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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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JOHN W. KLINE, a prominent butcher of Towanda, and wholesale and retail dealer in meats, etc., was born in Baden, Germany, February 4, 1840, and is a son of Jacob and Caroline (Geyer) Kline, who came to America in 1850, settling in Reading, Pa., where the mother of our subject still resides. John W. Kline received a common-school education in Syracuse, N.Y., where he also served an apprenticeship of three years at the butcher’s trade. For sixteen years he worked as a journeyman. He settled in Towanda in 1867, and in 1876 embarked in business for himself: has built up a successful trade, and conducts the largest market in Towanda. He married March 16, 1862, Hannah, daughter of John and Eliza (Dreisbach) Hankey, of Luzerne county, Pa., and has five children, as follows: John W., Jr., Minnie E. (Mrs. A.T. Stark), Jessie M., Frank J. and Walter F. During the Civil War Mr. Kline was in the Government employ, as butcher, at Elmira, N.Y. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and in politics is a Democrat.
BENJAMIN F. KNAPP, undertaker, Troy, was born in LeRoy township, this county, March 23, 1833, a son of Amos and Electa (Barnes) Knapp. His paternal grandfather, John Knapp, formerly of Orange county, N.Y., settled near West Franklin, this county, in 1796, and was a manufacturer of wooden mould board plows, with one handle; he spent most of his life in LeRoy township, and was postmaster of LeRoy for some years; he died in Springfield township in 1836. He married Eunice Wilcox, by whom he had the following children: Samuel, Aaron, Mary (Mrs. Jesse Robart), Eunice (Mrs. Rinearson), Amos, John, Prudy (Mrs. A. Teeter), Betsey (Mrs. Stone), William, Jane (Mrs. B. Elliott) and Mahala (Mrs. T. Beardsley). The father of our subject was reared in Susquehanna county, but, after attaining his majority, spent most of his life in LeRoy and Springfield townships, this county, engaged in farming, and was also a veterinary surgeon; his wife was a daughter of David Burns, of Susquehanna county, by whom he had thirteen children, twelve of whom grew to maturity: Clarissa (Mrs. Jeremiah Baker), Eunice (Mrs. Alvin Bailey), Almira (Mrs. Rufus Millspaugh), Dennis B., Elisha, David, John (chief of police of Elmira for twenty-five years), Amos, Laura (Mrs. George Nichols), Dimmis (Mrs. Addison Grace), Benjamin F. and Martha (Mrs. P.C. Slade). Our subject was reared in Springfield township, and educated in the common schools. When twenty-two years of age he settled in Columbia township, and engaged in farming, and for seven years was also engaged in the undertaking business there. In 1877 he located in Troy, where he has since been conducting an undertaking establishment. June 1, 1856, he married Lydia A., daughter of Philip and Laura (Walkins) Slade, of Columbia township, the latter of whom was the first white child born in that township, a daughter of David Walkins, one of the first settlers. The issue of this union was one daughter, Cora (Mrs. Dr. P.M. Barber, who died leaving one son, Frank Stewart). Mr. and Mrs. Knapp have also one adopted son, Guy Lewis. Mr. Knapp is a member of the I.O.O.F., which he joined in 1865; he served as jury commissioner of Bradford county one term of three years; politically he is a Republican.
EDSON R. KNAPP, of Columbia township, farmer, P.O. Aspinwall, was born in Wells township, this county, April 34, 1850, and is a son of John and Maria (Ayres) Knapp, natives of Beaversville, Sussex Co., N.J., who settled in Wells township in 1848. In 1852 they removed to Steuben county, N.Y., and died there; their children were seven, as follows: William, Hannah, Catherine, Edson R., Franklin P., Charles and Samuel A. Edson R. was reared in New Jersey from seven years of age, educated at Newton Seminary, Newton, N.J., and after attaining his majority engaged in farming in Wautaga township, Sussex Co., N.J., until 1870, when he returned to his native town, Wells, this county, and remained there until 1881, when he removed to Columbia township, where he still resides. He married, November 24, 1875, Harriet, daughter of Owen and Amanda (Parcel) Wright, of Columbia township and has five children, viz.: Owen, George P., Lillian, Bertha and Lewis. Mr. Knapp resides on the old homestead, cleared by his wife’s father, and originally settled by his grandfather, Thomas Wright. He is a charter member of Pulaski Lodge, I.O.O.F., No. 103, of Deckertown, N.J. In 1889 he was elected assessor of Columbia township for a term of three years; he is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and in politics is a Republican.
