year embarked in general merchandising at Easton Canton, in which he continued four years as a member of the firm of Beardsley & Correll. In 1883 he returned to Troy and formed a partnership with Mr. John E. Dobbins, in the hardware business, under the firm name of Dobbins & Correll, in which he still successfully continues. Mr. Correll was married October 24, 1877, to Mary L., daughter of Myron H. and Harriet L. (Lamkin) Annable, of LeRoy township, and has one daughter, Ella G. Mrs. Correll’s father served three years as a soldier in the Civil War with credit, and was honorably discharged. A younger brother of Mr. Correll, Rev. Irvin H. Correll, has been a missionary of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Japan seventeen years. Mr. Correll is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in politics is a Republican.
REVEREND CHARLES C. CORSS, a resident of East Smithfield, was born May 22, 1803, at Greenfield, Mass., a son of Asher and Lucy (Grennell) Corss, of English descent originally of French; the ancestors are supposed to have come from France to England at the time of the persecutions of the Huguenots; his grandfather Grennell, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Mr. Corss was fitted for college at Leicester Academy, also Hopkins Academy, and was graduated from Amherst College and at Princeton Theological Seminary; he was preceptor of Deerfield Academy in 1831 to 1832, and a teacher at West Springfield, 1832-1833; was first located as a pastor at Kingston, Pa., December 1834, and in 1836 came to Athens, Pa. He was twice married, first at Kingston, September, 1836, to Ann, eldest sister of Ex-Governor Hoyt; they had born to them five children, of whom four are living as follows: Charles, a lawyer at Lock Haven, Pa.,; Nancy,; Frederick, physician at Kingston, Pa, and Ann H., wife of William F. Church. Mrs. Corss died in 1851. He located at East Smithfield in 1847, and has continued in the ministry sixty-seven years. He married his present wife, Lucelia Phelps, of East Smithfield, June 6, 1866; she was born July 27, 1821. Mr. Corss is the author of "A cake not turned," and "Presbytery of Susquehanna,", also an abridgement of Halyburton’s "Great Concern of Salvation." He is much respected by all who know him.
JOHN H. CORY, physician, Springfield, was born in Springfield township, Bradford Co., Pa., January 17, 1852, a son of Dr. William and Maria (Mattocks) Cory. William Cory was born in Connecticut, and moved to Springfield township, this county, when twenty-two years of age; he studied medicine under Dr. Wilder, at Springfield Centre, and commenced practice in 1845, continuing thirty-five years; he had a large and lucrative business and accumulated a fortune. He was a prominent Freemason, and died at the age of sixty-seven years. The mother of John H. Cory was of a family of old settlers of the county; her grandfather, "Squire" Mattocks, moved to Springfield township when there were only five families here; her father lived to be ninety-one years old. Dr. Cory was educated in the schools of the township and at the Elmira Academy; he studied medicine with his father and attended lectures at New York Eclectic Medical College, graduating from there in the spring of 1878, and commenced practice with his father at Springfield Centre, where he has since continued; he has a large and lucrative practice, and is much respected by a large circle of his friends. The doctor married December 5, 1881, to Hattie, daughter of Phillip and Harriet (Chrittenden) Sweet, of Ulster (she was born in June, 1855). There have been born to Dr. and Mrs. Cory three children, as follows: William S., born in August, 1883; Edwina D., born April 10, 1885; and Vere A., born May 9, 1887. Dr. Cory is a member of the F. & A.M.; is a Democrat in politics and takes great interest in political matters.
