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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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TITUS HARPS, farmer, Wyalusing township, P. O. Wyalusing, was born in Monroe county, Pa., December 25, 1840, a son of Jacob and Margaret (Bommon) Harps, natives of Monroe county, of whom the latter is still living. They had a family of thirteen children, Titus being the ninth. The father, who was a farmer, died in 1858, aged fifty-two years. Our subject was born and reared on a farm and educated in the common schools. The father dying when Titus was eighteen years old, the latter had his own way to make, and followed farming and lumbering until June 17, 1861, when he enlisted in Company F, Fourth Pennsylvania Reserves, in which he served until June 17, 1864, and was mustered out at Philadelphia at the expiration of his term. He was in the battles of Bull Run, before Richmond , Fredericksburg, South Mountain, Antietam, Floyd’s Mountain, and in numerous minor engagements. Returning from the army he engaged in farming which he has followed until the present time. Mr. Harps resided in Monroe county until 1868, and since then has lived in different sections of Bradford county. In 1869 he purchased a place in LeRaysville, and in February, 1891, purchased his present place. Mr. Harps was married July 28, 1866, to Mary Ann, daughter of Jacob Walters, a prominent farmer of Wyoming county, and this union has been blessed with three children: Morris A., married to Rose Jacoby, a farmer of Spring Hill, this county; Nettie and Jacob L., still with their parents. Mr. And Mrs. Harps are members of the Spring Hill Methodist Episcopal Church; he is a member of Hurst Post, No. 68, G.A. R., Camptown, and, politically, is identified with the Republican party.
ARTHUR H. HARRIS, foreman of Fuller’s mill, Wyalusing, was born in Cheltenham, England, February 7, 1862, a son of Anthony and Sarah (Done) Harris, the former of whom was a farmer and passed his life in England; he had a family of twelve children, five of whom came to America, viz.: Edward, Peter, George, Thomas and Arthur H.; Edward is a steamboat engineer residing in Canada; Peter is operating a large stone quarry at Rockey Forest, this State; George is secretary of the Union Glue Company, of Brooklyn; Thomas returned to England a few years ago where he now resides. Our subject came to America, October 9, 1873; he attended school at Guildford, N. Y.., also at Elmira; then went to Black Walnut, Pa., and worked in the quarries there, learning the trace of stone cutter, where he remained until 1877, when he returned to England and enlisted in the English army, and was at once sent with his brigade to India to engage in the Afghanistan war; there he remained three years, enduring all the hardships of the Indian climate and native warfare; marching far into the interior, and meeting with numerous adventures; he was stricken with Indian fever. He was discharge May 11, 1881, having rised to the rank of corporal before leaving the service. From India he returned to England, where he remained a short time, and then came to America, locating at Wyalusing, and worked at the carpenter’s trade about one year, then entered the employ of I. C. Fuller, as foreman of his lumber mill, which position he has since held. He was united in marriage January 20, 1885, with Mary, daughter of Jabob Wananken, a nurseryman and farmer of Wyalusing. To Mr. And Mrs. Harris have been born two children: Ellen and Clair; politically Mr. Harris is identified with the Democratic party; he is a member of White Lilly Lodge, No. 808, I. O. O. F., and has taken all subordinate degrees.
CHARLES V. HARRIS, locomotive engineer, L. V. R. R., Sayre, is a native of Elmira, N. Y., and was born April 22, 1851. His parents were Joseph H. and Mary (Cooley) Harris, the former a native of Luzerne county, and the latter of Elmira, N. Y. The father, who was a farmer, was born in November, 1822, and died in St. Paul, Minn., in October, 1890; the mother resides in St. Paul. The great-grandfather Harris was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, under Gen. Sullivan. Charles V. is the eldest in a family of six children, of whom three are living. He was reared in Elmira until the age of twelve years, when they removed to this county. He received a common-school education, and began braking on the L. V. R. R. in April, 1873, and commenced firing in July, 1874; was promoted to engineer May 4, 1880, and has held the position since. He was married in Chemung in January 1873, to Emma, daughter of Samuel and Melvina (Mower) Coddington, natives of Sullivan county, N. Y., former of whom was a millwright, and died in 1860; the latter now resides with Mr. Harris in Sayre. Mrs. Harris is the second in a family of three living children, and was born in Sullivan county, N. Y., in October, 1852. To Mr. And Mrs. Harris have been born three children: John C., Guy M. and Jessie M. Mr. Harris is a member of the F. & A. M., Waverly Lodge, No. 407, of Cayuga Chapter, No. 245, of St. Oner’s Commandery, No. 19, Elmira, also a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, Division No. 380. Mrs. Harris is a member of the Sexennial League. Mr. Harris is a Republican.
