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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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LEROY HOLCOMB, farmer and miller, LeRoy township, P. O. LeRoy, was born October 14, 1830, a son of Eli and Harriet (Bailey) Holcomb, who were the first settlers on the south side of Towanda creek. The father was a native of Connecticut and son of Truman Holcomb of New England, who removed to Ulster in the early settlement of the county. Harriet (Bailey) Holcomb was a native of New York. Eli Holcomb located in LeRoy in 1801, taking possession of 200 acres on either side of Towanda creek. In those days their facilities were limited, compelling them to go eighteen miles to mill. Eli built the second gristmill in 1827, and the first on the south side of the creek (Hugh Holcomb built the first); it was a log structure, in which LeRoy, when a small lad, learned his trade. In 1844 Eli Holcomb built a mill which was damaged by the giving way of the dam; it was rebuilt and is now owned and operated by his son LeRoy. Eli was the father of thirteen children, eleven of whom grew to maturity. LeRoy being the seventh member of the family./ He was reared and educated at LeRoy, and learned the miller’s trade of his father, beginning at the age of fourteen. When twenty-one he married Roena R., daughter of Ansel and Anna Tillotson, June 13, 1852, at LeRoy. To them were born ten children - five sons and five daughters - eight of whom grew to maturity and are now living in this county, prosperous business men. Mr. Holcomb was twice married, his first wife died on January 10, 1880, and he married, March 9, 1886, Nettie, daughter of William and Maria Scott, of Monroe township. He is a man of business and enterprise; in 1855 he built a sawmill north of the present mill; but, on account of the water-power failing, he abandoned it, attaching one to his gristmill, both of which he runs by steam. This mill has the capacity of 10,000 feet per day, and the gristmill averages 15,000 bushels per year. In addition to this Mr. Holcomb oversees a neat farm. He has been entrusted with various offices during his life time; was constable two years; he is a member of the Church of Christ, and has held the position of superintendent of the Sunday school sixteen years; politically he is a Republican.
H. A. and H. B. HOLDRIDGE, farmers, P. O. Fassett, were born in Elmira, N. Y.; Henry A., September 24, 1861; Howard B., December 17, 1857; are sons of Harrison and Caroline Holdridge, natives of Onondaga county, N. Y. Harrison Holdridge purchased 120 acres of land in South Creek township, this county, about the year 1874, which was without any improvement until he gave it to his sons, the subjects of this sketch, who have resided on it since; they have made numerous improvements in clearing the land, erecting buildings and putting up fences, etc. Mr. Holdridge has four children, all of whom are living. Henry A. was reared and educated in Elmira, N. Y.; Howard in Onondaga county, N. Y., and they moved to this county in 1876; although the land was divided between them, yet, as brothers, they live and work together in harmony. Henry A. married, July 3, 1887, at Elmira, Louisa, a daughter of B. and Anna Hughes, and there was born to them one child, Robert. Howard B. is unmarried, and lives with his brother. They are general farmers in South Creek township, and make a specialty of hay-making and wool-growing, and are young men who will make their mark in the world. About the year 1882 there was quite an excitement on the farm adjoining theirs, over the sinking of a shaft prospecting for lead ore, which was found in small quantities, although no further developments have been made since.
DANIEL O. HOLLON, retired, residing in North Towanda, was born in Chemung county, N. Y., August 23, 1819, a son of Jeremiah and Betsy (Orcutt) Hollon, who settled in Monroe township on what is now known as Hollon Hill, in 1835, where the father cleared and improved a farm on which he lived and died. He had ten children, all of whom grew to maturity, as follows: Sally (Mrs. Joab Summers), Charles, Deborah (Mrs. Guy C. Irvine), Daniel O., Lyman, Eliza (Mrs. J. W. Irvine), Lydia (Mrs. Daniel Cook), Harry S., Almira (Mrs. J. W. Irvine) and William. Mr. Hollon, the subject of this sketch, was reared in Chemung county, N. Y., and Bradford county, Pa.; educated in the common schools, and learned the carpenter’s trade in Bradford county, which he followed upward of fifty years, and since 1869 has been a resident of North Towanda. He married twice: his first wife was Lorany, daughter of Henry and Mary (Everett) Overton, of Milford, Pike county, by whom he had four children, viz.: Mary E. (Mrs. F. E. Bush), Guy C., Harriet A. and Dora D. His second wife was Nettie L., daughter of Hugh and Caroline (Scovell) Frazer, of Wyalusing. Mr. Hollon is a well-known and prominent citizen of North Towanda, and is a member of the F. & A. M., and in politics he is a Prohibitionist.
GEORGE F. HOLMES, plumber, Towanda, was born in Towanda, October 6, 1866, and is a son of John and Lucinda (Strickland) Holmes. His father was a native of Chittenango, Madison Co., N. Y., a son of Jonas Holmes, and was left an orphan at an early age; he was reared in Bradford county, and on attaining his majority located in Towanda, and embarked in the livery business, in which he continued for many years. He has also been in the brokerage business for upward of thirty years, and twenty years has been a dealer in pianos and organs. He was twice married: his first wife was Lucinda Strickland, by whom he had two sons, viz.: John and George F.; and his second wife was Mrs. Mary Kittridge, by whom he has four children, as follows: Carrie, Edna, Gertrude and Ulysses M. George F. was reared in his native county and educated at Susquehanna Collegiate Institute, and on attaining his majority associated with his father on the farm in Wysox township. In April, 1890, he opened a plumbing establishment in Towanda, which he has since successfully conducted. November 20, 1889, he married Mary, daughter of Edward N. and Ann Decker, of Towanda. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and in politics is a Republican.
C. S. HOMET, farmer and stock-grower, Wyalusing township, P. O. Wyalusing, was born in Asylum township, this county, May 20, 1930, a son of Charles Homet, who removed to the farm now occupied by Seth Homet, soon after his son’s birth, and there C. S. passed his boyhood, attending school at the Fairbanks school; he also attended the Towanda Academy and select school at Merryall. He remained on the old place until 1861, and engaged in farming, lumbering and milling, besides teaching school several winters. He secured a position as rodsman in the engineer corps surveying the North Branch Canal in 1850, and was there several years. With his brother, Edward, our subject secured a large contract on the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and since then has devoted his attention chiefly to farming. He removed to his present home in 1861, having built his house and barns prior to this, and now owns 125 acres; 100 acres of this land he cleared himself. He has his farm well stocked with cattle and horses. He was united in marriage, June 11, 1861, with Julia Horton, daughter of Dr. George Horton, of Terry township. To Mr. and Mrs. Homet have been born three children: W. H. (married to Adelia Mitten, and residing on Lime Hill, where he is engaged in the manufacture of shingles), Eliza (a graduate of the Mansfield University, and at present engaged as teacher in the public school of Sayre), and Frank (now a student in the Mansfield University, from which he will soon be graduated). Mr. Homet is a Republican, and has held the various township offices.