ALBERT COVELL, farmer, in Springfield township, P. O. Big Pond, was born March 5, 1834, in Springfield township, this county, a son of William and Perlina (Cooper) Covell, former of whom, a farmer by occupation, was native of New York State, whence, when a young man, he removed to this county, and settled in Ridgebury township. He reared his family of six children – three sons and three daughters – the subject of his sketch being the fifth. The youngest son, Platt, was a soldier in the Civil War. The father died in 1874 at the age of seventy-four years, and the mother died at the age of sixty-nine. Mr. Covell’s paternal grandfather was in the War of 1812, and experienced the entire hardships incident to those stirring times. Albert Covell was educated in the schools of his township, and reared to farming and lumbering, the former of which he has continued to follow, and he has acquired a fine property, being now the owner of a farm of 235 acres of well-improved land. He was married, October 4, 1860, to Lovina Alfred, who was born November 3, 1840, second youngest in a family of three daughters born to Andrew and Hannah (Carr) Alfred, of Tioga county, Pa., farmers and natives of Connecticut. Mr. and Mrs. Covell have had born to them six children, as follows: Grant A., born August 30, 1862, was graduated from Cornell University and is now a professor in the State Agricultural College of Oregon; Effie D., born August 20, 1864, wife of Fred May; Carrie, born August 8, 1866; Jessie, a teacher, born September 30, 1868; Blanche, born July 13, 1870; Florence, born June 10, 1886. Mr. Covell is a Democrat in politics, and takes an active interest in the affairs of his party; he is a Freemason, and is much respected by his neighbors and a wide circle of friends. Dairying and stock-raising, chiefly Shorthorn Durhams, comprise the principal business on the farm.
GEORGE L. COVERT, P.O. Covert, was born in Ward township, Tioga Co., Pa., July 22, 1842, and is a son of Harry and Orthia (Field) Covert. His paternal grandfather, William Covert, formerly of Delaware county, N.Y., was among the pioneers of Armenia township, this county, settling on what is now known as the Burham farm, and resided in the township, until his death. His children were Harry, Erastus, Elizabeth, Ann (Mrs. De Witt), Ester (Mrs. William Kinch), Malyina, Diana (Mrs. Simon Congdon). Of these, Harry, the father of the subject, has spent most of his life in Armenia township, where he has cleared several farms. His wife was daughter of Abizer Field, of Armenia, and by her he had four children, as follows: Henry, George L., Edwin and Frances (Mrs. Arthur Youmans). Our subject enlisted September 12, 1861, in Company C. Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry, and was taken prisoner at Gallatin, Tenn., August 21, 1862. After four months he was exchanged, and he then joined his company at Nashville, Tenn. On November 28, 1863, he re-enlisted, this time at Huntsville, Ala., as a veteran volunteer. On June 20, 1864, he was wounded in battle near Kenesaw Mountain, Ga., being shot through the left lung and left wrist, and September 5, 1865, he was honorably discharged from the service. About two years thereafter he attended the State Normal School at Mansfield, Pa., one year, or four terms, and afterward taught school one term in Tioga county, two in Bradford and one in Clinton, all in this State. On January 18, 1871, he purchased a membership in the Williamsport Commercial College, then under the management of Davis & Mitchell, and was in attendance four months. Subsequently he took up telegraphy working for the American Union Telegraph Company about one year, and for the Western Union Telegraph Company three years. On January 8, 1884, Mr. Covert married May J., daughter of Albert Merriam, of Wellsburg, N.Y. In the fall of 1885 he built the first store in Armenia township, and here he carried on mercantile business two years. In the meantime he circulated petitions and worked for the establishment of a mail route from Troy to Fall Brook and succeeded in getting it as far as Covert’s, five miles from Troy, the name of which postoffice is "Covert," established in July 1886,; Mr. Covert was appointed postmaster, July 8, 1886; and in October, 1887, he rented his store to Field Brothers and May 11, 1891, he resigned the office of postmaster in favor of O. D. Field, who is now acting as postmaster. Mr. Covert has been successful in business as far as he has been able to attend to it, but he has been in poor health every since he was wounded, and has been unable to perform manual labor. Prior to his enlistment in the army, his occupation was farming, but he has had to give up all business on account of his impaired health, and he is at present living on the old homestead in Armenia township. Mr. Covert is a member of the G.A.R., and in politics he is a Republican.