ROBERT M. KNAPP, farmer, of Burlington township, P.O. Luther’s Mills, was born, August 4, 1824, in Burlington township, this county, on the adjoining farm to where he now resides, a son of William and Nancy (Smith) Knapp, the former of whom was born in Goshen, Orange Co., N.Y., of English origin; when a boy he removed to Bradford county, settling in Ulster township, and worked at farming, experiencing all the privations of pioneer life, as most of the county was then a wilderness. In about the year 1827, he settled on the farm where our subject now lives, and died at the age of eighty-four years; his father was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and lost his life then. Robert M. Knapp, who is the youngest in a family of twelve children, was reared on a farm, and has been a man of great perseverance and integrity. He has accumulated a fine property, and now owns a farm of 150 acres, under a fine state of cultivation. He was married, in September, 1848, to Adelaide Nichols, a sister of James W. Nichols, of Burlington, and there have been born to them five children, three of whom are living, as follows: Maholon, married to Leuretta Bennett; Earl A., married to Carrie Pelton; and Lettie, wife of Eugene Decker, of Towanda, a commercial traveler for agricultural implements. Mr. Knapp is a Republican in politics, and is considered one of the substantial and representative men of the town.
ORRIN A. KNIFFIN, farmer, P.O. East Smithfield, is a son of Andrew and Mary (Wilkinson) Kniffin. Andrew was a native of Rockland county, N.Y., of English descent, who came to Bradford in 1819; of his family of seven children, the subject of this sketch was the fifth; the father had one brother, Benjamin, in the War of 1812. Mr. Kniffin was born in Dutchess county, N.Y., and was of English and German descent. The family lived in this county sixteen years, then moved to Tioga county, Pa., and cleared a large farm. Mr. Kniffin was reared on the farm, and lived in Tioga county, until 1870, then returned to Smithfield, and in 1871 bought the property where he now resides, and which contained 168 acres. His parents came here with them, and the mother died here in 1873; the father died in Maryland, August 28, 1887, while on a visit to his eldest daughter. Orrin A. has a small dairy, and does a general farming business. He married, May 16, 1859, Anna T., daughter of Stephen T. and Johanna V. (Harding) Gladding, of Smithfield, natives of Bristol, R.I. She was born, June 28, 1842, the fourth in a family of five children. Two of her brothers, John G. and Samuel, were in the Civil War, the former of whom died in the service, and the latter was in the One Hundred and Eighty-Seventh Regiment, P.V.I. The Gladding family trace their ancestry directly back eight generations, to a John Gladding , who was born in 1640, and came to this country in 1660, and lived in the Plymouth colony about twenty years, but after the King Phillip War removed with his family, and assisted in founding the town of Bristol. Mr. and Mrs. Kniffin have had born to them seven children as follows: Josephine A., a teacher, born March 10, 1860, died February 5, 1891; Martha E., born August 30, 1861; Daniel O., born December 26, 1863, married to Bessie F. Lane; Norman A., born May 31, 1869; Lydia E., born December 7, 1875; Samuel O., born November 17, 1877, and Arthur L., born October 21, 1881. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Kniffin is a Republican in political matters.