NATHANIEL CLAPP HARRIS, president First National Bank, Athens, is the oldest living native of Athens, and he has never had any other residence. He was born on the 15th of March, 1820. His father, Alpheus Harris, a native of Connecticut, was one of the early settlers of Athens township. He resided on a farm near "Spanish Hill," until his death, about forty years ago. The subject of this sketch, like most boys of that time, had limited school facilities, and at a very early age, before he had reached his "teens," left the school-room to engage as clerk in his uncle’s store. Being endowed with a bright intellect, and possessed of a laudable ambition to excel in his chosen vocation, his spare moments were employed in laying the foundation for that broad and practical education upon which his success in life has been builded. Soon after attaining his majority, Mr. Harris was tendered and accepted a partnership with the late Col. Charles F. Welles, who had established a large general store here. Col. Welles being engaged in other business demanding his attention, the management of the store devolved largely upon the junior partner, and the business not only prospered, but the young man by close application, sterling integrity and courteous manners, won an enviable reputation as the most enterprising and successful business man in all this section. Largely through Mr. Harris’s efforts the First National Bank was organized in 1865, and the following year he was elected its President -- a position he has ever since held – and under his management the bank has always ranked with the soundest financial institutions in the country. Politically, Mr. Harris was originally a Whig, and, naturally united with the Republican party with the large majority of Whigs, when that organization came into existence as the exponent of anti-slavery sentiment. By nature earnest and enthusiastic, he has always taken a lively interest in politics, purely from Principle, as he has steadfastly declined proffered political honors; his only deviation in this regard was when he accepted the appointment of postmaster away back in the forties, because the citizens requested it on account of the eligible location of his store.
Mr. Harris is peculiarly a domestic man, and finds his chief recreation in his own pleasant home, in the company of his loyal and loving family. He is an enthusiastic Athenian, ready to aid enterprises designed to build up the town or benefit any citizen. It is to his generous, unselfish financial backing that Athens is indebted for some of her most prosperous industries. In his benefactions he is modest and unostentatious, but gives liberally to churches, schools and worthy charities, while conservative and economical in his personal expenses. The industrious habits, and careful business methods of his younger days are still observed, and few men give as many hours and as much thought to business as Mr. Harris, now in his seventy-second year. Thanks to abstinence from intoxicating liquors and tobacco, and to a proper observance of the laws of health, he is still as vigorous and active mentally and physically as most men in the prime of life. He can truthfully be said to possess "a sound mind in a healthy body."
Mr. Harris has been twice married: the first time in 1853; his wife dying in 1861, he was married the second time in 1863. The ladies were sisters, daughters of the late George Kirby, of Nichols, N. Y. Four children have been born to him, of whom one is dead, one married and the other two are still at home. As an upright, honorable citizen, a loyal Athenian, an enterprising, incorruptible, sagacious business man, as a kind husband and indulgent father, Mr. Harris may justly be pointed to as a model.
DAVID W. HARSHBARGER, physician, New Albany, was born in Centre county, Pa., June 27, 1829, a son of Jacob and Hannah (Palmer) Harshbarger, the former of whom was born in Germany, and came to America about 1795, when six months old, with his parents, who settled in Centre county, Pa., and were farmers; he died at forty-five years of age; the mother was a native of New Jersey, and died at the age of sixty-six; her maternal grandfather, Joseph Davis, was a soldier in the Ear of the Revolution, and served in the commissary department. Our subject was educated at the village school and he studied medicine in 1863-64-65 with Dr. L. A. Mason, of Towanda, Pa., and in April, a866, engaged in the practice of his profession at New Albany, where he has enjoyed an extensive and lucrative practice. He was married, March 9, 1851, to Permelia Frank, of New Berlin, Pa., born January 14, 1825, a daughter of Phillip and Sarah (Shreffler) Frank, of German origin. There have been born to them three children, as follows:;; Edward H., died at the age of twenty years; W. Frank, born October 6, 1857, in the furniture trade at Towanda. The Doctor is a member of the County Medical Society, of the I. O. O. F., and is a Mason. He is a Republican in politics, but devotes his attention exclusively to his profession, and has long been the leading physician in the township.
