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History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania with Biographical SketchesBy H. C. Bradsby, 1891If You Have Photos of People Mentioned on the Page, Send Them In For Inclusion |
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REV. ALEXANDER LANE (deceased) was born October 3, 1809, in Burlington township, this county, on the farm where he died, and where his daughter, Margaret A., and son, Stephen A., now reside. He was the eighth generation of Alexander Lanes in American, and was of Pilgrim origin, a son of Alexander and Abigail (Mills) Lane, natives of Connecticut, and who removed to Bradford county from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., in 1795, settling in Burlington, being one of the pioneer families. He was a soldier in the War of the Revolution, was of Scotch-Irish descent, and the name was originally McLane. The subject of this sketch married Catharine Shoemaker, who was born October 18, 1813, at Kingston, Luzerne Co., Pa., of Quaker ancestry, and by her he had nine children, as follows: Margaret A., born January 5, 1834; Asa S., born December 5, 1835; John W., born June 19, 1838; William Alexander, born June 25, 1841; Noel W., born July 9, 1844; Stephen A., born December 7, 1846; Catharine F., born August 8, 1849; Charles H., born September 8, 1852; and Gustavus G., born June 18, 1855. William Alexander was the ninth generation of Alexander’s in America; was a physician, and a soldier in the Civil War, Company B, Two Hundred and Seventh Regiment, P.V. Charles H. is a physician in Pittsburgh, Pa. Gustavus G. is a farmer occupying a part of the old homestead; was married to Susan Wrisley, of Burlington, and of New England ancestry, whose parents removed to the county in 1858.
Rev. Alexander Lane, the subject proper of this sketch, was a clergyman of the Methodist Protestant church, having joined the Pennsylvania Conference at the age of eighteen; he traveled as an itinerant preacher, on horseback, as was the custom in those early days, in the States of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania; was a powerful preacher and an excellent man; he was nearly sixty years in active pastoral work, and died April 26, 1890, at the age of eighty years.
WILLIAM PENN LANE, farmer, Burlington township, P.O. Luther’s Mills, was born October 6, 1842, on the farm where he now resides, a son of Zepheniah and Polly (Clarke) Lane, the former of whom was born in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., of Scotch-Irish origin. The maternal grandfather Clarke, was in the Wyoming massacre, and his father was a captain in the Revolutionary War, and a pioneer of Ulster township. Grandfather Lane was one of the first settlers of Burlington, and experienced all the privations of the pioneer. The father, who was a preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a farmer, with the aid of his sons cleared the farm where William P. now resides; he died at the age of seventy-six years; when a mere lad he was a soldier in the War of 1812. In 1864 Mr. Lane enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Eight-eight N.Y.V.I., and was in several battles; he is now a pensioner (he had one brother and four half-brothers also in the war). He was married, April 20, 1864, to Jane Fairchild, of Burlington, who was born April 18, 1846, a daughter of Gideon and Lydia Knight, of English origin. To Mr. and Mrs. Lane have been born five children, two of whom are living, as follows: Grove, born June 20, 1874, and Minnie, born May 14, 1867. The old homestead where Mr. Lane resides, is a farm of eighty-five acres under a good state of cultivation, on which he has a fine dairy. Mr. Lane is an excellent man in all respects, is a member of the G.A.R., in politics is a Republican, and has held many offices of public trust; is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he has been a steward, and superintendent of the Sunday-school many years.
ROBERT H. LANING, Wysox, was born in Wyalusing, this county, June 25, 1837, and is a son of Matthias H. and Ann H. (Overton) Laning. His father, who was a native of Owego, N.Y., and a son of John and Mary (Hollenback) Laning, removed to Wyalusing about the year 1835, where he built a large section of the North Branch Canal, and kept a store, and also for the purpose of looking after the estate of his mother who was a daughter of Judge Matthias Hollenback, a well-known pioneer and large land-owner of the Wyoming Valley. Matthias Hollenback Laning located, in 1842, in Wysox township on the farm now occupied by his son, and resided there until his death, May 3, 1890; he was largely interested in real estate in Wysox and Towanda, and in mining in the Wyoming Valley at Wilkes-Barre and elsewhere. His wife was a daughter of Thomas B. and Maria (Hodkinson) Overton, of Wilkes-Barre, by whom he had four children; Robert H., Mary A. (Mrs. Edward T. Elliott), Emily T., (Mrs. William T. Bishop) and Elizabeth L. (Mr. Clark B. Porter). Robert H. Laning was reared in Bradford county, and was educated at Dickinson’s Seminary, Williamsport, and Susquehanna Collegiate Institute, Towanda. Since attaining his majority he has been engaged in various business enterprises, and during the lifetime of his father assisted him in the management of the business. He married, May 21, 1890, Mrs. Mary (Mowry) Morgan daughter of Ezekiel Mowry, of Meshoppen. Mr. Laning has served as school director of Wysox four terms; also several terms as road commissioner, and is in these positions now; is a director of the First National Bank, Towanda; president of the Bradford County Agricultural Society; is a Sir Knight Templar, and in politics is a Democrat.
GEORGE LANTZ, farmer, Franklin township, P.O. Franklindale, was born in Monroe township, this county, July 21, 1832, a son of Peter and Catherine (VanNest) Lantz, both of whom were born in New Jersey, and came to this county about 1825, locating at Wysox from which place they removed to Franklindale, where the father died in 1862, at the age of seventy-nine years. He purchased a farm of 200 acres of wild land, which he improved and beautified, living on it fifty years; his family were ten in number – three sons and seven daughters – all of whom grew to maturity, but only three are now living – George (out subject) being the youngest of the family. Peter was married twice; both of his wives were VanNests, and cousins; he had six children by the former marriage and four by the later. When our subject was twenty-four years of age he purchased a farm and made a home for himself; at the age of thirty he married Miss Margaret, daughter of Samuel and Mary Anable, and the result of this union was six children – two sons and four daughters: Cora (died when four years old); Jennie; Louella (died when ten months old); Mamie, Samuel and James. Mr. Lantz has a neat home in the village of Franklindale besides a farm of 100 acres, on which he raises grain, hay and wool; politically he is a Republican.
LESTER R. LANTZ, physician, New Albany, born February 15, 1858, in Franklin township, Bradford Co., Pa., a son of William and Elizabeth (Arnold) Lantz, the former of whom, a farmer, born of German origin in New Jersey, was one of the representative men of the township, and died at the age of sixty-five; the mother died aged thirty-eight. Grandfather Lantz was a Revolutionary soldier; and the paternal grandfather was in the War of 1812. The subject of these lines, who is one of a family of eleven children – seven sons and four daughters – was reared on the farm, and educated in the common schools of his town. He studied medicine from a very early age; and attended lectures at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating from there in the spring of 1880; and in the winters of 1885-86 he took a post graduate course at the University of New York. Immediately after his graduation, he engaged in the practice of his chosen profession at Hill’s Grove, Pa, where he was for some time, and then three years at Norfolk, Va. In the spring of 1887 he located in New Albany, where he has had an extensive and lucrative practice, and is fast becoming one of the leading practitioners of the county. The Doctor was married, in 1879, to Maud Gilbert, of Franklindale. Dr. Lantz is a member of the I.O.O.F., and in politics he is an Independent. He is the owner of one of the finest residences in the township.