EDWARD M. COWELL, physician, East Smithfield, was born in East Smithfield township, this county, January 29, 1864, a son of Dr. Selden S. and Sarah A. (McCraken) Cowell, natives of Bradford county, born in Asylum, the former of whom is still in the practice at Scranton, Pa. Our subject’s grandmother was a cousin of President John Q. Adams, and grandfather Cowell was a pioneer settler in Wysox. Dr. Edward M. Cowell is an only son; he has one sister, who is the wife of Wilson F. Voorhis, of East Smithfield. The subject of this memoir was educated at the Collegiate Institute, Towanda, and Hirma College, Ohio, three years; was graduated at the Chicago Homoeopathic Medical College in the spring of 1885, and commenced practicing in East Smithfield the fall of that year. He was married, September 16, 1885, to Lillian H., daughter of Charles and Lydia (Dunn) Huntington, of Athens, Pa., born January 19, 1866, and there have been born to them three children, only one of whom is now living, Margaret E., born July 20, 1890. The Cowells are a race of physicians; the Doctor’s father had four brothers who were of the same profession, and each of them have two and three children who are physicians; for several generations back there have been members of the family who have followed this profession. The Cowells are of Welsh extraction, and the Doctor’s mother’s family are of Scotch-Irish descent. Dr. Cowell enjoys an extensive and lucrative practice, and a wide circle of friends. He is a Democrat in politics, and takes and interest in the affairs of the township and county; Mrs. Cowell is a member of the Presbyterian Church.
GEORGE H. COX, florist, Towanda, was born in Warwichshire, England, and is a son of George H. and Mary (Walker) Cox. He was reared and educated in his native place, where he served a three years’ apprenticeship at the gardener’s and florist’s business. In 1870 he came to America, locating in Canada for a time, and, after traveling considerably to see the country, he settled in 1877 in Sayre, this county, where he engaged in business up to 1884, when he removed to Towanda and established himself in business. He has here since remained, has built up a successful trade, and is the only florist in Towanda, his place of business being on North main street, where he has three spacious green-houses, two of which are 50 x 20 feet in size, the other being 40 x 20. Mr. Cox was married, in 1870, to Elizabeth daughter of William and Margaret (McLaughlin) McMurray, of County Armagh, Ireland, and has three children, George H., Emilie P., and Charles A. Mr. Cox is a member of the Episcopal Church and in politics in Independent.
REV. DAVID CRAFT is a lineal descendant of Lieut. Griffin Craft, who, with his family, was an immigrant in the first company that came to Boston in July, 1630, and settled in Roxbury, now Boston, on a piece of land which has been in the possession of his descendants, and in the Craft name until now. David Craft was born in Carmel, Putnam Co., N.Y., October 8, 1832. He is a graduate of Lafayette College, studied theology at Princeton, N.J.; taught in the Susquehanna Collegiate Institute at Towanda, in 1857 and ’58; was licensed to preach by the Susquehanna Presbytery, March, 1860, and in the following September began preaching in Wyalusing. In August, 1862, the congregation having granted him leave of absence, he accepted the appointment of chaplain of the One Hundred and Forty-first Regiment, P.V.I., but resigned the following spring on account of continued ill health, and resumed work in Wyalusing, which he continued until January, 1891. In 1866, Mr. Craft published his "Wyalusing," which included a history of his church and of the early settlement of the town. This was received with so much favor that the Bradford County Historical Society prevailed upon him to undertake the history of the county, which was begun with great reluctance, and published in 1877. In 1879 he delivered the historical address at each of the celebrations of the one hundredth anniversary of the "Sullivan expedition against the Western Indians," held at Elmira, Waterloo, Geneseo and Aurora, in the State of New York. These were combined in a continuous narrative, and published by the Seneca county Historical Society in 1880; rewritten and enriched with numerous geographical and biographical notes, was published by the State of New York in 1885. This has received the unqualified approbation of eminent military men and historians, such as Gen. W. T. Sherman, Sidney Howard Gay, W. C. Bryant and others.
In 1887 he published the history of the One Hundred and Forty-first Regiment, which, by common consents, ranks among the very best of regimental histories. In 1891 he wrote the early history of the city of Scranton, published by H. W. Crew, of Washington, D. C. Besides these he has been an almost constant contributor to the press of articles of a historical and literary character. In the midst of these active literary labors, Mr. Craft has had charge of a large and laborious field, where he has done most acceptable and successful work as a pastor. He has been also active in promoting educational and moral society, frequently called to speak at teachers’ associations, temperance meetings, etc. In 1889, after passing through the subordinate offices, he was unanimously elected grand master of the I.O.O.F. of Pennsylvania, where he had the oversight of one thousand subordinate societies numbering about one hundred thousand members. On April, 1891, he accepted a call to the pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church in Lawrenceville, Pa., where he now resides. One June 11, 1861, Mr. Craft married Jane Elizabeth, daughter of the late Dr. G.F. and Abigail Horton, and two children – one son and one daughter, both unmarried – have been born to them.