JAMES A. HAWTHORN, farmer, P. O. Windfall, was born in Granville township, this country, April 16, 1844, a son of James and Mary (Ferguson) Hawthorn, natives of County Armagh, Ireland, who came to America in 1842, settling in Granville township, this county, where they improved a farm. They had five children who grew to maturity, viz.: James A., John, Orrin, Frank and Mary, of whom James. And John were in the Civil War, John serving one year in Company F, Eleventh Pa., Cavalry. James A. enlisted February 19, 1864; was wounded in the left thigh and left temple, in front of Petersburg, and was taken prisoner there, but was recaptured by his friends. He was honorably discharge from the service August 19, 1865. He carried a musket ball in his head twelve years, when it dropped out through his mouth. Since the war he has been engaged in agricultural in agricultural pursuits on the farm where he now resides, in Granville township. On April 4, 1877, he married Gertrude, daughter of Silas and Sally (Ayers) Packard, of Canton township, this county, and has four children: Hugh, Carrie, Dent and Lou. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and in politics is a Rebubilcan.
BERT HAYDEN, division freight agent for L. V. R. R., Sayre, is a native of Sayre, this county, and was born March 19, 1844, a son of Sidney and Florilla E. (Miller) Hayden, natives of Connecticut. The father was born in Connecticut in 1813, and removed to this county about the year 1839; he was a brick manufacturer in early life, and a contractor and builder. He was a Thirty-third Degree Mason, and was an author of considerable note on Masonic subjects; a work of marked ability written by him was "Washington and his Masonic Compeers." He was appointed postmaster at Sayre in 1885, and served until the time of his death April 4, 1890. Mrs. Florilla E. Hayden died in 1868. Bert Hayden is the second in order of birth in a family of four sons and one daughter. He went to work for the L. V. R. R. Company in 1870, and was promoted to his present in July, 1887. He was married, in 1877, to Miss Ruth E. Lester, and to them were born who children: Paul L. and Robert. Mrs. Hayden is a member of the Episcopal Church; Mr. Hayden is a Democrat.
WILLIAM S. HEATH, farmer, of Burlington township, P. O. Burlington, was born in Wyoming county, Pa., September 14, 1829, a son of William A. and Watie (Adams) Heath, natives of Greenwich, Washington Co., N. Y. and of English extraction. They removed to this State when young people, and were early settlers in Wyoming county, where they engaged in lumbering and farming; they reared a family of six children, one of whom, Charles, was a soldier in the Civil War. William S. Heath was brought up on the farm, and engaged in farming for himself when he arrived at his majority. He has been twice married, first time to Esther Prentice, whom he married in 1849, and they had one son, and one daughter (deceased). Mrs. Heath died in 1855, and September 27, 1856, Mr. Heath married Mary A. Jacoby, of Wyoming county, who was born April 9, 1831, a daughter of Leonard and Judith (Williams) Jacoby, of Mehoopany township. They have had born to them four children, three of whom are living: George W., born August 7, 1859, a dealer in hay and grain; Berton M., a farmer in Burlington township, born June 7, 1862, married to Eva Place, of Mehoopany; and Clark D., born June 7, 1862, a teacher of public schools. Richard, the son by the first marriage, born June 16, 1854, is a coal miner, and resides in Tunkhannock. Mr. Heath removed in 1877 to his present farm in Burlington township, which consists of over 220 acres of fine land, where he and his sons carry on a general farming and dairying business. He is a Republican, but gives little attention to political matters. The family are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and are much respected people.