WILLIAM KRAM, farmer, Monroe township, P.O. Towanda, was born in Northampton county, Pa., July 21, 1822, and is a son of Jacob and Susan (Frankinfield) Kram, natives of Pennsylvania and of German origin. As soon as he embarked in life for himself he learned the carpenter’s trade, which he followed until 1887, when he had the sad misfortune of being struck with total blindness, from which he has been unable to obtain any relief. He came to Bradford county in 1862, and located where Wilson Frutchey now resides. In 1873 he settled on the farm where he now lives. Mr. Kram was married, February 10, 1846, to Miss Margaret Fegles, of Muncy, Pa., who died May 9, 1855, and by her he had four children, one of whom is yet living, viz.: Isaiah M., born August 29, 1851, formerly a hardware merchant in Big Rapids, Mich., but now engaged in farming there. Mr. Kram was afterward married, November 17, 1856, to Miss Mary, daughter of David and Susanna (Arndt) Eilenberger, of Monroe county, born of German and Irish lineage. They had born to them six children: Francis H., born in Bloomsburg, Pa., June 20, 1858, a telegraph operator at Tunkhannock (married to Jennie Bardwell, daughter of H.W. Bardwell, of Tunkhannock, by whom he has one child, Gertrude, born January 31, 1887); Lina F., born April 7, 1860 (has taught fifteen years in the public schools of Bradford county, and is unmistakably, one of the most successful teachers in the county, she is at present teaching in the Towanda high school); Susie E., born March 23, 1863, married to Frank H. Sechler, who is engaged in the creamery business in East Bridgewater, Pa.; David A., born April 24, 1866, and died June 16, 1871; Mary H., born August 25, 1868 (taught ten terms in Bradford county), married to Walter H. Scott, who is engaged in farming in Monroe township, and Jessie V., born April 29, 1871 (is also a teacher in Bradford county). Mrs. Kram died April 18, 1891. The family are Methodists and Republicans.
JOHN M. KRAMER, locomotive engineer, Sayre, is a native of Luzerne county, and was born April 19, 1843. His parents were Albert M. and Caroline M. (Long) Kramer, natives of the same place, the former a machinest and molder, born February 21, 1823, and died in Ulster, November 2, 1882; the latter was born October 27, 1817, and died, October 27, 1852. John M. is the eldest of a family of two sons and one daughter; his sister, Mary Jane, was born January 4, 1845, and died July 14, 1885. John came with the family to Towanda, when he was about six years of age, and received his education in the public schools of that place, where he remained until the war broke out, when he enlisted, April 14, 1861 in Company I, Sixth Pennsylvania Reserves, under Capt. W.H.H.H. Gore, and took part in twenty-three regular engagements, and was under fire over three hundred times. Some of the most important engagements he participated in were the battles of second Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Antietam, South Mountain, Gettysburg, Wilderness, and was shot through the arm at Spottsylvania, May 10, 1864, and was sent to Satterlee Hospital, West Philadelphia. He rejoined his command in front of Petersburg, and from exposure contracted gangrene of the wound, and was sent to Lincoln General Hospital; was mustered out June 28, 1865, and returned home, and in a short time removed to Athens, with his parents, and worked in the machine shops with his father until June, 1866, when he went to work as axeman for the engineer corps of the P. & N.Y.R.R, and was with them until the latter part of 1867, when he was employed on the road as fireman, and was promoted to engineer in 1871, and has filled that place since. In Athens, December 25, 1866, he married Kate, daughter of Thomas and Ellen (Foley) O’Connell, natives of County Waterford, Ireland, who came to Athens in 1852. Thomas O’Connell died in Ulster township, November 7, 1881, in his seventy-third year: his widow survives and resides in Athens. Mrs. Kramer is the second in a family of five children, and was born in County Waterford, Ireland, August 15, 1849. To Mr. and Mrs. Kramer were born the following children: Caroline E., Anna May, John Thomas, Theodore (deceased) and Albert Morris. Mrs. Kramer is an exemplary member of the Catholic Church. Mr. Kramer is a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, Sayre Division, No. 380; the A. O. U. W.; Golden Cycle; G.A.R., Mallory Post, No. 285; the Union Veteran Legion, No. 28, and of the Veteran Union.