EDWARD HOMET, farmer and stock-grower, Homet’s Ferry, was born at Frenchtown, this county, May 3, 1826, a son of Charles Homet (see sketch of C. S. Homet, above). Of a family of nine children, he is the fourth in order of birth. His father was one of the prominent pioneers of this section, and his family of eight sturdy boys all remained at home and worked in common until mature manhood; the father owned about 1,000 acres of land, and was also engaged extensively in lumbering and milling. It was in this cradle of increasing industry that Mr. Homet reared his boys, and that early training has made itself Manifest throughout the course of their long and busy lives; indeed, the county has produced no family that have proved so universally successful as this one. Edward was the mechanical genius of the family; he could shoe a horse or adjust a transit; build a house or mill; survey a railroad or build a bridge, and was equally efficient behind the compass, in the mill, or following the plow. He attended school at Frenchtown, Homet’s Ferry and Towanda Academy, and his boyhood was passed at hard work; he even made a few trips down the Susquehanna river, as raftsman on board his father’s lumber rafts. In June, 1850, he took a position in the engineer corps, on the North Branch Canal, which was then being relocated and constructed. That position he held till June, 1853, when he accepted a position on the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad, which was then being located, where he remained to the end of the year; then came home, and was engaged with his father and brothers in rebuilding the mills at Homet’s Ferry, and in the erecting of a house on his present farm, to which he removed in the spring of 1857, and where he has since resided. His farm first consisted of only twenty-four acres, to which additions have been made, making it now 150 (with commodious and substantial buildings), and an interest in 320 acres more. He has followed active farming since 1857 to the present time, besides various other duties and occupations, such as settling estates, contracting and building. Mr. Homet was united in wedlock, November 13, 1856, with Maria Minnis, M. D., of N. Y. This union was blessed with one child, Lucy J. Mr. Homet is identified with the Republican party, and has filled various town offices.
GEORGE S. HOMET, farmer and stock-dealer, P. O. Homet’s Ferry, was born in Wyalusing township, January 7, 1851, and is a son of Francis and Ada (Chamberlain) Homet. His father, who was a son of Charles Homet, Jr., was born in Asylum township, August 28, 1820, and passed his life in the vicinity of Homet’s Ferry; he was an extensive farmer and lumberman, also a contractor on the North Branch Canal and the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and lost his life while removing a derrick, after the completion of the railroad bridge across Wyalusing creek, the derrick falling and crushing him, killing him instantly; his death occurred September 11, 1867. He was twice married; first to Mary Gilbert, by whom he had one child, Mary, who died in infancy; his wife died March 11, 1844, and he was married, the second time, to Ada Chamberlain, a daughter of William Chamberlain, of Wyalusing, August 28, 1845. This union was blessed with three children: Mary, born August 13, 1847, married to George W. Fell, locomotive engineer, now in the employ of the B. & M. railroad, residing at Harvard, Neb.; George S.; Rachel, born March 3, 1856, married to William N. Wells, a farmer of Wyalusing. The subject of this sketch resides with his mother on the old homestead, which originally consisted of 160 acres, of which 100 acres remain, and is owned by this gentleman; here he passed his boyhood, and he was educated in the common schools and the Collegiate Institute, Towanda. His father’s death occurred when he was but sixteen years old, and from that time forward he had the management of the farm; he was engaged in dealing in cattle, buying and collecting droves which he drove to Wilkes-Barre; he has been engaged in that business from 1870 until the present time. For many years he rented the farm, but in the spring of 1890 he moved back on the old place, and there, with his mother, has a cozy and comfortable home. The farm has four dwelling houses and one store-room on it, and is as beautifully located and as fertile as the county affords; he has the farm well stocked with horses and cattle, and does a general farm business. He is a Republican in politics; but, while taking an active interest in politics, has never been an office-seeker, and would never accept an office. In business he has been quite successful, and occupies a prominent place among the young farmers and stock-men of the county.
SETH HOMET, farmer and stock-dealer, P. O. Homet’s Ferry. His father, Charles Homet, Jr., was the eldest of four children of Charles and Maria Theresa Homet. Charles Homet, the grandfather, was among the French refugees who came to this country during the Revolution of 1793; in Paris he had been steward in the household of Louis XVI., and fled from the city with others about the time the king made that unfortunate attempt to escape from France; they came in a French war ship, and were chased three days in their voyage by an English vessel, but made their escape. Mrs. Homet, whose family name was Scheilinger, was born in Strasbourg, and was once one of the waiting maid’s of the unfortunate Marie Antoinette; they took passage in the same vessel, becoming acquainted while on voyage, and were married soon after their arrival in this country, and for a year or more lived at a place called Battle Hill, N. J., now known as Madison. Here Charles was born, May 7, 1794. Mr. Homet, Sr., then removed to Asylum township, and soon after to the settlement in the western part of Terry township, where it will be remembered arrangements had been made for the reception of the king and queen of France; after a year or two Mr. Homet, Sr., returned to Asylum, where he bought several lots of the Asylum company; when the French people left Asylum he and Mr. La Porte purchased the greater part of the lands there. Mrs. Homet died here in 1823, at the age of sixty-three. Mr. Homet, Sr., married again in 1827; he had one daughter by this marriage, the wife of E. T. Fox, of Towanda; Mr. Homet was a very successful farmer; accumulating a large fortune, he cleared quite a large farm. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church in his later years. After marrying his second wife he removed to Wysox, where he died in December, 1838, at the allotted age of three-score years and ten. By the first marriage there were born to him four children: Charles, Francis, Harriet and Joseph. Francis, who was born at Asylum, married Lucy Dodge, and settled on part of the old homestead, where he died in 1890; he had no children, was a farmer by occupation, and an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Harriet married Simon Stevens, of Standing Stone, and was the mother of five children, viz.: Charles, George, Ellen, Harriet, Mary. Joseph was married to Oris Brown, and resides at and owned the Homet’s Mills; about 1840 he sold and removed to Monroeton, the former home of his wife, he also was a farmer and a member of the Baptist Church, and was the father of three children who lived to attain maturity, viz.: Jewett G., Marion and Lydia. Charles was married to Lucy Stevens, and had the following children: Theresa, married to U. P. Stone, an influential farmer near Camptown. Jonathan, Edward, Milton and Charles S., all prominent farmers, and live neighbors to each other. Volney is a physician, and resides in Wyalusing borough. Joseph A. resides in Towanda. Seth, the subject of this sketch, was born March 13, 1836, on the farm he now occupies, in the old house which stood near the ferry, attending the common schools of his district, and a few months spent at the Towanda Academy constituted his educational privileges; upon reaching his majority he engaged in farming until October 16, 1862, when he was drafted and enrolled in Company D, One Hundred and Seventy-first Regiment Pennsylvania Drafted Infantry, was promoted to quartermaster-sergeant, November 18, 1862. He served faithfully until the expiration of his term, August 8, 1863, and was discharged; he then returned home and resumed farming, which he has since followed. He was drafted a second time, but purchased his exemption. He now owns 140 acres of finely improved and highly cultivated farm land, and does a general farm business; the residence he occupies was built by his father the year he (Seth) was born. His father was a lumberman, and followed rafting many years; his elder brothers have made several trips on rafts, but he made but one; his farm is well stocked with grade Durham cattle and horses. He was united in marriage, March 4, 1864, with Elizabeth, daughter of Moses and Marietta (Bacon) Eilenberger; her parents were natives of Monroe county, but passed the greater portion of their lives in Asylum and Terry townships, this county; her father was born in 1812, and died December 26, 1876; her mother was born in 1820, and died February 15, 1875. Mr.. Eilenberger was a farmer and one of the largest lumberman of this county; they had a family of ten children, of whom Elizabeth is the oldest. To Mr. and Mrs. Homet has been born a family of five children, three of whom survive: Marietta, born March 5, 1865, married to A. D. Nesbit, M. D., and residing at Tekamah, Neb.; Charles, born October 6, 1867, is a graduate of the Collegiate Institute, Towanda, of the class of ‘88, has followed teaching several years, and attended Miller’s School of Commerce, Elmira; Cora, was born October 21, 1869, and when ready to graduate from the Collegiate Institute was taken ill and died, May 10, 1888; Anna, born April 16, 1877, died in infancy; Geraldine, born June 29, 1879. In his religious views Mr. Homet is a Universalist, and is a Republican in politics. Among the successful farmers and business men of Bradford county Mr. Homet ranks well toward the front; he makes a study of his business, and thoroughly understands what are the best means to achieve the best results, and then pursue them to success; he has been successful, and as a friend and neighbor none stand higher than he and his excellent wife.