PETER LANTZ, farmer, of Franklin township, P.O. Franklindale, was born in Franklin, this county, January 21, 1851, a son of William and Maria (Arnold) Lantz, the former born in or near Newton, Sussex Co., N.J.; the latter in Ulster, this county. William Lantz came with his father, Peter Lantz, Sr., when a young lad, or about 1840, locating in Franklin, where he afterward lived and died; he was an industrious farmer, who by hard labor and economy accumulated a farm of 257 acres of good land; his family number twelve by two marriages: he married, for his first wife, Miss Maria Arnold, by whom he had nine children, eight of whom are living; his second wife was Miss Catherine Beavens, by whom he had three children, two yet living. Our subject, who is the sixth in the first family, was reared and educated at Franklin, and always worked on a farm. At the age of twenty-seven he married, at Terrytown, August 28, 1878, Miss Mary, daughter of Charles and Ann Viell, and there were born to them four children, all of whom are now living, and very young, as follows: Charles, Edward, Arthur and Leo. Mr. Lantz, as were his forefathers, is a hard-working man, who by industry and economy has made himself a comfortable home; he is a general farmer, paying some attention to wood-growing; is a member of the Patrons of Industry, and a trustee of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
W. L. Lantz, farmer, of Franklin township, P.O. Franklindale, was born in Monroe township, this county, April 17, 1840, a son of William and Amelia M. (Arnold) Lantz, the former born in New Jersey, the latter in Ulster, this county. William was the son of Peter, who removed from New Jersey about 1840, and located in Franklin, north and east of the village; he lived and died on the farm on which he located. William, his son, after taking care of him, and paying off the heirs, came into possession of the farm. He was twice married and by his first wife had six sons and three daughters, five of whom grew to maturity; by his second wife he had one son and two daughters. William died in 1878, at the age of sixty-four years, leaving a farm of about 200 acres, all of which he had earned with his own hands, which proved him to have been a successful and enterprising farmer. The subject of this sketch, who is the second child by the first wife, was reared and educated in Franklin, and early in life learned the miller’s trade at Horace Willey’s mill, in Franklindale, and worked there seven years; then removed to New Albany, Pa., where he purchased a large mill, renovated and improved it so extensively by the appliance of modern machinery, and operating same by steam, that he made it a complete success. After establishing a paying custom, during the space of twelve years, he sold out to Mr. O. M. Fassett, who married his only daughter, Amelia M. He married, at Towanda, September 28, 1861, Miss Mary J., daughter of Horace and Debby A. Willey. Mr. Lantz is now engaged in general farming in Franklin; he enjoys the confidence of his neighbors, and was at one time elected county auditor; has also held several town offices; politically he is a Democrat.
HON. BARTHOLOMEW LAPORTE (deceased) was one of the leading men of the county in his day, a grandson of Bartholomew Laporte, a leader of the French colony that settled Asylum township – refugees from France in the close of the last century. Bartholomew Laporte, Sr., came to this county in 1794, and made his settlement on the farm now owned partly by F. H. Hageman. The subject of this sketch was a son of John and Matilda (Chamberlain) Laporte, born on the old homestead in Frenchtown, January 25, 1823. He married, July 31, 1845, Emily Terry, who was of the eminent family of Terrys whose names are indelibly connected with the early settlement of the north branch of the Susquehanna. To this marriage were born four children, two of whom are living, viz.: George B, born February 14, 1846, and Nancy M., born May 14, 1859. On these, George B. married Amanda, daughter of John M. and Hannah (Mingos) Piatt, and they have three children: Emily G., born November 25, 1877; Nelllie M., born September 14, 1879, and Jennie E., born October 24, 1881. Nancy M. Laporte is now Mrs. J. S. Bovington, of Buffalo, N.Y. Hon. Bartholomew Laporte was during his life one of the prominent men of Bradford county; a strong leader of the Republican party, he was elected, and served with eminence three terms in the State Legislature, and died September 15, 1889.
MICHAEL J. LARKIN, boot and shoe merchant, Towanda, was born in County Galway, Ireland, January 6, 1830, a son of James and Elizabeth (Martin) Larkin. His father came to America in 1835 and settled in Schuylkill county, Pa., where he engaged in mining, and died in the mines, May 18, 1854. Michael J. was reared in Ireland until fifteen years of age. He came to America in 1845, and joined his father in Schuylkill county, Pa., where he was employed as a slate picker, and later as a driver and miner, and followed mining more or less for twenty years, a part of the time in Barclay, this county, five years as a miner and two years as dock boss. He came to Towanda in 1868, where he engaged in various business enterprises until 1871, when he embarked in the shoe business, in which he still continued. Mr. Larkin married, May 9, 1852, Catherine, daughter of Michael and Mary (Burke) Welch, of Carbon county, Pa., by whom he has six children living, as follows: James, Elizabeth, Michael, Mary, Margaret and Joachim. Mr. Larkin in a member of the Catholic Church and is a well-know, representative citizen of Towanda. In politics he is a Republican.
PETER LAYMAN, farmer, West Terry, P.O. Marshview, was born in Wurtenberg, Germany, November 24, 1828, a son of Jacob and Barbara (Bros) Layman, the former of whom, who was a weaver of superior skill, and a man of sterling qualities, reared a family of six children (all of whom grew to maturity), and died in 1869, at the age of seventy-six years. The subject of this sketch, at the age of twenty-four in 1853, immigrated to this country, landing at Castle Garden, N.Y. He remained one year in that city, after which he came to Terry township, Bradford Co., Pa., where he has since resided. In 1856, in company with a cousin, he purchased 100 acres of wild land, which they highly improved, and in 1877, Mr. Layman purchased his cousin’s interest, now owning the entire property of 175 acres. These men, like other settlers in a new country, had to cut their way through the woods to the nearest mill, which in this case was Frenchtown. On November 14, 1858, Mr. Layman married Miss Margaret Brown, and there were born to them six children, all of whom are living, as follows: John J. (married to Miss Mary Williams), Agnes I. (married to W. C. Jackson, and they have one child, a daughter), Charles F. (married to Eva Williams, and has one daughter), William H., Henry L. and Frank. Mr. Layman became a citizen of this county in 1858, and has been a law-abiding one ever since; is honest in all his dealings with men; has been elected to the office of town commissioner and school director; was also assessor three years. He was the principal mover in establishing the school in his neighborhood, and is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically, he is a Republican.
JOHN LEE, farmer, P.O. Franklindale, was born in Scotland in 1823, a son of Robert and Sarah (Boyd) Lee, the former a native of Ireland, the later of Scotland. Mr. Lee came to this county in 1838, and located in Herrick township, where he resided thirty years. He owned a farm out West, which he divided between his sons; he entered the army in defense of his adopted county, March 15, 1864, for the term of three years, attaching himself to Company A, One Hundred and Forty-first P.V.I.; was wounded at the battle of the Wilderness, after which he was discharged for disabilities. He now draws a pension of $30 per month, and is living on a small place belonging to his wife, whom in married in 1887. She was the widow of Charles Smith. Mr. Lee married, for his first wife, Miss Louisa, daughter of Thomas Bomp, by whom he had four children – three sons and one daughter: Thomas , Frank, Harry and Phoebe, three of whom are married, and prospering in the business, and all are living in this county. Mr. Lee enjoys good health at the age of sixty-eight; in politics he is a Republican.