MCKAY CRAIG, merchant, Bentley Creek, was born April 6, 1832, in County Down, Ireland, a son of Joseph (a hotel keeper) and Jane (Walker) Craig, natives of the same county and of Scotch-Irish ancestry. The family immigrated to America when the subject of these lines was an infant, and settled near Burdett Schuyler Co., N.Y., where the father engaged in teaching school, and after three years they came to Ridgebury township, this county, where they engaged in farming; the family consisted of four sons and one daughter. Mackay Craig was reared on the farm and carried on farming for himself until the spring of 1870, when he embarked in mercantile business at Bentley Creek. In the spring of 1874 he formed a partnership with E.M. Tuton under the firm name of Craig & Tuton, who have had one of the most extensive trades in the township; they carry a large stock of general merchandise, and are also dealers in agricultural implements. Mr. Craig was married, March 25, 1871, to Jane, daughter of Hosen and Letitia (Wilson) Kennedy, farmers of Springfield township; she had two brothers, Orr and Alexander, in the Civil War, both of whom saw much hard service, and were made prisoners. Mr. Craig’s brother John was also a soldier in that war. To Mr. and Mrs. Craig have been born three children, one son and two daughters: Hosea and Letitia (twins), born March 25, 1872 (Hosea is a clerk in his father’s store, and Letitia is the wife of Jud S. Thompson, who is also a clerk in the same store), and Ethlyn L. born May 30, 1875, died November 4, 1876. Mr. Craig is a Republican in politics, and has held several offices of public trust in his township.
SAMUEL W. CRAIG, farmer, P.O. Bentley Creek, was born April 10, 1838, on the farm where he now resides, in Ridgebury township, this county, a son of Joseph and Jane (Walker) Craig, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. The family removed to America in 1832. Our subject is a brother of Mackay Craig, a merchant, of Bentley Creek and is the youngest in a family of four sons and one daughter; his father was killed by an accident at the age of forty-one years, and the mother died at the aged seventy-two years. His brother, John, was a soldier in the Civil War. Mr. Craig was reared a farmer, and has continued to follow that occupation, being now the owner of a fine farm of 200 acres, including the old homestead, where he carries on dairying and sheep raising. The farm is nicely located on one of the finest elevations in the township. He was united in marriage, October 3, 1867, with Laura, daughter of Hiram and Jane (Furman) Mason, of Columbia, who were among the earliest settlers of the township of South creek; she was born February 8, 1848. Her grandfather Mason came from Ireland when only fourteen years of age, and settled in Delaware county, N.Y.; her father is an extensive farmer and dairyman, now aged eighty-three years; her mother died at the age of seventy-six years. To Mr. and Mrs. Craig have been born one son and one daughter: Edwin M., born February 13, 1870, and Jennie, born November 3, 1872. Mr. Craig is a Republican in politics, and has been auditor, school director and judge of elections; also held several other offices of public trust. He is one of the enterprising and reliable men of the township.
CHARLES H. CRANDAL, farmer, P.O. Stevensville, was born in Pike township, this county, May 21, 1837, a son of Dr. Edward and Mary E. (Bosworth) Crandal, latter of whom is a daughter of Salmon and Sarah (Olmstead) Bosworth. Salmon Bosworth and his brother, Josiah, were the first of the name to locate in Bradford county, and in 1798 they settled on the farm where Charles H. Crandal now lives, coming from Connecticut. Dr. Edward Crandal was a native of New York, born of New England origin. In his family were ten children of whom, Charles H., the fifth in order of birth, was educated in the common school, Saint Timothy’s Hall, Md., and Kenyon College at Gambier, Ohio. He began for himself at the age of twenty-one on his father’s farm, but on August 10, 1862, he enlisted at LeRaysville, and was mustered in at Harrisburg in Company B., One Hundred and Forty-first Regiment P.V.I., took part in the battle of Mobile and in several skirmishes; was then detailed as a Hospital nurse, acting in that position in the Patent Office and Lincoln’s Hospitals, and the Washington and McClellan Hospital, at Nicetown, near Philadelphia. In October, 1863, he was ordered to join his regiment, and was afterward transferred to the First Mississippi United States Colored Troops as second-lieutenant, where he remained until the close of the war, being mustered out as captain Fifty-first U.S.C.I., June 16, 1866, at Baton Rouge, La.; then went to Alton, Ill., where he was engaged in the manufacture of a washing fluid until December, 1866, when he returned home, and has since carried on farming. In 1871 he purchased his present home of his mother, which contains 100 acres of fertile and well cultivated land. Mr. Crandal was married, June 29, 1871, to Mrs. Benjamin B. Babcock, daughter of Hiram and Elizabeth H. (Eastabrook) Knapp, of Orwell, the former a native of New York, and latter of Connecticut. In their family there were ten children of whom Armenia is the sixth, and of them two were physicians. Mr. and Mrs. Crandal have one child, Rowland J., born April 5, 1874. They are members of the Protestant Episcopal Church. In politics he is a Republican, has held the office of justice of the peace six years; has also been constable in Pike township.