EDWARD HEIDT, Monroe township, P. O. Kipp, is a prominent farmer and stock grower, and is also a sawmill operator in Monroe and Overton townships. He is of German birth, born February 17, 1839, at Saxony, a son of Peter and Catherine (Oxrider) Heidt. The family came to America in 1853, and first stopped in Sullivan county, N. Y., where the father died in 1883, and the mother in 1887. They had a family of six children of whom Edward was the second. He continued with his father’s family until 1886, when he came to Bradford county and located in Monroeton. His people were of the plain and frugal agricultural class, that ordinarily were satisfied to impress upon their children the most wholesome moral lessons, combined with instruction in industry and economy, restraining, rather than cultivating, luxurious tastes and desire that in more modern times are largely forgotten in rearing children. Mr. Heidt commenced live on his own account poor, but has worked his way to comfort and competence, and his homestead, with its solid evidences of comfort on every hand, consists of 450 acres of highly improved land, partly in Monroe and partly in Overton township, which is not only highly improved, but is well stocked with superior domestic animals. Edward Heidt and Mary Hirwood were united in wedlock, October 24, 1865. Her father, John Hirwood, and family came to America in 1853, and located in Sullivan county, N. Y. To this happy union were born the following children: Gertrude, wife of Nelson Madill; Catherine, wife of Albert McCadden; Barbara, wife of George Green; John, died at the age of sixteen; Peter, Caroline, Elizabeth and Joseph. The family are exemplary members of the Roman Catholic Church, and all are of the highest respectability. Mr. Heidt votes the Democratic ticket, but really takes no further interest in politics than that of a patriotic desire for the permanent good of all.
ALFRED C. HENSON, proprietor of Troy meat market, Troy, was born in West Burlington, this county, July 22, 1849, and is a son of Simeon and Julia A. (Corby) Henson. His paternal grandfather, Elisha Henson, formerly of Windham, Conn., was a pioneer of West Burlington township, where he built a grist and saw mill, which he operated for some years, and later he purchased a farm in the same township, which he cleared and improved, and there died; his wife was Experience Pratt, by whom he had six children: Erastus, Simeon, Simon, Martha (Mrs.. David Corby), William and George. His maternal grandfather was John Corby, formerly of Neward, N. J., and a pioneer of Granville township, this county. Simeon Henson, father of our subject, was a native of Windham, Conn., was reared in West Burlington township, and followed farming there until 1871; is now a resident of Troy. He had seven children who grew to maturity : Louise (Mrs. George Porter), Susannah (Mrs. Alden Fleming), Maria Cordelia (Mrs. James Benjamin); the last two daughters were twins. Our subject was reared in West Burlington, was educated in the common school, and, after reaching his majority, engaged in farming, later at butchering, and in October, 1886, located in Troy, where he has since been the successful proprietor of the Troy meat market. He has been twice married: his first wife was Lucelia, daughter of D. W. C. Ayres, of Troy township, by whom he had two children: Hurley and Lottie; his second wife was Lelia, daughter of Hoyt Chaple, of Leroy township, by whom he had two children: Horace and Hillis. Mr. Henson is a member of the Disciple Church, and he is a Republican.
MOSES D. HERMAN, farmer, P. O. Wellsburg, N. Y., was born October 10, 1821, in Monroe county, Pa., a son of Stephen and Elizabeth (DePue) Herman, natives of the above county and of German ancestry, there parents on both sides having been born in Germany. The father, who was a mason by trade, settled in Wellsburg inn 1826, and in 1837 located in Ridgebury on a farm near where Moses D. now resides; he died at the age of seventy-five years. The subject of this sketch was reared on the farm, which occupation he has continued to follow, and is now the owner of a well-improved farm of 100 acres. He was married October 29, 1844, to Polly Burt, who was born February 12, 1823, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Hammond) Burt, of Ridgebury. Her mother was a niece of Lebius Hammond, the celebrated Indian fighter in the time of the Revolution; her father was the first postmaster in Ridgebury, which position he held many years. Mr. And Mrs. Herman have had born to them children, as follows: Elizabeth, wife of James H. Wood, of Chemung county, N. Y., a farmer and supervisor of the town in which he lives (was lieutenant in the Civil War, in the service four years); Franklin, a farmer, married to Mary Durland, of Wellsburg, N. Y.; Helen, wife of Leland J. Webb, an attorney at law in Kansas, and the commander in-chief of the Sons of Veterans of the United States; Alice, wife of Edwin Westbrook, a conductor on the Lehigh Valley Railroad. Mr. Herman is a Republican in politics, having voted the Republican ticket since the organization of the party, but his sympathies are with the temperance cause; he has given his attention to his business rather than to politics, and is much respected in the community. He was town commissioner during the Rebellion, and devoted the most of his time to furnishing men and money for the Union Army. He was drafted in 1864, but was exempt on account of disability.