G. F. KRISE, insurance agent, Canton, is a native of Liberty, Tioga Co., Pa., and was born September 5, 1852, a son of Charles A. and Christena (Gleckner) Krise, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Tioga county, Pa. Our subject is the eldest in a family of four children. Of his brothers, Albert E. is cashier of the First National Bank, of Frostburg, Md., and William C. is engaged in the grain business at Red Wing, near Minneapolis. Mr. Krise came to Canton with his parents when he was five years of age; received his education in the borough schools, and learned the saddler’s trade of his father, which occupation he followed until 1880, then engaged in the retail coal business, having one yard in Canton, and another in Troy. At the end of three years he sold his business, and accepted the position of general agent for J. Langdon & Co., of Elmira, for their coal on the Northern Central line, a position he still holds. He engaged in the insurance business with his brother Albert E. in the summer of 1888, and in 1890 C. E. Bullock became a partner, under the firm name of Krise & Bullock. In Canton, in 1877, Mr. Krise married H.M., daughter of James L. and Sally (Warren) Bothwell, natives of this county. James Bothwell is engaged in the insurance and coal business at Troy, Pa. Mrs. Krise is the elder of two children who grew to maturity; she was born in Canton township in 1856. To them was born one son, Charles R. Mrs. Krise is a member of the Disciple Church. Mr. Krise is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, Canton Lodge, No. 415; of Try Chapter, No. 261, and of Canton Commandery, No. 64. He served as a member of the borough council four years, and three years was treasurer of the council; politically he is a Democrat.
BENJAMIN KUYKENDALL, farmer, Towanda, who has long been one of the leading and influential agriculturists of the county, resides in the borough and carries on his extensive farming interests at the same time. His nativity was the Empire State, born in Sullivan county, July 28, 1826, a son of Peter and Deborah (Vanduzen) Kuykendall, also natives of New York and of German and English descent, respectively; they were farmers, who came to Bradford county in 1844, settling in Windham township, where the father died in 1876, and had reared a family of eleven children – five daughters and six sons – of whom Benjamin is the sixth. The youthful days of our subject were divided between his native place and Windham township; in 1873 he first made his residence in the borough. His elegant farm of 175 acres is situated in Windham township, is one of the best in the county and he has two other farms in other townships, as well as considerable town property in Towanda. Benjamin Kuykendall was married March 9, 1853, to Pamela Anna, daughter of Rev. Daniel and Tamar (Williamson) Gardner, natives of Orange county, N.Y., and of English stock. Mrs. Kuykendall was born in Windham township, on January 6, 1833; her grandfather, Williamson, was a lay-reader in the Episcopal Church, and a very prominent Mason; he was a distinguished minister of the Baptist Church. To this marriage union came eight children, and in the order of birth, as follows: Thomas, who died at eleven years of age; and two died in infancy; Anna (Mrs. John H. Dean); Deborah C. (Mrs. George A. Dayton); Benjamin (an attorney in Towanda); Paul (a bookkeeper in Duluth, Minn.); and Francis E. (Mrs. Benson Landon, in Chicago). This is one of the prominent families in the social life of Towanda. Mr. Kuykendall was ten years a justice in Windham township; was elected county commissioner in 1872, and served a full term; he is a prominent temperance advocate and a good Republican.
C.S. LAFFERTY, retired merchant, Camptown, ranks among Bradford county’s most successful business men. He was born in New Jersey, July 30, 1832, and is a son of John and Jane (Little) Lafferty; the former was born in County Antrim, Ireland, but while yet a boy came to America, and located in Sussex county, N.J., of which place his wife was a native; he was a shoemaker by trade, and followed that occupation until 1834, when he removed to Herrick township, this county, and purchased a farm, and followed the occupation of a farmer until his death, in 1890, being then in his ninetieth year; he had a family of six children, of whom our subject is the eldest. The others were: Harriet, married to P.S. Squires, of Herrick, now county commissioner; Catherine, married to Thomas Lee, and residing in Herrick; William (deceased); James (deceased); and John (deceased). Our subject was reared on a farm, and was educated in the common schools, and Wyoming Seminary. After reaching his majority he was a traveling salesman for nine years. In 1860 he came to Camptown, and built a store room (which has since been incorporated into the house he now occupies as a residence), and opened a general store, having S.R. Stevens associated with him, under the firm name of Lafferty & Stevens. This firm continued in business for four years, when Mr. Stevens retired, Mr. Lafferty purchasing his interest. The latter continued the business alone until 1870, and then took, as a partner, George H. Landon, and the business was conducted under the firm name of Lafferty & Landon four years. In 1878 he built the store-room now occupied by Smith Brothers, which is one of the best-appointed and most commodious store-rooms in the county; he continued in business there until 1880, and then sold to Smith Brothers; since that period he has been dealing extensively in Western lands and city property. Besides his large real estate interests in this county, he has real estate in Chicago, Denver (Colo.), Nebraska and West Virginia. Mr. Lafferty was united in marriage, April 20, 1868, with Emma E., daughter of Thomas and Miranda (Knott) Jones; her father was a native of Wales, and died in Herrick township in 1848. Her only sister, Martha, married Martin Fee of Camptown. Mr. and Mrs. Lafferty have one child, W.S., born April 26, 1868; he was educated in Camptown Academy, Wyoming Seminary, and Elmira Business College; he is now a merchant in Chicago. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of Camptown. Mr. Lafferty is a member of the F.& A.M., a Master Mason, and belongs to Franklin Lodge, Towanda; also a member of Wyalusing Lodge, No. 503, I.O.O.F., Camptown, has taken all the degrees, and is past grand. His political views are Democratic. Mr. Lafferty has from the start depended entirely upon his own resources, and has been eminently successful.