W. N. HOMET, manufacturer and dealer in lumber and shingles, P. O. Lime Hill, was born in Wyalusing township, March 22, 1862, a son of C. S. Homet. He was reared on a farm, and educated at the Wyalusing Academy and State Normal School of Mansfield, Pa.,; after leaving school he engaged in teaching a short time, and in 1885 took charge of his present business, where, with the exception of one year, he has been constantly engaged. The mill was built by C. S. and Edward Homet in 1885, and has a capacity of 24,000 feet of lumber per day and 100,000 shingles, both cut and sawed; they employ ten men in the business. Mr. Homet was married October 17, 1889, to Adelia L. Mitten, daughter of James Mitten, a prominent farmer of Herrick township; this union has been blessed with one child, Harold. Mr. Homet is a member of White Lilly Lodge, No. 808, I.O.O.F., Wyalusing; politically he is a Republican.
NATHANIEL HONEYWELL, farmer, P. O. Sugar Run, was born near Wilkes-Barre, Pa., October 20, 1841, and is a son of Isaac and Betsey (Wandell) Honeywell, natives of New Jersey, and of New England parentage. He began life for himself at the age of seventeen, as a general farm laborer, but September 6, 1861, he enlisted at Scranton in Company G, Eighty-eighth P. V. I. , and was in the following battles: Spottsylvania Court-house, the Weldon raid, Hatcher’s Run, and several minor engagements; was honorably discharged June 10, 1865, and returned to Wilmot township, where he engaged in farming, which he has since followed. Mr. Honeywell was married October 2, 1869, to Miss Ella, daughter of Sterling Quick, of Wilmot, and they have six children, as follows: Sterling Penn, born December 3, 1870; Etta May, born June 14, 1872; Gertrude W., born March 2, 1878; Albertie K., born October 30, 1879; William Archie, born April 25, 1886, and Corey B., born June 1, 1888. Mr. Honeywell is a member of G. A. R. Post at Wyalusing, and politically is in close sympathy with the Democratic party, though he votes purely on principle and independent of any party influences.
AUGUSTUS S. HOOKER, Troy, was born at Leona, Bradford Co., Pa., January 9, 1840, the youngest child of Clark and Flavia (Smith) Hooker, natives of Massachusetts. The ancestry is of English descent, Rev. Thomas Hooker, the celebrated Divine coming to Massachusetts Bay in 1633, and afterward making the noted emigration to found Hartford, Conn., in 1636. The immediate descendants settled along the Connecticut Valley. To John Hooker, of Greenwich, Mass., three sons were born: Benjamin, Joseph and John. Clark Hooker was the son of Benjamin, who married Esther Woodard. Joseph became the father of Professors Charles and Washington Hooker, of Yale College, the latter of whom was a noted author. Clark Hooker was born at Greenwich, Mass., in 1795, and was married, January 1, 1821, to Flavia Smith, of Hadley, Mass., the “Ox-Bow Village” of Beecher’s story of “Norwood” (she was descended from Lieut. Samuel Smith, who came to New England in 1634, and was the daughter of Justin Smith, of Hadley, her mother’s name being Anna Fields). In 1824 they moved to Springfield, Bradford county. Their children were: Mrs. Esther Van Horn, of Granville, this county; Charles C. Hooker, of Leona; Mrs. Delia Miller, Leeds, Mass. (deceased); Dr. Carlton C. Hooker, of Alba (deceased); John, of Dana, Ind.; Frederick, of Addison, N. Y., and A. S. Hooker, of Troy, Pa. The subject of this sketch was early noted for intellectual development and scholarship. In 1855-56 he attended a select school at East Troy, and was the daily companion and friend of P. P. Bliss, the noted singer and composer, and early showed his tastes by great proficiency in study. He later engaged in teaching, and attended the Troy Academy. In October, 1859, he went to Illinois, and spent a year and a half teaching near Paris, and then a similar period at Indianapolis, Ind., in the same work. During this time he contributed many articles to newspapers, which attracted attention, and made the acquaintance of many people of intellect. In 1862, he entered the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, at Lima, N. Y., and later Genesee College (now Syracuse University), pursuing his studies until the close of the junior year. He afterward taught in several village schools, and in August, 1866, became editor of the Troy Gazette, which position he has since held. It was a difficult matter to conduct a paper where so many had failed, but perseverance had its reward. In 1867 Mr. Hooker was married to Miss Anna McBeath, of Bath, N. Y., who died March 1, 1871; and, in 1872 he married Miss J. C. Doane, of Leona. Ever since he engaged in his work, he has been active in every intellectual and moral work, as superintendent of Sunday-school, president of Chautauqua classes, writer on miscellaneous and political themes, and lecturer on a great variety of subjects. He is the author of a large number of poems and stories, and of several volumes, among them being “Practical talks to Amateurs on Art,” “Select Readings,” “The Leona Stories,” and a comprehensive volume entitled “Great Earthquakes and their Phenomena,” the most complete volume ever published in the United States on the subject. Besides these, he has several other volumnes nearly completed. To his immediate neighbors, among whom are the whole people of Bradford county, he is better known as a promoter of our graded schools, and as a publisher and editor of one of the county papers, then otherwise. In that wider range that reaches out to the scholarly world of letters, Mr. Hooker is probably really better known than by his immediate next-door neighbors. Culture of the mind and trained thinking have been the goal that ever has invited him on and on, and his life has been an unostentatious one, never even self-asserting, much less courting notoriety. He has made his indelible impress upon the newspaper business of the county, and while always a Republican, has never hesitated at honest and fearless criticism of Republicans when the hour demanded it.