JOSEPH P. LEE, blacksmith, Wyalusing, was born in Herrick, Bradford Co., Pa., and is a son of James and Jane (Daugherty) Lee. His parents were born in County Armagh, Ireland; his father was a clothier and his mother a tailoress; they came to this country in 1829, and settled in New York City, where the father remained about eight years; then removed to New Milford, and engaged in the business of manufacturing cloth, and later removed to Herrick, becoming a successful farmer of that section, and remained there until his death, which occurred in 1857; his widow survived until 1879. Joseph P. Lee passed his boyhood on his father’s farm, and attended the common schools of Herrick, also two years at the Laceyville Academy. On July 9, 1851, he purchased a blacksmith shop in Herrick, and hired men to work for him, and with them he learned his trade; hence he remained until 1865, when he went to Carroll county, Ill., where he was two years; then came back and opened an extensive shop at Camptown, using steam power; here he manufactured wagons, besides doing general blacksmithing, and worked a large force of men; from there he went to Athens, where he engaged in the livery business. In August, 1884, he came to Wyalusing township, and with the exception of two years spent on the road as traveling salesman, selling a tool of his own invention, he has passed his time here in general blacksmithing. Mr. Lee is a genius as regards mechanics, and has made that his constant study; has numerous inventions, the best of which are the lightning hoof shears, a device for trimming horses’ hoofs without the use of the old-fashioned nippers and buttress; an expansive shoe for diseased feet; also a machine for cutting, punching and upsetting iron bars, all of which work to perfection, and are a perfect success. Mr. Lee married, March 10, 1860, Elizabeth, daughter of Lyman Matson, of Herrick, and they have a family of five children: Joseph L. (a traveling salesman in Nebraska); Lyman M. (a furniture finisher in Waverly): William H., Lizzie J., and Lulu E., the two latter at home. Mr. Lee is a stanch Republican, but has no official aspirations. As a horse-shoer he has no superior, and the numerous improvements which he has planned in his trade shows him to be a close student of the trade he follows. His hoof-shears are sold in every State and Territory, and in Canada, and his shear-punch, and upset does heavier work than any other machine now made, and is on an entirely new principle.
THOMAS A. LEE, farmer and stock-raiser, Herrick township, was born November 8, 1835, on the farm he now owns. His father, James Lee, was born in County Monaghan, Ireland, August 8, 1801; he had two brothers who came to this county about the same time, viz.: Thomas, who died in Nebraska, in 1884, and Eccles, who died in this county in 1881. When James Lee came to this country he located at New York City, where he married, March 4, 1830, Jane Daugherty, a native of Ireland (whose family came to this State in 1831), and lived in New Milford, Susquehanna Co., Pa., nearly three years; then came to this county and purchased the farm now owned by his son, Thomas A. He devoted his whole life to farming and stock-raising; was a deacon in the Baptist Church, and died in 1857, leaving six children, viz.: Margaret Jane (wife of David Nesbit), William E., Joseph P., James H., Charles J., and the subject of these lines. Thomas A. Lee was educated in the district schools until his twentieth year, then went to Nebraska, and from there to Wisconsin, returning home in 1857. His father having died in, the farm was appraised, and he and his brother, James H., took the property, after purchasing the rights of the other heirs, soon after they divided, Thomas A. taking fifty-three acres, on which were the house and other outbuildings (built by the father in 1849); since which time he has devoted his life to farming and stock-raising. He is a Republican in politics, and was jury commissioner in 1876 and 1879; constable, one year, auditor, three years; he is a member of the Baptist Church. Mr. Lee married in 1869, Catherine, daughter of John and Jane (Little) Lafferty, natives of New York; she was born August 19, 1835, and previous to her marriage had successfully taught school seventeen terms, one term in Lycoming county, ten in Luzerne and six in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Lee have had three children: John, a successful teacher in Herrickville; Daisy M., and an infant (deceased). Mr. Lee has sixty-three acres of land, three horses, seven cows and thirteen sheep.
JAMES P. LEES, farmer, P.O. Athens, was born in Athens, this county, in 1866, son of William and Charlotte (Isby) Lees, the former a native of Manchester, the latter a native of Trowbridge, England, born in 1834. The father removed to this county in 1856, locating in Litchfield township, and in 1869 he removed to Athens township, where he remained until is death, which occurred March 3, 1890, in the fifty-ninth year of his age. He leaves a widow and children as follows: John H., Ester, Joseph, James P. and Lottie. Ester is married to a talented minister, Rev. Douglass King, of the Methodist Episcopal Church. James P. is the principal man on the farm, taking charge and having the oversight of all in connection with the same. They raise a mixed produce on a well-cultivated farm of seventy-three acres; have a very fine house, roomy and commodious. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
DAVID S. LENOX, farmer and proprietor of Mountain Lake Summer Resort, Mountain Lake. This resort is fast becoming one of the most frequented and popular places in the State, next to Mount Pisgah it is the highest elevation in Pennsylvania, and there being abundance of fish in the lake, and beautiful groves surrounding it, it is altogether, a very pleasant and picturesque place. Mr. Lenox was born June 28, 1838, in Ulster, a son of Daniel and Betsey (Head) Lenox, farmers of French origin, the former of whom was born in Canada, removed to this State when a child, and was reared a farmer; the mother was a native of this county; her grandfather (Head) was one of the first settlers of the township of Burlington; they died at the ages of eighty-two and eight four years, respectively. Subject was reared on the farm, and at his majority he went to the oil regions of West Virginia and then to Pennsylvania, where he was superintendent of the largest works; after some years he engaged in the lumbering business in Canton, township, near Alba, where he owned a sawmill, which he lost by fire, and in 1875 removed to the farm which he now owns, and where he entertains many hundreds of people in the season. Mr. Lenox was married, September 13, 1871, to Juliet Freeman, of Troy, born October 4, 1845, a daughter of Horace D. and Sylvia (Palmer) Freeman, both of English extractions. There have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Lenox four children, three of whom are living as follows: S. May, born September 5, 1874; Ernest D., born March 30, 1879, and Lee D., born July 21, 1883. Mr. Lenox’s farm consists of about seventy-eight acres, and lies around two-thirds of the shore of the lake. He is a Democrat in politics, and was, during the Civil War, acting in the commissary department.