HARRISON LAMB, farmer, P.O. Macedonia, was born November 24, 1820, at Browntown, Wyalusing township, this county, a son of Ebenezer and Nancy (Gordon) Lamb, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of New Jersey, of English and Scotch-Irish ancestry. Samuel Gordon, his grandfather, settled in Wyalusing in 1780, about three miles from the mouth of the creek, where he built the first gristmill, probably, in the county, and was one of the prominent pioneers of the country. Grandfather Lamb was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and was a prisoner with the Indians in Canada for a long time. Harrison Lamb was reared on a farm, and when grown began farming on his own account, also lumbering in connection. He came to Macedonia in 1887, and located on his present farm. Mr. Lamb was married in October, 18__, to Esther Whitney, who was born in September, 1830, and of this marriage there are nine children, as follows: Laura, born October 9, 1858; Louise, born, February 28, 1860; Andrew, born May 3, 1861; Lizzie, born December 21, 1862; Beecher M., born November 13, 1864; May, born September 8, 1866; Mertie, born April 24, 1868; Eugene, born July 14, 1870; Herbert, born November 16, 1872. The girls are mostly teachers, and some are in Philadelphia as nurses. Mrs. Lam, who was a faithful member of the Presbyterian Church, departed this life May 7, 1889, deeply mourned by the family, and much lamented by those who were intimately acquainted with her. She was a daughter of the late Dr. Elisha Whitney, of Wyalusing.
GEORGE A. LAMKIN, senior member of the firm of Lamkin Bros. & Bloom, prominent dealers in general merchandise, Troy, was born in Ithaca, N.Y., February 1, 1854, is a son of James and Barbara (Tucker) Lamkin, and is of English parentage [see sketch of James W. Lamkin]; he was reared in Tompkins county, N.Y., received a public-school education, and after attaining his majority, began life for himself as a clerk in an agricultural store in Danby, N.Y., where he remained six years. In 1879 he located in Troy, Pa., and was clerk in a general store until 1882, when he embarked in the general merchandising business as a member of the firm of Gernert, Lamkin & Moore, until 1885, then as Gernert & Lamkin until 1887, then as Lamkin, Bloom & Manley until 1888, when the present firm of Lamkin Bros. & Bloom was organized, and they are among the most popular business houses of Troy. Mr. Lamkin married, September 18, 1890, Ada C., daughter of Brewster A. and Louisa C. (Colborn) Long, of Troy borough. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, is a Sir Knight Templar, and a member of the I.O.O.F. Though he never sought office he is known as a worker in the interest of the political party he represents, which is the Republican.