EARL W. HORTON, farmer and salesman, Hornbrook, was born in Sheshequin township, September 21, 1851, a son of U. E. and Sallie (Elliott) Horton. He was reared on a farm, and attended the schools of the vicinity, about the usual time of a pioneer’s boy; he remained with his father until twenty-three, then found employment as traveling salesman for an agricultural implement house, making regular trips through New York and Pennsylvania, and is now in that employ. Mr. Horton was married October 28, 1874, to Mary, daughter of Franklin and Lucy (Horton) Blackman, residents of Sheshequin, and they have three children: Landon, aged thirteen; Blanche, aged eleven, and Hullie, aged six. Mr. Horton has owned the farm he now occupies fifteen years, and has built all the improvements; the house is a modern eight-room building; the farm contains seventy-five acres all under cultivation. He is a Master Mason, and a member of Union Lodge, No. 108, Towanda, also a member of the I. O. O. F., Valley Lodge, No. 446, and has passed all the chairs; a member of the Patriotic Order Sons of America, Washington Camp, No. 190, and in politics he is a Republican.
ELIJAH H. HORTON, farmer, P. O. North Towanda, was born in Sheshequin township, this county, November 12, 1808, and is a son of Stephen and Susan (Mayhew) Horton. His paternal grandfather, Elijah Horton, a native of Connecticut, was one of the first settlers of Sheshequin, where he cleared a farm and died on the same; he was a soldier of the Revolutionary War; his children were as follows: Richard, Joshua, Isaac, Elijah, Gilbert, Stephen, William, Betsey (Mrs. Benjamin Brink), Fanny (Mrs. Seeley Hayes), Esther (Mrs. Timothy Stratton) and Phoebe (Mrs. John Smith). The father of our subject was born in Sheshequin township, where he spent the most of his life, engaged in farming, and he died at the residence of our subject in North Towanda. His wife, Susan, was a daughter of Richard Mayhew, a captain in the Revolutionary War, and a pioneer of Lycoming county, Pa. By her he had eight children, namely: Elijah, Hiram, Shepherd, Mayhew, Elizabeth (Mrs. George Williams), Mary (Mrs. Benjamin Lyons), Catherine (Mrs. Hiram Goff) and Anna (Mrs. R. Fox). Elijah H. was reared in Sheshequin and settled in what is now North Towanda township, in 1828; he resided in Monroe township thirty years, where he cleared and improved a farm, but in 1868 returned to North Towanda, where he has since resided. In 1830 he married Polly, daughter of Abial and Mary (Means) Foster, of this county, by whom he had five children who grew to maturity, viz.: Orville, Bishop, Ellen (Mrs. Benjamin Carrick), Elma and Mary (Mrs. Salathiel Braund). Mr. Horton is one of the oldest citizens of Bradford county and is a member of the Methodist Church, and in politics is a Republican.
GEORGE H. HORTON, merchant, Sugar Run, was born August 8, 1844, and is a son of Elmore and Mary I. (Stone) Horton, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and of English descent, the latter of Pennsylvania, and of New England origin. Mr. Horton was educated in the common schools, and in the high school of Freeport, Ill. He commenced mercantile business, in 1873, at Sugar Run, this county, where he has since remained, and has a well-established trade in produce and general merchandise. Mr. Horton was married, December 25, 1877, to Miss Emma, daughter of Josiah and Mary (Long) Horton, of Rome, and they have had three children: Sadie R., born October 4, 1883, Georgie H., born October 13, 18--; Mary, born December 5, 1883, and died December 5 1888. Mr. Horton is member of the Masonic Lodge at Towanda, and in politics is a stanch Democrat.
GEORGE L. HORTON, farmer and stock-grower, Sheshequin township, P. O. Hornbrook, was born on the farm he now occupies, the old homestead, August 5, 1838, a son of David and Hannah (Newell) Horton, and grandson of Richard Horton, one of the early pioneer settlers of this county. His grandfather located on this farm when he came to Bradford county, and it has continued in the family. His father was a farmer and spent his entire life on the old homestead; he built and operated two mills in the township, one on the river near the village of Sheshequin, the other on the river nearly opposite the present residence of Horace Horton; the one at Sheshequin was a grist and saw mill, the other a sawmill. His father was born in 1790 and died in June, 1875, leaving a family of fourteen children, of whom the following are living: Adaline, widow of Charles Chaffee; Hannah, wife of Dr. Cole; David, Jr.; Benjamin; William P.; and George L. Our subject’s boyhood was spent on the farm with his father, attending the schools of Hornbrook and Wysocking, and received a good common school education; working on the farm for twenty-five years, he then rented the farm from his parents until their death, after which he bought out the heirs; it contains 100 acres, extending from the river to the main road, all susceptible of cultivation, and is well stocked. He has a herd of Holstein and Jersey cattle, and he keeps a dairy of ten to twelve cows; and cultivated, about 35 acres of grain. He was married, December 23, 1863, to Lucinda M., daughter of U. E. Horton, and they have four children: Jessie L., married to W. W. Horton, of Towanda; Emma A., died in infancy; Ulysses D., a student at the Susquehanna Collegiate Institute, at Towanda, and Wallace C., aged fifteen, assistant bookkeeper at G. A. Dayton’s mill, Towanda. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Hornbrook congregation; Mr. Horton’s political views are Republican.
HORACE HORTON, farmer and stock-grower, of Sheshequin township, P. O. Quarry Glen, was born on the farm now owned by his brother, M. E. Horton, in Sheshequin, September 25, 1834, a son of William B. and Melinda (Blackman) Horton, and his grandfather was Elijah Horton, a native of Long Island. The earliest record of the Horton family begins with Barnabas Horton, who immigrated to the United States from England in 1659 or 1660, and located at Southhold, Long Island, and built a house there in 1660, a photograph of the same being now in the possession of his grandson. This immigrant had seven sons, as follows: Richard, Daniel, Elijah (grandfather of the subject), Gilbert, Joshua, Stephen and William. Elijah was among the first settlers of this county, and located at what is now Union Corners, and purchased a farm; two of his brothers, Gilbert and Isaac, came to the county about the same time, and bought farms adjoining. William B. Horton’s family consisted of the following: Harry, a banker, of New York; Elizabeth, married to P. H. Kinney, whom she survives; Arazilla, married to H. C. Kinney, is a widow; Mary, wife of William M. Shores; M. E., who owns and resides in the old homestead farm; Hortense R., married to T. G. Smith, and Horace who grew to manhood on his father’s farm, and in 1860 purchased a farm of 150 acres, which adjoined his father’s and which he still owns, on which he made all the improvements, and has it well improved and well stocked, and has a fine herd of Jerseys. He was married, October 15, 1866, to Mary, daughter of H. C. and Sarah (Webb) Smith. Mr. Horton is a member of the National Grange, and of the Free-masons, having taken the degree of Master of Amity Lodge, No. 108, Towanda. Is also a member of the I. O. O. F., and has passed all the chairs, and State Encampment; in his political views he is a Republican; has held nearly all the township offices, and is now constable and tax collector.