EDWARD P. LENOX, farmer and stock-grower, Ulster township, was born February 9, 1841, on the farm he now occupies, a son of Daniel and Betsey (Head) Lenox. His father, a farmer, was born in Canada, August 7, 1794, and immigrated to the United States, settling with his parents in Ulster township, in 1799, at the age of five years. His mother was born in this county, April 22, 1799; they were among the early pioneers of Bradford county, and purchased the old homestead farm about the year 1822, that being about four years after their marriage, which occurred in 1818. Daniel died on the old homestead, February 24, 1874, aged eighty years; his widow survived until April 18, 1881. Edward P. Lenox attended the common schools of Ulster township, and received a good common school education; when twenty-one years old he enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Forty-first P.V.I., and was discharged at Baltimore, March 5, 1863. On September 16, 1864, he re-enlisted, this time in Company C, One Hundred and Eighty-eight Regiment, N.Y.V.I., and was discharged at Rochester, N.Y., July 11, 1865, at the close of the war. He participated in the battle of Hatcher’s Run; skirmishes along the Weldon Railroad, March 30, 1865, the siege of Petersburg, surrender of Richmond, and was present a Lee’s surrender at Appomattox; he was in the hospital about five months of account of disability caused by rheumatism, and receives a pension. His farm consists of fifty acres of finely-improved and highly-cultivated land; he is one of the few farmers who grow tobacco on the upland, and he cultivates about three acres yearly. His father’s family consisted of thirteen children, five of whom survive, and three live in this county viz.: John, David S. and Edward P. Mr. Lenox was united in marriage April 14, 1867, with Mary J., daughter of Hugh and Marion (Richie) Templeton, natives of Scotland, and the result of this marriage was ten children, viz.: Robert S., James T., Maud B., Myrtle A., Anna E., Daniel H., Edward P., Jessie E., Harry A. and Mary Jane. Robert S. (the eldest) is twenty-three years of age, and Mary J. (the youngest) is one year old. Mr. Lenox is a member of the K. of H., and is a stanch Democrat in politics. He gave the spring time of his life to his country, sacrificing his health as an offering to the Union, and is a man broken in his prime, but surrounded by an exceedingly interesting family.
ALBERT LENT, farmer, Wysox township, was born May 4, 1808, in a log house which stood where his barn now is, a son of John and Barbara (Croft) Lent, natives of New York, the former born of Holland origin and the latter of German. Barbara Croft’s mother, Mary Bowman, was the daughter of the Duke of Baden, Germany, and ran away with her father’s coachman, coming to America. John Lent came to Rome in 1797, and the same year located in Sheshequin, where he remained two years, and then removed to the farm where Albert Lent now resides, buying 120 acres of "Uncle Jesse Allen," where he reared a family of thirteen children, eight of whom grew to maturity as follows: Mary, Tobias, Hannah, Catherine, Elizabeth and Mathias (twins), Sallie and Albert; he and his wife died in November 1838, at the ages of seventy-five and seventy-three years respectively. The subject of the memoir spent his boyhood assisting his father on the farm, and attending a school taught by Almira Price, situated on the present site of Wysox Presbyterian Church. When he was twenty years of age, his father gave him a portion of the old homestead, where he has since resided, and accumulated a valuable estate. He was married June 3, 1835, to Susan Bull, who was born July 6, 1815, a daughter of William and Julia (Conklin) Bull, natives of Orange county, N.Y., and of English and Dutch lineage, respectively. The fruits of this union were the following: Frances, born August 2, 1836 (married to John Webb of North Towanda), Abel K.; Cidney, born January 22, 1840 (she married to M.B. Owen, a grocer of Towanda, Pa., who died, and she later married George Eranbrack, druggist, Athens); Caroline, born March 25, 1842, (married to Dr. Edward Reed of Genesee Forks, Pa.); Julia C., born August 25, 1843 (married to Stephen Barner, a farmer, of Sheshequin, Pa.); Sarah, born July 15, 1846, died in infancy; Barbara E, born November 4,, 1849 (married to George K. Smith a farmer and school teacher, Orange County, N.Y.); Abigail, born February 12, 1851 (married to George Dewing, a farmer, of Warrenham, Pa.); Susan, born December 5, 1853 (married to E. G. Owen, a farmer, of Wysox); Albert, born July 13, 1857 (married to Wealthy Coolbaugh, of Wysox; they have two children: Agnes C., born November 1, 1887, and Barbara, born November 26, 1889; he is engaged with his father on the farm, and in stock-dealing). Susan (Bull) Lent died in 1880 at the age of sixty-five years. Mr. Lent was married, November 14, 1883, to Elizabeth M. Reel (nee Elizabeth M. Moody), daughter of Moses and Phebe (Allen) Moody. Mr. and Mrs. Lent are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Pond Hill; he is a Republican and has held the offices of constable, two years; school director, fifteen years; and collector, two years; was justice of the peace, but did not take out his commission. Mr. Lent was a pioneer in the advancement of education, having taught the first two terms of school at Pond Hill.
ABEL K. LENT, farmer, Wysox township, P.O. Myersburg, was born October 5, 1838, a son of Albert and Susan (Bull) Lent. He was educated in the common school and in Wyoming Seminary, and remained at home until 1867, when he purchased his present home of 108 acres of his father, upon which he has since lived and placed it in an excellent state of cultivation. Mr. Lent was married, November 26, 1867, to Emma, daughter of Jacob and Adaline (Wheeler) Ercanbrack, and to them were born three children as follows: Cidney E., born October 9, 1868, married to Emerson Bull, who is the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, at Sayre, Pa.; Mattie E., born March 5, 1871, and Addie S., born June 15, 1873. The mother of these children dying December 25, 1875, Mr. Lent married, in 1879, for his second wife, Adilaid Sill, and by this union there have been born the following named children: Elmer D., born March 18, 1880,; Ethlyn J., April 12, 1882,; Edwin H., December 4, 1886, and George A., November 27, 1889.
LEWIS THATCHER LENT, farmer, Wysox township, P.O. Myersburg, was born in Sheshequin, this county, July 28, 1823, a son of Tobias and Lucy (Thatcher) Lent, and is the eldest of eleven children. Mr. Lent began life for himself at the age of eighteen, shoemaking, which trade he followed several years; then engaged in farming, which has been the principal occupation of his life. He purchased his present home of J. J. Wattles, in 1871. Mr. Lent was married, November 12, 1845, to Miss Caroline, daughter of Arunah and Elizabeth (Allen) Wattles, and this union has been blessed with nine children (five of whom are now living): The eldest died in infancy; Elizabeth, born June 29, 1847, married M. L. Maynard, a farmer of Rome township, the next child died in infancy; Alice, Letta, born March 24, 1850, married Charles H. Stevens, farmer of Standing Stone; Ada Albina, born May 24, 1852, married to Charles Fox, a farmer of Wysox; Edith Ethleen, born July 31, 1854, married to Miles B. Caswell, who died in Colorado; Caorline, died when two years old; Lewis Byron, born April 16, 1868, and died May 27, 1869. Mr. Lent is a member of Wysox Grange, and is a life-long Republican in politics.