JAMES W. LAMKIN, of Lamkin Bros. & Bloom, dealers in general merchandise, Troy, was born in Lansing, Tompkins Co., N.Y., June 15, 1852, and is a son of James and Barbara (Tucker) Lamkin, natives of England, who came to America about 1845, and settled in Lansing, N.Y., where the father engaged in farming until his death; their children were eight: Elizabeth (Mrs. Hoffman Swartout), James W., George A., Charles (deceased), Jane (Mrs. Willis Euest), Hattie (Mrs. Charles Hanford), John, and Julia (Mrs. Fred. Johnson). Our subject was reared in Tompkins county, N.Y., educated at Danby High School, began life as a farmer, and later served in the capacity of clerk in the general store of Danby & Spencer for four years. In March, 1887, he located in Troy, Pa., and purchased an interest in a clothing store with E.S. Jewell, in which he continued until 1889, under the firm name of Jewell & Lamkin; he then became a member of the firm of Lamkin Bros. & Bloom, one of the leading business houses of Troy, with whom he is still connected. Mr. Lamkin was twice married, his first wife being Olive, daughter of John and Elize (Malks) Thomas, of Danby, N.Y., by whom he had one daughter, Amelia; his second wife was Gertrude Jewell, daughter of E.S. and Araminta (Davidson) Jewell, of Troy, Pa. Mr. Lamkin is a live and enterprising business man; he is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and in politics is a Republican.
H. LAMPHERE, farmer and dairyman, P.O. Wyalusing, was born in LeRaysville, this county, October 10, 1843, a son of Zelwin and Delila (Platt) Lamphere. His father was a carpenter and contractor, and resided a greater portion of his time in LeRaysville; he had a family of six children, viz.: Edward, now in California; Charles, a farmer, of Standing Stone; George (deceased); Emily, married to Theodore Rosencrans, a farmer in Nebraska, and our subject. H. Lamphere spent his boyhood, until sixteen, in LeRaysville, where he attended school most of that time. In March, 1862, he enlisted in Company H, Seventy-Fifth P.V.I., and was in the battles of Fort Fisher, Wilmington, and the campaign against Richmond; was twice struck by bullets, so as to leave permanent scars, but never seriously wounded; was mustered out with his regiment, July 10, 1865. After returning from the army he purchased a blacksmith shop at Wysox, and worked at that trade for two years, then went West and took up a homestead in Nebraska, but after staying there about six months moved on to Idaho, and for some time was engaged in work on the Northern Pacific Railroad; he then came back to Clarence, Iowa, and farmed for a year, and then returned and located at Standing Stone, and for the following eight years made that his home, with the exception of one year spent in lumbering , close to Lanark, Pa. He then came to Wyalusing township, and for four years was on the Bixby farm; and then, in the spring of 1887, removed to his present residence, the Washington Taylor farm, now owned by Dr. J.M. Chamberlain. Mr. Lamphere married, August 14, 1871, Anna Benjamin, a daughter of Morgan Benjamin, of Standing Stone, and this union has been blessed with four children: Elmer, Jennie, Earnest and Albert. Mr. Lamphere is a member of Glosson Lodge, No. 920, I.O.O.F., Sugar Run, and of Hurst Post, No. 86, G.A.R., Camptown, and is a Republican. He has lived in the vicinity of his present home many years, and commands the esteem and respect of all; he has always depended entirely on his own resources and has been very successful.