J. B. HORTON, merchant and farmer, Terrytown, was born in Terry township, this county, January 8, 1842, a son of Dr. G. F. and Abigail (Terry) Horton, the former of whom was also a native of Terry township, a son of Maj. John Horton, who served as wagoner in the Revolutionary Army, because of being too young to act in any other capacity. Maj. Horton built the first wagon, and fanning-mill in Terry township. The Hortons are a numerous family, and are men of business qualities, holding offices of trust in this and other States; they were the first settlers of Terry township; they removed to this country from England in 1635, locating in Rhode Island in 1638. Dr. Horton studied medicine at the VanRensselaer Medical College, New York, and in 1829 began his profession in Terrytown, his native home, where he built up an extensive practice; he was a member of the Constitutional Convention of the State of Pennsylvania, also one of the most active members of the Bradford County Medical Society, and wrote the report of the Society which, accompanied with a map, was published in the transactions of the year; also wrote the genealogy of the Horton family. He died December 20, 1886, at the age of eighty-one, a strong advocate of temperance; he was married to Miss Abigail Terry, by whom he had eight children, seven of them growing to maturity - two sons and five daughters. The subject of this memoir resides on his father’s farm which he now owns; he is an extensive business man, having been in the lumber business as a successful dealer many years, in connection with which he has a large store which he has kept with profit to himself and his customers nearly twenty years. His farm is an extensive one of 200 acres, one-half of which is under improvement; his farming is mixed, but he gives preference to grain and stock, some of the latter being registered. Mr. Horton’s house which stands on the site of the Doctor’s residence is palatial in dimensions, being fitted up in the most modern style. As a merchant he carries a full line for country trade; also deals extensively in farming machinery of all kinds. He has held the office of postmaster eight years. Mr. Horton married, February 24, 1875, for his first wife, Miss Eva L., daughter of James S. and Lemira Tupper, by which union there was one son, Arthur Roe, now fourteen years of age. Mr. Horton’s second wife was Angie, widow of W. S. Holmes, and daughter of Rev. D. Trumbull, the marriage taking place May 18, 1887. Mr. Horton enlisted as a member of the Thirty-Fifth Pennsylvania Emergency Troops, Company A, serving the prescribed term, and honorably discharged. Politically he is a Republican.
J. P. HORTON, farmer, P. O. New Era, was born July 13, 1807, and was reared and educated in Terry township, this county; he is a son of Ebenezer and Mary (Terry) Horton, the former born in Goshen, N. Y. or in Connecticut, a son of Maj. Horton, an officer in the Revolutionary War. The Hortons, who are very early settlers in this country, are of English, and some say Roman, origin, and came to America as early as 1635, their first representative in this country being Barnabas Horton, who located permanently on Long Island in 1640; they are a numerous people, having sprung from a race hardy and vigorous; have filled various offices of responsibility and trust in this and other counties. The grandparents of our subject were in the Wyoming massacre. Israel, the father of John, and Parcell Terry’s widow, each of whom had eleven children, were married, and there was one room assigned to the children, and a teacher employed to teach this home-made school. J. P. Horton is now retired from business; his life has been active and energetic; he was a farmer, lumberman, speculator, merchant, hotel-keeper and tanner. He is living on a farm of 300 acres, which he superintends himself; has been honored by the office of justice of the peace, and other minor offices. He was twice married, his first wife being Olivia Ladd, by whom he had two children: James and Jane; the second wife was Roxey Covey, by whom he had seven children: Jane, Mary L., Josephine A., Liberty A., Phebe T., Eunice M. and George F., the latter of whom keeps a store and the postoffice at New Era. Mr. Horton is a consistent member of the Baptist Church, and in politics is a Republican.
CAPTAIN ULYSSES E. HORTON, farmer and stock-grower, Sheshequin township, P. O. Hornbrook, was born in Sheshequin township, February 13, 1819, and is son of Joshua (one of seven brother who came to this county in early times) and Lucinda (Ellis) Horton. He was born and reared on a farm, attended the common schools, and at the age of twenty-one engaged in sawing and rafting lumber to Marietta, Middletown and Fort Deposit, and was thus employed about ten years. He purchased the farm known as the “McAfee Farm,” in 1840, and sold it in 1855, and bought the one he now occupies, which contains 150 acres. He is still actively engaged on his farm, and has been eminently successful in business, and has accumulated his property by his own exertions. He enlisted, October 16, 1862, in Company B, One Hundred and Seventy-first Regiment, P. V., was elected captain of the company, and was discharged at Harrisburg, August 7, 1863, and returned to his peaceful farm life. Captain Horton was married, September 22, 1840, to Sallie, daughter of Joseph and Jemimie (Horton) Elliott, and they have five children: Amelia, married to Elisha Forbes, of Athens; Lucinda, married to George L. Horton; E. W., married to Mary Blackman, of Hornbook; Orpha, married to George W. Heasley, of Passaic, N. J.; Lucy Elliott, adopted, married to Dr. Hector Alley, of Lincoln, Neb. Mrs. Horton is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Horton is a member of Watkins Post, No. 198, G. A. R., Towanda, also of the I. O. O. F., Valley Lodge, No. 446, Sheshequin, and is a Republican.
MILES E. HORTON, farmer and stock-grower, Sheshequin township, P. O. Quarry Glen, was born on the farm he now occupies, November 18, 1851, and is a son of William B. and Saloma J. (Kilmer) Horton. He was educated in the common schools of Sheshequin, and is a farmer. Mr. Horton was married, July 3, 1872, to Mary A., daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth (Bull) Webb, and of this union are the parents of three children, as follows: William B., born October 13, 1873; Gordon O., born November 7, 1881; Belle Helline, born June 21, 1886. Mr. Horton is a Democrat, and a worthy representative of one of the prominent families who were the early settlers of Bradford county.
WILLIAM TRUMAN HORTON, lumberman, Pike township, P. O. Stevensville, was born at Falls, Pa., November 15, 1849, a son of Daniel T. and Hannah (Angell) Horton, the father a farmer of New York, born of Scotch and German descent; the mother of New Jersey, of English and German extraction. Daniel T. Horton, who was a cooper by trade, and did valiant service for his county, both in the Mexican and Civil Wars, is still living, and spends most of his time traveling. In his family there were three children: William T.; Mary (married to Edward Fowler, overseer of the magazine for Thomas Ford at Pittston), and Willis A., a farmer in Wisconsin. William T. Horton was educated in the common school, and at LeRaysville Academy, then in charge of Hobert Bassett, a well-known pedagogue of Bradford county. He began life for himself at sixteen, working in a sawmill, and has followed lumbering and contracting since. Mr. Horton was married, August 22, 1869, to Hannah M., daughter of Nathan and Permelia (Brewster) Coleman, and granddaughter of Reuben Coleman, an early settler of Pike township. Mr. and Mrs. Horton have the following children: R. May, born October 29, 1875; William D., born October 10, 1878; Inez P., born January 9, 1881; Lisle T., born July 1, 1885; and Ella Mabel, born August 17, 1888. Mrs. Horton has always been identified with the Republican party.