THORNTON F. LENT, carriage manufacturer, and justice of the peace, Burlington, was born in Towanda, this county, December 15, 1840, a son of Mathias C. and Susan (Minier) Lent, the former of Dutch and the latter of German descent, and natives of this county. The grandfather Lent, settled at Pond Hill, Wysox township, early in this century, was one of the pioneers, and took up a large possession, cleared a fine farm and reared a large family; he was a man of influence in his time. Mathias C. Lent was reared on the farm, and largely engaged in lumbering, which he followed many years; he was a major in the Pennsylvania Militia, and died in 1876, aged seventy-six years; his wife, Susan, died in 1864, aged sixty-two years. Our subject is the sixth in a family of eight children, six of whom are still living. When he was twenty years of age, April 23, 1861, he enlisted in Company F, Sixth P.R., and was thus one of the first to respond to the call of his country in the late Civil War; among the engagements in which he participated were the battles as follows: Dranesville, Fredericksburg, Antietam, Gettysburg, through the Wilderness campaign, and was honorably discharged, June 11, 1864. He had previously served his apprenticeship to the carriage-builder’s trade, and in 1869 settled at Burlington where he has since carried on a successful business: he is a Democrat in politics. In February, 1891, he was elected a justice of the peace, and has been in the council of the borough several years. Mr. Lent was married, in September, 1868, to Mary U. Melville, of Burlington, of Scotch-Irish decent, a daughter of Ranklin W. and Articica Clark, natives of Burlington. Mr. and Mrs. Lent have two sons: Harry M., born October 29, 1869, and Walter P., born December 26, 1873. Mr. Lent is much respected by the entire community.
GEORGE W. LENTZ, foreman in foundry, L.V.R.R. shops, Sayre, is a native of Weatherly, Carbon Co., Pa., born September 3, 1847, a son of George and Mary M. (Kibler) Lentz, natives of the same county. The father, who was a carpenter, died in Weatherly in 1873, in his sixty-fifth year; the mother resides in Carbon county. George W., who is the ninth in order of birth in a family of ten children, of whom three are living, received a common-school education, and clerked in a dry-goods store a year; then in 1863 was employed by the Beaver Meadow Railroad Company (now a branch of the L.V.R.R.), in the foundry, where he worked about twenty-one years, acting in the capacity of assistant foreman from 1870 to 1884, when he went to Easton, Pa., and engaged in the foundry business for himself, but remained there only one year, and worked a short time in Birmingham, Ala.; then was in the Standard Steel Works, of Thurlow, Pa., and the Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia; from the latter he came to Sayre in 1886, where he was employed as foreman of the foundry, and has acted in that capacity since. Mr. Lentz was married in Weatherly, Pa., in December, 1874, to Miss Mary A., daughter of Joseph and Ann (Burn) Fletcher, the former of whom was a native of England, and the later of Wales; her father is a molder and a resident of Waverly, N.Y.,; she is the eldest of eight living children, and was born in Easton, February 10, 1854. Mrs. Lentz is a member of the Presbyterian Church; Mr. Lentz is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Sodi Lodge, No. 80. He is a stanch Republican, and served a term as school director in Weatherly.
HENRY STEVER LEONARD, a prominent merchant, of Troy, was born in Springfield township, this county, November 1, 1828, a son of Ezekiel and Huldah (Stever) Leonard. His paternal grandfather, Ezekiel Leonard, formerly of Springfield, Mass., moved to Springfield, this count, about 1806, and cleared and improved the farm now occupied by Mrs. Isaac P. Doane, where he resided until his death; his children were: Ezekiel, Nathaniel, Lyman, Eber, Fred K., Albert, Alfred, Laura (Mrs. Joel Calkins), and Abby (Mrs. Abel Leonard). Of these, Ezekiel, the eldest son, a native of Springfield, Mass., came to this county with his parents, and on attaining his majority cleared and improved a farm in Springfield; for some years he resided in Troy, and died there; his wife was a daughter of Jacob Stever, of Schoharie county, N.Y., and they had nine children (Huldah (Mrs. J. P. Burnham), Lucy (Mrs. Nathan Sherman), Rhoda (Mrs. Eleazer Pomeroy), Agneline, Olive S., Betsey (Mrs. William R. Buck), Henry S., Rensalaer and Solyman M. Henry Stever Leonard was reared in Springfield, educated at the common schools and at Troy Academy. He began life as a clerk in Troy in 1845, and served in this capacity until 1852, when he purchased an interest n a dry-goods store, which, as Maxwell & Leonard, was run two years, when the business was sold to John E. Goodrich, Mr. Leonard remaining with Mr. Goodrich as manager for four years. On April 1, 1857, Mr. Leonard embarked in the dry-goods and grocery business, continuing alone for two years, when he took his brother, S. M. Leonard, and Thomas Maxwell into partnership, and the business was continued as Maxwell, Leonard & Bro., until 1862, when the business was sold to S. M. Leonard. Maxwell & Leonard then conducted a produce business until the fall of 1866. In 1866 Mr. Leonard, with Mr. Maxwell and G. F. Redington, erected the handsome store now occupied by him, and on October 20, of that year, as Redington, Maxwell & Leonard, embarked in the business of general merchandising, which continued until 1874, when Mr. Maxwell retired; the business was continued as Redington & Leonard until 1878, and up to February 7, 1891, as the Redington & Leonard Co., and since as H. S. Leonard & Son. Mr. Leonard married January 4, 1860, Ann E., daughter of Spencer and Anna (Austin) Crouch, of Cortland, N.Y., and has two children, Harry S. and Anna E. Mr. Leonard is one of Troy’s leading merchants, and an enterprising and substantial citizen; he is a member of the Presbyterian Church and I.O.O.F., and he is a Republican.
A. B. LEWIS, harness manufacturer, Wyalusing, was born in Delaware county, N.Y., January 19, 1842, and is a son of James and Catherine (Belknap) Lewis, the former of whom was a native of Connecticut, and the latter of New York. The father, who was a carpenter, but after many years turned his attention to farming and lumbering, removed in 1847, from New York to Wyoming county, and from there to Bradford, in 1854, locating in Terry township, where he followed farming and lumbering until his death in 1882, being then eighty-two years old; his wife died the following year, aged seventy-eight years. They had a family of eight children, viz.: Hannah, married to Abram C. Crounce, a farmer of New York; Martha, married to Israel VanLuvanel, a lumberman, of Terry township, Ransaler, a lumberman and mill-owner of New Erie, Pa.,; Sallie Ann, married to David A. Loomis, a carpenter, of New York; Aborn, who was a soldier in Company C., Fiftieth P.V.I., and was killed at Spottsylvania; Joseph C., a farmer, of Battle Creek, Mich., A. B. and Julia, married to Norman White of Sullivan county. A. B. Lewis spent his boyhood in Wyoming and Bradford counties, attending the common schools until he was seventeen years of age; was then apprenticed to learn the harness marker’s trade, and worked over five years. On March 20, 1864, he enlisted in Company G., Fiftieth P.V.V.I., and served until after the battle of Petersburg, participating in the following engagements: Wilderness, Spottsvylania, North Ann, Cold Harbor, Nye River and Petersburg; during the battle of Petersburg, June 18, 1864, while in line of battle, and charging the enemy’s works, he received a gunshot wound in the upper portion of his left arm, which shattered the bone, leaving a permanent injury greatly impairing the use of the arm. He was taken from the battle field to Barrack Branch of Lincoln Hospital, and after two weeks was removed to Chestnut Hill Hospital, Philadelphia, where he remained about seven months; was then transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps, in which he served until mustered out. After returning home he commenced work, November, 1865, at his trade, and in the spring of 1867 he purchased the business of Mr. Towner, which he has since conducted alone; his plant is supplied with modern machinery for the manufacture of hand man harness, and his trade is extensive. Mr. Lewis was united in marriage April 4, 1868, with E. M. Adams, daughter of Lewis and Sallie (Robart) Adams; but two of the family are living, Mrs. Lewis and Mrs. Daniel Bennett, of New Albany, this county. To Mr. and Mrs. Lewis were born two children: Frank C., born in 1869, and who lived about eight years, and J. Burt, born March 2, 1873, a student in Miller’s School of Commerce at Elmira. Mr. Lewis is a member of White Lillly Lodge, No. 808, I.O.O.F., and has taken all the subordinate degrees, and has passed all the chairs; is a member of Jackson Post, No. 74, G.A.R., and is past commander of the same; in politics he is a Republican, and has filled various town and borough offices.