FREDERICK C. LANDMESSER, merchant, was born in Hanover township, Luzerne Co., Pa., July 26, 1857. His father, Peter Landmesser, was born in Germany, on the Rhine, November 4, 1819, and his grandfather, John Nicholas Landmesser, was born in the same place, November 17, 1776. His great-grandfather, John Nicholas Landmesser, who was an officer under the Duke of Nassau, married a Miss Krumpf, and they had four children: John Nicholas, Elizabeth (wife of D. Barkler), Catherine (wife of W. Warner) and Mary. John Nicholas married Louisa Barks, and had nine children, all born in Germany, of whom are given the names of Louisa (wife of N. Bish), Catherine (wife of Andrew Weiskarger), Mary (wife of K. Keller), Nicholas, Frederick (retired mine superintendent), Peter, and Ludwig, a coal operator. John Nicholas came to this country in 1836, having lost his wife in 1823; he died in 1855, and is buried in Hanover, Pa. Peter Landmesser began life prospecting for coal in his seventeenth year, and lived at home until he was twenty-four, during which time he worked on the Lehigh Canal, and in cutting and packing broom corn, also in public works and mining; he was superintendent of the mines at Silver Brook, the Baltimore mines and the Oliphant, near Carbondale. In 1856 he erected a slope which was afterward abandoned; was then mine boss for his brother Ludwig, who was agent for the Hartford Coal Company, and was superintendent in 1860 for the Continental Coal Company, during which year he took a contract with the Baltimore Coal Company and sank a slope for them. In 1861 he was superintendent for Gray and Mortagie; in 1862 for Mortagie; in 1863 was mine boss for the Wilkes-Barre Coal and Iron Company, and in 1864 superintendent for Gray & Longstreet, in Schuylkill county. In 1864 he was superintendent for the Baltimore Company Slope, No. 3, at Wilkes-Barre, and in 1865 they were burned out, and he lost all his personal property. He remained with this company until 1865, when he began purchasing farm produce along the canal; then came to Standing Stone, and purchased the "Rummerfield Hotel" in 1867, which he conducted until 1873, also trading, and then turned his hotel into a general store, which he conducted until 1876. He then purchased, from the heirs of James Esbey, his present home and two hundred or more acres of land, and has devoted the balance of his life to farming and trading. Mr. Landmesser was school director three years; is a member of the Wilkes-Barre Lodge, No. 61, A.F. &A.M., and is a Republican. He married, in 1847, Josephine, the eldest of six children of Nicholas and Christiana (Diedersfelt) Rittersbacher. Of this union were children as follows: John Nicholas, who died in infancy; Peter (deceased); Louisa, wife of George P. Hilpert, both deceased, leaving a daughter, Georgie J. Hilpert, who is with her grandfather; Peter B.; Louise and Alexander (deceased). Frederick C., the subject of this sketch, attended school at Wilkes-Barre and Standing Stone, until his fourteenth year; then worked on a farm eight years; he had charge of the "Rummerfield Hotel" eighteen months; traded in apples and produce two years, and then took a commercial course in Kingston College, Luzerne county. Returning to Rummerfield he engaged in the hay, grain, and coal business, with Billings, Feel and Stewart, under the name of F.C. Landmesser & Co., with main office at Homet’s Ferry. In 1887 he withdrew from this firm, and built the store which he now occupies, dealing in general merchandise; he is one of the prosperous business men of the county, and carries a stock of about $5,500, doing an annual business of about $12,000. In politics he is a Republican. He married, February 23, 1887, Sarah O., eldest daughter of William and Almira (Barton) Claggett. Mrs. Landmesser worships at the Methodist Episcopal Church.
PETER BARNEY LANDMESSER, station agent, Rummerfield, was born near Wilkes-Barre, Pa., April 22, 1854, a son of Peter B. Landmesser. In the days of his youth he attended school in Luzerne and Bradford counties, until his sixteenth year, when he began to make his own way in the world, and worked mostly on the farm until the fall of 1873, when he was appointed station agent at Rummerfield on the Lehigh Valley Railroad. He received this appointment from Gen’l. Supt. R.A. Packer, and has continued in that employ to the present time. He married Sarah J., daughter of Nelson and Lois (Chaffee) VanNest; she was the sixth of nine children, eight of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Landmesser have had four children, as follows: Louis P., born February 20, 1879; Mabel E., born April 11, 1882; Louise J., born September 8, 1885, and Perry C., born December 24, 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Landmesser attend the M.E. Church, and in politics he votes the Republican ticket. This family is of the pleasant and much respected ones of Bradford county.
NEUTON LANDON, dealer in groceries and feed, Canton, is a native of the place, born August 1, 1842, a son of Eldaah and Lucy (Loveridge) Landon, the former a native of Canton township, this county, having been born, April 15, 1808, one and one-half miles south of Canton borough. The mother died in 1848 in her thirty-eighth year. The grandparents were Laban and Elizabeth (Gillis) Landon, natives of New Jersey and Newbury, N.Y., respectively; they came from Williamsport to Canton township, between the years 1797 and 1800. Their son, Joshua Landon, was born in Canto, February 27, 1800 – the first white child born in this vicinity. Laban Landon served in the
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