NORMAN S. HOSLEY, farmer, P. O. Big Pond, was born May 28, 1817, in Windham county, Vermont, a son of Rufus and Polly (Gates) Hosley, who removed to Bradford county in 1818, and settled in Smithfield, where he lived fifteen years; then removed to Springfield, near where the subject of this sketch now reside; he has been a Republican; has been commissioner, auditor and school director many years, and has held other offices of public trust; is a member of the F. & A. M., and is a man respected by his neighbors and a wide circle of friends. His father was a merchant, in early life, in Massachusetts, and, later, a farmer; he was a great politician in local affairs, and an active Universalist. He died at the age of seventy-six years, in 1853, and the mother died at the age of sixty-one years. Her family were among the early settlers of the township. Our subject was the third in a family of five children. He was reared on his father’s farm, and has always been a tiller of the soil. June 24, 1847, he married Hannah, daughter of Daniel and Mahala (Burgess) Carpenter, of Springfield, who was born in October, 1825, and was the second in the family of seven in 1829; they were faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal Church; her father died at the age of seventy-eight years, and her mother at the age of forty-six. Hiram Carpenter, her brother, was in the Pennsylvania Cavalry in the Civil War, and is a pensioner. Mr. and Mrs. Hosley have had seven children, as follows: Rollin F., born June 10, 1848, died, aged nineteen years; Leland E., born October 10, 1849, married to Francis Bailey; Laura M., born March 16, 1851, wife of Daniel O. Dickerson; Hiram W., born March 18, 1853, married to Laura E. Grace; Lena E., born June 12, 1855, wife of Addison W. Grace; Helen, born October 30, 1858, wife of Burtis B. Bailey, and Norman S., Jr., born October 19, 1860, married to Emma Varney. He lives on the old homestead with his father, and manages the large farm of 145 acres, on which dairying is the principal business.
JOHN C. HOTTENSTEIN, P. O. Overton, is a farmer and prominent leading citizen of Overton township, equally distinguished for his intelligence and integrity of character. His ancestry, who were Germans, came to America, in 1711. He is a son of Jacob and Lydia Ruth Hottenstein, natives of Lehigh county, Pa. The family came to Overton from Lehigh county in 1829, and here they made their home during the remainder of their lives. The mother died January 5, 1879, and the father followed her to the grave, November 6, 1880. They were of Bradford county’s eminently respectable people, and their memories will be long respected. John C. Hottenstein, who is the seventh in the order of birth in a family of nine children, was born April 18, 1833, and grew to manhood in the bosom of his father’s family, having only the sparse advantages of the farmer’s lad of the day, the chief lesson being patient industry and severe economy. The son grew into the occupation of his people, and when he went out from the family roof-tree, it was to engage in farming on his own account, which he has followed uninterruptedly to the present time. He was married, December 7, 1858, to Rosina, daughter of Charles Kilmer, a native of New York, and of this union there are the following: Orin, born February 7, 1862; Lucinda, born May 29, 1864; Lottie, born July 20, 1866; Carrie, born December 28, 1868; Ira, born February 1, 1872, and George E., born February 8, 1874. The mother and family worship at the Methodist Church. Mr. Hottenstein enlisted in the service of his country, October 16, 1862, in the One Hundred and Seventy-first P. V. I., Company D, and was honorably discharged, August 8, 1863, participating in the battles, marches and sieges of his command, most of the time filling the non-commissioned office of corporal in his company. At different times in his life he has filled the offices of postmaster, school director, road commissioner, justice of the peace and tax collector, and with the lapse of years has continued and grown in the esteem and respect of the old neighbors and friends among whom he was born and has spent the years of his honorable life. Mr. Hottenstein is a man of more than average intelligence and education, of strong judgment, and well up in the questions of the day.
BENJAMIN J. HOUSEKNECHT, farmer, P. O. Overton, is a native of Lycoming county, Pa., born October 4, 1843, and is a son of George and Catherine (Berger) Houseknecht, natives of Pennsylvania and Germany, respectively. The father was a mill-wright, and spent his life in Lycoming county, where he died, March 6, 1877; his beloved wife died at the family home in 1863. Benjamin was the ninth of a family of thirteen children, and grew to manhood in the family home, partaking of the advantages of the public and district schools of his county, and learned the lessons of industry and economy as taught the average farmers boy of his day. When old enough to engage in the affairs of life, on his own account, he continued in the footsteps of his family, who were agriculturists, and followed this industry eighteen years; then, the next seven years, he was engaged at the carpenter’s trade, but returned to his original occupation, and now owns and occupies seventy acres of valuable and highly-improved land, as his family homestead, all the sweetened fruit of his own patience and toil, as he started in life with no other fortune than his bare hands, and a stout, honest heart. Mr. Houseknecht has been twice married: the first time, in 1865, to Mary, daughter of Gideon and Celia Landaw, who born one child, which died in infancy. The second marriage occurred in July, 1871, when he espoused Martha, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Waltman) Mathews, who has borne him eight children, as follow: Joseph V., Herbert, Mabel L., Charles O., Jennie L., Flossie L., Sadie, and Ina L. the family is one that is widely esteemed throughout the county, and the respected head of the household is one of Bradford county’s leading farmers and influential citizens, a trustee and class-leader in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has filled the offices of school director and constable, and is a Republican. His soldier record is that of a true patriot; was twice enlisted and mustered into his country’s service, first in July, 1863, in the Thirty-ninth P. V. I., Company D, and was discharged in September, 1863, and enlisted, for the second time, in November, 1864, in the Two Hundred and Tenth P. V. I., Company E., and participated in the battles of Petersburg, Gravel Run, South Side Railroad, and many other skirmishes and hard marches; was finally and honorably discharged in June, 1865. Is a member of the I. O. O. F., and has passed all the degrees of the Lodge.
ALLEN HOVER, farmer and tobacco-grower, Wyalusing township, P. O. Homet’s Ferry, was born in Pike county, March 2, 1845, and is a son of John L. and Lydia (Bradley) Hover, natives of Wyalusing township. He passed his boyhood, until about thirteen years of age, in Pike county, and then came with the family to Bradford and located in Wyalusing township, near Homet’s Ferry, where his father yet resides. He was educated in the common schools and Wyalusing Academy, remained on his father’s farm, assisting on the same, until twenty-nine years of age, when he purchased a portion of his present farm, which was mostly cleared, and began to improve the same. He owns as good farm buildings as the county affords, in a section noted for fine farms, and has added to his original purchase of fifty-two acres until he now owns 120 acres, and has a fine lot of cattle, horses and sheep; his farm is almost entirely fenced with a stone wall. Mr. Hover was united in marriage, May 15, 1874, with Helen M. Biles, and their union has been blessed with one child, Edith. He is a member of Fairbanks Association, Patrons of Industry, No. 3304; is a Republican, an active politician, and has filled various township offices. Is a shrewd business man, and a careful and successful farmer.