C. J. LEWIS, the well-known merchant of Wyalusing borough, the senior member of the firm of C.J. & E.D. Lewis, one of the largest firms in the township, was born October 17, 1850, in Wyalusing township, son of Augustus and Sarah I. (Stone) Lewis, who are yet living, residing in the borough. His parents had a family of seven children: of whom four are deceased; those living are G.M., an attorney in Wilkes-Barre; Sarah, wife of J. V. Taylor, farmer and stock-dealer, of Wyalusing, and C. J. The father of our subject devoted the greater portion of his life to mercantile pursuits, commencing business in Wyalusing in 1840 and continuing there until 1877, when he retired, selling to his son C.K., who had thus passed almost his entire life in Wyalusing. C. J. Lewis was educated in the Wyalusing schools, Towanda Collegiate Institute and Wyoming Seminary, graduating from the latter in 1870, and entered business associated with his father under the firm name of A. Lewis & Son, which firm continued until 1875, when it was changed to A. Lewis & Co., J. Mills Brown purchasing an interest in same; thus they continued until 1877, when A. Lewis retired, and it became Lewis & Brown until 1883, when Mr. Brown sold; then, until 1886 it was C. J. Lewis, when E. D. Lewis purchased a one-half interest, and the firm has since been C.J. & E.D. Lewis. Their store is the first one started within what is now the borough of Wyalusing, and has had a continuous existence of over fifty years, the firm are probably the largest dealers in hay and country-produce in the county. Mr. C. J. Lewis was united in marriage, November 18, 1879, with Marion Fasset, daughter of Charles Fasset, of Scottsville, Pa. He is a charter member of White Lilly Lodge, No. 808, I.O.O.F., and has taken all the degrees; he is an active member of the Presbyterian Church, and is a stanch Republican, but not a seeker after political spoils. He owns a handsome residence on Front Street, besides other village property.
E.D. LEWIS, junior member of the firm of C.J. and E.D. Lewis, merchants, Wyalusing, was born April 11, 1859, a son of Elisha and Philena (Stevens) Lewis, the former of whom is yet living. His father’s family consisted of four children, of who two died in infancy, W.E., a farmer, of Wyalusing, and E. D. being the ones left. E.D. Lewis spent his boyhood at Merryall, where he attended the common schools until he was seventeen, when he entered the Collegiate Institute. He was graduated in the commercial class of that institution in 1877, and them came to Wyalusing and entered the employ of Lewis & Brown as clerk, remaining with them until 1882, when he entered the employ of J. Hay & Sons, of Easton, as commercial salesman, with whom he was one year, and then returned to Wyalusing, re-entering the employ of Lewis & Brown, with whom he remained until the dissolution of their partnership. He was next for one year with C.J. Lewis, then went to North Carolina and from there to Wilkes-Barre, where he remained until July 31, 1886, when he returned to Wyalusing and became a member of the firm, as above stated. This is one of the large business houses of the borough, and they do an extensive business, carrying a general line of goods, and dealing extensively in hay, grain and country produce. Mr. Lewis was united in marriage, December 25, 1883, with Hattie A., Smith, daughter of George Smith, wholesale grocer of Wilkes-Barre, and this union was blessed with two children: George, who died in infancy, and Charles B. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church; of white Lilly Lodge, No. 808, I.O.O.F., in which he has taken all the degrees, and passed all the chairs, and not fills that of R.S.N.G. He is a Republican, but takes no active interest in politics.
ELMER F. LEWIS, farmer, P.O. New Era, was born in Wyalusing township, this county, May 3, 1841, and is a son of Edwin and Polly B. (Lathrop) Lewis, the former of whom was born in Wyalusing, November 19, 1816; the latter in Susquehanna county, Pa., December 8, 1817. Grandfather, Ebenezer Lewis, also born in Wyalusing, was a son of Thomas Lewis, who was born in New London, Conn., April 11, 1745, and removed to this county in 1788, having previously purchased a Connecticut title in 1776; he was a patriotic Son of America, who, for freedom, liberty and equal rights, gave his life for his country; he fought under Gen. Montgomery, and helped to build a bridge over a portion of Lake Champlain, and also to erect Fort Ticonderoga; he was at the battle of Danbury, when that place was burned, and caught Gen. Wooster when he fell, wounded, from his horse; was an active Whig, serving his country faithfully to the end; he died in February 1810; his family consisted of ten children. Ebenezer Lewis had eight children, of whom Edwin, the first born, learned the wagon-maker’s trade at Merryall, Pa., and died June 26, 1856, at the age of nearly forty-years; he had a family of six children – five daughters and one son, Elmer – all of whom are now living. Elmer F. Lewis was reared and educated in Wyalusing, and in 1862, at the age of twenty-one, he enlisted in Company A., One Hundred and Forty-first P.V.I., for the term of three years; he received a wound at the battle of Gettysburg, at which time, in his wounded and helpless condition, he fell into the hands of the enemy, but was recaptured again by some of his own forces; he served until the end of the war, and was honorably discharged. He was noted for his courage and coolness in battle. On his return from the army he married, March 25, 1868, Miss Ada Eliza, daughter of Ebenezer Chubbuck, by which union there were born four children: Frances D., Charles E., E. W. and Don C., all living and unmarried. Mr. Lewis is a prosperous farmer and a leading man in his township; has filled by the choice of his fellow-citizens the offices of commissioner, town clerk, auditor and school director to the entire satisfaction of all. He is a general farmer, and gives special attention to dairying.