GEORGE A. CRANDALL, farmer, P.O. Troy, was born in Cortland county, N.Y., November 14, 1829, a son of Allen and Sarah (Chase) Crandall, natives of Cortland and Delaware counties, N.Y., respectively, who settled in Columbia township, this county, in 1835, where his father purchased a tract of three hundred acres, cleared a part of it, but later sold it and removed to Alba, where he died in 1876; his widow still survives at the age of eighty-two; he was a carpenter by trade, which he followed as an occupation most of his life; his children were: George, Burdette (deceased), DeWitt C., Ann (Mrs. James Reynolds, deceased), Henry, Minnie (Mrs. Edward Lewis) Wallace, Charles L. and Mary (Mrs. J. W. Gould). Our subject was reared in Bradford county from six years of age, where, with the exception of two years, he has since resided; in early life he followed the carpenter’s trade but his principal occupation has been farming; he has been a resident of Troy township upward of twenty years, and owns 170 acres of land. He married, in 1854, Mary E., daughter of Loomis and Emaline (Howland) Newberry, of Springfield township, this county. Mr. Crandall is a well-known and respected citizen of Troy township; in politics he is a Republican.
GILBERT B. CRANDALL, carpenter, P.O. Sugar Run, was born October 27, 1836, and is a son of Daniel D. and Melissa (Todd) Crandall, the former a native of Connecticut, born of New England parentage, the latter a native of Pennsylvania, of Irish lineage. He began life for himself at the age of twenty-four, farming and lumbering in Wilmot township, continuing in the same until August 11, 1862, when he enlisted at Towanda in Company H. Fifty-Seventh Regiment P.V.I. While in the service he was in the following engagements: Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, the Weldon Raid, Deep Bottom, and several minor engagements; he received a slight wound in the foot at Fredericksburg, and was discharged June 10, 1865, when he returned and began farming in Wilmot township, which he continued five years, and then learned the carpenter’s trade, at which he has since been engaged in various parts of this State. Mr. Crandall was married September 7, 1865, to Susan M. daughter of George Quick, of Wilmot. Mrs. Crandall died April 6, 1874, leaving one child, Stella; another daughter, Josephine, had died in 1872. Mr. Crandall re-married, January 30, 1877, this time to Isabell B., daughter of William and Irene Gamble, of Bradford county, Pa., and they have one child, Cyrene M., born June 14, 1881. Mr. Crandall is a member of the G.A.R. at Wyalusing, and in politics is a Republican.