EDWARD CURRAIN HERRICK (deceased) was a native of Athens, born June 22, 1814, and died November 18, 1884. He was a son of Hon. Edward and Celestia (Hopkins) Herrick, being the second in a family of three children. He was educated for the bar, and studied law with his father, Judge Herrick; also devoted considerable time to art, but after a time had to give up the practice of his profession on account of poor health; then turned his attention to farming and stock-raising. He was married in Athens, March 24, 1836, to Miss Eliza, daughter of Francis and Anna (McDuffee) Tyler, the former a native of Goshen, N. Y., and the latter of Ireland, having immigrated to Buck’s county, Pa., with her parents, when two years of age; from there they removed to Athens township (she was the second in a family of six children, and was born July 28, 1813, died September 12, 1887). To Mr. And Mrs. Herrick were born five children, of whom one died in infancy: James W. served during the Civil War, and his health becoming impaired while in the service, his father thought a change of climate might be beneficial to him, and consequently he bought a plantation in Camden county, Ga., containing 5,233 ½ acres; he died November 4, 1878. George, who during his life had been cashier of the Waverly State Bank, died May 3, 1884. Hugh T. is a resident of Waverly. Edward Francis resides on the old homestead in Athens township, and carries on farming and dairying. He is a Democrat. There are few names connected with the more modern history of Bradford county that will be longer remembered than that of Judge Herrick.
JAMES W. HIBBARD, postmaster, and dealer in general merchandise, Austinville, was born in Minnisink, Orange Co., N. Y., December 18, 18848, and is a son of Daniel W. and Lucy (Hulse) Hibbard. He was reared in his native county until eighteen years of age, when he located at Roseville, Tioga Co., Pa., and engaged as clerk in a general store, serving in that capacity seven years. In the latter part of 1875 he located at Austinville, this county, where he succeeded to the general merchandising business of the late A. B. Austin, and has conducted a successful trade since. He has held the office of postmaster since January 25, 1886. In October, 1871, Mr. Hibbard married Julia A., daughter of John and Julia (Lay) Furman, of Bradford county, and has three children : Gertrude, Florence and Mabel. Mr. Hibbard is the only dealer in general merchandise at Austinville, and is an enterprising and worthy citizen. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., No. 326, of Austinville, and in politics he is a Democrat.
MAURICE HICKEY, farmer, in Warren township, P. O. Warren Centre, is a native of County Clare, Ireland, born in 1829, a son of James and Catherine (McNamarra) Hickey, natives of the same "ould sod," a family of sturdy yeomen who migrated from the "beautiful isle" in April, 1841, bringing a family of ten children, in time to have their household ready for the Civil War. The family located on the farm now occupied by the subject of this sketch, where the father died in 1876, aged eighty-two years, and where his widow survived to the extreme age of ninety-seven, dying in 1887. Their ten immigrant children, of whom Maurice is the sixth, and was aged twelve when he reached the land of the free, received his education in the schools of the neighborhood in Warren township, and commenced life on his own account, a farmer. He owns 110 acres of as valuable land as is to be found in the county. He was married in Susquehanna county, May 1, 1854, to Ann Ryan, daughter of Thomas and Jane (Hastings) Ryan, also natives of County Clare, Ireland; her father’s family came to this country in 1831, including two children, Edmund and Ann, the former of whom was killed in the War of the Rebellion. Mrs. Hickey’s mother died in Ireland in 1833 and her father in Warren township in 1877. Ann grew to womanhood chiefly in her native place, and there was educated. To this marriage there is no issue, but Mr. And Mrs. Hickey have reared three children, as follows: Alice (Mrs. John J. Fitzmorton), of Elmira (has two children, Walter and Jane); James a resident, it is supposed, of California, a commercial traveler; and Annie, who is with her parents. The family are exemplary and prominent members of the Catholic Church, and in politics Mr. Hickey is a Democrat. The brothers and sisters of Mr. Hickey were as follows: Mary (Mrs. James Allyn), died in 1885, leaving five children; Cornelius, married to Mary O’Donnell, has three children, and is a resident of Rhode Island; John, married to Mary Carey, resides at Owego (has five children); Ann (Mrs. Cornelius Conley, is in Susquehanna county, has seven children); Catherine (Mrs. John Gamble, in Wisconsin, has nine children); Ellen (Mrs. Richard O’Donnell, in Binghamton, had twelve children, seven living); Bridget (Mrs. Edward Burk, of Susquehanna county, has three children); Margaret (Mrs. Michael Fitzgerald, of Iowa, has five children); and James (married to Ellen Connors, is a resident of Pittsburgh, has six children).