EVAN LEWIS , Ulster, farmer and stock-dealer, P.O. Towanda, was born in Ulster township, this county, September 1, 1823, and is a son of John and Anna (Reese) Lewis, natives of Wales. His father followed the occupation of repairing farm implements, carrying a kit of tools from farm to farm, and doing the necessary work on the premises. After coming to the United States, in 1820, he bought a farm, and located in Ulster township, Mr. Lewis being the fourth man to settle in the vicinity of Moore’s Hill; he cleared that farm and built the fourth house in that vicinity. He died, December 1, 1853, aged sixty-six years, his widow died September 20, 1868, aged eighty-three; their family of children was as follows: John (deceased) Anna (wife of William Wright, residing on Moore’s Hill), Mary, (wife of David Bevans of Burlington township), Elizabeth (who died of small-pox in Wales), Lewis (of Monroe township), theses were born in Wales; Evan, Thomas (who died young), Elizabeth (married to Stephen Bennet, died leaving two children), Margaret (widow of William Manger), and William (of North Dakota.) Evan Lewis, the subject of this sketch, had no school privileges until he was ten years old, as there was no school-house in his neighborhood prior to that time; he obtained, nevertheless, a very practical education. He commenced life farming and rafting. He was married, November 6, 1850, to Amanda, daughter of John and Nancy (Shaver) Mingus, natives of Tompkins county, N.Y.; her father’s family consisted of fourteen children (she being the eldest) of whom six girls and three boys, residents of Bradford county, survive. Mr. Lewis moved on the farm he now occupies, in 1850. He cleared 100 acres altogether, and set out orchards; he put up the present buildings in 1869, all of which are substantial frames and have all modern conveniences; the house contains fourteen rooms, and is one of the best in the county. Besides the farm he occupies, Mr. Lewis owns two others in Ulster township – about 286 acres altogether – and, with the exception of about fifty acres, all are susceptible of cultivation. He had nine children, seven of whom are living, as follows: Thomas H. (married to Belle Brown), Sarah Ann (married to James Olmstead), John James (married to Sarah Heath), William A. (married to Emma Kindle), Ida (married to Charles Olmstead), Ettie (married to Allen McMorran) and George (married to Tillie Ayres). In his political views Mr. Lewis is a Democrat.
LEONARD LEWIS, member of the State Legislature, and residing in Alba, is a native of Canton township, this county, born March 4, 1830, a son of R.S. and Maria (Bakeman) Lewis, natives of New York. R. s. Lewis, who was a farmer, was born April 8, 1800, and died in Canton township, November 29, 1883, in his eighty-fourth year. Mrs. Maria Lewis as born April 16, 1806, and died May 30, 1875, at the age of sixty-nine years. The grandfather, Elnathan Lewis, was a native of New York, and died in the western party of the county. The subject of this sketch is the third in order of birth in a family of fourteen children, and was reared on a farm, receiving his education in the public schools. He has made farming and dairying his occupation until the present time. He was married in Alba, October 4, 1854, to Amanda M., daughter of Samuel and Betsey (Granteer) Rockwell, the former a native of Vermont, the latter of New York, who had a family of eight children, of whom three are now living; Mrs. Lewis is the youngest in the family in order of birth, and was born in Canton township, August 28, 1836. To Mr. and Mrs. Lewis were born two children: C. S., married to Myra Jane Greenlaw, and Jennie, wife of E.A. Lilley, residing in Williamsport. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis are members of Christ’s Church. He is a member of the Keystone Grange. Politically he is a Republican, and was elected to the State Legislature in the fall of 1890; he served two terms as school director, and filled an unexpired term; served one term as township auditor, also two terms as road commissioner, and was serving his third when elected to the Legislature in 1890,; was assistant assessor one term.
W. S. LEWIS, M.D., Canton, is the "manor" born, which controlling event in his active professional career occurred in Monroe township, on August 12, 1841. His parents were Timothy and Lucy Lewis, the former a farmer, as well as a successful merchant, lumberman and hotel proprietor; he died in this county, in April 1873, aged seventy-three years; the latter died in February, 1869, aged sixty-three years. The father was also a native of this county, a son of James Lewis, who came here and settled in Monroe in 1806. His maternal grandfather was born seven miles above Wilkes-Barre. The paternal great grandfather was a native of Wales, and came to America with a party of 3,000 colonists, brought by William Penn, when he came to plant his colony in his American purchase. Timothy Lewis’ family consisted of three sons and four daughters, who grew to maturity, and four of whom are yet living. Dr. Lewis, who was the fourth of the children, lived with his parents in Greenwood until 1857, when, with his family, he went to Franklin township, where he attended the public schools, and then became a pupil in the high school of Monroeton, and afterward attended the Normal School at Mansfield, Pa. He then commenced a course of reading in medicine, and became a student of the Eclectic Medical Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio, where he graduated February 28, 1873, and at once returned to Franklindale and opened his office, and was actively employed there until May 3, 1879, when he removed to his present home, Canton, and has been professionally engaged here since. He married, in Franklindale, March 21, 1869, Arilla E., daughter of Charles W. and Mary (Manley) Stevens, of Vermont and Connecticut, respectively, who came to this county with their families, when each was three years old. Mr. Stevens is a retired farmer. Mrs. Lewis’ grandfather, Thomas Manley, was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was one of the prominent men of his time. Mrs. Lewis’ father had a family of five sons and two daughters, of whom she is the fourth, and was born at Franklin, June 5, 1845. To Dr. and Mrs. Lewis have been born four children: Liston Leone (junior in Cornell University), Lucy May, Mary E. and Z. Freeman. Mrs. Lewis is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Doctor is a member of the I.O.O.F., and G.A.R., Ingham Post, No. 91. He served five years in Franklindale, and is now serving, in Canton, his third term as president of the school board. In September, 1861, he enlisted, although among the youngest, in Company E., Fifty-second P.V.I., a regiment noted in the annals of the Civil War for its long, severe and efficient service, in which the Doctor bore his part with tireless energy. At the organization of the regiment he was made lieutenant. He resigned his commission, and returned home May, 1862. He is identified in politics with the Republican party. Mrs. Lewis’ eldest brother, Manley T. Stevens, a member of Company K, Fiftieth Infantry Regiment, was killed in a skirmish, in South Caroline, May 29, 1862, the shot being instantly fatal. The four surviving children of Timothy Lewis, in order of birth, are as follows: James W., Dr. W. S., Benjamin L., and Mary D., a resident of Detroit. Timothy Lewis’ father was James Lewis, who, when aged twelve, lived with his parents near Sunbury, on a farm where they had been removed for safety, at the time of the French-Indian War. One night they were attacked by a bank of Indians, the father was killed, and James and his brother escaped by climbing out of a window; the former took to the woods and was captured by the savages, while his brother reached Sunbury. The Indians carried young Lewis to Canada, where he remained in captivity three years, and when released returned home. In after years he came to this county, settling on the Schraeder branch of Towanda creek, and lived to be eighty years old, dying about 1830. His children were four sons and two daughters. Timothy H. and Benjamin, only, were residents of Bradford; the former died in Greenwood, in 1873, and was buried in Franklin.