R. M. HOVEY, clerk, Lehigh Valley Railroad, Sayre, is a native of Ulster township, this county, born November 18, 1847. He is a son of William and Jane (Moore) Hovey, natives of the same place, the former of whom died on the old homestead, in 1849, at the age of thirty-six years, and the latter, now Mrs. Jane Mundy (having remarried), resides in Ithaca, N. Y. William Hovey’s grandfather, Capt. Benjamin Clark, was a member of Gen. Washington’s staff, during the Revolution, and his father, Nathaniel Hovey (grandfather of R. M. Hovey), was an orderly sergeant in the War of 1812, dying in the service of his country. In the family of William and Jane (Moore) Hovey were six children, of whom four survive, the subject of these lines being the fifth in order of birth. He attended the public schools in his boyhood, after which he was a student at the Towanda Collegiate Institute, and afterward at Eastman’s Business College, where he graduated in 1866. His first business experience was in the store of Powell & Co., dry-goods merchants, Towanda, with whom he was employed until 1872, when he was offered and accepted a position on the Lehigh Valley Railroad, at Ithaca, N. Y. He afterward removed to Sayre, where he has since remained. In November, 1870, Mr. Hovey was united in marriage, at Ithaca, N. Y., with Miss Laura Stillwell, daughter of John and Eunice (Hart) Stillwell. She is the youngest in a family of nine - two sons and seven daughters - and was born in Hector, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Hovey have two children: Kate E. and William S. The family are prominent and exemplary members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which Mr. Hovey is president of the board of trustees. He is a member of Fidelity Lodge, No. 51, F. & A. M., of St. Augustine Commandery, No. 38, and of Eagle Chapter, No. 58. Politically he affiliates with the Republican party.
E. A. HOWE, farmer, P. O. Rome, was born in Orwell township, this county, August 23, 1860, and is a son of Henry and Jane (Russell) Howe, in whose family were four children: George H. (an eminent professor in Missouri), E. A., Lelia J. and Irvin L. Mr. Howe was born and reared on a farm, and attended the common schools of his neighborhood. He then entered the Collegiate Institute, where he remained two years, when he went to Chicago and filled a position as salesman two years; then farmed, one summer, in Carroll county, Ill., and was engaged then as traveling salesman for a nursery. He was married, December 28, 1886, to Adelia F. Atwood, daughter of George C. and Henrietta (Taylor) Atwood, of this county. Her father, who was one of the best known and most successful farmers and business men of the county, was a son of Reuben and Abiah (Platt) Atwood, former of whom was born in Connecticut, November 1, 1782, and came to Pike township in early times, making the trip from Connecticut in an ox-cart, and guiding his way by marked trees, the sun and stars. He died, October 25, 1878, at the advanced age of ninety-six years. Aaron Taylor, his wife’s father, was born at Surrey, N. H., December 10, 1787, and was one of the pioneers of Susquehanna county; he died, March 10, 1872, ages four score and five years. George C. Atwood was born in Pike township, this county, May 17, 1825; was married July 3, 1852, and died October 19, 1889; his widow was born April 3, 1833, and now resides on the farm in Herrick. George was reared on a farm, and removed to Wyalusing where he remained until 1866, when he came to the farm now occupied by his widow, where he resided until his death, at which time he was an extensive land owner of this county, and he left a valuable estate to his widow and children. His family of children were: Ella J., born august 16, 1853, married to E. W. Buttles (she died February 8, 1883); Elmer J., born August 23, 1855; Alice H., born October 6, 1856, married to H. H. Coleman; Adelia F., wife of the gentleman whose name heads this sketch (she was born at Camptown, and when six years old her parents removed to Herrick, where she attended the graded school of Herrickville, then, after a few terms at Wyoming Seminary, she entered the Collegiate Institute at Towanda; later she entered the Commercial College, Kingtson, where she was graduated, and took a course in telegraphy; also taught penmanship a short time in the female Seminary at Wilkes-Barre; then taught four terms in the common schools of Bradford, and also taught writing schools in various sections of the county); Ida L., born June 4, 1862, married to Frank H. Abbott; Georgianna, born October 15, 1865; Elizabeth S., born March 3, 1867; Frederick G., born August 24, 1868; Rollin C., born April 28, 1870; William L., born February 9, 1872; Cora J., born May 1, 1874, and Leon M., born May 15, 1877. Only one of the twelve is dead. After Mr. and Mrs. Howe’s marriage they went to Kansas City, in 1887, where he was a salesman, and she was cashier and book-keeper for the New Home Sewing Machine Company. They were there about two years, and then went to St. Louis, where Mr. Howe secured a position, and Mrs. Howe a position as cashier in the wholesale department of the Singer Manufacturing Company. They remained there one summer, and then returned to Bradford, to their farm, where they now reside. They have had two children, the eldest of whom, Earl George, died in infancy; the second, Rollin Eugene, was born January 16, 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Howe are members of the Presbyterian Church, and are Republicans.
HENRY HOWE, farmer and stock-grower, Orwell township, P. O. Orwell, was born August 11, 1834, on the farm he now occupies, and is a son of Earl and Julia Ann (Dennison) Howe, the former of whom was born in Rhode Island in 1808, and came here when two years old with his family. The grandfather secured 104 acres of wild land, and began to make a farm in which he was assisted after a few years, by his son. Earl; the grandfather was twice married, and had four children: Sallie, married to John Beer; Pearly, married to Uriah Brown, whom she survives; Lucy, married to Dan Robinson, both dead, and Earl (father of subject), who died in 1850. The last named had a family of nine children, as follows: Charlotte, married to E. M. Philander, deceased; Helen, deceased; George, deceased, and Earl, deceased. (Phoeba, Philander and Helen died of scarlet fever and were buried in one grave, and about eight years later George and Earl died of the same disease.) Henry was born and reared on a farm, receiving his education in the common schools and Orwell Hill Academy. When he was fourteen his father died, and the management of the farm, from that time, devolved largely upon him; he learned enough of carpentering to do his own work. He purchased the old homestead when he was twenty-one, and has since added to it, until now it contains 150 acres, well stocked; he keeps a large dairy, disposing of his milk to the Orwell Creamery Company, of which is a stockholder. He was united in wedlock, October 15, 1856, with Jane Russell, a daughter of Nathaniel Russell, and granddaughter of Dan Russell, Sr., the first settler in Orwell township, and of this union were born four children, viz.: George H., born February 3, 1859, married to Alida Champlain; Eugene A.; Leila J., born November 5, 1870; Irvin L., born July 6, 1872. The family are members of the Presbyterian Church, of which Mr. Howe is a trustee; he is a member of the Golden Cycle, No. 167, Orwell, and is a Prohibitionist, formerly a Republican, and has held various township offices.