A. H. HICKOK, farmer, South
Creek township, P. O. Fassetts, was born in Troy, February 4, 1821, a son
of Stephen and Ruth (Elsworth) Hickok, natives of Vermont. Their grandfathers
were Revolutionary soldiers, descended from English parentage. Stephen
Hickok removed to this county about 1790, locating near Troy; he was a
carpenter, which trade he followed; he lived near Troy about thirty years,
then moved to Columbia Cross Roads where he resided fifteen years. He died
in 1856 in his seventy-sixth year; his family consisted of six children,
five of whom grew to maturity and two are now living. The subject of these
lines was the third of the family, and was reared and educated in Troy
at the common school; when twenty-six years of age, May, 1847, he married
Hulda, daughter of Nicholas B. and Anna Smith, of Columbia Cross Roads,
and there were four children born to them who grew to maturity, three now
living, as follows: William, married to Ella Stratton, Nicholas and Thadeus;
the two latter are unmarried. Mr. Hickok is a general farmer and has lived
twenty-five years on his present farm which consists of 100 acres of fertile
land; he contemplates building a new residence in the near future; he has
two fine colts, of registered horses "America Empron" and
"Hambletonian." Mr. Hickok is an enterprising
citizen.
NEWTON HICKOK, proprietor of billiard parlors, Troy, was born in Troy township, Bradford Co., Pa., September 27, 1846, and is a son of Aaron R. and Clarissa A. (Middaugh) Hickok; his paternal grandfather, Stephen Hickok, formerly of Pittsford, Rutland Co., Vt., settled in Troy township, this county, in 1807, and for many years was employed at Long’s mills; his children were: Aaron R., Deborah (Mrs. F. Ashley). Aaron R. Hickok was reared in Troy from three years of age, and in early life settled on the farm now owned by subject, which he cleared and improved, and there died; his wife was a daughter of Cornelius Middaugh, of Tioga county, Pa., by whom he had the following named children: William L., Phebe A. (Mrs. Reuben Stiles), Henry H., Stephen C., Helen M. (Mrs. Jareu S. Manley), Manley and Newton. Our subject was reared in Troy township; he enlisted in the Civil War, October 16, 1861, in Company C, One Hundred and Sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers, and after three years’ service was honorably discharged, October 18, 1864, he participating in forty engagements and skirmishes. From October, 1864, to 1876, he was engaged in farming on the old homestead, which he still owns, and from 1876 to 1889 conducted a meat market in Troy. In 1879 he married Georgia, daughter of Hiram Sweet, of Wellsburg, Pa. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and G. A. R.; in politics he is a Republican.