MCKEAN LILLEY, farmer, P.O. LeRoy, was born I Alba, Bradford Co., Pa., in December 1845, a son of John and Lemira (McKean) Lilley, natives of Vermont and Burlington, this county, respectively. John Lilley, Jr., was the son of John Lilley, of Irish extraction, who came to America and located in Columbia township, where he followed farming until the time of his death. John, Jr., lived in Columbia sixteen years, after which time he removed to Alba, where he lived the rest of his years and died in Canton, in 1885; his family numbered eight children – six sons and two daughters – seven of whom grew to maturity, and five of whom are now living. This family is the result of two marriages, four children by each wife. Our subject is the fifth in order of birth of the family, and the first child by the second wife; he was reared and educated at Alba, and has always followed farming. At the age of twenty-five, October 12, 1870, he married Nancy E., daughter of Daniel and Charlotte Randall, natives of this county. Hey have an adopted son, Carl, who is now seventeen years of age. Mr. Randall owns and operates a gristmill, almost one and one-half miles east of Canton. Mr. Lilley is a general farmer living on seventy acres of fertile land, and has his farm well stocked with Jerseys (registered). When twenty years of age he entered the army, in Company G One Hundred and Twelfth Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery Volunteers, for a term of three years, of which he served two. He was wounded in front of Petersburg, June 1, 1864, was honorably discharged, and now draws a pension. He is a member of the G.A.R. Post; the Church of Christ. At LeRoy, and also of the Grange Association, and has been honored with offices of trust by this fellow-citizens; politically he is a Republican.
MIAL E. LILLEY, attorney and counselor at law, Canton, is a native of Canton township, this county, born May 30, 1850, a son of Eben and Emeline (Slade) Lilley, the former a native of Columbia township, the latter of Fall River, Mass. Eben Lilley was a farmer, and served a full term as treasurer of Bradford county, and died in October, 1890, in this seventy-sixth year; the mother died in 1872, in her fifty-seventy year. They were the parents of five children, of whom our subject is the fourth. He received his education in both public and private schools in his native place, and was a farmer-boy until nineteen years of age, when he went to learn the blacksmith’s trade, in which employment he remained seven years, when the consideration of his health made it imperative to seek other occupation; so, while pounding hot iron, and vigorously thinking for himself, he decided to commence reading law, and in 1878 entered the law office of J. W. Stone, in Canton, as a student of Blackstone and Coke-upon-Littleton.. In 1880 he was an applicant, and having passed an examination successfully, he was licensed an attorney of the Bradford county bar, and from that day to the present, has been actively engaged in his profession. He is recognized as strong on the "stump," and yet stronger in the councils of his party, and, as chairman of the Republican County Committee, he has carried the weight of heavy responsibilities; and, in time of unusual party disturbances, he has performed every duty with signal ability and fidelity. Here his labors have not only been responsible and pecuniarily profitless, but extremely onerous; but his presence and guidance have constantly been called for in every voting district in the county, and his prompt response to every demand has signaled every hour of the incumbency of his position. Comparatively a young man in both law and politics, he is yet well known as a leader. He married, in Liberty, Tioga Co., Pa., in 1874, Mary, daughter of J. W. and Elizabeth (Irwin) Childs. Her father was a native of Clearfield, and her mother of Tioga county, and are residents of Cedar Run, Lycoming Co., where he is a lumberman. Mrs. Lilley was born August 24, 1856, and was the second in a family of eight children. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Lilley, of whom two are living, J. Roy and Floy, who, with their parents, worship at the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Lilley is a member of Canton Lodge, No. 415, F. & A.J., Troy Chapter, No. 261, and Troy Commandery, also of the I.O.O.F., Canton Lodge, No. 321, and has passed all the chairs. He was the nominee of his party, in 1890, for the office to prothonotary of the county, but suffered defeat with his ticket, on account of divisions in the party.
JACOB A. LINDERMAN, farmer, P.O. Troy, was born in Ithaca, N.Y., October 5, 1819, and is a son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Landon) Linderman, and of German descent. He was reared in Tompkins county, N.Y., and in 1839 removed to Bradford county, with headquarters at Canton, and operated the first threshing machine used in this county. In May, 1842, he married Olive M., daughter of David and Rachel (Hayden) Williams, of Troy township, and has had four children: Alvin K., James, Edith (Mrs. Thaddeus Wolfe) and George. Mr. Linderman has been a resident of Troy since 1842, and for thirty-four years lived on the farm he now occupies; has held the office of town commissioner six years in succession; politically he is a Democrat.
DENTON G. LINDLEY,farmer, is a native of Canton township, this county, born September 28, 1844, a son of Solomon Lindley, who was born in Rutland, Vt., August 22, 1809. The paternal grandparents were David and Ann (Brown) Lindley, natives of Vermont. David Lindley moved to Canton township, this county in 1812, where he died, in 1869, in his sixtieth year; his widow died in 1871, in her sixty-first year. Solomon Lindley, who still resides on the old homestead, was three years of age when his parents moved to this county; they settled near where East Canton now stands, which was then a dense wilderness, and they had to build a log cabin to put the sheep in at night, to protect them from wolves; his father, David Lindley, opened the road from Canton to Ralston, and drove the first wagon over it. Solomon Lindley was married in Danby, N.Y., in 1833, to Lavina, daughter of Jonas and Abigal (Knapp) Weed, natives of Connecticut. Jonas Weeds was a soldier in the War of 1812. Mrs. Weed lived to the advanced age of one hundred and one years. Mrs. Lindley is the youngest in a family of eleven children, and was born in Connecticut, September 5, 1810. Denton G., who is the youngest in order of birth of five children, was reared on the farm where he now resides, receiving a common school education, had has made farming and dairying his occupation, giving some attention to Jersey registered stock. He was married in Alba, this county, in 1866, to Egestie, daughter of Oliver and Lovina (Everhart) Wilson, natives of Canton township and Bucks county, Pa., respectively; she is the younger of two children, and was born in Alba, June 10, 1849. To Mr. and Mrs. Lindley were born four children: Carrie, Guy, Paul E. and Lottie. Responding to the call of his country, Mr. Lindley enlisted, August 20, 1861, in Company I, One Hundred and Sixth Regiment, P.V.I., and he participated in the following battles: Peninsular campaign, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Antietam, and Chancellorsville. At Cold Harbor, June 2, 1864, the day before the battle, while on picket duty, Gen. Ownes, commander of the second Corps, made a proposition to those on picket duty, that anyone who would burn a church, where Rebel sharp-shooters were located, he would excuse from duty one month and promote to captain on his staff. Mr. Lindley succeeded in burning a church, about four o’clock p.m. that day (June 2, 1864). He was shot through the arm, next day, at the battle of Cold Harbor, and June 3 was sent to McClellan Hospital, Philadelphia, where he remained three months, and then rejoined his company, and served until the close of the war. While at the hospital Gen. Ownes was transferred to another command, so he was never rewarded for his daring act of bravery. He was mustered out in Philadelphia, in August 1865. He is a member of the G.A.R., Ingham Post, No. 91, and a member of the Union Veteran Legion; politically he is a Republican.
SHELDON H. LINDLEY, county commissioner, Canton, was born in Canton, this county, February 28, 1836, and is a son of Joseph and Lovina B. (Manley) Lindley. His paternal grandfather, David Lindley, was a native of Vermont, and a pioneer of canton, settling on the farm now owned by Sheldon H. and Denton G. Lindley, where he made considerable improvements, and died. His children were six in number, as follows: Cynthia (Mrs. Horace Stone) Joseph, Solomon, Hiram, John, and Celinda (Mrs. Simeon Powers). Of these,
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