HON. HOWELL HOWELL, farmer and stockman, Warren township, P. O. Neath, is a native of Wales, born December 10, 1826, a son of Evan and Jane (Howell), natives of the same place, and of one of the old families of that country, where they were yeoman. The family migrated to America, in 1832, when he was but six years of age, coming direct to Bradford county, and settling on a farm in Warren township, where they then made their permanent home. The father died in February, 1875, the mother having preceded him to the “silent city” in February, 1873; they had three children, viz.: Howell, John (who was drowned in the river at Towanda in May, 1847, when eighteen years of age ), and Mary (Mrs. Samuel M. Williams), who has five children, and resides in Pike township. Howell spent his young life on his father’s farm, and attended the common schools of the neighborhood; then became a student at Wilkes-Barre Academy. Completing his education he returned home and engaged in farming, and is now owner of 100 acres of fine farm land, well improved with good buildings, and in a high state of cultivation. He was married in Warren township, May 28, 1859, to Ann, daughter of David and Elizabeth (Howell) Davis, also natives of Wales, who came to this country in 1834, and located in Warren township; their family comprised ten children, of whom Mrs. Howell was the fourth, one of twins; she became the mother of three children: Arthur, born May 8, 1860, and married to Carrie Case, daughter of Franklin Case; J. Rienzi, born November 14, 1864, and died July 18, 1872; and Gertrude. Mr. Howell enlisted in the army, September 2, 1864, in the Fifteenth Regiment, New York Engineers, Company H, and with his command went directly to the front, at Petersburg, where he was engaged in the Engineer Corps, and was present at the battles of Petersburg and Hatcher’s Run, and served until the end of the war; he was discharged, June 30, 1865, and returned home. Mr. Howell is a member of Spalding Post, No. 33, G. A. R., at LeRaysville. In 1884 he was elected a member of the Legislature, and served his full term with distinction. During fifteen years he filled the office of justice of the peace, nine years as school director, and three years as auditor. During nearly twenty years of his active life he was a school teacher, and did much to elevate and ennoble the profession. In the army he was first sergeant, and company clerk. He has been regarded for many years as an active and prominent leader and factor in the councils and movements of the Republican party; faithful to party and friends, and vigilant in the care and welfare of the good of the people. He is personally popular, and, while brave and outspoken in sentiment, commands only the respect and confidence of even his political enemies; personally he has no enemies.
JAMES G. HOWIE, farmer and stock-grower, Ulster, born in Ayrshire, Scotland, January 12, 1834, is a son of William and Mary (Howie) Howie, natives of Ayrshire, farmers. The lad was fired with the hope of being a sailor, but that ambition was never gratified.
The Howie family was first planted in Scotland, in 1162. At that time three brothers fled from France, to escape religious persecution, and settled in Ayrshire, renting a farm from some old feudal lord. The direct descendants of those brothers still occupy the same farm, it having been held on lease by the family for over 800 years; the family now in possession of the estate are third cousins, and are of the thirty-third generation from the three brothers who immigrated there from France. Another peculiar thing about the family is that the holder of the lease in Scotland has borne either the name of James or John until the present, when by some misorder of things the gentleman who now holds the lease is named Thomas. Connected with this estate in Scotland is the old Howie library, dating back to the twelfth century, and containing several hundred volumes, many of them being written on parchment, and worth their weight in gold. James attended the public schools of Scotland until twelve years of age, but having had the misfortune to lose the sight of one eye, when about three years old, he had that disadvantage to labor under, in securing an education, but nevertheless he secured a fair common-school training. His parents immigrated to America in 1854, landing here July 29, and came direct to Ulster, and his father purchased 133 acres of land in the wilderness, which is still in the possession of members of the family. With the exception of about a year spent in the machine shops at Ontario, James has spent his life on the farm first purchased by his father. His father died April 18, 1867, aged sixty-three years, and his mother died April 24, 1890, aged eighty-four; their family consisted of eight children, six of whom survive. John died in Scotland before the family immigrated to this country; Jennie, who died in Monroe township, was the wife of J. F. Woodruff; Mary was born on the ocean during the voyage over from Scotland, and is now the wife of S. A. Gordon; the four boys live on adjoining farms. James was married January 22, 1856, to Margaret Calderwood, daughter of James Calderwood, of Ayrshire, Scotland; she came to this country in 1855, and made her home with James’ father until her marriage; they have no children. James made a visit to his native land in 1884, where he found that progress had been at work on the eastern as well as the western side of the Atlantic, and that many changes had taken place. In his business Mr. Howie has always been very successful, and has accumulated his fortune almost entirely by his own endeavors. He now stands well at the head of the prosperous farmers of Ulster township. In his religious views he is a Presbyterian, and in politics he is a Republican.
JOHN HOWIE, dealer in coal, hay, grain, etc., Ulster, was born September 6, 1853, in Ayrshire, Scotland, a son of Mathew and Isabel (McQueen) Howie, also natives of Ayrshire, who immigrated to this country, and settled in Smithfield township, this county, in 1857, where the father purchased a farm. The family consisted of five children, viz.: John, Jennie C., Jessie M. (wife of M. G. Benedict), Mary M. (married to Homer Rockwell) and Aggie. The father died in 1860; the mother lives on the farm with her son John. the subject of these lines attended the common schools up to the age of eighteen, receiving a fair English education. In January, 1886, he purchased his present business, and he now handles about one thousand tons of hay yearly; also from nine to ten thousand bushels of buckwheat; over five thousand bushels of oats; twelve to fifteen hundred tons of coal; and deals in potatoes, wheat, rye, etc., to a considerable extent, his business being valued at about $25,000 yearly. He also operates a farm of 100 acres, growing tobacco and other crops. He is unmarried. Mr. Howie is a member of Equitable Aid Union, No. 244, and is Democratic in his political views.
L. T. HOYT, attorney, Athens, is a native of the place, and was born October 30, 1868, a son of Samuel B. and Matilda T. (Teller) Hoyt, the latter a native of Michigan, born May 15, 1826, the former a native of this county, born December 1, 1810, was a merchant, and carried on business a number of years; served as postmaster in Athens, and was justice of the peace about fifteen years. Mrs. Hoyt is proprietress of a millinery store, and has been engaged in that business twenty-nine years. To Mr. and Mrs. S. B. Hoyt were born three children, of whom L. T. is the youngest. He graduated in the Athens high school in the class of 1886, and began the study of law with H. F. Maynard, in September, 1886, and in September, 1888, entered the law school of Cornell University, from which he graduated in June, 1889, and was admitted to the bar, September 11, of the same year. He is a member of the Fire Department and of the Universalist Church, and politically is a Republican.
F. N. HUBBARD, farmer, of Springfield township, P. O. Wetona, was born December 22, 1848, on the farm where he now resides, a son of Rev. Wakeman B. and Lurena (Merritt) Hubbard, the father a native of Massachusetts, and the mother of Columbia township. His father came to this township in 1840, and was a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and supplied many charges; he built the first sawmill at Leona, and was an extensive lumberman; he died, December 19, 1858, at the age of forty-four years, while the mother is still living, at the age of seventy six years, with her son. Our subject was the only son and the youngest of three children, all of whom are living; he was reared on the farm and educated in the schools of the township, and attended a select school for a time. When he was ten years old his father died; he was early obliged to take the affairs of the farm under his charge, and, by the wise counsels of his mother, was able to save the farm, which was heavily involved, but which is at the present time one of the first farms of the township. January 25, 1882, he married Susie M., daughter of Rev. Ralph and Amanda
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