ASHBEL L. CRANMER,retired, Monroeton, was born in Monroe township, this county, January 6, 1809, and is a son of Samuel and Sarah (Hubbel) Cranmer. His father, who was a native of New Jersey, a son of Noadiah and Catherine Cranmer, settled in Monroe township about 1790, cleared and improved a farm which is now owned by subject, and died there in 1845 in his seventy-ninth year. He was twice married, first time to Hannah Miller, by whom he had six children who grew to maturity: Josiah, Elizabeth (Mrs. John R. Brown), Jedediah, John, Noadiah and Samuel; his second wife was Sarah Hubbell, by whom he had two children who grew to maturity: Ashbel L. and Enoch H. The subject of these lines was reared on the old homestead, where he resided until 1863, since which time he has occupied his present residence in Monroeton. For twenty years, from 1853 to 1873, Mr. Cranmer was engaged in mercantile business in Monroeton. He was also for some years extensively engaged in lumbering and contracting; erected the covered bridge known as the Rockwell bridge at Monroeton, in 1851, and the canal acqueduct above Townada, in 1852. On November 18, 1834, he married, Mary H., daughter of Joseph and Mary (Mason) Griggs, of Monroe township, and has had five children: Albert, Bernard, Elma (Mrs. Elias Park), Wayland S. and Julia (Mrs. Hiram Sweet). Mr. Cranmer has always been a Democrat, and served as commissioner of Bradford county, one term; was a member of the board that erected the present courthouse at Towanda; from 1840 until 1850 was justice of the peace.
CHESTER W. CRANMER, farmer, Smithfield township, P.O. East Smithfield, was born October 22, 1835, in the house where he now lives, a son of Calvin and Almira (Hartman) Cranmer. The father came to Smithfield township when a young man, with his parents from Monroe, this county. His mother came when a child seven years of age, with her uncle, Samuel Morse, who was of the third family in the township. Mr. Cranmer’s grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier, and a brave and valiant hero. He was united in marriage, August 29, 1855, with Flotilda, daughter of Judson and Nancy (Foster) Gerould. Her grandfather, Gerould, was the fourth settler in the township, who came here in the spring of 1802; she was born October 26, 1835, the eldest of eleven. The Geroulds trace their genealogy back to Jacques (or James) Gerould, who was a French Huguenot, of the Province of Languedoc, and who, at the revocation of the "Edict of Nantes," which occurred in 1685, came to this country and settled at Medfield, Mass. He was a physician, and died October 25, 1760. There have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cranmer six children, five of whom are living, as follows: Orvil C., born September 3, 1856, married to Rosna Soper; N. Adella, born September 16, 1858, married to Henry Gates, of Milan’ Clarissa E., born June 29, 1868, married to Daniel Truesdale, of Springfield; Hattie C., born October 29, 1869, and Francis B., born July 2, 1875. Mr. Cranmer has a fine farm of about ninety acres, which he manages successfully; he in a natural artist, and has some very fine specimens of his work in wood and pencil. He was for a number of years a designer and carver for a large furniture manufacturing firm at Chicago and Minneapolis. He is a Domocrat, and has held several offices of public trust.
HUGH CRAWFORD, proprietor of a saw and feed mill, Canton, is a native of Ohio township, Allegheny Co., Pa., born November 28, 1840, a son of William and Harriet (Steward) Crawford, natives of Carlisle and Allegheny county, Pa., respectively. The father, who was a farmer, died in Ohio township in 1876 in his eighty-fourth year; the mother died in 1874 in her seventy-third year. Hugh Crawford is one of a family of twelve children – ten sons and two daughters – of whom ten are living. He was reared in Allegheny county, receiving his education in the common schools, and afterward worked two years making brick for Moore Bros., at Dixmont, Pa., for the asylum that was being built there. On April 28, 1861, he enlisted in Company H., Eighth Pennsylvania Reserve, and re-enlisted September 21, 1861, in Company B., Fourth Pennsylvania Cavalry. He participated in the following: The Peninsular campaign, the battles of Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, Petersburg and in a number of minor engagements; he was run over by a wagon July 11, 1864, and was mustered out in front of Petersburg, October 28, 1864. He returned home and worked in a sawmill one year, and then, in 1866, went to Tioga county, Pa., whence, after remaining one year, he returned to Allegheny City, and was there one year when he removed with his family to Tioga county, Pa.; he went to Nevada where for a time he worked in timber, and then with his brother ran freight teams from Battle Mountain to Austin, 104 miles, and from there to Carson City, 116 miles. They continued in the freight business about eighteen months; then returned to Tioga county, and purchased a one-half interest in a water-power sawmill, which they changed to a steam power mill. At the end of six years he sold and went to Fall Brook, where he operated the Ball Brook Coal Company’s mill two years; then moved to Canton, this county, October 7, 1886, and built the mill he now owns. He is extensively engaged in timber land, and carries on a grocery business as well.
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