FRANCIS R. HICKOCK, farmer, P. O. LeRoy, was born in Troy township, this county, May 11, 1837, a son of Hiram H. and Fanny (Kipp) Hickock, natives of Troy and Ulster county, N. Y., respectively. Grandfather James Hickock was a man of enterprise, and was engaged in various pursuits; had been a hotel-keeper, cloth-fuller and was also a farmer on a limited scale; he located in Troy in 1809, and erected the first foundry there. Hiram H. Hickock’s family consisted of three sons and three daughters, the subject of these lines being the eldest. He was reared in Troy, and educated in the common school. During the War of the Rebellion he served his country in Company C, Third Pennsylvania Artillery, headquarters at Fortress Monroe. After serving a term of two years, he was honorably discharged, and now lives with a pension of $8.00 per month. He has never married, but lives with his mother on a small and comfortable farm on the Towanda creek; he is a member of the G. A. R. Post, also of the I. O. O. F., and in politics he is a Republican.
F. M. HICKS, contractor and builder, Rome, is a native of Wysox, this county, born July 21, 1847, and is a son of Hugh and Catherine (Miller) Hicks, agriculturists, the father a native of Warren county, N. J. The paternal grandfather, with two brothers, emigrated from London in Colonial times, and all three served under Gen. Washington. The maternal grandfather was F. Miller (widely known as "Freddie"), who was an inn-keeper near Washington, N. J., where he died, aged ninety, and his wife, of German descent, died at the advanced age of ninety-six. The father of F. M. Hicks had a family of seven children, as follows: Willie (died young), Sarah M., John, Jane M., George Oliver, F. M. and Norman. Hugh Hicks died in May, 1877; his widow survives, aged seventy-six years. F. M. was obliged to quit school at the age of nine, on account of ill-health, and when but fourteen years old, July 8, 1861, he enlisted as a drummer in the Twenty-eighth P. V. I., and was soon after discharged, but again enlisted, in 1863, in the emergency call of the State, where he served three months, and in December, 1863, again enlisted at Owego, N. Y., in Company L, Fifth New York Cavalry, Capt. George C. Morton, and was in the service until finally mustered out, June 19, 1865, having experienced as hard service as did any of the survivors of the war. He was in the battles of the Wilderness, Hanover Court House, and in Wilson’s unfortunate raid, where the Union forces were disastrously defeated, and among the prisoners captured by the enemy was Mr. Hicks. An account of his months of prison life, from June 28, 1864, until April following, is a story of unspeakable horrors, and his unvarnished story, told without passion, is well-nigh incredible, when taken with the fact that he survives to tell it. In sickness, starvation, covered with vermin, and exposed to the pitiless elements, and under the sleepless eye of guards that were instructed to shoot down victims for small infraction of the rules, and then at times sentenced to the yet greater agonies of the dungeon, a veritable "Black Hole" itself, without ventilation, and with puddles of water for beds, were the long-drawn-out days and months of this captive’s experience. Having experienced the worst of Libby and Andersonville, under the heartless Wiltz, and others no less cruel, he was finally carried to Richmond on the way to an exchange, and from there to Goldsboro. The awful condition of the sufferers is slightly shown in the fact that, of twenty-eight who had been loaded in a box car, nineteen were dead when the box was opened at Richmond. From Goldsboro he was sent to Egan’s landing, and then sent by ambulance to the Union lines, and transported to the Annapolis Hospital, and after long suffering, when able to walk, was sent home on furlough. When captured he weighed 168 pounds, and when sent home, ninety-six pounds. In 1866 he learned the carpenter’s and joiner’s trade at Williamsport, then removed to Towanda, and worked in Frost’s factory until 1873, when he returned to Williamsport, and was pattern-maker one year; then made his home in Rome, and engaged as contractor and house builder until 1877, when, with his brother, he engaged in the furniture trade, which they continued until 1880. In that year he went to Philadelphia, and became a commercial traveler for the house of Wanamakeer, and represented various houses, but, his health failing, he returned to his present home. F. M. Hicks and Charlotte Mann were joined in wedlock in June, 1865; she is a daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Weaver) Mann, natives of New York. To this union have been born the following children: Nellie M.; Charles Whitney, farmer, in Wysox; Samuel, bookkeeper, in Philadelphia; Mary and George, with their parents. The family worship at the Presbyterian Church, and are widely esteemed by all who enjoy their intimacy in social life. Mr. Hicks is not a prominent Democrat, but is a member of the State Democratic Central Committee; is a charter member of Stevens Post, No. 69, G. A. R., and has filled all the offices except commander, and is a member of the Cavalry Society of the United States.
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